Where were you?

First off, I heart Edward! He is the guy most men want to be but don't know how to be.

Second, This song pulls together a year of waiting, wondering and wishing for me. It's brand new from The Fray.

Third, because I'm a music lover here are the words
You Found Me
By Isaac Slade/Joe King/The Fray

//Verse 1//
I found God
On the corner of First and Amistad
Where the west
Was all but won
All alone
Smoking his last cigarette
I said, “Where you been?”
He said, “Ask anything.”

//Verse 2//
Where were you
When everything was falling apart?
All my days
Were spent by the telephone
That never rang
And all I needed was a call
It never came
To the corner of First and Amistad

//Chorus 1//
Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why’d you have to wait?
Where were you, where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, You found me

//Verse 3//
In the end
Everyone ends up alone
Losing her
The only one who’s ever known
Who I am
Who I’m not, and who I want to be
No way to know
How long she will be next to me

//Chorus 2//
Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why’d you have to wait?
Where were you, where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, You found me

//Bridge//
Early morning
The city breaks
I’ve been calling
For years and years and years and years
And you never left me no messages
You never sent me no letters
You got some kind of nerve
Taking all I want

//Chorus 3 and outro//
Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Where were you, where were you?

Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why’d you have to wait?
Where were you, where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, You found me

Why’d you have to wait
To find me, to find me?

This is a blurb from The Fray about the meaning of the song.
“You Found Me is a tough song for me. Its about the disappointment, the heart ache, the let down that comes with life. Sometimes you’re let down, sometimes you’re the one who lets someone else down. It gets hard to know who you can trust, who you can count on. This song came out of a tough time, and I’m still right in the thick of it. There’s some difficult circumstances my family and friends have been going through over the past year or so and can be overwhelming. It wears on me. It demands so much of my faith to keep believing, keep hoping in the unseen. Sometimes the tunnel has a light at the end, but usually they just look black as night. This song is about that feeling, and the hope that I still have, buried deep in my chest."

Arizona, baby!!!

I haven't heard it since then....

GNO - Holiday Prep

BFF's & I went to a GNO shin dig at which you design your own outdoor holiday baskets, buckets, tubs, stands etc. IT ROCKED!!!

First of all it was very thrifty, I did 2 large planters and a small bucket for $22 and all the greens are fresh and the selection was top notch - Spruce tips, juniper swags, pine branches etc.

Second of all it was fun, just a relaxed evening of girl talk and holiday prep. This of course occurred after it took us 45 minutes to get out of the Mall of America parking lots! Once we got away from MOA we spent a couple hours designing our planters (in my case I just bought the goodies and brought them home because I had not cleared the dead mums/kale from my planters). At this point a drink and food is needed so we wrapped up the evening with a quick bit to eat.

I just put together my planter this morning and I love them, they need a splash of red from some berries but are otherwise set. I also managed to get the 2 outdoor Christmas trees staged, the white lights on my evergreen up and my other holiday/winter stuff out. I also had to erase the last bit of fall by pulling up all my mums and kale from FROZEN soil. It has been cold but I didn't expect it to be so much work to get them extracted.

I'm off to make a hearty vegetarian chili in the crockpot.

Making a play for it!

I have been working on my own, for my own company since I had Preston. I kinda dabbled and never really got serious but lately I have had great luck finding clients so I have decided to jump in with both feet!

I want to work and for the sake of me doing less house projects need to work! Having my own company and working virtually should be the best of both worlds, I can be here for the kids, work and still manage stuff around here. It's amazing how much time you pick up when you don't have a commute or lunch hour etc etc.

I made a free site and if business continues to boom I will upgrade to a fancy site. I also widened my scope of offerings. I'm a top notch project manager and lately I have mastered the virtual admin asst jobs but I threw in some of the fun things I like to do - photography, event planning and organized effectiveness. Here it is:
PG Star Consulting (its migrating right now but should be up later).

Divorce

Not my husband but my new range, there is a new man in my life and he has 3 racks and a steam wash. While I care deeply about my range and its convection love and hot warming drawer it just isn't enough anymore.

Excuse my dirty dishes but it is a dishwasher!

Throw it Together Tuesday

About once a week I'm stumped for dinner and I just throw about of random, leftover type stuff in a pot or dish and cook it. Last night we had Tomato Basil Bake. Anytime I cook I hardly measure so you just have to go with my flow.

1 Box of Barilla Plus Rotini (cooked)
1 can of Organic Garbanzo beans
1 can of Diced tomatoes with Italian spices
1/2 jar of Pasta sauce
a bit of extra pizza sauce
fresh chopped basil
some shredded mozzarella cheese
some slices of Swiss cheese

I cooked the noodles and drained, while they cooked I threw everything else into a casserole dish. Mixed the noodles in and covered with a couple slices of good Swiss cheese. Baked at 350 for 30 min.

I thought it was yummy, Preston ate is entire serving and Maren ate half. You could easily add any type of veggie but I really wanted to concentrate on the fresh basil and tomato mix.

Random

I love my new range, I want to marry it! I just stand in front of it in awe of the pretty lights and strange controls. Then I open it and I'm blinded by 2 oven lights, blind or not I love it! I have yet to cook anything in it but I'm using the warming drawer to keep delivery pizza warm right now. I LOVE IT!

I figured out today when the temp has plummeted that my heated seats don't work, I peruse the manual positive that its just a blown fuse. I feel confident of that once I find that the rear heated seats are run by a fuse but I cannot locate the info for front seats. I open the hood, dig around and cannot figure it out. I call the dealership and after a vote they decide its not a fuse (I'm not really buying this vote but I'm also not buying the Nov 4th vote so...) and since my car is warrantied who the heck cares. It goes in Thursday so hopefully I can warm my large bum at that point.

I'm having a very OFF day, not sure the problem just having a hard time focusing on work and life in general. I did manage to get some catch up things done yesterday. I keep a Birthday Book (pictures of the kids on their birthday) and I write an annual letter to each kid, well it hadn't been finished so I crossed that off my list. I also went through all the toys and donated anything that wasn't being used so we can prepare for the holidays.

I still need to fix a couple of paint chips and hang the window scarves in my bathroom but I'm making progress. I also need to put away the 1000's of pictures that are sitting on my desk, it might be fun to actually SEE my desk!

Maybe its the impending holidays, it will be our first officially alone. I had a major falling out in the spring with our closest family member so we won't be attending any events with them and it just feels weird to be that OUT.

I don't really know how these fit in right now but its one of my favorite songs currently.

How many times can I break till I shatter?
Over the line can't define what I'm after
I always turn the car around
Give me a break let me make my own pattern
All that it takes is some time but I'm shattered
I always turn the car around

This also doesn't fit but its been on my mind since 2 close friends are preggo. I would love to have another because kids are so magical but I want a tiny bit of my life back, which I have now and I have this unnatural fear of bad things. I know with only 2 kids I can easily pick them both up and run but anymore than 2 and I would have to make a choice - I could never make that kind of choice.

On a more positive note I'm looking forward to a GNO on Friday November 21st to see Twilight. I heart Edward!

Thanksgiving Menu

In the making, here are my thoughts for the big day.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Whiskey Glazed Carrots

Fresh Corn with Wild Rice

Pumpkin Cake

Pecan Topped Sweet Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole

Stuffing

Cranberry Relish

Chocolate Cheesecake

Cheesy Potato Casserole

I don't think I'm missing anything or at least I hope I'm not. I will get some yummy fresh baked rolls from the co-op. I usually keep my appetizers simple so I can focus on the main stuff so apps are cheese and crackers, spinach dip, pesto torte and hummus and veggies.

What a difference a few days makes

This is the view from my kitchen window just a few short days after the last picture.



SNOW!!! Can you believe it, the kids can't wait to get outside and have spent most the morning just staring out into the cold wetness. The dogs won't come in and just keep running circles in it. Which makes me think I had better get them in or they will "run down" all the snow and the kids will have mush!





In order to enjoy our first snow fall I think we will do Fondue Friday and make a bunch of different dippables that the kids can dip veggies, fruits, grains and sweets in!

I'm thinking a Spinach Dip, something with hummus and perhaps this tasty treat. To be honest with no range my options are quite limited but the wait will be worth it when a new one is delivered to me on Monday! I plan my inaugural dish to be lasagna, now what we will eat for the next 3 days I'm really not so sure.

So I hung some curtains in the bonus room yesterday, spent at least 30 minutes attempting to figure out why they didn't look even. Only when I pulled out the tape measure did I realize that one of my 84 in curtains was 82 inches. What a relief that I didn't install the rod totally whacked. In the policy of full discloser it is partially whacked, it just was not my day for this project!

How soon you forget

I can't believe its that time of year when its necessary to have lights on midday so you can see in your own house. We have had 1 run of cool weather (40s) but now the gloom has set in and it comes with flurries tomorrow. and yes I'm excited!

I don't know how I manage to forget that we spend a good 7 months in the freezing cold and black dark! Don't get me wrong I LOVE IT!! I enjoy having a few lights on during the gloomy days to create warmth, I love cooking warm hearty soups and wearing multiple layers because I'm too cheap to turn the heat up past 65. I'm just simply amazed that I forget its like this every year and then surprised when its 1 pm and pitch black in my house.

On a brighter note I opened a bottle of wine tonight that was a screw off Merlot, you gotta love the simplicity of that! I remember buying a case of this stuff because the picture on the label was pretty. I had no idea it was a screw off top but it worked for me tonight. It paired lovely with a Gerard's Spinach salad, cheesy garlic bread and Pasta Figioli soup. I used the recipe from A Year of Crockpotting and it was very good. Let me be the first to say when Stephanie is done with her year of crockpotting I will be very sad, I hope she goes for another year.

Speaking of crock pots, I need a soup recipe that is good for 3-5 yrs old. The kids Harvest Festival is the week of Turkey Day at school and I'm not really sure what a bunch of 3-5 yr old will eat from a crock pot. So let me know your ideas.

Don't forget

to vote!



I will be taking the kids with me when they are out of school so they have a chance to see the process in action.

The View

This is the view from my kitchen window, it's just a warm glow of gold!



This is the birch tree providing the lovely fall colors, it has always been my favorite but now it makes me smile every time I walk into the kitchen.

Best Day Ever!!

It was the best day ever!! Actually it was the best weekend ever although it didn't start out that way. My Grandma arrived Thursday evening as I was dealing with a major case of party set-up ADD, I just could not get focused enough to decide what I should do. I left to go make the kids food and my Grandma arrived with a massive black eye and hurt arm/knee. After some discovery I found out she had fallen that morning so off to urgent care were we learned she had a small fracture in her hand and general bumps in bruises. All in all very lucky it was nothing worse.

I came home to disaster so I had a bottle of wine and chatted to pregnant friend #2 until almost midnight. Important lesson in party planning - night before party drinks lots as it really helps you be productive. I did manage to pull out of my ADD long enough to get the party setup and I think between the work (majority) that 3 friends did while I was at urgent care and what I pulled together we looked PRETTY DAMN GOOD!

We did food and the crafts (make your own pumpkin and ghouly gloves) in the basement and also had a small scary room (spooky lights, skeleton and music). Outside we hung thick black plastic from the underside of the deck to create a room. We did pin the tail on the cat and had tables for them to eat at, that room we kept good and fogged! We also had Pumpkin Bowling, Pass the Bone and Find the bones.

The time was perfect, plenty of food and all the parents enjoyed drinks and appetizers. Can't wait to start planning for the 2nd annual next year. In fact we hit Target up the day after for all the necessary items so all we have to worry about next year is food!

Although the party success was because of the hard work and dedication of all 4 friends the weather certainly helped. We haven't had a warm Halloween (50's) for at least 5 yrs so it really helped to set the stage. Plus I love throwing parties with 4 brains instead of just my wimpy-wine-impaired one because you really come up with the best ideas!

We sent the kids out to ToT and I proceeded to drink wine I mean hand out candy on the front porch. Then everyone came back and the kids ate candy and I drank wine. We PJ'd the kids and set them up with high quality educational movies (Spongebob Halloween) and drank some more wine and ate. All things said it was a lovely Halloween and great weekend.

It really did help having my Grandma here, it was fun for the kids and allowed me to get the house cleaned up. I always function much better when my house is somewhat clean so at some point I must head back to the kitchen and clean up the pre-football nacho mess.

I honestly have no plans this week other than to veg-out but then I need to quickly turn my mind to Turkey Day and work on my menu and start shopping for it. I was able to pull down Halloween decor yesterday and get Thanksgiving up so at least I look festive.