I'm a big blue weirdo

I'm doing laundry!

Yay.

Reasons for Joy

The corn is coming down.

I am not sick anymore!

I went fishing with SweetPea and TallBoy on Sunday the 12th. I saw SweetPea catch her first fish (yay!) and she went on to catch a total of 6. The weather was perfect (75 with a slight breeze, sunny); there was a weenie roast & smores (again!) and we truly enjoyed ourselves.

SweetPea turned 12 on the 16th and had a fabulous birthday! She got loads of fun presents and enjoyed the whole week (presents came in little by little). Her favorite present is a guitar (thanks mom!) and now I get to help her learn to love playing music. Yay!

SweetPea, TallBoy & I drove up to Chicagoland area on the 18th to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. I saw family I hadn't seen in years and TallBoy completely amazed everyone with how TALL he is. (He recently grew a little- he is now 6 foot, easy.)

My mother rode in the car with us part of the way and we had a lot of fun talking.

My Brother (Fixit) and his wife loved the scrapbook album I made for their wedding present.

I love this part of fall- when things are harvested and it's cool and pleasant.

Basketball is almost over and I will have evenings at home, with kids, dog & the Dude again, very soon.

Despite being older, TallBoy and SweetPea still need their mom every now and then.

SweetPea & TallBoy are very affectionate kids and let me know they love me.

It is now two-blanket season. That means I have extra reason to snuggle The Dude, who is really WARM (he's covered in fur- he has his OWN blanket).

Life is full of reasons for joy. It''s our job to find them.

Cooking - my love/hate relationship

I love cooking- when I am not tired or cranky, when I have no plans, and when my whole family will be able to enjoy my efforts.

I hate cooking- when I am tired, cranky, recently home from work, there are no ingredients in the house, SweetPea, TallBoy or The Dude will not be able to sit down and eat it, or when I have a bajillion things to do.

I am not a great cook, either. I have about 10 real recipes I do well and a lot of "OK" ones. I try to find easy, fun recipes that my World's Pickiest Eater (TM) *aka TallBoy* will enjoy. On a budget. I could tear my hair out just with all of that.

Then there is the dreaded "what do you want for dinner" discussion.

NO one at my house has an opinion on any regular basis- so I get relegated to cooking whatever seems easiest at the time because I am too tired to THINK about cooking. And the wonder is, they eat it. Usually with a smile and "thank yous".

But baking, I always like. I always enjoy trying new breads, cookies, rolls, desserts or what have you. I don't know what my fascination with the oven is, but anything I put in it brings about a general soothing feeling and a sense of peace.

This weekend I made some biscuits and some "everything" cookies- a cookie without flour. SweetPea enjoyed them very much, and so did Fin. TallBoy did NOT like them - they had a large amount of oatmeal, which he hates. They are eaten now and I am planning my next baking brigade.

But not cooking.