Off Kilter

There is a pot of boiling water on the stove. There are piles of clean laundry. The house is pretty clean. I have worked out today. I have accomplished NOTHING on last week's Anti-procrastination list~nothing! I think of a blessing. Then I think of something to bring me down. Like: the sun is out~blindingly so, but there are small piles of dirty snow. It is warm, but it is not hot. This is how my week is going. Up. Down. Off kilter. This is how I am when I receive bad news. Let me repeat: bad news. I get really weird until my brain can accept the bad news. In limbo...trying to accept the news that my Mom was just diagnosed with cancer. Again. But a completely different type. Trying to look at the bright spots: she is symptom free, she feels strong and she is ready to fight this. Trying to wrap my head around how I can help, when I live so far away. Very hard. I have only cried a little. Maybe I need a good cry. Actually, I don't know if that would help or not? I cannot decide. So I am going to carry on and hope that once my head accepts this message, that I may cry or not, and hopefully come to a different place, because limbo is not working for me.


Birds outside my bathroom window. A sign that spring may eventually come !

Homemade hearts for my 3 sweeties with a message and a coupon for something they like: movie, dinner out, & dessert. I was able to find the perfect store bought one for my sweet hubby. It had a bike and kites. 

hugs,

Why Valentine's Day is Special To Me

As a kid, Valentine's Day was always very special in our house. It was also my Dad's birthday. So we celebrated Valentine's Day and my Dad's birthday. It made it extra special. My Dad always remembered to get us a valentine on that day, too. I remember feeling very special because he remembered me on his birthday. Happy Birthday Dad. We love you. A few pics, just for fun!

Dad on his first birthday. I cannot believe the clarity of this photo and how my grandmother baked him such a beautiful cake for his first birthday and then remembered to get a photo~there were not point & shoot cameras in those days! February 14, 1940

 Learning to "shoot" a gun with his father.

On his First Holy Communion. Dad has passed down his faith to his children and took us to church weekly (with Mom's help, of course!)

A trumpeteer, he also played the accordion and has a 45 of it somewhere!

Served his country in the Air Force. 

Is a fantastic dancer, which wooed my Mom off her feet!

Always fixing cars. My brother is not even a year old. Cannot imagine how my Mom felt about her brand new concrete being stained with car grease. BTW, is that car done yet???

Dad on the left, with his brothers, rocking the side burns and mustache with a Sgt. Pepper jacket. 

circa 1971

Always putting a baby to sleep and catching a quick z himself! This is my youngest brother Tony. 

Supporting us through all of our endeavors. Congratulating my brother on a good swim, while being a timer. Back then the timers had to wear their "timing whites".

Loving on his granddaughter, Allie, with my Mom.

A Ford man and a big time racing fan, before racing was so commercial. If there is a race on tv, Dad is tuned in. Drove us a bit nuts, but he is consistent!

Teaching Foster how to shoot a bb gun safely. 

Taking in his favorite team, the Detroit Tigers. They were always playing on the radio in the garage, when I was a  kid. Pictured here with my sister Lisa, niece Lindsey, Dad and brother in law Mark. 

Spending time poolside. But not in the deep end. Shallow end only!

Always taking photographs. Always. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! 

(my Mom's favorite saying!)

And one of my favorite pictures of my Dad. Hanging out on a boat.

Thanks for always being there for us Dad. Through the toddler years, the homework, the swim meets, the snowmobiling nights, the practicing of instruments, the baseball games, the kite flying, the mini bikes & go karts, the car issues, the road trips to Florida in the Econoline, the relationships of our teen years, the driving lessons, the graduations, the walk down the aisle, the letting go of us so we could become adults, and watching us become parents and going through the same. Happy Birthday Dad. You are a rare one: warm, honest, kind, faithful, gentle, funny, and loving. 

Much love to you on your special day!

~Cathy~

linking up with Debbie at her Newbie Party

Baja Baby!

Looking for something yummy and easy to make? This is a quick and delicious meal! I usually make it when it is cold outside. Like today.

This is a picture of the dinner before the pasta was added:

I used my daughter's Kodak Playsport videocam to film it and then uploaded it to Youtube. I may get this blogging thing down some day!! I filmed this a few weeks ago. It is only 47 seconds long so you have to watch it!

I also serve it with blue chips and roasted salsa verde from *Target*.

I adapted this recipe from another blogger. If you are the blogger that originally posted this recipe, please let me know and I will give you credit and a link!

Baja Chipotle Beef & Pasta Dinner
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, washed & diced
1 can corn (drained)
1 can petite diced tomatoes, do not drain
1 can black beans (drained)
1 box wagon wheel pasta, cooked and drained

Brown ground beef. Pour off drippings. Add green pepper and onion and cook just until a bit tender. Add corn, diced tomatoes, black beans and cooked pasta. Stir over heat until heated all the way through.~this is the point that I put some aside for my little one that doesn't like it spicy~ Add desired amount of Baja Chipotle sauce and stir. Serve warm. You can top it with shredded cheese or sour cream, if desired. Also delicious with blue corn chips & roasted salsa verde, as pictured above!

Thinking warm thoughts!
hugs,
 

AP Tuesday, Virtual Coffee & a Hidden Talent

Yesterday I had a lot to accomplish in a just a few hours and I realized that I haven't been making my daily list. I quickly whipped out a notepad and jotted down my list. As I sipped my coffee this morning, I was surprised to see that got everything done on yesterday's list. Thus the name for my blog, Check It Off. I function so much better with my daily checklist. I am definitely going to be using my lists this week! The past few weeks I have been focusing on completing little tasks, which will help our life to run a bit more smoothly. Also, I really would like to have photos of my family in the picture frames, rather than the ones that come in them from the store!

LAST WEEK's LIST Anti Procrastination List 1/31/11 (get done by Feb. 8th)

My Focus word for February is PHOTOS

Get Photos in Frames NOT DONE, going on back on list. Hoping to have new prints by Friday! 

Delete Photos on main computer that are not worthy of keeping (going back 1 year)NOT DONE,going back on list for this week

Sign, Copy & Send tax documents to accountant for personal & business PARTIALLY DONE (I signed, waiting on hubby to finish, read TEAM effort!

Set up Microsoft Word on Ana's computer (finding the disk will be the hard part!) DONE

THIS WEEK'S List Anti Procrastination List (get done by Feb. 15th)

My Focus word for February is PHOTOS

Get Photos in Frames

Delete unwanted photos going back 2 years

Reconcile January bank statement & produce business info for accountant

Spray paint new photo frames & hang on photo wall

Tonite I am taking the kids to a tryout for a local musical production of Sleeping Beauty. I am not sure if we will actually be able to participate in the production, but I think it will be great experience for them! ~I am a bit nervous for  them, they are a bit nervous, too! So we will just see how it goes!

Tomorrow night are soccer tryouts for my son's travel team. You know spring is not too far away when soccer tryouts are happening! I find this to be a better predictor of spring than the groundhog!

The kids' Valentine's parties are this Friday, so I have a bit of baking to do. Their Valentines are done! I am also in charge of the guessing game. I am going to come up with a few containers where they need to guess the number of items in the jar. This is such a great game for second graders. Maybe I will have the party helper Moms guess, too. Wouldn't that be fun to see who is closer, the kids or the Moms?

Remember the camera my friend was selling? Well she decided to keep it. My friend and I were playing with it at the ski lodge and a man came over and told her what a great camera it is and showed her a few tricks. She vowed to use it more and learn more about it. And she said I can keep it for awhile longer. Sweet, huh? I am getting very close to buying my new camera. I am just deciding on the lens I want. I cannot wait! 

My training is really coming along. I am going to sign up for another month, since I have already seen good results in 3 weeks! My favorite is the H.I.T. (High Intensity Training) class. It is kickboxing and I LOVE it! Such a wonderful feeling of power and strength when you have on the gloves. Not easy, but very fun!

Upcoming blog posts this week:

My interview with Lucy the Slipcover Queen and photos of her Studio/Work Room

A post with a recipe for a yummy winter recipe with a video starring me and Marissa

I am linking up with Amy at New Nostalgia for Anti Procrastination Tuesdays and Amy at Lucky Number 13 for Virtual Coffee. 

If you have a chance, please pop over to my friend Marla's new blog, Random Thoughts. She is an awesome photographer, writer, ski instructor and the list goes on! Also, she is thinking about sharing her Manual for Mothers of Freestyle Skiers. What a friend!

We are getting a bit of light snow. I had to help my husband pull the snow plow out this morning. It was stuck and he couldn't get it out by himself. Cathy to the rescue! Yep, I am a  woman of many talents. Now go find your hidden talents! 

hugs,