Sunday Happy

I am good. You good? Hopefully not super crazy and feeling stressed about holiday stuff? Don’t let it get you. It is suppose to be fun and happy so take a few minutes and just do you. No stress.

Monday was the mr’s actual birthday and we celebrated by taking a day trip out to the North East Kingdom to explore and see some nature. Got lunch, checked out a cool hardware store, blasted the heat in the car, and drank a lot of coffee. Came home and made lasagna and went to bed kind of early. I was a nice end to his birthday week. Until next time.

The rest of the week was up and down. We were suppose to go the PA to visit Dad this weekend with Meg but the plans got canceled when someone (Justin) got the flu. We ran around trying to get a bunch of stuff done, stressing out, but then once we knew we weren't going, well we still have been running around trying to get a bunch of stuff done. Or better yet, running around yes, but also a couple of those day we spent siting around for hours (HOURS!!!!!) on hold trying to figure out our heath insurances. That was the worst. I don’t know how many times I almost threw my phone against the wall (many). All part of being an adult right? Blah. The waiting time did give me a chance to tackle the Christmas cards I have been working on for a few weeks now so that was good.

What else.. I woke up the other night to pee, tried to get out of bed but got caught in the blankets and fell, almost smashing my head against the radiator. The mr freaked, turned on the light and found me just lying there. It was a rough fall and I am still feeling it all over. On a different note, I finally got a new broom which might just be the highlight of my week. It was actually a 2 pack with a dustpan and sweeps like a champ. The old broom was so bad that I stopped using it because I swear sweeping with it just left a streak of more dirt. Yeah for new broom!

Yesterday was a blast. The first annual cookie house contraction day (now a annual tradition). I would say gingerbread house, but I used sugar cookies instead because I know the littles and it was the right thing to do. I woke up early, baked off all the pieces, gathered a ton of candy and had people bring some too, and off we went. Miley, Judah, So, Alex, Coco, and Barb, plus me, the mr, and Megan. Enough to build a village. Got everyone well fed before construction (Mac and cheese and pb and J) and got to work. Construction might not have gone as smoothly as I hopped (canned frosting doesn’t work as well as the sugar glue I made) but we figured it out. And once the houses were up, it was one big plume of sugar. Frosting and candy everywhere. There was so much sugar that I swear I was getting contact sugar high from all the littles. But the houses, they were coming out so awesome. I was truly impressed. Most of the houses stayed upright, but there were a couple the might have had a little too much candy (definitely Miley’s) and had the roof collapse. All good though because she just starting to eat it and well, yeah. After the doses of sugar the littles ran circles around the house, and then left. I stayed and spent the rest of the day scraping sugar off of every surface in the house wishing that I had bought a steam mop with that broom. (I used to have one and it broke but it was amazing and that is all I want for Christmas now)

Today the mr and I are commuted to finishing all the Christmas cards, getting them addressed, and sending them out TOMORROW. I plan on going to the gym and grocery store this morning but then hunkering down for the rest of the day, listening to Christmas music and getting them done. They need to be done. We are way late on sending them out this year. Oops.

Internet from the week.

-Santa Is Nothing but Stress for Families Who Don’t Believe in Him. I remember when I stopped believing in Santa.. sad day. And now with all the littles, some believe and some don’t. it is hard to keep their little mouths shut.

-Not everything needs to come in pill form. See the diverse ingredients in traditional Chinese apothecaries

-How freaking badass. Horse-Riding Librarians Were the Great Depression’s Bookmobiles

-Why People Wait 10 Days to Do Something That Takes 10 Minutes. I never ever procrastinate cleaning. It’s just not worth it. And I am crazy.

-How best to harness the power of garlic in your everyday cooking. So many ways to use one simple ingredient and it can turn any dish from one thing to another.

-Never!!!! I Bought My Live Christmas Tree on Amazon — Here's How It Went.

-Google's 10 Most Searched Foods in 2018. Keto is a big deal huh? Me, I for sure googled romaine a few times.

-Why is the night sky dark? It’s all about the stars.

-If I have kids, wooden blocks are all I will have for toys, well those and a basket of river rocks and lots and lots of art supplies. But no plastic and NOTHING that needs to be plugged into anything or needs batteries. How Melissa & Doug captured the toy market, one wooden block at a time

-It’s Time to Stop Calling Foods ‘Crack. Agreed

Pictures from the week

Sunday Happy

What a busy week.

Sunday we spent that day getting our tree which was an experience to say the least. Up in the Green Mountain National Forest, there was 2 feet of snow in places, and it ws freezing pouring rain. It was freaking miserable and I was so so so cold. It was the fastest we have ever picked a tree. We didn't even hike in to the woods very far. We were drenched and cold (did I say that already) so it was a “ find a tree and get the F out of there before we die” type of deal. But we did it, found a snow laden tree, cut it down, dragged it out, wrapped it up in a sheet of plastic (not recommended) and got it on the car before we froze. In the end, we came home with a pretty nice, normal sized tree which we in turn cut to the cutest little tree. Short and fat and a little on the lithe side. Absolute perfection.

And the week was off. Started with a b-day party for So who turned 6 . Baked her a cake but her being so awesome helped me frost and decorate it like a professional. It was also the unofficial start of the mr’s birthday week which means all week I have had to be extra special nice, not nag too much about all the extra coffee cups lying around and to not say anything about the amount of cheese he is eating. I am doing my best but not bitching about the dirty cups has proven to be very much difficult. Ha

Beside it being the mr’s birthday week, we have been busy. I have been running into the studio a lot. Unloading a few kilns, loading them up and trying to get some of my own work done before the holidays. There has been some annoying work and apartment stuff that has had to be dealt with, tire troubles, the mr’s lingering illness. But all is good. And we have had the littles over a few extra times this week for food (always food) and snow flake making. Barb came over to eat. I baked special breakfast scones to smell the good smells and basically tried to stay sane and warm. Oh, and I have been listening to all the Christmas music because yes!

Friday night we had a birthday party for the mr, the kick off of his birthday weekend. I spent the day working then came home really fast to finish making whoopie pies (perfect party dessert). Dinner was grilled cheese and chunky veggie soup because it’s tradition and because the mr really likes to make grilled cheeses. Everyone in the house, kids running around, Christmas tree lit, music playing. We sure do know how to have a good time. And with that my house was trashed, All the dishes dirty, Coco drew all over the floor with crayons, and there was little bits of whoopie pie all over the house. It was very successful and everyone and the mr most importantly, were happy.

Yesterday instead of spending the day cleaning (because it is the mr’s birthday weekend remember. But I did get a 1/2 hour while he had to run out to vacuum up the cake ) we went for a little drive to see the giant middle finger sculpture and get out of the house. Then the littles came back over for a sleep over. Pizza, left over whoopie pies, and stringing popcorn while we watched home alone. (there is popcorn EVERYWHERE!) A perfect birthday slumber party for a 36 year old if I do say so myself. Ha ha But oy, the mess is getting dangerous. There is a serious day of cleaning going on in the near future for sure.

Today is the mr’s birthday eve. Not sure what we are doing today or tomorrow for that matter, but I do know we will have some fun. The littles are still a sleep so I am going to skip on over to the gym until someone wakes up and tells me to come back. Last night Miley and I rolled out a cinnamon bun sitiation so I am baking them off as we speak for them to eat when they do decide to wake up. Hopefully by the time I get back they will be fed and ready to do something. Or not. It all depends on how late they really stayed up (I told them they could stay up and watch Nailed It when I went to bed. I am pretty sure they were up til at least midnight, if not later) So who knows, maybe they will all still be asleep when I get back. And then, well, I’ll just start vacuuming.

Morning Update.. Just got back from gym. Littles are still asleep. Time to vacuum.

Some internet surfing from the week.

-Trying to save some money? Pretty simple place to start is to cook your own food. Simply Abundant Living – Frugal Food edition

-If you're an average American, you'll live to be 78.6 years old. Vermonters have a year or two more… Good to know where I stand in life I guess.

-Fucking idiot.. Trump, Noted Garbage Enthusiast, Wants Kids to Be Free to Eat More Garbage

-How to Eat Dinner in Bed Like an Absolute Champion. And with this I say HELL NO. I am 100% against food in bed. But that be me.

-Dear Internet: Goats In Sweaters Are Cuter Than Kittens In Mittens There are some pretty rad goats pictured here.

- I am in love with this SUNDERLAND QUILTED CAR COAT.

-Now if this cup was a bottomless magic cup I would be all about it. Ember Temperature Controlled Mug

-MEET GEORGES STORE.. All the pretty light fixtures and colors. So nice.

-What does grade B ketchup look and taste like? 12 weird science facts to share with your family this holiday

-Geometric Animals Come to Life in DIY Lamp Kits by OWL. I’ll take the rhino please and thanks.

Pictures from the week.

Sunday Happy

And it’s Sunday again. Time is just flying by.

The camping was amazing. I guess there are not a lot of people that go camping this late in the year because we basically had the entire Lake Carmi state park to ourselves. I think we were the only people there besides and old couple in a cabin far away from us. The weather was perfect, brisk, but not too cold, the sky was a grey, the colors were popping. We went for a jaunt in the fields and a hike in the wood, the mr went fishing off a giant tree, and we enjoyed a lentil and campfire squash for dinner. Simple and sweet and all the best of the world. Sure it rained that night, but we stayed dry and yes it started to pour in the monring while we were picking up camp but then it stopped and all was good. And really, what’s camping all the time without a rain day or two. It’s part of the adventure.

And is was Alex’s birthday, he turned 13, and he had a family birthday party, but we ended up not going cause I was feeling like crap. I think it was a crash and burn, but I was weary because everyone is getting sick around me. Snotty, coughing, grossness. I am trying to avoid it if at all possible.

The next day I woke up tired but feeling better and went about the day doing the this and thats and thats and running around here and there. The mr started a rat trapping job (not for any of our properties) that turned into a whole big week long thing and I just don’t even want to deal with that. I stay away from anything that involves animal. If I were to get involved, we would probably and up with a few pet mice and a squirrel or two. And definitely a skunk or possum. So again, I stay away from that stuff.

Then there was Wednesday. I had one of those days where everything was going wrong. To start my day I woke up with a door handle smashed into my hip which I then thought was broken (the mr sure knows how to open a door). When I got to the gym my toe started throbbing and opened up and starting bleeding again (gross), but whatever, not that bad. I then went and spent a few hours over at the loft cleaning the F out of it so that my dad had clean sheets, toilet paper, and no tools in the middle of the floor when he stayed. We are over there all the time, but something about being there that day was making me just super sad and nostalgic and I basically was just thinking about Washer and I might have cried a little. But that happens and well, yeah Then it was lunch time but I was not getting lunch, which is never a good thing with me, I was taking a trip to the dentist. Hooray for me! Good thing my teeth looked great, said I am doing a good job as usual taking care of my mouth, except I was told again that I should really consider smashing my jaw and my palette and get braces and wire my mouth shut and blah blah blah. Just give the dentist $500 million dollars and they will fix all my screwed up bite and jaw problems. Yeah, no. Dental stuff is a sore subject for me so I’ll just leave it here.. So dentist made me in a bad mood on top of being sad. But I made it home and made a cake for Alex’s birthday party (his friend party) which I ended up burning it. So ok, that shit happens too but then the second cake, looking all perfect when I pulled it out of the oven, well I dropped one of the pans, and burned myself a few time. And then I cried little more..Yup. Oh, and knocked over some greenware pots by my wheel because why not add some more misery to the day. I think after all that I just gave up and crawled into bed at like 730.

Thursday went a lot better. I managed to turn the broken apart cake into a single layer cake (genius) and make it actually look pretty good. I picked up farm share and got out to the fields before it started to rain (hurray for me) Barb came over and made me smile while we talked of all things Italy and I fed her broken cake bits. I hung up all my halloween bats and did some laundry and stuck a dent in paperwork and bills that needed addressing. A way better day.

Friday was a little hectic. The political stuff brought out a slight crazed rage over the craziness of the world and I am still trying to wrap my head around it (along with the last 2 years…) But besides begin little wild eyed, I finish decorating the cake for Alex. Worked at the studio where I loaded 2 kilns and then some. Dropped the cake off to Alex then went to the groocery store for food for the party the next day, and somehow got pizza dough to rise at just the right speed (in and out of the fridge all day) in order to have dough for pizza birthday party for Coco (he turned 2 on Thursday!) that night. The littles came over for just a small something special for Coco. We had pizza, cookies, and a buzz lightyear balloon. He was sick so he ate no pizza and cried at the candle on his cookie, but then he ate it and that sugar made him happy, even when he was blowing super snot bubbles from his little nose. . And then Erin brought him home so he could have a sugar crash and be sick at home and the other littles could sleep over. They watched a Wrinkle in Time, while I started prepping apples and pie dough for Dads birthday pie the next day. And then we all fell asleep early. These darker nights really make it easy to crawl into bed at an early hour. (not complaining at all)

Saturday went swimmingly. I woke up made a pie and a loaf of pumpkin bread all before the littles woke up for breakfast pancakes. Barb came over, they all ate, then off we all went, the mr and I, Barb, Miley, Judah, to the farm for wagon ride and pumpkin picking. It’s out tradition, and this year, we brought Coco too.(and Buzz light-year of course) The ride went great, the pumpkin patch was pristine, we all got a good pumpkin and some gourds, and no one fell off the wagon. A very successful pumpkin picking adventure. After that we all ran home and I got lunch ready, The rest of the family came, ate the food, made the mess. The mr thought it would a great idea for the medium kids to have something productive to do to keep them out of trouble so he gave them all shovels and let them dig a giant hole in the middle of the back yard because why not? Uh huh, yeah. So on top of the normal mess everyone makes, there was a heavy extra layer of dirt tracked in and out of the house. After everyone left, I got to spend a little extra time cleaning late into night. How they got mud on the bathroom walls is pretty impressive.

Today we are doing something with Dad and his other children. Either a bike ride or hike, not sure yet, but something outside that will involve trees. After that, the mr and I are going to try and find a place to camp tonight. The weekly camping is just too good. We can’t not. Plus after a full week of people interaction, I could really use a night of peace and quite in the woods.

Internet from the week.

-Pumpkin Knowledge. The Best Pumpkins for Baking and Cooking. And 3 Ways to Use Those Pumpkin Guts. And What's Actually in Your Canned Pumpkin Purée?

-Wigstock, 'An Iconic Piece of Drag History,' Lets Its Roots Show At 2018 Revival. Oh my.. SO amazing. I wish I could be there!

-100% agree with this, it really is the best brand. The One Flour You Should Buy, According to a Professional Bread Maker

-Have you heard? Drunk birds are wreaking havoc in Minnesota

-Yeah, I would live here (that tree!) or definitely in this row house (the front door!)

-Most Introverts Would Like to Be More Extroverted. Yes and no. I love being alone and do not find it lonely, but I do wish I didn’t get completely drained and feel like I have ran a marathon from being around people.

-DARK MATTER IS A HUGE MYSTERY. THIS DEVICE IS TRYING TO DETECT IT. This makes me think of the His Dark Materials Books by Phillip Pullman. (read them if you haven’t, they are in my top 3 favorite books of all time)

-I kind of love this. Banksy auction prank leaves art world in shreds

-I follow this families adoption and it is so heartwarming and amazing and I just love them (Their daughter is so freaking cute, it kills me). And they are adopting again! I love how she does a Q and A about the whole thing.

And some pictures from the week.

Sunday Happy

Anyone else have a kind of strange week? Maybe not strange per say, it just seemed a little off. But maybe it’s the weather changing and it being pretty much October already and the state of the world being all crazy. Or maybe I am just losing my mind a bit. It’s probably that, and a little bit of everything too.

Last Sunday was camping at Underhill State Park. The place was packed during the day with all of the hikers, but that night, dead silent. It was probably one of the quietest places we have stayed yet. The only sound I heard all night was that of the stream nearby. And the hiking around there, well that is why you go. Unfortunately we got there kind of late so we were not able to hike to the top of Mansfield, before it got dark, but we did hike up a bit, and just turned around and watched the sunset through the trees. Good things happen while hiking in the woods. It is always hard to leave and come back to not camping life, but we do it.

When we got back to the world, it was all hustle and busting. Trying to get in things that needed to be done done. There was a lot of raining so not much painting happening which was kind of ok because there are a ton of things we needed and still need to get done so we did what we can do. I also had a giant unicorn cake and letter shaped cookies to make for Miley and Coco’s birthday party. Miley tuned 11 on Thursday and Coco is turning 2 next week so we did a 2 for 1 family party. It was lots of baking, making fondant and frosting, powdered sugar just getting everywhere and making everything sticky. There was a lot going on in the kitchen this week.

The mr spent one of those rainy afternoons making a unicorn piñata for Miley. That was it’s own mess in itself. But besides the mess, I think he should quit working and just make piñata for a living. The unicorn came out so awesome that I was a little hesitant to let him give it to her to beat apart. He was very excited for it to get smashed and it was all his deal so yeah. And honestly I think I was a little jealous. I hope he makes me a piñata for my birthday, but fill it with like carrots or something. A carrot piñata filled with carrots. That would be amazing.

Friday was work at the studio and then the party. Before work I spent another hour or so with the cake good thing the cookies were already done,, and then had to drop the cake off at Erins before I went to to work. Got to work and loaded and unloaded kilns and felt like I was running around with my head cut off, then straight back to the Erins for the party. Finished assembling cake then that was it. The people showed up, we played and danced around, coco was stealing cookies when no one was watching, Miley and Judah were eating the extra unicorn horn of sugar because why not, and all the kids were high as can be on sugar. Especially Miley. After the mr gave her the piñata, she hung it in her room because she did not want to smash it. But then after cake and all that sugar she took it down, brought it out the the front porch and just body slammed it and starting ripping it apart. It was shocking, and a little scary and made the mr oh so happy. He said it was meant to be destroyed. Lucky the head survived. Miley is going to mount it, like a trophy on the wall. And eat the 5 lbs of candy that were stuffed inside of it.

Yesterday the mr and I did our yearly jaunt to the Harvest Festival in Underhill. Everyone in the town is out having yard sales, there is music and marching bands, freshly pressed hot apple cider (we didn’t get any this year.. I don’t know why) and a view of the prettiest color changing mountains. I scored big too with a sweet 50 cent sweater and a free scale to weigh out my clay. Nothing better then finding something you are looking for, and for free to boot. And did I mention the colors? The trees are really starting to pop now. The reds and oranges, it’s gonna be a fire on the mountain soon.

After we got home the mr ran to fix some toilets and I started cleaning. Boy did we need to clean. To some, my house seemed perfectly fine, but to me, I could feel the days and days of sugar powder and paper mâché mud on everything. Every surface just felt sticky. And while I was doing my cleaning thing, I started a load of laundry in the basement and stubbed my toe (the toe next to my big toe that is still healing from the bender dropping on it). Not only did I stub it, I think I spilt it in half. It hurts, it really really hurts. Then I had to wipe up all the blood too. A great way to end the week.

Today is a new day. My toe is throbbing, I slept like shit last night because of the throbbing toe, so I am feeling kind of exhausted already, but that is ok because we are going camping tonight so I don’t have to think too much. I am going to go do a few morning chores, go to the gym ,and off we shall go. Maybe I will let myself have a mid day tent nap, or not. I am just happy to get away again. And this might be the last weekend we get to camp for a while so we really got to make it count.

Internet that interested me from the week.

-These Are All the Foods Being Affected by Trump’s Trade War. The list is long.

-I think there should be a ban everywhere! I don’t know how many time I have almost gotten into an accident on my bike or in the car with someone because they are using their phone while biking. It is stupid and dangerous. Netherlands Proposes Legislation To Ban Use Of Phones On Bicycles

-These Moths Drink the Tears of Sleeping Birds. Doesn’t that just sound like tragic and magical and crazy?

-If you are ever in a bulk section of spices and there are different types of cinnamon, try them, they taste very different. Did You Know That There Are Different Types of Cinnamon?

-No shit. Study: Roundup Weed Killer Could Be Linked To Widespread Bee Deaths.

-This little wood fire stove or this wood fired stove are my kitchen goals in life.

-Every Adult Should Have a Bedtime. Mine is 9, but I will crawl into bed earlier and read. That may seem early to a lot of people, but I wake up at like 430 everyday so yeah.

-Will a Baked Potato Really Explode If You Don't Prick It? I have had a many things (eggplants for sure and spaghetti squash) explode due to not pricking, and also tons of stuff not.. Take the risk?

-Apple Cider Doughnuts Are a Lie. I often wondered…

-This place would totally fuck with my head. A Cafe in Seoul Uses Clever Contour Lines to Appear Like a 2-Dimensional Cartoon

Pictures from the week’

-C

Sunday Happy

Did you get any snow? I was hopping for snow, but got none and am a little disappointed. Call me crazy, but I am just ready for a good dumping, maybe even snowed in for a day or two. Humm, probably not happening for a while, but a dusting would be nice, no?

This past week Shannon turned one year older. We had dinner and cake and Jackson wrote her a rap that made all of us cry. Then the littles came over for a dinner/orchestra rehearsal and we got the baby to walk around the kitchen again. The only time he seems to walk is for Oreo cookies... He might be on to something here. I made what seems like a shit ton of bread products to feed the people who stop by for lunch. I found pine cones and turned them into a wall hanging, had a great time catching up with Joanie, and have continued my watching of Stranger Things 2 (taking my time with this season) I was very social this week and give myself 3 stars for not running away to a hole in the ground. 

Then the basement, The mr and I spent a very long day removing buckets and buckets of heavy ass dirt from down below. We were in respirators which sucked because they suck wearing and we both have this chest congestion so it was just sucky, but we needed them with the amount of dust and dirt we were dealing with. The truck was full by the end and we now have a shoveled out, swept, and vacuumed over and over, clean and empty (we got rid of allll the stuff and tools) basement. That was one long day of shit shoveling. But it's over and never again. And it was all in preparation for the washer and dryer that was to be delivered Thursday. 

We waited a full day for he washer and dryer to be delivered and it didn't show. We were not happy put the mr dealt with it. We waited another 1/2 day for the washer and dryer and it still didn't show. And oh boy were we about to flip but the mr dealt with it and yesterday, right at 8ish in the morning, we finally got our washer and dryer!!!!!!!!!! And it is as amazing as I had remembered. Big metal tubs that will do all my washing and drying needs, right here in my house. I am so excited.  The mr spent the day running water and power and hooking it all up and ever since then, laundry on loop. Clean cloths whenever I want. I guess I have no excuses now.  

The family is all coming over in just a few short hours for the annual Sunday before Thanksgiving, Family Thanksgiving I think we are up to 25 people.. Some are little so they take up less space, but it's those half sized people that tend to make the biggest mess.  The house is going to be full by afternoon and I am not going to lie, I am a little stressed out. I think it's because of the turkey. This is  a meat free house but Mom is bring a cooked turkey (no way in hell is a turkey being cooked in my oven) and I just have this anxiety that there is going to be meat everywhere, I know I am over reacting but I can't help my feelings. But other then that it will be great. I am doing all the veggie sides, making some bread and maybe some cookies? I don't know. My mom bought like 4 pies and I might just skip the cookies because we probably  don't need them. So yeah, a full house of all the crazy people and a few extra to bare witness. I got the coloring supplies, grabbing the board games, and trying to set up a long as table to seat everyone at all at once. I hope people don't mind sitting on mud buckets.  Wish me luck.

Internet findings from the week

-A Wrinkle in Time. Another one of my favorite books turned movie, but this one, I am so excited about. . Mindy and Oprah...It has got to be great.

-Instagram Crowds May Be Ruining Nature Be more aware people!

-Life goal (or next year goal) Find land and build and A frame cabin. How to Build an A-Frame. Should be simple right? 

Sign me up, although I don't make a lot os scrapes, I tend to eat it all. This Kickstarter Converts Kitchen Scraps Into Cooking Fuel

-11 Stress Experts on Surviving the Constant Anxiety That Is 2017. Hoping the 2018 isn't quite so nuts.

-The Bra Ladies of New York. Looking for that "Goldylocks" of bras would drive me crazy. 

-Potty humor, but seriously, don't drop butt in toilet. . Toilet Signs Are Mysterious And Mirth-Inducing

-I think the week of Thanksgiving is the perfect time to start decorating. Science Makes the Case For Putting Up Holiday Decorations Early

-Where Does That Rumbling in Your Tummy Really Come From?. I just thought it was my stomach yelling at me to eat (or nat eat) 

-A great way to use up some trash. Giant Exhibition of Animal Assemblages Built with Trash

Pictures from the week.