February Update

Where to even begin. Most of the time I update statuses on Facebook and don't take the time to post things on here. Then I remember most people who are supposed to be reading the blog aren't on Facebook.

As I look back over February, I don't remember anything much exciting happening. We had one showing on the NC house with nothing. Myron installed a new ceiling over the back porch. My kitchen is still unfinished. With the weather being so nice lately, it is hard to stay inside and out of the yard. We didn't do much in the yard last year since we didn't know what would bloom and where. I think this year will be different.

The girls are doing well in violin and school. They will both be participating in the South Carolina Music Festival in a few weeks. They are not excited about it, but I insisted.

Both girls are playing soccer in the Spring. Bethany will be on the same team as in the Fall; therefore, they will start practice tomorrow. She is very excited. Sarah will not start for another month. Not really sure how excited she is about it.

Butterscotch is still with us. I went through a little phase a few weeks ago trying to decide whether to keep him or not. He was getting on my nerves bringing in all the dead grass and leaves from outside. He was groomed last Friday which has helped tremendously with the amount of grass in the house. He really is such a sweet boy and I do dearly love him. I can't believe I wanted to get rid of him. He goes just about everywhere with me these days. I feel so bad leaving him locked up in the house for long periods of time.

Bethany will be celebrating her 10th birthday next Wednesday. It is coming up on us very quickly. Can't believe my baby girl is going to be 10.

I am trying to watch a movie with the girls while I am typing out this update. I guess I will go actually watch the movie and update later.

Have a good evening.

Catholic Schools Week & More

This week is Catholic Schools Week. It is celebrated in every school across the nation (I think) this week. We started with Mass on Sunday. All the school kids were asked to wear their uniforms to church and donuts were served afterwards by school volunteers.

This morning there was a Family Breakfast before the kids went to class. Dr. Pennell's wife fixed some kind of breakfast casserole and lots of fruit parfaits ... yummy. She always contributes food for occasions such as these.

Tomorrow is Grandparent's Tea hence the reason Pop and Nana are up for a visit. They will get to have breakfast goodies with the girls in the morning and visit with other grandparents.

Sarah was not feeling well before bed tonight. I am not sure she will make it to school tomorrow. I will be very sad for her if she does not get to enjoy the Breakfast Tea with Pop and Nana.

As I think back over the month, I am trying to remember what all we accomplished or did. It seemed like Myron worked every weekend ... oh, because he did. He was off this past weekend which was nice because it was a beautiful weekend here in the Upstate of South Carolina. We were in the 70's on Sunday. We had the windows open and were out in the yard playing Frisbee.

Last weekend, I took the girls to see the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions. It was not at all what I thought it was going to be. It was more of a demonstration rather than a show. The horses were very graceful and I do know it takes time for them to be trained to do all they do.

I seriously cannot think of anything else that was important. We really have not worked on any house projects since Myron hasn't had a weekend off. We also haven't been to the NC house since the first part of December.

Tomorrow is the 1st of February. I cannot believe this month has flown by.

Oh .... I do remember one thing. We have a Superstar living with us. Bethany has started performing for us each night a new song that she has written. Some are sung from the top of her head while others are written out. It has been a hoot.

Well, I am off to bed. I did not sleep well last night between all the dogs barking, the trains blowing their horns and the floors cracking. Then by the time I started to fall asleep, Myron's alarm went off ... UGH!!!! I NEED a good night's sleep.

Day 3 of Being Snowed In

Yes, day 3 ... I think cabin-fever is setting in for ALL of us. Myron has luckily escaped. Work must go on. I think the girls and I will venture out in a little while.

I am not really sure why school was closed for the whole day as opposed to a delay. I guess there are some roads that are still pretty bad. The sun is peeking out today. Although the temperatures are not supposed to go WAY up, the sun will at least heat the areas it hits.

I am trying to paint on some trim for the kitchen. I have one more coat for a few pieces to apply today then it will be up to Myron to install. We still have to paint the doors, door trim, upper cabinets and do something with the ceiling. Then I think we can finally say we are done with the kitchen.

Our next project will be one of the bathrooms. I say our bathroom; Myron says the girl's bathroom. We will see who wins on that one.

Okay, I guess it is time to get something done around here. I hope you all have a great day!

2nd Day of Being Snowed In

Last week, we began hearing about a Winter Storm that was heading our way. I really didn't pay much attention to it. Most of the time it turns out to be nothing ... school was closed yesterday and today. I guess it didn't turn out to be "nothing"!

I did go to the grocery store on Saturday to stock up on food items. I am glad I went on Saturday. Sunday, the grocery stores were packed. We have supplies for power outages just not in SC. We have a generator, camp stove, lamp, snow shovel, ice melt, etc. But it is ALL in NC. I contacted our realtor who happens to live in our NC neighborhood on Saturday to find out if we could even get to the house. It would have been too dangerous. She said the road in front of our house was very icy. Her husband's truck was in the ditch across from our house. Hopefully they have gotten it out. On the news this morning, that area has a chance of receiving 6 - 10 more inches of snow today. Oh my!!!! That is WAY too much. I like the 6 - 8 inches we received here in SC, but I would not want to get more on top of it.

Yesterday, everyone was home and bored ... I had plenty to do since it was Monday. The girls did go out twice to play in the snow. I love the snow but only to look at. I do NOT enjoy being out in it.


Today, Myron went into work after lunch. He did call me when he got there. He said the interstate was fine but the other roads were very bad with ice. I do hope he will not be too late getting home tonight. It is supposed to be 17 degrees in the morning which means all the slush will re-freeze.

The girls have loved playing in the snow. I do believe they have played more outside here in SC than they ever did in NC. The only downside is that we don't have a good place for sledding in our yard.

I have no idea what they were doing. I guess Sarah thought she was at the beach.

The girls mounded up snow then carved the snowman out of the mound. I had to add the AU scarf since they were playing in the BCS game that night. WAR EAGLE!!!

A close up of Mr. AU Snowman

Butterscotch did not seem to mind the snow at all. He was so funny with snow covered on his face. It was not funny when he wanted to come inside and had snowballs all in his fur.

This is where Kitty spent most her day ... curled up on the swing.

The girls are starting their mound for their snowman. I know, the pics are out of order.



I do not know what is in store for school tomorrow. I do at least hope it is a delay. My driveway is still covered although the road outside our house looks drivable. I just saw a City of Greer truck go by plowing the road. As I stated before, I love the snow; I just do not like driving in it. I wish it would snow but not on the roads. Is that too much to ask?


I hope everyone has a good evening!!!

Alone at Last!

As I mentioned yesterday, my parents are up visiting for a few days before Christmas. They decided they would stay at a hotel. It was cheaper for them to get two beds instead of one. Guess what this means? Yep, the girls got to stay with Pop and Nana last night. So this morning I am enjoying some very much needed quiet time home alone.

Of course I was up before Myron left for work. I have ironed clothes, washed a load of clothes and gotten my shower. I would say that is a pretty productive morning considering it is only right now 8:52 a.m. Oh and I called a friend who is in Atlanta taking her son to Emory to see a specialist. I pray they get good news this morning.

We spent yesterday helping Nana finish up her shopping for Christmas. We went out for dinner and opened presents. The girls were so excited to open their presents. They got some boots, American Girl items, blankets, and ... I don't remember what else.

I guess I should get dressed and find out what the plans are for the day. But it feels so good sitting right here by myself with nothing that I HAVE to do.

Where Have I Been?

Oh my ... I have not posted since October. WOW!!! Where have I been? Please don't think that I don't think about posting because I do. I just never take the time to sit down and type anything out. I guess not much has happened that sounds exciting enough to post.

We still have our house for sale in NC. Believe me, you will know when it finally sells. I think EVERYone will know when that house finally sells.

We are still making progress on the SC house. Myron finally finished the tile behind the stove over the weekend. We are adding a few little touches to the bottom of the upper cabinets that I have to paint one more coat on. I do dread painting the upper cabinets. There are just so many of them. Myron assures me he will help.

Christmas is just a few days away. I have one more thing to get but it requires Myron's help to buy. I'm not sure when we will take care of it as long as it is before next Monday when my in-laws arrive. My parents are scheduled to arrive some time today. They were supposed to be here before lunch, but my dad decided he wanted to buy a car. I haven't heard if everything went well with the purchase. I guess I will know when they show up in a new car.

Our plan for Christmas Eve is to go to Asheville to visit with friends and attend Christmas Mass at St. Eugene's Catholic Church. We have not been back to church there in over a year. It will be good to see people we haven't seen in a while.

If anyone read the Christmas letter I mailed this year, you read that Myron will be shaving his goatee in the near future. Well the time arrived yesterday. I was very sad. Bethany was not too excited about it either. I cannot wait to hear how he was teased at work today. He was preparing himself for all the remarks. He looks so young without the facial hair.

I am off to bake a pumpkin pound cake. If I don't get back on here before Saturday, I would like to wish everyone a Very, Merry Christmas!!!

October Birthdays

Sarah turned the "Big 8" on Monday, October 4th. She was so excited to be rid of her car seat ... "It is the best day ever!" were her words. Because Mondays have been so hectic in our house over the last month, we decided to celebrate with her on Sunday. We gave her her present which was an American Girl violin, took her to get a new bike which she was in need of, and cooked her favorite meal - ribs. I also baked her a cake which didn't turn out as yummy as I would have liked, but she enjoyed it.



On Monday, I baked a cookie cake and made fruit kabobs, per Sarah's request, for her Birthday snack at school. She also got balloons from Nana and Pop. I wish I could have filmed the reaction of Butterscotch when he first saw these balloons. He went ballistic. He would have nothing to do with them and kept running and barking. It was hilarious for us but not so much for him because he got so excited, he peed on the floor.

As you can see, Sarah had two days full of birthday celebrations. She will also be celebrating with the rest of the family in a few weeks since we had to wait until there was a weekend when Bethany had no soccer games.

On Thursday, I celebrated my "25th", "27th", "19th" whatever you want to call it. These were some of the numbers that popped out of peoples' mouths when they found out I was having a birthday.

After everyone was gone to work and school and while I sat here waiting for my friends to arrive from Asheville, I received a phone call from a friend who is currently in Texas wishing me a Happy Birthday. What a great way to start the day! Thanks, Tonya.

My Asheville friends and I spent the day shopping at Garden Ridge ... please, don't ask me why? That is where they always want to go. Then had a very delicious lunch at PF Changs.

They showered me with many gifts: a Target gift card, ...... and .......... a Jacob doll because I am ALL about Team Jacob: warm, dark and muscular as opposed to cold, white and hard. Plus, one of them gave me a bag full of little things like lotions, soaps, lip gloss, etc.

Oh I almost forgot ... in that bag of goodies was Mexican Jumping Beans. I guess there is something to be said about growing up. I actually wanted to know what they were so I looked them up on the internet. Turns out there are little tiny caterpillars inside the bean. When it jumps, it is the caterpillar trying to eat the seed inside the bean. This caterpillar will eventually turn into a moth. I don't know if mine will but that is what is supposed to happen should the bean be left in Nature.

After returning from lunch with my friends, I found flowers on the front porch from my adoring husband. They were very beautiful and still are today. They are very fragrant as well. I don't think I have received flowers from him since we lived in Florida. So it was a very nice surprise.


In car line, a friend asked me to meet her and she gave me a lovely necklace from Hand Picked which was so sweet of her but unnecessary. Just her telling (not singing like she did ... hee hee) me Happy Birthday would have been enough.


As I drove home, I received a phone call from another dear friend, Linda, from Asheville. We were able to talk for a few minutes before I had to get the girls to violin group lesson.

I definitely have some very special friends in my life ... near and far. I always want to remember how very blessed I am to have such GREAT friends. They definitely made my day a very special day.

As the day progressed, I did receive phone calls from others as well. One I was very surprised by was my nephew, Brandon. He took time out of his very boring day to call me ... ;). Plus, I talked to my Mom, Dad, Kathy, Grandma and Grandpa Burkhardt.

Sarah and I had a week full of celebrating as our Birthdays are only 3 days apart.

My Thankful Thought today is for my friends. They are the ones who listen to all my gripes and complaints plus any good news I have to share. They are also the ones who just might be going through some of the same things I am. They are the ones who offer advice, ears to listen and a shoulder to cry on. They are my support. I love my Friends!!!