The Dawn Before the Day

Well today I woke up before my 5:00am alarm. Thoughts of Thanksgiving preparations were filling my head. So I got up, let the dogs out, fed them, loaded the washer and took Max for his walk (that is my walk also). Today I will be doing a little laundry in preparation for Abbie & my trip to KC with "the girls" to see Wicked. We are all really excited about that. We will also spend time at The Plaza which I hear has spectacular Christmas lights. So, back to Thanksgiving. Today I will be brining the turkey, making the cornbread for our dressing, putting together my sweet potato casserole, making the cranberry salad, cooking the chicken for chicken & noodles & baking 3 of our 10 pies. Today I am baking the pecan, cherry & Kentucky derby pies. This evening my parents , my sister Denise and her son Tyler will be arriving. I am making a pot of chili with fritoes, cheese, & crackers. That way they can have it like they want it. I also will be getting a refresher on math from my dad. I am scheduled to take 3 tests at OU on Monday to assess what I have retained since high school. Hmmmmm. For all of you that are going to be traveling today, have a safe trip and a Happy Thanksgiving.

Day 2

Well, today I set out my bread to get stale for our dressing. We make a stale bread/cornbread combo dressing. It is one of my favorite things about the meal. I also will be getting the last of my Thanksgiving groceries today. Linens will be next on the list. I am ironing tablecloths and getting the napkins ready (see picture from table setting post). I have a few other odds and ends to deal with today. Oh, I almost forgot to mention.....I scheduled my advisory and testing for OU. Please pray that the testing goes well. I haven't tested in.....well some of you know since I went to high school with you :o)

So It Begins......

Today is the day I set aside to move my turkey from the freezer to the refrigerator. Now that that is completed I will move on the final cleaning. What are you doing today for your Thanksgiving prep?

Place Setting Decided

I have finally decided on our place setting for Thanksgiving. What do you think? I went pretty simple this time.

Thanksgiving Prep & Thanksgiving Past

Well I have been doing some deep cleaning but now will hit surfaces which have suffered due to the deep cleaning. I can't tell you how many bags of "stuff" I threw away. I'm trying to get the laundry done today and tomorrow so that nothing will get in the way of cleaning next week. So if anyone is interested in having coffee.....call me after Thanksgiving weekend :o) The last time I hosted Thanksgiving was in 2006. Then we had 2007 at my sister-in-law Kim's house. Last year was at my sister Denise's house. So this year I nabbed it early. I have been struggling with how I am going to decorate the table and place settings. I'm hoping to resolve that this weekend so I can put it to rest. Posting the photos of the 2006 I realized that the living room was still yellow then and we still had wallpaper up in the kitchen. The pictures will look totally different this year.

Kid's bathroom remodel

I recently changed the kids bathroom from the "fishy" bathroom to, what Riley calls a "girly" bathroom. The boys aren't around very often now and Abbie and I WERE the ones who went shopping for the new stuff sooooooo.......I guess it is "girly". The walls went from an aquamarine faux finish with a fish border to lime green. I like it! But I guess part of that is because it is my favorite color.

October favorites

This weekends goal is to get the fall decorations out and assembled. It is a balmy (ya right) 39 degrees outside but this is my kind of weather. In the coming weeks I will be making what has become our October or Halloween tradition. I make a big batch of popcorn balls and carmeled apples. I usually color the syrup and Terry has requested orange and green for this year. What are some of your October/Halloween traditions?

Fall & Family

This morning I was out walking our dog Max. The air was crisp and cool and the sky was blue. I have been noticing the trees beginning to change color also. All of this gave me that wonderful feeling that fall was here and that the holidays were just around the corner. Family and friends are a must in this combination. I have great memories of the holidays as a child. One is Thanksgiving at my Grandma & Grandpa Bale's house. There was food, a football game in the pasture, card tables set up for cards and dominoes, a football game on the TV, the women sitting around the dining room table discussing who knows what( I was never old enough to get in on that conversation) & us younger ones were either on the front porch swing, running around the yard or up in the barn loft full of hay bales (which was against the rules and we never wanted to get caught by Grandpa).

Busy, Busy, Busy.......

As I listen to the thunderstorm outside & sip on my first cup of coffee, I am planning my day. I made a list of things to get done around here this week as I have been helping Terry at the office with some little things so he can work. He is in the process of hiring a new receptionist as his last one is going to law school. Good Luck to you, Anna. School is fast approaching and this weekend is Tax-free weekend. We are going through closets and drawers today. Riley is ordering the rest of his books for school, the bookstore is still unloading boxes and he needed to get a headstart on reading plays for his intro to acting class. Abbie has requested a room makeover for her 16th birthday so we have been shopping for bedding. We then decided to redo the kids bathroom since the boys will be gone. (this is the way most of my projects grow) Abbie has picked some great stuff and we bought paint earlier this week so I am hoping to start the painting part this weekend. I will post before and after pics when we are finished.

Les Miserables

Les Mis starts tomorrow evening. I am so excited!!! I volunteered to usher so I could be there for most of the performances. Selfish, I know, but I love to watch my kids perform. Abbie is at the airport saying goodbye to a best friend who is headed home for Colorado. See you soon Hannah!!! Maybe in one of your ballets!!!

Where Has Summer Gone.....

Can you believe next week is the last week of July!!! This coming week we will be attending the Sooner Theatre's performance of Les Miserable. Riley is playing the part of Jean Val Jean. This will be the last week for Abbie to see her very close friend Hannah as she will be flying home to Colorado. I know Abbie & Bekka will miss her terribly. Travis is having his last gig of the month at "The Red Room" this evening and Terry & I will be seeing "The Proposal" with his sister and her husband. Has anyone seen it? I really enjoy watching Sandra Bullock. This past Friday I got to spend the evening with Debbie (Soderboom) Wells, one of my best friends from high school. It was soooo much fun to catch up. Terry & I attended his 30th class reunion a few weeks ago and I enjoyed it so much I am now looking forward to my 30th reunion (not for 4 more years). Well after this week I guess we will be staring "Back to School" and birthday season (at our house) in the face.

Busy Week

Sunday we said goodbye to Abbie for the week. She left for RYM church camp. Got a text from her this morning that she and a friend ran on the beach this morning. Riley started practice for the musical Les Miserable at the Sooner Theatre. He is getting to perform with his best friends. I am getting ready for a baby shower in the AM of Saturday and visiting friends for dinner that evening.

Last Minute Decision to Attend

This past weekend Terry & I headed to Bartlesville. Terry had decided at the last minute to attend his 30th class reunion. We had a fun time and now I am looking forward to my 30th reunion in 4 years. It is weird to think that by that time all of our children will be in college or elsewhere. WOW!!! I actually knew one of his classmates. He had attended the same church we did when we were all growing up.

Summer Slow So Far

Summer has been rather slow so far and if you know our family, that is driving some of us crazy. Abbie is healing nicely from her extractions and should be back to cycling next Tuesday night. We normally don't schedule vacations in the summer as Terry's work schedule is pretty busy. The holidays are a better time for us to get away. Abbie has church camp next month and Riley starts rehearsals for Les Miserables the first part of July. I am looking so forward to seeing it. Travis is busy with work and his band & I am one of the ones getting a bit stir-crazy. So today, Abbie and I are going to Barnes and Noble to peruse the books & magazines. Can anyone say "Carmel Latte"? If Abbie has the strength we will check Bed, Bath, & Beyond for any good sales on stuff for Riley's dorm room. Last but not least Walmart for a few items. That will break up the day nicely.

What can I say....

Where do I begin....I haven't posted in forever and so much has happened. Riley and Abbie performed in the spring play at school. They did A Midsummer Nights Dream. Choir performances, & Aegis plays. Riley graduated from high school and enrolled for college. Travis' band "Action" had it's first show. They did great!!! Abbie had her wisdom teeth removed on Thursday and is beginning to experience the post-op swelling. Riley went in for his annual eye exam today and since he is going to college it was time to update not only his contacts but also the glasses. Yikes!!!! After Abbie recovers from her wisdom teeth hopefully we will do some summer stuff.

NNHS Chorale in NYC

Here is another song the Chorale performed. Pictures are from the recent trip they took to NYC.

Men of the Chorale

This is the song the men performed.

Riley's Choir

This is the choir my son Riley is in at school. They recently performed at Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa. Riley was so impressed with the acoustics that he wanted to order the CD. I thought I would share one of the songs with friends and family. Hope you enjoy it.

And So It Begins Again....

Well, the last few weeks I have started working in my vegetable garden and here is where we stand so far. My strawberries are flowering, radishes are showing their first leaves, I have had to replant broccoli and cabbages as I didn't cover them the last cold front, first squares of lettuce are planted (I added romaine to my garden this year for my sister-in-laws yummy strawberry pecan with poppy seed dressing salad), 1 square of spinach to start with, sugar snap peas, carrots (I got a sample of rainbow carrots this year so I planted one square, thought my niece's kids would enjoy the surprise), onions and potatoes. I am so excited when they start coming up.

Baby Shower, Family Dinner and Pillar Group

This past week I worked really hard on my house. I got a 3 for 1 return for my efforts. Saturday morning I was one of 4 hostesses for a baby shower at our home. There was a great turn out for Grace. She is so sweet. Saturday evening we had Kim and Tim over for dinner (Terry's sister and husband). This morning I hosted our monthly CTK pillar group. We have the best group!!! I had so much fun with each event but now I am dragging. I got a few loads of laundry done and planted a few seeds in my vegetable garden but that was all I had in me. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. How was your day? I am adding pics from the shower. Enjoy.

Driver's Permit, Chorale, Spring Play etc., etc.....

Well, one thing I did not mention yet is that while Riley and I were at his Musical Theater Audition, Abbie and Terry were at the Department of Public Safety taking the written test (on computers that crashed the day before), and getting her permit. This was all sandwiched in between her attending Southwestern Model UN. She had a blast and YES, she got her permit! Yeah Abbie!!! Last week Abbie auditioned for Mr. G. to be accepted into Chorale. This is a Nationally recognized choir at school.(I just found that out last week, a little slow aren't I) So Congratulations Abbie!!! She made Chorale for next year. Now she and Riley can concentrate on the spring play (A Midsummer Nights Dream), oh wait, they have Mnemosyne (pronounced "new moss sin e") this Friday and Saturday. That is the competitive acting meet their school puts on. I will be cooking and working that one. Abbie informed me that Friday is also enrollment day. I only have one to enroll this year :o( They have grown up so fast!!! I'm proud of each of them.

College Auditions Finished, Now the Waiting Game

Riley is finished with College Auditions!!! Now is the waiting game. I got to go with him yesterday for his Musical Theater audition. The school we were at has a very concentrated group. They have a total of 50 students, freshmen thru seniors, in the entire program. They are ranked in the top 5 in the country. This year they will be admitting 12 new students for fall. Six girls and Six guys. Wow!!! We had a great time and Riley actually had one of his good friends auditioning also. I will let you know the outcome of these 3 auditions.

2 Down 1 To Go

Well, Saturday and Sunday's auditions went well and Riley and Terry were impressed with one of the school's drama department. They didn't actually go to the other school, as it was an off campus audition, so we don't have a lot of info on the school other than what we have read online. Friday is the last audition and I will be attending this time since it is a workday. I have to admit, I am a bit excited about going. I get that way when my kids are doing something new for their future. I was the same way when we were getting Travis off to college. I think I enjoyed the whole process more than he did. Pray that Riley stays healthy as there is singing involved in this one. This one is for a musical theater department. I'm torn as to which I would rather him do. Either way I will still get to see him perform and that makes it all worth it.

Let the Auditions Begin....

Well starting Saturday, Riley will begin the college audition process. He has 2 drama auditions and 1 musical theater audition. Terry will be accompanying him on these adventures. I will be at home praying. He has already been accepted to one of the schools and we won't hear from the other until April. Now comes being accepted to the departments. Good luck Riley!!! I love you and will be praying for you.

1+1=2

I finished my mittens!!! Now I am working on a matching scarf. I usually only work on these in the orthodontist office, or other waiting rooms. Then I am not so disappointed by the bad selection of magazines my dentist has. Abbie has her wisdom teeth out this summer so I will need to come up with something that day.