The Sun Is Still Shining

The sun is still shining here, but it looks like we are finally going to get a decent snow storm. The couple inches that fell on the contractor, and the couple more that fell while we were away, and blew away before we got back don't count. The kids are quite excited. And so my list for this Tuesday is this:

I guess you can see what is most important here. Both kinds of bunny food refers to The Kind The Vet Wants Them To Eat, and The Kind They Want To Eat. I mix a couple of cups of the second into the first. They pick out every bit of it, before moving on to the one that is good for them (Eat Dessert First!).

The chicken soup, saltines, and ginger-ale? Yes, The Younger Daughter is home from school today, thanks to a stomach bug that her band friends are passing around.

And the earplugs? The Man Who Lives In This House announced that he is working from home tomorrow during the storm. It's nice for him that he can do that, and be safe here, not on the road. But, he will be on the phone ALL DAY, doing his trouble-shooting (engineering stuff) and political maneuvering (people management), and listening to it makes me very tense.It's a small house, so...earplugs. 

For a really funny list, this Tuesday,  check out Aimee's pantry purge list. I think I may have some caramel sheets for caramel apples in my pantry, that I bought the first year we lived in this house. Ten years ago.....

It Started Off With The Coffee Pot Overflowing

So 2011 isn't off to the greatest start around here. It started out with the coffee pot pulling it's favorite trick of overflowing the pot, and depositing grounds into the coffee, bright and early on January 1st. And then the whirlpool tub wouldn't work, because of some unusual wiring that was uncovered during the work on the house. Work to fix that now has both bathrooms in a semi-functional state, and there is a hole in the Second Daughter's closet. And we discovered we have mice. And the bats are back. And Ginny has a new round of lumps on her muzzle, which hopefully won't get as big as that earlier one that kept her from eating. Yeah, 2011! 

So for today's List-it-Tuesday (yes, I finally figured out that it is Tuesday), I decided to go back to a happy list from just after Christmas. This had to have been one of the weirdest lists I have ever gone to the grocery store with.

My Sister-In-Law had declared that we all had to partake in a Cupcake War. Each family group had to make some, as well as my parents, and some of her neighbors, too! This is one of my youngest nieces, in her new chef's hat, working hard.

And her sister, also hard at work. They took their cupcakes seriously, and did not make even one gray-brown mash as their father might have done (that's the color he always made his Easter eggs).

My Mom, with her contribution. Technically, it was also my father's, but he was busy farther down the table. 

And here he is with my Daughters, supervising (OK, doing Sudoku) as they make their Ladybugs. 

I didn't get any photos of the Big Competition, but all the cupcakes tasted great. Well; maybe not all, but the bacon ones really weren't that bad. And there was a lot of laughter, so that means it was a definite success.

Over the rest of the Holiday Break, I couldn't get near the computer at any time of day when my brain was functional (too much homework/long-term project work going on), but it's good to be back now. I hope everyone out there is having a great start to their New Year. I'm stocking up on rabbit treats, and hoping for the best. 

As always,  for more fun check out Artseyville for Aimee's list, and links to many more. 

Christmas List

Out at the shops this morning, I was listening to the people around me talk. So many of them seemed to be in the same state I was in. That is, trying to buy gifts for people who really don't need more things. We seem to be trapped in this cycle of obligation, where love is equated with how many presents you can provide. I know that if we stop and think about it, this is clearly not the case, but we still let the culture guilt us into this type of action. We know it's the love, and the warm thoughts, that count, but we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, either. I wonder how this cycle can be broken.

When I had some time, I made a list of what I am really looking forward to this holiday season.

Other than for the little kids, there is not much buying involved here. And we all know that the kids will usually spend more time playing with the boxes the toys arrived in! I hope that your holiday season is filled with lots of whatever is most important to you.

Check out Aimee's list to see her "pathetic Christmas houses", and to find links to more lists.

List-It Tuesday, Ginny's List

Ginny decided to provide my list for today, on a very important subject.

This is Ginny, showing Weasley her list, wondering if she left anything out. I think she pretty much covered everything still out there.

For some more fun reading, check out Artseyville for Aimee's list, and links to many more.

List-It Tuesday, Enjoying A Quiet Moment

My list for this week was written Monday, just before a last push to get everything ready for a visit from the in-laws. It will be a strange Thanksgiving this year, with the older Daughter staying in Pittsburgh. I'm sure she will have a great time with my brother's family, but we will miss her.

Check out Aimee's list of mood indicators that she suggests wearing on post-it notes on your forehead, to warn people you meet in the morning. You can bet that bouncy and perky would not be on any foreheads around this house in the morning! There are links to a lot of other interesting lists in her comments, also.

List-It Tuesday: This Is Not My List

It has been on the kitchen counter, giving my heart a little jolt every time I walk by and see it.

This is my youngest girl's list of prospective colleges. It keeps getting longer. She has yet to visit a school that she doesn't love. But, she is one of those wonderful people who finds a way to enjoy herself, no matter what she is doing, or where she is, so this shouldn't surprise me.  The background for the list is a poster that she made for herself that says "No Day But Today".

Having seen my girl consistently send the waitress away because she needs more time to decide when ordering from a restaurant menu, I dread the time when she actually has to narrow this list down to her final choice! And let's not even talk about how I am going to feel next August.

When all is said and done, one thing is true. I am very proud of the young woman she is becoming.

For more interesting lists, check out the links at Artsyville.

As for the notepaper, The Busy Bunny sent it along with an order awhile back, with a nice note on the first page. I love that touch. 

List-It Tuesday, Or Have you Ever Had One Of Those Projects

that fights you every step of the way? This is one of those projects!

I'm going traditional here, which isn't my favorite thing to start with. And, everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. Today I couldn't bear to look at it any longer, so I went off to the coffee shop with my sketch book. I made a list of all the things that have bewitched this project, hoping to release my frustration. I added a reminder of the one overriding factor that keeps me working on it. If you can't read it, it's not the photo. My handwriting is atrocious.

Then I spent an hour drawing my fellow coffee drinkers, and came home feeling much better. And, I have a helper now.

Ginny is doing double-duty here, helping me with my project, and eating helping my daughter with her homework. She actually carried this piece of paper in from another room. She's a dedicated bunny!

For more fun lists, check out Aimee's blog with its collection of links!

And tell me, if you've had a project make you crazy, what has kept you moving on it? I'd love to know.

Tuesday List Or Have You Voted Yet?

Aimee over at Artsyville has been posting List-It Tuesdays for a little while now. I haven't had anything to post, but it has been entertaining reading. And then today, I pulled this out of my pocket.

My voting cheat sheet, a little worse for wear. Not as pretty as Aimee's list, but important. If you happen to recognize names on the list, yes, I am a liberal Democrat. And guess what? I consider myself a true American, AND a patriotic one, at that! I think some people out there who are making a lot of noise this election cycle are forgetting that we are ALL fellow countrymen (and women). Just because we have different ideas of how to make things better for everyone in the country, doesn't mean that any of us are Un-American!

If you are in the U.S., have you voted yet? It's not too late. (And for the record, I don't care who you vote for, just vote!)

If you want to see more (Prettier) lists, check out Aimee's blog. It's a fun, and thought provoking read.