Momma's Pride & Joy

Hello from the windy city!! Oh wait...this is Ketchikan, not Chicago. Oh well...you could have fooled me the way the weather picked up AGAIN last night. Enough already!! It wasn't near as bad as the other night but it was close. Anyway, I am not blogging today to talk about the dumb weather. On a side note, however, I am really glad we aren't getting more snow!!

So anyway, Jake brought home his report card yesterday. Are you sitting down? This is what Tony asked me before showing it to me. I just smiled because I knew he was messing with me...he likes to do that and get me going. So, I grab the paper away from him and SURE ENOUGH...ALL A's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I yelled "Jacob!" He came running in and I said "Does an "A" mean "A-MAZING"?!?!?" He just smiled and said "Yeah! Do I get a treat for that?" That's his response to everything!! LOL!!!

All A's....AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All our hard work (Thank You, Tony!!) has paid off so far. All the whining and procrastinating...and even crying at times were worth it. Awesome!! We couldn't be prouder of our little man!!!!

That's all I got for now. Back to work~ Nan XOX

I'm NOT Crazy...

So, I just heard that they were clocking winds at 99mph over on Annette Island last night. Mmm-Hmmm...that's right!! For you "out of towners"...this is where the community of Metlakatla is located and the ferry boat "Lutuya" (sp?) is stationed at night...you know the one I mentioned earlier?!? So, I'm not over-exaggerating or being melodramatic or whatever you want to call it!! LOL!! 99mph Y'all!!!! Don't hurricane force winds start at 115mph or so????? See....I'm not crazy!! Considering how close Metlakatla is in proximity to Ketchikan...I'm sure we were seeing the same winds here. Yikes!!

Have a good one! Nan

Under The Weather...Literally!

So, last night a nice little "storm" blew in over SouthEast Alaska. There was a "wind advisory" in effect and they were calling for gusts up to 45mph. Well...let me tell ya...those were NOT 45mph gusts that *WE* were experiencing...no way, no how!! If the tide had been in we would have had waves lapping at our back door!! Now...I can handle me some storms y'all...been here almost 20 years now. But last night was SOMETHIN'. I can't recall a time when I felt the house shake that much! It was quite frightening at times and I knew the house would be missing a few "accessories" come morning. I was right! The screen door to Jake's slider was laying on the deck this a.m., which is a miracle in itself with the wind I was hearing. We also lost the "stove pipe cover" that goes over the pipe to the furnace...Chris will have to get that put back on. Funny thing, tho...my windchimes were still there today!! I only paid like $24 for those things and they hung out there like troopers!! I was so tickled...I LOVE my windchimes y'all!! Anyway, I wish many of you reading this could actually experience one of these storms that we get so frequently here. They are quite impressive. What's even more impressive is how our town holds up in the midst of it all. Some didn't fair so well, however, and one of our elementary schools was closed today due to a power outage. Our power went out, too, but was back on by the time we got up...THANK YOU JESUS!! I *hate* it when the power goes out!! We also almost lost one our ferry boats. The "Letuya", which is the ferry that runs between here and Metlakatla, actually broke free last night and ended up "grounded" about a mile away. Good thing it didn't go out to sea! Metlakatla is right on open water!! Anyway, that just gives you an idea of the magnitude of the wind here. Those that haved moved away probablly don't miss it!! :)

Along the same "note"...*I* am feeling "under the weather" today as well but I'm hoping it's going to pass quickly. There's been a stomach "bug" going around and the last thing I want is to be laid up all weekend. No fun!! So, I am "sucking it up" and just taking it easy at work today. Trying not to move around too much. :)

No big plans here for the weekend. Tony will probably watch the SuperBowl and Jake has a friend coming to stay the night tomorrow (if I'm not sick). I'm going to a "candle party". No spending, tho, since we have to pay our taxes!! Nothing nips spending in the bud like owing the IRS.

Hope you are all well. I'm thinking of you! Take care~ Nan XOX

P.S. If you still haven't started enjoying the blog by "Lysa TerKeurst" which I've posted over to the left side...Today's is a GOOD ONE! I highly recommend reading her daily blog as well as her P31 Devotionals on the P31 website. There's a link to it on Lysa's blog. Happy Reading! :)

A Day In History...December 20, 1998!

My "Baby" turned 10 on December 20th. Where does all the time go???

Jake opening gifts at his pizza party for his 10th birthday. No...he doesn't have the mumps. All the kids were getting jaw-breakers from the games they were playing!

Jake really digs magic tricks so I bought him a "Magic Show in a Box" kind of kit.

More presents...there's never enough it seems!

You can never go wrong with a gift card...No sir!!

Blowing out all those candles!!! :)

It's a "Harry Potter" cake, y'all!!

The Birthday Boy....


Back at home we remembered Grandma's present..."Wall=E"...we love this movie!!!!

Wet & Soggy

I don't have much new to report but didn't want to get too behind on this blog. :) Today it was supposed to warm up and rain but it was *just* cold enough to create some of that dreaded white stuff that is SO annoying. It ended up making for a very soggy afternoon. And of course I didn't bring my boots for once. Gross!!!!! They are saying it's going to be 43 degrees tomorrow with a 90% chance of rain. Maybe it will all finally GO away. It really cramps our style...especially when Tony can't drive his own car.

Anyway, this week is flying by. The whole month of January has flown by as a matter of fact. Soon, it will be February. You all know what THAT means....Valentine's Day!! Tony and I will be celebrating our wedding anniversary as well...14 years...can you believe it???

We are hunkering down for the night and will snuggle up to watch "LOST" later. That is our favorite show...as aggravating as it is. :) Oh well...whatcha gonna do? You get sucked in.

What are y'all up to? I don't hear from many of you...guess I better start reading some blogs!

Stay warm and count your blessings! Nan

Semi "Snow Day"...

Well...Tony and Jake are coming to get me! It's turned into a "Semi Snow Day" as I am leaving work early to get home before all the new snow freezes on the highway. I think we've gotten a good 6 inches already today!! They said it was supposed to start raining but we have yet to see that happen. Soooooo...Jake got his cast off and they are headed this way to pick me up. We will actually get to play in the snow today...maybe we'll make a snowman!! Oh wait...I may have to help Tony shovel. Yikes! Oh well...such is life. At least I get to leave work early! Yay!!!

OK...See you all later if we survive the drive home. I hear it's pretty bad out there. Bye for now! Nan XOX

**Update: Well...it was raining by the time we made it home today which made for very sloppy snow. Noone was interested in going outside at that point. It was so warm there was no need for shovelling and we had no trouble getting down our road and driveway. Yay for that! So, the big, bad storm has pretty much passed and it's supposed the rain for the next few days. We did enjoy getting home early, tho, and I got busy doing chores left over from the weekend while Jake did homework and Tony ran on the treadmill. I threw a chicken in the oven for dinner. It was almost like "Leave it to Beaver" around here! LOL!! Jake got a much needed haircut and is now in the shower WITHOUT A CAST and is singing "That's the way...uh-huh, uh-huh...I like it...UH-HUH, UH-HUH..." at the top of his lungs. (Y'all remember KC and the Sunshine Band, right? Wow...I'm dating myself here!!) Anyway, that boy sure keeps us in stitches. He's lucky I don't video tape him and put it on YouTube!!! :)

Anywhooooo...all is right in our universe at the moment...or at least just the way WE LIKE IT...Uh-huh, Uh-huh!!!!!!!!!!

Til Next Time~ Nan XOX

P.S. I'm off to make Smores for my dear family...no campfire required. (Put one small square of chocolate on half a graham cracker. Place in oven under the broiler until chocolate is melted. Take out and place 1 marshmellow on top of melted chocolate so it doesn't roll around. Put back under broiler until they look "done". Bon Apetit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Ramblings of a Tired Housewife....

Well...I guess I can't complain too much...I slept until after 10am this morning but I am bushed already. And we go back to work tomorrow...Oh Joy!! Actually, in light of this economy and what's happening everywhere...I am thankful to have a job so just wipe that snide comment from your memory as of RIGHT NOW!! LOL!! Anyway, this weekend was somewhat productive but I find myself behind in my chores. If it weren't for the fact that my feet are killing me...I would be doing SAID CHORES right now. But you know what? They will still be there tomorrow and I will get at it when I get home (maybe). Thank heavens for a man that does laundry...and the taxes!!! Yes...we are ON IT this year and have already started on the taxes. This is the earliest we have (Tony has actually) ever gotten our taxes "done". I say "done" loosely b/c they aren't completely done yet. As of right now...we owe almost double what we did last year (sickening, I know) so we are thinking of playing around with the numbers to see if contributing to our IRAs would make much of a difference. This would mean setting money aside until April then making a sizeable "donation" to our retirement in hopes of NOT paying more taxes. This, however, will throw a great, big, huge monkey wrench into my plan of paying down our VISA. Hmmmmm...I HATE paying taxes so the VISA may have to wait. Wow...getting off on a tangit here!!!!!! LOL!! The ramblings of a tired housewife....

So, this weekend was beautiful and cold. They are calling for more snow...2-5 inches from what I hear. This does not excite me in the LEAST...except...Jake gets his cast off tomorrow and would actually get to PLAY in some snow. I will be inside praying he doesn't break his arm again...or any body part for that matter!!!!!! We are all very excited. I think that boy has had about 4 showers in the last month due to the pain in the arse it is to wrap the cast each time. But enough about that. Jake has a new bed...WOO HOO!! It's used but it was FREE (it's a Queen) from a friend who just moved. He is/was outgrowing his full size bed (believe it or not) and it was a pain when we had friends overnight...they didn't fit any more! So, off to WalMart I went today to get new sheets for the new bed. Did you know WalMart sells 300 count sheets???? I had NO idea. If it's one thing I can't stand...it's CHEAP SHEETS! Probably a little known fact about me...Hee Hee!!

So the bed was yesterday and moving it took a long time. I'll save you the boring details...We got it home but had to go back to town for the frame b/c it needed to be taken apart and we didn't have tools at the time to take it apart. Soooo...by the time we did that, ate lunch, got home...I took a cat nap...then it was time to get ready to go to a going away potluck...which meant making food for said party. :) I made "Chip Chop Ham" with rolls...a favorite with people from PA...the girl leaving is from PA...so it was her recipe. I also made a vegetable pizza of sorts..it was good but time consuming. By the time I finished the food and gave Tony a haircut...I was running behind. We got to the party 30 minutes late or so but it all worked out. Tony's mom babysat Jake and we were home by 10:30 but STILL...my Saturday was GONE!!!!!!

Sunday was much the same...I didn't even go to church! Shame on me, I know...but my house was a wreck!! By the time I got up, tho, and made "brunch"...I had to get ready to go out to get the table...then I returned a book to Waldenbooks, got groceries, stopped and trimmed Candy's bangs, brought the groceries home, put away the groceries, then went to Walmart to get sheets for the above mentioned bed....yada, yada, yada...you can see where this is going. Now my SUNDAY IS GONE!!!!!!! Waaaaaaaaa!!!! Oh well...I got a lot of errands done (even returned a book I borrowed back to a friend!)

Tomorrow starts another busy week of nothing exciting. Tomorrow I start filling in at the front desk at work...that will be something new. It will be for about an hour while Admin has their weekly meeting. We'll see how it goes. I'm not very good when multiple lines are ringing!! LOL! Oh well...I'll do my best. :)

OK...that's it for now. Maybe next post I will put some pics on here. I still have birthday and Christmas pics to post. Hope you all had a good weekend and that it was more restful then mine.

Much Love and Hugs~ Nan