Dude!

Ok.. I am so sorry!  Where did the week go!

Tuesday - We carved the pumpkins we got on Monday.  Nothing says Halloween like pumpkin guts.... and seeds.  It was great and the pumpkins were awesome!

Wednesday - Today I roasted those pumpkin seeds using my Mom's recipe.  Had to smell them all day while they roasted, but mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..... they are yummy.  Joy resided in seeds.

Thursday - We watched the Wizard of Oz.  Haven't watched that movie in years.  Melody plans on being Dorothy for Halloween so we were inspired.  Melody said, "Ya know, for being made when you were a kid, the effects are really amazing."  I had to inform her that I was not even born when this was made and my Mom was a kid when it was made.  Apparently, that made it even MORE amazing.  That kid cracks me up!

Pumpkins!

Monday was a fun day!  We all went to get our pumpkins at the local pumpkin farm.  Even Mal's boyfriend Erik joined us.  We got ourselves some fabulous pumpkins, walked through the silly corn maze and took some photos using the fun cutouts.  When we returned, Monica came over with her new boyfriend Brian and we all got to hang out, watch a bit of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone, preview my Halloween decor, and eat some sort of chocolaty substance resembling dirt cake.  Good times were had by all. :)

Sunday night

As is sit here watching the Packers play the Vikings I wonder about my weekend....

Friday - I went with Deron and Kristen to see the Oriental Fantasy Show in Milwaukee.  It was amazing!  I truly enjoyed the show and especially enjoyed seeing a lot of friends there.  It was a great start to my weekend.

Saturday - What a blur that day was.  I am having trouble even remembering what I did.  Again, I spent a lot of time in the basement decorating.  I know... how much decorating can you do?  You would be surprised. :) A little black light makes everything cool.  A lot of black light makes everything AWESOME! 

Sunday - Decorating the outside was a ton of fun today (plus just a bit more in the basement).  Deron really got into it with the girls and I have to say we have the spookiest house around... especially at night with the green spotlights and the 6 ft pumpkin on the roof.   If you can, I recommend driving by some night before Halloween.... we like to share the joy with our neighbors. :)

Momma's got cool stuff.

Thursday I spent the entire day decorating the basement for Halloween.  My legs are actually sore from 1. Falling off the back of the couch a couple times while hanging my giant web. 2. Constantly going up and down the stairs. And 3. going up and down the step ladder over and over hanging lights and webs.  Dude.... it is really starting to look cool down there!  My new item for this year is a cauldron that I bought and put my color changing mist maker in.  Holy Moly does it look wicked (pun intended)!  It look so cool I started dancing around the room singing a made up song about how "Momma's got cool stuff... oh Momma has got cool stuff".  {It should be noted that I often break out into song.} I was so excited about it I took a photo with my camera on my phone and sent it to Deron and the girls.  I think it was the favorite item so far.... that and the black lights.... they make everything look spooky.  That's what I'm shooting for really, spooky.  So yesterday was a good day where I ended up dancing around all happy about my cauldron.

Days are flying by...

First, just and FYI - I can't figure out how to have the date show up on my blogs.  If you know, please share.  Otherwise, starting in November I will put the date in the title.

Again I find myself not writing this blog everyday.  Rest assured I am still finding the joy in everyday.... just not always remembering to share it before I go to bed. :)

So... Tuesday.  Tuesday's joy was a game of Yahtzee between Deron, Melody and myself.  We were giggling and yelling (we each scored a Yahtzee - it was very exciting) and having a grand ole' time.  Melody managed to kick all our butts with a score of 315.  She was thrilled!  It's a big deal beating both your parents at a game.  That was right before bedtime for her... it was nice for her to go to bed with a smile.

Wednesday - Ok... the problem with Wednesday is that I totally forgot it was Wednesday.  My whole family did.  We forgot to take Melody to her class and Mallory and I forgot to go to our dance class.  BUT - there was still plenty of joy.  We took out 5 rubber maid tubs of Halloween decorations that we haven't taken out in about 3 years.  It was fun to go through them and remember past party's we've thrown.  Some of those decorations are 17 years old.... and all the girls have a different favorite.   So, I guess it was worth it to hang out at home and reminisce.  Downright joyful, you might say.

Sundays and Mondays... oh my!

Sunday - My friend Stephanie and I are starting to create a duet choreography.  We decided to get together before troupe to work on it.  Well, when we arrived at the place, the previous teacher (of what class, I know not) left a child's table in the middle of the room covered in rice, with rice all over the floor.  When we tried to use the rooms' vacuum all it did was shoot the rice to the far corners of the room.  Once we gave up on that, we tried to use the CD we brought.... no dice.  Stephanie said "it works in my car", so we went outside, opened the doors to her car and worked on our dance in the parking lot.  It was pretty funny, as well as fun. We managed to get a few things hammered out before our teacher arrived with a better vacuum in hand.  That's one way to enjoy nice weather.

Monday - Ok... that morning was crazy.  But, the part that had me laughing was when I was trying to drive Monica from an appointment in Waukesha back to Cardinal Stritch.  I was using Deron's GPS that he named Susan.  Well, Susan had not been updated since the major construction downtown.  The result was her constantly directing me off the freeway at random points and then putting me back on father down.  Plus, she kept making me cross 3-4 lanes of traffic in 1/4 mile... one time only to discover the exit has since changed sides!  (I do realize that the GPS is an "it" not a "she" but I'm telling the story here. :) )  Unfortunately, I do not know downtown very well and needed help at least getting as far as 43.  Monica and I were laughing so hard.... convinced that Susan was trying to kill us.  But we finally made it back to her school (which was having a dumpster fire) in one piece.  Making memories.....

Fun stuff

It's been a busy few days here.  Thursday I worked on cleaning the basement.  Seems like a never ending chore.  All the toys are down there.... and there are A LOT of toys.  At first I was annoyed to be cleaning it.  Then, after awhile of jamming out to Billy Joel, I found myself having a pretty good time.  I was singing loudly and shimmying around while putting stuff away.  So, I managed to make my own joy with simply adding some fun music.

Friday's joy was curling up on the couch with Melody watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.  I love the classic Charlie Brown cartoons.  The fact that I can share that bit of my childhood with my own kids is wonderful.  Plus, how can you not smile when your 9 year old says "He'll have a nice rock collection." while watching poor Charlie Brown only get rocks while everyone else gets candy. :)

Saturday night was a fun Halloween Hafla.  Four of us in troupe went down to Illinois with our teacher Laura in the shimmymobile to perform.  Our performance was great!  Laura's was awesome!  The ride there and the ride back was full of ups and downs (and u-turns) that at some points just had me smiling at the craziness of it all.  Again, it is always a joy to ride with my friends in the shimmymobile.

Super slacker!

Wow, I totally forgot to post something for Tuesday and Wednesday.  I guess that makes me a slacker. 

Tuesday - This may sound silly (or maybe not.... this is me talking) but I was really happy to make spaghetti for dinner.  I love spaghetti.  I would have it multiple times a week if I could.  But, for some reason it had been awhile since I had made it.  Mallory had made it the week before but I wasn't home for it.  Granted, I didn't make meatballs (actually, Melody makes the best meatballs) but it was still yummy.  Next time.... meatballs.

Wednesday - We worked on 3/4 shimmies in my Bellydance class.  I love those.  Some dancers don't like them but I think  they are the most fun of all the shimmies.  So, we drilled them for a whole hour.  Not only was I getting a great workout, but I was improving one of my favorite dance moves.  How cool is that?

Parrafin Leaves

Tonight Melody and I dipped the beautiful fall leaves in melted parrafin.  They look lovely.  I also dipped 2 of Mallory's roses in the wax as well.   Not only was it wonderful to see and preserve the beauty of the leaves, but spening the time with Melody was great.  We made a mess and played with the wax as it cooled.  Plus, we have lovely decorations for our Thankgiving table.  I highly recommend it.  Just make sure you melt the wax with the double-boiler method so you don't burn it.  We save the wax from year to year.  As Melody pointed out to me... it doesn't matter if it gets dirty.  Leaves are dirty.  It's more realistic that way. :)

Gaming Weekend AKA KelCon 2010

People... the amount of joy I derived from this past weekend was incredible. I was able to spend time with  a group of friends that I love very much; some of whom I hadn't seen in 10 years... but when we all got together it was like we just saw each other last week.  That is true friendship.  There were a few who were unable to make it, and I missed them.  I hope that we can do this type of get together every year, and that everyone will be able to make it next time.   If not, it will be comforting to know that there will be a reunion the next year..... that we will never have to wait 10 years again. 
To quote my daughter Monica, who at the age of 5 looked at Christmas lights wearing special effects glasses, "Joy! There's joy everywhere!  Mom, there's joy everywhere!"

Little visit

Yesterday I got to visit my little neice and nephew (Lucas and Hannah).  It was a short visit but it was fun.  They are just so energetic and joyful.  Hannah was dressed as a fairy and they both were just so happy to see us.  Hugs, kisses and giggles always bring me joy.  I can't wait until I see them again. :)

Exercise Ball

Instead of a desk chair by our computer, I have a giant exercise ball.  Not only is it a lot cheaper than a chair, it's better for your body.  Well, I am here to tell you that is also a heck of a lot of fun when you are listening to some jammin' tunes.  I was reading email and had iTunes on in the background.  Some great tunes start playing and the next thing I know I am bouncing all over the place with this thing.  It was really fun!  Now I have seen Melody do it before when listening to music, but I had never tried it myself.  {I wonder how many calories I burned bouncing around?}  So, I recommend bouncing on a exercise ball sometime to your favorite tune.  It's quite joyful. :)

Scrabble

No, I didn't win.  That would've been awesome.  But Deron and I play Scrabble quite often.  We also play yahtzee, boggle, uno, etc.  Some games are close, other times one of us totally kicks the other's butt.  It never really matters who wins (unless we place bets - then heck yes it matters... I can get out of doing dishes) we still have fun.  Occasionally, one of the girls will join us.  Either way, it's a time where we get to talk, laugh, tease each other, and just generally have a great time.  So the saying is true...it's not whether you win or lose...  It's how you play the game.  I find joy in the game itself... not the outcome.

First Frost

Yesterday's joy was first thing in the morning.  Melody and I went out to the bus stop and the first major frost was on the ground.  The yard was all sparkly and white.  Melody was thrilled and insisted that we walk in the grass to the bus stop so that she could admire the path we made in it.  Bending down she examined the dry leaves covered in frost more closely.  "They look fuzzy".  The joy that this frosty wonderland brought her rubbed off on me.  (and not just because I have allergies... I still need snow to cover the molds) It was truly beautiful.  It was a lovely moment to share with Melody.

Homecoming weekend

Saturday was the Homecoming dance at the high school.  Mallory attended the dance and looked lovely.  Seeing my daughter all dressed up and looking beautiful is always a joy.  Granted, it can be a bit difficult to get past the fact that she was 4 years old last week.  But, I'm proud of the young lady she has become.

Also, Monica came home on Saturday which was a nice suprise... especially after the physically rough week she had at school.  Not only did she get to have a nice home cooked dinner and a 12 hour sleep, she got to eat chili and watch the Packer game with us on Sunday.... something she had mentioned that she missed about being at college.  That made Sunday joyful for me.  It's fun to yell at the TV together.  It doesn't hurt that the Packers won the game either. :)

Care packages

As you may have guessed or read by now, my oldest daughter went to college this year.  Which also means that her friends went to college as well.  Well, in order to make them all feel a bit better about being away, I decided to make them each care packages full of baked goods, treats and treasures to make their days a bit brighter.  Granted, doing six of them at once was a bit crazy, but it was fun too.  In the future I will probably only send a couple a month.  Anywho, I have to say that looking at that tower of care packages made me smile.  I know that each of those people's day will be made a little brighter because of what I sent them.
So yesterdays joy revolved around doing something nice for other people... and that is always a good thing.

Bedazzler

Oh yes... you have no idea what a few rhinestones here and there can do for one's spirits.  Yesterday was El Crap-o for a multitude of reasons that I won't bother telling you because, hey... no joy there... but trust me... El Crap O.  Anywho, Deron got a new shirt yesterday that I had ordered special for him.  He decided it was just too plain and said we needed to bedazzle it a bit.  {This is what happens when we get stressed... we get silly}  So together we added some rhinestones to his black shirt to give it just that hint of sparkle.  The next thing we know we are both giggling and showing it off to our kids.  How can this not be joyous?  How many folks can boast a hubby that cures his blues with a hint of sparkle?  I am a lucky, lucky woman.