COFFEE!

I love coffee. My daughter likes coffee. Coffee is a wonderful thing. Did I already tell you I love coffee?

Coffee is everything to me. Coffee comes in all forms mochas, latte's, iced, and just a plain old cup of joe. There are many places you can go to get coffee. You can make your own coffee. And best of all coffee is every where.

Coffee is also very complex. Not only are there different forms, there are also different beans. From Columbian to Kona there are ALOT of different beans. Each one has a distinct taste. And each one has a distinct effect also. And to beable to tell the difference takes experience.

I did not know until recently there are people who professionally taste coffee. YES! They are called cuppers. These people can tastes up to hundreds of different cups of coffees. Can you believe that? That is the job for me.

If you can't tell yet I love coffee. I start most mornings with a cup of coffee. Most afternoons I keep my day going with a cup of coffee. The best days are when I get to enjoy a cup of coffee from Starbucks or Insomania, which I know for some should not be compared in a sentence. And yes, one is better then the other. I will leave that choice up to you.

I raise my cup to you. Enjoy your day, and most of all enjoy a GOOD cup of coffee

A little break from the norm

I felt very blessed this weekend. I was treated, by my husband, with a weekend away with my mom. We were able to go down to the Willamete Art Center in Salem and take glass blowing class. The best thing I have done yet!

We got to learn all about glass blowing and experience making our own projects. The first thing we made were little clear snowman.(they looked more like blobs, then snowman) We also found out that the pipe or rod you use to collect your glass with is called a pony rod. You can see at the picture above I am molding the "blob" snowman on my pony rod. The tool I am using s called a the twisser, that is the tool you use to place water on the glass so it can be broken off the rod.

The second project to learn was flowers. This was fun! So you gather the glass just like we gathered the glass for the snowman blobs. In the picture you see me placing the pony rod into the furnace where there is a large ceramic bowl full of liquid clear glass. This part of the process is very hot. After gathering the glass we placed the hot glass into the color. You can see me in the picture to the right as I am gathering my color. Then we took it back to the "glory hole" where you reheat your glass and combined the color. After the glass to a certain temperature or "look" to it you sit down at the bench and shape your flower by using twissers or what they call Jacks. After you have shaped your flower you take another tool called Combination clippers, and lengthen your flower. From there you cut off the end of the stem while your partner catches the flower. In this picture you can see me strengthing my flower to make the stem. My partner Lucy, who was one of the teachers, caught my flower after we cut off the stem. I have to tell you it is alot harder then it looks.

We next made ornaments, both clear and colored. You gather the glass like always but the difference is you use a blow pipe instead of a pony rod. After gathering your glass you blow down the pipe to create a bubble. After creating your bubble you start to shape your glass, and your partner then blows down the pipe to enlarge the bubble.

Here you see the birth of a bubble. The first bubble is the hardest part of the project!

In the picture to the right you see mom shaping her ornament with wooden block. The gentleman helping her is Matt the other teacher of the class.

We also got a chance to make vessels, like bowls and cups. We made one bowl and one tumbler.

In this picture you see mom expanding her bubble into a bowl. In the next picture you see her swinging her pony rod to extend out the glass to make a tubbler or glass.

I could go on and on about what we did this last weekend. It was wonderful, tiring, and enlighting. This is one art I could do just for the enjoyment of it. I am thankful for the two teachers who were there, and the knowledge they were willing to share with us. Here is the link to Willamette Art Center http://willametteartcenter.com/. I hope all of you take the time to check out the site.

Been awhile

It has been awhile since I have been able to sit down and actually write in my blog. Our adventures have been overwhelming and time consuming. All I can say, it is good to beable to sit down and write.

The newest adventure we have added to our house is the walk that Grace and I are training for. I think quite a few of you have heard about the fact Grace and I are training for the Helvatia half marathon. It was a good friend of mine, Jennifer, who put the bug in my ear about doing the half marathon. The choice to do this was the best thing I could have done.

Knowing I have to train at least every other day and that there are two people training with me has given me focus. I cannot get up one morning and say not today. Each day I have to make a concious effort to get out there and walk my miles with Grace.

Right now Grace and I are up to quite a few miles. Two days a week we walk 3 miles, and then run six sets of stairs at the Aloha stadium. Two days a week we walk 5 to 6 miles depending on our route. Then one day a week we are suppose to walk a long distance with Jennifer. Unfortunately our schedules have not been meeting so we are walking our long distance on our own.

This has been a good challenge for all of us. It is getting us off our bottoms and moving. The final date is June 12th. I will keep everyone updated on our progress as we "walk" up to our final destination.

Games

I have now come to the conclusion that not everything is easy, and not everyone does things in the same way. Teaching my kids grammar has been an adventure for a couple of years now.

At first I tried to use the conventional worksheets. That did not work for the boys. Grace loves it, and is very happy when I hand her worksheets. I had to find something alittle bit different. We have started playing games!

This fall I went to Learning Palace with a good friend. She helped me pick out a couple of games for the kids to play. Some are okay, some are good, but the advantage to all is they get to learn while they play.

Out of all the games we got the one they all like the best is You are Sentenced. It is alot of fun. You take a stack of five word cards and try to make a sentence out of the words. You get so many points for certain words you have used. It has been alot of fun for me too. Boy dust off the old brain when playing this game.

Family

I love this time of year! It is a time for family and friends to get together. To hang out and catch up on each others lives. Or just a chance to sit around to enjoy each others presence. I can just feel excitement in the air.

For our family we get together on a pretty regular basis. My family has Sunday dinners just about every week. We go to either grandparents, mine, my brother's, or his girlfriend's place to eat. It is alot of fun. We sit around eat food and then talk or play games. What could be better.

I know for alot of families who live a distance from each other. This idea is hard. After this weekend of time with family, and hearing about everyone's special plans, I was reminded of how blessed we are as a family. I get to see my family ALL the time.

There are moments my family can be annoying, frustrating, and just plain out madening. But when you are reminded of what a blessing they can be, and how they touch your lives the moments of frustration are easy to face. After spending a special weekend with my family I was reminded of that. Watching my kids interact with each other, and their cousin reminded me it is the little things that are important.

As Christmas is drawing closer I have a renewed goal this year. My new goal is to try to spend more time together as a family, and not sweat the big stuff. Who cares what the house looks like, or the gifts that are under the tree. It does not matter about the stuff that surrounds the holidays, it is the family that you spend time with that is important.

Fall at our house

Fall at our house

It is coming to the end of fall. The leaves are changing colors, or most of them have actually fallen of the trees. The air is getting crisper and we are getting doused with rain. I love this time of year.

This time of year gives us a chance to snuggle in at home. We spend time inside watching movies, and playing games. It is a time we pull out the hot chocolate and make sure the fire is going. It is GREAT!

At this time we also get a chance to decorate our house with fun stuff! We carve pumpkins as a family. Put up funny looking scarecrows, and hang spider web from our porch. My kids love to decorate for fall, and they REALLY love to dress up for Halloween.

I know some of the feelings of this time of year. But for us as a family, it brings a closeness and a chance to "play". This year Grace and Mike dressed up as Jedis. Jacob stayed home in his duck gear to watch the all important U of O football game. It was memorable!

As the fall comes to an end I have so many memories tucked away with my kids, pumpkin carving, decorating, trick or treating, and special time with the family.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving, more memories as the family gathers at my house this year. A time to celebrate our similarities, and our difference. A time for us to give thanks for the blessing that have been given to each and everyone of else.

Thank you, to all my family for the memories we create.

Excitement!

Excitement

Have you ever had those moments when you can't hold back your excitement? Well, Jacob had one today. He is very excited because he got to talk on the radio! For him, it was the best experience in his life to date! Mike got to hear his voice on the radio, and was screaming across the house that Jacob was on the radio. It was true excitement in our house. Oh, to be a kids again.