Building Traditions

The semester has rolled to an end, the snow has fallen in the foothills, and the Holiday season is in its final stages.  I managed to pass chemistry with an A.  I really struggled in that class although my grade does not reflect it.  I feel like I really earned it through a lot of hard work, long night and even tears.

This is me and Brent's 13th Christmas together, and our 12th one as parents.  You would think that it's easy to build traditions from the start but it never really seemed to work out that way. For many, many years I felt like we didn't really have our own traditions and rituals that we could call our own.  This year it felt different.  I don't know if it's because I have been home practically the whole holiday season or if its because I lost my mom this year and it has seemed important to build these memories with my family so they will stay with them forever and hopefully pass them on to their own children.

Our Christmas Tree

Growing up, my family had a lot of traditions.  I have tried incorporating them into my own family and some just seemed to work their way in by accident.  Having parents from two totally different backgrounds has made it a little more interesting also.  Brent has his own memories from Christmas and I have mine.  When we were newlyweds, his Grandma Olive would send us packages of cookies.  Her family is of Norwegian descent so the treats she would send were traditional Scandinavian cookies.

I would be lying if I said I was the best baker in the house.  Brent has earned that title through and through.  I just consider myself his little helper.  We were able to get the recipes from his grandma and we bought some of the special tools needed to make some of the cookies and his dad had a few older ones that he sent to us to use as well.  About a week before Christmas we took all the stuff out, Brent made the dough, and then we all got busy making some cookies.

The BEST baker in the house

Taylor the apprentice

It was a lot of fun and the kids seemed to enjoy it.  It is nice being able to pass some of the family heritage down to the kids.  All we can do is expose them to it and hope they carry it on in their lives.  We made three different kind of Scandinavian cookies.  The first are a family favorite called Kringlers or Kringles.  There are many variations as we learned but in the end we went with his grandma's tried and true recipe.  Next we made Almond tartlets or Sandkakes.  I really liked these.  It's what they are making in the photos above.  The final kind we made were Rosettes.  These were fun to make.  They are similar to a funnel cake where you take batter and put it in hot oil until it fries and then you sprinkle powdered sugar on top but these cookies are in pretty shapes like roses and stars.  They weren't a favorite but were interesting  to make.

Rosettes

I am sure this will be a tradition that will be carried on for many years to come.  There are many other kinds of cookies that we didn't try yet but there is always next year.  Our next adventure will be making Lefse!

Kringlers, Sandkakes, Rosettes

The new year is upon us

It's that time of year again.   The new year is closing in quickly and for once I am glad this year has come to an end.  I have no real regrets, I accomplished a few things I set out to do, and I am going into the new year with a clear plan of where I want to go in my life.  For the first time that I can think of, I know what I want to be doing and where I'd like to see myself in a year or two, I just don't know how I am going to get there just yet.

I reviewed my goals of 2012 and was thrilled to see I accomplished some of them this last year.  My final kid potty trained back in June!! I am so glad diapers are out of my house for good.  I also ran my first and second 5K, I got my garden up and going, and for the most part we have a semi-working budget.  We also were able to take a vacation even though it wasn't to the ocean.

I was doing really well with the weight loss.  I made it to about 27 pounds lost and then my mom passed away and I pretty much gave up.  I also managed to re-gain over half that weight back and totally lose focus.  My foot injury didn't help either as I was unable to do the one thing I really enjoyed.  This being said, I plan to hop back on the wagon this year and I want to do a juice detox to sort of clean all these truffles and candies out from my insides.

My blog still looks as crappy as it did last year and I didn't post as much as I wanted to.  I need to learn my way around the computer somehow, spruce up this blog and make sure all the pictures work.   I will also be launching an Etsy shop in the near future of some things I am creating.

Thanks to everyone who sticks around to read what I have to say.  I know this year will bring bigger and better things for me and my family and I wish the same for you and yours!

My 40/40 list: Part II

Back in April I posted my 40/40 list: part 1 and I had no idea it was going to take this long to come up with 20 more items.  I wanted to make sure they were realistic goals and give myself enough time to think of things I really wanted in my life.  I finally finished the second half of it and am ready to post it.

21.  Go to the Oregon Coast: Its about an 8 hr drive from here and we almost went this past summer but decided to go to Wallowa Lake instead.
22.  Make my three youngest kids a quilt of their own
23.  Go on a back country trail ride:  Idaho has such beautiful back country, I would like to see it on horseback someday.
24.  Raise some meat chickens:  and process them myself.  This was something I was going to do last year but ran out of time with the busy summer.
25.  Go ice fishing:  My husband takes the kids each year and soon we will all be able to go.  They seem to have a good time and now that the kids are getting older I hope it can be a family event some of the time.

Taylor and her large trout

26.  Float the Boise River

27.  Ride the Zip Idaho zip line:  I remember riding a small zip line as a kid and it was a lot of fun.
28.  Go hunting:  I have no idea what for but I need to put my hunters ed to good use.
29.  Ride a jet boat in Hell's Canyon
30.  Stay at an all inclusive ranch:  It would be nice to go on vacation and not have to do anything.. just relax, ride horses, swim, hike..
31.  Run the Dirty Dash:  I was supposed to do this in 2012, but by the time August rolled around, I was not int he proper shape for it.
32.  Own some kind of livestock: which means......
33.  We will be living at our final destination:  I think we knew all along that this was not going to be our final home, but the stars need to do some major aligning in order for us to get to where we want to be with a little bit of land, where life is a lot slower.
34.  Become completely debt-free aside from the house.
35.  Complete my Idaho Master Naturalist training:  I never became fully certified so beginning in January I am going to pick up the pace with volunteering.
36.  Go cat-fishing: YUM

37.  Volunteer at the Idaho Bird Observatory banding birds

38.  Go to Yellowstone:  Its just too close to not include on here!

39.  Visit Silverwood Theme Park and the Northern Idaho Panhandle

40.  See either a Cirque du Soleil or ice skating performance

So there it is, my odd list of things I want to accomplish in the next 5 years.  I know some of them will happen next year.  I know others won't happen for another couple of years but I will do my best to get these marked off my list!

Busy days of winter

You would think with my not working anymore that I would be posting like crazy.  I don't know if it's writers block, or I am just too busy with life but I have had nothing to write about lately.  Christmas is creeping up on me so quickly, final exams are in a week and a half, and the kids are busy with school programs and basketball tournaments.  We are also trying to squeeze in some of the local holiday festivities.  I have to give our little town some credit, they know how to bring the community together.  It seems every holiday has some great community activities.

I have one project I have been working on.  This last month I have been making child and toddler aprons.  I wanted to have my online shop up and going but I am still working on it.  Last weekend I was a vendor at my first craft show.  It was through the kids school and was very small but it was perfect for me to get my feet wet.  I sold quite a few aprons and made a profit so I think it is something I will expand on.  I really enjoy making them and they are so cute and versatile.  I still have quite a few aprons available if any of you know of a little one that likes to bake, garden, paint, or just play pretend!

Spencer modeling an apron

Taylor's basketball team has made it to the tournament.  They finished off the regular season with 7-3 record. I am really proud of how well she has grown as a player and that she has found something she really loves to do.  We will have about a month off and then it will be time to start a round of AAU basketball.  She is really excited to be playing AAU.  It will be a bit more competitive than the inter valley league she has been playing. 

Taylor has had a pretty exciting year overall.  She turned 12 this year which meant she could now go hunting.  She and her dad spent a couple of weekends searching for her trophy deer and she came home successful.. She shot a really nice buck and had a great experience with her dad.  I am sure it was something she will never forget.  It's also nice having some game meat in the freezer.  I have learned that I prefer meat that has been shot or caught rather than bought by far.  I have been using my gramma's old cast iron skillet to cook up the deer steaks and they are delicious!  Brent has also been doing a little bird hunting and ice fishing will be upon us before we know it.  There's nothing like a freezer full of deer meat, chukar, and trout!

Taylor's first buck

These next weeks will be busy with baking, basketball, school and Christmas.  I will be so happy to have a month off before I have to start back at school.  I learned that I need a few more classes in order to graduate so I will have to push graduation out another semester.  I am pretty bummed-out about that but I have come too far to just quit.  I really wanted to graduate in the spring but it wasn't meant to be.  I will just keep on trucking until I get that diploma.

I have some planned culinary adventures that I hope to report on.  I am a lot more comfortable in the kitchen than I was when I began this blog but I still feel I have so far to go.  We are trying to eat more locally and conscientious as we were before since we have slipped a bit with that.  It really is a transition and with rising food costs and financial road-blocks, it doesn't make it any easier.  Having a flock of chickens that aren't laying due to fewer  daylight hours and their untimely molting doesn't help matters either.

I'd like to give the blog a face-lift and do some regular posting this coming new year.  I know I could make it more interesting than it has been this past year and that will be my resolution.  I love to write and this is a great outlet for it.  In case I don't make it back before the holidays, then I wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and I appreciate you all taking the time to read my thoughts.

My table at the craft fair

Changes... and my first 40/40 triumph!

I am almost finished compiling my 40/40 list and only have to think of five more things to add to it.  I am proud to say however, that I have marked off the first item on the list!! After long discussions with my husband, many sleepless nights, and plenty of number crunching. I decided it was time to leave Wal-Mart.  I am still in a shock and it feels a little bit surreal since it has only been a week, but I am 100% certain it was the right thing to do.

I have been thinking about this for a long time, but it wasn't until my mom passed away that I realized how fragile life was and how important it is to spend time with those that are the most important to you.  It is unfortunate that it took a tragedy such as this to make me  realize how much I have been missing out on and  that this was not the sort of life I wanted to be living.

My Grandmother secured this job for me when I was 16 and in need of a driver's license.  Since I was not allowed to drive until I got a job, this was a good fit.  It was a family affair with my grandmother and aunt working in the same store.  I knew a lot of people there and my best friend Shelly worked with me as well.  I made relationships that have stuck with me throughout my life and I would be lying if I said there weren't some good times at store #667 in Tullahoma, TN.

Working for Wal-Mart provided quite a bit of flexibility as I moved to three different states and five separate stores, bore five children and returned to school.  I managed to work there for 18.5 years. Through the years, Wal-Mart's store policy has become stricter with scheduling and criteria for part-time vs. full time associates which affected things like insurance, vacation, and personal flexibility.

Ever since my first child was born 12 years ago, I have missed many of the extra-curricular activities they have participated in not to mention the things they were unable to do because of my work schedule.  This includes school activities, sports, theater productions, and community and family events.  At this point in time it means I would miss my daughters first year playing on the "A" team for middle school basketball.  This is something she is very excited about and devoted to and it would be terrible if I couldn't be there to support her.

Since I would leave for work as soon as my husband would get home, the kids were used to being in a single-parent environment most of the time and it has caused conflict with parenting styles and it was hard for us to collaborate on discipline and chores.  Together, my husband and I make a pretty good team, but it was hard to execute when we were rarely home at the same time.  That one hour before I would leave for work was extremely hectic and stressful for me, my husband and the kids.

On top of the emotional toll it took on my family life, I was physically beginning to feel the effects of working in that environment.  My body hurts in ways I don't understand. I have foot pain that is directly related to working on the concrete floors, and would suffer minor carpel tunnel from time to time.  At only 34 years old, I hobble around like someone much older despite being in better shape than I have been in during the last decade.

It was a hard decision to come to, and we weighed all the pros and cons but when it came down to it, this was the best decision for our family.  It was breaking my heart to miss so much and to see my kids grow up knowing I was missing so much of it.  Hopefully I am not too late and we can enjoy being a family and doing things together because that is what matters the most.  Even though this decision will provide us with many challenges, it will make life much more rewarding.