m_sedai

Apples

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 01:44:03 GMT

Hooray! Today we made it to the orchard. It was a pretty cold, slightly rainy day and they didn't really have any apples left on the trees to pick, but we had a really wonderful time. We walked among the apple trees and pumpkin patch. We saw some trees in the distance that were bare of leaves but full of birds! It looked so cool. We also saw three cranes flying overhead. I found one adorable little pumpkin I had to take home, and we bought plenty of delicious apples from the orchard store.

It feels so incredible to get out into some nature and walk through some trees, feel some fresh air. I just get giddy when we get out to do fun outdoor things.

Lovely Day

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:30:00 GMT

Ahhhh.

Today J and I took the boys to a local cider mill. It was a perfect autumn day, sunny and crisp. We had a blast finding our way through the corn maze. Jem led the way, and Michael checked out every dried ear of corn on the ground. He loves corn on the cob and was thrilled to find some just lying there. I have always wanted to go through a corn maze, and I had even more fun than I imagined I would. Next, we took the hayride to the pumpkin patch and picked out four interestingly shaped ones. We purchased a few decorative gourds, some cider, pear butter, and yummy donuts. It was the best day I've had in quite some time. There is just nothing better than getting outside to play with my three boys, especially when my sons also get to see where some of their food comes from.

Sometime this week, or perhaps next weekend, we'll visit an orchard that has pick your own apples. Yay!

I do love this area during fall. The trees are so colorful and there are a lot of orchards nearby. And crisp fresh air. And the smell of wood fires. Ahhhh.

What's this? A monkey?

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:48:51 GMT

Currently, my baby boy is climbing up on the coffee table, standing up, and running around shrieking with glee when I take him off the table. Repeatedly. He does these kinds of things frequently and delights in the panic it causes me. So incredibly cute : )

I got to make another awesome dinner tonight, this one inspired by a recent conversation with my husband's best friend. We often chat on World of Warcraft and most of the time we talk about food. Tonight I made penne pasta with a tomato sauce containing large chunks of hot italian sausage, red and yellow bell peppers, onion, and mushrooms. Ohhhhh, yum. And thanks to my inability to judge the amount of the end product based on ingredients, we have lots and lots of leftovers : )

En Papillote

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 01:56:58 GMT

This weekend and part of next week, my mother and brother in law have gone "Up North" with my sister and law and her family. My husband, kids and I were asked not to go along, so I have the rare opportunity to cook dinner for my beloved family for a few days. I am sad to miss a trip to the cabins, but quite thrilled for the time alone with my family.

Tonight I cooked some fish in parchment paper pouches, something I have been wanting to try for quite some time, since I saw Alton Brown do it : ) In one pouch, I put some Blue Hake on top of fresh green beans and onions I picked up from the farmer's market this morning, added some artichoke hearts, and covered it with a lemon garlic dill seafood marinade. The other pouch contained some salmon fillets, cooked brown rice, more of the green beans and onions, and was covered with soy sauce, ginger, and some garlic from the farmer's market. They were quite delicious, although the salmon got a bit overcooked. I will certainly keep practicing this method, as it's pretty fun, delicious, and easy to clean up : )

Hooray for Friends!

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:52:01 GMT

My husband's best friend came to visit us, along with his wife and their two kids. They arrived Sunday at dinnertime and just left last night. It was so wonderful to have them here! Their kids and ours got along splendidly. They have a four (almost five) year old daughter and a two (almost three) year old son. We all spent plenty of time at the playground and taking walks. We picked some of our best dinners to have while they were here, so JS treated us to gyros and blackened salmon wraps. We got to play World of Warcraft with M here in the room with us instead of far away, which was super nice! It was a wonderful couple of days.

I've recently come to realize just how lonely I am here without a single friend nearby to spend time with. I know that to change that, I just have to make some friends, but I have some resistances to overcome, I guess. I am soooo painfully shy and awkward talking to people, and I guess I am a bit ashamed of some aspects of our life the past few years - the ones people always ask about first when you are first getting to know them. Also, twice now I have met a new friend that I have clicked with immediately and loved very much - not long before moving away. First, I met Christine just before leaving Bozeman, then Loralyn just before leaving Washington. Oh, how I miss you guys! And, I have always held much, much hope of not spending very much of my life here in Michigan. Of course, I would much rather have met C and L and left then to have not met them at all, so the verdict is: Make some friends anyway! There still is the shy thing, though. That's a tough one.

Anyway, hehe, we've all just had a few sweet days of playing with friends that were much needed and much appreciated.

Oh, this and that

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:24:28 GMT

Well, there are a few fun new things in my life I've been meaning to post about. On Saturday I attended my first pottery class. Yay! It was very fun, a beginning handbuilding class. We made pinch pots ( which experienced potters roll their eyes at) but I sure enjoyed myself and am really glad to start with basics, since I am a beginner. As a super bonus, it part of a "family block" program, and js3 gets to take an art class with his granny at the same time I'm in class. I am so thrilled for him to have such a fun opportunity. All in all, a very exciting thing. Also, a few weeks ago I went with my MIL to her friends' house to make a clay platter. I will post a picture when it's glazed and fired. One great thing (besides the joy of creating things) was that the couple's house we went to has a lot of elements I include in my dream house - lots of wood and stone and green and a huge garden and a beautiful kitchen, and a calming relaxing atmosphere, It was a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon, especially since I've been living in a place for so long that has very little of me in it.

I have discovered a few things lately that I love. One is a new author, Diana Gabaldon. She has written a great series about a woman who visits a standing stone circle in Scotland and when she touches a stone, is hurled back in time 200 years. It's a very fun story and has great adventure and romance (involving Scottish men in kilts, hehe). I am enjoying this series so very much and still have two books in it to read. Another great thing my husband recently discovered, is the tv series Firefly. We finished watching it a few weeks ago. It was soooo great. I saw 1_Wolfsong on your post about Jaynestown that you have discovered this treasure as well. I was so tickled to see that post!

My boys are doing well. The baby almost has the hang of walking - he can take 6-7 steps without holding on and has even managed such maneuvers as stepping over something and turning around! js3 just got a big boy bed, so he gets out of his bed 6-7 times before he goes to sleep and hasn't taken a nap since we put it up, hehe. I am very proud of them, and could really go on for quite a long time, but it's way past my bedtime and is already kind of a long rambling post.

I'll try to do better to keep up on my journal. If you send olives.

All Squished Up

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:41:03 GMT

Today the sun was shining, so my three boys and I drove to the park to enjoy a walk. It turned to be too cold for the babies, with the biting wind, so we decided to get back in the car after a minute. While I put the baby in the car, JS took js over to the river so he wouldn't feel quite so sad about getting back in the car right away. They joined me at the trunk of the car while I put the folded up stroller in, and js looked at the stroller, then up at us in alarm.
"Baby brother is all squished up?"

hehehe

Beautiful Day

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:47:57 GMT

Today the temperature outside was around 60 degrees and the snow mostly melted. I took a walk this morning during "mommy day" and another walk with JS and the boys this afternoon. We parked at the library and walked around the downtown/residence area. It was a great time. It gave me a feeling of spring being close, but I know better : )

Haircut

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 17:36:44 GMT

For my birthday a few days ago, I got the very short haircut that I have been fantasizing about for a number of months. Here is a picture. I'm finding that it feels great, but is super crazy in the morning, hehe. Also, I have had to break down and use some hair product to keep it from sticking up in one place and looking silly. I am very much enjoying the haircut. I was worried it might look kinda funny with my swedish face, but it is fine as long as no one looks at me straight on : )

Happy Birthday!

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 23:40:13 GMT

Happy Happy Birthday to you, 1_wolfsong! We love and miss you very much.

Back "Home"

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:02:50 GMT

We made it back safely to Michigan - arrived late last week. We took it easy this weekend, played a lot of World of Warcraft. Today we're back to work

Today my dear little 15 year old sister had a cancerous tumor removed from her thyroid. A doctor discovered the lump during a sports physical while we were visiting. I will find out a bit later how she feels after surgery. Hopefully this will be the end of the cancer, I don't have a real clear picture of how these things work, but I'll find out now.

On the road again

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 04:20:03 GMT

Day 1 - Sunday

Today was the inevitable sad day that we said goodbye to my family and hit the road back to Michigan. It was very good for me to have so much time with them, and I feel satisfied with the trip. Hate to say goodbye, though. Especially when I don’t know when we’ll be able to come back. Despite sending ourselves 2 boxes full of clothes we got out of storage, we have more stuff than when we drove to Montana. My legspace is full of stuff and I have no room to move my legs. I hope we can eventually shift stuff a little and make more room : )

Day 2 - Monday

More legroom today : ) We drove through South Dakota, the most boring scenery leg of the trip. Nothing but brown grass for miles and ugly billboards advertising the same silly attractions (corn palace, anyone?) over and over again. Our hotel room has a whirlpool bath. It was sooooo nice. I haven't had much opportunity for hot tubs, spas and the like. I tend to get bored in the bathtub. I should try to employ these stress releiving activities more often!

Bozeman

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 04:01:17 GMT

We made it up to Bozeman for a day and had an excellent time. Lunch was spent at our favorite restaurant, La Parilla, a mandatory stop each time we are in Bozeman. I had a barbecue chicken wrap (grilled chicken, bbq sauce, cilantro-lime rice, cheese, sour cream, black olives, corn salsa, and guacamole), one of my two favorites. The other is a chicken fettucine alfredo wrap. Yep, a tortilla with noodles in it. It’s delicious! J had his usual blackened salmon and a fajita. Their fatty wraps are that good. We had a bit of a surprise - the restaurant building had been picked up and moved across the street!

Next we visited our stuff in the storage unit. We have a 20’ x 20’ unit that is chock full, including a big red car - a '75 Oldsmobile Delta 88. I try not to get too attached to material things, but holy cow, it was exhilarating to see all of our belongings. I can’t wait until we have a home and can be surrounded by our things again. I rather enjoy homemaking, and have had very limited opportunity for it the last year. I went through some boxes and pulled out some clothes and toys for our infant. I also found a book I have recently been considering purchasing, Moving Toward Balance, 8 Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee. I forgot that I owned it already! After leaving our beloved stuff behind for another unknown length of time, we stopped at my favorite coffee shop, International Coffee Traders, and enjoyed a frozen Rocha Mocha. Next was a stop at the Fieldhouse, to drop in on my college track coach. He wasn’t in his office, so we let the little ones enjoy the fresh air and lawn for a while. My old coach came and found us, and the first thing he said was to my husband – “You look like a rock star.” We had a great time catching up. He's one of my favorite people Dinner was at the Mongolian BBQ with my sister in law. It was a fun day. I miss Bozeman very much, and J and I agree that we would like to live there again for a bit sometime in the not-too-near future.

More from the west

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:08:55 GMT

We are still very much enjoying our visit with my family. Well, The kids and I are, my husband has been a bit miserable. He is used to more comfort than is available here.

It is getting to be the end of summer, when the busy time of year for my family begins. My mom is currently attending some training sessions for her job as a preschool teacher and is gone for three days. My sister has begun volleyball practice and my brother is getting ready to start his first year of college. I am so excited for him, and a little jealous actually. I enjoyed college very much, and am in serious need of something to do that gives me some feelings of accomplishment. Taking care of my beautiful boys is hard work and very rewarding in many ways, but its difficult to know whether I am doing things the best way. Also, I do a lot of unending tasks. You apply a clean diaper, and somehow it gets dirty again. I am not complaining, just recognizing a need I have. My boys are awesome. My infant has met the baby in the mirror and is quite overjoyed every time they run into each other. My toddler discovered the movie Cars and asks to "watch a movie 'bout cars" every day. Cute!! All the time!!

We are going to try for Bozeman to visit a sister and get some clothes from storage for my infant, who has outgrown all but three outfits since we've been here. Geez, kid! You'll soon have to go naked!

It makes me very sad, but I am quite sure we won't make it to Seattle. J wants to get back to MI as soon as we have enough money to make the drive. I partly agree, since the sooner he gets to working seriously, the sooner we get to have our own place and our independence back. But I miss my friends and family out there something fierce.

Family visit

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 18:43:57 GMT

I am having an excellent time here in Lavina Montana, visiting my family. It feels so good to come "home" and be almost as comfortable as I would be in my own house. My toddler is enjoying playing outside and having fun with his aunt and grandma. My sister is just wonderful with him. Far better than I ever was with other people's kids. Last night I looked through all of our photo albums. It was very fun, we were sure cute kids. It is weird to think about what it's like to live in this house without all of us kids here, since I never have. But my sister and brother are the only kids here now, and in the fall, my sister will be the only child. It's surely a completely different experience.

We're going camping next weekend at Crystal Lake, one of my favorite places. My family goes camping every summer without fail, something I have dearly missed since life got crazy and I can't make it to visit as often as I would like. Crystal Lake is beautiful, with many different hiking trails, including a 10 mile hike to some ice caves. We hiked that one once as a family, and it was just incredible. There are wild raspberries and strawberries all over the place. I am so very excited!

My husband has said we may not be able to make it over to Seattle - we will have to see how the poker goes in Billings. As soon as I know for sure, I will let you guys out there know. I will do everything I can to make it happen, also, because I very much want to get out there.

Trip to Montana

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 04:09:10 GMT

Day one of our road trip to Montana went pretty well. We tried to leave early enough to avoid driving through stupid Chicago during rush hour, which lasts from 5 am to 8 pm. We did great, leaving only 1.5 hours late, but still took a very long time to drive through Chicago. The boys didn’t complain too much about being in a car seat for so long. Toward the end of the day when it was time to reboard the car after a stop, my toddler would cry “Don’t want the green car!” It was cute but sad. We spent the night in Janesville Wisconsin. We didn’t have to get up early <yay> since we’re taking it easy, had a nice hotel lobby breakfast and rolled out at noon. It’s been a beautiful drive, with lots of lush green trees and colorful wildflowers at the side of the road. We’ve seen countless farms with huge cornfields. I rather like traveling.

We stopped for dinner at a Perkins somewhere in Minnesota. I had a delicious pasta dish with grilled chicken, tomatoes, spinach, artichoke hearts, black olives, alfredo sauce, and feta cheese. Holy cow. I ate way way too much, ‘cause how can you waste any of those yummy ingredients? : )

Happy Happy!

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 22:58:40 GMT

For the past week and a half or so, I have been full of joy, hardly able to keep from exploding. I've had tons of energy for playing and cleaning and singing. You see, my dear husband has moved past a phase of discouragement in his work and the poker is now going well. So well that we get to leave Monday (day after tomorrow) for Montana! I finally get to show off my new baby to my parents and siblings. It's been nearly a year since we saw them last, and my toddler has become so sophisticated since then. Oh, I can't wait. We're taking a slow road trip there, not driving too long each day so we don't upset the baby. I am currently enjoying the packing and preparation that precedes a vacation.

Aaaaaaahhhhhh.

First post - a meme.

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:07:50 GMT

IF YOU'RE ON MY FRIENDS LIST,
I want to know 28 things about you. I don't care if we've never talked,
never liked each other, or if we already know everything about each other. I
really don't. You are obviously on my list, so let me know with whom I am
friends!

1.Your Middle Name:
2. Age:
3. Single/Taken/Poly:
4. Favorite Movie:
5. Favorite Song:
6. Favorite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:

HERE COMES THE FUN ... ... ...

1. Do we know each other outside of LJ?
2. Whats your philosophy on life?
3. Would you have my back in a fight?
4. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best
interest?
5. What is your favorite memory of us?
6. Would you give me a kidney?
7. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
8. Would you take care of me when I'm sick?
9. Can we get together and make a cake?
10. Have you heard any rumors of me lately?
11. Do you/have you talk(ed) crap about me?
12. Do you think I'm a good person?
13. Would you drive across country with me?
14. Do you think I'm attractive?
15. If you could change anything about me, would you?
16. What do you wear to sleep?
17. Would you come over for no reason just to hang out?
18. Would you go on a date with me if i asked you?
19. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?
20. Will you repost this so i can fill it out for you?