Crazy, Hectic Schedule

Can't believe how long it's been since I posted! So much going on. Spent one day just taking Don back to college. Then last week we had to move all the kitchen and living room furniture so we could put down our new tile floor. Putting the floor down took Friday night and all day Saturday. Sunday I did a little clean up on the tiles and tonight we start grouting! It's going to look amazing it's just that right now my house is a disaster with furniture all over! Will post pics once we are done!

Congratulations Jess and Jason!

On Sunday, my nephew, Jason announced his engagement to his girlfriend, Jess. We have a long standing joke that he is my fourth son as he is the same age as my older 2 sons and he spent alot of time at our house. Jason met Jess at Onondaga Community College. She is now attending Oswego State. Jess is a very sweet girl who has managed to endure our family's craziness.

And Jason..... I expect to dance with you with your very "special" song!
Congratulations to two very special people!

Spring in Oswego County

Today is the first day of spring. Shouldn't it be sunny with warm breezes chasing away the last of the winter's frigid weather? The crocus and daffodils should be poking up through the bare ground. Instead, we have snow, snow and mud! The wind is blowing frigid air that stings your face. I think the poor Easter bunny is going to freeze his tail off this year.

Oh, one last thing - here's a shout out to my 2 sisters, Dianne and Sue who are enjoying beautiful warm sunny weather in North Carolina!

March Family Game Night

Sunday we had one of our frequent family game nights. My brother, Bill and sister-in-law Chris hosted it this time. We stuffed ourselves with tacos and fajitas first. Gotta say that when my family gets together, we never lack for food - and very good food at that! We ended up with 19 of us there - cozy but lots of fun! We played Pictionary and Catch Phrase. Unfortunately, I was having such a good time and laughing that I forgot to take any pictures. So this is all I have for visuals this time around......

Happy Birthday, Sue!

Today is my sister, Sue's birthday. My mother loves to tell the story that Sue learned to talk before she walked. She would always ask my sister, Dianne, to carry her all over the farm. Which, of course Dianne did! Then when I came along, I never talked because Sue did that for me (as we know, I have made up for that silence - big time!!!) Sorry, girls, I had to tell that story as Mom just told it again this morning at breakfast - so you can blame her!!

Anyhow, Sue is a great sister - she is so much fun! She has a wonderful sense of humor, pretty crafty (in a good way)and a very talented amatuer photograher. She takes such great nature pictures. I'll try to post some later.

Recipe: Cheeseburger Soup

Since I love to cook and bake, I thought I would share some recipes periodically on my blog. Here is a soup that I like to make when it's cold. My guys aren't big soup eaters but they all love this one. However, it is definitely not low-cal!!! But once in awhile it's good to have. I usually double the recipe and then freeze some individual servings for lunch.
1/2 lb. hamburger
3/4 c. onion, chopped
3/4 c. carrots, shredded
3/4 c. celery, diced
salt & pepper to taste
3 c. chicken stock
4 c. potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 c. (8oz) Velveeta, cubed
1 & 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. sour cream
In a large stockpot or dutch oven, brown hamburger and add onion, carrots and celery. Cook until meat is browned and vegetables are tender. Salt & pepper to taste. Add stock and potatoes, cover and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small pan, melt butter and whisk in flour to make a roux. Add to soup and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes until thickened. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese and milk. Remove from heat when cheese is melted and stir in sour cream. Makes a little over 2 qts.

Nicole Marie Spink

In 2005, my friend, Laura, had to deal with what is any parent's worst nightmare - the death of her beautiful 19 year old daughter in a terrible car accident. I simply cannot imagine what she went through. But in her grief, Laura did something that could save another mother from going though what she did. She established the Nicole Marie Spink Driver Safety Scholarship program for a student to attend a driver education safety course through Oswego County BOCES. Please visit the Nicole Marie Spink website for more information and please consider supporting this worthy cause.

Winter!!!!

As I posted on Monday, the weather was beautiful and teased us with a taste of spring. Well, this morning the reality was that winter is still here! We are just far north enough that we got the freezing rain, then snow. Many of the schools were on a one or two hour delay. This time, I took advantage of the delay to sleep in a little and enjoy a cup of coffee before heading in to work. I managed to get a couple of pictures during my short (4 miles) commute to work.

Spring?

Is Spring just around the corner? It's evening and still unseasonably warm. The morning started with a little freezing rain but it quickly warmed up. I went for a walk at lunchtime and it even smelled like spring. But alas, Mother Nature is just playing with us. Tomorrow we sink back to reality with a Winter Weather Warning with snow, sleet, freezing rain and ice. March can be such a fickle month teasing us with warm days that make us inpatient for summer and yet we have been known to have blizzards in mid-March. And of course, who could ever forget our infamous April ice storm. Ahhh.... the pleasures of living in Upstate New York. I will take this over any hurricane, tornado, earthquake or wildfire.

Politics and Education

No, I'm not focusing on the presidential race - at least not yet. Today, the Oswego County School Boards hosted a legislative breakfast at the Mexico High School. I had hoped to have pics but a) I forgot my camera and b) I was at the podium. We had at least 50 board members take time out on a Saturday morning to listen, ask questions and network. Senator Aubertine and Assembly Townsend and a representative Assemblyman Barclay's attended. This was Mr. Aubertine's first official visit to Oswego County as our senator. I had not met Mr. Aubertine previously and given the negative aspect of the recent campaign I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. I found him to be very gracious, open and friendly. He seemed genuinely pleased to be invited. Mr. Townsend also indicated that he preferred our smaller less formal format as opposed to the larger breakfasts. We started the meeting with a PowerPoint presentation of the Statewide School Finance Consortium proposal which stresses equity of state aid based on need with a simpler formula. We then asked 3 questions and then took questions from the floor. Despite 2 small technical malfunctions - one with the projector which we finally got working and one involving the microphones (which we did not resolve), I think that it went quite well. It is so important for communication between school districts and legislators. We heard some interesting ideas today and I truly look forward to continued dialogue with our elected officials.

Our next event is the end of this month when we will host a panel discussion for anyone who may be considering running for a school board.