I can hardly believe it is Thanksgiving .  I just finished baking 2 pumpkin pies for Granny's.  I tried a new recipe this year, saw it in the newspaper - Paula Deen's recipe, I figured if it came from her I couldn't go wrong.  I had some leftover filling so I baked it in a small dish.  As I post this, I am trying that filling out on some warmed up sourdough cinnamon rolls....Mmmm.....yummy.  I think they will like the pies ;-)
Well, ususally Thanksgiving weather in Oklahoma is kind of mild, mostly in the 50's - 60's  range......but not this year.  We are under a Winter Weather Advisory.  It is 31 degrees outside with a small chance of precip.
Makes me think back to our first day of Spring........we had one of the biggest snows recorded.    Have heard a lot of speculation about our Winter weather this year, they are calling for normal snowfall, but more ice.  That call for more ice makes me think back to 2007 and the ice storm we experienced while Ritzy was deployed with the Oklahoma National Guard.  No thank you very much!!!   At least this time I would be a little more prepared......Ritzy would be home, and I have that generator. 

Oh yeah, today is Ritzy's birthday.  Happy Birthday Ritzy!!!!!!    He catches up with me in age....at least til March, hehe!!
This cold I have been dealing with is hopefully on the downhill side.  This  coughing has about "ate my lunch", and I am ready for it to be over.  Also, I have kept Kleenex in business....  I sure hope I can taste that turkey and all the trimmings today.......if not, I am not gonna be very happy ;-)
The daughter and boyfriend are eating Thanksgiving lunch with his family in Joplin.   They will be here this evening to eat leftovers at Granny's.  I am gonna miss having them here, but it's ok.  I have told my kids that I understand if they have to be somewhere else on the holidays.  She already sent me a "text message" with her Thanksgiving wishes.   Actually, when I received it, I couldn't believe she was already up, haha!!  She's gonna get me for that one.....
I went  to Tulsa yesterday to help her box up a few things.  It looks like they will be moving their belongings to their house on Sunday.  What they need while staying here for a few weeks will be brought here.  As I said before, they don't want to move in the house till the floors are re-done.
I just want to tell everyone to go spend time with your loved ones if possible and have a great holiday!  Ritzywife out.............. 




 

Yeah, that is what I would like to know.  As I stated in my last post, I had "offended" my daughter and boyfriend, without meaning to of course all the while trying to think of them.  We got that all worked out and everything is cool.........but, here comes something else from a totally unexpected direction.....Sunday we observed the Lord's Supper at our church.  Well. for the last 7-8 years Ritzywife has been responsible for getting everything ready for that, only because no one else would.  No one said any different this time. Our attendence on Sunday night is really low (about 20).  So instead of filling 2 holders of grape juice and 2 plates of bread I only did one of each and thought if we all (small group, remember) sat together it would be easier on the deacons to serve.  Besides, there were only 3 present that night.  As we dismissed Church Training and proceeded to the sanctuary I suggested to a couple of the couples present that it might be easier if we all sat together.  One of the women spouted off--Well, what if we don't want to sit over there with you----which, really shouldn't have surprised me considering the source.  I just said to just sit where you want then......Another couple came in and noticed that everyone was sitting on the same side and said something and Barbara, the one who spouted off said "Cheryl, told us we HAD to sit over here.  I was up at the piano at the time hearing all of this complaining about sitting.....(good grief people, get over it) I could not believe it!!!   Well, here comes the preacher and his family and guess what----everyone started telling them that I was telling everyone where to sit. By this time I had just about had enough and was ready to walk out.  We finished our song and I went to sit by my Mom . Then, the preacher asked what was going on with everyone seated together and I raised my hand and said I would tell him.  I proceeded to tell him that we all knew there would only be a few there so I only filled one tray of juice and one plate of bread.  I was trying to make it easy on the ones serving.   Ritzy and Dad ( I thought, were going to be serving).  NOT!!!!!!  Well,  While telling him this , the ones complaining really started spouting things off about me saying that Cheryl said this or Cheryl made us do this.  All lies.... All I did was suggest that it might be easier if we just all sat as a group.  I turned at one point and said " I am about ready to leave",   they may have thought I was joking but I was dead serious.  I had just about had enough of this.  We were in church, people!!!!!     It seems the preacher forgot to mention that he was going to serve everyone that night.   I was almost in tears at this time and VERY close to getting my things and walking out.  All I tried to do was make things easier on the ones having to do the work.  Well, that was not the end of it, forward to last night at home.  The daughter and boyfriend came back for a great-neice's birthday.  She turned 2.  After the party we were all at the house and the daughter brought up the subject that her gas tank was on E and it was 15 miles to the nearest gas station.  I looked at her and was telling her how dangerous that was .  Not only for her truck, but for her in general.  I told them to put some gas (that Ritzy had in the garage) in her truck before leaving.  Anyways, I was trying to explain to her to always have gas in  her truck.  You never know what could come up.  Well, the son and boyfriend were playing XBOX all this time and the son chimed in and told me to just keep my thoughts to myself because what I had to say didn't matter because they are gonna do  what they want.  Again, all I was trying to do was offer some helpful advice.  I simply closed my laptop, got up and proceeded to my bedroom.   Then the son made another comment about me leaving.  I turned (almost in tears again) and told him that this was the 3rd time in a week I had tried to help someone and dang near got my head bit off-----I was thru!!!!!    I then went to my room and sat for a while.
After a few minutes, the daughter knocked on the door and came in.  I told her that I was not trying to boss her around and that she would have NO IDEA what I was going thru until she had a son or daughter with a vehicle and out on their own. 
When I was younger, I would often wonder why some older people were so cynical and it would seem like they didn't care.  Well,  I am beginning to see why.......It would be so easy to just say "That's it, I've had enough of this"  and never try to help again.  But, I know me and I will probably never quit trying---and probably keep getting hurt......when it comes to my family.  As for church, I have always stepped in to do whatever needed to be  done, but I am now going to wait til I am asked to to a job.  It's time for someone else to do thier job!!!
That being said........Ritzywife is out.......................

Sometimes, it's the best feeling in the world.......and sometimes you think "what is going on here?"
First of all I want to get the fact stated  that I dearly love my family .  But I receieved a phone call yesterday that just threw me into a spin.   The daughter and boyfriend, and yes I said boyfriend, are moving out of their apartment and trying to buy a house. (Everyone who knows me knows how I feel about that, and I might add so do the daughter and friend). It is just about a done deal, but the timing is a little off.  There is going to be a 2 to 4 week period inbetween the time they have to be out of the apartment and when they can move into the house.  The house needs carpet replaced and a little work done on a wood floor.  Well they did not want all their stuff in there to work around (and I can't really blame them). So...they are going to store all their belongings in the garage of the house, but.....they were needing somewhere to stay.  Somehow (mother's intuition I guess) I knew this call was coming.  Anyways, she asked if they could move back in after being gone for 6 months.  I never expected the kind of emotions I felt as I got off the phone.  I don't know if I was angry at myself for feeling the way I did or realizing that 5 adults in our home was going to be really cozy.  Well, I was just trying to make things better for all when I made a call to my sister-in-law.  She is the one who lost her mother last month.  We had been talking and she told me that if the daughter needed somewhere to stay she was more than welcome to come stay in her mom's place (1200 sq. ft. of space) until they could move into their house.  I thought this was a great idea because everyone would have their privacy, space and be happy.  NOT!!!!!  The daughter and boyfriend were offended that I would even think of such an idea. I said I was not trying to offend anyone or hurt anyone or make anyone not feel welcome in our home.  I just told her that one of the things I heard most often before they moved out is how much they wanted their privacy.  I was only going by what I had heard them say.  Well, let's just say our home will be cozy for a while.  But......I told them that I was NOT  going to be anyone's maid, that they were to pick up after themselves, do their own laundry and help with the groceries.  I think that is more than fair.  
Like I have said before, I sure can "tick" people off, and not even intend to.  I haven't heard from either of them today, they are usually here by now to spend the weekend.
Now to today.....I haven't had the greatest day, last evening I was "chilling" and could not get warm and today my throat has been sore and scratchy and I have just felt "yucky".  I guess that this is the time of year to expect a cold.    Well, at 7:30 tonight the son came in here and wanted to re-arrange the living room.  We didn't do exactly what he wanted to do, but we did change things around a bit.  I hope everyone is happy with it. 
I still have to study my lesson for Sunday School tomorrow, so with that being said Ritzywife is out.............

 I have always thought that as you get older, your life slows down.  NOT!!!!!  I have been so busy , it's crazy.  Can't even remember what I did Monday........Yesterday was my sister-in-law's birthday.  This is the sister-in-law who recently lost her mother.  So.........Ritzywife had the bright idea to surprise her at her home with my mom and sisters bringing lunch.  I knew this birthday would be especially hard for her.   We would use the decoy of me calling her to tell her to be ready to go eat at an undisclosed place at 11:00 am, but instead we would all be meeting at her home at 11:00.    That was the plan anyways, but my mom and sister were not going to be able to make it because something unexpected came up..... so we decided to hold her party that evening.  Well....that meant I  had to take her out for real now.........My youngest sister was going to meet us at Chili's and surprise her. We ate at the Pryor Chili's.   The only thing about having the party at night was the fact that her son takes guitar lessons on Tuesdays at Claremore and they don't get home till about 8 in the evening.  Anyways we got all the people contacted for that surprise party.  I asked my brother to "call" me when they were a couple miles away. Yes, he was in on this from the beginning.  Well I got the "call" so we turned out the lights, ( we were inside because her two older sons have a key to the house, haha) and waited.  Everyone parked their cars behind the house and they were not visible.  The door opened, my brother turned on the light and we all yelled.... {{{{{{SURPRISE}}}}}.  It shocked her so much she just stood hiding behind the door for a minute. Yea!!!! We pulled it off.  There were about 25 friends and family present.  We all wanted her to know how much we love her and cared for her.  It turned out to be a great time for everyone........
She gave me a few "I am gonna get you back" looks but it was worth it.....I hope, haha!!!  Also, when she found out our brother was in on it she could not believe it.  I was so afraid someone would let something "slip".  Yesterday while we were on our way to and back from Pryor  I  turned off the bluetooth on my cellphone so it would not come thru my radio while in the truck.  I also turned the ringer off.  I did not want to give even a hint of what we were up to......Well, that was yesterday and now on to today.  Started out getting ready to meet the daughter in Owasso for a movie and lunch.  We had a great time.  Got back home and had to go down to my sister's house to help cut and wrap 3 deer.  The daughter's boyfriend and Dad got these while on a hunting trip to Nebraska last week.  They were going to pay the processors to process the meat and I told the boyfriend that  we would do it for just some of the meat.  No sense in paying for something like that.  So, after returning home as I said before I went to the sisters house and began helping.  We worked till it was time to go to chruch. (7:00 pm)  After chruch, I went back down there and we quit at 11:00 pm.  Got everything done except 4 gallon bags full.  We will do that tomorrow.  That should not take long at all.......and now here I am at 1:45 on Thursday morning and I am feeling the bed call me.  I am also starting to hit the wrong keys on my laptop.  Time to call it a day......Ritzywife out.......................

Today is a day we set aside to honor all Veterans.  I just want to say---"THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE"......

We all need to stop and think about where we would be without their sacrifice...I have:
 2 uncles who served during WWII
 1 uncle who served in Vietnam
2 uncles who served during peacetime
 a nephew who served in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)
 and my husband who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq)...
Chili's was offering a free meal for veteran's today so Ritzy and I ate a late lunch there.  At the time  we were  dining, there were about a dozen veterans also enjoying a meal.  It was very good..
My sister and I had a visit with a cousin (by marriage) today.  The conversation turned toward--- how, as Christians, the way we raise our kids and what they choose to do anyway.  The point was brought up that we should not be so hard on them when they choose a lifestyle that is NOT suitable for a person that claims to be a Christian.  I believe that as a Christian a person should stand up for what they believe in and not give in to what is going on around them.  Not to the point of a "better than thou " attitude, mind you, but others should be able to see our lives and see that our living measures up to what we "talk".  If we see someone in our family or even in our church  just throwing their life to the wind and letting it fall where it may.....it is wrong not to hold them accountable for their choices... and not how we are called to live.  People always get hurt, whether it be adults or children when we make choices that are not according to what God expects.   I am NOT saying we will always be perfect, but when we do "mess up" the thing to do is get it straightened out and live the way we profess.
This may sound like a lot of "preaching" but I really believe that  the reason our country is in the shape it is in today is because we (Christians) try to "blend in , not hurt anybody's feelings, not be noticed and put up with peoples ideas and attitudes.  Our country was founded on Christian principles and we have strayed so far away it is hard to see where we will end up.  I do know if we stay on the track we are on now it will NOT be good.  It's ok if you disagree, but the thing for me is-----I know what I beleive and who I believe in and I know what is expcted of me and will try my best to live the kind of life that will match my "talk"......
Ritzywife out.......................

Yeah, that's what I call these chicken & noodles.   They sure were good.... Ritzy, the son and I ate almost all of them.....
The wind was blowing pretty hard all day and leaves were going everywhere.  I do believe Fall is here.  We have a freeze warning here in Oklahoma tonight. 
I was talking to the son earlier and asked about his making some deer jerky earlier in the week.  Well, he had taken items out of the cabinet to look for some cayenne pepper.  He found the pepper, but forgot to put the items back in the cabinet.  One of those items, which was laying beside a dehydrator was a bag of chocolate chips.  I was telling him that what I now have thanks to his leaving that bag out is .....a bag of "chocolate chips" and a bag of "chocolate chip"........that's right, about half of one of the bags melted into 1 piece.  Guess I will have to get out the grater (or  hammer, hahaha) when I get ready to make cookies. 
Not too much going on around this household right now and that is fine with me........
I made reservations today for our family to visit Branson sometime next month.  Instead of buying gifts for Christmas, we are all going to take a mini-vacation together and have some fun!!!!!!  You cannot put a price on family or the time you spend together.....PRICELESS
It's time for me to clean my kitchen and start getting ready for bedtime.......Ritzywife out!!

I can hardly believe 2010 is almost gone.  The weather sure is changing, which here in Oklahoma is a good thing... I looked out the window today and the leaves were really falling.  The ground is just about covered in leaves right now.  You can certainly "see" & "feel" Fall in the air right now. 
Ritzy and I were supposed to go to town to buy our groceries tonight, but I just didn't feel like it.  Instead I cooked some cabbage rolls for supper.  I have been "craving" these for a long time.  I have never cooked them in our 26 years of being married. (don't know why, but.....  Could be, because I now have the internet to access all those great recipes, haha).... Used to eat them when I was growing up.  I started looking for recipes online and found a couple.  Took those and "tweaked" them, added a few more ingredients and seasonings  and..........wa-la.......Ritzywife's Cabbage Rolls ;-)
   Below is a picture of them as they are finishing cooking on the stove....