Saturday: happy halloween!

Happy Halloween. Tonight we escaped to a friend's house for pizza and a movie during trick-o-treat hours. We don't mind giving out candy, and have done so in the past, but didn't feel like it this year. It was four girls and Ben, but he held his own quite well.

Here is our sidewalk. We had the other side of the garage done too, but it looks about the same. They have just a little bit to finish up.

I started hanging my pictures on the wall. Ben and I spent quite a while trying to get them in the right configuration so they would look good. But then I changed the spacing a bit which is throwing off our configuration a bit. My guess is that it will still look fine in the end. :) Below are the runners up. They almost made the wall, and some of the made it and then were taken off for various reasons. Who knows...they could end up back on it sometime.

Friday: dream

Our sidewalks are almost all done, but I took a nap from 3:30-6:30 and it was dark out by the time I woke up, so the pictures will have to wait.

I had a very involved dream during my nap. Ben woke me up in the middle. I proceeded to tell him everything that I could remember, and he wasn't very excited about that. In fact, he was rather anti-excited to hear the whole dream. But since I'm sure you care....

Ben and I were in a tent on a beach on an island resort. Flurry was sleeping with us and we had a dog there too. We woke up and decided to get breakfast. We wanted to take the lazy river to breakfast, so we only brought $6 and a hand mirror with us. We never found the lazy river but where we were going instead turned into a road/path with like exercise toys on the side...things you could balance on, box with, etc. We didn't have any shoes, and there wasn't any place for breakfast, so we kept going. We ended up on the stage of an ampitheatre that faced the ocean.

There was a radio that could be heard throughout the island. A lady welcomed everyone back after commericals and then Bob Barker came on and welcomed everyone back saying that the lady wasn't allowed to officially welcome people back because it was his island and the rules stated that only he could welcome people back. Then everyone in the ampitheatre started pointing at the ocean because a seal was coming to the stage. Then it was a shark and stood on it's back fins and gave a garbled speach. However, from this speech I learned that Bob Barker was really my father and I needed to tell him so in order to get money.

He of course was gone by this time. Ben and I kept walking, although now we were inside. We found a restaurant and a person that could take us to Bob Barker. The person said the food was terrible, but Ben was so hungry he went to eat there anyway. I went with the person to Bob Barker's house. When you opened the door you were in his personal library. It was amazing how many books he had. The shelves were blue and about two stories high. The person and I passed through the kitchen were we picked up our breakfast...It included bananas is something sweet and other food. Bob Barker was coming down the stairs and I was about to tell him I was his daughter and he had a grandson.

But Ben woke me up.

Today had ups and downs. One of the downs was that I discovered that a mouse had been in my desk over night. Gross!! It got into my gum. We had been having some mouse troubles, but for some reason I thought my office would be safe. Needless to say, I put all of my food/candy/drink mixes into a bag and put it on my tack board. Let's see them get it from there!

So after a lot of hassle we are finally getting our sidewalk redone since it was chipping away quickly.

And then I was watching Castle (which I really like), and the star of the show is Nathan from firefly. He came out in his firefly costume for the halloween episode and it was awesome. I miss firefly.

Wednesday: crimping

Today I had to crimp some splices. (Basically use a tool to form a cylinder of metal with a circular cross-section into one with a half-circle cross-section.) However, the tool handles were rather short and usually the crimp isn't that drastic. Oh, and it is important to know that the handle is a ratchet, so it clicks. Here's how it went.

Click..click......click..........................click

Amanda: maybe that was enough

Handle: no

......................................................................click maybethatwasenough

Handle: no

Amanda: but my hands really hurt!

Handle: too bad.

...................................................................................click wasthatenough?

Handle: no

Amanda: maybe the next click will be the end.

.................................................................................................click wasthatit?

Handle:no

Amanda: owwww!

.....................................................................................................................click

Amanda: I win!

I have to do that 12 times. I got one person to do the last click once and am in the middle of number 5.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This made me remember the time I had some magic occur in one of my electronics exam questions. I had the initial problem and the answer (somehow) but couldn't make them connect. So *magic*!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

My pictures came today! I may have ordered too many :) But it is easier to take them out now than to wish I had them.

Tuesday: car

So the car had an appointment this morning. However, the noise stopped sometime on Sunday. Ben thinks it just needed to go to church and get straightened out. (We didn't hear the noise at all today either, which would have been annoying.)

Flurry cuddled with me in my blanket. It was nice because I was so cold and she helped warm me up.

How come my gum, which I don't actually eat, has less than 5 calories and mustard, which I do eat, has zero? Something seems wrong.

Monday: dinner

Tonight we had our annual ham and squash dinner. Since last year the squash was rather frustrating to make, I checked the interwebs this time. So this time it was made in the oven and was much smoother (and cleaner). Yay!

Sunday

Not much new today. Ben played drums so we went to both services. I found a couch and slept during one of them. Then the youth had a lunch fundraiser so we went to that...the food was good as was the company. I worked on my quilt (some blocks are all put together) and made some more applesauce because some of the apples were starting to go bad.

Saturday: more Flurry

Today we have proof that Flurry enjoys bubble wrap

and that she really likes dirty laundry. She usually hangs out with the towels quite a bit on laundry day.

Ben and I also went for a walk around the loop. It was nice and much warmer than we were expecting.

Thursday: a package for everyone

When we got home there were three packages by the front door. Ben got Windows 7, I got two boxes of picture frames, and Flurry got two boxes of packing material. She loves packing material. This kind came with the large-bubble bubble wrap, and she likes to pop the bubbles and lick out the air. It must taste good.

I finally decided on a good place for my picture collage...in the dinning room. I ended up going with "frameless" frames because I was having a hard time deciding what color to get that would match and wanted to get a lot of frames for not too much money.

I'm hoping that my pictures will be cuter than the bored baby.

Wednesday: winter can come

Today was a beautiful day, although I spent most of it inside. After work Ben blew out the sprinklers and I raked half the lawn.

Oh, I thought of a funny story of the day. Phew. I thought that the whole post today was going to be two sentences.

I went into the break room to heat up some water for my spice tea. It must have been break time because there were about ten people there. I cleaned out my mug and put it (and the water) in the microwave. Apparently someone had been standing in front of one of the vending machines for about ten minutes. He finally decided on a burrito and everyone cheered for him and told him it was the most entertaining thing they had seen all day. He must have been a bit flustered because he proceeded to put is burrito in the same microwave as my water. (Note: the microwave was running.) Hilarity ensued, but I don't really know how to explain it. A lot of disputing whether or not he could see the mug in the microwave.

Tuesday: annoying

Today was kind of an annoying day. The car was making a funny noise. I had a headache that would go away with medicine, but kept coming back. I didn't want to be at work.

However, Ben did a really good job leading the Bible Study tonight. People talked quite a bit there are always a bunch of insights when that happens.

Monday: Ben cracks me up

Announcer in Amanda's head: Ben and Amanda are talking about what to have for dinner when they get side tracked to talking about things they want to have for dinner but don't have the ingrediants. This includes Shepard's Pie and Baked Spaghetti. Let's see how it's going.

Ben: Shepard's pie is usually made from lambs, not from chicken.

Amanda: Oh, I guess that makes sense. Shepards tend sheep.

pause

Amanda: What do you call a cow tender?

pause.

Amanda: It isn't a joke.

Ben: Oh. I don't really know. But I do know what you call a chicken tender.

Amanda: what?

Ben: delicious.

Announcer: and that concludes today's Random Conversation.

Sunday: I crack myself up

Amanda: oh, my sock is getting a hole in it!

Ben: Sock, heal thyself.

*pause. Nothing happens*

Amanda: Darn it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura: A potato isn't a vegtable.

Dusty: it grows under the ground. It's a vegtable.

Amanda: Worms grow underground. Are they vegetables?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All my quilt piece are in half blocks!

Friday: snow and food

Here's a picture for Nathan; it must have snowed quite a bit last night. By the time we reached the bottom of the hill on our way to work, it was back to mostly green with just a bit of snow. (On a side note, the schools had a snow day. They have snow days ALL THE TIME.)

Due to a pro-tip from Joe and Julie, we found our favorite chicken helper at Walmart. Now we don't need to get it from the Family Fare in Hudsonville, Michigan. Since we don't go very often, I stocked up on it.

Thursday2: snow

It snowed out! I just went downstairs to make so tea because my stomach was a little off, and noticed there was quite a bit on the deck. Fun fun!

Thursday: hi

Well, I'd like to thank everyone for posting on my question two days ago (and feel free to post if you haven't yet.) I'm sure everyone will be relieved to know that no one said that they might think about doing it differently in an alternate universe. I found it really interesting how so many people came to the same conclusion coming from different view points.

What else excites me is the anonymous people that posted. I can't really figure out who they are, so either they're people that I haven't talked to for a while or they're people I don't know...and in either case it is pretty exciting.

Tuesday: oh Flurry

Last night Flurry slept with us. Normally she sleeps by the leg/feet area, but in the middle of the night she was half on my arms and half on Ben's. It made me smile. Right before I fell back asleep.

Then during Glee she decided to snuggle my feet while watching Glee. However, she decided to do it during a commercial so I was facing away from the TV and towards the sewing machine. I decided to not bother her and instead turned my body in weird ways and peered through the chair. I'm a softy.

I've enjoyed reading all the responses from yesterday's post...and thanks to everyone that has taken the time to answer my questions. I just decided not to post this post for a day or so because I want to keep the other one at the top. :)

Tuesday: deep thoughts - kids

To begin with, Ben and I aren't planning on having kids any time soon, so don't get your hopes up based on the title.

The deep thought is...why have kids? Are they really worth it? People always say "oh, it's different when it's your own." But is it different enough? I was reading "Saint Maybe" who pointed out that raising kids actually included spending a lot of boring time with them.

I'm doing a poor job explaining myself, but I'd encourage you to share your thoughts. Does the love and joy really make up for all the extra work, frustrations, and money? Really really make up for it? What's the best part? What's the worst part? Would you do it again? (You can secretly message me if you don't want to world to know that you actually wouldn't do it again...and yes, I know you love your kids. This would be like an alternate universe.) Would getting another cat really be a better option?

Monday: toes

Lately I've noticed that my toes like to move. I'll suddenly realize that they're moving, and it will surprise me a bit.

Sunday: oh deer

This morning we had to get to church early, so we were up early. I was warming up some cider for the morning and saw something out of the corner of my eye...I went to look out the front window and we had three deer in our front lawn. I've noticed in the past few weeks that they've been eating more of my plants than they did during the summer. One of them came towards my plants so I knocked on the window. It looked straight at Ben and me but didn't run off like I thought it would. So I knocked again telling it to get away from my plants. It finally did. I hope it remembers the scary person in the window and doesn't come back.

Saturday: apple picking

Today we went apple picking. It was rather cool, so we didn't stay long. We also got apple cider and apple cider donuts! I'm excited. I may have picked too many apples, but was having such a good time. Ben even switched bags with me so I could fill his. I made a large batch of applesauce this afternoon and there are still a lot of apples left. :)

Here is Ben picking an apple.

Here is the perfect apple Ben found. There's some weird looking guy in the background. Maybe he's stealing apples.

Even Hugh got a Hugh-sized apple.

Saturday morning:

I can't even tell that I raked yesterday. :( :(

Friday: dinner

After work I thought I'd try getting the raking done...the next two days are going to be a tad busy and there are lots of other chores on the list, so I thought I'd at least try. Things were going well and I was just getting to the exciting part (i.e., the place with more leaves so it's easier to see progress) when the gnats attacked. So I decided the other half of raking could wait.

Ashley and Stanley came over tonight. We went to Grand Central and had some good food and then taught them Hand and Foot. The girls almost won but the boys squeaked out a win by just a few hundred points. Oh, at one point Flurry sniffed Ashley's hand, got a little pet, started to walk away, and then remembered she didn't like new people. So she did the weakest hiss ever. Silly cat.

Thursday: hole

Today wasn't quite as busy as yesterday which was a bit sad, but I did get caught up on a lot of things that I needed to do.

Half way through the morning I went to the restroom and realized there was a huge hole in the butt-seam of my black pants. Then I remembered that I had told myself to always wear black underwear because the seams were a little sketchy. I, of course, had forgotten that and was wearing white underwear because I only wear these pants about once every three months. Luckily, a coworker had a mini sewing kit so I did a quick repair job and ta-da! no more problems.

However, this now makes two pairs of my pants that need repair. :( The to-do list for the weekend keeps getting longer.

Wednesday: catching up

So first the photos that wouldn't upload:

Aunt C and I

The family

Ping Pong

Clay showed Small Group how to use their cloth diapers on Tiger.

Oh, this one is so true.

And now that all those pictures are posted, a few more random things. We had a retirement party at work and there were these amazing brownies. They were frosted brownies with Oreo crumbles. I had three.

I also spent 45 minutes looking for a little blue cylinder with about four other people. It had bounced on the floor and ended up in someone's garbage can.

It was a really busy day which was awesome.

Oh, and yesterday I found out that So You Think You Can Dance is on on Tuesdays and Wednesdays this season. Since Bible Study is Tuesdays, I might have to ask my wonderful and very kind friend Dusty if he'll record it for me.

Days: this and that

We made it safely home from Michigan, although the plane ride changed Ben's cold from annoying to terrible. We managed to make it to most of the favorite restaurants including 8th Street Grille for chicken corn chowder, Good Earth for #5: The Pueblo, and 84 East for Baked Spaghetti.

Today work was rather busy, which was exciting. Tomorrow even looks busy. Then we had a small small group tonight. There wasn't really anything planned, so it worked well. We played Double Solitare (or Dutch Blitz or Nutzee). I pretty much stomped everybody. There's just something about that game that works for me...Ben doesn't play it with me any more because he says that I always win.

Well, I had a whole bunch of pictures to show but they are taking too long to upload. So you only get a few. Maybe more tomorrow.

Sunday: quote

I found this reading my book (and no, it has absolutely nothing to do with the weekend)

"Some say that crying is childish. Daniel - who since the bith of Godfrey [his son] has had more opportuntiies than he should have like to observe crying - takes a contrary view. Crying loudly is childish, in that it reflects a belief, on the cryer's part , that someone is around to hear the noise, and come a-running to make it all better. Crying in absolute silence, as Daniel does this morning, is the mark of the mature sufferer who no longer nurses, nor is nursed by, any such comfortable delusions."

Neal Stephenson, Quicksilver

Friday and Saturday: more Michigan

Oh, lots of things happened these past few days. I have a few pictures, but the cord is upstairs and the camera is ...somewhere...and I'm too lazy to get it.

Friday we slept in. We saw a happy Scarlet for lunch. Then for dinner it was the whole family and Grandma Hilldore which was a lot of fun. Afterwards we played some Wii and teased the kids. It's amazing how two little burp cloths can keep a kid super happy and entertained for hours.

Saturday morning we saw my parents and got caught up with them. Then off to Jacob's football game...I didn't really watch very much. Aunt C did stop by so I got to see her for a bit and get caught up with that side of the family. Then it started raining so we all crowded under some big umbrellas. Travis ran to the car to get another umbrella and when he popped it open everyone laughed because it was so small.

Then off to see Abby and get caught up with her a bit. Thanks to facebook mainly I at least knew some of the major points in her life, so it was nice to see her again and get some of the other things that are going on.

Phew..this is turning into a long post. So the rest of the day was spent with family.

Thursday: Michigan

Today we went to Michigan! Yay! The flights went well. I love looking at the houses when going into Detroit and wondering what is going on down there...there are so many houses that there are probably happy people and sad people, nice people and mean people, babies and adults, people in love and people struggling with a breakup.

Then I tried figuring out what happened at all the industrial looking places. One place looked like all it was was a truck hub...a bunch of littlish buildings with trucks backed up to them on all sides. There also didn't seem like there were a lot of huge parking lots which surprised me a bit.

Also going into Detroit there were two women in the seats behind us...

"Is that Lake Michigan that I see?"

"Umm, I think so. Well, Superior is by Chicago so that must be Michigan"

sigh

We then got in and since we had managed to not check any bags got picked up right away. We talked with Larry and Cheryl until it was time for bed.