Abusive? I'm innocent...

I am a abusive wife. But only when I am asleep. Yes, apparently I whacked Mr Smith not once, but twice in the night. I remember one of the whackings because I patted his head after words. I'm not so bad. Then, this morning we were laying in bed basking in the "no children up yet" glory and I head butted him in the nose. He has a very "grand" nose so it's not that hard to head butt.

Isn't he cute? Why would I ever hurt him?

Before you call the authorities or judge me, let me explain. We have a very LARGE bed, in fact it barely fits in our room. I like to have my pillow fairly close to the edge of the bed so I can stick my short little legs out of the covers in the night. (my feet get hot) Mr Smith likes to put his pillow right against mine. (pretty much the middle of the bed) He claims it is so he can be close to me and cuddle. I don't buy it, I think he just wants to take up ALL of the room - And then when I move (in my sleep) and whack him, he can complain about it - A LOT.

Would this face do anything to harm anyone, EVER?? I'm innocent, I tell you.

As for this face...I don't know what to tell you. It's got something sneaky about it.

This abuse goes way back. When I was pregnant with Ru I actually had a dream that I whacked him so hard in my sleep, because he was so close, that I killed him. Pregnancy brings on a lot of craziness, and my dreams are very real. I woke up so upset and worried and actually SICK about it that I made him promise to sleep farther away from me. He has not kept his promise so I'm pretty sure it is his own fault. (isn't that the kind of thing abusers say?)

As for the head butting, I was just moving my hair out of my face. The End.

POP.......We got one.....

What do you do with 30 pounds of fresh green beans? At our house we turn them in to dilly beans. Dilly beans are pickled green beans and are delightful.

They come from my Mother's mother, and her sisters. Some of my fondest memories of my Grandma Rass are when her and my mom and their sisters would sit outside in the summer under the covered porch, snipping beans (snipping beans means to snip the ends of the bean off). I loved to listen to their stories and a bit of gossip from their little town, I always felt so grown up helping snip beans with the ladies. Now I am a grown up lady myself, I don't have a covered porch or a mess of Aunts and sisters to visit with, but I do have beans. -lets not mention it is the dead of winter-

My wonderful mom called on Monday to tell my that beans were 88 cents a pound at Sunflower Market. (no Megs I haven't gone to Sunflower Market yet) I went to go on Tuesday after Ru was out of school, but she got a sudden illness (for real) and we didn't make it to the beans. I asked my parents to get me some, just 20 pounds or so. But, they had 30 pounds in a neat little bin so they got me that instead. Oh MY WORD. What in the heck was I thinking?

I was thinking, that Mr Smith wanted to snip beans all afternoon. And he did. What a trooper.

He snipped while I peeled garlic and simmered vinegar and dill and stuffed beans into 27 wide mouth quart jars. It was a joy, I tell ya. The pink bowl is full of all the bean ends and we only emptied it 3 or 4 times. Really, what was I thinking?

Here is the simmering dill-vinegar with some jars of freshly snipped beans awaiting their turn in the steam canner. I don't have a picture of the steam canner.

And here are our beans. Don't you just love them? Well you should.

The happiest canning sound for me is when you have spent all day canning something, and you hear the "POP" of the jar sealing. Canning with my own Mom growing up, we would hear the "POP" and look at each other all excited like and say "Ohp, we got one." I called her tonight after Mr. Smith and I were all done canning ( until tomorrow), and when she answered all I said was "we got one".

They sure are pretty. Thanks Mom and Dad and mostly Mr. Smith. I love you guys.

A little chat with Santa...And hats off to Elasta Girl

The Aunt Wendy sometimes likes to give large presents to the Grandma Smith for Christmas. This last year she gave her a beautiful Santa elf which was delivered while we were visiting one day.

Grandma Smith unwrapped it and set it on the dining room chair for display. Well, as you can imagine little Ru was mesmerized with the thing the whole darn night. The Grandma peeked in the dining room once and this is what she saw:

Yup. Little Ru had pulled a chair up to "Santa" and was telling him all sorts of things. (really) Mostly about what she wanted him to bring her for Christmas and somethings about how good she had been all year.

I grabbed my camera as quite as could be and snapped a few pictures.

HATS OFF TO ELASTA GIRL...

Elasta Girl loves straight hair. Her hair is the opposite of straight.

So some days I am a very nice Mom and straighten her hair before school. It really doesn't take that long, but morning are pretty hectic without the involvement of round brushes, hair dryers and flat irons. Not to mention all the lotions and potions I have to put in her thick beautiful curly hair to make it look lovely and manageably straight.

Besides how much she loves her hair to be straight, when I do straighten it Elasta Girl is giddy with joy because she gets to wear a hat. She LOVES hats. (Probably because they are an accessory and she is such a fashion diva) She can't wear them when her hair is curly because she gets the ultimate of hat heads, and we all know, hat head is not pretty.

On this particular day she chose the hat her aunt Renee made for her during last year's Christmas visit. It's her favorite one, and you can't see but it also has a cute tassel on the top.

This is Renee. She is the cutest girl around and pretty nice too.

Not that it matters much, but I'm pretty sure her hair is blond now.

We get to see her and the rest of the "live far away" family this Christmas. Only 11 more months to go. Whu hoo. We can't wait.

it's BACK...

Remember this? Back in November I waxed my 3 years olds uni brow.

THE BEFORE:

THE AFTER:

AND NOW:

As you can see, the uni brow is growing back nicely. So would you all please stop telling me I am a rotten mother and calling me vain? Thank you.

I'm not gonna do it again, that is until she ASKS me to do it...AGAIN.

And on a side note, I can see that her bangs ARE growing out. I was beginning to wonder about them.

New toes...1...2...3...and a zap

NEW TOES...1...2...3...

I got my toes painted the other day. I took my own design to her. Yes, I sketched it out and everything. I am a bit wacky, I know. They are only toes and it is winter so it's not like anyone is going to see them. (except for all of you) Aren't they "LOVELY"? Please disregard the toe stubble. I bet you looked at my toe stubble didn't you? How rude.

I've found that since I have been going to Meg to get my toes painted I have much less free time.

Hi Mama, will you paint hearts on my toes? I tell you, her face is never clean.

Oh, me too me too. Pretty Please?

AND A ZAP...

This morning I was leaving Wal-mart, and stopped to get a drink from the drinking fountain, and the water stream ZAPPED my bottom lip. I didn't know streams of water could do that. That is my shocking story of the day. THE END

Tea Party Saturday...

Last Saturday we had a tea party lunch. It began with the girls just wanting to make cupcakes, and it somehow ended in a tea party luncheon. Our menu was very glamorous: box Macaroni and Cheese, cupcakes, Salt and Vinegar potato chips, carrots sticks and strawberry lemonade to drink out of our new goblets.

Elasta Girl was the frostier...

And little Ru was the sprinkler... They're not very clean bakers.

Ru showing us her carrots.

We were very civilized at our tea party. Mr Smith talked in a silly exaggerated English accent the whole time, calling Ru "Button" and Elasta Girl "String Bean". They thought he was a riot. What a good sport my construction worker, hunter is to tea party with a bunch of girls.

I love you man.

The LAST of Color Me Mine....

I forgot to show everyone my masterpiece.

Remember this?

Here's the contents...

its back side.

The inside...


lastly and the end.

It was Alz's Christmas present. Along with some hair do goo, just for good measure.

bummer day...

Having a bummer day, so just enjoy some pictures...

I'm sure I should be cleaning something.

I'm watching you...

Ru doing her "move it move it" dance. While holding a bath poof.

?????????? I don't know, but it's my favorite one.

(my bummer day is about last night) Elasta Girl got a mysterious (might be faking) illness 25 minutes before I was suppose to pick up the baby sitter so Mr Smith and I could go out with our friends on a date. I don't get over things fast. I'm still bummed out.

Elk stew is yummy...who knew?

We have a freezer full of Elk meat and wild pig, and I don't know what to do with it. (Plus, the pig is gross)

Elk meat is foreign and strange for me and I have struggled cooking with it. Elk is super lean and therefore ALWAYS dry and tough to eat. The only success I have had is with the burger, which is chocked full of pork or beef fat so I'm pretty sure it doesn't really count as elk.

Anyway, The other week I attempted something other than elk burger. I made elk stew. And can I say, "IT WAS FABULOUS". Now, I did not grow up eating strange things, at least not until my parents went vegetarian and Mom made something us kids lovingly call "square ribs". But that is a story for another time.

I grew up with chicken and beef, you know, regular stuff like that. Stuff that comes in a nice plastic package from the grocery store. When I married my fly fisherman, I thought I was safe... I wasn't. Now I cook strange meat packaged in butcher paper with Mr. Smith's hand writing telling what is inside.

This is the picture that made me get my camera in the middle of elk stew dinner. Little Ru was SILENT and eating with her hand on her forehead. (which she calls a "bean") Ru is NEVER silent, nor does she sit still, especially at dinner. In fact, she usually falls off her chair at least once every night.

Elasta Girl usually talks a normal amount at dinner but doesn't ever eat much. (She is almost nine and still only packs herself a half of a sandwich in her lunch.) This night she ate 2 bowls of stew. I was amazed.

Devil girl, Should that be her new name?

My sweet Elasta Girl. I love this kid.

Mailbox excitement...

What's better than real mail, I ask you? A surprise package addressed to me, that's what.

That's what I got on Saturday afternoon. We were all in the car headed off to the movie (The Tale of Despereux) with the girls, I ran quick to get the mail before we left. There were 2 post cards for the girls from the Aunt Tierney and a mysterious package addressed to me. My first thought (I get this from my mother) was that it was some kind of poison or a bomb. Being the daring and brave lady I am - opened it right up - and what was in it was not poison or a bomb, it was this teeny tiny shoe charm.

It was from my favorite sister-in-law* she sent it to me and wrote in side the package "now you can wear a cute shoe when ever you want". She's so great.

* "favorite sister-in-law" because she sent my the cutest surprise EVER. You all had better get crackin' if you wish for your ranks to improve. Brother-in-laws qualify. And friends, neighbors, parents, actual sisters and brothers and also strangers, if you promise not to send poison or bombs. I don't like those kind of surprises.

I know you all remember my cutest shoes ever that I can (barely) wear now.

I mean, how could you forget, right? My first 15 posts, and many of my Mother's were about my foot turmoil and these shoes. Well, this little charm is the spittin' image of my cutest shoes ever. Only much more comfy to wear.

Thank you, thank you my sis. I wanted to tell you last night when you called, but thought a whole blog post would be more fitting. Because you made my whole Saturday brighter. And a simple "phone thanks" wouldn't have cut it. I love you my sweets.

a good night...

Mr. Smiths little sister Megs called yesterday afternoon to see if she could come down to visit. We were all home and doing nothing so I said "SURE, come over right now". Elasta Girl had (and still has) some strange illness that is making her tummy feel yuck, so we were taking it easy at home yesterday. Mr Smith has had a few days off work so he was home too.

She came down and we visited some and then ate a yummy dinner of elk steak, roasted potatoes with fresh rosemary (uncovered from the snow in our herb garden) a green salad (Mr Smiths favorite) and cheesecake bars for dessert. Everything was delicious.

After dinner we visited more and had a photo session. Here are some of the silly pictures.

Elasta Girl may need a new elfish name.

She is scaring me in this picture.

This is the cheerleader Megs drew on the micro Etcha-sketch.

After the photos we played a few games of Apples to Apples which Mr. Smith won. Then, the girls went to bed and the grown-ups watched a movie.

It was such a good night but I did stay up WAY to late. I'm so very glad Megs came down and I hope she got home safely.

One more thing, before she called, Mr Smith and I cleaned the house. He vacuumed and swept and mopped the foyer and the kitchen. It was so nice and done so quickly. I was shocked, confused, ecstatic and flabbergasted all at the same time. It was the best day ever, except for the Elasta Girl being sick part.