Snow Storm

Well, the big snow storm that I wrote about in the last entry didn't happen. At least it didn't happen like we expected it too. It snowed on Wednesday night and off and on on Thursday. Thursday night was supposed to be the big snow, but we woke up on Christmas morning to RAIN - yuck! So our big snow storm has turned into one big crunchy mess. Our driveway is extremely slippery and the roads are so noisy as you drive around town on all the slush that is now ice. It really isn't that much fun.

The kids had a great Christmas - they got what they wanted and are happy! I'm looking forward to having a week off without school and activities. We're heading to central WI to see hubby's nephew and his family on New Years weekend - they have a 3 year old and an infant, so it should be fun!

Three Days Until Christmas!

I think everything is ready - the tree is up, the gifts are purchased, wrapped and under the tree. The kids have their Christmas parties at school today and then they're off until January 4th. I'm looking forward to the break.

We're supposed to get a snowstorm on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so my mom and sister may not be coming to visit. They only live an hour away but if the roads are bad they'll probably stay home. My mom is 81 and she doesn't like driving (or riding) on bad roads. Oh well - we'll see what happens.

We might go skiing this weekend - if we get snow on Thursday and Friday we'll definitely have enough snow to have a good time skiing.

New Kitchen Sink

I would love to have a new kitchen sink - maybe I can add it to my Christmas list - haha! I think it would be funny to see "kitchen sink" on a Christmas list.

But seriously, I've never really liked our kitchen sink. Even though it was brand new eight years ago when we built our house, it quickly became scratched and dull looking and has never looked nice again.

The other thing I don't like about my sink is that it's a top mount so I'm constantly scraping crumbs from underneath the edge. I would love to have an undermount kitchen sinks It's really great to visit this online store and check out all of the choices I have. If I had the money to do some home improvement, a new undermount kitchen sink would be near the top of the list. The smart divide concept is really cool too - check it out!

Test

This is a test - this is only a test (haha).

Weekly Menu

I know many people plan their meals in advance and I always thought it was a great idea, however, I never seemed to have the follow-through to do it. I decided I was sick of the kids asking what was for dinner at 4:45pm and not having a clue. So I wrote down a month of meals - Monday to Friday only - and decided to jump right in.

The kids were actually really excited about the idea of having a weekly menu. I made a list and went to the grocery store on Monday. I have to say that it was SOOOO nice to have everything in the house that I needed for five complete meals. I really don't mind cooking - it's just deciding what to make that was the hardest thing for me. I even went so far as to look at the sports schedule and on the nights that Buddy has basketball, I made something simple or something that could be reheated, etc.

Last week was awesome - the kids didn't complain, I knew in advance what we were having, and we didn't eat out once!!

So we're on to week two - I looked at our menu this morning and made a list of items to get at the grocery store today. Interestingly, the list isn't even that big - we already have most of the items we need, so I won't be spending a ton of money at the store. And I even have a coupon for a free half gallon of ice cream that I got at the store last week!

I hope I can keep this up because it's really a stress reliever!

Adoption

Some of you know that I work at an adoption agency. Things have really changed in the nine years I've been working here, and have changed even more since we adopted Buddy in 1997. I remember when we started the adoption process, there were about 23 different countries that were placing kids for adoption internationally. We weren't eligible for all of those programs based on age, etc., but there were that many programs out there. Now there are a handful of programs at best. The most popular programs right now are Ethiopia, China, Colombia, Nepal and Philippines. It's very interesting to see the statistics of international adoption on the State Department website. Countries who used to place a lot of kids are closed now and aren’t placing any kids at all. I always look at South America – when we adopted there were lots of countries in South America who had adoption programs – Brazil, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, etc. Now none of those countries are placing kids for adoption. Colombia is the only country in South America that is placing any kids.

It makes me sad that there are so many kids who need homes who are going to grow up in orphanages because the country isn't open to placing those children in other countries.

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Fine Dining

We honeymooned in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine and enjoyed wonderful food at the different locations that we visited. It’s not very often that as a couple we find time to go out for a special dinner. I learned about a place in the New Hampshire Northern Wilderness that I would love to try if we only lived closer! The Balsams, a New Hampshire hotel, offers fine dining for guests and a world class culinary school - check out their website at New Hampshire hotel.

The culinary school is extremely rigorous and fewer than half of the students who enroll complete the program. The program is considered one of the best of its kind. One of the advantages of having a culinary school and fine dining onsite is that the students are able to assist the chefs in the day to day food preparation.

Dining at the restaurant is definitely a special occasion. Only the freshest ingredients are used. The menu changes nightly based on the ingredients that are available and is presented at the table d’hote. I love the thought of dining where you don’t know exactly what to expect and when it arrives at your table, it’s better than you ever imagined!

Men are required to wear jackets evening dining. It would be so much fun to get ready for an incredible evening of excellent food, wine and celebrating a special occasion with my husband. I wish I lived in New England!

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