Freezing

Yesterday we set a record high for the day at, I believe, 48 degrees. Now they are forecasting 40 below zero for tonight. Nothing like an almost 90 degree swing in temp. to get your attention. I really don't want to go to work tomorrow. I wish I could stay curled up in bed all day.

Thanks for the pics Kelly. So cute. We do have a Johnny Carinos. So good. The other day I got some really good bread and I had a recipe for some bread dip that reminded me of Johnny Carino's:
Freshly ground black pepper, 8-10 twists of the peppermill. Twist over a small plate. Add 1/4 teaspoon Italian Seasoning. Season to taste with salt. Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil over spices to cover center of plate. Gently swirl plate to moisten spices.

I started working on some of my toddler shirts today. I have about 80 shirts. They take a little longer to complete so I don't know when I'll get those online. I'm going to experiment with pricing and put those a little higher and see how they do. I've been reading a lot about other people's experiences on Etsy. It's given me a lot of good ideas.

I'm just blabbing and I finally remembered what I wanted to tell you. First, Laurie- I bought the new Radiohead cd. You were right, it's very good. I should have probably taken it out of my vehicle tonight. Well, it's in the garage so hopefully all my cds are ok. Second, if any of you have AMC you must watch Mad Men. It is so good. It might be my new favorite show. It's about an ad agency in 1960. Everyone smokes all the time (even the doctor during an exam) and the men are all sexist. It's really good though.

Oh, one other thing. I am now helping with hospitality at MOPS. So I am keeping really busy. I'm having a lot of fun though. So far this has been an excellent year.

A flip flops day

Any nice winter I call a flip flops day, which we had today. Last year at MOPS a couple of the out of state moms at my table were amazed at when North Dakotans will wear flip flops, even in the winter. For those of us from ND, we laughed it off and said, that wasn't cold out. So any nice winter day is a flip flops day. It was really nice today though. My car said 45 degrees, but I'm not sure what the actual was. The boys went ice skating with grandpa and grandma. I haven't gotten those pics downloaded yet, but I'll post when I do. Sounds like they had fun.

Nature documentary

Here's a link to the summer documentary I was talking about...
Nature Documentary
There're also other links on the page Grand Valley's film/video department if you're interested/bored, check it out.

New post so I don't have a long comment on Laurie's

I had a lot to comment on Laurie's post so I'll just write another post. You know, I hated the snow for a long time and then we moved to Tenn. Now we don't get enough. Maybe it has to do with having kids too and playing in the snow. We have ice skates for the kids, but it has been way too cold to go out lately. Somewhat related, I bought rollerblades for everyone (and I mean everyone but baby and Fred) the other day. Target was clearancing them out and I couldn't resist. Torii got roller skates because they didn't have little rollerblades, but Fred Rion and I got rollerblades. He hasn't seen them yet, but he'll be excited. I haven't told Fred because he would probably freak. He's kind of over protective. But we have helmets and knee pads and all that crap.

Laurie, that would be really cool if could work it out and do that documentary this summer. And awesome job on getting your documentary shown in the showcase. It is kind of nerve racking to have your work out there for people to judge. Listen to the good and bad criticism and learn from it. You know we're proud of you.

I put some more stuff on my website. I should be getting some onesies tomorrow so I can play all weekend! Or those five minutes I get to myself anyway. But I should be getting to bed. I have to work tomorrow so no playing until 5:00 tomorrow.

Snow, Film, Summer, and More Snow

I have not seen this much since I was little...
I meant to take a picture or two, but that might have to wait until tomorrow. I have been super sick the past few days, and going outside is the last thing I want to do. It has been snowing every day since last friday and it's not supposed to stop until this friday! SO MUCH SNOW! Oh well...
I do know however, that when I look at snow as beautiful, I know I'm a midwest child at heart...

It sounds like this weekend I'm going ice skating with the group that I'll be going on my spring break trip with. Should be fun. It's an outdoor rink in downtown Grand Rapids. I like everyone in my group too, so I'm excited to spend some more time with them.

I found out yesterday that the documentary I did last semester got accepted into the Student Showcase this year! I feel good about that. The show is on the 31st. I'm kind of nervous to have my work shown in front of a large crowd full of my peers and instructors, but I'm sure it will only benefit me. I'm working on getting a documentary together for this semester... I'll keep you updated on how that goes.

I've been thinking about summer all ready. There are a lot of things I want to do this summer... it's kind of overwhelming. I got asked by my film instructor to be a part of his crew for a documentary he's filming this summer. It's a topic I'm highly interested in because it kind of ties into my Anthro. studies, but I just don't know if I'll be able to do it. I would get college credit for doing it too. I think it would be an amazing experience... something to think about, I guess.
I also have to do my Anthro. senior internship/field school this summer, so there are a lot of important choices to be made this summer. Oh yeah.... and working....will I have time for a job? Amazing experiences or classrooms and customer service? ha.

So yeah, I will try to take some photos of our snow, and if I go ice skating. I'll post some pictures soon :)
Hope everyone is doing well. I will call soon :)

Torii and Cordelia

I was going to take a picture of Cordelia in a pirate hat, but Torii wanted in the pic. I took a few, but this was by far the best. He's such a good big brother. Fred Rion is too, I just don't have photographic evidence of it yet.

Getting there

I'm working on setting up my store on Etsy. My store will be located at http://applecreek.etsy.com You can take a look, but I haven't posted anything to sell yet. That might take a few days. I want to get my page set up first and looking good before I start selling. I got sidetracked on it because you can pinpoint your location and they have the satellite view. I found our house, but it wasn't recent. The grass was green, no snow, but my vehicle was parked right were I usually park it. I found mom and dad's house and you can see the walkway to the cabin. Pretty neat, but kind of scary too. Anyway, you can check out my site, but it might be a little bit before I get anything on there to sell. I also ordered about 90 onesies yesterday too so I'll be busy. But I'm having fun!

It's official

Today I received a cool document that states that I am officially the owner of Apple Creek Designs. There's nothing really exciting about the document, but I'm pretty proud of it. I kind of thought this would be one of those things that I talked about doing, but never actually did. I never thought it would get this far, but here I am. I actually have my own business. I still have a lot of work to do, but I can't wait. Do what you love, and this is it for me. My job at the park pays the bills for now, but this business of my own is what I really like to do. I hope it works out and I make some money from it.

Brrrrrr

This picture was taken a week or two ago when it was really nice out. This week it has gotten really cold. We are expected to have highs in the single digits. We might get a few inches of snow tomorrow. I hope it starts to come down while we are at MOPS so I have an excuse not to go to work. I've worked 1 1/2 days so far and I'm sick of it. I just want to stay home with my babies.

A few days ago I fell while taking out the garbage. I didn't notice the ice on the back porch and as soon as my foot hit the ground I fell. My leg that was still in the house came down and hit the tracking on the sliding door. I got a bump and black and blue mark almost instantly. It's still black and blue. Then my neck started to hurt so I think I got a little whiplash. That's getting better, but it's still hurts slightly. I also got a black and blue mark on my upper thigh, not sure how I hit that. It was a pretty nasty fall. I've been making Fred feel guilty about it. Since one of the last things I thought before I fell was, "Why do I always have to take this sticking garbage out."

Other than that, not much happening. I'm back at work, but only about 20 hours a week. I like this time of year because it's quiet. I've also got my camera with because the wildlife is out more this time of year there. I hope I can get some good pics. Not too long ago we had an owl in our backyard. I tried to get a pic, but he flew off. At least the boys got to see it, and they saw it fly off.

Fur ball fun.

Brian just finished a long process of setting up wireless internet himself , and being the $$'s are getting shorter until he gets paid, he just asked Gingham if he can barter her off for beer. Poor kitty. Gee, who's the favorite?

Brian is checking Victoria for Radiation with his Geiger Counter from work. (maybe he should be checking the litter box?)

"Where's my plate?"

"What? I like this spot. I'm not moving."

Is it summer yet?

Sleepy Head

This is why I always carry a camera. After I signed Fred Rion up for kindergarten, we stopped by Walmart. He sat in the cart, which he never does because usually I have Cordelia with. He started sucking his thumb and the next thing I knew he was asleep. I should have taken a picture of him before checking out. I had to get groceries and I had to pile stuff on top of his legs. He didn't wake up until I paid for everything but he did move around some. He used a pack of diapers for a pillow.

Let it snow, Let it snow, and snow, and snow........

Has anyone seen the new show on ABC, Cashmere Mafia? It's pretty funny.
Tonight I am waiting for Mr. Vegas to get home. His plane lands in Idaho falls around 10:30pm. So, right now, I'm sipping some red wine, eating cheese & crackers, and watching cashmere mafia. The show kindof reminds me of Sex in the City but most of the women are already married and already have kids. These kindof shows, Brian likes to make fun of.
Not much else going on. About 15 minutes ago, the Mormans found us. I got a knock on the door and I was polite to them. I really disagree with how they have young adults go door to door to talk about thier religon but, that's how they live and I kept my cool. I have my comments about other religons or beliefs but I'm not about to yell at someone about their own beliefs. They were abviously very nice and welcomed us to the area and wished us well. They were not at all pushy. They asked if they could come back to talk to us again, and I said no. Well, not much else going on. The snow keeps on coming. Talk to you later.

Oven Drunken Chicken

I made this last night and it turned out really good. The BBQ sauce was good, but I think next time I am going to save some time and just use some Famous Daves sauce on it.
Ingredients
1 (3 3/4-pound) whole roasting chicken
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons chili sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (12-ounce) can beer
3 tablespoons barbecue smoked seasoning (such as Hickory Liquid Smoke)
PreparationPreheat oven to 375°.
Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken; trim excess fat. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breasts and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat.
Combine ketchup and next 7 ingredients (through garlic) in a bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup ketchup mixture; rub remaining ketchup mixture under loosened skin and over breasts and drumsticks. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under chicken.
Discard 1/2 cup beer. Add barbecue smoked seasoning to can. Holding chicken upright with the body cavity facing down, insert beer can into cavity. Place the chicken in a roasting pan, and spread legs out to form a tripod to support the chicken. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes.
Increase oven temperature to 450°, and bake an additional 30 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the meaty part of thigh registers 170°. Lift chicken slightly using tongs; place spatula under can. Carefully lift chicken and can; place on a cutting board. Let stand 15 minutes. Gently lift chicken using tongs or insulated rubber gloves; carefully twist can and remove from cavity.
Remove skin from chicken; discard. Carve chicken, and serve with reserved 1/4 cup sauce.

Getting so big

Today I signed Fred Rion up for kindergarten. He went with so he could see the school. On the way there he kept asking where the bathroom was so I guess he was concerned about that. They had the signup later in the day and we were there when school let out. As we were leaving we walked by a line of kids, it had to be this year's kindergarteners, and Fred Rion was taller than all but a few. When we left Fred Rion was mad that he didn't get to stay. When we got home he told daddy that I wouldn't let him stay at school. They have four days set aside this spring where I can bring him to sit in with the this year's kindergarten class. I will take advantage of that for sure. Then there is a parent's night in May too.

In other news, Cordelia is a thumbsucker. She has been trying to find her thumb for awhile and she finally has. She took a nap today and was kind of waking up, then she found her thumb and that soothed her back to sleep. I can hear her in there now sucking away.

Turn off the red eye reduction mommy!

Not much new going on here. Stacy- I loved your idea of making a recipe binder. I am now creating my own. I'm sooo addicted. It's alot of fun and I have so many ideas for it. It's going to be really neat. I have sheets for my Cooking light recipe pages and photo sheets for my recipe cards. And more, and more. At least I found something to do on my time off so my mind won't go crazy.
I finally heard from the Hilton. They are once again pushing the date back to start training or any shifts to start. He said he can't get me started until Jan. 25th. Grrrr. I wish it could be sooner. I don't know if we can wait that long. I need to start work sooner than later. I had an interview at the Ameri-tel Inn and Suites. Sounds very promising. I expect to get a job at least by the end of this friday. If I don't get the job at the Ameri-tel for some reason then I will tell the Hilton that I will accept the job and wait until Jan. 25th. Bah.
Brian will be back from Vegas this Friday. He's having a goodtime and his workshop classes are for about 8 hours a day it seems. Last night he was walking the Vegas strip with some guys. He had a goodtime. I think he needs it right now before classes start again. He found out that one class that would be required this semester is not going to be fun. I guess the professor is not the greatest guy. Brian doesn't sound to thrilled about it. Poor guy.
Today we had a snow storm come through. I was going to shovel earlier today but there was nor point to shovel because it was coming through so hard. About 5pm tonight it finally quit snowing and I was shoveling about 6inches of snow off of the driveway. More snow is to be expected in our area. I think a few more inches are expected. I was able to visit with our nice neighbor for a bit also. She kept telling me to stop over if I need anything while brian is gone. She is so sweet. So welcoming.
Oh, and Brian, if you are reading this while you are gone guess what?
I found the remote!
That's about it from the Spuds.

Love, Kelly

Hi

I made these shirts for both boys. I really like them, but the song was in my head all day. I mean, how can you not start singing it when you see the lyrics?

So I've started playing with designs and shirts and want to start selling some soon. I just picked up about 80 shirts that were clearanced at Walmart. I hit up both stores. There's some more I'd like if they mark them down too. I'm going to send in my business name registration this week and then get set up with selling them online. I will keep you posted and send a link when I get that done.

On Wednesday I'm going to go back to work. Only part time though. I haven't told them yet that I don't want to do full time so I don't know how they'll take it. I think I might only do a half day on Wed.

On Thursday I get to sign Fred Rion up for kindergarten. Can you believe that? He is getting so big.

Tomorrow we are going to McDonalds with Auntie Vicki. The boys wanted to go to her donut shop today so I'm glad she called.

Back to School

Hey everyone. So I finally have some time (and suitable internet) to blog again :P I started classes today. My schedule seems like it is a good one. i am taking 14 credits this semester, which isn't a lot, but I needed a break from the 18 credits last semester. All of my classes are 300 level classes except one. It's a little intimadating, but it gets me excited to know that the end is near, and I am now taking more classes that pertain to my major rather than all the generals. If I am right, I should be taking my last general this semester, which is a geology course called Earth History. Shouldn't be too bad. I get to go on a field trip, so that's kind of cool. I also have my Documentary course this semester. Pretty excited, but nervous at the same time.
Tomorrow I am going to look for a second job. I have a few places in mind, so I'll keep you posted as to what I'll be doing. I would like to get somethign realtivly close to where I live, but there really isn't anything around here. We'll see, I guess.
The drive home went fine. I had a pretty new windshield to look through and my windshield wipers didn't fall apart on me, so I think the trip was pretty successful! Gas prices went up, but what else is new? One thing I like about going to school, is that I rarely drive.
I have a few pictures of christmas. I had to take a picture of dad helping out with supper :P I took it with my phone, so I hope you all can see it clearly! :p
Not too much else going on... I have some reading to do, so I better dig into my books. I will talk to you all soon :)

Torii and Cordelia

Happy New Year Everybody!!!!!!!

I wanted to put some of my favorite pics on the blog from our Christmas vacation. We had so much fun visiting with everyone and of course all of the wonderful food! Well, we are partly moved in and we are enjoying our house. The cats right now are enjoying the house also, especially the stairs! Brian gave them some tuna and I don't know what was in the tuna but, they are going crazy! Victoria and Gingham are chaseing each other up and down the stairs for about 30 minutes now and they are still going at it. I was laughing so hard when Victoria was chaseing gingham from the kitchen to the stairs. Victoria kept running in place on the hard kitchen floor, she wasn't going anywhere! I told Victoria "more paw and less claw!" Crazy cats.

Right now I am useing temorary internet in the meantime, so I won't beable to check my mail or the blog often. :-( Just until we get t he house set up for internet. Today Brian started work and he's full of grins. He looks so excited. I tried to call the manager at the Hilton today to ask about my position and I haven't heard anything yet. I am a little worried but I know he is very busy and I could only imagine what he has to do yet. I'm sure I will hear something soon though. At Brian's work, a lady named Kristi is giving me some places of where to apply. She knows some "people" or contacts and has given me some tips. So if all else fails at the Hilton, it seems there's plenty of places to get a job in the hospitality area.

Tonight Brian and I are going to play trivia at the Shilo Inn lounge. I think it's like the trivia people can play at Friday's, something similiar to that. I guess some INL people will be there and I think it would be fun to meet some of them.

Oh, Yesturday we got our washer and dryer and we love it. It feels so nice to un-pack or clean while my laundry is getting done in the same spot. So nice.

Love, Kelly

p.s-- this post may show it posted on January 1st, (so if you checked it just recently, you're not loosing your mind.) I saved this as a draft because i was loosing the internet (we were sort of takeing some internet feed from our neighbor). he he he. Anyway, I finished it now and it's actually posted on Wed. Jan 2nd.