Time for a swim

We decided to put a pool in our house. In the basement to be exact. In the middle of winter.

Just 'cuz.

Okay, well that's not entirely true.

You have heard the saying, "When it rains, it pours," right?

Yeah, well where I live, it's more like "When is rains, it first melts over 3 feet of snow in less than 48 hours, and then it rains more and pours all of that rain and melting snow into my basement."

What is one to do with that much water seeping up through her foundation you may ask?

We dig a hole...or two...aka, indoor swimming pool!

Let me just say...in our pool...there is no shallow end. Only deep, deep water. And no matter how much we try to make it shallow, it just keeps filling up.

Isn't that wonderful?!? A magic basement swimming pool.

Anyone up for a polar bear challenge?

Because, Baby, that water be cold!!

There are no secrets anymore

This last month I lost one of the best men I ever knew. My father passed away after suffering from an unexpected brain bleed. He was an amazing man and will be missed by many. Truly one of a kind!

But that's a different post, for a different day and for a totally different blog.

With his passing, I have had a lot of time to think about what happens when our loved ones pass. I don't mean what happen happens to them. I know that there is life after death and that there is also purpose, that we continue our progression in the next life.

What I mean is how much of my life will my dad be able to see? I mean, when he lived far away I could trick him into thinking I was this wonderful daughter who had a clean house, never yelled at his grandchildren, always got along with her husband and showered everyday. I'm not sure I convinced him all the time, but I tried.

But now.....

Can he look down and see my messy house? Can he hear me yelling at my children? Does he see me when I roll my eyes at my husband? Or smell me when I've skipped a shower...or two? How much...or how little...does he get to see of the real me? The raw me? The unfiltered me?

It sure makes me want to live better.

Sometimes all you can do it is laugh.

I laughed.

I mean, what else could we do?

We were spinning. On a black sheet of ice called a road. In a truck. On tires with little or no tread. Late at night.  On a deserted street.

Even though we were college aged beauties, our winter driving experience combined was inadequate. We were from New Mexico. Land of Enchantment. Land of Rarely Any Snow. Land of If There Is Snow It Melts By Noon.

Beautiful place. Plenty of sun. A scarcity of black ice. Beautiful indeed.

But we were in Idaho. Land of cold wind and black ice.

Black ice isn't very nice.

It makes you do things you don't want to do. Like go into a 360 spin when all you wanted to do was go straight.

I know this because this is what happened.

My younger sister was driving...er...at least she was at the wheel at the time. Her eyes were filled with terror as she looked at me, the question "What do I do now?!?!??" screaming from them.

"Sit back and enjoy the ride, I guess."

What else could we do? Yeah, turn into the spin, but on ice I wasn't sure it would make any difference. So I looked at her....

...then I laughed.

Ahhh....the sounds of Christmas

I love Christmas movies! They make me happy. Can you name which of my favorite Christmas movies these quotes are from? Good luck!!

"What are you? Some kind of wild animal??"

"Don't ever say Hickory Honey Ham again!"

"There are two things in this life I hate: heights and jumping from them."

"I'm singing. I'm singing. I'm in a store and I'm singing."

 "If you can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you're doomed for a life dominated by doubt."

"Daddy's gonna kill Ralphie!"

"Keep the change, you filthy animal."

 "I love being home. But I don't like being left behind. Now I am the one going ahead. I am not afraid. I can be brave like you."

"I invented chill."

"Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

"Put the cookie down....now!"

"The thing about trains... it doesn't matter where they're going. What matters is deciding to get on."

Cold is cold

You know that favored Christmas song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside," right?

Well, Baby, it is cold inside.

We woke up this morning to no power. This means no lights, no clocks, no Christmas tree lights. But most worrisome, no heat.

It was cold, alright. Cold INSIDE!!

We have a gas fireplace, so we should have been fine. Well, in theory. Theory, because when we attempted to turn it on 2 weeks ago, it wouldn't light. So we took it apart, and cleaned it up. Still a no go. But this last weekend when we talked to my sister, she told us something that we should try. So we tried it. The pilot light lit...Yay!!...but when we turned on the heat, it wouldn't light the burners. Ugh!!!

Needless to say, this morning was rough.

My poor teenagers. They sleep in the basement and they were freezing. Luckily, one of them had to get up and get ready for school. The other one was sick and made her way up to my bed. I proceeded to add blankets to all the other sleeping children.

Hubs, trying to be helpful, lit every scented candle we own downstairs. Individually, they smell great and are just the right amount of aroma. But collectively, they are a little much. Okay, a lot much. Mixing Pumpkin spice, Pine Tree, Lemon...something and Apple Pie was enough to make one sick.

Cold and sick.

But not to worry. The electricity came back on 5 minutes before we had to leave.

Baby, it's just plain cold all around.

Favorite Five

Favorites....we all have them.

Some people have their favorite drinks. Others favorite jeans. We might even have a favorite child...but we would never admit that or even confess to it. I do not have a favorite child. I dislike them all the same. I kid....I love them all equally. Really, I do.

But I have had some recent things that have become my favorites, things that I look forward to, love, use as therapy. Hey, don't judge. 5 months without the sun is a long time, okay.

1. Suits

I've always been a sucker for lawyer shows. And cute men. So this is a perfect blend of the two. Plus, I love Donna because...well...she's Donna. (Disclaimer: lots of language in this one. But no F-bombs so that's a plus.)

2. Cherry Cordial Kisses

Every year at Christmas, we kids would buy my dad cherry chocolates. And then we would eat them. But I always hated the cherry in the middle. These kisses are the best. All the yummy minus the cherry. Love them.

3. Act of Congress, "O Holy Night

I am a lover of the unusual or not-typical Christmas music. This is my favorite this year. I love the guitar and that it isn't the typical slow tempo. It's upbeat without losing the message of the song.

4. My son driving

Now that I have gotten over the initial freak-out, it is fantastic that he can drive himself to early morning practices and he can run and get the dog food, etc. I. Love. It.

5. Exercise pants/leggings

Yeah. These things are the most comfortable pieces of clothing I own. Not the most flattering, but definitely the most comfortable. Sometimes I wear them to embarrass my children. That too makes me happy.

What about you? Got any favorites lately?

This SCREAMS Thanksgiving

I can't remember where I got this recipe, but...

Oh.

My.

Gosh!

It is the best way to have a pumpkin pie.

Delicious!

If that doesn't make you want Thanksgiving to be here already,

nothing will.

Ginger-Streusel Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

• 1 sheet refrigerated pie pastry
• 3 Eggland's Best Eggs
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• STREUSEL:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Directions

• On a lightly floured surface, unroll pastry. Transfer pastry to a
• 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond edge of plate; flute
• edges.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, cream, sugars, cinnamon,
• salt, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. Pour into pastry shell. Bake at
• 350° for 40 minutes.

• In a small bowl, combine flour and brown sugar; cut in butter until
• crumbly. Stir in walnuts and ginger. Gently sprinkle over filling.
• Bake 15-25 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center
• comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield:
• 8 servings.

Nutritional Facts: 1 piece equals 684 calories, 42 g fat (21 g saturated fat), 176 mg cholesterol, 388 mg sodium, 73 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 9 g protein.