December 10 on 10

I'm gonna put each of you dear readers in charge of reminding me of something on my schedule. That way I'll never forget anything ever again. I'm guessing all of you who reminded me on the 9th that tomorrow was the 10th... you were maybe hoping I'd post these? (and thank you)


7:43am
You know I went back out again after coming home to warm up.


8:38am


9:25
Like father, like son.


10:22am
Still trying to warm up from watching the eclipse. But that ceiling fan? It's the reason we bought this house. Try not to be jealous. Oh, and the mess all over the kitchen counter? I know you want that too. And the doors! Who paints doors like that anyway? (yuck)


11:28am
When lizards attack the walls...


12:35pm


1:48pm


2:47pm
Selfie with the grumpy old man.


4:05pm
There's a safety lesson here, I think.


5:00pm
My Bean was dancing on the counter until she got caught and was told to sit. So she sings instead.

Lunar eclipse

I'm ashamed to call myself a North Dakotan after how intolerant to the cold cold cold I was today. I was lucky enough to be woken just in the nick of time by a two year old. I was even more lucky that it was Saturday, which meant her Daddy could snuggle her up while I grabbed what I needed (but not enough clothing, apparently) and took off across a cold cold cold field.


{composite of six photos taken between 6:45am to 7:03am central time}

I struggled to take a few more pictures and then ran all the way home because I couldn't move my fingers.

It was an awful shame because the sky was just getting interesting.

And for real, it wasn't even that cold out.

Stuck

Once upon a time... I ate a bean and rice burrito for breakfast. And then I picked up a hula hoop.

Shall I continue?



Leftovers for breakfast is the right way to start my day. I might have mentioned that before.



My husband was supposed to go to Minneapolis for a few days, and I had this great big idea to make popcorn (or nachos?) and watch my moviethat I never get to watch. The extended version or whatever they call it. All by myself. Because my children do regularly sleep now for at least part of the night (seven and a half years later, but let's not talk about that).

Then his trip got canceled at the last minute and ruined all my plans.



But then!

My girlfriends called from The Big City (no, not that big city) and said they were going out. The moment my husband stepped through the door (on a day he wasn't even supposed to be here) I told him there was a squash in the oven and spelling words that needed to be practiced and the kids have rubber cheese stuck to the living room ceiling again oh and watch out there is a dishcloth dripping with orange juice in a bowl on the kitchen counter and I was gonna throw that in the wash but as you can see I'm cleaning up chicken poo and is there enough gas in the car because I am outta here.



Traffic on interstate was crazy busy for our humble rural area. Commuters? I'm sure many of you would think nothing of an hour and a half drive one way to work. All I could think was if I ever have to drive this daily, it is going to Stink.

We're a wild bunch. We closed the restaurant we met at and Target. When you're stuck with MalWart all the time like I am, Target is a bright colorful breath of fresh air.

So, the hula hoop....

I bought a sparkly girly-girl hula hoop at Target.

MalWart doesn't have hula hoops.

At least mine doesn't.

Did I just claim a MalWart as my own?



My kids have hardly let me put that hula hoop down. I guess it was entertaining, with that bean and rice burrito sloshing around in my stomach.

"chicken"

Big fat tears ran down her face. She said my singing made her butt hurt. I had to admit it was a creative retaliation to my asking her to stop screaming (the girl is LOUD and it made my ears hurt). Planning a day such that she misses her nap leaves me laughing with regret every time.

We were stuck in the car together, she sobbing under her blanket and me singing because the radio didn't work. Then I attempted to distract her with a donkey that I knew was just a few miles down the road. Fail. She cried even harder imagining a "hee haw" was waiting for us in our own barn.

I suppose an ass could be a scary thing? And even more so if you've missed your nap?

I had no option left but to ponder silently on the use of the word "chicken".

See, if I mention I had left "chicken" in my entryway, you would think meat. Yes? Something in a plastic bag. You might ask if I should have put it in the fridge or the freezer. You might wonder if we're having an Italian or Chinese dish with chicken as an ingredient.

No fear, friends. The entryway is unheated. The "chicken" will still be nice and cold even if I've left it there. It's winter here in North Dakota, after all.

But if I were to say, hypothetically speaking only (of course), I had left "a chicken" in my entryway, this leaves no room for error.

You might even ask what her name is.





You might wonder what on earth she's doing in here. You might realize that wasn't quite what you meant to ask when I tell you:

She's been singing to her new friend for the last three hours.



You might correct yourself then and ask why she is in the entryway instead of the coop. And at that, I would remember exactly why this entire thing played out in my mind while the overtired Bean drama continued in the backseat.

Her butt hurts.



But it wasn't my singing, I'm sure of that.

Ten on what?

Saturday was the 10th. December 10th. I can't be the only one who thought that, right? I was half-way through my "10 on 10" when I actually said it out loud, and upon doing so, immediately realized what a fool I was. And quit.

At that point my husband suggested a "3 on 3".

Here's a 4 on 3 posted on 5. And darnit, I even got started at a decent hour in the morning!

7:48 am
Auntie spent the night. Little brother now sends messages and plays Angry Birds on his cell phone that has no battery.


8:48 am
The boys bundled up to help their Daddy set up a snow fence. I figured my next picture would be of happy boys doing men's work. About the time The Bean and I were ready to head off down the road to see how things were going, the truck whipped back into the yard and a frustrated Daddy deposited his snot-smeared red-faced boys by the door and spun back outta here by himself. Anyway, The Bean wanted to go with, badly. If she had, I bet they would have been returned in five minutes instead of twenty-five.


9:57 am
Snot had been wiped, hot cocoa consumed, and onward brothers to invade sister's room. What happened next was pretty funny (even though I had to pick up the collateral damage) as The Bean got a taste of her own medicine. Hee hee...


11:01 am
Reading. Snack. Holding the strips of paper with clothespins. Why? Well seriously, why not? First strip: He made everything in the shop muddy. Second strip: The bunny eats everything she feeds him and still wants more.


The next time I write something wacko that implies tomorrow is the tenth when it's really the third, I expect one of you to call me on it. Like, if I had food stuck between my teeth or something. Because if I have early onset dementia, I'd rather know sooner than later. Thanks guys. Thanks a lot.

And I'm tagging this "10 on 10". Just because I can.

Someone remind me on the 9th that the 10th is imminent. Okay?

A good reason for vodka

Whenever my niece is here we cook all day long. I have no idea why. It's just what we do. Half-way through dumping ingredients for banana bread into the stand mixer today, after she falsely accused me of not having enough flour, we realized the vanilla extract did not smell like vanilla.

It was time.

*rubbing my hands together in glee*

There are, perhaps, many reason to have vodka in the house. Or, perhaps, not... depending on your relationship or lack thereof with alcohol. But every house needs vodka, I think, for this one reason if for no other.

The lovely couple: A cheap bottle of vodka and a stunningly gorgeous organic vanilla bean.



Grab a knife. Things are gonna get just a bit violent. But first, good luck getting the bean back while everyone is waving it under their nose once. Or twice. You may have to threaten and blackmail and arm wrestle some of the small children to get it back.

The bean is that unreal.

Amazing new technology! Scratch and sniff! Watch out for the knife.



Didn't work? Sorry.

Ha. Hahahah!

Did I mention vodka?

Caution: Don't drink while dissecting your vanilla bean (or blogging)



Slice one side all the way down the length, but only half-way through the width. This exposes all the millions of wonderful tiny itty bitty balls of vanilla goodness that are hiding in there. Do it on wax paper in case any of them escape. You must not lose a single one.

It's okay if they get on your fingers.

Mmmmmmmm...



I've been using reusing this old vanilla extract bottle since 2004. I've been using reusing my jug of laundry detergent that long too. I'm darn proud of both.

Here's the really difficult part. Put the vodka down and pay attention!

(It took me over a minute to find an exclamation point for that last sentence. And did any of you notice that at the end of yesterday's blog post I thought today was the 10th? I took half of my 10 on 10 pictures before I realized it. Help. Someone help me. I've misplaced my brain. And there's a hen sleeping in my entryway.)

Yes, pay attention people.

Bravely shove that bean right in.



Then, drown it.



And there you have it. Homemade vanilla extract for a tiny fraction of the cost of store bought. Today it doesn't smell like anything special, but let it sit for a couple weeks and the wonderful will nearly kill you every time you open the lid. As you use it bit by bit, keep adding more vodka to fill it up. A year and a half later when it loses that yummy vanilla scent, you grab yourself a new bean and start fresh again.

So easy. And frugal. And fun.

I love this.

One year later

The moment I saw this:

11-27-2011

I knew I had to go digging for this:

11-26-2010

Makes me wonder what next year's picture will look like?

Our internet is back up to it's regular nearly-intolerable speed, which is a whole lot better than the all-but-unusable mess I earned us these last two weeks. Funny how you appreciate something a whole lot more once it's taken away. I'll be posting here more regularly again. Tomorrow's project: 10 on 10