It's Time.........

Yes, my friends from blog world, I think it is time I remove ALL of my holiday decor with the words.......LET IT SNOW on it. Too bad the garbage man was already here, or I would have sent it with him. We are in for yet, another winter snow warning, so far, as of 8:30 AM, we've had 6 more inches of snow, and have more to come.

When they say.........the weather outside is frightful around here, we really do mean it!! Will post pics tomorrow, as I am hoping to make it to work sometime today.

Good Day everyone!!

Memories of Christmas 2008

The following are pics from the past few days. We had a great Christmas, ending it today with a Christmas celebration with my family. Our whole family was there, so my mother had a house full. The weather here has warmed up some, however the white stuff keeps finding itself back here!!! I finally had a tractor come and clean out my driveway/yard today, (driving into my driveway was like driving in a tunnel....) and now it's snowing again. I don't think we are expecting much.

Alex with his camera I gave him.....

Arthur watching Alex shovel snow......a daily event at our house. Arthur is wearing the FB jersey that Alex gave him for Christmas, he loves it!! Go Cardinals!! (they are in the FB playoffs)

More gifts..............

Arthur waiting to open gifts on Christmas Eve.

Alex and Arthur before opening gifts...........check out that smile. Funny how when I need a picture for Christmas cards, I can never get a decent one.

I hope you all had a very nice Christmas. Alex and I found time on Christmas day to go to Marley and Me. If you want a fun night out, take your kids to this, it's a must see. I think we will be making "going to the movies" a Christmas tradition in our family.

Well, I am back to work tomorrow. We have been pretty slow at work, so been slacking off some. Hopefully it picks up so we can get our hours in this week.

Have a great week!!

The Stockings ARE Hung........

Merry Christmas from Our Home

to Yours!!!!

Love,

Rita, Alex and Arthur

2008

In Need of Some HELP!!!

Ok, I hate to sound like a broken record, but you guys seriously have to start sending us some WARM weather!!! Ask Santa, pray, send me a one way ticket to WARM, do whatever it takes!!! This morning the temp was -30, that does not include the wind chill. I will save you from that misery. And to top that all off, I just let me little Arthur out and all of our footprints were covered in MORE snow!!! My drive way, is snow compacted, we get out and shovel the drifts, however, its too damn cold to stay out and get rid of it all. ugh. I hate winter. I do love new white fluffy snow, but am tired of the pretty stuff. You can all have it for your white Christmas that you are dreaming of.

I have opted to take tomorrow off from work. We are kind of slow this week, and many want Christmas Eve off, so I will stay home tomorrow and finish shopping, and will work on Christmas Eve til 230. No big deal......that's why I actually moved closer to home, so I did not have to travel for the holidays. It's sure been nice, especially with all the crappy weather we've had. So, Alex and I are off to finish shopping in the early AM. Hope it's a quick trip, but I'm afraid it will not be.

Hope you all enjoy the next couple of days, will update before Christmas!!

Rita

The Good News is....

Well, the good news is it is warming up. We are up to minus 10 right now. However, the bad news is that it is going to get colder!! Now, some of you I am sure are wondering....can it get any colder?? Oh yes, it can!!! (we just hope it does not!) and of course, we also have more snow in the forecast. ugh. We will definately be having a white Christmas.....no dreaming of it here, as it has become a nightmare!!

One of my favorite stories that I used to read to Alex is The Christmas Story. Well, Alex really does not enjoy sitting with me and listening to me read anymore, but guess who does.........

Yes, my little Arthur loves being read too. Excuse my hair, I wear a hat all day at work, so not very attractive when I get home.....

and look what else he loves to do.........invade the Christmas tree!! What I don't understand is, he only bothers the tree when we are right there watching him. He has all day long to destroy the thing, but he just sleeps.

Unfortunately, if he's looking for gifts for himself, he will be sadly disappointed. Have not done any Arthur shopping yet.

I am off today, and have gotten a few Christmas things done. I need to get my house cleaned and then focus on the holidays the rest of the weekend. We have some more shopping to do and would like to do more baking, but that's not a high priority right now.

I will leave you with one of the pics on our Christmas card.....

Doesn't Alex look happy?? Christmas pics gets more fun every year!!!

Hope you all have a great rest of the week. Please keep Miss Kayleigh in your prayers, her prognosis is not good, they got a little glimmer of hope today, but still is not good.

The Frozen Tundra.......

I thought I would stop by and let you know we survived the horrible blizzard that was forecasted. It was not as bad as they expected in our area, however the temps have dipped down to MINUS 23!!! Last week, we had melting snow, now we are freezing!! Along with all of this, come the furnaces that quit working, the water that freezes up, cars that don't start, etc. We have been fortunate to not have any of these, so far.

This was my poor wreath yesterday morning.

Here's little Art ready to go have his pic taken with SANTA, however, we did not make it...my mother called and said there was about 65 kids in line when we were leaving to go up there.

Arthur wishes you ALL a great week. Stay warm, and if you can, send some warm air up this way. We need it, real bad.

Rita, Alex & Arthur

Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful......

Yes, my dear blogger friends, we are in for a HUGE blizzard this weekend, again!! The forecast does not sound good. I have many things planned for the next couple of days, so will be kept busy. Stocked up on some baking items, so will probably do a little baking. Please pray that the forecast is very wrong.....we do not need anymore snow!!!

I will leave you with a few past Christmas pics...........

Have a great weekend!!

Rita, Alex and Art

What a Joyous Day....

Today I left work with an aweful migraine, however needed to fill up with gas before driving 22 miles to get home. The pain of getting out of my car in the nasty ND wind was unbearable. However, the price of gas made it worth it...........yes, my friends, I paid $22 to fill my almost empty gas tank!!! $1.64 a gallon!! Can you believe it?? Kind of makes me want to buy a huge gas tank and keep it for future use, as I know it will not be that cheap for long.

I got home from work, got my ice pack for my neck, took my headache regimen, 4 Motrin, 2 Excedrin for Migraine with a little diet coke, put the Gilmore Girls in the DVD player, and fell asleep. I was out....I think my friend Randy may have called, I remember it some. It's been a long week with call Monday, working all night, my sleep schedule is jacked up some.

I am feeling pretty good right now. Hopefully, the worst is over, I hate feeling like that. I will close with a few pics from around the house.

I am hoping to take some pics of my boys this weekend, so I can create a Christmas card. Alex gets his hair cut tomorrow, so will go from there.

Hope you all have a great Friday.

Rita

A Little About ME

Beth from Outnumbered, Three-to-One tagged me!!! Please read, and pass on to others.

CHRISTMAS MEME
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? they are wrapped.
3. Colored light on house/tree or white? Clear lights inside and out.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope...
5. When do you put your decorations up? The weekend before Thanksgiving is when I START. I usually arrange and rearrange decorations throughout the Christmas season.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? My Christmas Salad, recipe to follow, later.
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Wow, so many here. Snowmobiling, sledding, Christmas with my Mom/Dad's family, decorating the tree, etc.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Can't remember when, however I am the youngest of FIVE, so that's where the truth came out.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, Alex and I usually open gifts after dinner on Christmas Eve.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Clear lights, family ornaments...a little bit of everything! It's a very happy-looking tree.
11. Snow. Love it or dread it? love the fresh snow, hate the dirty snow, which we have alot of!
12. Can you ice skate? YES!!
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? yep, Baby Alive....however, when cleaning up the Christmas wrap, her food was thrown away, so kind of defeated the purpose.
14. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? It's all about Jesus! Having the opportunity to show God's love by giving to others.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? homemade oreo cookies.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Baking and delivering cookies to special people in my life.
17. What tops your Christmas tree? A white star
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? GIVING
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Let there be Peace on Earth, oh Holy night....
21. What do you want for Christmas? LCD TV
22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party? work party after Christmas
23. Do you dress up for Christmas Eve or wear PJ's? We dress up for church, then Christmas jammies the rest of the night.
24. Do you own a Santa hat? Yes
25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with? My family. However, what we do changes by the year. This year we are going to a movie on Christmas Day.

Now, I'm supposed to tag five others. I always cheat on this part, though. I am inviting everyone to participate. :o) Have fun!

More Holiday Cheer

A few more pics from around the house.........

My Grandfather made this for me. This is one of the most memorable ornaments he made for me.....maybe it's because he spelt my name wrong?? I love sleds/sleighs, so many memories of my childhood.

My father made both the reindeer and sleigh that you see here. And Farmchick made the candle that you see there, as well. I added the greenery.....looks ok, I think??

I found this sled last summer at a garage sale. Alex bought me the kissing bears a few years ago. Little Arthur likes to attack those Bears any chance he gets!!

I found the JOY words at the Big One craft show last year. Looks great on my Cathedral shelf, I'm thinking.......

Well, Santa is in town right now, so I better get Arthur up there for a quick picture with Jolly Old Saint Nick, I hope I make it in time.

Have a great weekend.

Rita

A Little Holiday Cheer

As promised, a few pics from around our home.........the halls are decked, and I am ready to face the holidays.....which means, shopping, very little baking, and wrapping gifts. I am out of my bad week mode, and ready to spread some holiday cheer!!

Yes, we still have snow. I had to dig this sign out to add the Holiday greenery.

This is one of my favorite ornaments, had it for years, and is proudly displayed at the top of the tree. (near the star)


Our living room tree. This is where you will find the gifts, provided I have purchased some. There is one under the tree, and plans for more to come, real soon.

A couple of pencil trees that I started decorating last year. The large one I keep decorated year round, with the appropriate holiday theme.

This tree is in my dining room, and is my WORD tree. Over the last couple of years, I have purchased various holiday theme words, the following pic is a close up of a few of the words.

More words..........enjoy!!


That's all for now, I will post more later. Enjoy the rest of the day!!

Happy Holidays!!

Another Day........

Well, well, here I am. It's been well over a week since I have posted. It's been crazy around here, and frankly it has not been a good week. However, I am off tomorrow, so things are looking up. Early last week (prior to T-day) I was sick with a stomach bug, that went away, felt great on Wed and Thursday. (I was at work for the holiday) While at work, we were just getting prepared for our next case, when I was burnt by one of our autoclaves. (sterilizes the instruments) I was actually a patient in our ER on Black Friday.....I had to wait to be seen, as they had a patient in there that was having an asthma attack from her Black Friday shopping, and another that hurt her arm shopping at a local dept store. It is by far a small burn, and after a week, the pain has subsided some, it still looks bad. I have not been able to scrub into any cases all week, and have been just helping out where help is needed, which after 3 days, gets very long and boring. My mind needs much more stimulation then cleaning, stocking, paperwork, etc. ugh. Oh and to top this all off, I have a little bit of a cold, that I think I caught before it got real bad, AND......as I was driving to work today, was stopped by a highway patrol. Apparently, he thought I was driving too fast. ugh. Well, he made the mistake of asking if everything was OK....(BIG mistake) so, I unloaded on the poor guy, about my weeks happenings, my burn, etc. I am pretty sure he won't be pulling me over anytime soon. (much less his colleagues) I drove away with a warning. (smile)
I have finally finished the Christmas decorating. I will be posting some pics tomorrow. I have not really made a dent in my Christmas shopping, I attempted on Black Friday afternoon, however, a crabby Rita and a ton a people don't do well together. So, I called it a day, came home and started watching the Gilmore Girls, Season 4. I am now onto Season 5. It's been cold here, so it's nice to stay home where it's warm.
On Saturday, I will be having another birthday. We will be going into town for my free dinner at Up the Creek, and then I am not sure what I have planned. I don't get to crazy on my b-day, so an evening at home would be great.
I am off to start my day off cleaning, so I have less to do tomorrow!!
Have a great evening, will be by with pics tomorrow.

Having a better day,
Rita

Thanksgiving Week 2008

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I thought it would be appropriate to post about what I am thankful for.

I am Thankful for......

My son.....Lord only knows where and what I would be doing without him. He's the light of my life, even though at times that light is not so bright, he's my everything!!!

My parents.....oh my, where do I start?? They have always been there for me and my son. When I need a vacuum that works real well, my Mom brings me hers. When I need a little celery for some soup, shes right there, celery in hand. They always seem to have what I need, even $$, sometimes. (that has not happened in many years.......) They have always been around to help me with Alex, and now that Alex is a big boy, he helps them!

My friends.....not sure where to start here. Over the years I have met so many people, some that still remain friends, that I keep in touch with and some that are just friends whom I will never forget. Today, I must say that I am VERY Thankful for Tania (farmchick to you bloggers out there) and my friend Michelle. Not sure what I would do without either of the two. They both are handy to have around. (did I just say, handy??) I have known Tania for years, met as a family friend. (she was my sisters BFF) Michelle, I met during my employment at Herbergers Dept Store. We both have boys around the same age, and both loved Happy Joes Pizza at the time we worked together, so I think thats what brought us together. We still enjoy lunch/shopping together when time permits.

My little Arthur.....hmmmm, he has brought so much joy to our lives, as well, as a little frustration. He's my little buddy that will whine every night at 10 pm, if I am not in bed. (he is ready for bed by then, if not earlier) He will pull the covers down just enough to crawl underneath all the blankets. So precious.

My co workers......I so enjoy my job, most days. However, if it wasn't for some of the staff that I work with it would not be as enjoyable. We have a fun group of employees, and come Monday, I am almost excited to see them!!

Days OFF.......I love my days off. I could so be a stay at home Mom. If I would someday win the lottery, that's what I will do.

My Health.....I am very thankful for my health!! I have had a few issues this year, but nothing I couldn't handle. Heck, I don't think I even had a flow blown cold this past year.

My BLOGGER Friends.....you guys are the BEST!! Anyone that I can get to read my blog, is by far AWESOME!! Yes, I know I am not very timely with posts, but that only means I have been busy, and that is good. I also enjoy reading about all of you and your families.

Mostly I am thankful for a happy life. I know that I don't have a perfect life, however, I do have a good job, a roof over my head, a fabulous son who works hard in school, a car that gets me to work and back, what more could I ask for???? (someone to wash my car would be good, but I'm ok with that....)

I hope you all have a Wonderful Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I am on call this year, so I will be staying at the hospital, dining at the cafeteria, having a great time, I'm sure.

Very Thankful,

Rita, Alex and Arthur

Prayer Request!!!

Once again, little Miss Kayleigh is in desperate need of prayers. She was due to go home this weekend after 5 months in the NICU, and now has suffered yet another setback. Her parents are heartbroken. http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

Alex and I went to town last evening, out to supper and to the mall for a bit. It's really beginning to look like Christmas in the mall. All the vendors that line the center of the mall, the decorations, holiday items, and my most favorite item of the season...........

I allow myself one box the beginning of the season, and then one closer to the Christmas. Alex obviously likes them this year, as well.

And we couldn't forget our little Arthur.......he asked for the shirt, and he got it!! It was in the $2.50 section at Target. He went to bed with it on last night, but it was off this morning.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend. I am off to the Pride of Dakota Show. It's all crafty, food, wine, products made in North Dakota. It's really neat.

Still Here......

This is one of my purchases from the Big Craft Show I went to. Thought it was pretty cute. Of course, I gave it as a gift.

Just wanted to write and let you all know, we made it through the snow storm. I made it to work Saturday, finally. It was a rough weekend. I was on call for 48 hours and worked 37 of them. I'm still trying to get back to normal, I've given up on catching up on the sleep that I missed. Good news, we have another storm this week forecasted. Hooray!!

My Uncle from Clifton, Virginia is here this week. He flew in on Friday in the storm. Thank goodness we found a way to get him to my parents house. (it took a farmer and his payloader to make a path for him to get through town.) We have numerous snow banks all over town, it's crazy. The roads are horrible, I hate it.

That's all I have tonight. I have to get to bed, it's an early day tomorrow.

Enjoy the rest of the week!!

Rita

Another Blustery Day

Today, we have no school, no travel advised, roads actually closed, it's just bad!!! I would love to get out and actually take a photo of ALL the snow, however, there is no way out, so we have to just take pics from the door, and this is what I have today.

The snow up against my front window, nice, huh??

This is what I found when I opened my garage door this morning....you can almost see my chair.

I think I am way beyond shoveling the snow myself. and its way beyond a snowblower, we need big stuff, hope I am able to find it today.

My Poor Chair

Yep, that's my chair. It's still holding strong as the snow continues to pile on it. The snow that you see on the side of the house, is what the entire house looks like. The snow is so heavy, sticks to everything.
Tomorrow, my son and I will go out and try to make a path so I can get to work. Thank good- ness I don't work until 1230 pm. So far, no school cancellations. However, Alex will be staying home until the path is clear. There is no way I can do this myself.
Have yourselves a great day.

Snowbound,
Rita

Let is Snow Somewhere Else, please

Enjoy my new photos, please check the earlier post to see morning and afternoon photos. The snow just won't stop today. I think we have enough now. Shoveled 7 inches this morning, now we're measuring in feet. ugh. It has not snowed like this in a few years, and I really have not missed it.

Have a great rest of the day.

Let is snow somewhere else,

Rita

Let it Snow, Let it Snow........

This is what we woke up to this morning.........

My chair that was recently the home of one of my plants.......

Our back yard......which is the catch all for alot of snow.

I just got in from shoveling the driveway and porch in the back yard. So far, we had about 6-8 inches, with alot of drifting. The bad news.......it's still snowing, and blowing. ugh. Now with my son having a job and all, I am the only snow shoveler in the house. (this may require finding a boyfriend.) Or better yet, perhaps I need to find someone with a snow blower, that I can pay to clean my driveway.

Hope you all enjoy the rest of the week!!

Rita

Surprise!!

I thought I would surprise you all and actually do some blogging......I'm not going to make excuses, as I have many. I am just going to say, I've been busy, been out of town and completely exhausted lately!! ( I actually posted last week, but blogger said I had an error and I had no time to mess around with it.)

Alex's Confirmation went well. His party was good, too much food, of course. Below are some pics of the big day. When we got home from the church, everyone was crowded in the kitchen, so I hurried up and fed everyone, and then forgot to take pictures!!! I was so rushed, so I'm a little upset that I did not get many pics. I did get one of Alex and the cake, so thats good.

Halloween was fun...........there was a Huge Craft Show, so attended that, and got home in plenty of time for trick or treating. Alex had to work, so it was Arthur and I answering the door. (arthur is not fond of the door bell, so went crazy everytime someone came to the door, ugh)

On Saturday, Alex, my parents and I drove to Grand Forks (about 4 hours from here.) to attend my nephews Confirmation. The weather was awesome, (in the 60's....this is North Dakota!!) would have been a great day to stay home and put up Christmas lights. I'm hoping we will have a few more nice days to come. Alex and I did a little shopping in Grand Forks, I bought some ear buds for my Ipod that my fabulous friend Michelle gave me. (she won one) Yes, I am now hip and very cool with an Ipod.

Can't think of much else to report. Please keep little Kayleigh in your prayers as she has her heart surgery tomorrow morning. Poor little thing has been through so much.

Enjoy the pics!!

Some past Halloween Photos
Mr. Potato Head

Dr. Alex

Confirmation Photos............

Have a great week every one !!

Rita

Urgent Prayers Needed

I have been following Kayleighs blogsite since she was born, and she needs prayers now more then ever............please pray for this little one, as her parents were hoping they would be able to bring her home next week. http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/

A Little Spare Time is What I Like

Hey there blogger friends!! Yep, another post, can you believe it?? Actually, this is my 100th post, and I was going to plan something big and exciting, but have not done so yet. I did want to write and tell you that I had a little extra FREE time today where I had nothing planned, so this is what I did............

Took a little fabric that looked like this........used a lil iron on heat bond, and......


GOT THIS!!! A table runner!!

I've been looking around for a table runner, and found none that I liked. Everything was a little too foofoo for me, or were covered with turkeys, and I like things simple. So, after working all night on call, I slept a little this morning, woke up and created this little piece. Took all of 30 minutes. I may even have to make one for the Christmas Holiday!!!

My sons party is coming together. I have found some recipes that I am going to try of things that I was going to purchase. (Thanks for the advice Farmchick) So, we'll see how that all goes.

Hope you all have a great rest of the week.

Enjoying MY day,

Rita