About Me

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Hi all! I have been married to my wonderful husband, Sean for almost 11 years. We have a beautiful little girl, Annie. I am also mother to 3 naughty Beagles and one fat cat. I love music! I sing opera as a mezzo-soprano although I haven't had much opportunity to sing since college. I am a grateful daughter of Christ Jesus and love to spend time in His Word. I am thankful for my wonderful church and am becoming more involved in activites there. My husband and I coach my daughter's soccer teams and that keeps us pretty busy! Outside of this I spend a lot of time on my daughter's activites. Piano, soccer, golf, 4-H, church, etc. It can get crazy around here but I will praise Him in all things!!!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Snow Day and Christmas Cookies

Annie told me yesterday when she got home from school that they were probably going to cancel school today. I poo-pooed her thinking they would have a two hour delay and that would be that. Ok...so she was right. Our first snow day and we're still in the middle of December!

So, what should we do today? I KNOW! Let's make Christmas cookies! A grand tradition that has taken a slightly modern twist this year. We began with Sean going online to find unusual Chrsitmas cookie recipes. We came upon the "12 Cookies of Christmas" on the Disney Family website. http://family.go.com/food/recipe-599640-christmas-cookie-recipes-t/ Some of these are old favorites and some I haven't seen before. Anyway, a great conglomoration of the tastes and smells we all remember from Christmases past.

I am not feeling motivated enough to try to bake all 12 but we are attempting 6 different kinds today. The hitch? Some of them have ingredients that one does not normally keep in their pantry on a regular basis. Even though I have an entire 14x14 back room downstairs dedicated to stockpiling and such, I still don't have peppermint extract, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, coconut, or marshmallow cream. Silly me. So, I figured we should narrow the list to included recipes using ingredients we actually HAVE. Sean had other plans...

At this very moment, my husband is driving on roads covered in 4 inches of ice and snow to go uptown to buy the ingredients for the other cookie recipes.
For those of you who don't know my husband very well, he is what I like to call, "determistant". That's "determined" and "persistant".

I'll let ya'll know how the cookies turn out...that is, if Sean makes it back in one piece!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

You know that point at which you remember agreeing to do things...you remember the thought behind it...but you realize you were completely out of your ever loving mind that day?
I'm there.

Ok, I like to be busy. I like my calender to be well used. However, at this point, my calender is looking more like W*l M*rt on Black Friday. I know what I need is in there somewhere but there are things piled on top of one another and there is so much stuff in the aisles that I can't seem to navigate it! Boooo.

Today for example:
  1. Devotions and coffee
  2. Get Annie off to school
  3. Wrap and organize AAF gifts
  4. Pick up Harrison (nephew) in Middlebury (I agreed to watch him)
  5. Go to M*rt*n's to arrange for Christmas Dinner for AAF
  6. Take gifts to National Guard Armory in Elkhart for AAF
  7. Pick up pictures at S**rs in Mishawaka
  8. Get home to get Annie off the bus
  9. Deliver Harrison to his rightful owner
  10. Fix/eat Dinner (I forgot about breakfast and lunch...booo)
  11. Take Annie to Piano lessons in Howe
  12. Shipshewana Spirit soccer practice in Topeka (I'm a coach)
  13. Home
  14. Do some laundry
  15. Get Annie clean and in bed
  16. Do some more laundry
  17. Breathe

I seriously need to ask God to help me prioritize and manage my time! Click on the link below. This section from Bible.org brought a lot of clarity for me.

http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=4401

For now, I must go and face my crazy day.

God bless.


Tuesday, December 16, 2008

RULES: There are 100 statements and you bold the ones you have done. Grab it and play for yourself!!
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept in an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (shameful!)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (we're being honest here...no guys involved and it was a dare)
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (solar)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (yeah, with a tennis racket)
32. Been on a cruise (would like to!)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (Amish friends, neighbors, extended family)
36. Taught yourself a new language (only when I have had to learn an Opera piece in German, Italian or Frech)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (RIGHT NOW)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (newly married, young, broke and it was honestly an accident)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
7Bold0. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten cavier. (since any fish egg is considered caviar, then, yes. I'm a sushi lover)
72. Pieced a quilt (I wish I knew how)
73. Stood in Times Square (it smells kinda funky)
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (I broke my ankle twice playing tennis in high school.)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (maybe someday)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (sorta...my husband bought it a year-and-a-half ago...and I don't like it...AT ALL!)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (couldn't do it unless my child was starving)
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (I had breakfast with Faith Hill when I was Elkhart County Queen in 1996. She was entertainment that year.)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (Adrianna Ellyce 7/14/98)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit (I am currently due to a serious accident last year. Rear ended, broke my back. )
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

39 out of 100! How 'bout you?