Catching Up

Last week got away from me as once again I found myself on the road for work. This time I ended up in Indianapolis, going down Wednesday and returning Friday. It was a good trip. We got a lot done, and actually we didn't have the extremely long days we usually do on the road. In fact, both Thursday and Friday we were done early. I was home Friday right about the time I originally expected to just be leaving Indy, so that was a wonderful surprise.

Last time I was in Indy was December, and it was awful. Tons of snow, gray, nasty. This time I was able to get out and enjoy the city a bit, and I really liked it there. If you go, you must eat here:It's called Palomino, right downtown. Amazing food, great service. Love the seafood.

So, I returned back to Lansing Friday, and Saturday Randy and I just worked around the house. Sunday found as at my parents' house in Gaines, meeting my sister and niece there so we could give my niece her birthday present.

Kelsey turned 11, and all she wanted in the world was a "lamination machine." Not a laminator, but a "lamination machine." When she comes to my house, she uses mine, and we laminate everything in sight. So, now, she finally has her own. My mom says everything in her house is now covered in lamination. Guess it was a hit.




And now I reveal yet another Willett Family Drama......brought on by yours truly.

Sunday night I decided to make a peach cobbler. Side note: If you haven't had Paula Deen's peach cobbler, you're living a very empty life.

Anyway, into the oven goes the cobbler. The baking dish seemed pretty full, but I thought it would be all right.

I was wrong.

It not only overflowed, but it looked like a volcano had gone off inside my poor oven. And the smoke.....WHEW!

But, being that it was getting on into the evening, I didn't want to start the oven cleaning and have it going when I was going to bed. So, I decided to do it Monday night when Randy was in St. Johns.

Monday comes, and Randy announces he's not going to St. Johns. So, we throw together a dinner, which included, of all things, a potato dish that needs to be baked.

It's not until I open the oven door that I remember the mess in the oven. I think, "Oh, it will be all right. What's a little smoke. The potatoes only take 20 minutes."

The kitchen gets pretty smokey, but we open the window and back door, turn on the ceiling fan, and we're okay.

After dinner I go in to do dishes, and stupidly I think, "I'll start the oven cleaning cycle now so it will for sure be done by the time we go to bed." As I'm doing dishes, thankfully almost done, the kitchen entirely FILLS with smoke and I run for my life.

Mr. Love comes up and says something really intelligent like, "What in the world are you doing?" and then heads to the basement to get fans. He sets them up to blow out the door and out the window.

By this time, the smoke has gotten so bad I have to leave the house. I'm out on the front porch, looking inside, wondering if this is ever going to end and cursing the day I ever thought I could bake anything. Jack, our poodle, is scared to death and hiding in the basement, and Chloe is, of course, hiding under the bed. Every light in the house is on, every fan in the house is on, the house is filled with smoke, and I'm worried that Mr. Love will be overcome and then how will I ever drag him out of that kitchen without smacking his head on something.

Eventually it ended, as all things do, with no great harm to home, person, or poodle. The fans were returned to their normal stations. The oven was wiped down and ready for my next disaster. The only lingering problem was discovered when we went to bed last night. We had breathed so much smoke that we were both actually wheezing! Of course Mr. Love falls right to sleep and snores to beat the band. I have a choice of wearing my ear plugs to block the snoring, which then means my wheezing sounds 100 times louder than it is, or take out the ear plugs so I can't hear the wheezing, but then I can't sleep from the snoring next to me.

Robitussin. God bless Robitussion. A shot of that, and my wheezing relaxed. Ear plugs in, and finally, finally sleep.

Hard to believe this is all that's left from the mess that caused all of the smoke!

Wii Wii Wii All The Way Home

I was supposed to go scrapbooking on Saturday with my friend Deb. She called Saturday morning and was sick with a migraine. I thought about going alone. I already had the car packed and was all set. But as the time to go got closer, it rained harder and harder. The thought of lugging all of that crap in and out in the rain just didn't sound like much fun. So, I decided to have a talk with my husband.

You know that look your husband gives you when you say, "Honey, can we talk?" Oh, how Mr. Love hates that! But, the time had come.

Lately, it seemed like a lot of people were either already in love with Wii Fit or were desperately trying to get one. Mr. Love and I have a membership to the MAC. It's a premiere fitness club in East Lansing. We've been members for years and years. Basically our idea of membership is to mail a check to them once a month. Periodically we take a stand and declare that we WILL START GOING TO THE MAC. Then we go for a while and then quit.

As winter grows near, and I begin to work from home more and more, I just don't see myself going to the MAC. However, at the same time, I feel more and more drawn to exercise. I want to get moving. Yes, I need to lose weight, and I want to lose weight. But more importantly, I want to start being more of a healthy person.

So we talked, Mr. Love and I. We decided that I will drop the MAC, and he will stay. Then we went out and bought a Wii and Wii Fit. We also bought a thousand other things that go with the whole thing, but that's what happens when you start down this path, I believe.

The Wii Fit is a game and also a balance board. It gives you exercises in four categories: balance, strength training, aerobics, and yoga. It tracks your weight, BMI, and workout minutes. It took a bit to get it all set up, because you have to do certain tests, but it's going now.

In addition to the Fit, we got a couple of dancing games and a ski game. Yesterday afternoon I danced for almost two hours, and today I could barely move. It was quite a workout. I also did the hula hoop for a while, and that was a blast.

I'm hoping that this has enough variety that it will keep me interested. I like that it tracks my progress and let's me know how I'm doing.

So, Mr. Love's "man cave" in the basement has been invaded by the wife and the Wii. Poor guy. He's taking it well, but I'm sure he misses his quiet man cave with just a bunch of computers, a nice comfy couch, and Star Trek reruns on the TV.

It's Scrapbook Season!

Finally, fall is here, and the scrapbook season begins. I spent Saturday at our church, scrapbooking all day with friends. Then last night we had our small group, so I was back scrapbooking at the church after work. I'm just keeping things in the car now, since I'm going to another crop on Saturday, with yet a different group of women. It's so much fun!





Here are some pictures of my friend Kathy. It was a big day for her. She did her first hinge. That means you use hinges to attach a picture to your page, and then when you lift it up, you can put another picture behind it. We had a good time watching her stress over getting it all just right. I wish you could see the final layout in person. Those sunset pictures were incredible. The layout turned out very nice, picture perfect so to speak.









And now a Mr. Love story. Each time we have a crop at the church, he comes over towards the end of the crop time. He loads everything up in my car. Then he stays with me and helps me clean up. He even runs the vacuum! What a guy!




The other terribly cute thing that happened was that one of our ministers had his 4 year old daughter there for most of the day. She kept coming in and loved playing with one girl's scrapbook supplies and entertaining us with stories about her husband Louie. She met Louie at the jeans store, and Louie currently lives in North Carolina. He had to move there for his job, but he has a nice office.

As we were packing up, she came in and mentioned that I had a lot of cupcakes left over. I offered her one, which she took. Then I asked her if she wanted one for Louie. She thought a minute, and then looked me square in the eye and said, "You do know he's imaginary, don't you?" I about died laughing. What a kid.

I don't know how to tactfully change the subject, so I'll just jump right in.

Tomorrow is 9/11. This afternoon, I received this from a friend. It touched me, so I'll share it with you.


MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL

You say you will never forget where you were
when you heard the news On September 11, 2001.
Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room
with a man who called his wife to say, "Good-Bye."
I held his fingers steady as he dialed.
I gave him the peace to say,
"Honey, I am not going to make it,
but it is OK..I am ready to go."

I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast
to their children. I held her up as she tried to
understand his words and as she realized
he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor
when a woman cried out to Me for help.
"I have been knocking on the door
of your heart for 50 years!" I said.
"Of course I will show you the way home -
only believe in Me now."

I was at the base of the building with the Priest
ministering to the injured and devastated souls.
I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven.
He heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes,
in every seat, with every prayer.
I was with the crew as they were overtaken.
I was in the very hearts of the believers there,
comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them.

I was in Texas , Virginia , California , Michigan , Afghanistan
I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.
Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face.
I knew every name - though not all know Me.
Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor.

Some sought Me with their last breath.
Some couldn't hear Me calling to them
through the smoke and flames;
"Come to Me.. this way... take my hand."
Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.

I did not place You in the Tower that day.
You may not know why, but I do.
However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time,
would you have reached for Me?

Sept. 11, 2001 , was not the end of the journey for you.
But someday your journey will end.
And I will be there for you as well.
Seek Me now while I may be found.
Then, at any moment, you know you are
"ready to go."

I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

God

New Political Blog

Rather than clog up this blog with my political views which people may or may not want to hear, I've created a separate blog just for that. It's at www.itsonlypolitics.blogspot.com. There's a link to it in the column to the right. Feel free to go there, or not, as you'd like.

Having It All

I'm so ashamed of the many in this country who are questioning Sarah Palin's ability to hold the office of Vice President, not because she's not qualified, but because she's a mother to five children.

You have got to help me understand this. Feminists, why is this an issue? Why didn't you ever question a man's ability to be both a President/Vice President and a father? Why wasn't it an issue with George Bush or Bill Clinton? Biden was in the Senate as a single father after his first wife was killed in a car accident. He later remarried and had another child. Was he questioned as to his ability to be both a senator and a father? Obama has small daughters, yet I haven't heard anyone in the press asking him how he's going to juggle the Presidency with fatherhood.

Let's take it a step further. Angolina and Brad have a new baby about every three months. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but they certainly have a tribe of them. Has anyone questioned their ability to go away for months, making movies? What about Madonna's tours that last for months on end? Anyone ever question where the kids are?

If it's happened, it's gotten by me. It sure looks to me like if you're liberal, the press doesn't make an issue of working parents. When's the last time anyone in the media questioned Rosie O'Donnell about who's watching her kids?

I for one am so proud that we finally have another woman who has a chance at becoming Vice President. Truthfully, although I consider myself a conservative (NOT a Republican - there's a difference!), I would have voted for Hillary. I thought she was the most qualified out of all of the candidates, and I thought she gave us our best chance at fixing the economy. Yet, I was appalled at the way the press treated her. I guess they were just warming up. Given the media's fascination with the Palin family, I'm surprised that anyone knows anything about her position on issues this country faces.

I'm just now realizing that many of those who were so proud of a woman seeking office really mean only a liberal woman and that any woman who disagrees with them politically should just stay home and raise babies. Is this what the feminist movement was all about?

We have another strong woman as an option. I can't say I agree with everything that Palin stands for, any more than I could say I agree with everything any of the candidates stand for. But what I know for sure is that this woman will fight for the rights of people with disabilities, and that is something I've waited a long time to hear.

I'm tired of the debate of how to handle welfare. That issue divides our country, and I'm not going to debate that with anyone. That's a social issue that I have no answers for. But what I CAN support is someone who stands up for is for those Americans who can't speak for themselves. Whether disabled at birth or through disease or accident, they need someone who has them forefront in their mind. Sarah Palin is just the person to fight for them.

So, when someone asks me my opinion of having a mother of five as a Vice President, or asks me my opinion of her unwed, pregnant, 17-year-old daughter, I for one will say, "That's none of my business." Instead, I look forward to hearing what people think about issues and solutions, and I hope that the media gets back to those and leaves the Palin family alone.

Blog Update

You may notice a couple of new items on the blog. In the column on the right, I've included a link to my online gallery of scrapbook pages. Check there any time you'd like to see what I'm working on.

The other thing I've added, again in the right column at the bottom, is a list of books I'm recommending. If it's on this list, it's a book I loved and recommend.

'Maters

Look at the size of these things! We have two more GIANT tomatoes in the garden that are starting to turn red. Looking at the picture just now, they look more like baby pumpkins than tomatoes!

Seafood Boil

A few months ago, Randy was talking to our neighbor's son, and they came up with an idea that we should have a seafood boil this summer. Since summer was closing up shop pretty quickly, we decided to have it this weekend. Our neighbor, Vi, and her son, Don, came over yesterday. We through a bunch of seafood in a kettle (actually our turkey fryer!), made some hush puppies and assorted other sides, and we enjoyed a feast. It was so good! We had a great time just hanging out on the patio, enjoying the perfect weather.