W-E-E-Z-E-R!!! Must add to my music collection!

We are having slow cooked sauerkraut and pork, black eyed peas and mashed potatoes. Ben is having meatloaf, mashed potatoes and broccoli.

Why was I given the honor of depression and the ability of self destruction?

Since I got a shiny new metal spatula from Dodie yesterday, I think I will make Ben some salmon patties for dinner tonight. Gonna need oil.

It's not so bad outside without the wind. HOLY JEEBUS THE WIND! That's the killer!

Reading Watership Down by Richard Adams

Potato, egg and ham skillet for dinner tonight!

Very disappointed with the snowfall so far. I mean, come on, I live in the north now. Shouldnt we of had a blizzard by now? WHERES THE SNOW?

Who gave their postcarrier something for christmas?

Ben "mommy" Me "yes Ben" Ben "girlfriend" Me "hit the triangle" Then all you can hear is Ben singing & dancing to Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend

Rock-N-Roll! 12/27/09

Try this yummy drink: blend together vanilla icecream, milk, vodka, and buttershots. DELISH! You can interchange the buttershots with your fav liqueur.

Mmmm...chicken and dressing :)

Styx ROCKS!

My world is spinning. I guess I had to experience a hang-over eventually. At least I dont have a headache.

Star Trek was awesome! Gonna have to watch it again! SYLAR ROCKS!!!

Was gonna finish uploading christmas pictures but I think some have posted twice. Its no fun chore to do from a cell phone. Ill do it later.

Making mac-n-cheese and mashed potatoes for the family christmas dinner at Dodie's <3

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas to my FaceBook family. I love you all :)

Chocolate Russians...Mmmmmmm

Misc pics of me taken this month 12/2009

Good night! Sweet dreams! Dont let the bed bugs bite!

Bow chica bow bow Thats what my baby said Mow mow mow And my heart starts pumpin Chica chica chew wop Never gonna stop. Getcha getcha goo means that I love you!

Im gonna some veggies for dinner. Raw! Broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and some black olives. Mmm mmm good!

Ben eating one of his favorite sweets...extra creamy cool whip! 12/22/09

Well, it WAS snowing but now its not. Guess I'll go do laundry now :(

Making a delicious and nutritious dinner for my men :) Fish stix and french fries by special request...of Mike!

ITS SNOWING!!! Sorta :)

YIPPEE! Mike says he good with clothes for now. I dont have to do laundry tonight! Ben & I will hit up the laundromat tomorrow while he sleeps :)

Its cold. And I have to go out in it. Why cant the laundry do itself?

Aunt Laurie gave me some goodies for my kitchen today! It was a nice family gathering except for me trying to kill cousin Ben w/rumballs.

Going to Uncle Tony's for some family fun. Ben and I get to meet more relatives today! GO GRAFIUS!!!

IM DONE! 5 different types of cookies, 3 batches each. 1 batch yields about 5 dozen cookies. Thats a lot of cookies! And Ben wont eat them!

Rumball mixture chillin in the fridge...now to roll and bake the sugar cookies. Almost done!

Tomato sandwiches are da bomb diggity!

Snickerdoodles RULE! Wow are they good! I may have to keep them for myself >:-)

Snoo snoo >:-)

Ok, christmas shopping done, meatloaf pre-made & in the freezer, beef stew simmering, & now making snickerdoodle and sugar cookie dough.

I havent seen one of these since I was about 8 years old! 12/18/09

So many errands, so little time. (be on the look out for your recipe today Elisabeth) OIP for dinner though :)

<3 I really enjoy my quiet time with Edward <3

The sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies are done! Tomorrow I start on the snickerdoodles and rumballs.

Ben with my mixing bowl on his head. Aint he cute <3 12/17/09

I have to take a break from cookies to make me some tea. I havent had any sweet tea in two days and its killing me!

Much better! I like these so much more :) 12/17/09

First batch of pnut butter cookies but I dont like how they turned out. 12/17/09

I need to cut my nails...they are more like talons right now and I broke one to the quick last night while making cookies.

First batch of chocolate chip cookies. 12/16/09

Making my first batch of Christmas cookies with my new stand mixer. 12/16/09

IT'S TIIIIIIME TO BAKE SOME COOOOOKIEEEES! And use my new toys :)

HOLY SMOKES! My beef stew turned out pretty tasty!!! Mmmm mmmm good!

HOLY SHIT ITS COLD!

YIPPEE FRIGGIN SKIPPY! I got my christmas present early today...a stand mixer and a mini food chopper! YAY ME! Thank you Baybee, I love you!

Well, tomorrow I start making cookies. Sugar, choc chip, pnut butter, snickerdoodles and rumballs. (Elisabeth, Ill post that recipe tomorrow, promise!)

My very first beef stew EVER is not only smelling good, but its looking good too!

Gonna start some beef stew for my Baybee <3

Chili over rice topped with cheese for dinner tonight. Mmm mmm good!

Tomorrow Im gonna start gathering supplies for cookies. I will be making snickerdoodles, peanut butter, choc chip & sugar cookies. I also want to make rumballs.

We are geekin' out to Harry Potter 1-4 tonight. I love me some Harry Potter! And Cedric Diggory too <3

So, I just finished the partial draft of Midnight Sun. I wish Stephenie Meyer would find the motivation to finish the book. I'm dying here!

THE CHRISTMAS CAROL

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. 
What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, 
Swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out
Of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were
Not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone
During that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. 
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning 
Plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each
Element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality
Which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments. 

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love. 

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. 

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament. 

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation. 

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,  Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy. 

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes. 

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control. 

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments. 

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples. 

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.'

(my grandmother sent this to me today. Very interesting.)

 

 

Ben in one of his new outfits Greatgrandma sent him. 12/09/09

No cooking for me today! Pudgies party pizza to go!!!

The car at 3am. 12/09/09

The car at 130am 12/09/09

I have to admit Im jealous of my friends who are posting about snow. Where is our snow? We were teased a few days ago. Nothing since though.

I need help! I'm hopelessly addicted to Edward Cullen. Someone please help me.

I finished the Twilight Saga in 6 days. I think I've been biten, I need more Edward and Bella!

Ben and Mike decorating the christmas tree. 12/05/09

Ben`s first snowman. 12/05/09

Well, it's snowing. Ben loves it! He doesn't want to stay inside. He cries when we make him come in.

Its snowing! 12/05/09

Strawberry cake in the oven (raspberry jello & cool whip to be added to it when cooled) and Jello NoBake Oreo desert chillin in the fridge.

Note to self...buy some real socks. The FL ankle socks arent cutting it!

Has anyone read Evermore, Blue Moon or Shadowland by Alyson Noel? That's the next series I'm interested in.

Shhh...I'm reading Eclipse...

Going to WalMart...I have to have Eclipse NOW!

I dont know if I can wait. The library is taking too long to open back up. I need to read Eclipse!

Must. Go. To. Library. Have. To. Read. Eclipse.

I just finished Twilight and New Moon. Twilight I loved! New Moon had me horribly pissed until about chapter 10 then it redeemed itself. <3

Well, Ben got a new pair of pants & some underware tonight unexpectedly. We were in WalMart & he just couldnt make it to the potty in time.

Sitting at Primus with Ben waiting to have lunch Mike :)

Man! I sure do love me some grits! Mmm Mmm good!!

Ben won't let me turn on any lights except for the christmas lights.

Nothing like donuts and hot coffee to start the day!

Ben playing his video game on the way home from the library. 11/30/09

Our first REAL snow of the season. 12/01/09

Forgot to attache the pic the first time :)

Our first REAL snow of the season. 12/01/09

Supposed to have flurries through tomorrow afternoon.

IT'S SNOWING!!!

December already? Really?

Why does the media always concentrate on the bad news? Why can't they give us good news too? The Sun-Gazette seems to mostly tweet bad news.

Ben wanted to sleep in the hall with the christmas lights tonight 11/29/09

Christmas lights we strung up temporarily for Ben 11/29/09

Ok. I've delt with this body rash long enough. Gonna find a clinic that can take me tomorrow and find out what the hell is going on.

SQUIRREL!

What an incredible book! So many twists and turns. I LOVE IT! I just wish it didnt end :(

It's hard to read through tears. The fight for Hogwarts is on.

Deathly Hallows wastes no time getting to the point, eh? Poor Hedwig :(

For Chris & Kris, I've gotten Dove unscented sensitive skin deoderant and Lubriderm sensitive skin therapy 0 lanolin, dye & frangrance. It seems to be helping.

Thawing the turkey breast now. Gonna make some homemade mac-n-cheese and some candied sweet potatoes. Its thanksgiving at our house today.

What an amazing family I have here in PA! I was so excited about today & I wasnt disappointed. The Grafius are an amazing bunch of people!

A mysterious rash is taking over my body.

96 bite-size no bake cookies are made. I'm done for the night. All I should have to do tomorrow is cook all the stuff I've pre-made tonight.

Cookies are cooling. Kitchen is clean...for a moment...I want to boil the eggs tonight in preparation for deviled eggs tomorrow. Almost done. Whew!

Well, round 1 of cooking is done. Gotta clean up the mess & prepare for round 2. Gonna make my Baybee some no bake cookies :) Luv ya honey!

Dinner done (homemade chicken tenders, garlic mashed potatoes & broccoli) and cornbread dressing ready to be put together.

Short break then I am up to make dinner and some cornbread for the dressing. Also have to sautee the onions and celery in some butter.

Doing the tedious work of finely chopping onion and celery for my cornbread dressing.

Oww my eyes! This onion I got is strong. My eyes :(

Brrr...I'm cold to the core today.

What kind of soap do you use? I use Dove unscented for sensitive skin.

Wish I could take a picture of the "rain" to show you. Its more like HEAVY fog. I wouldnt even call it mist. Definitely not a sprinkle either.

Mike was picking on Ben and Ben was whinning "STOP! I'M BEN!" To which Mike replied "Oh, that explains it all." lol

Ben sittin on the ottoman between my legs 11/24/09

I dont think he is feeling like himself today. He`s been kinda lathargic. It is a rainy day out today though.

I don't know what to say. I just watched Seven Pounds. I'm speechless.

This is how we make our coffee now lol 11/23/09

Mike likes my stove top made coffee. It pays to know how to make tea in a sauce pan via steeping. It makes for a good cup of coffee too!

Ben`s birthday balloons from 10/28/09 are still floating! 11/23/09

This is how Ben watches Shaun the Sheep 11/23/09

My 4 year old son thinks he's a Jedi. There are constant light saber battles in the house. He uses the dark side & Darth Mauls light saber.

Gonna look for more Doc Martin videos at the library :) Great show!

Ben turned around from the puter & saw me eating a banana, he hopped over to me, looked at the banana & then me, broke off a chunk & hopped over to his dad.

The carafe broke to our coffee maker so Mike made coffee on the stove top this morning. Maybe we will try my iced tea maker next time?!?!

Forty yummy, delicious Hershey`s Fudgy No Bake cookies :) 11/22/09