Why cant everyday be Saturday??

As Saturdays go, mine was pretty wonderful.

It started with me sleeping late, having cereal and coffee then immediately starting beef stew in the crockpot for food ministry delivery. It was such a beautiful day, cold but sunny.

I had to get dressed a little earlier than I would have liked to, the man came to start step one of the three step process of staining the island, the pantry doors and the front door. Here they are after step two had been finished. Step Three wont be done until next weekend sometime.




The smell- and trying to stay out of the way- forced all the windows open and me upstairs to do something not so glamorous but oh so necessary....and something I had been avoiding for over a month..... gather tax information for drop off at H&R Block.

When I had the kitchen to myself again, I made mini loaves of chocolate chip banana bread and packaged them for delivery and then turned my attention to my scrap booking, that I am embarrassed to say has been sitting half-finished for quite some time. I am determined to have this scrapbook finished this week. Its from my vacation. My vacation in September. I just cant seem to finish it. I blame the subject matter.

Looking at all the pictures of Oregon makes me want more than one big vacation a year. Makes me want to go back. Tomorrow. Or at least in September when our one big vacation time rolls around again.

It is unbelievably beautiful in Oregon. See?





Its my turn to pick our vacation spot this year, and I am seriously thinking about going back to Oregon. There was so many things I did not get to do! The Tillamook Cheese Factory Tour! The wine country Tour! The covered bridges Tour! The just sitting on a bench looking out at the ocean tour!

This is the other contender.

Because it was snowing on Friday morning, (something I never thought I would say....) I had a rare morning at home until 10:00a.m. Between looking out the kitchen window at the snow, I took advantage of the situation to do all the laundry, clean the kitchen, vacuum, and generally do all the routine housework, thus leaving the washer free this weekend to do the big stuff like clean the comforters and blankets.

I fought sinus problems this weekend and did not feel good, so much so that I declined an invitation from my friend to see a movie and from my husband to go out to a Pre-Valentine's dinner. I ended up taking a nap while the blankets and comforter were in the washer. I just crawled into the unmade bed without any covers and went to sleep. But I felt worse when I got up.

But I did get up to this:


Which was a huge surprise, because I had already gotten my gift earlier this week when we got this:


Yes, its a freezer in the garage.

I was going to say something witty about asking for a freezer for the garage for Valentine's Day, but the truth is I really really wanted one. So much so, I made a deal with the hubs that this year I will gladly forgo the usual big bouquet of florist delivery roses and instead apply the money to the freezer, which he happily agreed.

Then I woke up to a bouquet fixed by the hubs of grocery store roses in a "vase" (an empty flour canister) and a king cake.

I have to admit that this year, like no other year, I will be jumping for joy when Mardi Gras is over and somehow I did not slip into a sugar coma (Fat Tuesday is this Tuesday, thus the end of Mardi Gras and the beginning of Lent.)

Unfortunately for me, my next door neighbors let me in on the fact that the little grocery store close to our house has the best King Cake in the City and, although I protested, ("No! I don't really like king cake... they are so dry") she sent me home with two big pieces of it. Of course, she thought I would be sharing, but when I ate the first piece I was so impressed, I had to go eat the second piece as well, only stopping myself long enough to give the husband a small bite.

This was the beginning of the Mardi Gras season 2010 which will forever be known at my house as the season we lost our minds and ate more Carter's King Cakes than in the last ten years combined. We were so sick in love with them that we started buying them two at a time. Then, in early January, when the State Police was warning everyone to stay off the icy roads, we actually went out one night, in 19 degree weather, to get one (or two).

Thank goodness I cant get any more King Cake after Tuesday.

For some reason (the nap? The sugar? The pictures of Oregon?) I could not sleep. I ended Saturday by eating cereal and watching TV at 11:30 p.m.

How was your Saturday?