My single post in December

Well, I certainly have had an interesting December.  Ofcourse the beginning of the month was filled with family, friends and fun.  So we'll start with the good times.  My big brothers birthday was at the beginning of the month and my sister in laws birthday was in the middle of the month!  SO I planned a very nice triple birthday/holiday feast (3rd birthday goes to my nephew, christmas eve baby that he is).
So on the 10th we had prime rib with a bacon blue cheese sauce, garlic roasted fingerling potatoes, garlic and herb sauteed green beans, cheesy garlic biscuits, with pumpkin pie martini's to drink and a strawberry cheesecake for dessert....delicious, no better way to spend a holiday weekend with the family, love them so much!  Then the following weekend we had our friends over and had a yummy ham, with the potatoes, green beans and biscuits again (they were just that good) along with more pumpkin pie martinis and a homemade new york cheesecake with cherry topping!! OMG! Amanda and I had a blast in the kitchen before and after, lol, bye bye shot glass!! ("you had to be there")
For now thats my update, I've gotta run and make lunch before we head to the in-lws, when I get back I'll post again about the latter part of the month!

Feelings...Nothing more than Feelings...

SO currently I am in a dilemma (wasn't sure how to spell "quandarie" correctly). If you've been reading the posts you are aware of the "neighborhood" events that have been taking place, all of which seem to center around my front door beginning in October.  Well this morning the routine was the norm, make coffee, get kids ready for school, feed kids breakfast, go over kids homework.  Sierra and Ivan's job in the morning is to open/close the driveway gate.  Ivan likes to run over and stand near the mailbox and do the hand signals to guide me into the correct "loading" spot.  Well I glance at the front door and see something on my doormat while Sierra is "loading" into the truck.  So I ask Ivan to run over and tell me what's on the mat.  It's one side of a pair of scissors, so one handle with blade attached so that it resembles a knife.  My thought is why on earth is it on my doormat, the only answer I could come up with given the recent activity was that someone has now escalated into throwing sharp objects at my front door.
So I take a picture and text the husband about hey "Look what was on our doorstep this morning".  We decided to call the police and file a report, since it could be considered a threat, so the incident has been documented.  When he came home we talked about it momentarily, a couple of wireless cameras angled in certain positions, building a halfway to try and keep people away from the front door and stop them from cutting across our front yard, and the final one he threw out at me was the if it gets worse we can rent someplace else and see if we could rent our place out.
Now I'm generally a fairly stubborn person, my feelings are somewhat muddled about this prospect however.  On the one hand I'm thinking if it gets worse and the perpetrator isn't caught and we end up leaving the neighborhood, I don't want the person harrassing us to feel as though they've won, which is surely how that outcome would make them feel.  Plus I hate the thought of someone literally forcing me into doing something.  Yes, we never planned on staying here, this is not our forever home, but it's our home dammit and it has been for the last 8 years, we'll move when the market is back up and we can get a decent amount for our house, and when we damn well feel like moving.  A part of me is saying bring it on punk, because I won't be pushed around/threatened or frightened into doing anything.  Then the other part is saying swallow your pride and put a cap in your stubborness because ultimately we're talking about the safety and well being of my kids.  They're kids they don't need to be afaid because someone is hitting the front door and scaring them into running back to me at night.

Lifes challenges are sometimes very clear and typically I listen to what the universe tries to tell me.  On this, though I know the answer above all else is the safety and happiness of my kids, I find it very hard to swallow.  SO I'm hoping that things will quiet down and not escalate farther.

Noses Blow

Yes thats correct noses blow!  At least that is what mine has been doing for the last 4 days, in which I've been sleeping sitting up so that I can breathe.  Yesterday I started to feel better and only had to clear out my stuffiness 3-4 times.  It is now only 1:12pm and I have gone through 5 tissues...I'd like to say that it sucks but it really just BLOWS - pun intended.

I know I said that I would post a pic of the roller derby cake but alas my cell phone has suddenly decided that the flash on it's camera is going to create the most insane pictures ever.  Therefor we are waiting to recieve a disc with pictures from the party, when this will be is anyone's guess.

I have, yet again over spent on Christmas gifts and my list is still not completely taken care of.  I VOW not to partake in the Black Friday Madness no matter how hard my BF begs me to go with her.  This should provide a small break to my bank account but more so to the already obscene $$$ owed to various credit lenders, lol.

Can anyone else believe that Thanksgiving is next week?  It seems to me this year has flown by rather quickly and we've only got a short dash till we get to the new year.  I'm guessing that means I didn't really take the time to stop and smell the roses in 2011.  I'm wondering if I should change my repetitive new years resolution to "STOP" instead of just "Be Happy".

Well, thats about it, hopefully when I start feeling more like myself I will actually post something worth posting. 

TTYL

Yet Again

Well, lets just start at the beginning shall we.  About a month ago we started having "issues" with the neighborhood again.  Keep in mind we've lived in this neighborhood for 8 years.  The first year we lived here we ended up getting a UPS box because our mail was continually stolen out of our mailbox.  Then the 2nd year we had someone think it would be fun to dump their kitchen trash out all over our front yard (3x).  Then it stopped.  Until a month ago...I woke up one Sunday morning went about my normal routine of making coffee and then went to go and grab my paper.  Well when I opened the door I found that it had been egged....can anyone say lovely.  It was quiet for a while after that and I thought whomever had egged the door had gotten it out of their system.  However when Pete went on camp for work the kids ran back to the bedroom and told me they heard something hit the front door...this happened on 3 different occassions.  It's always just one bang, I thought great another egg, however when I went to check it, it would be fine.  SO I figured someone was running up to the door and hitting or kicking it one time.  Then it was quiet for about a week but it happened again one more time after Pete had come home and we told him all about this person who seemed to be messing with us.  Well last night I come home and what do I see but a stray cat licking away at the front door.  It wasn't and egg that hit the door this time, it was someone's cup of chocolate ice cream that went splat and then proceeded to make a large dripping mess all the way down to the bottom.

My question is what gives?  We haven't made any enemies in the neighborhood, we honestly only associate with our direct neighbor, who happens to like having us live next door.  My only conclusion is that the person who likes to muck up my house is a pro-illegal immigration individual, who doesn't understand that the number one priority of the United States Homeland Security is to keep terrorists out of our country, who's number two objective is to stop the flow of drugs into our country and who in accomplishing these tasks happens to find/detain and deport individuals who are "ILLEGALLY" entering the USA.
For anyone who may be confused about this concept the key word is "Illegal" which means that they are breaking the LAW - yes people there is a LAW against immigrants entering the country illegally.  Some might think, hey...they are just trying to make a better life for themselves....I say more power to those individuals - how about they do it legally...some say, but the USA makes it so hard for immigrants to come to the country legally....I say would you rather we make the process easier so that terrorists, like those who took down the two towers and the pentagon, plus the plane that was headed for the whitehouse can get into the country that much easier?? 
I swear the way some peoples brains work you would think that they expect Pete to run out of the house if he sees them walking by and demand that they show him their papers!

Alright I'm done venting I suppose, it just ticks me off that there are individuals out there that would appear to be so petty as to hold a persons job (which ultimately is protecting them) against them.  Then actually have the nerve to defile someone elses property.  I know you're saying Mandi your husband is in a form of law enforcement you know the world has criminals in it.  Mild mannered laid back me just doesn't like it when they start to mess with me and mine.

I'm finished I promise!!

I get to hang out with my BF later and work on a roller derby birthday cake, so I'll post pics of that later hopefully!
TTYL

I'm BACK!

Okay, so it's been a very...very,very,very...very long time since I posted last.  Which is a little funny considering that I posted all that time ago that I had added blogging more to my list of things to do.  We can all see how well that worked for changing my habits.

It's NOVEMBER - holiday season has begun.  Typically MY holiday season starts in October however this October I found myself feeling...blah....about the holiday season.  Where as I normally have the decorations up on the first of the month they didn't make it out of the basement until mid October, which if I'm being honest really only came out because of the munchkins continual asking of when we were going to decorate.  Luckily I feel my festive spirit returning in time for Christmas! Yay!

I'll take this blog here to try and quickly paint a picture of how things have been the last few months.
---------------------------------------------May-----------------------------------------------------------------------

La Posada - A Harvey House Hotel

Pete and I took 3 days for our 11th anniversary and did a quick little "Arizona" Route 66 drive that ended in Winslow, AZ yes the one that is mentioned in the Eagles song, Standing on a corner in Winslow, AZ such a fine sight to see....We stayed at the La Posada which was historically a Harvey House Hotel - History lover that I am, I was in heaven.  Ghost stories aside we were not bothered during the night by any kind of supernatural events.  To my surprise Pete commented that the "hotel" even managed to make him feel special.  I would recommend staying there to anyone, however reservations are a must as they were sold out of all but 2 of their most expensive suites when I called to make reservations 4 weeks in advance.  The suite that we stayed in was priced the same as The Hilton East in Tucson where we stay every Halloween party night, and was well worth the extra dough.  Dinner in the 5 star Turquoise Room restaurant located in the hotel was also superior, being our anniversary the $90 splurge for dinner which consisted of a dinner salad for me, and soup for Pete, 2 Prime Ribs, 2 baked potato and steamed vegetables with Iced tea and a chocolate souffle for dessert was well appreciated.  Visit www.laposada.org to read about their accomodations and history!

-------------------------------------------June----July----August---------------------------------------------------

"The Beast" waterslide - After Party...party!

Soon after my cast came off, Ivan's cast went on - he fell of Grandma's horse which resulted in a compound fracture which forced him to wear a cast through out the summer months.  It was off before his birthday party so he could enjoy his waterslide!

School started and Ivan began 1st grade so he's in school all day long.  I thought when this happened I'd need to find things to do with all my free time, this is not so, extra time yes, however I really have no clue about what I do with it, lol.  Part of that free time has been returning to my role as the Art Masterpiece Chairman for the kids school "Legacy Traditional Casa Grande".

Boomer and Meeka meeting for the first time

Our family picked up a new member of the four legged kind, which amazingly enough was Pete's idea.  We welcomed a 25lb or so little male dog into our family in hopes that he would befriend our big heathenish beast.  His name is Boomer and he appears to be a mix of some kind of terrier dog (his jumping skills are amazing) and a beagle.  With the coloring of a german shepard, so that he looks like a little german shepard puppy.  He is technically 2 months older than Meeka.  The two of them get along famously and play all the time.  His addition has indeed helped calm Meeka, however I could totally do without his chewing problem.  Casualties so far have been 2 pairs of Sierra's shoes along with multiple toys and stuffed animals.

                                             

----------------------------------August-----------October-------------------
Moving on...one of the people Pete associates with through his job (the man we met Boomer through) began inviting Pete to go 4-wheeling.  The first of which was a fabulous day trip to Sedona.

...which continued and grew so that Pete has tricked out the FJ for 4x4ing...this new hobby began as day trips then expanded into overnight trips which means...camping.... now anyone who knows me knows that I can rough it, but that I don't like to.

Left to Right (Charlie/Dana/Mike/Amanda/Taylor-Ann)

 We went camping and shared our friends travel trailer, while our other friends love to tent camp.  Fun was had by all except my BF (Crystalle) who was all for camping then changed her mind and couldn't wait for the trip to be over which strained the feelings of those who were enjoying themselves.  Soooo, Pete and I not being fans of the sharing a full size bed (anymore) and not caring for the nightly snoring sessions of our friends or the morning gas issues, lol....went and sold our "fun" car and purchased a pop-up travel trailer. 

Pete, Mike and Ivan, Sierra and Amanda (Meeka&Rommel)

We have since used it on a lake trip with our tent camping friends and had a blast.  We are looking forward to future trips with family and friends alike.  Did I mention that our pop-up has a shower and a "john", my kind of roughing it!!

October began the busy season for the cake business with a wedding cake, a business cake and Halloween party cake, November continued with 2 birthday cakes last weekend and another this coming weekend....Soon I'll no doubt begin my truffle making for the store downtown, Truffles from Everything Cake exclusively available via "In a Pear Tree" located in downtown Casa Grande for the holiday season.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------Now that we are up to date----------------

HOPEFULLY I WILL Write everyone tomorrow!!

Winter/Spring of 2011 in Pictures

2011

JANUARY





Happy New Year - Ivans first sparkler

Arizona Sunrise

The top burst off the pipe!

FEBRUARY

MARCH

This Cast Deal!

I've got 2 more days then it's back to the hand Dr., Hopefully the x-ray will show that a brace will be all thats needed for a week before I'll be healed enough to walk around without protection. 
Then I'll get back to my gardening without this irritating disability.  I dream of the day I'll be able to use a shovel, a hoe.  A day when I can pull up crab grass with full strength and complete garden tasks in an optimal time frame.  Instead of taking 3x longer to complete a project than should be necessary.

Til then it's one handed tool work and extra time, blah...at least I've continued to work on it and have completed some tasks and planted some beautiful flowers and half of my veggies.

Unlike my days of going to the gym, yes the gym, I haven't been since before my little break and my muscles have lost their tone, which really sucks because now when I look in the mirror things flap...crap, summer is going to be upon us and I need to get into skirt/dress/short and swimwear shape.  Oh the things women worry over and actions they take to combat circumstances that our or at least my procrastination gets me into.

Well lunch, consisting of BBQ'd hot dogs and mac and cheese is just about done, thank you lovely MIL, BIL, DH and munchkins for letting me have the afternoon off, of cooking at least, lol!

TTYL

My Top 10 Hard to do things with the LEFT hand ONLY

11.)Put on jewelry with clasps
10.)Vacuum
9.)Lift anything including the all important purse
8.)Throw the ball for Meeka
7.)Drive (especially turning)
6.)Start the Truck Engine
5.)Do any type of gardening
4.)Cut things (using knives or scissors)
3.)Wash my hair and under the left arm
2.)Dishes
1.)Fold Laundry (Seriously using the hand at all just hurts)

There you have it, there is more but I thought 11 was a nice number! LOL!

Hello Again...

Alright so it's been a while since I've last blogged.  I have added blog more; onto my list of things to do, hopefully it will have some positive effects on my actual habits!

Soooo...what has been going on with me??

Lets just start up with last weekend shall we? Pete and I dropped the kiddos off at the grandparents on a Friday night, went home had dinner and cuddled on the couch watching movies til we practically fell asleep.  Then we got up super early on Saturday and headed for Picacho Peak. 

We took Meeka because lets face it she's a goliath dog with uber energy and what better way to wear her out than a nice long hike up a mountain.  We did really well and Meeka made it all the way to the second to last cable climb (the one before the last one at the horseshoe) before she looked at us and said we were frickin crazy if we thought she was going to jump/climb that sheer rockface, lol!

 But seriously with the 11 month old mongo weimaraner we made it as far as 5 minutes away from the top!!  So we being the good puppy parents that we are, turned around just short of our goal and headed back the way we came. 

We made it without incident all the way to the large expanse of massive wooden steps, parking lot within sight (bout a 5-10minute walk) when a large troop of boyscouts caught up to us.  PETE  was about 6 feet ahead of me and the troops were breathing down my neck, talking loud about falling and their two buds who ran down the mountain. 

Me, feeling pretty proud of myself for making it nearly to the top and back down to where the land begins to flatten out started paying less attention to where I was putting my feet and keeping my balance. So ofcourse hear I am thinking I should tell Pete we need to let the troop pass since I could feel their breath on my neck and VOILA...what happens...my foot slips off the sand covered wooden step, I flail backwards and ofcourse I know you're not supposed to, but what does my body automatically do?  My arm shoots out to try and stop my fall...CRACK..."Crap there goes my wrist"....and finally silence from the boy scouts!  I pick myself up wrap my wrist in the sleeve of my long sleeved shirt and walk back to the truck on my shaking feet! 

Some of you might be asking where Pete was...well as I mentioned he was about 6 feet ahead of me with the dog...he did stop and turn around, as well as ask if it was the wrist that always gives me problems...hey brightside---IT IS--- We got back to the truck, where I promptly put ice on it, drove home where I grabbed my wrist brace then proceeded to go get lunch - (Subway--Italian BMT on toasted flat bread---YUMMY) - then went and got the kids.

You may be asking yourself, she's smarter than that why isn't she going to the ER?? Well I'd say your right, I am smarter than that...no one goes to the Casa Grande hospital if they have a choice...at least not the smart people!  No I waited til Monday at which point I made an appt. with my Dr. and only paid $25 for a copay, then got a referral to a hand dr. for Tuesday.  Tuesday heralded the news that I had a clean break which is now why I will be sporting this lime green cast for the next  4-6 weeks.

Hey it will go with some of my spring wear!

I will post another blog about all of the things I need my right hand for and all of the things that I've found it severely difficult to do when you only have one hand available to you, whoohoo!

Not a Sight to See in the Morning

As I was driving at the time I didn't stop or slow down long enough to take a quick snapshot via my marvelous DROID.  So I pulled the picture from the web!

A typical morning for us is the everyday rush of get dressed, eat breakfast, pack lunch and get in the car in order to drop the kids off at school.

This morning however we passed an UN-usual sight of a house right down the street from ours taped off with crime scene tape and 2 Crime Scene Unit vehicles parked at the curb.  Luckily the kids were distracted and didn't seem to take note of the odd sight.

However I did drive by again on my way home and noted that there were many investigators going in and out, the residents car that was parked in the carport had it's drivers door wide open and the inside of the house was completely dark.

Various neighbors were standing outside at the end of their drives no doubt wondering about what exactly has happened inside the confines of the small and unhappy looking residence.

I'll keep my eyes on the paper in the days to come and my ears open for any information that may pass my way, but I doubt that I will ever know why I got to see CSU's parked down the street from my home.

An interesting personal twist is the revelation of the dream I had last night, well at least the one I remember anyway!  I woke up mad with my husband because without telling me he bought a "trailer" home for a good price in a better neighborhood than where we currently live, but I was so pissed at him I said I'd rather stay in the nice house in the crappy neighborhood we have than live in a smaller "trailer" in a better neighborhood.

I'd like to say that the anger I felt came from the sense that he didn't include me in such a major decision - the purchase of a new home -  but I'm conceited enough to know that I never wish to live in a trailer, especially not the one I dreamt of.  Ofcourse I should probably forgive my husband as it was just a dream, and in reality I know that he would never by a trailer home whether in a better neighborhood or not.  

Life and dreams are often just plain odd!

And as I have Strep Throat for the second time in two months at the moment I will now sign off until I have something else to spout off about - LATER!!!