It Actually Snowed This Year!

March 14.

So, it snowed!  One of the few times this winter, we actually had snow on the ground.  I threw on a coat and headed out to the garden to see what was hiding under the white blanket.  Here's what I found...

I'm so glad spring is coming!


Back to life,
Christine

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December in Photos

Here's the entire month of December up until Christmas...

Thomas and I went to Trader Joe's to stock up for Christmas prep, and we found a chocolate bar.  A really huge chocolate bar.  Two kilos, to be exact.  Of course I bought it.  It was, after all, just one chocolate bar.

For my work Christmas party at the beginning of December, I had promised on multiple occasions to bake my cake.  So I did. Here's the recipe, in case you wanted it.

December 4 -- our first snow!  The first snow is always the most exciting.  (The last snow is the second-most exciting.)

Fernando left for Knoxville, Kentucky on December 5.  He spent two weeks there in training to be a full-fledged field service technician.  No-- is really loving him so far, and I know Fernando will quickly pick up the technology in the high-speed lamination industry.  He has such a big, sexy brain!

I brought home the rest of my cake from our work Christmas party.  Yeah, my co-workers complained.  But my guys were complaining more loudly, and I have to live with them.

December 9 -- Manicotti Day!  Mom and I kept things simple and made a beautiful batch of Christmas dinner manicotti.

December 11 -- at a Christmas party that I attended where my parents and my younger brother were also invited.  I missed Fernando, but we had a blast together with the other guests.  Two piano guys (Duelling Pianos) played music all night, and dancing broke out; I got Dad and Mom to dance together!  It was awesome.

Random photos of me while Fernando was gone.  I like to have the guys take my picture so I can text them to Fernando so he doesn't forget what I look like.  Or that he has a wife.  :)

I throw some goofy ones in for good measure.

December 18 -- Once Fernando was home, we really just wanted to relax together, because we knew he was flying right back out on Monday.  But, friends invited us to a restaurant for dinner and they wouldn't accept a no, so we ended up having a great meal with them.  It was bitter cold that Sunday, too, and I ended up taking a picture of our frozen car, dirt-spattered and icicle-hanging, in the restaurant parking lot.

December 19 -- At an ungodly hour, I drove Fernando to O'Hare for his next trip.  On the way home, I saw, in person and for the first time, a sun dog!  I took an exit before my usual exit (and one that saves time--Fernando's trick!), since it goes by/through a forest preserve.  I pulled over in a parking lot, positioned the tree in the sun's line of sight, and got this beautiful image of my very first sun dog.  They generally occur shortly after sunrise and at super cold temperatures--it was about 11 below when I took this, I think--and they are much more magnificent in real life than in a photo.

December 21 -- New hair style day!  I got my hair cut, colored, and styled by the daughter of our beauty specialist.  I had it done in the morning, then drove up the street to work in the afternoon.  Andrea (our beauty specialist) took these pictures of me.

A lady gushed over my hair, so I gave her Ali's number and she made an appointment on the spot!

December 22 -- Fernando came home from his most recent trip, and Thomas and I drove to pick him up.  Thomas forgot to fill the gas tank, and we ended up circling around and around and around...  So once we picked up Fernando, we drove to the O'Hare Oasis on I-294 and filled up the tank.  It's so good to have Fernando home for just a little bit at Christmastime!

December 23 -- Fernando was coming to pick me up from work when Arabelle (my BMW) had a radiator burst and overheated.  The night ended up being a time of me shopping in my store while Danny and Thomas drove to meet Fernando, then Danny driving to my work to pick me up and bring me back to the parking lot of Our Lady of the Woods where Fernando pulled in.  Then, it was a tow truck pick-up and driving home, and trying to figure out how to get our BMW repaired.

Finally, the day before Christmas came and I found myself baking bread!  I had made a double batch of cinnamon rolls, which also means making two loaves of bread (my recipe makes enough dough for the equivalent of four loaves of bread).  Mmmm, warm bread with butter, all melty and delicious!

That's my December!  It has flown by in a flash, I can't believe it's Christmas, and the coming of a new year!!


Back to life,
Christine

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Random Signs of Spring

Mid-March.

I desperately wanted it to be spring already!  So I grabbed my camera and headed outdoors to see if I could find some signs of the elusive season.  Here's what I discovered.

Rhubarb barely poking its head out of the ground.

Garlic starting to come up.

Dead strawberry plants hang over the edge of the garden bed...

...but other strawberry plants are growing!

Day lilies are a sure sign of spring.

Moss in my porch garden looks otherworldly close up.

Hardy daisies are popping up in the front yard.

I found an autumn leaf stuck in the English thyme.

French sorrel is coming up red!

Little promises of daffodils!

Oregano is also a hardy herb.

Maple trees are budding.

I encountered some very promising signs of spring, which brought on the below:  Fernando grilled burgers for dinner!

Then, of course, a few days later, it snowed.

Such is spring in Chicagoland!


Back to life,
Christine

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February Blizzard

We seem to have blizzards at the beginning of February a lot, and this February delivered when it came to snow.

Here's what it looked like at around 10:00 a.m.:

And the back yard already had piles of white stuff, starting from 10:00 a.m.:

After lunch, my sweetie went to work on the driveway.  We're so thankful to have a snowblower!!

I'm also thankful I have guys so I don't have to do this job.  February snow isn't too bad, since spring is just around the corner!


Back to life,
Christine

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A Week of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving week.

A few days before Thanksgiving, this scene greeted me at our front door:

November 24.

It looks like it's a few days before Christmas!!  Fernando had a job and was gone just before Thanksgiving, and it worked out that he was able to drive the SAT truck home, and leave the Suburban at PSSI home base (Deerfield).  I waited up for him, and around midnight I heard a very distinct diesel engine on a very distinct vehicle as Fernando pulled into our driveway.

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving...

This Thanksgiving was extra special, since I was hosting the holiday for the very first time.  I had made a turkey once in my life, a few years back when we had the M. family over for a holiday season meal together.  That turkey took longer than expected, and this turkey did as well.  But it was worth the wait.  And it was okay, too, since Jacob had to work until 2:00pm and came home to the wonderful aroma of Thanksgiving food on the table.

My brother Jeff snagged my camera and took a shot of me opening the wine.  That's sort of a goofy face.  Really.  :)

Finally, dinner was ready and we crammed into the dining room, sans Matt and Char (who were with Char's relatives for the day), for our traditional family photo at the table.  It's a one-shot deal--take the picture, double-check it, put the camera away, and start the feast!

Thank You, Lord, that we're still in Illinois, that we didn't have to leave our sons behind, that work came to us.  Thank You for PSSI, for them wanting Fernando to work here.  Bless their company, and may Your gospel shine on Rick's heart as he trains Fernando, even though Rick is a very difficult person.

Thank You for our lovely home, the perfect size, the one we knew You chose for us, where our boys have grown up, where so many goofy and fun memories were made.  We continue to trust You for providing the ability for us to continue to live here.  Work, in Your timing, through the employees of Wells Fargo, as they consider our mortgage modification request so that we may be able to stay here.

Thank You for everything, for everything has come from You.  You are so good to us; no matter what You've allowed into our lives, it is for our good, and for Your glory.  Thank You.

Back to life,
Christine

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