Thanksgiving

This year most of us have a lot to be thankful for.  There's a lot of scary stuff happening in the world right now and I think we need to be thankful for what we have and what we don't have,

I myself am thankful that my family is healthy and whole.  That my husband has a decent job (and I am thankful that he continues to work there, even though it's not exactly his dream job).  That I no longer work in retail and that I get to stay home on Thanksgiving and Black Friday (for the first time in 13 years!).  That my husband gets to stay home with us because his boss decided to close and still pay them all for Thursday and Friday.

I am thankful that we have food to eat (Everyday, though I will take our Thanksgiving spaghetti feast for the win!), a roof over our heads, cars to drive and places to go.

I am thankful I have yarn to knit, books to read, materials to sew and a sewing machine to sew with, along with video games to play.

I am also thankful that we didn't get 10" of snow last week like my mom and the Quad-Cities (and multiple other places), did.  ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Meh.

It's weird, because I usually love this time of year, but right now I just can't get into Halloween.  I have my two wreaths up from last year, and that's it.  I do love the cooler weather.

The sad thing is this meh attitude is creeping into everything.  I had a huge pile of library books, and I would guess that most of them went back to the library with only a chapter or two read.  A few of them were good, and A Red-Rose Chain by Seanan McGuire was outstanding.  I'd been waiting for that one and it was so nice to read something that lived up to its promise.

I tried a few new series, some I thought were ok, and I'll give the next book a try, some of them just made me want to never read another thing by the author ever again.  Yes, Jim and Joyce Lavene, I am talking about you!

One cool thing that has happened, the kiddo has joined her Knitting Club at school and is knitting hats for the homeless and cancer patients.  We knit together a few nights a week while we watch CSI on Hulu, haha.  I'm working on her second pair of socks in the Greenwood Fiberworks Stardust in Watercolor that I bought in April.  We decided on the Vanilla Latte pattern, because it has just enough detail to make them fun to knit and it doesn't over shadow the pretty yarn.  I'm about to the point where I'll need her to try the first sock on so I can see when I need to start decreasing for the toe.

The scary thing is, after these are complete, I am out of sock yarn!! Hubby seems to think I have enough pairs of socks and that I should find something else to knit.  :(  But I love the portability of socks.  Instead, I am going to start knitting my own hat.  The kiddo bought me yarn for Christmas last year, and I think I am going to use it for an Acadia Cap.  I love the thick, warm looking band and I have some leftover sparkly red yarn that I think will make the band even more fun.  And really, it's time to push myself out of my comfort zone and try something new and the cabling on the band is a good place to start cables.

We're also going to go pick out some material this weekend so I can make Isabel a knitting bag.  She's using one of my backpacks , but since it is knit, it's not the best thing for a project bag.  She's got a ziplock baggie inside actually holding her needles and bits and bobs.  I offered to sew her a bag with some pockets that she can keep stuff in instead.

My plants are crazy, my little cherry tomato is slightly confused about the season, there must be twenty tomatoes on it now and at least that many blossoms.  It and my jalapeno have moved into the house for the winter.  We'll keep them going as long as we can.

The kiddo also lettered in Academics for last year.  And she was elected VP of her Interact Club (The Youth version of Rotary).  What started as a mandatory class project ended up something she enjoyed and has continued with.  So proud of her!

Yums!

This post is all about food ;)

Today has been a comfort food/junk food day.  For lunch I had a grilled peanut butter & jelly sandwich, which totally brings back my childhood.  And then while buying the kiddo a new water bottle tonight I found Ho Hos.  I hadn't had a Ho Ho since I was pregnant with her, 16 years ago!  So the box wound up in my little basket and came home with me.

I went out to water my tomato plant today and noticed something bright red in my jalapeno plant.  Yesterday everything was green, today I had a bright red pepper.  I now have a full sandwich baggie in the freezer and there are still nearly 20 peppers on the plant.  Yay!  And we've still been using them fresh off the plant as well.  We had amazing burgers the other day.  G mixes bacon pieces, diced jalapeno and onion in with the meat so every bite has flavor.  Soo good.

But my new favorite recipe is sooo easy.  Two boneless chicken breasts, a can of green enchilada sauce, a chicken bouillon cube and I throw in a tablespoon of taco seasoning.  Cook in a crock pot on low until the chicken pretty much falls apart.  I pull the meat out and shred it, then add some of the sauce to the meat to coat.  Then I take a can of refried black beans and divide it into 4 portions.  Grab 4 burrito sized tortillas and spread the beans along the center.  Put some of the chicken on top and roll up your burrito, place in greased baking dish.  Brush with vegetable oil.

I cook them at 350°F for about 30 minutes, uncovered.  I finish them under the broiler until they're golden brown and crispy.

I serve them with topped with the sauce and cheddar cheese.  So yummy!

We've been eating a lot of chicken.  I make chicken tacos in the crock pot, too.  In fact, this is where I got my recipe for taco seasoning.   Get the recipes here:  Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos & Taco Seasoning.

The crock pot is probably one of my favorite things.  During the summer it keeps me from having to run the oven for too long, and in the winter it's so good for soups.

Back to School

Tomorrow is back to school night for the kiddo.  Though she's not really a kiddo anymore, since she's 15 and about to get her driver's permit!  Normally I would skip back to school night, since she has a good idea of where all her classes are, but she's taking an AP class this year, and we need to get the info for that.  Blech.  Of course, G gets to skip it, because he has to work late tomorrow to get ready for inventory.  He's working his fanny off, trying to train someone to take his place so he can finally move on up!  *Crossing my fingers that it actually happens this time*

It feels like fall at the moment.  Last week we hit 97°F, ick.  But the last two days we've been in the mid 70s during the day, and down in the 40s at night, with some pretty wild and wooly rain storms, causing me to bring in my vegetable garden, as G. calls it.  No rain tonight, but the plants are going to start coming in at night, I think.

Really, there have only been a few nights this summer that we haven't been able to turn off the AC and open up the house to the cool air, but I am really happy when I can just leave the house open all day so I love this cool weather.   Yeah, I know, we're sure to go back up in temp in the next day or two, but I am enjoying it while I can ;)

I finished Isabel's socks, and a blanket square with the leftovers, today.  Tomorrow I will ball up the other yarn I got at the Interweave Yarn Fest (that I talked about here.).  Going to go with the Vanilla Latte pattern, since it's a little different without too much pattern getting in the way of the color (and sparkle!  We can't forget the sparkle!).

If you hear someone cursing loudly, it will be me, as my yarn invariably tangles, haha.

Pssst...  Halloween is right around the cornet!  Along with all things pumpkin!  I love this time of year! 

Summer is nearly over

The last month has flown by.  My gardening efforts this summer have paid off much more than previous years. I have a ton of jalapenos on my plant and still more flowers on their way to being peppers. My cherry tomato is doing well, we've gotten probably 10 or so, so far, with a ton of babies on the vine and a ton more flowers. Sadly, I shocked my regular tomato plant to death trying to put it outside after living inside for months. Next year I will know better. They go out for a short period each day, getting a little longer each day, until about two weeks pass and then they're set. And I think I will go for two regular tomato plants, since really we eat them more and we've not gotten enough cherries at one time to put in anything. But I still consider it a successful crop :)

Also learned, next year the jalapeno will go in the pot I have the cherry tomato in, so the cage will support it a bit.  The tomatoes flat out must go in 5 gallon buckets again, because having to water twice a day means the cherry tomato isn't holding hardly any water, since by afternoon it's wilted :(  Also, the buckets are heavier.  Right now, my tomato falls over at the slightest gust of wind.

Strawberries aren't doing much, but that's to be expected of first year plants. Hopefully we get a nice return next year.  Just have to mulch and stick in the garage and, this is key, remember to water at least once a month!

If hubby's job has been a pain in the ass.  They've been promising to transfer him to sales, but it keeps getting put off.  If it does finally come through, we should be able to save some money and once the kiddo is out of high school, think of buying our own place (and maybe actually be able to help her pay for college!). Then I will have a small garden (though I will likely still have containers, raspberries choke a garden out fast, so I'd love a big barrel planter for them) Of course, if I have a garden I will need a drip feeder for it, since we're so hot and dry in July and August.

Kiddo goes back to school in 10 days! I'm thinking I should probably start looking for a job, lol. It's been nice just hanging out, but don't tell anyone, I'm getting bored! I've gotten Isabel's second sock in Rainbow Bright nearly done. And I have read a ton of books this summer. And watched probably way too many home construction shows on Netflix, haha.  And law enforcement tv, there's a lot of them out there now too!

Happy July!

It's been crazy hot here lately. We went from a late, cool and wet spring to a scorching summer, in what seemed like a week. My little patio garden is doing well, although I did lose my tomato early on. My cherry tomato seems to be thriving. It fell over and the top 12" or so, broke. I ended up cutting it all the way off and sticking it in water, so now I have two cherry tomato plants, both loaded with tomatoes!

I got a sewing machine for my birthday, so one more crafty thing to add to my repertoire, haha. Needless to say, my husband loves me because really he thinks the whole thing is nuts. I immediately made two body pillow covers. My old case was ugly and falling apart, and the kiddo's pillow never had a cover.

Mine is just a simple red and white polka dot pattern with the ends held closed with tied ribbons.

Isabel is a huge Marvel fan, so it only seemed right to get her a comic book pattern with, "POW", "SLAM", "ZAP", etc. all over it. She doesn't like the idea of the ribbons, so we're going to get some snaps and sew them on. Or maybe velcro. I haven't quite decided yet.

Don't look too closely at the open end, the stitches may not be the straightest, but I'm sure I will get better, haha. And no more having to hem my pants with "redneck bling" (staples, hahaha).

Real Tragic :(

I know I played up the hole in my sock as tragic in my last post, but now we truly have had tragedy hit close to home. We've just had a second person shot and killed locally, part of what may be a serial sniper's spree! The first victim survived, the second was a cyclist out for a ride and the 3rd was a man walking off work stress late at night. it's sad, and scary too. My hubby commutes, so he's out on the road with no choice. I'm hopeful that because it's a busy stretch of highway during daylight and rush hour that things will be ok, but it's all super worrisome.

(Not so) Tragic!

One of my Buffalo Feathers socks, made from Buffalo Wool Co.'s Tracks, sneaked its way into the washing machine this week. Hubby found it when transferring everything to the dryer. It has a big ol' hole in the sole! I have leftover yarn, so I am going to try and repair it. I'm ever so sad.

Better news, my kiddo finishes school this week. She already has a reading assignment and a paper to write on it over the summer! Wow. I think she's going to find her AP Human Geography class a bit more of a challenge next year. She rarely had homework this year, but I think that will change, at least for this class.

I kind of find it amusing that this whole Common Core (crap) deal is supposed to more prepare kids for college. Really? Maybe college has changed since I was there, but my professors NEVER accepted late work, nearly every teacher my daughter has now, does. How is that teaching kids to be responsible? I think that it's gotten to the point where it's easier to accept work late than it is to argue with parents that their "special snowflake" didn't do the work on time and therefore didn't pass the class. And teaching kids to add 15 + 5 using a gazallion steps isn't going to help a kid in college!

Why yes, CC really annoys me! As a result I joined the Opt Out Movement, and kept my daughter from taking the PARCC tests this year. I heard way too many negative things about the tests and the way they are scored.

OK, I will step off of my soapbox now. ;) Have a great rest of the week!

300 days of sunshine?

Not this year! We finally saw the sun this evening, after a pretty wicked thunderstorm. Everything is still saturated, and the rivers and streams are over-flowing their banks. Hubby actually got "stranded" at work one day last week, when the river over-topped the highway and they closed the road. It re-opened that evening, so he got home ok, but I am ready for the rain to end. Of course, then the heat will come, and all the snow in the mountains will start to melt and we'll be flooding again. Ah, life in the Rockies! ;)

The kiddo's 1st sock in the Rainbow Bright is finished, with the second sock maybe a third done. I've been working on it pretty sporadically, between books. I just can't stand audio books, so that's not an option, ever.

Isabel is just about done with her first year of high school, and her first year of LISA. She still loves it, and seems to have come out of her shell a bit, thankfully. She'll likely take driver's ed this summer. Eeeeeek!

Spring

It's cold. And raining. Like lots of rain. So now Winnie the Pooh is singing in my head,"And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down, in rushing, rising rivlets." Funny thing is when I looked it up on youtube the first one was in Swedish, haha.

It's good, we need the rain, but everything is already saturated, which means the rivers are rising. Obviously, it's nothing like the big flood in 2013, but a lot of the areas that are starting to flood are still recovering from that flood. Hubby works in an area that they're still fixing the roads, and the roads in and out of Estes are still not permanently fixed. (It's sad driving up highway 34, the river is so changed and there are still houses that must be condemned, but haven't been pulled down yet. The dam along 34 that used to have a lake and a rest stop is completely gone. But I digress...).

Anyway, I think we'll get some lovely wild flowers out of in when it finally stops raining. And of course, being spring in the Rockies, we're also under a Winter Storm Watch at the same time as we are under Flood Warnings. Ahh, spring :)

In other news, I'm still not working. I'm going to try and pick up something part time, but I also think it might be nice to spend a summer with my kiddo before she flies the coop in a few years. And she'll have her driver's permit soon, so that will be loads of fun, haha.

Yep, tomorrow is her 15th birthday, and she's asking for Driver's Ed. Watch out Northern Colorado!

I've put my Barn Raising Quilt squares on hold again, since I'm knitting the first sock out of Rainbow Bright for the kiddo. I'm at the gussets now, and it's a pretty basic sock, so if I actually sit and work on it in the next few days, I should have it done. Just in time for warm weather again, oops.

When I fall off the wagon, I fall hard!

I fell off the yarn wagon yesterday at the Interweave Yarn Fest. My daughter actually pushed me, hahaha. I brought home 2 gorgeous,sparkly, skeins of sock yarn. Oh yeah, I am part crow, because anything shiny grabs me!

Western Sky Knits Twinkle Sock in Rainbow Bright & Greenwood Fiberworks Star Dust in Watercolor

Both are destined to become socks for the daughter ;)

Spring in the Rockies!

Yesterday it snowed in the morning, we got at least an inch out of it, but it was warm enough that it never stuck to the pavement. By afternoon it was rain mixed with snow. It rained all night, and finally stopped a little bit ago. Just in time to go to the Interweave Yarn Fest! I've been on a yarn fast since January, but I think I may fall off the wagon today. Looking at pictures, I have already spied some tempting sock yarn... :)

Er, Ummm

Oops. Somewhere along the way I wrote a big long post. I never posted it.

So what's been going on? Well, nearly 4 months ago I decided I was fed up with being taken for granted and given the same old promises to change things by my boss, over and over again, only to have him do nothing, just like the previous time. I walked out. They can Make More Happen with less, just like they expected me to.

Frankly, I gave 6 years of my life to that P.O.S. company and they never really gave a crap. My husband on the other hand, was hired by a new company. His starting rate was higher than mine after SIX f-ing years. He's now gotten a raise, and a chance at even more $ come July in a new position with the same company. So I am taking my time looking for a job that I will hopefully be happy at. And hopefully, they will appreciate me.

So now I find myself gaining back all the weight that I never actually meant to lose, but lost anyway through pure stress and constantly missing lunch because no one even noticed I was still stuck in the freaking corner. Time to stop being such a couch potato, hahaha. The weather this winter has mostly been unseasonably mild, so I have no excuse but pure laziness!

I have managed to get a lot of my TBR list read, and multiple squares worked on my knit crazy quilt. It's honestly been nice to not have to be anywhere at any given time, to do any given thing. Low on milk? No problem. Kiddo needs to be somewhere as soon as school is out? Okey dokey. New book in at the library? Off I go. The one place I am avoiding like the plague at the moment though, the yarn shop! I have quite a bit of sock yarn bits and bobs, so I am knitting up a storm. Maybe, some day, my crazy quilt will be done, haha.

Anyhoo, back to my book.

Happenings

I went to see the Yarn Harlot speak a few weeks ago. First, she didn't sound like I had imagined her in my head, haha. I think I had a heard a brief recording of her in the past but forgot that recorded voices don't always match reality. Second, she was absolutely hysterical. And it was truly lovely to hang out with a bunch of people, knitting in public. I am a solitary knitter. I join knitting groups online, but I don't go out and knit with them. It's not because I am ashamed of knitting, really, I am just a solitary person.

Something I feel bad about, because I feel like I've made my family pretty solitary too :( I'm now trying to push my teenage daughter to go out and have fun, be with people. I told her today that she needed to start planning for Halloween with her friends because Mom & Dad aren't being dragged along now that she's in high school. Even if I do loooove Halloween. But I can't punish my kiddo by making her spend time with her parents anymore, lol. Or at least not until she deserves it.

Instead, I am going to support my love of Halloween by decorating the house to the max and becoming known as "that Crazy Family that Lives Across the Street."

We have two Halloween wreathes, both featuring skulls. This one was on the door, He's called Joe. The rest of him is actually now part of Steve. He's been moved to the window, with a flock of bats and a spooky red eyed owl.

This one is now on the door instead. He's Steve. Because we rebuilt him. We had the technology, or at least a lot of glue sticks.
Sadly, my daughter doesn't understand the joke.

I have a witch silhouette on my sliding glass door, she's feeding a bone to a vulture. Another window has my ravens and black cat stalking each other.

Isabel has decorated her room with some old window clings we had stashed away too, as well as a lighted jack-o-lantern.

We're getting there. Not quite totally crazy yet, but closer :D

Could've sworn...

That I'd posted more recently. Oops.

Let's see, what's happened since last September...

It's been a year since the big flood, people are recovering.

The kiddo started high school last month. I feel old.

We've moved. Just down the street really, but a pain in the arse anyway. But I like it here, we have tons of windows, which means we have a lot of natural light. And the neighborhood rules aren't nearly as strict. Plus, the week we moved in, they had a neighborhood BBQ with food from one of my favorite restaurants, yum. We have a wee little yard too, mostly rock with some shrubbery. And the evergreen tree in the yard already has Christmas lights on it, thanks to the previous tenants, haha.

Still working the same job, and it feels more dead end every day, even though I actually like my job. I just can't see myself there for too much longer. Now that the husband is settled in a decent job, I think I need to start looking.

Oh yeah, G's "temp" job turned into a full time "real" job, after 7 months of working there. And they encourage him to work over time, rather than yell (like my employer does). He worked 30 hours of OT one week, while the kiddo and I went to visit my mom in Iowa.

It was unseasonably cool in Iowa in August. Thank goodness. But I was sad that I didn't get homegrown tomatoes with every meal, haha.

And speaking of tomatoes, next summer I am going to grow them on our deck. We get much more sun on the deck than we did at the old place, and I think they will do well. I didn't get any flowers or plants of any sort this year, it seemed like just one more thing to move in June. Oh wait, I lie. I got two little geraniums to go in the pots that hold my old geraniums and fill things out a bit. But they live indoors, not on the deck.

Now that things are a bit more settled it's time to start checking a few things off my wish list. I want to go big for Halloween. Because I love Halloween. And we have sooo many windows. The old witch silhouette will go in the sliding glass door like last year, but I think the front windows are going to be cats and bats. Maybe a smaller witch in the side windows, for the people across the way. They're cheap enough. I want a black wreath for the door, or maybe I can find some more fake bones and actually make a wreath out of them this time. Like this:

Nothing too expensive, since the one thing on my wishlist that I really, really want is a new mattress! Soon, hopefully.

Anyhoo. I need to go nag the kiddo into the shower (and in 20 minutes I will have to nag her to get out, haha).

Awesome kid

My awesome,talented daughter was just accepted into the LISA program at our local high school!

What is LISA?
LISA = Loveland Integrated School of the Arts
An educational option that nourishes and challenges students who have a passion for the arts
A program that integrates visual and performing arts across the curriculum
An alternative to traditional learning styles that includes the arts in core content classes such as social studies, math, and science
Arts opportunities in the classroom, as extracurricular activities, and through performances and shows

She's soooo excited, and frankly, so am I for her :) It's basically a school within a school. All the classes are pre-AP, so nothing is dumbed down, just more interesting. The first few years the majority of her classes will be with the same group of kids, hopefully allowing her to make some good friends and get involved with things other than her blasted iPad, lol. I wish they'd had something like this when I was in school!

It was a pretty interesting application process, reminded me of college applications! We had to get multiple recommendations from teachers and friends. Then she had to take 3-5 of her best art pieces to an audition where they asked her about her future plans, school work, etc.

Now we just have to go get her registered on Feb. 5 and it will all have been worth it!

F***!

Swearing loudly and profusely at the moment! My truck has decided that -10 is too much for it and it will not start. Luckily I live close to work, so they're sending someone for me. Weather, please warm up soon! I need to be able to use my truck!

Om nom, nom!

I love bacon, I love chicken and I love spicy food. So this afternoon when we realized we didn't have ground beef for the burgers we'd planned on having (Diced serrano pepper, chopped bacon, diced onion, all mixed into the beef and grilled, best burgers ever!), we pulled chicken breasts from the freezer instead and I searched chicken for something different on Pinterest. Score!

Sweet & Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken.

We used cayenne pepper, and didn't cut up the chicken breasts, but it was DELICIOUS!!!!

So over family!

Had an argument with my mom yesterday. She's "hurt" that I haven't been back to visit for years now, but my oh so perfect sister and her family finds the time to go see her. Well, let's see... They live no more than a few hours away from my mom, I live more than 12 hours away. Not to mention the fact that I am flat broke. Something she doesn't understand, because she's never had to worry about money, ever. Nor does she grasp the concept of work, because she's never had to do that either. I'm just supposed to walk into work at my busiest time of the year (this week and next have the potential to be $10k weeks) and say, "My mom's nagging at me, so I need to take a week off and go see her," leaving my department with no one who knows what the hell they are doing? 'Cause that wouldn't get me fired....

Part of the problem of course, is that I haven't told my mom about our financial struggles until now, because frankly, I'm a big girl and I don't need to tell my mommy all of my troubles. It's not like she would help anyway. So she really has no idea how bad things are right now and when I try to tell her, she doesn't really listen because it doesn't go with what she wants to hear.

I brought up the fact that we haven't been back to see my husband's family since the kiddo was 5, (she's 13 now!) and all I got was, "Well that's different because it costs thousands of dollars to go see them!" But really, it's not. $500 vs $5000, it's all the same when you don't have it. And the fact still remains that we've not seen anyone but my mother in law in much longer than my mother has gone without a visit.

I feel she's being very selfish, and trying to make me feel selfish in return, that good ol' Catholic guilt trip. At some point I am going to send her an email, because obviously I can't talk to her on the phone about this without both of us getting upset. As far as she is concerned, she's right and a good daughter would fall in line and come visit. As far as I am concerned, winter is coming and all of the good bridges are already taken, and I really have no desire to live under one anyway, which is what happens if I lose my job. Or Gods forbid, we move in with my mother!

Still dry, for now

Our first sign of serious trouble was when the school district sent everyone home at 11 am Thursday, due to concerns that roads would soon be impassible. Since then, we watched the river rise, first in Estes Park.

To the right is one of only 3 main roads to Estes Park. Totally gone, thanks to flooding. (Click on the photo to see the damage full size!) The town of Estes is pretty much inaccessible, with the other 2 main roads crumbling as well. The only way in or out is over Trail Ridge Road, which the National Park Service is keeping open despite snowfall, just so emergency services have a way in and out. Unfortunately, that's one heck of a detour!

Then they had to release excess water down the Big Thompson which combined with the constant rain, and things went even more wrong, as you can see by the photo of the Narrows part of the canyon.

From the canyon the water raced through Loveland itself, flowing over farmland and neighborhoods alike.

Eventually, the water overran I-25, just south of town this morning. This is the main route in and out of Loveland, Eventually, the entire interstate closed from Denver to the Wyoming border. Crazy when the interstate becomes a river! At that point, every route into Loveland from the south was cut off, due to topped or destroyed bridges.

The river continues to rush east, into Greeley, taking out a trailer park and heading for the Platte River, into which most of them eventually flow.

National Guard helicopters are evacuating residents from areas that are inaccessible.

And unfortunately, more rain is predicted for the weekend.

But thankfully, we are high and dry, safe and well. We send our positive thoughts to those that are out of their homes or have lost their homes, as well as our gratitude for the amazing fire & police, sheriff, State Patrol and National Guard folks out there rescuing people and keeping us safe. Also, a huge shout out for the Searcfh & Rescue folks that have come in from Nebraska & Utah to help out. Bless you all!