HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM IOWA!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I've Been Tagged, Here's My Crappy Gift!

MnMom has tagged me - I must choose a crappy gift. Here's mine . . . thank heavens I never recieved one!
If I opened this little gem on Christmas morning, I'd know my husband really didn't know me at all after nearly 24 years of marriage! Don't get me wrong, I know other women just love them, but the last thing I personally want to wear locked around my neck are stick figures of colored glass children! The only thing that might be worse is this . . .

. . . the dreaded Mother's Birthstone Heart necklace. Yes, I would know that my hubby had totally depended on my daughter's advice on what to buy mommy for xmas.

I remember one year, our mom got a set of very fragile glass fish sculptures for her birthday, dad had taken us girls shopping with him. It was a mommy fish to which was literally "chained" three little baby fish. She was supposed to set it on the edge of the bath tub, her only retreat from all of us in our small house. I can just see her now, taking that long bath, behind that locked bathroom door, one of us on the other side of the door saying, "Mooooooooom, mooooooom, when will you be out?" "Moooooooom, moooooooom, can I get a new toy telephone system for my room?" "Moooooooooom, moooooooom, when are you going to be out?" At which point, she "accidentally" knocked that little chained-mother fish sculpture right off the tub edge to a very brutal hard landing on the cold linoleum. To this day, (I live in the old family home), there are little fingernail marks in the pine wood trim around the bathroom upstairs where us girls used to dig our fingernails into the soft wood in rows while waiting for mom to come out of the bathroom after a long bath. I wish I could find a photo of that little fish family for you, it was hysterical and the same 70's green of the tub and toilet! Mom was a trooper though, they lasted about two weeks or so before they "broke", that's longer than I could've made it.

SNOW DAY! YIPPEE!!!!!

Okay, here's the view from my kitchen window this early morning! Definitely a snow day in Iowa! And the best part is that there is another big storm coming right behind this one! It took us all, five of us, about two hours to dig out this morning. The kids are now all out snowboarding and sledding, spouse is out in a deer stand, and I've got the kitchen for the day, preparing goodies for our annual HOLIDAY BASH this Saturday night. About 100 friends and family join us for a night of merriment and jocularity. Everyone has been charged with bringing their best gourmet appetizer to wow and amaze all. My friend Nancy and I provide the sweet treats -- mini-cheesecakes, chocolate pillows of heaven, Santa's Nipples, Cranberry-White Chocolate Blondies, Mint Truffles, and a good supply of ice-cold Akvavit for a cheerful round of shots and a toast to Christmas. Everyone may have to snowshoe or sled to the party, but the party must go on!

Here's a pic of Lil Sis and I at last year's soiree. Hope she and Happy to be From Iowa can make it this year! You too, MG!

FIRST BIG SNOW OF THE YEAR!

This is what we'll wake up to tomorrow, but even MORE! (This was taken last winter after a good snowstorm.) I'll take pics tomorrow when the sun comes up, but suffice it to say, this was a BIG ONE! WE LOVE SNOW!!! So far there's about 10 inches out there and the radar shows bright blue across the entire state yet! YIPPEE!!!! School is already called two hours late, but I'll bet it will be a full snow day by 8am tomorrow morning. It is just a beautiful, heavy, pouring, lovely white winter wonderland out there, just waiting for tomorrow's snow angels, sledding, fort building, snowboarding, skiing, jump building, hot cocoa drinking, etc. WE LOVE SNOW DAYS!!!!!!!