Thoughts From a Frazzled Mind

Food 4 Thought Friday Thanks to Jodi. I am at work, so I don't have any pictures - sorry! Breakfast What was your favorite costume you ever wore for Halloween? Add photos if you want! One year my sister in law helped me make the greatest spider costume that has eight long arms that are attached so that they move! When I wear it no one knows who I am! Kim and I once went as rodeo clowns – we looked pretty great if I do say so! Also we went as half man/half woman once. Kim even shaved half of his moustache and beard for that one! It is the only time I have ever seen him without a moustache! He started growing it back the next day!!!!! Lunch What are your Halloween traditions? Are you going trick-or-treating or staying home and passing out candy? How much do you get in the Halloween spirit? (three course lunch today!) We ALWAYS have a pumpkin carving night were we carve elaborate pumpkins. Of course, Kim’s is always the best, and he takes the shortest time to carve it. Since B...

Sunday my dad celebrated his 75th birthday . This was really quite an accomplishment - in more ways than one. First of all, he was such a daredevil as a kid that the neighbors all called him " the damn fool Duerden kid !" My dad believed all of his life that he never would reach the age of 50. Since he made it so far past 50, I guess he decided to test his luck as much as possible and he had both major heart surgery and surgery for a broken neck within the last two years! Honestly, he really never should have survived many of the things that life threw his way. We call him the incredible, invincible man . We celebrated his special day with dinner and games at my sister, Roxane's, house. We had my incredibly talented niece, Kristiann, make his cake - isn't it great? My dad just loves to fix lawn mowers, and spends many hours a day working on them - so this cake is just perfect! For our dinner Rox had planned a special treat . First she played a game in which we we...

Saturday afternoon was the annual Olsen Family Halloween party . (A special thanks goes out to Mickel for all the hard work she puts into this party!) We decorated pumpkins, bobbed for apples, and ate great food! There was a pumpkin hunt for the little kids and games for the bigger ones. We also had prizes for the best costume and best pumpkins ! This year Kim & I dressed up like (virtuous) Sandy and Danny from Grease . Doesn't Kim look fantastic in the "greaser" wig? We made Tasha a China Doll costume, complete with "made in China" label on the back. Quite a few people remarked that they didn't even recognize her! Isn't she adorable? Shandra spent so much time helping the rest of us look good that she didn't have time for much of a costume, so she just donned a wig and transformed into a blonde movie star . Of course the hit of the evening was our adorable little " Alfalfa ". With his pointed cowlick and cute little freckles he lo...

Last Friday we were invited to Troy and Carol's house for pizza and games along with Dave & Jodi and Mike & Carrie. It has been way too long since we have gotten together with them! Carol made homemade pizza - with wheat crust! It was wonderful! It was interesting to talk with Carrie. She is a Canadian citizen, and she shared information about the healthcare systems up there. Jodi made this absolutely incredible Earthquake Cake that was truly amazing! (It would have been perfect if she had forgotten the coconut.) After dinner we adjourned to the family room for some fun games - and tons of laughter! We played Eye to Eye and Linkety. Troy and Dave are both so competitive that is fun to watch them try to outdo each other! Mike and Troy have been friends for so long that they have code words that only they know. For example, the two of them both quote the movie "Shrek" so when the category of "things with layers" was announced, they both immediately said ...