Blow the Snow Away

Anyone else sick of snow yet?

And winter's just barely begun.

At least the days are getting longer.

I want to put away my Christmas stuff before any more of it gets broken, but am not eager to strap on my snowshoes and shovel my way to the shed to get out my frozen Rubbermaids. And I feel bad that I always make the husband do it. He's such a good sport.

Have I mentioned the sheds are approximately 2 feet from our carport? Boy, am I a baby. But it's cold!

I have a friend moving up from St. George this week. Yes, she's crazy.

So, amidst all this frigidness, I was wondering: do onions cause gas? Because for a little while I was afflicted with an unnaturally malodorous variety and really hadn't changed my diet much--other than a lot of Clementines and a trip to Cafe Rio.

Because you were absolutely dying to know all that.

My husband calls it good birth control.

Well, YEAH.

I think I'm eating onions, or whatever I ate (I'm so scientific), for at least the next year. Or more. Maybe 20.

Even though it's near to impossible to resist these:

Thanks for your condolences for our family everyone. I appreciated it a lot.

And Happy New Year!

May you all enjoy a little crazy fun.

Or fun craziness.

Whichever you prefer.

Grandpa

Yesterday my grandpa died. He had a good run--living to 94--and we knew it was coming, but it's still sad. The last few years he's suffered from dementia that progressively got worse, but he still retained a little of his own personality. A couple of months ago when my parents and sister were visiting, her little girl asked him what his favorite food was and he said, "Whatever's put in front of me, I suppose."

He was always shy, sweet, kind, and patient. He never complained, not when we were watching TV on his television when he wanted to watch football, and not even when my dad made him a peanut butter sandwich for lunch once (which he didn't like because it what he ate every day growing up during the Depression). He patiently manned the boat while we all learned to water ski--even though the less athletically-inclined of us (me) took three full days of trying to finally stay up.

Grandma has always said he grew the best tomatoes and they certainly were good. He kept a meticulous lawn--and passed that skill on to my dad. He flew a plane over Japan during WWII. He travelled with my Grandma after he retired and had an adventurous spirit--snorkeling for the first time at 80, liking it, and saying he thought he'd do better the next time.

He was so quiet and reserved all the time, that I almost feel like I didn't know him really well, but his passing will leave a void in our family and we'll miss him a lot.

Grandpa with all the great-grandbabies. (S-man is on his lap--look how little he was!)

A Little Cleanliness Please

Everyone please remember to wash your hands.

Perched on the counter.

In your skivvies.

(P.S. Does anyone know if something is wrong with Blogger? It won't let me drag my pictures where I want them without doing it a little section at a time. Which really cramps my style. Is it happening to everyone, or just me?)

One Resolution

I've already thought up some resolutions to break faster than the time it took me to think them up. And I figure now is as good as time as any to start them. It's so easy to say I'll start January 1, and then forget all about it by then. It's just like saying you'll eat better tomorrow. Might as well start today if you're going to be doing it anyway.

I'll get down to it.



Other than trying to be on time to everything (I missed a lot of important events this year), losing baby weight (I never finished after having the S-man), decluttering the house (there has to be at least one impossible resolution), exercise more (that's easy when I don't exercise at all--just have to do one leg lift while watching TV--that'll go far, eh?), and eat more vegetables (maybe I shouldn't waste my garden this year), (and now I know you're about to fall from waiting on the edge of your seats for the whole monologue) I'm going to blog more. I might try every day. I want to get in the habit because it's the only journaling I do for my kids and of myself--as fascinating as I am.


Don't get too excited. I'm going to have to mention the good things they do and we all know how good kids aren't as interesting as naughty ones, but I think I better show your Mr Destructo's sweet side. Again, don't get your hopes up.


Oh, and because I'm tired at night after the Olympian effort of putting kids to bed and nursing the Rocker non-stop for the last half-hour before he finally succumbs and my brain cells start skidding sideways, the posts might be short and wholly consist of something like: I'm pretty sure my brain's about to implode and shrivel up until I can suck it out through my ear with the vacuum hose, and equally deep and meaningful things. Now aren't you beyond excited?


And even though isn't a decorating blog, I'm going to show you the things I did to my house that I think are an improvement. So you can feel better about your own. Ha. And pretty much anything I do to this place is an improvement--especially if it involves things that are scented and that kill odors.


And I might not have too many pictures. They terrorize me. It takes me so long to upload them (how come only five at a time?!) and find them and there are so many on my hard drive it moves slower than I do at 6:00 on a cold morning getting ready for church (which is why I usually don't get up until 7:30 when we have to be there at 9 [only one more day of it!] and then I am still slow and persistently wonder why we're late every week [the hair must look good, right?]).



So.



Get your reading game on. Or your reading glasses polished. Either is fine with me.

And now that I've set this nice lofty standard for myself, I may develop an ulcer.


Aren't they cute when they hold still?


Oh, and here's the picture (taken by Sherri who is so good at posing and shooting us quickly before I wiggle) we used for our Christmas card. I hope everyone had a good Christmas. We did--despite me staying up until 4:00 making a blasted tutu from start to finish. It was worth it though--she loves it.

Bowl full of jelly: check.

Mom needs a camera with image stabilization: double check.

Think he looks nervous that Mr Destructo is hovering over him so closely with the camera?
I've lost count of how many times that poor baby has probably had his life flash before his eyes.

Anyone else instantly want a picket fence and stone pathway?