Up and Running!

I've had some computer problems and haven't been able to blog in WEEKS! There is so much to catch up on and I guess I'll start with New Year's Eve. Bob and I went to the Fiesta Bowl Block Party with Steve and Kate. It was a beautiful night, just a tad chilly, and we had a great time. There were bands on every block and more people than you can imagine. I am not used to going "out" in the "big city" so I was quite shocked at the number of people at the party. I'm used to the nightlife of Prescott which generally consists of no more than 150 people milling up and down Whiskey Row.

I want to start this post with a video I made right at midnight: (and NO that's not me singing at the end of the video!)

Bob, standing on Mill Avenue, just minutes before the new year:

There were quite a few fireworks displays. Bob and I have a bit of history with fireworks so I always try to take our picture when we see some.
Looking at the 10pm fireworks in the sky:

This face always makes me smile. I never get tired of seeing it:

We rode the lightrail from Bob's office to Mill Avenue. Behind us sat a man having a LOUD verbal argument with someone about stealing a candy bar. It was funny and a bit unnerving.

We spent most of the evening listening to the dueling pianos performance. It was AWESOME and they really knew how to put on a show. And, fortunately for us, I found this pole dancer as soon as we got there :)

We had dinner at a Mexican Restaurant on 5th and Mill Ave. It came highly recommended by Kate and Steve and it didn't disappoint. These two are always so much fun. I love hanging out with them.

Steve and Kate, our favorite couple to hang out with:There is still so much that has happened this year. I hope I can find the time and the organization to type it all out and make sense of it. Now that my computer is fixed, I'll be back, blogging (almost) daily. Until then, I'm going to call it a night and enjoy my Amazon Kindle for a while. I love that thing!

Not in the Blogging Mood

Is it horrible that I don't feel like blogging? I started organizing at 9pm last night and I finished today. I just needed to get rid of some unneccessary things that have been piling up. The Christmas tree is put away and so are all of the holiday decorations. I bought about 15 different sized bins and organized my entire house today. I'm really proud of it! I haven't blogged anything about Christmas so I guess I'll go ahead and start now.
This first picture was taken at midnight on Christmas Eve when Bob drove up from Phoenix and surprised me. I had on sweat pants and a huge long-sleeve t-shirt. Wouldn't you know that he was dressed amazingly well. But, I was too excited to see him to even care that I had just rolled out of bed!
This picture is of our Christmas Day hike. We went on a 2 1/2 hour hike, mostly off the trail. Bob's house sits at the base of a huge mountain so we just walked out his back door and began climbing. Me and Bob before our descent down the mountain. Andrew's quite a good photographer.

My cutie-pie, Andrew. He's quite a trooper and hung with us on the entire hike! It's difficult to get pictures of the three of us. However, this was made even more troubling by the fact that we were somewhat balancing on the edge of the mountain. I was a bit nervous.

In the upper part of Bob's backyard.

Andrew opened his gift from Jim. He got Power Miners Legos and LOVED it!

Andrew was quite groggy Christmas morning. But when I reminded him that it was Christmas Day, he jumped off the side of his bed and stumbled quickly and clumsily into the living room.

Andrew got a haircut today. It has been 6 months since it was last cut.
There is a little catch up of what's been going on lately. I have been busy and haven't really been in the blogging mood; however, once I got started tonight, it just flowed right along. I think it helped that I downloaded all these pictures FIRST and then did the typing. I'll probably keep doing it that way; it's more sensible.

I haven't written anything about Christmas gifts or any other specifics about the holidays. Maybe I will do that tomorrow night...or sometime soon when I feel like writing about it.

For now, good night!

A Surprise Visit

midnightxmaseve
Originally uploaded by jjenrek

I haven't believed in Santa Claus since I was 8. So, imagine my surprise when I heard a noise on the front porch. I resigned myself to thinking it was the ferral cats that sometimes visit, so I raised myself from my resting spot and made my way to the door to shoo them away. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. And there was Bob. With presents for me and Andrew signed "From Santa".
It was a surprise. I had no idea he was coming. We were supposed to get together on Christmas Day around 10 am. Christmas Eve, he was spending with his daughter. He said his daughter knew he was coming up to see me at midnight. That's 100 miles of driving...just for a 30 minute visit so we could be together at midnight...what he considered the most romantic and important time of Christmas.
I was speechless; I still can't stop smiling. And I can't even THINK about trying to sleep! A Merry Christmas it is already!

The Day is Done

I finished my baking and got the kitchen clean. I tried a few different recipes today; my favorite is the gluten-free cookies. The first batch I made was with Bob's Red Mill mix. It was terribly dry. So, I used Pamela's Gluten/Wheat-free mix. They are PERFECT! Soft and tasty.

I also made two kinds of drop cookies with Hershey's Kisses on top: one with peanut butter and sour cream. The peanut butter are by far my favorite. The sour cream ones are a bit dry, and...they taste like sour cream. Not what I want in a cookie :) But, all in all, my baking experience was pleasant. I actually impressed myself with how easily I could whip up a batch of dough and then pop them in and out of the oven without missing a beat. haha.

I put everything into tins and have them packed up to take to Bob's house tomorrow morning. I'm really tired and ready to go to bed but I need to be sure Andrew gets to bed so Santa can come.

Today was a pretty good day but I faced several interruptions from my neighbor. First, she wanted me and Andrew to show her almost-10-year-old how to swallow a pill...so he can take his ADHD medicine. The pill was super small. Andrew is taking some probiotics that the doctor gave him and they are more than twice the size of the ADHD pill the neighbor kid is taking. But, that kid would NOT take the pill. He refused. I became so darn annoyed that I finally told him he had to go home. And...his resistance was not in vain. He actually won the battle with his mother and she once again opened the pill and spoon fed him like a baby.

Later on, she came over again to talk about her job situation. She has lived near me for 2 years and in those two years, she has had over 7 jobs...but she has spent most of that 2 years unemployed! She always wants my advice on why she can't get hired. What am I supposed to say: "Because you smell like cigarettes, you say the 'f' word every time you open your mouth, you have a terrible attitude, you run your mouth too much"? Instead, I just say, "Well, maybe you should look for a job in a different field." It's quite stressful. She wanted me to sit with her outside for hours while she smoked and ranted. I hated to be rude but I was in the middle of baking. So, I listened for about 15 minutes then I excused myself. Of course, she followed me inside the house but she soon went home.

It's hard to understand why some people want to live with so much drama. I feel sorry for her, and for her son...and I am not one that gives up hope for people. But this poor woman doesn't have enough knowledge to break out of her way of life. I wish her the best. And I pray that Andrew and I move.

I'm going to let Andrew open one gift tonight before bed, if he wants to. And then I am going to take a bath and relax. We need to wake up by 6 in the morning in order to open gifts, get dressed, and make it to Bob's by 10. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

It's bittersweet for me, again.

Andrew's Tortilla Bags

I mentioned yesterday that Andrew made lunch for his friends. I was so proud of him. I had taken a nap and the kids were in the living room playing. Everyone was hungry and when Andrew came to me for lunch, I didn't stir. So, Mister Ingenious took it upon himself to make lunch. He told me he was going to and somehow in my deep sleep, I was able to muster up the words, "Don't use the oven or stove."

You must understand that we had nothing in the house for lunch. Not even any emergency frozen foods nor cans of Chef Boyardee. But this little 8-year-old searched and searched through the refrigerator and pantry and came up with a great lunch, which he called "Tortilla Bags". His ingredients were:

tortillas

cheese

lil' smokies

italian spaghetti sauce

onions (which he diced himself)

crushed Ritz crackers

Then he microwaved the concoction in order to melt the cheese, soften the tortillas, and warm the lil' smokies. Here's what he created:

Tortilla Bags

Levi and Andrew digging in: The kids:
Andrew was so excited with his success and was proud that his friends enjoyed it. And, he was excited that I was proud of him. I had no idea he could just whip something up like that. Looks like I have lots of good meals in my future; I can't wait until he learns how to cook healthy stuff!

The Actual Baking Day :-)

So, I'm baking again today. I have found that Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies are not that good. So, one of my dear students told me about another brand. I went to Fry's last night and bought the brand she suggested and they are GOOD!!! Oh my gosh, I'm gonna buy another bag today and make more. My Rice Krispy treats have also turned out well and the chocolate-covered peanuts look yummy.
Although I have 4 kids over here in my lowly 900 square foot apartment, they are keeping out of my way...and they serve as great testers for my goodies. I'm going to give the Bob's Red Mill cookies to them as Christmas presents. As Mark, a new blogging friend, said, "Don't throw the burned cookies away, give them to your not so good friends-waste not, want not." So, thanks for the tip Mark. :)
I am really glad that today is much better for me. I was in a funk all day yesterday and I was not productive at all. However, Andrew made lunch for his friends yesterday and I am so proud of him. We really had nothing to eat but he mixed some ingredients and fed the masses. I'll post pictures and tell you all about it later today. But, for now...back to the kitchen!

Baking Day

The doorbell rang at 8:45 this morning and now I hear the sounds of laughter, the piano, balls bouncing, and the almost muted voice of Spongebob on the tv as all the kids begin their play. Yes, I'm still in the bed. I took Advil PM last night at 10:30 because lately I need something to help me sleep. I didn't want to have another night of staying up until 4 am.
I'm mentally preparing my list of baking chores today. And figuring out if I want to shower first or wait until later today. Guess I'll shower later. Wish me luck on the baking. I'm a beginner in this area.