Saturday Morning Confusion: August 2014

Monday, August 25, 2014

Autumn Bucket List

Hello Dear Friends....

I hope that God and the weather have been treating you well. It has been hot and steamy here in the Western Wisconsin, forcing many of us to retreat indoors as much as possible. We have had temperatures near 90 degrees with heat indexes over 100 and humidity at 80 - 100%. So much for my natural curls behaving themselves! (Like they ever do!) Face it, us Wisconsin-ites aren't cut out for 100 degree days! :) Especially us Norwegians!

All this hot, steamy weather has me longing for the cooler days of Autumn. I know, don't rush it right? I mean we have 6 months of winter here, I should be enjoying these hot, sticky days. And I do, but Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year! There is Football and Hot Chocolate, Pumpkin Patches and Apple Orchards, Cozy Sweaters and Warm Fires - What's not to love? The colors are beautiful, the temperatures are perfect and it's a season of thanksgiving and gratitude!

There are really only two things I am not big on in the fall. The first is Halloween, not the scary part at least. I love seeing the littles in their cute costumes and I have nothing against other's who participate in the "scare-fest." I have just never liked being scared so I have no desire to go to a haunted house or watch scary movies. The other activity I don't take part in is Oktoberfest. I am not a drinker (and let's face it that is what Oktoberfest is all about) and I do not like huge crowds. We have a local Oktoberfest that draws tens of thousands of people and I can't go. Again, nothing against people who partake of either drinking or the festival. It's just my personal choice.

With all that being said, I have decided to make a Bucket List for Fall...I have a life bucket list of places I want to go, activities I want to do and things I want to accomplish before I die, but this is different. As I said in my last post, while I am feeling more hopeful, 2014 hasn't been the best year for me. So I thought, to battle the yucky feelings, I would come up with a ; list of things to do this Fall; activities that I enjoy, places I want to visit, all related to this season of the year. And hopefully things that don't cost very much money....When winter rolls around, I am hoping I will have made lots of memories and can look back on the Autumn of 2014 with smiles and fondness instead of the way I look at the beginning of the year. So, here goes...my 2014 Autumn Bucket List...

1. Have a Picnic in the Park
2. Try New Pumpkin Recipes (Done!)
3. Volunteer at the Community Thanksgiving Dinner
4. Knit Something Cozy for Someone (One done...more in process)
5. Decorate Porch and Front Yard for Autumn (Done)
6. Hike at Kickapoo Valley Reserve
7. Go to a Football Game (Go Norse!) (Done)
8. Make Gratitude Stones for my Garden
9. Collect Acorns, Leaves and Pinecones for Decoration
10. Jump in a Pile of Leaves
11. Make and Eat Apple Cider Doughnuts
12. Go Apple Picking at an Orchard
13. Make Chili
14. Go on a Fall Color Drive (Photo Safari)
15. Go to the County Fair (Coming up this weekend!)
16. Be Thankful (Ongoing)
17. Go on a Hay Ride
18. Plant Flower Bulbs for Spring Blooms
19. Donate Food to the Food Pantry
20. Go to the Pumpkin Patch
21. Read Books - Lots of Them
22. Go Wine Tasting
23. Write in my Grateful Journal Every Day
24. Light Candles Every Night
25. Wrap up in a Blanket and Sit on the Porch with Tea/Cocoa/Cider
26. Have a Bonfire with S'Mores
27. Invite the Family over for a Packer's Game
28. Have a Garage Sale
29. Roast Pumpkin Seeds
30. Make and Eat a Caramel Apple (Done)
31. Make Apple Crisp (Done)
32. Make Glycerin/Wax Leaves
33. Visit a Corn Maze
34. Make Leaf Shaped Sugar Cookies
25. Have an Adult Girl's PJ Party (Planned for Dec. 6th!)
26. Make Homemade Apple Cider
27. Go to a Craft Fair
28. Create a Thankful Jar
29. Run the Turkey Trot 5K (Planning with a good friend!)
30. Make a Scarecrow
31. Organize my Home Emergency Binder (In process)
32. Can and Freeze Veggies/Food for Winter (In process)
33. Press Leaves in Books (Done)
34. Make Fairy and Gnome Homes
35. Keep an Updated Prayer List (In Process)
36. Autumn Pictures of my Kids
37. Have a "Mexican Movie Night" with Cookie and His Friends
38. Start Making Homemade Christmas Presents (Started)
39. Have a Pedicure Night with Princess Pea
40. Finally Master Knitting Socks!
41. Put Gardens to Bed for Winter (Done)
42. Write Thank You Notes and Letters to Those Who Mean the Most to Me
43. Star Gaze
44. Go to the Farmer's Market
45. Watch "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown"
46. Make Homemade Cocoa Mix
47. Make a Fall Banner
48. Make Goodies for the Neighbors
49. Make Pinecone Birdfeeders with Peanut Butter
50. Make new Hat, Gloves, Scarf, Cowl, Hood, Snood for me!
51. Buy Halloween Candy and Hand Out. *This one didn't get done this year... :(
52. Bake Homemade Bread
53. Make Beef Stoup

Wow! Look at that List...I'm going to have a fantastic Autumn this year! And many of these items require little to no money! Most of them include the kids, Honey, family or friends. What better way to spend time than with those I love most. Check back often to see how many of these I have checked off and the pictures that will most likely accompany my adventures! :)

Sending you all God's Blessings!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

August already? WOW!

Oh my gosh! How can it be August already? Where has the time gone? I had so many great intentions of writing, photography, blogging and capturing my days, but the camera gets put down, the pens and journals get put away, and life just takes over. Then, before you know it, six months or a year has gone by and you have nothing to show for it.

Life has a funny way of doing that. Just taking over until you feel like you are floating along in life with no direction, and not really living, just surviving. That is how 2014 started for me. Survival was not the word I picked to live in 2014. This year started with worry, sadness, and uncertainty. But as the months have passed, we added laughter, fun, accomplishment, and determination. And now as we move into the last months of the year, I feel Hope creeping back in. I am feeling more creative, more determined to live and experience life fully, to renew my relationship with my God, and feel the joy that normally fills my heart.

In this post, I am going to try to document the best (and worst) parts of my year so that with the next post I can move forward. Put the past behind so the future is able to be accessed right? Ok, well here goes.

January:
In January I lost the job I had been at for the last year and a half. I still am not sure what happened, but the VP, Plant Manager and my supervisor met me at the door with a pink slip on a Tuesday morning. I had no idea it was coming and I was not given a reason for it. So there I was out of work barely a week into the new year.

February:
A month of survival, snuggles and snow...

Snow on the Birdfeeder

Snuggling with Miss Sassy

March:
A month of preparation for the end of the school year, job hunting, Princess Pea's last choir concert of the year and more snow.....And then Cookie got sick. For a week he was sick, off and on, then continuous, for four days...first throwing up, then fine, then severe stomach pains. First diagnosis was dehydration, but after nearly 24 hours of a pure water/chicken broth diet and no relief, he was admitted to the hospital for his appendix. Emergency surgery followed. Poor kid...

Cookie after his emergency appendechtomy

Pea's last 7th Grade Choir Concert

April:
In April Princess Pea competed with her dance team for the very first time! In the first competition, the team received gold which moved them on to Nationals in June! In the second competition, the team received platinum which is the highest award a team can be given. Their scoring was only 2.5 points away from a perfect score! We were so excited! One of her best friends was able to come with and cheer her on!

Princess Pea and Mama

Her very first medal!

Princess Pea and one of her best friends D-

May:
May was eventful with Syttende Mai, Dance Recital, my niece's graduation and Cookie Monster leaving for Basic Training for the Air National Guard. We ran like crazy, cried and laughed.

Cookie and Friends for a great send off!

Cousins goofing around!

Dad, Cookie Monster and Princess Pea in the Airport

Cookie and a sad proud Mama

The family before we send Cookie Monster to TX for Basic Training

Cookie Monster and Princess Pea

June:
In June we received a call from Cookie Monster telling us that he was being discharged from the Air National Guard due to panic attacks, anxiety, and sleep walking. He was currently being held in Med Hold (infirmary) and would be home soon. It is difficult seeing my oldest have all his future plans ripped from him in one fell swoop. He is still drifting and not certain of what to do or how to get there. I try to guide him the best I can but at 19, the decision lies with him.

Princess Pea had Dance Competition Nationals in Wisconsin Dells in June. Her team took Gold and a coveted Judges Award! And as soon as competition was over, she left for a week at dance camp. She was in heaven!

Headed to Nationals!

National Champions!

July:
July was an exciting for several reasons....first, one of my close friends and her son came from Kentucky to stay for a few days over the 4th! At the end of the month, many of our family members travelled to our home for a family reunion. We had 65 people plus from 7 branches of the family tree and we skyped with cousins in Norway. What a weekend! My delicious cousin Anna over at A Messy Indulgence and her beautiful Mama came to stay with me for several days. We laughed, we cried, we shopped for antiques, we stayed up til all hours, we photographed and we connected. It was the most beautiful weekend of my summer! The Sunday after the reunion, we took seven or eight canoes down the Kickapoo River and met the rest of the family at Rockton for barbecued chicken dinner....YUM!

Me and Jeannette

Cousins having fun!

My Delicious Cousin whom I adore!

Luna enjoying her trip in the canoe!

A Day on the Kickapoo!

Perfect Day!

Relaxing

August:
August has already been a whirlwind and we are already 19 days in. One of my best friends, Scott, was here from New Orleans for his reunion and was able to squeeze in a visit. We haven't seen each other in about 20 years. And of course, August is my birthday month, so there was that little bitty celebration (Cookie's friends, my adopted children, made me a cake at midnight before my birthday). There have been beautiful flowers and a glorious harvest of green beans, puppy sitting, sleep-overs with giggly girls, lazy afternoons on the porch swing, rides on the motorcycle, hunting beautiful antiques, and glorious God filled Sunsets. Honestly, there is nothing like looking back through your pictures to realize that there may be rough times but life really is a wonderful, awe-inspiring event. I'm glad I was able to share some of it with you!