Baby Room Progress

The baby room finishing carpentry touches have began!  Mr. Fixit has busily been cutting and installing wainscoating.  Once the perimeter of the room has been completed, we will paint the wood a darker shade of green, in comparison to the walls.  A piece of trim work will be added to the top and bottom of the wainscoating.

The top decorative trim will be a chocolate brown and the bottom trim piece, along the carpet, will be the same green shade as the wainscoating.  We are getting closer, and I am excited to perhaps do a bit of painting.  Mr. Fixit says that, "We will see," on the painting part.  So, until then, enjoy this picture of progress!

Houston - We Have Heat!

Breaker, breaker - I would like to report significant news - after five months of patiently waiting for the friend of Mr. Fixit; the heating and air dude to work his magic - we have heat!  That is right, the heater is installed; the duct work has been run; and the register holes have been carved into each blessed floor.  It is quite awesome!

I find it rather entertaining that the day the task was completed, and we gave it a test run - the daytime temperature was 45 degrees =).  Yes, folks it sure felt balmy in comparison to the -6 degrees of last week.  Anyway, the heat has arrived, and we are excited to check one more major item off the house to do list.  Next up is the baby room, master bath and trim work!

Kitchen Drawers

Way back when I took some photos of the kitchen cabinets, there were two holes under the cooktop counter.  The holes were caused by the fact that the two drawers would not fit.  This was because the electrical components of the cooktop, took up the space that each drawer was to occupy.  Anyway, it was a problem, you see!

We sent the drawers back to the cabinet company, and they FINALLY returned!  The company redesigned the back part of the drawer, and now they fit quite perfectly.  I thought I would show you a photo of the finished drawers in place.  They are now quite handy for my potholders!

1,270 Strong!

This was our (a committee from one of my work organization's) third year to plan and conduct a family event with our land grant university women's basketball team.  It has simply gotten better each year!  We hosted a crowd of 1,270 this year and the university President and his wife even sported shirts in support of our crew!

Planning began in September, and came to fruition on Saturday, January 22.  Families arrived to collect their tickets, concession vouchers and t-shirts for the big day.  I was the t-shirt person.  We had about 20 boxes of t-shirts delivered for the occasion!  As many have commented -- we were a sea of green in the land of purple and a small amount of red, but we will not talk about the red!

The game tipped off at 1:00 p.m., and even the youngest enthusiasts were excited to cheer on the team to victory!  Many youth created and brought signs for their "big moment" up on the jumbotron!  The team experienced a great victory, and fun was had by all.  Join us next January for another fun day!

Amaryllis - 3rd Office Week

Well, my little amaryllis has been busy growing!  Here is a shot of it sitting in my office window, right in the middle of its third week there.  I think it looks almost cactus like against the lovely brick wall, of the building outside my office window!  Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that the tropical bulb is still hanging in there.  I am holding out for some beautiful flowers someday in my future!

Winter - Take Two

The day started off on the cold side - not at all unusual for January.  The big storm that the weather people have been so excitedly predicting, did indeed attack the area with quite a punch.  A beautiful flutter of flakes started to fall around 9:30 this morning, and then by 11:00, it was definitely falling with great speed!

I thought that I would pop over to the store and get some groceries, and while at the checkout, received two phone calls.  One call came from my supervisor, telling me that our office was closing at 1:00 p.m. for the remainder of the day.  Hmmmm, that was in about 10 minutes.  Alrighty.  A second call was from Mr. Fixit wanting to know where I was at.  I told him, and then was called a nut, and then I said I was headed home for the day.  He agreed with me on that being the best plan!

I read a book, sorted through baby clothes and made one of my favorite suppers.  I also snapped a photo of the "light to moderate" snow we were predicted to experience.  Before darkness came, we had 6 inches already.  So, we will see what the morning snow total brings!

Arcade Games

I hung out with my two oldest nieces yesterday, since they had a break from school.  We headed to their favorite spot for lunch, which happened to be located in a local mall.  After lunch, they wanted to explore some of the arcade games in the food area.  So, I thought, why not.

Each girl (age 10 and 8 respectively) brought her own purse - with, little did I know, a wad of change.  Not enough to buy the mall out, or anything like that.  Nonetheless, each girl definitely felt the need to spend her quarters trying out a claw game.  The oldest tried the claw game twice, and spent a dollar in an effort to grab a sparkly, light-up, water ball toy.  I know, oooooooohhhhh and aaaaahhhhhhh!  She was ready to fork out another dollar, when her sister decided she needed to give it a try.

I said she could give it one try - worth 50 cents - and then we were moving on to other mall looking ventures.  So, younger sis gave it a go - with the same result - no toy prize.  Each girl was hooked now.  "Can we each try it again?"  I said, nope, you girls have given this game enough of your money.  One girl replied, "I know I can get it, if I try one more time!"

I talked to them about the game.  I said that people put these games here so they can make money from them -- your money.  I also said, if the game gave you a prize, would the person who owns the game make any money?  No, they agreed, probably not.  Then they said, "But this is not fair!  The game should let you get a prize, if you try really hard!"  Yup, that would be nice, I said, however, then the person who owns the game would not make money.  So, we walked on.

As we left the game area, we passed another game - a wind making machine.  This game cost $2 per try.  Could each girl try that game?  *Sigh* it was going to be a long, learning-filled afternoon!

Shopcicles

A week ago we were hit with our first winter snowstorm, and it is still hanging around.  The temperatures have been absolutely arctic, but the sun has still been doing some melting magic!  We have accumulated some really long icicles on Mr. Fixit's shop and on the south side of the house.  I thought the funky shape of these icicles warranted a post.  Mr. Fixit did confess that he broke some of them off, just for fun!  Hope you are all toasty warm, and enjoying the winter scenery from your windows too!

Cactus in Bloom

Mr. Fixit gifted me a lovely Christmas Cactus during the 2009 Christmas season.  I had never had one before, so I was not really certain if this was a fickle plant, or could tough out life a little bit.  Well, I must say, that this plant is definitely a fighter!

The succulent endured a summer of not much sun - due to construction, lots of moving indoors and out - again, due to construction, and my forgetfulness to water.  Yes, times were tough for the plant residents.  This winter, the plant has endured cold temperatures.  It is a balmy 58 degrees in the dining area, where the plants now call home.  So, this growing environment is not for the faint of heart!

I was pleasantly surprised to see blooms on our Christmas Cactus back very early in December.  I thought that perhaps the cactus was sharing its happiness for the new location.  Maybe they were flags of surrender, or that it was time to produce flowers or perish?  Hard to say, but the plant produced 5 or 6 blooms.  Here is a snap of the final bloom.  Ahhhh, magnificent!

The Kitchen Next Door

The floor, in the kitchen and meeting room next door, was torn apart for about 3 weeks.  I showed some of the improvement progress, right before the holiday break, but I neglected to get back to the finished product.

We have an awesome new tiled floor in the kitchen area.  Before the renovation, carpet was on this level.  It was very difficult to keep clean in our popular kitchen.  The tile is much easier to clean!  The old floor carpet was fraying, and chairs and tables would often get caught on the carpet runners.  The new carpet is in tile pieces, so it will be easy to replace a damaged part.  Enjoy a photo of our new work kitchen next door!

Amaryllis - Week 2

My Amaryllis seems to enjoy its new digs!  It has grown much taller, and looks greener -- if that can be possible. 

I would say that it has doubled in size, in comparison to last week's picture.  The flowering bulb will need to grow a bit more before it will be ready to flower.  Oh, I can't wait!  Maybe I will have flowers by Valentine's Day!

All in a Day's Work?

My four co-workers have been out of the office the past several days, so I am the resident question answerer!  Here is what I have received so far - and I still have one more day to field. =)

• Can I use parsnips in place of carrots for my carrot cake recipe?
• We are a local dental firm, and we would like to be a sponsor for the county fair.  What can we sponsor?
• Did you know that BB gun requirements have changed?  What are the new requirements?

So, I felt a bit like "Ask Helloise," but I did figure out some answers to the questions.  I am sure you are all curious; just in case you have been kept awake at night by the same questions, here are some answers for you:

• Yes, you can use parsnips in place of carrots in a carrot cake recipe.  The cake will not have the familiar coloring, because the beta kerotene hue will be absent and the taste and texture will be a bit different too.  If you wish to substitute, use equal parsnips for equal carrots.  Don't forget to peel first before you grate!
• Yes, we have many sponsor opportunities available.  A business may sponsor a specific event, a venue, provide marketing freebies or sponsor award categories.  Think about your dollar amount, and then we can suggest specific options that will fit your budget.
• Yes, some BB gun requirements have changed.  A qualifying score is now 300.  Also, BB gun shooters can now go back to the sighter shots after they have started shooting for record bulls.  Hmmmm, what?  I know, I am not totally sure what that last statement means, but I am conducting further investigation.

Well, that is the scoop for the moment.  Stay tuned for more work mind benders!

Winter Wonderland

Just like that, the weather outside turned to winter!  The snow started falling on Sunday night - after dark - and continued throughout the day on Monday.  Mr. Fixit was busy moving snow at work all day Monday.  The snow continued to fall, and he continued to clear it off the walk ways. 

Today has been much of the same.  Even though the snow stopped falling, the wind started blowing.  So, it was almost like it was snowing - again!  Mr. Fixit went in at 6 a.m. to begin snow removal today.  I headed in rather early as well.  I had my morning walk at the mall, and then headed off to the office.  I camped out in my office all day.

This photo was taken in our yard, after the snow had stopped falling.  Our guess is that we received 6-7 inches.  Enjoy the white, peaceful beauty!  Stay warm everyone, as temps are to fall below zero tonight!

Birthday Party

Happy 100th post!  I thought it was only appropriate that my 100th post be about the birthday party that I hosted for my eight year old niece.  Her real birthday was on January 4, but we had a fun celebration for her on Friday.  Here is how it went down:

My niece mentioned that she wanted a cooking party for her birthday.  I said - no problem!  She invited four friends, and her big sis invited one friend.  The party guests made their own mini pizzas, cinnamon and sugar tortilla triangles and fruit salsa.  They gobbled up these treats, and then decorated sugar cookies!  I made seven different kinds, and each kid had twelve to decorate.  I purchased some take home containers, and ta-da: instant party favors!  I made eight colors of frosting and had a smorgasbord of sprinkles to choose from.  I think it was every girl's dream!

I could not have done this party without assistance.  My Mom and Dad came up for a visit.  Dad and Mr. Fixit hung out in whatever room the party crew was not in!  I made two kinds of soup for the adults: taco and ham and bean.  They chowed down on that, while my Mom and my sister -- Mother to the birthday niece -- helped keep up with dishes and party logistics. Thank YOU both for your help!

I would definitely recommend this party theme.  Kids love to cook -- and it is so reasonable.  The total ticket cost for the event was $30.  Each kid received supper and party favor treats.  My sister brought cake and ice cream, and the evening was complete.  We were quite tired!  Mr. Fixit and my Dad helped my sister drive the kids back to town for a sleepover at my birthday niece's house.  I was certainly thankful that we did not need to host the sleepover part! =)

Amaryllis

One of my co-workers gave each of us an amaryllis growing kit as a Christmas gift.  We received them around December 1.  I was quite excited to get it growing - because flowers in the winter are super awesome!  The box said that about 4-6 weeks after planting, the blooms would appear. 

I planted my amaryllis that day.  I placed it by the super sunny window in our dining room.  Now, all I had to do was water and wait.  Well, one week went by and my amaryllis still looked the same.  So, I added more water.  Week two went by and my amaryllis still was the same height.  The same story happened for weeks 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. 

I pulled the box instructions out, and discovered that the amaryllis likes a room temperature of 70-75 degrees.  Well, we don't quite have heat yet in the new part of the house - by the super sunny window.  So, the room temperature is about 60-65 degrees in there. 

I decided that my amaryllis should come to work, where it is quite warm, and there is still sunlight.  So, this is what my amaryllis looks like.  I just brought it to my office yesterday.  Stay tuned for some flowers!  I can't wait for the blooming to begin!

Sub-Deb Dinner

The first work day back in 2011 was quite the busy one!  I spent the day gathering supplies and prepping for an evening of meetings.  The meetings went well, and the attendance was good.  The line of parents and youth was long after the meeting had ended, as many had questions or thoughts for me to take back to the office.  I made notes, and spent the day working on accomplishing the requests.

I had some fantastic volunteers gather and load my program supplies into my vehicle - thank you so much!  I checked all the doors, switched off the lobby lights and came back to the main meeting room.  Four youth still remained - three of which are high school Seniors.  They had a proposition for me to consider!

You see, their school has a dance called Sub-Deb, which is scheduled to occur in February.  They wanted to know if I would cook for them, prior to them heading out to their dance.  I checked the calendar date, and all looks clear!  I love to cook, so this should be fun!  I was surprised that they actually wanted to have me cook for them, but they assured me that they indeed did.

I am brainstorming menu possibilities, and look forward to trying some new recipes with some tried and true favorites.  Any of your favorites are also welcome suggestions.  Bon Appetit!

Morning Mass

Mr. Fixit and I start our Sunday mornings with Mass.  This Sunday morning turned out to be not the typical  Sunday morning routine.  First, Mr. Fixit did not go to Mass with me.  He is still feeling not quite like himself due to this respiratory stuff.  So, I attended Mass solo.

Today I was a volunteer helper, or minister, for Holy Communion.  I was in the sacristy, gathering the candle lighter, when the power shut off.  The entire church, well, suffice for the sunlight from the stained glass windows, was dark.  Oh, well, I thought I would light some candles anyway!  I lit all the altar candles, and took my place in the back vestibule to wait for Mass to begin.

Mass was pretty normal, at this point.  The electricity did come back on during the Our Father prayer -- along with the shrieking security alarm.  Not to worry though, this was just a brief amount of time during the prayer.

My co-minister and I headed to the altar to prep for Holy Communion distribution.  We distributed to all the parishioners, and then waited by the altar for Father to return after he finished distributing to his final parishioner.

It was at this point, that things became a bit unusual.  The last young gentleman, that Father distributed Holy Communion to, followed him onto the altar.  My co-minister and I exchanged puzzled glances, and Father was oblivious to the whole situation, as his back was to the young man.

Suddenly, the young man started taking his clothing off -- a coat, sweater and hat -- and was stuffing them into the Tabernacle!  It was at this point that I alerted Father to the situation, who promptly turned around to see what was occurring.  This was just as the young man was pulling his belt off and untucking his shirt, as if they were the next items to go!  All the while, the choir and congregation were still singing, and I did not quite know what to do.

Father talked to the young man, and as the song ended, another volunteer minister came forward to lead the confused man off the altar.  The young man was clearly not quite well, as he told everyone that he was Charles and worked for a local hotel, and that we all needed to repent.  Wow, what a way to share a message!

Needless to say, we finished Mass, prepared the church for the next Mass and processed through the situation.  Six police officers arrived, and I am certain, that the young man was taken into a medical facility for a mental health evaluation.

So that was the atypical Sunday morning Mass.  Let's hope that the rest of the week is not quite this eventful!