Josie first french braid

When my girls were little I french braided there hair all the time. Amy still comes over to my house and has me braid her hair. Today I asked Josie if she wanted her hair braided and to my surprise she let me do it. She sat pretty still for a two year old. So now she can be just like her mommy!

Nana again!

Rick's mom finding out she is going to be a Great Grandma



Christa and I have the exact same nose




This is the funnies picture ever of Linda, Josie and Cassie




Mom and Dad at PJ Christmas




Diana and I at PJ Christmas




Rick and Liam at PJ Christmas
Wow what a great Christmas it has been! I have had to keep it a secret but now the secret is out! Christa and Jese are going to have a baby. I am very excited to have two grand babies coming this summer. Amy is due July 1 and Christa is due Aug. 14. It should be a fun summer!
Christmas Eve we had the Rugroden family over for supper. First we went to church and then came back home for supper. It was a good time.
Christmas day we went to my mom and dad's house. This year we decided that everyone would wear PJ's. I think we should do it every year because it was so cozy and you could eat all you wanted because PJ pants expand!
I had to work both Christmas eve and Christmas day so by Sunday I was pretty tired. I had to work Sunday too. I was more then ready for a day off on Monday.
Monday morning I got up to the trees covered in frost. It was so pretty. I went outside and took a bunch of pictures. I will post them later.
Today I am babysitting. Right now Josie is taking a nap and Liam is suppose to be but he is just resting...
Later Sharon



There is a little snow out there......

Rick and I got the skis out again yesterday. We had a fun time breaking through all of the deep snow. We took turns breaking the path. Today when we go it should be much easier. I hope we get a little break from the snow storms for awhile. Rick took Dexter for a short walk yesterday. He was so excited to get out of the house. He loves the snow but it is just to deep for his short little legs. Rick plowed him a path in the lawn so he has somewhere to go other then the sidewalk.
Enjoy the snow if you can!
Later Sharon

Just pictures

The snow was a little deep

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can......

Christmas with the kids



Cassie with Dexter





Liam and Josie opening there gifts





Cassie got this doll for Josie, but really she got it for herself so she could play with the hair.



We had Christmas with the kids on Saturday. It was lots of fun. Cassie got to pick out what the meal would be this year and she picked pizza. Amy was not very happy about it but she ate the pizza anyhow. Rick made us 4 homemade pizzas and one dessert pizza. They were all really good. He even made all of the crust from scratch. Christa brought Kipper over so Dexter would have someone to play with. They were both very happy to see each other. They have both spent way to much time inside since we have gotten all the snow. Liam and Josie were so excited to get there gifts. It is fun to watch them open everything.
Sunday Rick and I had a great day. We went down to the club and shot for about an hour. Then we came home and got all bundled up and went CC skiing. We went out the back yard and went into the swamp and the field. It was fun. We only got to go out once last year so we really hope to be able to enjoy the snow a lot more this year. It was only 10 degrees out so my fingers go super cold. I need to get some better mittens, I seemed to have lost mine in the move. After we came in we decided it was going to be movie day. We watched 3 movies! And for supper we had popcorn. I know not a good meal but what else do you have but popcorn for a movie day. We have not had such a relaxing day since we moved to the house. I hope to have lots more now that most of the work is done. We are leaving the bathroom, office and bedroom until this spring. We need a break!
Today I babysat Liam while Amy and Josie went to the doctor. Amy had an ultrasound today and found out that she is due on July 1. Liam and I made cookies today. The whole time he was here he wanted to know when Rick was coming home. He was very happy that Rick come home early from work so he could see him. He told me that he likes Rick and only Rick and Jese. I guess Nana is just not fun! Liam went down in the basement and exercised with Rick. He had lots of fun and Rick said he worked out hard.
We got a ton of snow today again. I am glad I did not have to drive to work today.
Later Sharon

Out with the old and in with the new....well kind of!

I know I have written about my wallet before but I will review it anyhow. I bought my wallet at Brett's Department store when I was 17 years old. I have been using that same wallet for the past 31 years. I have tried others but have never liked them so I always went back to the one I bought in 1979. Well if finally started to fall apart. I had to find a replacement for my wallet and soon. I looked all over and just could not find one that even compared to it. Finally in despair   I decided to do a google  search on the brand. which is Amity. What I found out was they were a well known company that made high quality wallets from 1915 to 1996 when they stopped making them under the Amity name. They have changed the company to name to the Rolf company and still make wallets and other leather goods. While looking for information on google eBay came up. So I took a look and to my surprise there was my wallet! It was my exact wallet only it was in brand new shape. So I put a bid on it and won it for $5.50. I got it in the mail yesterday. If  I get 31 years out of this one it will be the best $5.50 that I ever spent. So it is out with the old and in with the almost new!

Ice, snow and oh so cold!

These are some pictures of the snow we got. Lots of drifts!

This is our new dinning room table. As you can see in the picture below I still don't have all the doors done so we have no doors on the closets yet.

I am so glad that I did not have to work this weekend. It was nice to be snowed in and not have to go anywhere! I finally got all of my Christmas stuff put up. Well everything but my houses. I started them yesterday and hope to finish them tonight after work. Waseca got a lot of rain before the snow started on Sat. morning so everything is pretty much an ice rink. I tried to get some ice-melt yesterday and it is sold out all over Waseca. Rick and I went to Mankato on Sunday afternoon to look for a table. After going to a million stores we decided to get the one that we liked right in Waseca. They delivered it on Monday, I love it!
I babysat Liam and Josie on Monday. It has been a long time since I babysat them both for a whole day. We had lots of fun. Liam was pretty excited that we have the house almost done. It was fun to have them there and not have a constructions zone in the house.
I have been staining the doors for upstairs in the bedroom in the basement. It sucks because I have so little room to move around  and the doors are big. I can only do two at a time. I got the bathroom and bedroom doors and all 5 door frames done yesterday. It sure will be nice to have a bathroom door again! I had hoped to have them all done by this weekend but I don't think I will make it.
Tomorrow we have First Responder training at work. It is going to be a long day for me. I have to be at work at 6:00 in the morning and will not get to leave until 7:30 at night. Then I will have my hour drive home. I wish I did not have to work on Friday. At least we only have this training once a year.
Last night I went down to the club to shoot. I shot about 40 arrows. I wrist was pretty sore last night but is okay this morning so that is good. It felt good to be shooting again. I only have a couple weeks to get ready for league so I have to get shooting.
We have a mouse in the garage!  I went to buy some mouse traps yesterday and they were all sold out of the normal traps.  I had to buy the sticky traps, I hate those because the mice do not die right away. They claim on the box that it is a fast kill kind,  I sure hope so because I hate to hear the mice squeal when they get stuck in them. But that is what the mice get for thinking they can spend the winter in my garage! 
Later Sharon

Box full of memories

I am finally able to put my Christmas tree up. I love taking all the Christmas decorations out of the boxes and looking at them. It is like a box full of memories. I look at  each tree ornament and remember when I got it or who gave it to me. The ornaments that my kids made over the years are the ones that are most special to me, it is like having a history of them growing up hanging on my tree. I have a couple of ornaments that were my Grandma's and even if they are starting to have chips of paint coming off of them, I still put them on the tree. Because they make me think of her every time I look at them. So my tree my be a hodgepodge of ornaments but I love it all the same.
Now Christa will tell you that I have ruined tree decorating for her. She claims that I would let them help put on the lights and then take them back down and rearrange them to how I liked it. Then she claims that I would let them put up the ornaments but only where I wanted and if I did not like where they put it I would move it to a spot more of my liking. Now I am sure she in remembering it all wrong. After all anyone who knows me knows that I would never be that picky about something like the placement of a tree ornaments.....
You will have to make up your own mind on who you believe.....
Later Sharon 

It is no longer 1973......

The living room before

Living room and entryway before

Fireplace before

Living room done

fireplace done

Entryway done

We have got the living room and entryway done! It looks so good now, I am very happy with it. Rick did most of the work on it and he did a great job. It no longer looks like a living room from 1973. We started to put pictures up on the walls last night. It is is nice to be able to hang stuff on the walls again.  I am finally going to be able to put my Christmas tree up! 
Today is Josie's 2nd birthday. I can't believe she is already 2 years old.
I shot my bow on Tue. night for the first time since my surgery. I only shot 10 arrows because it was starting to hurt, but not bad. I think it is going to be just fine as long as I do not try and shoot to much to fast. I still have swelling in my wrist, but it has gone down a lot. 
I have the weekend off and am very happy that I do. I am going to try and get the doors all stained so we can get them put up before Christmas.
We bought an end table at Target the other day and I put it together. I had it all most all the way put together and realized that the first piece I had put on I had put on backwards! I had to take the whole thing apart again! I was not to happy with myself! At least it went faster putting it together the second time because I knew what I was doing :)
Later Sharon

Giving

Tis the season for giving....A couple of weeks ago Rick was at the store and outside of the store standing in the cold was a group of people collecting food for the local food shelf. So he got a list from them and went into the store and got 3 bags of grocery's for them. It was really a nice thing to do.
While we were shopping at the MOA this weekend we were told that if you spend $250. at the mall you can take your receipts to the Nickelodeon Universe and get two free passes worth $65.  So we put all of our receipts together and were able to get 10 free passes. We then donated those passes to Make-A-Wish. It is really a nice program that the MOA puts on. I guess they have been doing it for a few years now and we never knew about it.
Every year for my birthday I tell everyone that I do not want a birthday gift. I tell them that they should go out and do something nice for someone  else and then tell me about it. Well every year my mom keeps on giving me $20. even though I tell her not to. So I saved that $20 since March and at the MOA this past weekend  I put it in the Salvation Army's bucket. There was a man and his two sons ringing the bell and keeping watch over the bucket when I put the money in. One of the little boys saw me put the $20 in. As I was walking away he turned to his dad and said SHE PUT $20. IN!!! It was pretty funny, he was pretty excited. I think it is great thing that those young boys were helping out with a charity and learning about giving to people that need a helping hand.
So in this season of giving  as we are out there spending our money on all those things that we don't really need remember that there is always someone out there that could use a helping hand.
Rick got a ton done on the house while I was gone this weekend. He got all of the trim up in the living room and most of it up in the dinning room. He also got the floor done in the dinning room. Yesterday he got most of the floor down in the kitchen. It looks so good!. We moved the furniture back into the living room yesterday. It was Ricks birthday yesterday so we went down to New Richland and Rick's mom took us out for lunch. After that we went to Target and got a TV stand so we can get the TV in the living room hooked up.
Today I am back at work. It was hard to get out of bed this morning. I just wanted to stay where it was nice and warm!
Later Sharon

18 Years

The Mall Of America opened on 1992. That year my cousin and friend Theresa asked me if I wanted to do a shopping trip  up there and spend the night in a hotel. So her, Erica and I booked a hotel and went up on  a Sat. morning to shop the weekend away. We also managed to go to a movie on Sat. night.  We had so much fun that we decided to make it an annual trip. A couple of years my sister Diane came on the trip. And a couple of years into the trips my friend Jodi joined us and has gone every years since. We also started going on Friday night to make it a whole weekend trip. We always stop in Lakeville and eat supper and then go to a movie on Friday night. Some years we have seen some really great movies and other years we have seen some real duds! Now we  look back at some of the awful movies and laugh about them.
 When I think about how all our lives have changed in those 18 years it is hard to believe.When we started going all of us had kids still in grade school, and Jodi still had one in diapers! Now all of our kids are grown up and two of us have grandchildren. We have all gone through lots of happy times, heartaches, job changes and moves in those years. We don't get to see each other as often as we use to as our lives have changed, but every year on the first  weekend of Dec. we get together and have a  whole weekend of girl time to talk about what the year has been for us.
The trip has now become less of a shopping trip and more of a time for us to be together and catch up. I look forward to it every year and and happy to call Theresa, Erica and Jodi my friends.
Later Sharon

Scary

Tonight the neighbor came over to tell us that there 50 pound basset hound was attack by what they think was a coyote. What is really scary is it happened at 12:00 in the afternoon on Sat. She said she heard it yelping so she ran out and the dog was covered in blood. The poor thing is doing okay but is scared to go outside now. Also last night something, most likely  a coyote, dragged a deer carcass right next to there front door. Pretty scary that it would attack in the middle of the day. Now I am scared to let Dexter outside by himself. I am pretty sure if a coyote wanted Dexter he would not stand a chance, he is only 17 pounds. We have also been finding a lot of animal bones in the yard, mostly rabbits. The neighbor is going to call the city to see it they will set traps for what ever it is.
Rick worked so hard this weekend and got lots done in the house. He got the living room, dinning room and entryway all painted. He also got two of the new lights put up. Everything is really looking nice. Right now he is putting trim on the living room windows. I pulled staples out of the dining room and hallway floor on Sat. until I got blisters on my hands. Thank god I have finally got them all out. We should be able to start putting down the floor on Wed.
I have got a cold. I started getting sick this weekend and today it is really bad. I left work at 1:00 and came home and slept until 4:00. I got up and cleaned up some of the construction mess and ate supper and now I am ready for bed again. I sure hope this is a fast moving cold because I have my annual Mall of America trip with the girls this weekend.
I think I am going to go to bed even if it is only 8:00
Later
Sharon

Run, Eat, Shop

What a great Thanksgiving we had! We got up early and braved the cold and ran the I.R.I.S. turkey trot 5k. Liam ran a 1/2 mile kids run. Cassie, Rick, Dad, and I ran the 5k and Diane and Jeff walked the 5k. We all had fun but it was COLD. My feet froze! After we got done we rushed home and got cleaned up and were off to New Richland. We had a very good dinner at Ricks mom's house and played a game of dirty bingo. Around 3:00 we left for Faribault and went to Mitch and Jeanie's house for the Becker Thanksgiving. Everyone was there but Nick. We ate a ton of good food. Jeanie did a great job hosting it for the first time.
Christa came home with Rick and I. Christa , Amy and I went to Walmart at 12:00 to start are Black Friday shopping. Then we headed to Mankato. We shopped until 9:30. We got a ton of great deals but we were all very tired by the time we got done. I took an 1 1/2 nap when I got home. Then I got up and have been helping Rick on the living room/dinning room. We should be ready to start painting in the morning!!!
I am soooo tired right now. I hope I can make it until 7:00 before I fall asleep.
Later
Sharon

Waiting

Right now I am waiting for the vet to call to tell me that Dexter is done. I took him in at 8:30 to be groomed and he is still not done and it is almost 2:30! I wish they would hurry up and call. Poor Dexter will not like having to be in a kennel all day.
I have been busy on my days off doing more home construction. I spent most of yesterday afternoon on the floor pulling out staples. I pretty sure they used a million staples to put the carpet down. I have most of them up now. I also have been staining trim boards and a door. It is a little stinky in the house but it is to cold to do it in the garage. I sanded all the walls that had wallpaper on, now they are nice and smooth and ready for Rick to put a skim coat on. He has the ceiling all done and he put the one piece of sheetrock up that was needed above the fireplace. We should be ready to start painting the primer by this weekend. To bad the weekend is so busy for us. I have to work and Rick has archery class on Sat. and then Sunday we have Grandma and Grandpa Trenda's 72 anniversary party. So we won't get much done this weekend. The carpet person came over today to measure up the living room. I have it set up for the carpet to be installed on Dec. 3. So we have a lot to get done by then. This will be the first year in as long as I can remember that I will not be putting up my Christmas tree on the weekend after thanksgiving. I am not liking it. Then the following weekend I will be at the MOA so I still will not be able to get it up. I hope that I can put it up on Dec. 6 because that will be my day off.
My wrist is still pretty sore. I am very impatient  for it to get better. It seems like it is taking way longer this time. I had hoped to be shooting by now.
Rick and I are going to go out in the cold when he gets home and go for a run. I hope I don't freeze to death.
Later
Sharon

so sad

Poor Dexter is so stressed out from all of the construction. He is so sad that we took couch out of the living room and now he has no place to look out the window. Today when I got home he followed me everywhere and was shaking. I feel bad for him. Good thing it will only be a couple more weeks till we are done with the living room. We are in insulation the attic today. Dexter decided that the stuff that fell out would be a good bed.

Learning something new

Cassie came over the other day and she decided that she should learn how to walk on Ricks stilts. She did pretty good, she even managed to walk all the way across the room. As you can see by the pictures we have started the work on the living room and dinning room. We got the ceilings all scraped and the last of the wallpaper off above the stairway. We also took the carpet out of the dinning area. We still have to take it out of the leaving room. We are still deciding on how to paint everything. Cassie had some ideas on what we should do. We have so much paint now that I am pretty sure we can paint every room in the house twice.
Rick and I got all the yard work done on Tuesday afternoon. I raked and raked and raked up leaves. I guess having 20 oak trees in your yard means you will have millions of leaves on the ground. Next year we need to stay on top of cutting them up as they fall. I also got my tulips planted. Good thing I wore my brace on my wrist all day because even with it my wrist was sore. It is getting better everyday but it is still swelled up. It is a good thing I have to work today so that I can give it a rest.

Yesterday I baked some pumpkins up and froze it. Now I have enough pumpkin to make several pies and more for bars and bread. The house smelled good while they were cooking. Rick and I went for a run yesterday. We have to get ready to run the Thanksgiving day race. This year we are running in Faribo. It will be Ricks first Thanksgiving day race. Cassie, Amy and my Dad are going to run it too. It should be lots of fun. Of course I am so out of shape I am sure my time will be very slow!
Today at work we have a meeting at 4:00. Since I usually get off work at 4:00 I am not looking forward to it. I sure hope it does not go to long. I hate coming to work in the dark and going home in the dark. I had a deer standing in the middle of the road this morning on my way to work. Then when I got to work I had to go pick up a student from the hospital and I had a coyote run in front of the car. Good thing I was paying attention and did not hit either of them.
I sure hope we do not get a lot of snow tonight since I have to work in the morning.
Later Sharon

I really need it........

Okay maybe I don't really need it but I really want it. You see I LOVE the Alien movies and they have now come out in Blue ray! First I had them in VHS tape and not I have them in DVD but the Blue ray would  be so much better. And of course it would be worth the $89. because I would watch them over and over. I am guessing I have seen the first 3 Alien movies at least 10 times. The 4th one I have only seen 3 times. What is funny is even though I have seen them so many time they still get my heart racing every time I watch them. They are the best alien movies out there. Then they came out with the Alien VS Predators moves so I had to get them too. They are not as good but I still enjoy them. I had to go out and buy the new Predators movie too, it is pretty good, but not as good as Alien's. I am thinking I am going to have to get the original  Predators movie too, maybe they will come out in Blue ray too! I love Sigourney Weaver who is in all the Alien movies. She is pretty much the best female action hero in movies. I think that is why I like the moves so much is because they have a strong female as a hero. How can you not love them! So as you can see I must have them. Maybe I will buy them for myself and call it an early Christmas present, no wait I can't do that because that is what I call my new camera. Oh well I guess I will just have to buy them just because I want them!
Later Sharon