Digital Camera

This picture was taken at the lake when we went with our friends John and Emilie. I had just put new batteries in the camera and couldn't believe what was happening. You can see that my husband didn't make it to the picture in time and couldn't remember where he was supposed to go (John pointing, me hollering "here", Opa wondering whether to smile or not, and Em and Oma posing like good little girls). Well, that's because the batteries were dying and proceeded to become dead so we could not take the group picture that I so desperately wanted to put on my blog. Instead, you get to look at the funny faces and unprepared bodies! Guess that makes for a better entry anyway. I don't get it, I mean, I know that digital cameras use a lot of battery power, but I never realized that they would die after taking two pictures. I'm ticked, and rightly so. The only thing that redeems this situation is that we won the camera at a social, so we can't really complain. The amount of money we're spending on batteries for this sucker will soon add up to the price of the camera (I don't even know how much it is worth). I've heard that when you're importing pics to the computer it sucks up the battery. I also heard you can get a plug (like an AC adaptor) for the camera - I'm gonna do that soon. Anyhoo, just needed to vent a little!

Reggie Wins!!

You must have kids! Enjoy the prize :D


This is my nephew, who proceeded to sneeze all over his auntie's (thank goodness not this auntie's) face!

Guess right and you get a prize!

What is he about to do?

Perogies :D

Okay, Okay. I know it's been a while. I don't know why - have no excuse :( Anyhoo...

Today, I was making perogies all day. I've never made them before, so my mother-in-law, two oma's and my sister-in-law came over to help. YIKES, was it a crazy day! We had lots of fun and took a break for lunch in between with opa stopping by (typical man just coming for the food).

I was particularly excited because I've been craving perogies for a while. These perogies are actually called verenicke. They don't have the gross cheddar cheese or potato in them like you have probably had, but rather cottage cheese. SSSSssssssoooooooooooo YUMMMMmmmMMMMY!!! We also made fruit perogies with blueberries and plums, which are also really tasty!

The only downside to making them with tons of people is that I don't have very many in my freezer because we had to split them all up. I guess I couldn't have made 200+ perogies on my own anyway, so I still feel very blessed. Blessed with omas who teach us all the things their omas taught them and so on. Blessed to have a house and kitchen in which said perogies could be made. Blessed to have a family that gets along and has tons of fun together. Blessed to have a mother-in-law that loves me just like her own kids. Okay, I'm getting all verklempt and way too cheesy for my own good.

It was fun and now I've got free food waiting to be consumed :)



The other thing that was really exciting today, was I got to see "puppy"! Woo hoo ;) He's so big now, I know he's gonna get bigger. He's so cute and playful. I had feared he wouldn't remember me, but he totally did! He came to me and played and listened so well. How am I gonna convince Andrew that we NEED a dog. I feel so lonely everyday, a dog would solve so many of my problems (although I'm sure it'd create some too). Oh crap, he's only been gone half an hour and I'm already going through puppy withdrawal :'(

TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)

"Puppy withdrawal"

When my husband and I were dating, we talked about being in withdrawal. He would tell me he was in "Alison withdrawal" and I would say "I'm going through Andrew withdrawal". Well, now that we've been married for a little over 3 years, we don't really go through that anymore. However, for the last little while I've been in "Puppy withdrawal". You see, My mother-in-law got a cute golden retriever puppy a few months ago. I saw him often in the summer because we went to the lake and spent more time with family. There's something about a puppy's face and the way they snuggle and play that is just so fun! I even find myself having giggle fits when he comes up and licks my toes, or decides to jump on my face as I'm basking and relaxing in the sun on the dock. Now that September is almost over, I haven't seen "puppy" for a few weeks and I'm missing him very much. You may wonder why I do not call "puppy" by name. He has a name that I love, a name that was being reserved (when I say reserved I mean by me only, and was not made knowledgeable to the public - why would I have to, I thought) for a future child I would have - if it's in God's plans for me to have a boy. So, you can imagine my great disappointment and subsequent frustration when I found out that they named the puppy Luc (I would not spell it the French way, as I am not French, but rather it would be Luke)!! So I complained, much to my dismay, as I did not realize how stubborn my father-in-law is, and his name is still Luc. Oh, I call him many things, like pooky, shmookie, puppy (my favorite), buddy - anything to get out of calling him my beautiful (unborn) boys name. I just can't bring myself to call a dog by a human name. I miss "Puppy" :( Maybe we'll have a visit this week?!

jlippi lives on!

I know most of you are wondering "What or who the heck is jlippi?" So, here's the story of jlippi (whose name does not deserve capital letters).

This past July, my husband, sister-in-law, her husband and I, all piled into our tiny little Chevy Aveo 5 and drove 32 hours down to visit my other sister-in-law, her husband and 3 children in North Carolina. Some of you may not be able to imagine the things that happen on a trip so long in such a small space with 4 crazy relatives. I'm here to give you some advice. "DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS, UNLESS IN DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES (dire - definition: extremely serious or urgent)!" Well, okay, it wasn't that bad. Besides the wrong turns, marital disputes, annoying accents, lack of sleep, cramped legs, disgusting gas station bathrooms, almost getting killed by a semi on the freeway, smelly breath, bad food (that gives you gas), roadkill and general crankiness, all in all it was a really fun time :p

jlippi. We named our car jlippi after the trip. jlippi, with a silent 'j'. How do I start?

There's this game we play, called SOLO, it's very much like UNO, just a little more fast paced with a few twists and turns. So, we're sitting and waiting for Claire (the mother of 3) to come and play SOLO. We're waiting... and waiting...... and waiting......... So, I get up to get a snack, BOL is sitting quiet and patiently, hubby is hollering for oldest sis, the 7 year old is getting very impatient, along with Auntie (the 21 year old). So Auntie decides to start drawing. It begins innocently (even though she's not a drawing artist but rather a painter, as you'll see later). The Russian accent comes out (see: annoying accents) and she begins to form jlippi. The duck with lips (is it really a duck? I'm not sure). Maybe it's a cross between a duck and a pigeon?!? You tell me.

I also have a video on our camera with jlippi, in jlippi, but I can't figure out how to load it to the computer, and then I'd also have to know how to link it here. I may be computer literate, but I definitely can't do that much.

So, a few weeks ago, auntie and her husband (BOL) were over at our house helping with painting the basement. Auntie didn't feel too great about her "house painting" abilities. So, she took it upon herself to do some artwork on our faux fireplace. The problem now is, I can still see it through the first layer of paint. Does anyone have a solution? I think I'm gonna try a light sanding, maybe that will get rid of the profanity :o I thought you might need to see the original to be able to give some advice:



jlippi LIVES ON!!!

A Poem

Blogger is down
My pictures won't load
It's making me frown
And almost explode

Since I can't write
The entry I planned
I thought I'd make light
Of the situation at hand

Bloggers of the universe
Take heed and don't diss
It'll only get worse
So I'll leave it at this

Work: What it means to some people

This blog is about people who are supposedly at work but in reality spend all of their time surfing through cyber-world reading pointless blogs and sharing their pointless opinions. Oh yeah, you know who you are! You think you can just stop and smell the flowers, all day long. Well, guess what, I know your secrets and I'm out to get ya.

You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not shout
I'm tellin' you why
Ali Kat is gonna' get ya

I say no more!!!

* Creative juices - in yo face

Giant Zucchinis everywhere

I needed a break. I can barely type 'cause my arms are so dead! I'll give you a prize if you can guess why :p I'm grating zucchini, but not just any normal size zucchini. You see, this is a GIANT one. We've had at least 5 huge ones, but this is the biggest so far (knock on wood). So, I need to grate it and freeze it, so that in the middle of winter, when I'm pining for some chocolate zucchini cake (YUMMY!) then I can take it out of the freezer and go crazy.

Now, I'm not a big zucchini fan, I don't eat it other than in the cake. But, Andrew so desperately wanted a "garden" this year that I made what I think is a pretty awesome deal with him. In the middle of our flower and plant filled yard, we have this round area where there was really fantastic soil. Andrew didn't want the soil to go to waste (I said it could be moved to another spot), but he really wanted to plant something right there. So, I told him he could plant whatever he wanted there, if next summer, I can have a fire pit in the middle. He agreed, very reluctantly, and now we've had cucumber and zucchini coming out of our buts all summer long. I'm the one who's suffering by having to grate this stupid, gigantic zucchini. (I should have taken the pic before I cut it, oh well, y'all get the idea.) However, I did put me foot beside it so you could see how big it actually is (BTW - I have size 8 1/2 feet)


Even though my arms are still trembling, I should get back to grating.
Until next time...

The Lake

We have not been to the lake as much as we would have liked this summer, for various reasons. We went to North Carolina to visit my sister-in-law and her husband and 3 beautiful children, I was in Boston getting (hee, hee) a prosthetic device (I prefer calling it a lens) made for my eye, and we're still trying to get our basement in livable condition (which I've almost given up hope on)! So, we don't have many pictures from the lake and this is the only one of Andrew and me that's not totally goofy. Others have me biting his ear, double chins, and lots of just being silly!

The lake for us is a time to forget about everything going on at home and just veg. We stay up late, sleep in, read, go for walks and sometimes water ski/tube. The latter of which can only be done if my father-in-law or uncle are there, because they don't trust Andrew to drive the boat (totally ridiculous, but what can you do when you're not helping pay for or fix it?)! Andrew's parents also bring out their ATV's and we've gone for a few long treks on them to visit beaver dams, see wildlife and explore secret beaches (which my mother-in-law was disappointed to find out are not actually secret). I find being at the lake rejuvenating and relaxing. We also play a lot of games, which I think I like more than Andrew. You see, being the youngest child with two sisters significantly older than me, meant they were past the game phase when I got there. My parents didn't have time to play games, and the only cousin my age didn't live very close. So, I'm trying to make up for my game deprivation at 26 by playing games any chance I get. I also feel it's my duty to play them with the younger cousins now, so they don't have the pain and agony later in life - because I know what that feels like ;)

All in all, the lake is beautiful, fun, restful and a place to unwind and regenerate for the busy week ahead. This weekend, we're only able to make it for 1 day/1 nite, but it's the first time I'll be there with friends, and I'm so excited and pumped! See ya Saturday John and Em!!

I feel like I've just entered a new world!

I can't believe I'm doing this! I've thought about it for a while and the day is finally here. Hopefully all my blogging friends will be proud of me (even though I know my writing skills are not as good as theirs :)

Coming soon...

My adventures!