Under the Arch

The only time I would consider where my parents live as quiet is when the fog rolls in and insulates the house from the rest of the world . Even the birds seem confused by the suddenly smaller world they are inhabiting and take a break from carrying on.

The air seems heavier and a walk through the yard will cover you in a light mist, eyelashes blinking against the wet. For once, this house in the middle of no where seems truly isolated and lonely. Hushed and waiting.

The quiet doesn't last, though. The sun will come out of hiding and burn off the fog. The birds will wake up from their naps and once again dive bomb each other in competition for the feeders making more racket than anything that small has a right to.

Nothing lasts forever. Life gets in the way. The sun comes out and the real world intrudes on my weather induced peace and quiet.

It's Christmas Eve and I leave tomorrow for the land that time forgot, where I have to fight my little brother for access to a computer with dial-up. I was truly freaking out today when I heard that they had shut down part of the interstate where my parents live due to ice and snow. I called around and found someone to take part of my shift tomorrow so that I can leave before dark. Here's hoping the weather holds on rain. ;) I hope everyone has a lovely holiday without any unnecessary drama and that travel is safe if you have to travel.

p.s. I somehow managed to get a paper cut on a plastic bag tonight, which of course started bleeding everywhere.

p.p.s. I started talking to a new guy on Match, completely by happenstance and I have a date with him saturday. We've talked for HOURS on the phone, which is completely unlike me.

p.p.p.s. I usually pack xmas presents and such in these huge IKEA shopping bags that I have, but I can't find them anywhere. Hmmm.

p.p.p.p.s Oh, and I should be back sometime on friday. ;)

A few months ago, my sister called me with a question. She was putting her affairs in order and making out a will. She asked me if I would be my nephew's guardian in case something happened to her. Not because I was the most logical choice, but because I have a couple of personality traits that make me perfect for the job.

I come from a small town and one of the very CHARMING traits of small town life is the WWTNT disorder or "What Will The Neighbors Think?". I can't count the number of times I heard that question or something to that effect throughout my childhood and I grew to hate the idea of allowing the possibility of what people may think to dictate my actions. (Typical teenager. "But MOOoom!") The difference between then and now is an even stronger sense of self, which includes an independent streak and a deep well of stubbornness. The stubbornness is what comes in handy in this case. As awesome as my parents are, they suffer from WWTNT and in my nephew's situation, that could be troublesome. My sister knows that she can count on me to do what I think is right, not just seek to make everyone happy. Being a stubborn bitch when needed can come in handy. ;) Basically I would fight anyone who stood in my way to keep the little brat safe and happy....

just the way we like him. ;)

Every once in a while I get a wild hair to move furniture and completely rearrange my apartment. And since doing such makes everything worse before it gets better, my apartment is messier than normal, war zone comes to mind. ;) The vacuum has been running, the cat is traumatized, and my bed is now on the other side of the room. (The same place I put it when I moved into the apartment last summer.*rolling eyes*) Why do I do this? It's like I'm nesting or something, but I've done it countless times since childhood, like if I move this piece of furniture or maybe that one, the room will suddenly seem bigger or flow better. Or maybe I really am just trying to make room for my shoes. ;) Since you saw my kitchen a couple of weeks ago, and I spent all that time arranging and rearranging furniture today, and y'all are nosy, I thought I'd show you what my bedroom looks like.

From the doorway...

From sitting on the bed.....

Most of my heels.....

Flats hanging on the back of my closet door. (It's a teeny tiny closet, which is why I have a clothing rack for dresses and pants.)

I'm still not completely done, there are photos that have been sitting in a box that need to be hung on the wall and two more of those frames for my jewelry. (I'll tell you about those later.) Oh, and the other window needs curtains now that the bed isn't up against it. A few odds and ends though, and I can move on to the living room, I have this really neat idea for the coffee table, but I'm making myself finish cleaning up the mess I made before I do that. My life. Fascinating, isn't it? ;)

I was going to go out for dinner. I didn't really feel like cooking and I would have to thaw something out, blah blah blah LAZY! But, then I remembered the cans of crescent roll dough in the fridge and thought, "What can I wrap that around that would taste good?" Mmmm, chicken! Just like that, Fajita Chicken Wraps are born! I knew it could be horrible, but I photographed everything anyway and intended to blog whatever happened. Just my luck, they tasted good, huh? First, as PW always does, the cast of characters:

Ortega taco sauce (which I decided to just use after cooking if it needed a kick), pepper, salt, fajita seasoning packet, olive oil (which I keep in squeeze bottles, an idea I saw on the food network), shredded cheese, crescent roll dough, and chicken(I buy meat in bulk and divide into individual freezer bags for meals)

Start with your chicken: I just turned the burner on medium and squirted out enough oil to keep the chicken from sticking.

Brown your chicken(whatever you have),and season with salt and pepper.

When the chicken is cooked through, lower the heat and tear apart with a fork.

Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and sprinkle the fajita seasoning in(I used about a 1/3 of the packet, the packet is enough for 1 pound of chicken) Stir until the seasoning is dissolved and simmer until it thickens to a sauce. Turn off heat.

Open the can of dough and unroll. Tear off a triangle.

Place a bite or two of chicken and a pinch of shredded cheese in each one and roll up.

Like this. If I had had some veggies, peppers and onions, I would have used them, being careful to cook the veggies down to get as much water out as possible. But, this was a spur of the moment dish and this is what I had.

When you have them all rolled up, arrange in a greased baking dish and sprinkle some more cheese. (If you use a full pound of chicken, you'll need 2 cans of crescent rolls and a 9x13 baking dish.) Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees until the crescents are golden brown. Mine took about 20 minutes.

Almost done

Yum!! Served with some canned sweet corn and a smidge of tace sauce that I didn't even need. These little babies were super easy and would make good party food I think. Once they cooled some, I could pick them up and eat them like a homemade hot pocket. lol Makes me feel all domestic!

Now I'm thinking all kinds of things that would be good in there; bacon, bbq pork, pepperoni...the possibilities are endless!

More stuff in my apartment, yay! This is the second installment of My favorite Things, you can find last week's post on the left side of your screen. These are just some of my favorite things that have been sitting around my apartment, many of them I have had for years and my apartment wouldn't be a home without them.

The blue chair which has been my background for many pictures lately. Years and years ago, I helped a friend move....she had a shopping problem...a vintage furniture shopping problem. Her attic was a treasure trove of fabulous furnishings. This was her thank you for my help. My boyfriend at the time refused to let me bring it home, insisting that we had no room for more furniture, even free furniture. Spoilsport. We broke up less than a year later. We didn't break up over this chair, but I think it illustrates the differences between us. I asked my mom to take it back to her house, where my brother enjoyed it until I moved into my own apartment, with my own furniture, chosen by me. We've been together ever since. Love me, love my chair.

I've had this candle longer than the chair. I love candles, even candles that I would never light. This little guy is the only vaguely religious symbol you will find in my home. I haven't been able to find another that I like so much, but I'm always on the look out for a fat, happy Buddha. They make me smile. I bought it in a store at a local mall that no longer exists, but I did find one similar here.

These are a small part of my collection of glass. My St. Louis apartment has these window sills built into the wall that make a perfect display shelf for all things that need to be protected from the cat. I've been picking up pieces here and there for years, different shapes and sizes and colors...just ones that draw my attention. (cheap helps, too) I picked up the red and blue ones at an auction, the green one was a gift.

This is just one of the many things I love about my apartment. Growing up in a 100 year old farm house, I've been surrounded by old things my entire life. All those little old world details mean home to me, so imagine my delight when I saw these doorknobs in my apartment. I'll probably always be drawn to old things, whether it's furniture, glass, or just the tiny details like a doorknob. They are just some of my favorite things that make my place, my home.

I'm sure you've all been to a wedding with a flower girl or ring bearer who never makes it up the aisle, that panics at all those people looking at them and cries for mommy. That is not my nephew.

Hayden greeted us in the lobby of the church with a giant grin on his face. "Look! I have a PILLOW!" He carried that pillow down the aisle, keeping pace with the younger flower girl and looking as pleased as punch about the whole thing. I wasn't on the aisle, so no pics of the ceremony and I really wish I could have seen him hitting Mark, the groom, with the pillow...on the ass no less. Then, he spotted his mom, my sister, and waved, stage whispering, "Hi mom!" Then he waved to my mom and dad and anyone else who looked his way, which at this point was nearly everyone. He's a ham, that kid. At this point, I had to shush my dad who was laughing so hard he was nearly choking on it. My sister was pretty embarrassed, but I think anytime you have a child in a wedding and they don't have a raging meltdown, it's a good day.

The ceremony itself was lovely. Simple, with a nice mix of the traditional and the personality of the bride and groom. Mark sang a Sister Hazel song (the name of it escapes me at the moment) and it was all I could do not to burst into tears. I don't know the bride at all, but I've watched Mark pal around with my little brother over the last few years and it's always a shock to realize the kids you know turn into adults right before your eyes. I wish the two of them all the luck and happiness in the world.

Enough of the mush, here's the pictures...they were all taken after the ceremony, as we waited for the wedding photos....

Hayden, as they posed for pictures

Ever tried to focus on a moving target in a dimly lit church? I felt for the wedding photographer, I really did. (She did have much better equipment.)

As they waited for the photographer to set up, the wedding party started bobbing up and down while singing, "Oompa, Loompa!" Buncha goobers.

The only way I could get anything at all with my camera was to set it to continuous shooting and just hope one was in focus. Occasionally, I would also get something neat, like this one.

Oh, the DRAMA!

The ONE time he agreed to look at the camera

His gift for being in the wedding was a pair of sunglasses. He actually agreed to do it for the promise of a pair.

the famous pillow

Crazy child

Mom has to make an adjustment

As I mentioned, I spent this past weekend at my parents' house in Southern Illinois. What I didn't tell you is that I decided to out myself to my parents. Out my blog, I mean. Until a few days ago, my family had no idea that I wrote on the internet or that I had met a bunch of you a month ago. My dad was blown away that Saturn would sponsor someone to travel around the country and my mom was blown away that someone is willing to advertise on a site written by her daughter. When I told her that I don't really have enough readers to actually make any money out of it, she offered to go to my site as often as possible to help. My parents are a hoot.

The portrait session went well and my mom barely complained at all. ;) Before we got started, I looked over to see my nephew hanging from a bar on the wall. "Look, mom! I'm a monkey!" Ah, four year olds! When the session was over, I left my mom and sister to pick the poses they wanted and I took Hayden, the monkey boy, into the mall to find a dress for myself. (My mom told me as we were ironing that morning that I was going to the wedding that Hayden and my brother Jared were in, apparently no one thought to tell me this BEFORE I arrived, away from my closet with all its clothes, including TWO brand new dresses.) Hayden is an excellent shopper and gets the biggest kick out of everything, including picking out dresses for his Aunt Bri. The dress he found was one I ended up buying (I bought 2, they were on clearance.) And of the 2 I bought, I let him pick the one for the wedding. Yes, he went in the dressing room with me, no way was I letting him out of my sight for a second. (Not because I'm afraid someone will snatch him, but because he's sneaky.) He was mortified to see me in my underwear and kept pulling my shirt over his head...let's just say that we were definitely entertaining for the other shoppers. For his help, I let him ride one of those quarter fed cars that vrooms and rocks back and forth. Then the little shit tried to con me into the train too. sigh. I'm CONVINCED that I was never this difficult as a child. Anyway, the photo session with him was nixed because we just ran out of time with all the stuff going on and my sister figured it would be too much picture time for him and he'd just lose his shit, and trying to get him to be still for half a second sunday evening, I agreed with her. Ok, I'm done talking, I'll tell you about the wedding and Hayden shouting, "Look! I have a pillow!" tomorrow.

Irises

My parents' house

Side view with the bare butt of the gargoyle


The tree that I planted when I was little and where the barbies were held hostage by the evil queen

North

East

West


South

And, this is where the title came from. This, my friends, is what the middle of no where looks like. It's quiet and spacious and a nice place to grow up. More tomorrow, when we see my dad's idea of art...or laziness, you decide!