The Adventure Begins

So, due to storms in Chicago, our flight for this afternoon is CANCELLED!!!!! So, the new plan is that we are flying to Dallas tonight and then to Minnesota tomorrow. We figured it was in our best interest to get out of New England tonight as the wintry weather is headed this way. At least they booked us for First Class for tonight so that we could get out. We didn't have to pay any extra and now we don't have to pay for luggage either. I am sure that we are in for a long night, and probably a long morning tomorrow. We are now scheduled to get to MN tomorrow AM. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't hit any more bumps along the way!

Happy Holidays!

We are leaving tomorrow for Minnesota to spend the Holidays with MJ's family. We'll be back on the 2nd of January with an update then.

I wish all of my blogging friends a Very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and whatever else you may celebrate!

Happy New Year to all - enjoy the craziness of the next week!

To Do List

Lets see, we leave in a couple of days. Tuesday to be exact - there is so much to do, it isn't even funny! How does time creep up so quickly? No matter how much you think you are doing a good job keeping up with everything, all of a sudden here we are so far behind.

Here are the things that need to be done in the next couple of days:

1. Make one batch of Magic Bars for Cookie Swap

2. Make 5 dozen frosted brownies for Cookie Swap

3. Make 3 dozen cut out cookies for MJ's class to decorate

4. Make frosting to decorate cookies from #3

5. Clean the house

6. Finish up laundry

7. Wrap presents

8. Celebrate Christmas with Carrie's Family (if the snow isn't too bad)

9. Snow blow and shovel at least twice (we have 12 - 18 inches of snow coming)

10. Pack!

11. Work all day Monday and Half Day Tuesday

12. Attend cookie swap after school on Monday

13. Attend school holiday concert Monday evening

14. Get to bus station and airport on Tuesday afternoon

I guess we had better get going!

'Tis the Season!

Dear Mother Nature,

Dear Mother Nature,

Welcome to New Hampshire. It is quite clear from the events of the past week, that you really like spending time here. Let's see, there was an ice storm that left 390,000 homes without power, 8 inches of snow overnight last night, and another 12 - 18 inches of snow forecast for tomorrow. While we enjoy having you visit, it would be nice if you packed your bags and moved on for a bit. You see, you really have hampered many holiday plans for the folks around here.
Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like you or anything, I just wish that you weren't so cold and snowy. Maybe you could pay another visit in a few months to bring us some of that nice warm, sunny weather. I really can't think about another 110 inches of snow this winter - I'm sure someone else wouldn't mind if you brought it to their house! Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,

The people who are tired of this crazy weather!

Holiday Card and Letter

Well, I had planned on posting this much earlier, but with the power outage, it made things a bit difficult. The picture above is of the Christmas Card we made for 2008. Inside, we included a fun poem to tell peopel what we were up to this year! It is a spoof on Dr. Seuss's Oh, The Places You'll Go! Enjoy!

Oh, the Places We’ve Been!

Salutations!
This year was our year.
We were off to Great Places!
Went both far and near!

With suitcases in hand, gas in our car,
and also plane tickets to travel afar.
From cruising the ocean, to roasting a S’more,
birthdays at Disney, visiting family, and more!

In February, cold weather was left behind;
a cruising adventure we were sure to find.
Swimming with Flipper was oh so neat;
spent a day in Key West on Duval Street.

Went shopping in Nassau,
folded napkins on ship;
went parasailing high over the ocean,
WOW! Our stomachs sure did flip!

In June we went camping,
and set up the tent.
At Nickerson State park,
a fine space we did rent.

From a visit to Cape Cod Chips,
and a drive along the shore;
Shopping in Provincetown,
all this and much more!

Once camping was done,
to Disney we went;
We joined Miss Olivia
for her birthday event!

Character meals were aplenty,
the ride lines never empty.
Typhoon Lagoon couldn’t be beat
in the sun’s scorching heat!

We boarded a plane
with souvenirs in hand;
off to visit the Snyders,
in Minnesota we’d soon land!

Next a Colorado trip,
in the car we would go;
to see Jim and Annette
with mom and Joyce in tow.

The Women’s Prison was open
for a museum style tour;
white water rafting through the Gorge
held quite the allure.

2008 was a year that just couldn’t be beat!
Happy Holidays to all,
may your 2009 be sweet!

The Pickle

When I was growing up, my best friend's family always hid a pickle in their Christmas tree. I always thought that it was just the coolest thing. For those of you who don't know, the pickle on the tree comes from a German tradition. According to this tradition, “A very old Christmas eve tradition in Germany was to hide a pickle [ornament] deep in the branches of the family Christmas Tree. The parents hung the pickle last after all the other ornaments were in place. In the morning they knew the most observant child would receive an extra gift from St. Nicholas. The first adult who finds the pickle traditionally gets good luck for the whole year.”

As a kid, I can remember trying to spot the pickle in the Richardson's tree. The other day, I was joking back and forth on Facebook with the girls about whether or not they still have pickles on their trees even as adults. Well, of course they do!

Yesterday, I came home to find a small package in my mailbox. I opened it up, and inside was my very own pickle to hang on my tree! I was so excited. Mrs. R must have seen our conversations back and forth and she decided to send me one. Now let me stop here to say, that Mrs. R is one of the most kind and considerate people I know - it was so like her to think of sending this to me. She was the person who used to send all of us "kids" care packages in college and so on...

So, here is my pickle from Mrs. R!

Something like this just goes to show that taking a little time to think about someone and make them feel special can really make a person's day!

Thanks, Mrs. R!

Here's the Story

So, as I promised, here is the story of our 109 hours without power!

We awoke Friday Morning to a sea of ice. The ice was so thick that trees were bending right over onto the ground. It was already getting chilly in the house, but we put on some warm clothes and hunkered down to read, crochet, play DS, whatever else. A couple of hours into this, my mom stopped by and told us that the news reports were saying it could be days before power was restored. We decided to pack up some stuff, grab the dogs and head over to their house - especially since they have a generator.

Thanks to the generator, gas grill, and woodstove, we had great meals cooked by my brother, and we were able to work on making holiday treats for work and friends. We cranked out 160 of these little treat bags throughout the weekend. The dogs also loved the fact that we set up an air mattress in the living room - to them it was another comfy place to sleep!

We ended up leaving the cats at home, because if they had some with us, they would have been locked in 1 room, and we thought they were better off just at home even though it was cold. The house got to an all time low of 32 degrees and we worried that pipes would freeze. We lost the contents of our refrigerator and some of the contents of the kitchen freezer. We were able to save all of the meat in the basement freezer as my parents, thankfully, had room in their freezers to squeeze it all in. We also lost all of the fish in the fish tank as they froze to death.

Our power finally came back at 1PM on Tuesday. We came home and excitedly plugged in all of the Christmas decorations! Thankfully, other than the lost food and fish tank , we weathered the storm quite well.

We are so thankful to my parents for their hospitality. The endured 4 (2 girls and 2 dogs) extra houseguests for almost 5 days. We had 2 days off from school that we'll have to make up in June.

As of right now, there are still 75,000 homes in NH without electricity and some of them may be lucky to have it for Christmas. Some school districts have closed until January 5. I guess through it all, we really were some of the lucky ones.....

109 hours.....

That is how long we were without power! It finally came back on at 1 PM today after being out since just before midnight on Thursday. I have never been so thankful! I will be back tomorrow with a full update and pictures - I promise!

A special thanks to my parents for offering their "hotel" for the past five days! The house is slowly warming up, and we are happy to be home.

67 Hours and Counting......

Just a quick note to say we are alive and at my parents house. We have been without power for 67 hours and counting now. We had a HUGE ice storm here in NH that has wiped out the state. We had no school Friday, and are out again tomorrow. Our house is a balmy 34 degrees - the fish are all belly up in the fish tank as they have frozen to death. The dogs are here with us, and the cats are fine at home - we go over and check on them a couple of times a day. The state is saying that some places will be without power through the week. Thankfully my parents have a generator that kept us sane through the weekend and they got their power back earlier today. So, we are here until further notice.....

I'll blog more in detail with pics once we get back home....

Football......

Ok, so it's not that I don't like football, but I just don't really follow it. I mean, if I wanted to I could easily watch a game and know what is going on. It's just that I don't really care all that much - UNTIL NOW! You see, we have a football pool at school. There are about 30 of us involved and MJ and I decided to play this year. At the end, you pay one dollar per point out of first place with a max of $30. Then everyone goes out to dinner - winner's treat and the winner keeps the change. So, the beauty is that even if you lose, you still get to go out to dinner, so really your not out a whole lot.

Well, truth be told - being involved in the pool has created a monster out of me! I take great pain in making my picks each week! The best part is, I have been in first or second place every week! Right now, I'm in second and MJ is in third, but we are only one and two points out of first place respectively! There are all these people who are avid fans and we are kicking their butts!!! I think it is funny! For those of you who don't know me, I am a very competitive person and this has really brought it out!

So, for anyone who cares, here are our picks for this week.

Carrie's picks

Chicago
Atlanta
Washington
Tennessee
Indianapolis
Green Bay
San Diego
Miami
NY Jets
Seattle
Arizona
Pittsburgh
Carolina
New England
NY Giants
Philadelphia


Mary Jo's Picks

Chicago
Atlanta
Washington
Tennessee
Indianapolis
Green Bay
Kansas City
Miami
NY Jets
Seattle
Minnesota
Pittsburgh
Carolina
New England
NY Giants
Philadelphia

The Story of the Chairs...

OK, so here is the story behind the chairs in our header picture. That is a picture I took along with a bunch of others when we were visiting one of our favorite places - The Highlands. This is a wonderful gem of a place in northern New Hampshire. It is a women's (read: lesbian) resort and just a wonderful getaway. We went there for the weekend of our Civil Union and have been back a couple of other times as well. The Highlands sits on a beautiful piece of property with trails for walking and snowshoeing. There is a main building with two other buildings. An awesome breakfast is served every morning too! Grace, the inkeeper goes out of her way to make your stay exceptional.


So, if you are ever visiting this neck of the woods and want to stay at a wonderful place, check it out - Grace would be happy to have you! http://www.highlandsinn-nh.com

Here are a couple of other pictures - one of the inn and one of us on the hillside right before our Civil Union.

Ode to Jim!

This post is for my brother in law Jim. He is one of the most faithful readers of this blog. He always knows what is going on with us because he keeps up with the blog. And, when I don't blog regularly, he gripes a bit. It is great to know that people enjoy keeping up with us and family living far away is one of the main reasons we keep this blog! Jim is such a fun loving guy and I am so happy to have him as my brother in law. So, in honor of his faithful reading of the blog, I am going to try to post EVERY day this week!

Mario Rocks!

So, this weekend we figured out how to download games for the Wii! It is the absolute coolest thing! There are 78 different games from the original Nintendo Entertainment System. There are lots of others too, but nothing like the classics! We got Super Mario Brothers, Bubble Bobble, and Donkey Kong. I forgot how simplistic the games really are. They have been so much fun to play!

Over the weekend, we got the rest of the house decorated both inside and out. It looks great!!! I just love Christmas! We also got our Christmas cards and letters made and out in today's mail. I will post a pic of the card for all my blog friends, but not until later in the week when friends and family have enjoyed them for real.

Bolt was very cute - Disney always does a good job!

Card Making Frenzy

So, we're knee deep in our homemade Christmas cards. We started making them with mom last night and we are heading back over there in a bit to finish them. I have to say, I'm quite pleased with how they are turning out. I love being able to send out homemade cards. It just adds such a personal touch in this crazy world of email and text messages. I'll post a pic once we finish them...

Tonight we'll be meeting Laura, Sue, and Olivia to see Bolt in 3-d. That should be enjoyable! We'll do a little more Christmas shopping too. Tomorrow we hope to get the decorations finished in the house.

Christmas sure is coming up quickly this year!

Christmas Quiz

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends.
Feel free to copy and paste to your blog. (I stole it from Lisa at And Baby Makes Three)


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both, but I really love gift bags with fun tissue and ribbon all curled hanging from the handles

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real this year, but we also have a little artificial one.

3. When do you put up the tree? ASAP after Turkey Day - ours is currently up with the lights on, but we need to finish decorating this weekend!

4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime in early January

5. Do you like eggnog? absolutely - even better with RUM in it!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Third row tickets to New Kids on the Block when they were the hottest band around!

7. Hardest person to buy for? no one really - I love to buy presents for people!

8. Easiest person to buy for? MJ

9. Do you have a nativity scene? yes - a beautiful Willow Tree one that my parents bought us for Christmas last year!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail - we make our own!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? a massager that hurt like hell when you used it

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Jim Carrey version of The Grinch

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? all throughout the year - but we get really serious on Black Friday

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? absolutely!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? fondue on Christmas Eve

16. Lights on the tree? yes - colored!

17. Favorite Christmas song? Little Drummer Boy

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? we travel to be with MJ's family - it is one of the two times a year that we get to spend with them

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? absolutely - I am an elementary school teacher!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? we have an angel on the real one and a primitive star on the fake one

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning - though when I was a kid, we got to open one on Christmas Eve

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? people who are crabby - come on - enjoy the hustle and bustle of the holiday season

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? primitive

24. Favorite place for Christmas dinner? MJ's mom's house with everyone there

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? health and happiness in preparation for our next baby try in January

The Latest...

Well, here is the latest from here. Sorry it has taken so long for a post, but I have been sick! I have this cold that I can't seem to shake - one day I think I am feeling better, and then the next it knocks me down again - Hopefully I am finally on the mend!

We had a great Thanksgiving with my parents and then we also went to my aunt and uncle's for pie later in the day. It is always wonderful to spend time with family - especially when there is good food to eat! Mom got a 25 pound turkey, so there were PLENTY of leftovers!

On Friday, we got up early (5:30) and braved the crowds for Black Friday - we have so much fun shopping on this day! We got some great deals and we also got the majority of our Christmas Shopping done. On the way home we picked up our Christmas tree too!

On Saturday morning, we went to a great holiday craft fair with my mom and my aunt.
Saturday afternoon through Sunday, our friends Laura, Sue and Olivia came for a visit. We made Christmas cards, scrapbooked, and played some Wii. I love playing Wii - it is always worth a good laugh! We tried out a couple of new games too and had lots of fun!

We got the lights on our tree, and will have to finish decorating it this weekend!

So, in a nutshell that's what we've been up to - now it is time to gear up for Christmas. We will be going home to Minnesota three weeks from tomorrow - very exciting!

Busy, Busy, Busy

We have just been busy, busy, busy! I'll recap the weekend! On Friday night, I had the BIG SHOW! I coordinated our elementary school Variety Show. It was lots of fun - we had 37 kids performing in 19 different acts ranging from gymnastics to singing to dancing and much more. It was a crazy week with dress rehearsal on Wednesday, an in school performance on Thursday, and the evening performance on Friday! I was given a BEAUTIFUL flower arrangement for coordinating it - they look very pretty on the island.

On Saturday, we attempted to tackle the leaves that have overtaken our yard. We felt like we were fighting a losing battle as it was quite windy. We didn't get it all done, but it does look much better! After working outside, we went to visit some friends and had dinner with them.

Sunday, we made loads of Chex Mix! We are making treats for the other teachers at school and for MJ's class. We stuffed 140 bags of this stuff and tied a cute bow with leaves and a turkey attached! Then in the evening my mom and dad came over for a fondue dinner - YUM!

It was a great weekend and we are looking forward to only working one more day this week! Turkey day will be spent with my mom and dad!

EXCITING

Ok, so I have to share this small piece of exciting news - and no, I'm not pregnant! But this certainly comes in a close second!

For Christmas, we travel to visit MJ's family in Minnesota -it really is the only holiday that we get to spend with them, and it is a really enjoyable time for all! So, we've been looking for plane tickets for about 6 weeks now and the prices have been just outrageous. We're talking right around $450 - $500 a ticket - that would mean roughly $900 just to fly home. We were preparing for the worst and figured nothing could be worse than last year when we paid close to $1200 to get home for Christmas.

We have literally been looking for tickets EVERY DAY and hoping that they would fall around the $350 - $375 price per ticket. Well, today I found some for $359 a piece. I was very excited about the price, but the schedule wasn't the best. So, I headed to another website to check prices and WE GOT TICKETS FOR $480 TOTAL! THAT IS ONLY $240 APIECE!!!! We got both tickets for what one ticket was going for just yesterday!

We are so excited!!! Now we'll have more money for the annual Casino trip!

Wrapping up the weekend!

Well, we are wrapping up the weekend. I am sitting here putting the finishing touches on a paper about school funding in Minnesota for my class tomorrow night and MJ is getting her lesson plan book in order for the principal to review tomorrow as part of her evaluation.

We had a great weekend! Yesterday, since it was raining again, we decided to do our own little scrapbook store tour. We got online and found some that we had never been to and visited three of them. One we wouldn't go to again, one had super friendly staff but was not our "type" of products, and the last one was FABULOUS!! We fell in love - it is a huge store with tons of product and a wonderful cropping area! Then, of course, we had to come home and scrap some more. In the past 10 days, we have finished our pet albums, finished 2005, finished 2006, and started 2007 - of which we are close to completing - all we have left is Christmas. It has been quite an accomplishment! Now we just need to do 2008, Disney, and finish our cruise album. Not too bad if I do say so myself.

Today, we slept in and went to visit my parents in the afternoon. The dogs needed to go run and play, so it was good.

Now we have to gear up for a five day week - last week was only three days!

Free to a Good Home!

Single, Black Lab, male, 6 years old, 105 pounds

Likes to go for rides - especially to his Nana and Grampa's!

great lap dog - or so he thinks

Likes to be tucked in at night...

bed hog - usually comes to visit around 4:30 am

Very good at being naughty -

Knows that time - outs are to be taken on the stairs until his mamas tell him he can come down.



Ok, seriously, what is up with Willy?!?! He has been so naughty lately. Let's see, it all started a couple of weeks ago when he ate 6 1/2 pounds of candy while we were at work - just imagine the mess and smell of our house when we came home. Then, last week, he ate a whole bowl of Andes mints - wrapper and all! Well, today he got into the trash and dragged it through the downstairs. He has just hit a major naughty streak!

People don't believe us when we say he sits on the stairs when he has been naughty! I don't know how it started, but he seriously sits on the stairs, head peered over the banister, tip of his tail wagging until you tell him it's ok. So, if ever we come home and don't see a mess, but he is on the stairs - we know we have to go looking!

Below is a little video I took of him tonight with the tip of his tail thumping away. You can just tell in his face he is saying "sorry, mom, really I am!" Sorry that half of it is sideways - I guess you can't turn the camera when taking video. You get the idea though!

He seriously cracks me up - it's a good thing he is so cute and loveable!

Remembering.....

I think that it is really important for people to pause and remember our Veterans today. For many years, they have fought to keep our country safe. Whether or not we agree with war, we have to agree that it is important to honor our Veterans. They serve our country in good times and in bad and they fight for the freedom that we are so priviledged to have.

This post is in honor of my Dad - a Vietnam War Veteran, who to this day still suffers the effects of the war he fought in almost 40 years ago. I am not sure how anyone could endure the horrors of war and come out on the other side as an amazing human being -- well, my dad did! He is one of the most kind and caring men that I know and he has loved my mother for more than 37 years. He is an incredible father to both my brother and I. He is a hard worker, and has the determination and will to accomplish anything he sets his mind to.

Dad, we remember you and all veterans today - Thank you for fighting for our country to preserve our freedom and allow us to live a privileged life. You are an incredible husband, father, and friend!

Happy Veteran's Day!

The Kindergarten Genius!

So, as you saw from Saturday's post, we had our favorite five year old Olivia here with us over the weekend. While we were making pretzels, Olivia was wowing us with her intellect. She was very proud of the fact that she could skip count. Now, as teachers we were very excited to see all that she had been learning in Kindergarten. We figured we would definitely hear her count by fives, or even twos. Well, one should not assume those things as you can see in the video below. I guess she was right - she certainly was skipping numbers in her counting!

Today is a fabulous day as it is parent conference day. That meant that we went in to work for a few hours and got to leave early. We also got to go in jeans and a sweatshirt because I have no conferences with my position, and MJ got all of hers done last week. We both got some work done, and then went out to lunch and we mangaged to be home about 2 1/2 hours earlier than a normal day. The best part is that we have tomorrow off too because of Veteran's Day! The plan is to tackle some scrapbooking tonight and the leaves in the yard tomorrow!

Another.....

another month

another temperature drop

another visit from af

another time my body has failed me

another hope lost

another dream shattered

another wish.....gone

another two months until we can try again

another $500 up the whoohaaa

another sad day

another disappointment

another "why us?"

another "when does it get to be our turn?"

another summer without a baby in our arms

another negative

Sleepover and pretzels

Well, we have our favorite five year old Olivia here for a sleepover tonight. We picked her up earlier and have her until tomorrow. We had lots of fun earlier tonight making chocolate covered pretzels. They are really yummy - we just had one for a "bedtime snack". Below for your viewing enjoyment are pictures of the process!

1. Make sure the pretzels taste good before making the molds.



2. Count out six pretzels to use in the molds.




3. Melt the candies - squeeze them to make sure they melt evenly.

4. Squeeze a bit of chocolate in the mold.


5. Roll the pretzel in chocolate.


6. Place the pretzel in the mold.

7. Finish covering the pretzel with MORE chocolate.

8. Add sprinkles for good measure!

We had a very busy day today - lots of running errands, etc. It was very productive though!

On the TTC front - I was feeling very positive and now not so much. I know it is still early - today is 9 days past the IUI, but I'm not feeling a thing. My temp seemed to drop a little bit this morning too. It didn't drop significantly, but if I were pregnant, it actually should be rising a bit. MJ is definitely still more hopeful than I am right now, and I hope she is right here. We'll just have to see how it goes. We'll know one way or the other in the next few days. Keep your fingers (and toes) crossed!

AGONIZING!

That is how this two week wait is going! The time is passing so slowly, I can't stand it! I just want so badly to be pregnant! I tested this morning to make sure the trigger was out of my system and it is. So, now when I start testing this weekend, I'll know that the results are the "real deal". So, now the time passes with many wishes, hopes, dreams, and fingers crossed. We are half way through - we can make it through the other half!

Happy Halloween!

Any teacher out there knows how horrid Halloween Day is at school! The kids are insane, sugared up, overtired, and excited. You see, in the town we teach in, the kids trick-or-treat on "beggar's night" - October 30. Yep, that was last night - so not only were they out way too late, they fueled up on sugar before they went to bed and for breakfast! Oh, and just to keep on the sugar high, they make sure that they bring plenty to school with them for snack too! As teachers, we count down the hours until the day is over.
MJ and I work at two different schools on Fridays. At the school that I work at - the kids are not allowed to wear their Halloween costumes, but are asked instead to dress up in a way that portrays a vocabulary word for the vocabulary parade. I decided that I wasn't going to use one of the lame words they were giving out, so instead I picked my own. With the help of MJ we decided that I was going to be a ketchup bottle aka "condiment"! Everyone thought that this was just the most clever idea. So, here I am in all my glory as a ketchup, I mean condiment bottle!



Now, of course MJ needed a costume too, but she works at the fun school where they could wear their Halloween costumes. It is also Red Ribbon (Be Drug Free) Week and there was a door decorating contest at school as well. Her team (4th grade) decided to use the Wizard of Oz as a theme. They all did their doors according to a character from the movie and made a yellow brick road into all of the classrooms. MJ go to be the tin man. I think they did a marvelous job and they won the contest too! Here are some pics of MJ in her costume, the doors, and her team all dressed up!

In TTC news - the IUI went PERFECT yesterday. My cervix was wide open, and they were able to do the IUI with no problem at all. The doc said the swim team looked great and that my girlie parts looked great too. According to my AM temps, I don't think we could have timed it any better either. Let's just hope those swimmers are racing for the gold right now! We are thinking very positively!

Happy Halloween everyone, be safe if you are going out tonight!