Soccer, soccer and more soccer

I am so not a soccer mom, but soccer's taken up a significant amount of our family time--in a good way, of course!

As the season winds down, several make up games were played in last night's biting cold (by Roanoke standards anyway). The results:

Trevor's team: UNDEFEATED this season. Yay!! Best offense in their division, scoring 11 points total this season.


Holly's team: Beat the first place team last night, thereby moving into first place. Wooooo!!! Best defense in their division, with only two goals scored against them all season.

(Holly asks why I don't have pics of her game. I watched Trevor's from the warmth of my car, and I watched Holly's game out on the field. My hands were tucked into my mittens, which Robert had put handwarmers in to help keep me toasty!)

But it's not over YET. Friday night will be the final championship games, in which both of the kids play as first place teams. I have mixed feelings about the end of the season: RELIEF that it's over--and DISAPPOINTMENT that it's all done for awhile!

Recipe - Crockpot Turkey

Desperately searching for this recipe this morning, I was surprised that it hasn't made its way to my blog yet. Emily from SHS posted this several years ago; it's easy, it's good, and it's FOOLproof (trust me on this!).

I am in the habit of letting others do my work around here!

CROCKPOT TURKEY BREAST

3 lb. frozen turkey breast (like Butterball or whatever that Jeni/Jenny- brand is)
1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 c. water
1 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/8 tsp. sugar

Put turkey in a crockpot. The turkey can be frozen or thawed. You can cut off the strings or not.

In a bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and then pour over the top of the turkey. Why dirty up a bowl? Dump everything in on top of the turkey, one ingredient at a time.

Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve with peas, mashed potatoes, gravy and whatever else you like. If you left the string on, be sure to take it off before slicing the meat!

Weekly menu

I'M SUPPOSED TO BE PLANNING MEALS THIS WEEK????

Monday: Don't remember
Tuesday: McDonald's (hey, we won soccer, and we were far from home)
Wednesday: crockpot turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, fruit cocktail
Thursday: I have no idea
Friday: Whew! I won't be home, so I don't have to worry!
Saturday: Marlboro Man Sandwiches, fruit
Sunday: barbeque cupcakes, Caesar salad

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things
tortilla rollups w/meat, lettuce, tomato, dressing

On the back burner:
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
pork loin
Renita's Funnel Cakes!!!
chicken fajitas
meatloaf
Rocky Mountain Salad
lasagna
crispy parmesan chicken
pot roast
sausage, red beans and rice, cornbread, fruit

Fun and games

It was a wet start to soccer last night, but the rain stopped temporarily during our games. Although it was probably in the 50s, I pulled out my down coat for the first time since we moved here. Robert couldn't believe it, but I was glad to stay warm! ("Cold" is relative: Holly used to play soccer when snow was flying, and weather was freezing!)

WOO-HOO, with just one more game to play, Trevor's team remains in first place, and Holly's in second. This Tuesday's makeup game will determine championship playoffs, or the much less desirable consolation games.

We celebrated afterward by going out for pizza, where we realized this is the first time the four of us eaten pizza out since leaving Colorado (although we eat plenty of pizza at home!).


It rained for the rest of the night, continuing into the morning. But rain is good!

Trevor played in the season's first chess tournament today, placing 7th in a field of 14. Not his best showing, but he's not played since spring. Chess club meets at the same time as his soccer practice, and soccer's been the priority. He'll get back into the club next month. While he likes to win, he also likes the big trophies--so today was a success anyway.



Due to the small number of competitors in his (and all) divisions, we were done earlier than usual. It's back to our gorgeous fall days!!



I'm cooking an early dinner tonight, and Holly and I are heading back up into town to do some shopping. Not exactly where I want to go (again!), but if we don't do it tonight, I'm not sure when we'll have another good opportunity. :)

Views from my windows

kitchen, looking out the back

bathroom, looking out the back

and bathroom, looking out the side

Two of the things that have surprised me the most about the weather here:

1) It's not nearly as humid as we thought (dreaded!) it would be;

2) There's a whole lot more blue sky than we were expecting too.

It is often too easy to take the trees, the year-round fabulous weather, and living in the woods for granted. Sometimes I just need to stop and appreciate it all a little more. It's not as in-your-face stunning as Pikes Peak, but it's beautiful in its own way. :)

Book Review - The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence by Gavin de Becker

Gavin de Becker is a personal security expert who has protected presidents and high profile celebrities. In this excellent book, de Becker teaches you how to recognize DANGER signals, how to read your own intuition, and how to recognize your gift of fear. Far from being "alarmist," you come away from the book equipped with knowledge, with detailed and logical steps to protect yourself.

Have you been in that situation where all of your alarm systems are going off? Did you listen to them? Or instead wish you had? What will you do next time?

A key quote from the book chills me: "At core, men are afraid women will laugh at them, while at core, women are afraid men will kill them."

I read this book several years ago and found it good enough to read again. I've also read his follow-up book Protecting the Gift, which I actually preferred, only Gift of Fear was the one my library carries. Both books carry many of the same anecdotes, but Protecting the Gift focused more on keeping your children safe.

My number one choice would be Protecting the Gift; Gift of Fear is a close second. But I would recommend any book by this author. He's that good.

Weekly menu

cheeseburgers, french fries, Caesar salad
YOYO
Greek soup, bread, salad
YOYO
spaghetti, bread, salad
chicken jerusalem, rice, orange jello salad
breakfast

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things
tortilla rollups w/meat, lettuce, tomato, dressing

On the back burner:
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
pork loin
Renita's Funnel Cakes!!!
chicken fajitas
meatloaf
Rocky Mountain Salad
barbeque cupcakes...or spaghetti cupcakes (further down the page)
lasagna
crispy parmesan chicken
sausage, red beans and rice, cornbread, fruit
crock pot turkey
pot roast
Marlboro Man Sandwiches

Hamming it up

Today was our church's long-anticipated annual Pig Roast.

(I can appreciate that many of our gatherings include food. smirk)

I had been wondering if I'd get a head shot, complete with an apple in the mouth, but this pig had its head and feet cut off. I'd heard that the head was available for viewing in someone's car trunk last year (seriously), but I didn't quite want to go there so didn't ask.

142 lbs. of pig

The weather was FABULOUS--in the high 50s, but the sky was cloudless, and the sun was bright and warm.

Like every good pastor's wife, Leah wore gloves.

The kids played Hillbilly Horseshoes (you really don't want to know). . .

...and soccer.
It's no wonder our 9-12 year old team is in 1st place,
and our 13+ team is in 2nd place
within each of their divisions.

Oh NO NO NO NO NO

NO NO

NO!

My weather sticker at this minute

Thirty two degrees? It was near record-breaking mid-80s on Tuesday.

I, I, aye, aye . . . I could cry . . . but the tears might freeze on my face.
I definitely need to go to bed.

Saturday

Holly competed in two events today at her !!very first horse show!!--and took second place in both events (four riders).


I had to work, so this was the only picture I took. :/

Great job, Dot!!!!!

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The Good. The Bad. The Ugly.

THE GOOD

Trevor's art session ended on Monday. These are two of the projects he worked on.

oil painting on canvas

He had a great time in his class of all boys. Two of the boys were already friends of his, he'd been looking forward to meeting one of the other boys, and he also made a new friend with the fifth boy.

3D clay tile

We celebrated by taking all five boys out for ice cream afterwards. Of course, I forgot my camera.

THE BAD

Robert walked me out to his truck as I was ready to drive off in it yesterday (brave soul that I am). As I started the engine, he heard a hissing noise. I then asked why the brake lights stayed on in the dash, and he realized the brake line had broken. (Really, this could have been MUCH worse.) It's a good thing he was out there. He's trained me to ignore dash lights, and I'm sure I would have driven down the street and ended up in a tree.

So I followed him in to town today to drop the truck off. He hit the brakes just three times the whole way. There's something about a guy who knows how to drive. (Coming from the person who can't parallel park . . . I'm such a flake that I had to pull out my owner's manual just to figure out how to get my car into low gear. And I still couldn't figure it out.)

It's easier to face bad things with a cup of coffee in hand

Even worse, the shop thought the truck would be done this afternoon. Which it wasn't. Which surely means it's costing more than we'd hoped.

* * *

For the past several months, our washer's water valve has been broken. We've been able to work around it, running up and down stairs to turn the water off during the spin cycle. (Just whose idea was it to move the washer to the basement anyway?)


Last week, the water valve problem took a turn for the worse (haha). The new part arrived today, yippee! It took my wonderful husband just 17 seconds to put the new part in. Yes, he's talented, but he also knew how anxious I was to get back to doing laundry.

Right.

THE UGLY

They're baaaaacccckkkkk! Yuck. They may look like adorable ladybugs but they are horrid little Asian beetles. They swarm. Big time. I caught a few pictures early on, just as they were beginning to find their way into the house. They were flying around everywhere outside.


Holly and I were out, and when we called home, Trevor reported that there were TONS of them on the living room wall, so many that he called Dad to figure out what to do. Of course, I shouted gently asked, "DID YOU TAKE A PICTURE?" (Of course NOT.)


The nasty little things stink when they get sucked up too. This was the second time vacuuming them up tonight. I can't remember how long they last, but I'm thinking this is only the beginning.

* * *

Holly's studying biology this semester. One of her first labs was to grow something nasty.


And then she let it grow.

This light's been on for three weeks. The biggest surprise is that this STUFF didn't take over the entire bathroom. Today was the final part of the experiment.



We all took turns watching little things swimming around on the slide. It was gross.

* * *

And if all these creepy little things aren't enough, Trevor's triops kit came today. He just CAN'T WAIT to start growing these. Oh, yeah, I can't wait either.

Weekly menu

Fried chicken, chips, ???
Chicken sausage, couscous, Caesar salad
BBQ beef sandwiches, potato salad, fruit
YOYO/Mom working
??? soccer game
breakfast or chicken?
church pig roast

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things
tortilla rollups w/meat, lettuce, tomato, dressing

On the back burner:
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
pork loin
Renita's Funnel Cakes!!!
chicken fajitas
meatloaf
Rocky Mountain Salad
barbeque cupcakes...or spaghetti cupcakes (further down the page)
lasagna
chicken jerusalem, rice, ????
sausage, red beans and rice, fruit, salad

Usual? Or unusual?

Traffic jam

UNUSUAL. There had been an earlier wreck.
Happily, it was in the other direction.

Holly helping Trev with his cleats

UNUSUAL!

Gorgeous evenings

Gloriously USUAL!

Famous people!

Sage Wright, pictured with our children's librarian, is a USUAL around here. The Wright Kids made the top ten in this season's America's Got Talent. (It was the third time I happened to have my camera at work, so I was pretty happy about that. And they homeschool too!)

Gas falling below $3 a gallon

UNUSUAL, and oh-so-welcome!

Trevor playing with friends after soccer

USUAL.

Soccer on Friday night

(Holly with the ball.)

Very USUAL!

A busy week, a good week. Decidedly USUAL!

In the news

SAN JUAN ISLANDS, Wa. -- Taking time out of her busy schedule, Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin stopped by Monday to visit old friends Mike and (Kristine's mom) Linn. Mrs. Palin and Linn's friendship began while Linn was an Alaskan resident, and the two have remained close. Enjoying a lovely Chinese lunch overlooking Friday Harbor, Mrs. Palin and Linn shared opinions on lipstick shades and bathing suits, while Mrs. Palin and Mike discussed airplanes and Pig Wars (of the San Juan kind, naturally).

Or something like that.

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex & Brett Harris

Wow, wow, wow. This is an amazing book, challenging teens to rise above our culture's usual (low) expectations, step out of their comfort zone and DO something--where "trying your best" is not enough. The Harris boys share the success of their Rebelution blog and website, along with their personal stories and those of their blog followers.

My first thought was that if this book changed one thing in my kids' lives, it'd be worth it--but just "one thing" would be setting the bar too low...

Do Hard Things will be part of Holly's curriculum later this year. A book with definite life-changing potential, I can't recommend it highly enough. If you're one of my SHS friends, you need to get this book from your library.

* * *

Amended 10/24/08 to add Study Guide link. This has been an excellent starting point for discussion questions as Holly makes her way through the book.

Book Review - Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke

This book is yet another in a seemingly never-ending series (lol). In addition to Norman, Mike, and Moishe, there's another man in Hannah's life.

I won't go into details, but it's just like the rest of the books. And I just requested Book 9. Will it ever (never?) end?!

Weekly menu

sub sandwiches, ??? (Mom working)
soup (and soccer)
Cindy's pork chops, sweet potatoes, salad
french onion soup, salad, bread; or ??? (let's try this again)
spaghetti
pizza
breakfast

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things
tortilla rollups w/meat, lettuce, tomato, dressing

On the back burner:
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
pork loin
Renita's Funnel Cakes!!!
chicken fajitas
meatloaf
Rocky Mountain Salad
barbeque cupcakes...or spaghetti cupcakes (further down the page)
lasagna
chicken jerusalem, rice, ????
BLTs
chicken sausage, red beans and rice, salad

Sunday

I was sick yesterday and missed out on most of Holly's birthday. :( I was thinking maybe we could skip the annual church baptism picnic today, but the kids were r-e-a-l-l-y looking forward to going. It was gorgeous, sunny and mid-70s. Although Trevor said he would not swim, we told him he had to bring his bathing suit no matter what.

He was the third kid in the water!

About 100 people showed up, and Rob helped man the bbqs.

Cough, cough

Six people were baptized.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism... Eph. 4:5

And no surprise, lots of kids finished the day by playing soccer.

Wait, it looks like lots of DADs to me!

After five weeks of school, we are only one day behind. Yippee! I have a weird work schedule this week, but it should still be a great week.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HOLLY!

Happy 14th birthday, Dot!


Unfortunately, I was sick all day--but at least Holly didn't have anything big planned. She mostly hung out and just enjoyed relaxing. In the evening, we all got a kick out of watching old videos from when the kids were little, including Baby Holly videos. It just about breaks my heart to see them so small!


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