Not Ready for the Day

I am not ready to start today yet so I thought I would update my blog again! Yesterday I had my last Pepsi, it was very sad. All night long I had a headache so I slept awful! The good news is that if I get another headache today I will be selling mini donuts so I can have a pepsi there! 

Yesterday I cleaned the kitchen, it took awhile! We were once again out of bowls so I HAD to wash the dishes!! Then I cleaned under the sink, it gets messy down there! Once the kitchen was nice and shinny I made blueberry muffins, yum! By then Jese was up so I made some tater tot hotdish for my supper and his breakfast! 

Today my plans are just sell donuts! I am leaving home around 12:45 so until then I will probably just waste time on the computer or play with the animals! Kipper gets mad at me when I don't snuggle with him and yesterday he didn't get any snuggle time!! Okay well I guess I will go take a shower and start the day if I have to!!

-Christa

My Favorite Things...

Today I got one of my favorite things in the mail so I thought I would write a list of my favorite things, starting with today's:

Getting money in the mail when you are least expecting it

Vistors

Kittens

Spring Days

Fall Days

Christmas

Rain

The smell of freshly cut grass

Gardening

Tanning

Meatballs and mashed potatoes

Reading

Vacations

Bonfires

Jese (I guess he should have been #1!!)

Baking

Crocheting

Buying comforters (I know weird!)

Ice Cream

Home made Chicken Noodle Soup, yum!

Visiting family and friends

Lazy days

Mowing the grass

My kitchen

Kipper

And lots more!

-Christa

Success!!

I did it! I just completed my first challenging Sudoku puzzle! I went from easy to moderate, to tricky, to difficult, and now I am on challenging!! I like to do at least one puzzle a day so I keep my brain sharp! Since I am not in school anymore I thought that would be a good idea. 
Now on the sad news, I only have 2 more pepsi's left :( I guess I am going to have to start liking water real quick! 
Back to some maybe good news, I am pretty sure the neighbors house was finally sold! It is no longer listed on any websites, lets hope it is nice people moving in! 
On an interesting note, last night when I flipped on the State of the Union I made a comment about it on facebook saying I didn't know if I was watching the State of the Union or a Catholic church service because of all of the standing and sitting. Well this morning they said the same thing on The View!! They must of read my facebook!! Okay well that is all for now!
Christa

sheet tip

I know this is my third update today but I just couldn't resist! I was browsing through blogs and I saw a great tip! When you fold your sheets put them inside the corresponding pillow case, that way they are neater and you never have to search for each piece of the set! Okay that is all!
Christa

February No Spend Challenge

February is the shortest month all year long so I figure it is a good month to do a no spend challenge. This month we did pretty good but we did give in to a few impulses, such as renting movies, ice cream, pop, and El Tequila! I know, it is mostly me giving in not Jese! So in February I plan on being better! Gas will be our largest expense, as it always is! I plan on going to the grocery store one time and get all of our food and supplies in that one trip. I did pretty good with that in January, but I forgot a few things like animal food, trash bags, and cilantro! I also plan on cooking supper from scratch every day again. I find that it is cheaper to do that in the long run because not only does it give you leftovers, but it fills you up more so you snack less. We still have lots of pasta and snacks because I was able to stock up on those because of sales and coupons! I encourage everyone to give it a shot in February and see how much you can save and see what you really need and what you can easily live without! Good luck,

Christa

Lets Travel the World!!

Liam and Jese saving the world!

Hello! Since Jese and Liam saved the world yesterday (playing a video game) I am going to travel the world via The Sims World Adventures! Yesterday Amy called and woke me and Jese up, he was a bit crabby about that! Then hours after she called she came here! Well really she dropped her children off and then left to go shopping!!! Once she got back we played games, I pretty much won all of them :) She left around 4:00 so then I decided to do nothing the rest of the night! Around 5:00 I kicked Jese off the tv so I could use it! We watched Biggest Loser and then Post Grad, I liked that a lot! Then we went to bed. Today Jese has a busy day, he has a work meeting, school, and then back to work, poor guy. Don't worry right now he is working on saving the world again! Okay I am going to go travel the world now!

Christa

The house after the ice storm

Jese and Kipper watching TV together!

Kipper watching for Jese to come home!

Hello! Today I did the dishes because I HAD to! We were out of pretty much everything!! I hate doing the dishes. After that long chore I decided that I should finally paint the front room in the basement! So I did that too, Jese came home right after I started so he did all the little spots with the paint brush for me! After that he had to leave to go back to school, poor guy! Then I decided I wanted brownies so I made some of those! While they were baking I put away all of the dishes I washed earlier. Now I am just waiting for my pizza dough to raise a little bit more so I can make pizza for supper. Other than that I don't really know anything!

Christa

It's Official I am a Carny!

Hello! Well today was my first day as a carny, and I LOVED it!! I had lots of fun doing it! Rita, Dad, and I sold mini donuts, nachos, and caramel corn at the Winter Festival in St. Paul today. During the parade we weren't very busy because the weather wasn't the greatest but once they opened the beer tasting we stayed busy. So I have decided to start the life of a carny! We are going back next weekend for another parade! As soon as I came home I jumped in the shower though because being a carney does not smell good!! I am washing my clothes now and just realized that I left my money in my back pants pocket!! So not only did I wash Jese's wallet yesterday I washed my money today!! At least our money is clean! I am super tired so that is all I am going to update for today.


Christa

Good Boy Kipper!!

Kipper is so smart!! Every now and then I decide that I should teach him more stuff, so this week I taught him how to lay down! The first time it took him awhile to figure it out but now he will even do it when I don't give him a treat! So now he will sit, stay, do a little jump circle thing, and lay!! Now I just need him to learn how to drop and come, oh yea, and leave the cats alone (mostly Oreo)

Christa

Poor Oreo!!

Poor poor Oreo, she has a bad case of dandruff!! Our house is super dry so I think that is why she has it. She has never had it before, poor kitty! Jese and I just took Kipper for a walk, he loved it! I  however did not love it so much! I almost fell many times because of slippery sidewalks!! Now I am chilly, brrr!!! I don't really know much today. Tonight I am making citrus marinated chicken, it is going to be delicious! I have only made it one other time and that was for mother and Rick. I was going to make it yesterday but then I didn't feel like it so I adjusted our meal menu for the month and made it so we have it today! Okay well that is all for now!

Christa

First score in 4 years!

Hello! Just a quick update, today I shot my first score in 4 years and I got 296!! I just kept track in my head so I don't know how many x's I got but I think I did pretty good on those too! Okay that is all for tonight!

Christa

The waiting game

Is there ever a time in life when we aren't waiting for something. This morning the first thing I did, wait for Jese to get home, now I am waiting for him to get up. We are always waiting, waiting for our coffee, waiting for a phone call, waiting for the snow to melt, waiting for baby fish to grow, waiting, just waiting. What would we have to do to stop waiting, some would say stop waiting and do, well that doesn't always work. Sure instead of waiting for a phone call you could make the phone, but what if they don't answer, then you are waiting to hear back. What if instead of waiting for Jese to get up I just woke him up, well then I would be stuck waiting for him to get ready, plus he would be crabby then! The point is, don't you ever get sick of waiting for things that you can't just make happen.

Christa

Oh, it is so warm!!

Jese is all snuggled up in the Snuggie after he made fun of it!!

Hello! Yesterday I did some cleaning, not very exciting! I also made some cookies for Jese. Today I have to run to the store to get some stuff to make Cassie a birthday cake. We are all going to Dad's tonight for her birthday and last night he made me in charge of making a cake! I don't really have time to do one from scratch because it wouldn't have enough time to cool and then let the frosting set, so I am going to have to break down and make a cake from a box :( Last night I got all ready to watch Grey's Anatomy and then 5 minutes into it the TV service went out!! I was not happy at all! So I missed the first 20 minutes of the show and got pretty confused on what was going on, jerks! Jese had his 6 month review today and it went wonderful. They told him that he is one of a handful that didn't get a negative feedback from anyone! They are reviewed by co-workers, clients, higher up people, and themselves, so that is pretty good! As soon as they have a day time position open they are going to let him know so hopefully he will be able to get it. All the other co-workers said that he is being wasted on the nights and should be on days! Okay I am going to go take a shower now!

Christa

Mama and Baby Moved!

Baby Fish hiding under the trees!

I am just updating again because I am watching the neighbors house! There is someone looking at it and I want to see how old they are so I am sitting at the table waiting for them to come out! Lots of people have been looking at it. Today I decided that I was sick of having two fish tanks so I thought it would be a good idea to move Mama and babies to the big tank, bad idea! We got mama in there fine, then I moved 4 babies in there, that is when the trouble started! Three of them got gobbled right up, and not even by the big monster fish, just the normal big ones! So I decided not to move any more babies and just let them grow a bit more. The biggest one that I put in there is still alive though! I am keeping an eye on him!! The other ones were much smaller than him, they must have been females so they were the perfect size for a snack! We have somewhere between 13-18 babies left, hopefully they grow fast so I can move the rest of them!

Today I have also shoveled a bigger area for Kipper, done the dishes, started cooking the turkey, done some laundry, and dropped of an application at Alco (they are hiring!) I should hear back from them by Monday, they are doing inventory right now so that is why it is going to take so long. Okay well that is all for now!

Christa

It's A Heat Wave!

Wow, it is a whole 19 degrees out!! I almost don't have to wear a coat outside!! I am happy today is supposed to get up to 34 degrees, maybe some of the snow will start to melt! Tonight I am going to make my turkey, but it will just be for me! So I get a whole 12 lb turkey to myself, plus mashed potatoes!! Jese has class tonight so he won't be home for supper. I would wait for a night he is home to make it but I need the leftovers to make turkey enchiladas tomorrow! Plus it is thawed out because it won't fit in our freezer. So if anyone wants turkey tonight feel free to come get some! Okay I don't really know anything today and I am hungry so I am going to go eat some Honey-nut Cheerios (bought on sale and with 2 coupons!) Oh yes, yesterday Jese was so nice, he got up before me and so he made french toast for breakfast! I have been asking him to do that for months now! Okay have a toasty day!

Christa

Spring Where Are You???

Cassie, Mom, and Me...Dec. 2005

Brr...my hands won't warm up! I am ready for spring!! The house next to us still hasn't sold, but they did lower the price so this week there have been some people looking at it. I think it is a good house to flip and you could get it for super cheap! Today Jese and I went grocery shopping, it took a long time! We went to both grocery stores in town to save the most money! At Coborn's the cashier was impressed at how much we saved, she said it was the most she has ever seen but it was only $31, I have saved $20 before. At Econofoods we only saved $15, we only had 4 coupons for there. Now we are stocked up for the month! We got to much freezer stuff for our freezer! I had to take out the turkey we had in there! Good thing I planned on making it soon anyways! I am going to make it on Thursday, yummy! Then I am going to make turkey enchiladas with some of the leftovers! So after we got home I unpacked everything, that took me about an hour! Then Jese left to go to his class, he was late because he looked at the starting time wrong. I made some homemade mac-n-cheese, it was delicious! I have to do all of our laundry tonight and tomorrow morning. I work 3:30-11:00 tomorrow :( Tuesdays are the only day Jese has off from work/school, otherwise he is in the cities every day!! Oh yes, at Econofoods they had the pasta all on sale but if you bought 12 boxes or more they were on super sale! So I decided to stock up on noodles since it was a good deal, well when we went to check out it didn't do the price change! Thankfully I noticed right away and pointed it out so I saved us $2.64! Okay that is all for today!

Christa

My First 300, Feb. 11, 2004

So I got home today after school and I started fooling around on my computer. All of a sudden I realized that the time had just flown by and it was already 6:15! I thought oh crap I have to get down to the range with Paul's bow. Seeing as I had to get down there I did the one thing a person should never do before they shoot. I did not eat. So I got down to the range and Paul was not there. So I thought heck I mine as well shoot anyways. So I did. I was starving. I managed to pull a 293 32X still. By then my mother was down there so I was taking her score too. I went quick as a bunny across the street to Casey's to get me some chow! I got me some Doritos and mombas(like starburst only better!) and a sunkist to drink. I went back down to the range then ate my chips real quick. I then started to shoot again on the same target. My mom manged to get her best score when I was half way done with mine (277 18X) so I thought heck I better shoot my best score today too. So.....I did! With three other people down there to witness me (I wouldn't let Paul leave until I was done!) I managed to pull off a 300 44X!

Christa

You're the Best Friend That I Ever Had!

The only dog I like, Kipper!

My double-stuffed cookie, Oreo!

My wild child, Pizza!

To me my pets (which are basically my children) are truly my best friends. When I am having a down day they know and will snuggle with me and make me smile. When I am happy they are always ready to play games and go outside. Not only do my pets make me a happier person (minus the sneezing attacks at 5:00 in the morning) they may even make me live longer! There was a study done by the Minnesota Stroke Institute that over 10 years followed over 4,000 cat owners and their findings are enough to make me want to keep my cats! They found that owning a cat can reduce a person's chance of dying from heart disease, have a 30% less chance of a risk of a heart attack, and have lower stress levels! In Forbes: Ten Ways to Live Longer, they list having an animal to adding years onto your life.

Throughout my own experience I know that having cats has reduced my stress levels, even when I was a kid. Whenever I was having a bad day I would go out to the cat shack and play with all of the kittens and cats. Sometimes I would bring a book and blanket and sit out there for hours with them. When I lived in the dorms I hated not having a cat so there was no question about it as soon as I got out of them I would get one! Of course I had to talk Dad into letting me bring Pizza into the house but since we had an evil neighbor dog I convinced him! For the first few months I had her she was confined to my bedroom and sometimes the whole upstairs. Soon we moved to Winona so then she got a whole apartment. In October we decided that when we were gone on the weekends she got to lonely! So what do I do, I go to a farm and bring Oreo home as a surprise for Pizza and Jese! It took Pizza over a week to like Oreo but now they love each other! For the next three years it was just me, Jese, Pizza, and Oreo but then I had another craving! I wanted another cat but Jese said no, so what do I do, I go buy a dog!! After always saying that I hate dogs I got one!! Kipper joined our family this summer at first it was very hard! Pizza and Oreo never came out of hiding, they hated him!! Now that we have moved into our house it has gotten much better. Pizza will snuggle up with Kipper and I on the couch and they both sleep in bed every night with us. Oreo is still struggling with having a puppy around. She doesn't like being chased very much! She is slowly starting to warm up to him now though. She even slept with us two nights ago! Without my pets I would be a very sad person, they keep me company when Jese is at work. I recommend that anyone without a pet should go rescue one right now so they can live a longer and happier life!

Christa

Oh Love, why did I ever leave you...

...oh yes I remember, it was the tears, the pain, the heartbreak, the nightmares, the frustration, oh yes it is all coming back to me now! So the other day I shoot for the first time in four years and guess what! I loved it, again! Archery is the one thing that I have ever felt that I was actually good at! I didn't shoot amazing but I think I did pretty good for not shooting in so long. I am looking forward to going on Monday to shoot again! Even though archery hasn't always come easy for me I still love it. Unlike most people who shoot, it isn't about the people I am there with or where I am, it is the fact that I have actually accomplished doing something great! In 2004 for I got a 300 in competition which was the best feeling ever! I have shoot in state, sectionals, nationals, and world and although I only won a few times I still think I was pretty dang good! It didn't come naturally to me so I started out pretty bad, but after many many tears I finally figured it all out. I am looking forward to coming back into the competition world next year after getting back in shape this year! I went from shooting a little red bow in the back yard with Cassie, Amy, and Dad to shooting in a great range with Jese! I can't wait for Monday, bring on the pain, tears, and nightmares!

Christa

Brr...It is still cold out!

The babies are getting bigger!

Jese working out

Me and Rita at the range!

Hello! This week is a busy week! We got our electrical problems fixed (for under $100!), the tv downstairs hooked up, car bearings, our phone plans changed, and a trip to El Tequila with Alicia, plus both of us work! Not everything has been done yet but by Friday night it all will! As soon as Jese is out of the shower we are changing our cell phone plans. We already went down there today but they guy was new and an idiot so he didn't know what he was talking about. Jese just got off the phone with Verizon Wireless and since we are changing to a Verizon Wireless plan we won't be charged for breaking our contract early. We are going to get rid of our smart phones and just get regular phones since we don't really need the internet on our phones. Today I don't work until 4:00 so that is nice! Then I have the next two days off!! Okay well I am cold and I don't know anything else.

Christa

Oh yes, our bedroom gets way to hot at night now that I closed up the window with plastic last night I was sweating balls!!

Okay cold weather and snow, you can go away now!

I am ready to be here again!

Now that Christmas is over I am ready for some 50-60 degree weather! Yesterday I got plastic put on the bedroom window and one other window upstairs. I also hung some old curtains I had in the other bedroom up there, and guess what!! It worked, last night I got so hot, I woke up lots because of it! It is nice to not freeze when I go to sleep now. Jese and I stayed busy all day yesterday. I made some muffins, reorganized our food and towels so we could have a pantry, and did some cleaning. Jese also helped with all of that! I made chicken and au gratin potatoes for supper, it was yummy! I am just waiting for the mail to come right now, I am waiting for some coupons to show up, hopefully they come today! Okay well I don't know much else, have a great day!

Christa

Brr...it sure is cold out there!!

Me and Liam!

Hello! It is so cold out! I am refusing to go outside today! I am going to send Jese to Ace hardware today though to get plastic to put over our windows! We don't really have any drafts but they will help hold in the heat more upstairs. Since we only have one heat vent up there and it isn't in our bedroom it stays very cold up there! Today I moved all of our towels out of the hall closet so I could make that into a pantry, now I have lots of room for food! Now I just need to move all of the games to the basement so I can put the towels in to study closet. I am also going to wash our sheets and comforter today as soon as Jese gets up. I hope the washer doesn't overflow again when I wash the comforter, it did last time! Oh well, at least the washer is in the basement! We are having a bit of an electrical problem, the bedroom lights won't work! There are 7 lights in the ceiling and they won't turn on!! Jese flipped the fuse and that didn't work. I guess we are going to have to get someone in here to look at it, while they are here they can fix the outlet Kipper broke by chewing a cord! Okay well that is all for now!

Christa

The growth of our kitchen

New Prague Kitchen

Waterville Kitchen

Winona Apt. 2 Kitchen

Winona Apt. 1 Kitchen

These are all of the kitchens we have had. I miss our green oven from our first one, the dishwasher from the second, and nothing from the Waterville one! Oh yes, I also miss the garbage disposals, those can be nice sometimes!

Christa

Happy New Year!!

Poor Mama was sad because I didn't put up any pictures of her yesterday, so here they are!!

Mama on Christmas

Mama on Thanksgiving!

Me and Mama in Duluth

Mama at Grandma & pa's 50th wedding anniversary!

Me and Mama at my graduation!

Hello! Today is my day off, yea!!! Last night I worked in the women's clothing, I liked that much better. So far I like that and cashiering the best. I also only worked 7 hours last night so it went by much faster! I am happy because I have the perfect days off next week to shoot! I can shoot on Sunday, Monday night after work, and Thursday, oh and Friday if I want to! I have all those days off besides Monday!! I am glad my nice boss gave me such a nice schedule! I am watching True Blood right now. I wasn't going to watch it at all today but Mama wants to borrow it on Sunday so I have to finish it by then. Tonight I was going to make the meal Amy made the other day but I just realized I don't have any chicken stock so it will have to wait for another day. Instead I am going to make meat balls and gravy since I already took out hamburger. Okay well that is all for today, I hope everyone had a nice New Years Eve last night!

Christa