Adventures in baking--

This Christmas schedule was so relaxed, I decided I wanted to try making homemade Cinnamon Rolls for the very first time. Relying on the Pioneer Woman's step-by-step recipe (with pictures), this is the end result. They were DELICIOUS (if i say so myself--hey, I just followed the recipe). The recipe made 7 pans of these rolls. Fortunately for our waistlines I gave most of them away to friends & neighbors. You know how sometimes kids prefer the packages version of things rather than the homemade version? Not my kids--they LOVED these rolls.

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Couldn't have said it better...

I love this quote by Hugh Prather on page 135 of the book, "Spiritual Notes to Myself."

"Although the past is over and the future hasn't happened, I misuse both within the present. My primary way of dealing with the past is to think about it defensively or to feel guilty. My way of dealing with the future is to fear it or to be excited about it. In this way I bring what does not exist into the present."

Stress

This is so interesting! I read this on a message board for an online class I am taking. It is from the author of the "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" books, Richard Carlson. His latest book is called "You Can Be Happy No Matter What". Seriously. Who wouldn't want to buy that? I love it. I wonder if Jesus is in that book?

LOWER YOUR TOLERANCE FOR STRESS.

Stress is an unpleasant feeling - it signals that we are not at our emotional and psychological best. It's interesting that when we feel ill and are not at our physical best, we pay attention to our bodies and do what we need to to feel better (rest, medicine etc.). Why not take the same care in times of emotional stress? When we are experiencing stress we need to use common sense, wisdom and be aware of our own needs.

Carlson says the solution to stress is to lower our tolerance for stress. The level of our current stress will always be exactly equal to our current tolerance. If we tolerate and can handle a lot of stress, we will always have to do just that. People with lower stress tolerance will pay attention to their stress EARLIER and will sense when it's time to slow down, regain perspective, and manage their thoughts and feelings.

3 Day Recap

Love this

DSC03962, originally uploaded by katykeeler.

Inspired by Tara Whitney, staged the Fam here...it makes me laugh that they are clustered in together next to the sardines sign... :)

Tradition

DSC03964, originally uploaded by katykeeler.

Some day I may have enough of these photos to do a montage through the years of the kids standing here.

@ the Aquarium

DSC03965, originally uploaded by katykeeler.

We always try to get a photo near this quote...the missing word is "world"...a nice stranger took our photo here.

See the otters?

DSC04002, originally uploaded by katykeeler.

Soooooo cool!

Kayaking

DSC04028, originally uploaded by katykeeler.

This was so incredibly cool...watched the otters & seals on this gorgeous day...

Happy

DSC04159, originally uploaded by katykeeler.

I haven't seen my hubby this relaxed and just plain happy for far too long. He's still got it! :)

Scarlett "blow-dried"

Here she is in all her 'blow-dried for a current photo shoot' glory!

Cute, or what?

She needs a new name...Sophie suggested "Ruby" the other day. That could work! Scarlett...Ruby...I like it...

What to do...?

So what do you do when life seems to be a bit up in the air?

Well, if you are Robert "Absolutely No More Pets" Keeler and Katy "Softie of the Century" Keeler, I'll tell you what you do--

You decide it's the 'right time' to get a PUPPY!!!

Holy smokes, I can't believe we are doing this...can you?

No one who has heard Robert on one of his no-pets rants will believe this is actually going to happen! I can hardly believe it myself. Let me give a bit of backstory...Robert was getting so fired up during his 'no more pets' lectures to the kids (especially if Gracie had just done something naughty) that the kids were starting to get really upset. Sophie was crying in her room one night, so worried that something was going to happen to Gracie and they would never have another pet again! :-( We had a little chat about not being quite so hardline about the whole thing...the less said, the better!

Well, you know our family motto could be "Never say never!"

A few months ago, I mentioned to Robert that I had read somewhere about a father who strongly believed that 'every little girl should have a puppy'. It was just a cute story & I shared it with my sweetie. I expected no change of heart, just a smile, but surprisingly Robert told me he'd recently had a conversation with someone along the same lines, and the person pointed out that if you bring a new pup in while the older dog is still around, the oldster will help to teach the newcomer the 'ways of the pack'. This, combined with SERIOUS lobbying from the kids plus a fortuitous visit to the Kloke home last week where I fell in love with their adorable girl Kylie, led to checking into the Jackapoo breed as a possible pet for us.

One thing led to another and we found a breeder who had a puppy (girl) available so I e-mailed just to ask for some general information. I NEVER dreamed this would turn into ANYTHING--trust me on that one! I heard back the next morning (that would be this very morning) and shared the information with Robert. Then the breeder called and I asked Robert to talk to the guy. Hey, we don't need any more pets where I was the 'softie' who begged to have the animal! I am just the accomplice in this Dad story of changing one's mind. :-) LOL.

Within a few hours we had discussed the possibilities--we can drive to meet someone in Iowa on Monday morning!--and voila! It seems we are going to be the very excited & proud owners of a sweet girl Jackapoo puppy...currently named Scarlett! HOW exciting!!! I am still in a bit of shock!

Pros: The kids will be OVER THE MOON, plus they have been proving themselves to be super-responsible pet-sitters as they both have had a dog-sitting job during Spring Break. Robert will be a hero! It will be a lot of fun all the way around and the kids are really a wonderful age both for the responsibility and the co-training of a puppy. :-)

Cons: Definitely we'll be more tied to the house...it's been eons since Robert & I have raised a puppy, and we are not exactly "the dog whisperer" type (but we're going to give it our best effort). Will the pup get along with Gracie? Time will tell.

More updates soon. I hope to post a photo, too!

Sccchhhwwwaaaaa!

An ode to my Keurig Coffeemaker—

I have always had a deep love of the dark stuff—coffee, that is. Brewed nice & strong, no cream or sugar. It’s something I dearly wish Robert shared with me. I have always felt it could bring us even closer together! But alas, a mocha is as close as he gets. I myself rarely go to Starbucks or Caribou, preferring a GREAT cup (or two) of coffee at home every day.

When I discovered a coffeepot with a thermal carafe, that was mighty fabulous! Hot coffee, not scorched. But then, on the recommendation of an acquaintance, I purchased a Keurig in 2007 and have never looked back! I would do an unpaid commercial for very few things—TiVo, Picasa, and now my adored Keurig makes the list!

Every single morning it makes me SO happy!

Update: In March 2008 my beloved Keurig sprung a leak somehow. Horrors! I quickly called customer service and they kindly shipped me another one which arrived 4 days later on my doorstep. Amazing! Older & wiser…tuned in to the great joy it brings to my mornings…I seized the opportunity to take pictures when it came!

Could you hear the “ssssssccccchhhhhhhwwwwwaaaaaaa” music when I opened the box?
Or was that just me?

Rough week!

Wow...that's about all I can say! Monday morning dawned, and when I padded downstairs to brew my usual first cup of coffee I realized something was wrong...very wrong... My beloved Keurig coffeemaker had somehow sprung a leak! AAAAAACCCKKKK!

This is not good. I'm not the most self-indulgent girl (really, not THE most) but I do adore a truly fabulous cup of coffee in the morning! Oh all right, two cups. And when I jumped on the recommendation and got myself a Keurig last spring it took my morning 'perk' to an entirely new FANTASTIC level! Not since TiVo and Picasa have I been this enthusiastic about a product!

Back to my tale of woe...I tried de-scaling as directed but it didn't matter--there was a leak, no denying it! I stuck the whole thing into a huge aluminum roaster pan we happened to have on hand and hoped it wouldn't short out. After work I called customer service hoping their words of wisdom could solve the leaking issue long-distance. No dice. HOWEVER (this is where it gets good)...the lovely customer service rep ruled that the leak sounded like it was internal and she would send me out a new coffeemaker RIGHT AWAY. What??? Too good to be true! It arrived on my doorstep on Friday, and this time I knew the value, the sheer importance, the significance of the fabulous Keurig coffee maker in my everyday life...

...and so I took pictures to celebrate its arrival!

There was singing. A bit of dancing. A few "Sccchhhwwaaaaa"'s and bars of "You're beautiful...beautiful...beautiful to me...." Sophie asked me if I was going to kiss it. Maybe!!

The Power of One

Leo Buscaglia : The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt.

My brush with scrapbooking 'fame'...I won!

Yeah...I wish I had won this scooter! Unfortunately not. I did however win some lovely cardstock from the fab Stacy Julian!
[details from Simple Scrapbook blog below]
Yesterday's winner posted this:
This was fun...I'm so practical I don't do this type of thing very often (read: ever). A few things that give me a serious thrill when I see them are: a Tiffany bracelet, that Gap Crazy Stripe Vespa scooter (my hubby looked into getting me one for mother's day--WHAT a guy!), non-Mom-mobile vehicles, great shoes (!)...and really gorgeous drapes for the bare windows! Posted by: keelermom (February 7, 2008)

I mean, how could I resist? She wants THE most colorful scooter I have ever seen. I have a very snazzy green scooter that I got for my 40th birthday and I absolutely love it! I know, how about I send you some very colorful cardstock, so you'll be ready to scrapbook that scooter when it arrives?

BTW, Loved ALL your WANT lists. My goal was to let you spend a few minutes wishing and dreaming, which I believe much like exercise gives those endorphins a kick in the pants. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the exercise and that many of you will take the additional time to scrapbook your list. Perhaps you could journal a bit about your blessings and contentment and then include a big "BUT ... here, for the record, are a few of my wants ..."

It's part of your story and it will surely be fun for you to look back on how many of these things will come to pass and perhaps even show up in future photographs!!

It is not the home...

Great quote:

"It is not the home I love, but the life that is lived there..."


Ah...I LOVE that!

Doesn't she have a great life?

I wish I could remember every single fabulously adorable thing my 2 fabulously adorable children have ever said! Here is one...and this was actually written, not said, at the end of Sophie's "About the Author" page for the white book she & her classmates are making at school.

Doesn't she have a great life?

I absolutely, positively LOVE it!!

And yes, I'd have to agree that she DOES. :-)

Dance Your Heart Out!

This was so cool today--Sophie's dance team performed their Lyrical routine to "When Somebody Loves You" at the Mall of America. This was an exhibition dance at an event called "Dance Your Heart Out" to raise money & awareness for a cool place called Camp Heartland, which is set up to serve kids whose lives are affected by HIV/AIDS, most of whom live in poverty.

Such a cool opportunity for the girls to do something they love for such a great cause.

The MOA was crazy-crowded, loud, and parking was at a premium...but it seemed to be very, very worth it.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Tech attempt!

I am exploring...it's quite likely I will hurt myself while trying to figure out the ins & outs of Picasa Web Albums and Flickr! Whew. I can't wait until Ryan can explain it all to me.

Here is my attempt to imbed a slideshow from Googe Web albums (or was it Flickr? LOL).

I hope it works! If it does, enjoy!

{updated} --AAAACCCKKK!!! I am SO excited! It worked!





Here is the story to go along with the pics of kids + Wii.

Gift cards & cash received for Christmas gifts -- $170
Eight Days of dog-sitting [3 dogs] by Ryan & Sophie -- $150

Having enough money to buy the family a Wii for New Year's -- PRICELESS

Having 2 parents who strolled into Best Buy "just to check" and scored the last Wii in the store [that day] -- EVEN BETTER!

Good times!

WOWSA have I been a bad blogger! Since switching to the Mac that extra step or two seems to have really slowed me down. Good. ness.

Here is the quote I want to remember:

If the world is to be a better place, my nation must first be changed. If my nation is to be changed, my hometown must be made over. If my hometown is to be reordered, my family must be set right. If my family is to be regenerated, I myself must first be. --A Purnell (?)

Self-portraits

I find it amusing that after years & years of barely being in our scrapbooks that an online scrapbooking class last year got me fired up & determined to get more pictures of (gasp!) ME. And since I usually have to ask someone to take a photo of me and then I feel all stiff & uncomfortable because I had to ask so I don't like the result anyway...well...

I'll just say that when I got the MacBook one of the features I had no idea I'd come to love is the Photo Booth! I am taking a challenge this year--well, sort of--the challenge is to take a photo of myself every day (but I already blew it). It's called The 365 Challenge. Mine will most like be in the high 100s...maybe more, though! You never know.

At any rate, in case someone finds my photo booth pictures and thinks I am the world's biggest narcissist...I really don't think I am, but I'm not afraid of my own 42-year old face, either. After a while I stopped going "eeeeewww!" and started making peace with things. Things such as how to best hold my head to minimize extra chins, and how far away to be so it's just grainy enough to be kind to my complexion... Truth be told, I have finally wised up to the fact that I most likely won't be getting any better looking (miracles notwithstanding)...which is a little mid-life of me, but there you go!

So now, I have some photos of me in case they are ever needed or wanted! Just regular joe, daily life pics. And you know what? Apparently I wear a great deal of brown.

A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E

This happy face is proud with good reason--today Ryan made it to the Top Two in the 5th Grade Spelling Bee!  VERY exciting stuff!  He will go on to the district-level bee later in the month.  WOW!  We are super proud of him [natch].  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!