Dinner for 5....

Rick (hubby) and I were lounging in bed last night, watching some show on the food network, when I asked him:
     "If you could have dinner with 5 other people, living or dead, who would you choose?" I thought he would need some time before answering me, but I was wrong. He looked at me with a serious look and said: "My Dad, My Mom, My Son, JFK, and Obama." I told him that I was impressed he answered so quickly and that I liked his choices; he then asked me the same question to which my reply was:
     "Einstein, Lincoln, My great-grama B, My Grampa B, and Mark Twain." (actually it was  Twain or Obama...but I went with Twain. lol) When I looked back at Rick he was looking at me with an odd expression and I asked him why the odd look...he said that my people surprised him a little bit. He said he expected more family, since I am the one who is more family oriented. I laughed and explained why I chose who I chose....

I have always had a "thing" for Einstein and Lincoln, not a crush type of thing but an interesting type of thing. I had my interest peaked at a young age, it was in the 5th grade and each of us had to memorize a speech given by Lincoln and I was given The Gettysburg Address to memorize. I had so much fun with that and I can still remember how the words jumped out of the school book at me that I just knew I was destined to have this speech assigned to me. (I laugh at that now, but I can still recall the joy I felt when my teacher assigned it to me. lol)  And, as I sit here typing this, I can still hear those words being said in my mind. Anyway, I digress, Loved that speech and thus started my "thing" for Lincoln. lol Einstein, well, again I think I was in the 5th grade when my teacher showed us a movie about Einsteins life and I was just so engrossed in it that I wanted to learn more about this man who others thought of either a lunatic or a genius. I would love to sit and talk with him and pick his brain about what is going on in our world today, and the same goes for Lincoln...what would he think of how our Country has been run since his time? Just how angry would he be? I would love to add Twain into that conversation and I can just picture him trying to play referee with those other two. lol Twain has been an interested of mine ever since I read Tom Sawyer, or well, my Grama started to read it to me and then she handed it to me to finish on my own one day when I was visiting and went to work at the Library with her. lol

The other two people are, of course, very personal choices for me. I was a very small child when my Grampa B died and I would love to be able to catch him up on whats been happening in our family's life since then....and same goes for Great Grama B, who died when I was a young teen. (She is his mother) I would love to break out the photo albums and share them with these two, to see the looks of wonderment on their faces as they see their children grown, their great and great-great grand children's smiling faces.

I know, I have rambled on and I hope you forgive me and I would love to hear who you would invite for your Dinner for 5.

Steel Workers Wife
~

The simple pleasures of life...My Life....

 

Today is Sunday, except for whatever one day off my hubby has off work, Sunday is my favorite day of the week. I get to sleep in, if I want to, but that never really happens. I actually set my alarm to wake me by 7:45am so I can get my coffee brewed, wash the sleep from my eyes and get ready for my guilty pleasure, a television show called Sunday Morning; this show is a type of news show, but they break things, interesting things, down into segments that actually keep a viewer interested and looking forward to the next interesting segment. They are not so depressing as watching the regular news, but I have found myself spilling a couple of tears now and again as a segment touches my heart or pulled at my heart strings.


I remember watching this show when I was a kid, my parents used to watch it and back then, of course, I never saw the draw of this show; until I was 19 and living on my own and then it became a part of my Sunday routine. I have tried to sit and watch Sunday Morning with friends, it doesn't work, I have tried to lounge in bed and watch it with a lover, but that never worked either. When I met my hubby for the first time, via match.com, we were talking about our favorite television shows and when he mentioned he enjoyed to watch Sunday Morning I knew there was a connection. :) And, back in the day (lol) when he had Sundays off, we would both get up early, make our coffees and maybe some toast and then settle in to enjoy one of our simple pleasures of life. It was a great bonding experience for us, we were never at a loss for something to discuss as the show kept our minds working and giving us the topic(s) of the day, I sooo miss those times.

Another one of my life's simple pleasures is being able to be home to help my daughter with her school work. Not many parents have the opportunity to be home when their kids get home from school, so I truly feel blessed to be able to be here for her. I really like that special quality time with her, as I know one day soon she isn't going to want me around as much. lol

Lastly, for today, another simple pleasure is baking/cooking. I truly love baking and cooking good food for my family. It fills my heart with love to see them enjoying something that I have made for them. I love baking especially, but cooking comfort foods is a close 2nd. My mind is wandering to what I can bake up today...yup, got too many things flying through my head to even give you a clue as to what it will be. lol

I wish you all a wonderful day...filled with your simple pleasures. :)

The Steel Workers Wife
~

Blogging....Just Blogging

Well, it's morning here in NW Indiana and to say it is cold outside is an understatement....it's freaking cold outside! :)

A friend of mine on Facebook posted how she missed blogging because let's face it folks, FB does not give us that intimate connection like blogging does and well, after a while we tend to crace that interaction. At least that is how I feel about it. Don't get me wrong, FB has it's good points and I will not be giving up my FB 100%, but I do plan on putting more into my blogging than I have been. :)

A lot has been going on here in this Steel Workin' house since I last posted. I never really got my whole Christmas spirit back, but I got enough of it to get through the holidays. lol Kbug had a nice Christmas and loved all her gifts, especially the MP3 player we got her and the giftcards her yaya and papa got her. :) (I took her out yesterday to finish her shopping and she had a BLAST!) Drew, well, I did a stocking for him and will be taking him shopping for some clothes here soon. He is 20 now and does not live at home, and it really sucked not having him here Christmas Morning....but I got through it without calling him in tears. LOL We spent Christmast afternoon at my parents home and had a very nice time...its become kinda a tradition to do it that way over the years. My mom had so many YUMMY snacky foods out before dinner that by the time dinner (prime rib) was done...we were all too stuffed from the snacky foods to eat it. lol

New Years, hubby and I were in bed by 10pm because he had to work in the morning and well, I was just plain tired. lol Kbug made it all the way to midnight and then crashed out. It has been a few years since I stayed up to watch the New Year come in, maybe next New Years I will try and make it til Midnight.

Today is the day that I figure out which college I will be attending to get my Bachelors Degree. I'm really excited! :) Im not sure if I will continue on for my Masters or not yet, I am taking it one degree at a time. lol

Well, the real world is calling and my mom is IMing me..sooooo, I wish you all a wonderful day!

~Steel Workers Wife
Lu

Christmas Spirit...Where are you?

Yup, here it is December 13th already and not one...not a single Christmas decoration is up in my home. Nope, not even the tree. We did get all the boxes and totes holding all our decorations and tree out of the corner of the "junk room" and have them stacked near the bottom of the basement stairs...does that count, at all?

I wish I could pin-point exactly where my Christmas Spirit has gone, but I can't. I have thought long and hard on this one too, but I got nuttin'. *sigh* I have not even baked one goodie for this Season..I know right? WOW, eh? I just now, today, addressed some Christmas cards and put them in the mail. (So, if you get your card a lil bit later than normal, now you know why.lol)

It is true that we have had a  pretty hard year this year, both Hubby and I have been sick...Hubby was out on short term disability from July to October, my hours got cut at work and then I got sick and that has really put me in a downer mood Im sure. Kbug, our daughter, is the only one keeping healthy so far this year...THANK GOD! I must say that I am also missing my son, who moved out this past January. It's just not the same without both my kids in the house at this time of the year. I am also missing all my great step-kids, grandkids and great grands too...we just never seem to have the time to all get together in one spot at the same time anymore. :(

We have been through harder times and I know that we will get through this too...we both have our faith in God and in one another, and that always brings us through. So, again, Im just not sure what has me so down and missing the Christmas Spirit this year. Is anyone else having similar issues this year?

This weekend, starting tomorrow, I am going to start some baking and maybe even put on some Christmas songs and see where that takes me. My goal is to get the tree up and decorated this weekend..yup, thats my goal. lol I am trying my best to stay positive and not dwell on the negatives of life around me...With that said, I will say that I do feel very Blessed to have this day on earth with my family. I am truly blessed with my friends who may not always understand or agree with me, but they stand with me. lol I hope that you all are Blessed in the same way in your lives.

Lu

Fall Ramblings

Well, it's official I believe, Fall is here in Northwest Indiana...SIGH. Don't get me wrong, there are some things I truly love about this time of the year; then again there are probably just as many things as I don't like about this time of the year. lol I'm one of those "special" people who would be happy living in an area that still has the seasons changing, but the snow at a minimum. lol I mean, it can snow on Christmas eve and be gone by New Years Day and I would be just fine with that. :)
I enjoy taking drives down through the lake area and the smell of the leaves that have fallen, I enjoy the smell of burning leaves too. :) I really do love driving around the area and looking at all the fall colors on the trees, but sadly this year they are not as bright and vibrant as they have been in the past. I believe this is due to the horrid heat of the summer this year.

One thing I love most about this time of the year is the cooking! Like right now, I am boiling chicken up on the stove to use in dinner tonight....enchiladas! And, whatever I don't use in tonight's dinner will make its way into tomorrow night dinner or lunch. I enjoy the cooking of summer, the light salads and sandwiches and the BBQ, of course, but by the same token I enjoy the hearty cooking of this time of the year. I, like most people, find themselves using their crock pots, roasters and stock pots a lot more during this time of the year...do you agree?

I hope to be able to get some more baking done this year over what I did last year, which honestly, shouldn't be hard to do. lol I am starting to get orders, yes, paying orders for cupcakes and I am really enjoying that...not just the money (which is nice) but the ability to use my creative side a bit more. I just finished up some Halloween themed cupcakes and just got an order from that party for "princess" type cupcakes...I'm going to be making crowns out of pink chocolate. I was going to just buy the candy crowns, but they seem cheap to me...and these cuppacakes have my "name" on them, so yeah, nothing cheap looking. lol Then, I have another order for December already, but those are for cake balls in pink. Still have to get together with that customer and get the details all ironed out yet. I don't plan on making a ton of money at this, I just really enjoy the baking for others. lol
I also have some great DIY and Homemade ideas for Christmas pressies this year...just hope I can get the energy to get em all done in time. lol The daughter is pretty much taken care of for Christmas, but there are still the son and parents to gift and some close friends...well, might as well call em family cuz that is what they are. :)
I have been pouring over crafty and DIY gift books from the library and getting some great inspiration! I just have to fit the time to get started into my busy schedule. lol

Well, I have rambled on enough...will return you to your regular scheduled program now. LOL

Fall Blessings!
The Steel Workers Wife
*Lu

It's a proven fact....

Yup, it's a proven fact that my hubby and I are very compatiable. How do I know? Our marriage has been put to the test this last month, as my hubby has been out of work sick since July 16th. At first I thought it would be great having him home and all to myself during the day...then I soon realized it's not "fun" per say..interesting would be a good word to use. lol

I have turned into a taxi driver, therapist, medical transcriptionist, medical translator, and well...a bunch of other things, but those are the major hits. lol I don't mind doing all these things, really, I don't...I actually perfer to be there with hubby during any and all medical visits so I can get the scoop on what they are thinking, saying, and doing. Last week is the prime example of why I should be there with him.....
**Hubby comes out of physical therapy and we go out to the van....as I am driving toward home he says, "My PT says I have ketoneitis"....I mull this over in my head as I KNOW there is no such thing...which is not surprising because if you knew my hubby this would make total sense....you say one thing and he hears another thing..it can be quite funny and frustrating all at the same time...like now. lol I look at him and ask..."WHAT?! No, No, that is NOT what she said..think and think again hun, cuz there is NO such thing." Hubby: "You sure? How do YOU know?" Me: O...M...G...How do I know? WOW...ummmm cuz Im the one holding the degree in Medical Assistanting and I KNOW my med term!" (he almost pissed me off, but its too funny..) Hubby: "OK, well, maybe that wasnt what she said....but I know she said it had something to do with the Ketones in my body, yeah, that I KNOW." Me: "OK, well, no matter what, Im gonna call her when we get home and you no longer get to be alone when she is talking to you about any condition, OK?" Hubby: "Well, she had me rolling around on a ball on the floor.,..I wasn't exactly in the greatest position to go get you..." Me; No response, I was too busy imagining that image. LOL

So, yeah, I now go in with him when he sees his Dr's. lol He can't do too much as he tires out quickly...and to him that seems to mean "push through it harder"....UGH....I have learned over the years to pick my battles with him, like you do a kid. lol I now have a greater appreciation for my work schedule and for work in general. lol This isn't the most amount of time we have ever spent with one another...he was out for 6 months almost with his rotator cuff repair....and then 3 mons with the 2nd one....BUT, this time has different elements involved...and they are a lil bit more stressful issues, but we are working through them together. :) And, he is not drugged up and not easy manipulated like he was with his shoulder repairs. LOL (Sometimes I wish he was....)

Yup...we have both survived this long together and I think we will make it as long as we have to until they send him back to work. lol I still have my moments where I dream of the day he returns to work...kinda like parents dream of the day we send our kids back to school. lol

And, I need to put a shout out to my close girlfriends....Without them I am sure I would have cracked under all the stress just days into this adventure, but they have been there to hold my hand, hand me kleenex to dry my eyes, hug me, listen to me vent and just give all around support to me and my family. And, to my parents, who have been a great help in making sure Kbug had all her school supplies...they just don't know how big of a help and what a load off that was for us. :)

OK......that's it and I know it's been a long one, but at least I made ya laugh. LOL

Family Reunion 2012....Part 1

This year is the year for my big family reunion...we have one every 2 yrs for my moms side of the family. This year it was to be held at Rough River Dam Resort in Kentucky, about a 9 hour drive from home by the way. (Please recall this for future reference...lol) We set our schedule to leave from home on Thursday, the 5th of July; with a quick stop over at our eldest sons house with his family for the night and were planning on arriving early afternoon at the resort.

I had scheduled the rental car several days in advance, called the daughter in law and made arrangements for the night of the 5th with her, squeezed in homework and actual work while doing mountains of laundry and packing for the trip; hubby was still working as his vacation was not set to start till the end of his shift on the 5th. Lets fast forward to the morning of the 5th, when things start to take on an, lets say, "More interesting turn".....

I had started keeping track of the weather a week ago, so the morning of the 5th I was again sitting infront of my television with a nice cup of decaf....WHAM! The weather lady on the weather channel starts talking about how Kentucky is about to break some records with their temps. UGH! I was hoping for a mild weather, a break from the 3 digit heat...nope, it was set, Kentucky was due to break heat wave records with over 14 days in temps over 100 degrees and we were driving right into the middle of it all. (This figures for us, so I wasn't really surprised. lol) So, I made sure clothing we were taking was weather appropriate. Kbug and I did the packing and shopping that morning for last minute things and paying bills so we wouldn't have to deal with them once we got home. I must say this, Kbug was a real trooper through all this...she dealt very well with my mini meltdowns. lol

Fastforward to the time to go get teh rental car; which was a very nice cherry red HHR. :) Yes, I was excited! lol Hubby got home and we went right over there, I had secured it with a debit card....when we went to pay for it with said debit card we were told that they don't accept debit cards...UMMMMM HUH?  Those of you who know me, can probbly picture the next scene very well in your heads....I looked at the rude man behind the counter and said, "It never stated you didn't take debit cards and if you don't take them how in the hell did I secure the rental with one?" He tells me that I didn't, that I must have used a credit card...UMMMMMM.....HELLLLLERRRR (I channel Madea at times like this...), I know what I used when I secured the rental, and there was NOTHING about NOT accepting debit cards or that the only credit card I could use HAD to be attached to a bank.....which ours is,but they just so happen not to accept that bank. OMG...I was sooo ready to just throw lil rude man through the window at this point, but Hubby stepped in and saved him. He gently grabbed my hand, like a loving hubby, and steered me out the door and back into our van...and said, "Well, good thing we cleaned this baby out...and pray now that it gets us there and back safely..." I love how this seemed not to phase him, and Im glad he was the calm one in this situation because, believe it or not, that is not usually the case. lol

So, we packed up the van, after hubby did all the fluid checks and tire checks....we hit the road about 5pm our time heading for our son and daughter in laws house for the night. (My parents were stopping over in the same town,but in a hotel.) The drive down was nice...about 4.5 hours to their home.....all was well until the last leg of that trip.
I got on the street that lead to their road....It was pitch black outside, no moon, no stars, just some lightening bugs that my hubby will swear to you that they lit up the side of the road and you still saw nothingness. LOL Anyway, I called my daughter in law to make sure I had not missed their road in the dark, all the time this was going on my hubby was having a mini meltdown of his own. This is what he was saying...."Damn it Laura, we have been driving for 30 miles and have not passed one damn thing that resembles a town or even life, except the fire flies!" Now, let me clarify...we had been driving for maybe 10 minutes.....NOT 30 miles...and yes, it was dark, but I could still make things out. lol So, 11....yes folks, 11 miles down the road we were at my son and daughter in laws home...and I desperately needed a drink!

Part 2 will be posted later today.......Hope this brought some laughs to you all.