A big THANK YOU to Monkeys and my dad especially, but to all the men and women who've served our country and sacrificed for our country. Also to all the active duty members and and spouses and family members. :)

God Bless!
Be safe!

Just wanted to pop on quickly and wish everyone a Happy Halloween!

And Happy Samhain for those who celebrate!!

PS Aliens have invaded our house! Woot!

Wishing all my fellow Americans out there a Happy Independence Day!

Today I have watched almost all of the History Channel's show Revolution. I confess I am stunned and ashamed by how little I knew about the war, but I am even more awed by the cost of the birth of our nation and the brave men who fought/led the soldiers in battle. I would like to watch these series all over again.

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends! And to all fans of Canada. :)

I made some more icons. I wanted one for our 4th of July. I'm so indecisive.





I also made a bunch of icecream icons, but haven't uploaded them yet because I'm still too busy drooling.

Also - how great was So You Think You Can Dance tonight? I love that show, I love the judges, I love the host, I love the performers, and I love the fact it inspires me to dance. Not just to want to dance, but to actually dance.

This morning we woke up to ants crawling around one corner of our kitchen. Probably coming in to look for water considering how dry it has been lately. We're going to call our bug guy about it tomorrow. For now we have been blocking their entrance with wasp spray to slow their entry. Plus, we finally got a bunch of rain, so I'm hoping they will lose interest.

Yesterday Walmart was giving out ice cream and I resisted. (I know, I am not supposed to go shopping on a Sunday, but I needed cleaning supplies for my office for today, and as Walmart is on the way home from church I couldn't resist.) I have to lose at least another three pounds to get back to what I was before the NY trip and give myself a buffer for this weekend's cookout. I LOVE ICE CREAM. We're going to make ice cream and lemonade for the forth.

I HAVE SO MUCH WORK PILED UP. Ack! Today I got my office about 80% set up. I still have to clean my windows, vacuum, and do some dusting. Monkeys is going to help me hang some of my pictures. Also, I still have about four little boxes to unpack, but they are full of decorations and older notes/work items I need to go through to see if they can be burned or destroyed. Basically it's stuff that can go on the back burner while I catch up on the stuff that came in while I was gone. Speaking of that stuff - I made a dent in it today. I think I got about a third of it done, maybe more. But I put off the hardest stuff (the education applications) in favor of the easier stuff (project management and nursing applications and grade changes). It all has to get done, and usually I favor the education applicants, so I'm not feeling guilty about putting them last this time. Looming in the distance is a major BSE letter project, but I'm not even going to think about it until I get through this. I'm more optimistic and less nautious, at least.

Excited about the 4th of July! Excited about getting some work done on the house this weekend (I hope). Excited about becoming a god mother this Sunday!!

Please pray in whatever form you choose and send positive energy and thoughts for my friend, neighbor, and coworker who has had a personal tragedy today. It certainly made me realize that worrying about my office is not how I should spend my time as there are waaaaaaay more important things to worry about.

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!!

If you are a JoCo fan, you know what to do!

Also, happy Friday!

For those who celebrate - Happy Easter!

My parents spent the night since Easter Vigil didn't get out until around 10:30 last night. We had scones for breakfast cuz Monkey's ROCKS and we dyed Easter eggs (beautifully, I might add) then watched almost the entire second season of Mulberry Days, then had ham sandwiches. Perfect. :)

Yesterday was amazing. I don't quite know how to put the last three days into words even. The three masses were each so powerful in their own very different ways. I was at times overawed and even weeped. Many thanks to Toaster for sponsoring me and helping me with joining the Catholic church. When I have pictures and time to organize my thoughts I'll try to write a little bit about it. (I want to for myself, at least. So might as well post it, too.)

I do want to say Toaster sang BEAUTIFULLY and also share some thanks and short stories about how generous some of my friends are -

Charity, one of my friends since 9th grade who also converted to Catholicism a few years ago and also offered to sponsor me but she lives in another city, actually called my parish priest, got the text for the Vigil, and made personalized missals (??) for me and all my fellow RCIA classmates. How amazing is that? Everyone was really touched. One of our RCIA teachers, the church secretary, made bracelets for all the girls in class - I wore mine that night because it perfectly matched the dress I had on. Another of our instructors gave everyone a Miraculous Medal. A third of our instructors gave everyone a Rosary! When she gave me mine she apologized because it wasn't my favorite color (they were out of blue) and said that she was going to be bringing me a shinier one to my office later on but for now she got me a white one for the color of baptism. She added that I could just keep the white one in my car! How sweet is that? Toaster gave me a cross with my middle name on it and a Catholic bible with my whole name on it. Toaster's parents gave me a medal with my confirmation name (St Barbara) and two books on the saints. So incredibly thoughtful of them all.

My parents, Monkeys, my very very very pregnant friend Charity & husband, and of course Toaster/Toaster's parents were able to attend the Vigil. Since my parents and Monkeys aren't Catholic I asked Steve&Charity/Toastents to keep an eye on them and make sure they were comfortable/weren't confused/etc. Apparently Steve took this responsibility very seriously, because Mom commented on how incredibly nice Steve was about explaining everything in the Missal and keeping Dad aware of what lines they were on, etc. My mom, who was always just a bit iffy about my conversion, is now 100% okay. Okay, iffy might not be the best word. She started out not particularly happy about me wanting to change, although she would never have forbidden it or disowned me or anything. Nothing against Catholicism as a religion, just against *me* as a Catholic. I know it's hard for a parent when their child makes a big change like that because it can feel like a rejection, you know? She'd been steadily getting better about it. I think the fact I picked Barbara as my saint (my mom's name is also Barbara) actually helped. The Vigil turned the tide completely though. My mom realized why I liked the Catholic church so much, which oddly enough is why it doesn't suit her. Nothing really about the basic belief system, she just doesn't like pomp and circumstance. In fact, her mother and mother's side of the family were Catholic. Neither of my parents are, however. They just like straight singing and preaching - no bells, no incense, no formal chanting, none of that color symbology stuff or holy water/genuflecting/etc. But it suddenly hit her - her daughter does like that kind of thing. I always have. It's what I like about our college graduation ceremony, it's in the types of fantasy books I've always read. Apparently seeing me up there during my Profession for Those Already Baptized and during my annointing with oil for Confirmation and even in the first time I had Eucharist made it click for both of them. Mom said there was a giant smile on my face (the priest said I was actually beaming) and all seven of them were impressed with how happy I looked. So after the Vigil, I really feel like my parents were proud of me, even if I was leaving their church and preferences, and I know they are actually happy for me. That is the best Easter present of all.

But I also got three packages of Cadbury eggs. :)

Just a quick post to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!!
_{(Whether you celebrate it or not, so there! ;)}

If you are traveling, please be extra safe.

To those who have served and are still serving in our armed services, many thanks and blessings.

We spent the day at my parents house and had a wonderful time. Mom and dad got a new grill for the Forth of July so we made burgers and Wisconsin brats (from our last WI trip) and really good hot dogs from the butchers at Kellys. Originally we were going to do steaks because my parents bought some steak seasoning during their last Tally trip which they were really excited about trying. At the last minute Dad decided he wanted burgers, so we put the steak seasoning in the ground beef instead. Mom and I weren't sure how much to use, so I dumped in a little to knead it then after forming the patties I sprinkled a bunch on top. We were a little concerned I had added too much. Dad came in eating a burger while we were still making side dishes and proclaimed, "this seasoning is too much." Mom and I immediately got concerned and started asking how overseasoned they were, but he meant it in a positive sense so score one for me. :)

Anyway, we made a bunch of salads - one recipe in particular needs to be shared as it was fantastic - and I really enjoyed working with mom in the kitchen. It felt like a very "traditional family" holiday. Monkeys hung out on the porch with Dad and talked to him about ukulele. We could hear him playing occasionally. Now Dad wants a uke, so we're getting him one for his birthday next week.

I was confident I was going to manage a burger, hot dog, AND brat. But, alas, after the burger I was done. It was a great burger, however!!!

We walked around the mall in an effort to work off some of the food. We got ice cream, Mom and I bought a ton of dresses on clearance (woot!), and we bumped into McAmason (I poured Coke down his back).

Oh - I'm wearing Red, White, and Bloo :)

Mom and I swung in the hammock for a bit.

We watched Chicago - and it was fantastic! The editing was amazing, the musical numbers were fantastic, the costumes were gorgeous. None of the characters were particularly likeable, which was weird for me.

But we lost track of time and I didn't get to drop off the disk of pictures for my best friend in high school who was in town for the reunion. Thursday I got to have dinner with two of my best friends from high school and their family. One has a pool, and it was a hoot watching the kids playing in the pool. I had a bunch of pictures from the pool party and a few from the reunion to give to her before they left for home. I was hoping to hear one of her daughters play piano - her kids are all adorable and talented, but her entire family is like that, so I suppose I should expect no less from her kids.

Anyway, other than that it was a perfect day. I didn't do anything particularly patriotic beyond thinking about the soldiers who weren't here to celebrate it, still I do hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day. :)

( barefoot contessa's avacado salad )

Which pumpkin is coolest? (Not saying ANY of them are cool - but of the choices presented -


So far I've made sweet and unsweet tea, the mashed potatoes (I mash them then I bake them so they're like twice baked potatoes - which means they get baked tomorrow) and I made Dad's sugarfree butterscotch pie (like he'll skip the other desserts - ha!). John is right now making a pumpkin cheesecake. And Mom bought a pecan pie and a pumpkin pie. So I'm sure he'll be "good" and remember the diabetes and the heart attack from last July and limit himself to the sugar free/fat free pie.

It does affect your Thanksgiving when your dad has a heart attack in the months proceeding. I'm doing steamed veggies (broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, peppers, zuchini, & squash) and salad as side dishes instead of the creamed spinach and corn cassarole and chicken/dumplings we normally do.

Not being totally healthy, though. I'm making a cornbread pork sausage stuffed apple dish. It's got apples so it is loosely being called "healthy". And I did make mashed potatoes cuz that's a Thanksgiving law - but I used less butter (1/2 butter and some Butter Buds to add flavor) and I used fat free cream cheese. Mom's making sweet potato casserole. I have no excuses for that. It's excessive and yummy. John's making some Alton Brown green bean casserole and God only knows what's in that. I'm not going near it.

Can't wait for tomorrow!! Gots to clean some tonight. This is the first year we have bunches at our house.


Hey! Zander is on Criminal Minds playing a geeky guy. His hair is hideous!! He's so cute :)