fourth of july

Happy day !

remembering

our troops and their families and what Memorial Day means for them.

Thank you to them for their service.

for the moms

Although every day is Mother's day once you become a Mom...

It is nice to have one special day...
Just for you.
Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms I know.

Enjoy your special day!

Thank you to my three kids for giving me the opportunity to be a Mom and to be lucky enough to be called their Mom.

easter, sugar cookies and a surprise

We had a very nice Easter. A delicious dinner with the Arizona relatives. We were able to sit outside on the patio again this year. Normally, Easter in Colorado was spent inside while watching the wind, the rain, or sometimes even the snow outside. We spent many years bundling the kiddos up in coats and watching them hunt for eggs, while we stood inside where it was warm, watching from the windows. But here in Arizona, despite a little bit of wind, we had a delightful day outside at Nana's.

The girls and I baked and frosted some sugar cookies on Saturday. I have made a lot of these sugar cookies over the years for many different holidays. Everyone has always enjoyed decorating and especially eating them. I have quite a few cookie cutters that I have collected over the years! And because you are just never too old for some fun traditions...we dyed eggs too.

Oh yum.

As I was uploading my pictures to the computer this morning I saw some pretty pictures. I didn't remember taking them, which happens quite often around here. Okay, yes it does happen that I don't remember things that I do, but what I mean is... sometimes other people use my camera and then I often see little delightful surprises...

such as this.

And this.

Doesn't the inside of the rose look like the little swirl of butter on the top of a brand new butter tub? We call it the "do-dad" and it was always a whirl of excitement to see who got to the "butter do-dad" with their knife before anyone else!
And this.

I thought the same thing. Not so special...why did someone take that photo?
Oh spit.
How nice.
And they wonder why I am acting a little forgetful and neurotic at times.

be mine

I made this in 1979 for my boyfriend.

It's pretty big, like 24 inches at its widest. My Dad helped me cut out the piece of wood into the big heart shape and then I cut out all those little words and images from magazines. I organized each piece into some sort of order and carefully glued each one individually on to the board. I really don't remember how long it took me to do it, but I'm sure it was quite a few tedious hours. I do remember that I would get them all positioned and when I would come back to it the next night, some of them would have been blown around or knocked off. So I would have to start over again, placing them just right. Once each piece was glued down I coated it with several layers of varnish.

For thirty-two Valentine Day's it has hung on a wall in 5 different houses. My boyfriend passed it on to my husband. And every year I pull it out and hang it up. It's a Valentine that has never changed. Even though we have. Same two people, just older. He was my boyfriend then. I think I am still his girlfriend now.

Happy Valentine's Day to my husband.

Happy Valentine's Day to my three kids.

And Happy Valentine's Day to everyone else. Did anyone wonder why my boyfriend from 1979 would have given his Valentine to my husband? Ha. Same guy.

Have a heart-full day!

a little bird told you

I haven't put away my Christmas decorations... because I'm not tired of looking at them yet.

When you have a cute little pine cone tree that your daughter made in pre-school (1998), why would you want to pack it away until next year? Maybe I won't. Maybe I will leave it out for a long time because it's little paint and glitter tipped edges remind us of all the snowy days we used to have this time of year. I sat it on the windowsill, above the sink, next to the little blue bird we found in the garden shed when we moved here.

Old life. New life. Just a little reminder.

twenty eleven

2011

Two thousand eleven.

No matter how you write it or how you say it, it is going to be hard to get used to. In fact, after eleven years, I still have a hard time remembering the whole two thousand something.

In the month of December, Leah decided that even though she wouldn't see snow for Christmas in Arizona, she would pay tribute to Colorado. She cut a bunch of paper snowflakes and hung them from the ceiling in her room. They lightly spin and dance with any movement of air. It is quite pretty and it was a good remembrance of all the snowfalls we used to see. And, she's pretty good with the scissors I might add.

We spent last week in Texas with family. We had a great time celebrating a late Christmas and ringing in the New Year. Well, not so much ringing as... kazooing. Auld Lang Syne is something to hear and see with a bunch of men with kazoos at midnight! I won't be posting that video. Or should I? There was a lot of delicious food, thanks to my niece. Yummy cookies that Grandma made. Musical entertainment by the very talented husband of my niece. And some good hugs and lots of laughs from the under-the-age-of-ten group. It was a great time and we enjoyed it all.

Rachel had traveled to Wyoming for a basketball tournament and nearly didn't make it out because of a big snowstorm. The temperature bottomed at minus twenty seven (with the wind chill) which was enough to freeze these Arizona girls!

And, oddly enough, while we were gone, it snowed here in Phoenix! Leah got a photo text from a friend showing the snow up here in our neighborhoods. What? The big five year snow in Phoenix and we missed it!

At least we still have the scissor snowflakes in Leah's room.

post edit:

So... if anyone read this post today, before I was informed of my mathematical and calendar error...oops. If you know me well, you know that numbers are not my thing. If you don't know me well...my secret is revealed. It may be that I had the Mayan end of the world year on my brain because my mathematically gifted children have been talking about it lately.

The correction has been made. Thank you for alerting me.

Christmas favorites part two

Christmas Eve morning and all through the house...

everyone is ready for Santa to arrive.

I believe.

I painted a whole bundle of these girls one year for gifts. I wish I had done more.
The morning sun was just coming up. I love this crazy chenille angel.
Leah made this cute ceramic snowman in her art class in middle school.
Stack a few old funnels and you get a great tree. We have a love for old rusty things.
And I love vintage glass ornaments.
Snowman angel!
Always on a window sill. Always happy.
And the stockings have been hung by the fireplace with care.
Merry Christmas to all!

I will be taking a little break from my blog to enjoy the rest of the season with my family. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and the start of a great new year!

a few Christmas favorites part one

It looks like Christmas around here. Last year, we had our tree up and decorated, but everything else was packed away. So, this year I unpacked things that were still wrapped and packed from the move. It was a little emotional unwrapping a certain little piece of Christmas that was always in the same spot in our old house. As I opened the paper, I would immediately see the place it always graced in our old house and could literally feel and hear the sounds of all our past Christmases. It was time to find a new way to display some of our favorite decorations.

Here are a few old favorites paired together for the first time.

This little nativity set was given to us when the kids were very small. It is a classic Avon Nativity. It was always on the little chest in front of our couch and it is there now too. It was always fun to see a new arrangement of these little figures each day after the kids had played with them. Sometimes, I would find the little sheep or Mary in the most unusual places around the house. Lots of little hands have loved this little Nativity.
Our tree is a very eclectic mix of ornaments. Most of them are handmade. Some by my sisters and Mom. Some by my kids and some by friends. And some by me.I love the mix of ornaments that we hang every year. There are many with a lot of memories. The little heart below is stitched with "Our first Christmas" under the house. It was our first ornament in our first home after we were married.
There are some that are stitched and glued and some that are molded and carved. We have some that have been given to us from my mother-in-law, that were once on their family tree.
We have some with photos. That little baby in the top left corner is me!
I think I love these the most.
Perfectly cute.
Made with love for Momma.
Glue, glitter, popsicle sticks, yarn and ribbon all combined with cute faces in school pictures. All proudly made and wrapped and hidden under the tree for me to open on Christmas morning. They were always my favorite little presents to open.
Teachers... these are the very best gifts you can ever have your students create.

ten thankful moments

1. Two sisters and a brother took a Thanksgiving morning hike to the top of Black Mountain with their Uncle.

2. The turkey was moist and very tasty.

3. We had family around the table with us.

4. Nana gave a dumpling tutorial and we all enjoyed eating them.

5. A jam session with a variety of musical instruments.

6. A few cat naps while watching football.

7. Three delicious pies and a few other yummy desserts.

8. Stuffing that was seasoned just right.

9. Helpful menfolk during kitchen duty.

10. Many blessings that come my way on this day and every other day throughout the year.

Happy Thanksgiving

The pumpkin pie went in the oven and came out smelling delicious. So did the pecan and the apple pie too. My pie apprentice helped me assemble and bake them to what we hope is a tasteful treat.

My table is set. And the real bird is in the oven beginning to make the house smell Thanksgiving-like. What a memory filled smell it is.
I love these little turkey plates. I bought them at Pottery Barn many years ago. I've never regretted the purchase.
I have just a small bit of decoration. My mom made this pine cone wreath many, many years ago. I used to put it out only for the holidays, but because I really like it, I keep it out all the time now.
I am thankful to have my family here today for Thanksgiving. I will miss those that shared our table with us all of the years we lived in Colorado.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

by gosh it's almost halloween

Even though the temperature reached 85 yesterday and we have a few more days of warm weather predicted, it is almost Halloween.

When my kids were little, my very favorite thing for them to wear were overalls. Especially the Osh Kosh variety. They were perfect in a cold climate because I never had to worry about keeping their little bellies warm. No problem keeping a shirt tucked in with overalls. The striped ones were my favorite. We had one pair that were worn over and over again by our son. And guess what? They were the perfect hand-me-down for both girls. Add a little pink long sleeve tee and she was cute, cute, cute. My problem? When our youngest grew out of them I couldn't stand to part with this particular pair.

So, what do you do when you can't part with a well worn, well loved, torn knee, pair of Osh Kosh genuine article, size 5 overalls?

You make one of these by gosh.
A not so scary scarecrow.

I stuffed the overalls and one of Austin's old flannel shirts with quilt batting. Tied the arms and legs with raffia. Painted a cute face on an old muslin dish towel and added one of our old straw hats to the top of his head. I use to tuck some of our leaves that would fall from the old cottonwood trees into the cuffs for little hands. This year he is leafless.

New to our display is this terra cotta pumpkin. Javelina proof. We were told that the little monster's love to eat pumpkins. So, since I don't want to traumatize my little scarecrow boy, (or myself) I'm not even going to put any outside.

This guy sat on our porch in Colorado this time every year for ten years. The leaves would fall all around him. Sometimes I would even have to brush snow off of him. And one particular year, two little abandoned kittens found their way onto his lap. It was a cozy place for them to curl up and take a nap.

And now he is here in Arizona... working on his tan.
And he still makes me smile.

ghostly cupcakes

This really isn't a food blog because I'm really not a professional chef, or an accidental cook or someone who is striving to be either of those... well if I accidentally became an excellent cook... I'd take that title. Mostly, I'm a mom cook. I've learned to make things that my kids like to eat. Over the years, I have paid attention to my mother-in-law (who is a good cook), friends, cooking shows on t.v, magazines and the ever resourceful internet. I've picked up some pretty good recipes, a couple of which I have shared here before. Sometimes I like to tweak a recipe or a technique and put my own twist on it. My niece encourages me to post more recipes on my blog. She is an aspiring good cook. So, for her, I will share my recipe for these ghostly cupcakes.

Remember them from the haunted dining room? They were doing their best to act all scary and peek through the spider-web-filled graveyard. Booooooo.

Here they are again. This time I scared the peeps out of 'em and they froze in their tracks!
Okay. Here is the recipe.

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 can chocolate frosting

4 pkgs. marshmallow ghost peeps

Make the cake according to instructions on box.

Bake and cool. Frost. Add a peep using a toothpick.

I know.

I challenge you to make these for some kids that you know. They will be impressed and they will love the peeps. Be sure you remind them that there is a toothpick buried in there. We don't want anyone to get hurt. The best thing about this 'recipe' is that it can be adapted to any holiday that peeps are involved.

And you are now thinking..."why Norma, you are an excellent cook."

note: to my college boy...if you are reading this..you are getting a box of baked goodies sent from home. Not these cupcakes, but something equally as good.

From, your Mom cook.

sweet ending

We ended the holiday weekend with a cherry on top. Literally.

Our last stop, before driving my favorite son and one of my favorite sisters to the airport, was to get a cool treat at the Cherry on Top yogurt shop. Yummy. It is a great concept. You fill the cup yourself with your choice from about 12 different flavors of yogurts. And then you get to sprinkle on toppings from about 50 different delicious choices. Then you put it on the scale and weigh it. You pay by the weight.

Cool. Delicious. Tasty.

Ummm... anyone notice who picked the jumbo size cup to fill? I'll give you a hint. She is sitting to my right. Ha! That made us laugh. We all got the regular size and she picked up the biggie size. Well, she said she didn't notice, but I'm not so sure! That's ok. She gets home pretty late tonight so that will probably be her dinner.

While I type, they are both on an airplane flying home. One back to Colorado, one back to Texas. As I was tearful when the four of us drove away from the airport, Leah said...

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."(quoting Dr. Seuss)

Well, my tears have dried and I am smiling.

And I will smile a lot this week when I show highlights of our time together.

highlights

We enjoyed a nice day.Early morning sunlight quietly peeking through some spring blossoms on my windowsill.

My favorite delicious breakfast of belgium waffles with strawberries & cream made by the nice husband.
A little treat left by the bunny himself.

Our non-traditional shish kabobs on the grill... enjoyed on the patio.

"there are some things you just never get too old for". spoken by rachel

My favorite spring flower. I miss them growing in my yard.

I hope that you all enjoyed your day.