It’s 2:35pm.  We have been to church, out to eat for lunch, and the lasagna is made for supper.  We have to be back at church, in an hour, so my Choir can practice some more, before the 4:30pm service. It’s been a busy day.  The dishwasher is running now and probably will need to be run again.

So far, there is no snow on the ground, except on the edges of parking lots, where the 8 inches of snow got piled up.  Our grass is even fairly green!  LOL! So, it doesn’t look like it will be a white Christmas.

After supper, the fun doesn’t end, since we need to get our Blueberry French toast egg bake all ready, and the Red-Green jello mold, that goes to my SIL’s house tomorrow.  Busy busy busy.

So, we wake up to another dreary day.  We had to look at the clock, to know what time it was, because it was still so dark in our bedroom.  It was 7:48am, and definitely daylight, but it’s very cloudy.  At last it’s not raining.  They advertised 1-2 inches of snow, that was supposed to happen last night, and I did see a few snowflakes, but we never got any accumulation.

It looks like we might get a little sun tomorrow.  I guess I’ll believe it, when I see it.  It’s supposed to snow on Christmas Day.  I hope it’s not so much, that we can’t go to my SIL’s for Christmas, since I have to drive.  Gary has to work.  Newspapers don’t care about holidays.

We still have a few presents to buy.  I got a stomach flu on Thursday and that put us behind a little bit.  I had to leave work early, even.  I just needed to get home.  Fortunately, I feel better now.

Jasmine is glad it isn’t raining.  She was getting sick of having to go potty in the rain.  The first time it was raining so hard, that she ran to the door, twice, before just getting it over with. LOL!

After I write this post, and put clothes in the dryer, I’m off to bed.  I’m trashed.  On Sunday, I took too long of a nap, and then it affected my sleep last night.  So, now I’m good and tired.  I haven’t had any caffeine today, either, so that should help, too.

I did go shopping after work tonight, and get one more person knocked off my list.  We are getting there.  A store at 9:30pm, on a Monday night, is a fairly quiet place!

1. I get about _3-4_ telemarketer phone calls on a weekly basis.

2. I never call anyone after _about 9pm_ at night.

3. I never call anyone before _about 9am_ in the morning.

4. I DON’T screen my phone calls via caller ID. We don’t actually HAVE caller ID. LOL! It’s just another thing to have to pay for. It does come on the cellphones, though, and is nice for them.

5. I really should call _my parents_ more often.

After a crazy day of cleaning and baking yesterday, to get ready for book discussion, I was exhausted.  The kids did a great job of baking the cookies, for the treat, while I was busy cleaning. 

Today, we got up and went to church, then ate lunch and after lunch, I just crashed.  I ended up sleeping most of the afternoon.  Didn’t quite mean to sleep that long, but I was tired.  Oh well, I feel good now.

The tree is up now and looking so pretty in the living room.  We’ll have to take a picture soon.  We had to get some new lights, since one of our strings, that has the 8 different settings, wasn’t all lighting up.  Now, we just have static lights, with a flame tip!  LOL!

I wanted to get some shopping done today.  I don’t know if we’ll get to it yet, or not.  Supper is next on the agenda.

The weather is still warm.  The snow is history.  Emily is still bummed.  It’s about 50/50 whether we will get a white Christmas or not!  The funny thing is, though, we have already had a foot of snow, total!  Weird.

1. Hardball ::  Unyielding
2. Sleepless :: Tired
3. Graduation ::  College
4. Presents ::  Pretty
5. Toe ::  Cold
6. Lotion ::  Soothing
7. Snicker ::  Laugh
8. Eve ::  Santa
9. Investment :: Future
10. Pain ::  Ibuprofen

Unconscious Mutterings

It’s been in the 40’s the last couple of days, even at night, so the packed-down snow and ice on the driveway? Gone. All the snow in the yard? Gone. All the snow weighing down the bushes? Gone. The only snow that’s left, is the stuff lining the driveway, where it got piled up, when Gary snow-blew the driveway. The yard is sooo soggy now, though. It’s all so wet outside, since everything just melted.

At school, we kept the kindergarteners on the blacktop, but there were so many puddles, they got wet anyway. It seemed there was nothing we could really do about it.

My 14yo daughter is disappointed that it’s so warm and that the snow is gone. She and her sister got scarves for St. Nick’s from Grandma and currently it’s too warm to use them. Bummer.

Since I’m the one who takes the dog out, I’m not minding the weather that much. I hope it doesn’t last too much longer, though, because my bulbs will start growing and they can’t yet. I paid good money for Dutch Bulbs and I don’t want them wrecked.

This week’s questions come from our good friend, and faithful participant, Gabrielle. Thanks so much for your questions, Gabrielle!! And everyone, thank you for playing and have a wonderful week! (I may be taking Christmas Day off, which is in 2 weeks, so if you don’t see questions posted that day, don’t panic. I will certainly be back the following week.) =)

1. What song gives you the most holiday cheer?
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire), closely followed by Silent Night.
2. Who is the hardest person to shop for on your holiday list?
I don’t know. I usually get pretty good ideas from everyone and that makes it easier.
3. When do you start your holiday shopping?
Around the beginning of December.
4. What food or drink do you love when it’s cold out? (Recipes and
recommendations, please!)

Braised Pot Roast with Wine and Fruit

One 4-pound lean boneless beef chuck cross-rib pot roast, tied
1/2 tsp pepper
2 envelopes (3/4 oz each) brown gravy mix
1-1/2 cups dry red wine
1/4 cup orange juice
2 medium-sized red onions (5 oz each), peeled and cut into 8 wedges
1/2 cup each, loosely packed apricots and pitted prunes
2 bay leaves (each about 2 inches long)

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Rub meat all over with pepper. Put gravy mix in a 4-qt. Dutch oven ( not uncoated aluminum). Stir in wine and orange juice until smooth. Stir over medium heat until boiling. Sauce will be very thick. Add meat to pot; scatter onions and fruits around meat, and then add bay leaves. Cover pot and place in oven. Bake 3 to 3-1/2 hours until meat is fork tender. Remove pot from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Lift roast to cutting board; remove strings. Cut meat across grain; arrange meat slices on serving platter. Discard bay leaves. Spoon some sauce over meat and serve remainder on the side.

Makes 6 servings with leftover meat.

This recipe takes about 10-15 minutes to prepare and then you can put it in the oven and forget about it! I call it the recipe that makes itself! All the different flavors blend together and make a delicious sauce that we usually put over potatoes! No one flavor dominates over the rest. It works well in a crockpot, too!

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Chili is another family favorite and particularly yummy when paired with homemade muffins or Pillsbury breadsticks.

Dawn’s Chili

1 pound ground beef
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 onion, diced
1 can Campbell’s tomato soup
2 16 oz. cans tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup uncooked macaroni, cooked

Brown ground beef, onions and celery. Add tomato soup, tomatoes, kidney beans, chili powder, oregano, paprika, pepper; heat to boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 45 minutes. About halfway through the simmering time, cook the macaroni. Add macaroni after it’s cooked.

Oh heck, now I’m hungry!

5. What do you do to get rid of a cold or flu?
Bleah. That’s where I’m at, right now. I’ve been taking Mucinex and occascional Ibuprofen, with thoughts of calling the doctor, to see if I warrant antibiotics. At least I’m not sneezing as much as I did yesterday. Heck, I have sore abdominal muscles, from sneezing so much. My nose is still running plenty, though.

We had a group of 19 people this morning, sharing breakfast and gifts, and fellowship. They are my co-workers at the clinic, where I work. We had a great time laughing, eating and stealing each other’s gifts. It’s a game we play, with the gifts.

None of us were smoking, yet I could smell cigarette smoke. We were really close to the bar, and 2 people were smoking in there. UGH. I just wish we would enact a smoking ban in restaurants. It surely would make my life better. I hate that I have to threaten my health, with the bad habits of others, since cigarette smoke doesn’t care where it goes. Bleah.

It was a damper on an otherwise fun event. I try to stay away from smoky places, but sometimes it just can’t be avoided.

Wind chills down to -15F/ -26C. Temps only in the teensF/-9ishC. I like living in Wisconsin, but this won’t be fun tomorrow. I can hardly wait. Since I’m a lunchroom supervisor, I hope we don’t go outside tomorrow. Double yuck.

My other fun thing tomorrow is working in the morning at the clinic, going to the school job and then going back to the clinic, about mid-afternoon, to work until close. So, I will miss the financial aid meeting tomorrow night. Ugh, again. On the other hand, any money I make can help in the overall picture of paying for a year at UW-Oshkosh, for Sarah.

Oh, and how did my baby get to be old enough for college so fast? Wasn’t she just born yesterday? How did 17 years go by, in the blink of an eye? The other kiddo is 14 and already a quarter into her freshman year of high school, so college isn’t far away for her, either.

My kids are good kids, too. They both are on the high honor roll, in school. Doing homework and doing it well, is important to them. Their teachers all see that, too, and appreciate it as well. Sarah’s band teacher is crafting a recommendation letter for scholarships, even as I type (or will be soon.) He told me at conferences that he would be willing to do that for her.

How does high school go by so fast? I loved my band teacher, too, and still think of him fondly. I graduated way back in 1978. I’m sure Sarah will have the same kind of memories, too.

Current weather conditions:
13.5 °F / -10.3 °C
Clear
Humidity: 56%
Dew Point: 1 °F / -17 °C
Wind: 6.0 mph / 9.7 km/h from the North
Wind Gust: 13.0 mph / 20.9 km/h
Pressure: 30.42 in / 1030.0 hPa
Windchill: 4 °F / -15 °C

Nasty enough, currently, yet, I still have to do out with the dog! She does her business quickly, when it’s cold out!