More than I bargained for!

I called the doctor today and they are three weeks out for an appointment.

I just had to LOL!

So, me and my Nyquil will have a nightly date until the coughing aching stuffy head fever passes and I can rest on my own.

So far the kids have missed the boat with this one, hopefully we can keep it that way!

SAY AHHHH!

Weather, Weather and more fun Weather!

We arrived in Fort Wayne to inch think ice on everything. The trees were giving way, the roads were slippery, and everything was BEAUTIFUL! It was like walking through a crystal wonderland straight out of the pages of a fairy tale.





For several day we watched the sparkle of the ice as it coated everything, then the weather changed. It got a bit colder and the ice became covered with a coating of snow. Now all the ice sculptures were FLOCKED!

Within 24 hours after that the snow departed we got more freezing rain, sleet, rain, and pea soup fog. Hmmm, I think it’s winter, right?
At the point in which the green grass began to show through the snow, an then completely dissappeared, we knew we weren’t in Fargo anymore!

I was ready to get back to my negative 30 degree temps and 4 foot snow drifts instead of this crazy weather that changes every day from -6 to 67 degrees in the short 6 days that we were there!

Wasted Saturdays

Brandon and Tyler were discussing church tomorrow and if it was actually going to take place because last week was canceled due to the blizzard.

 They have been practicing for a month now on a play that they were supposed to perform last Sunday when services were canceled.

Brandon said, I want there to be Church and perform tomorrow so that a whole month of Saturday's won't be WASTED on nothing!

Gotta love the reasons kids go to church, right? 

Any motivation is motivation at that age I suppose!

Photos' from the Blizzard of 2008

The poor Neighbors as soon as they would get themselves dug out, the plow would come by and bury them again!



This guy, TIM was almost done, and the plow dumped another 2 feet of snow on the end of his driveway. OUCH!


This is what TIM had to clear earlier, just to get his car out. It was about 1/2 way up the car!
This is our front door from the inside. You can see the snow sticking to the windows and covering the trees on the porch.
This was yesterday's view of the neighbor's houses through the blizzarding snow.

An insurance agent came to the front door today and was wondering how to get to the door bell, and also how to traverse the 4 1/2 foot drift in front of the front door. I ushered him through the garage. There was no way that I was going to get the door open with all that snow!




We just stayed inside yesterday, playing board games, wii, wrapping presents, doing laundry, cooking and laughing together. It was kind of fun to be stuck in the house for a day along with the whole city!

This morning our driveway plowers came and cleared a path and he'll be coming by later today to clean up after the plow, do the sidewalks, and remove that huge mound from in front of the door. Gotta love them!

The kids are off of school this morning as the whole city gets cleaned up after the blizzard. They are ecstatic about having a snow day, but a little disappointed that they can't go sledding in all this new white powder. It's only -35 below zero! So MEAN MOM said, NO to the toboggan today. Later this week when it warm's up to around the zero mark, they can go sledding. Until then they will just have to be content in the house! Next year I'm going to have to invest in 'sub-zero-gear' so that they can play outside on days like this!

The locals say that this is a 'once every 10 years' event.  We'll be here to see if that's right!

Lime Sherbet Punch

SHERBET PUNCH

1/2 gal. lime sherbet
2 qt. bottles 7-Up
1 c. pineapple juice
lime, sliced
maraschino cherries for garnish

Put all ingredients in punch bowl and stir. You can freeze part of the 7-Up into an ice ring (I use my Bundt pan) to keep the punch cold longer.

A little cold in North Dakota

Detailed Forecast:

Saturday Night: Snow and Blowing Snow. Very Windy. Sharply Colder. Blizzard Conditions Developing. Low near 0° Wind North 25-40 mph

Sunday: Frigid with Snow and Blowing Snow. Blizzard Conditions. Five to Ten Inches Accumulation. Travel could be extremely difficult or nearly impossible in open country. Falling temperatures through the day. Wind North 25-40 mph. Wind Chill Values to -40°

Sunday Night: Snow Ending. Still Blowing Snow. Low near: -15° Wind Chill Values to -40

Monday: Partly Cloudy. Very Cold and Brisk. Areas of Drifting Snow. High: -8°. Wind Northwest 10-25. Very Low Wind Chill Values.


If low winchill factors are -40, what does, VERY low wind chill values mean for MONDAY?

EEK!

It's a little cold here in North Dakota. Just thank GOD you are where YOU are and NOT HERE! :)


I have never seen this before. Click on the little map-key. Red dots for the roads mean they are closed or ill-advised travel. The WHOLE STATE is red today! EEK!

Hadley's Artichoke Dip

Artichoke Dip

1 can drained artichoke hearts (diced)
1 cup mayonnaise
1tsp minced garlic
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

In a casserole dish dice up artichoke hearts, add in the other ingredients mix well. Bake 350 for 20-30 minutes. Best served with bagel chips, tortilla chips or pita chips.

Honeywell House Wassail

Honeywell House Wassail

1 orange
1 lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
3 sticks cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 gallon fresh apple cider
2 cups orange juice
1 cup fresh lemon juice

Peel orange and lemon, making a spiral of the rind as much as possible. Insert cloves into the rinds.
Combine the rinds, cinnamon sticks, sugar and apple cider in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover, Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
When it is time to serve, add orange and lemon juices. Warm to steaming. Do not boiling. (I have a large crock pot I use to keep punch hot until time to serve).

Learned to be an Angel

The youngest of our family has learned a thing or two from his older playmates.

The boys have taught Cole how to make Snow Angel's.  It's quite funny really.   

He RUNS out the back door and heads for a nice piece of clean white snow then buries his head in the middle, sprawls out his forepaws and hindlegs, then starts waving them back and forth all the while devouring natures frosty goodness.

It's really hard to watch him and NOT laugh out loud!

If your ever in need of some entertainment, just stop by, he likes this activity SO MUCH, it occurs about every 50 minutes!

One tiny problem...He has long hair so he comes in COVERED in snow!

Who wouldn't LOVE this mug, right!

LWML Christmas Party

I hosted the annual LWML (Lutheran Women's Mission League) Christmas Party last night.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  We ate all kinds of home-made goodies, exchanged white elephant gifts, sang Christmas Carols, took up a collection for the needy, and just LAUGHED all night long!