Gram's Place

I have spent most of the morning attempting to think of some profound thing to say to end the year. Something deep and meaningful.... so I looked back at the blog entries from the year... all 81 of them. I wondered if I should make some New Years Resolutions that I won't keep. I know I won't. I have no intention of keeping them. But, I can at least state some things I would definitely LIKE to do... and some things that I am definitely interested in starting. 1. Blog more often. 81 entries (wait...this makes 82) ends up averaging not even 2 a week. Downright shameful. 2. Take more photos. I have a great camera that I need to use. I thought about attempting to take a photo a day for an entire year, but I'm pretty sure I would fail... so I'll just say I'd LIKE to do it, but have no intention of following through. 3. Do my devotions every. single. day. I started the spring of 2009 very intentional... spending quality time with God every single day. But, for so...

December has been a busy month for us. Here it is 2 days before Christmas and I realized I haven't blogged since November 18. Lots of bloggers take blogging breaks.... this one wasn't on purpose by any means. We've just been busy. Today, as I write this, my heart is heavy. Shawn's mom is in the hospital in pretty fragile condition. She had a pacemaker put in today as her heart doesn't want to cooperate with her at all. She's been in the hospital for a little over a week and they are still working on figuring out exactly the best treatment for her. She had a spinal tap today as well, as the neurologist saw something and wants to figure out what it is. So, my sisters in law and my brother in law are staying with us as my dad in law hangs out in the hospital this Christmas with Marge. Our second oldest daughter, Lindsey, moved back home. We've enjoyed having her home... cooking supper, cleaning while we're at work, running the kids around to places...

I started a new job about a month ago. I really like it. Mostly because I love the people I work with. I find myself wondering sometimes if I would like the job if it weren't for my co-workers. I might. But isn't it funny how working with people you LOVE makes anything seem better? I could do some horrible horrible things... as long as it was with great people. Anyway, part of my job is hiring "temps" from a temp agency to complete a project we have going on. I call them all "Ryan" from the beginning until I learn their name. Not out loud. Just in my head. (If you have seen the Office, you understand that... if not, I'm not going to explain. sorry.) Temps are a funny breed actually. They have some advantages over permanent employees. For one, they won't be around to clean up their messes. I also often wonder if they try on new and different personalities at each new job site. They only really get involved in "temp" issues. In the p...

Aren't you impressed? I am actually managing to post two times in one month. My last post was about the random thoughts that I think when I think. (yes, that sentence does too make sense! Reread it.) I read that last post and the comments and decided to talk some more about my dreams when I am awake. I know... some people call them daydreams. But, I think they are night dreams because I usually do it at night... to make myself fall asleep. My version of counting sheep. I'm really not a very imaginative person. I think I have to really be focused to dream up stories to tell.... that's why dreaming up things when I'm trying to go to sleep is the perfect time for me. I can be fully focused on the day dream at night. Plus, I have this theory that if I start a scenario while I am awake... I am thinking about it when I fall asleep... and I can continue the fun journey into my real sleep... and hence, control my own dreams. ;) No, I'm not a control freak. Some of th...

Considering the fact that I haven't posted on this blog since the middle of October, I realize this may very well be the only post I write in November. So, I feel like it should be super meaningful and utterly profound. However, that is rarely the case with me lately. I can think of nothing profound and nothing meaningful. Oh, yes, I heard a great sermon, I've had some fantastic discussions, I've listened to some amazing podcasts lately. But, when I stop... and breathe... and actually THINK. It's usually about the following things... don't judge me. 1. The last time I got my hair colored, I couldn't even tell. I'm wondering how bold a 41 year old can go without looking foolish.... 2. To get to sleep at night, I often make up "dreams" in my mind. Sometimes it's how I would spend a million dollars in the lottery.... lately, I've been taking trips to France and then riding the train around to all the beautiful places in Europe that I...

This week, as the temperatures plummeted to freezing, I realized it's over (the growing season). The night before our first frost I ventured to the garden to attempt to get anything and everything I possibly could (not much). I did manage to salvage about two dozen tomatoes, not ripe yet. So, I put them in the window and let them ripen off the vine. Today, I decided I'd better do something with them and it is going to be tomato juice! My mom visited last week from sunny Arizona and brought her tomato juice recipe for me, so that's what I'm doing. Unfortunately, 20 tomatoes doesn't get me a lot of juice. So, instead of canning it, I decided I'd just make chili or goulash for supper tonight. Seems like a lot of work... but I refuse to let anything from my garden go to waste. This was a good year for some things: spinach, swiss chard, potatoes, lettuce - cool season crops did so well. Bad year for: tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins - it was just too cold. Next week ...

Fortune cookies from two weeks ago: Tina's: Traveling to the south will bring you unexpected happiness. Shawn's: Modify your thinking to handle new situations. This week, I started a new job and I drive 25 minutes (yes you guessed it south) each morning. My man is having a difficult time with this new schedule... maybe he just needs to modify his thinking. ;)