A Griswald Christmas

When I was dating Jason and his favorite Holiday Tradition was watching Christmas Vacation, I should have known that this day was coming. It started off simply enough. We loaded up the family and headed to Grandma and Grandpa's land to find our first fresh Christmas Tree. We started up the steep mountain, but soon realized it was just too cold and blustery for little Autumn. I entrusted Jro with the kids and the picking of the tree



Autumn and I sang songs, counted "10......4........2......10" , and learned the great art of drawing on a fogged up window. They were gone for over an hour! I was getting nervous because Jaxen had hurt his knee the day before and I wondered if he was stuck somewhere or lost.



Frozen, red faced and smiling they came barreling down the mountain. There she was.....our humble tree. I just watched in awe as it was loaded, tied down and tagged. The true magnitude of Jason's "Clarkian" choice was not realized until it was stood up and grazed our ceiling. (to his credit it was a perfect guess..... that is if you want to touch the ceiling with your Christmas Tree) To be honest, the only thought I had was "Holy Crap.....now what do we do with it?"





Now the Rozeski's, like the Griswalds, do nothing half way. So it was secured to the wall and watered. Then, in an act I could watch in amazement, Jason actually grafted in branches he had gathered into the bare places.



Voila! Oh, wait....now it wa time to decorate it!





We all lived, the tree still stands, we are set for the Holidays!

The Two-Bit

1980's Girl Flashback

Feeling Weird

(Warning: Self-Searching Post......not for the merely mildly interested in my life)

I guess "weird" is the only word I can think of. I'm not depressed. I'm not unhappy. I'm just feeling.......WEIRD. I think I am lacking in motivation, but I'm not sure what I am supposed to be motivated to do. Things are going well, not perfect, but well. Still, I feel like there is something I am supposed to be doing that I am not doing. My mind is not lacking in ideas, just lacking in the ability to sort through and pick a direction. I feel like my life is opening up for some new horizons, some new skills, something NEW, but I can't choose which way to go. My interests are so varied, yet I stop myself from believing that I can learn some of the skills I want so badly. Photography, cooking, languages, exercise, interior design, running, painting, pottery and baking. I'm realistic to know I have to knock these out one at a time, but where do I start? Should I be looking for a new way to make some money. Should I just depart from what I know and try something totally new? I don't know, so I am doing nothing. It feels yucky, but where to start?

First snow!

I am not good at traditions! I tend to forget, or try new things too often. A woman in my ward told me about an easy one that I'm adopting. She always makes fresh cookies the day of the first snow. Since, snow is a big deal in the family, basically signaling the start of ski season, I thought we would try it.


Surprisingly, there were no complaints from the crew!

Big Girl Bed

Wow, although I had asked Jason to take down the crib and to put it out for the garbage men, when I came home and saw this sight, my heart sank.


Four babies have slept in this bed. It would always go back into storage with the hopes of more coming. Now, we are entering a new phase in our family. It feels good to be settled, to feel done with the stage..... but it also feels REALLY SAD!!! There is nothing like the anticipation of wanting a baby, expecting a baby and then finally meeting that baby. Ten years of my life have revolved around these decisions and choices of how many, when to try and picking out names. I have been so blessed, and I feel humbled that I was able to have them so easily. I know what a struggle it is for so many of my friends and I am grateful for what I have been given and this time of having babies.

She will be two this month, and while it may seem a big early, the truth is, I was ready to paint the girls rooms and decorate.....Finally! She is doing great. It has been about three weeks and no trouble so far.

Mild October and Pizza success!

This fall has been spectacular! The weather has been so mild, the leaves have lasted weeks and weeks! Colorado has the most days of sunshine of anywhere in the US and I am loving it this time of year.



Halloween night. No coats, no mittens.









And to my pizza success! I have always wanted to make a super yummy homemade pizza, but I could not get the crust right. Always too thick or it would be too much like bread. Then, Elijah made a new friend, Diano, whose mom is from Italy. I asked her what she does. Expecting to hear something about yeast or a special kind of flour, I was shocked when she revealed her secret. She goes to the bakery of her store and asks for their frozen french bread. I didn't even know you could do that! I must admit that I was nervous to ask, but they acted like it was a totally normal request. Instructions: Defrost, roll thin.

By far the easiest and yummiest pizza of my many attempts.