Message to Prairie Princess....

A sabbatical you have taken,
has left us feeling forsaken.

We trust you will return,
Otherwise we will yearn

For those posts that made us smile,
due to your fantastic writing style.

Today I took the road less traveled

My mother is an English major and at various times through my life has recited poetry and literature by memory. One of those recitations left an impact on me that not even she realizes. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost- I was drawn to it as a child, it was intriguing to me. As an adult, it has been my mantra. I have read it at various times in my life, using it as a reminder that the safe choice is not always the most rewarding. It has served me well, mainly in my career.

Today my husband and I took a vacation day and continued our "adventure" of searching for a piece of land to build on. There is one lot in particular that has grabbed us and won't let go. There are various ways to get to it but we like to find an excuse to take the road that is steep, narrow and gravel.

The moment I saw this picture from today on that gravel road I immediately thought of the Robert Frost poem. Once again, reminding me that the safe choices are not necessarily the best. There are practical reasons to not live in the country (well water, commute, no subdivision) but for us we think the road less traveled may be the best reward. We shall see.


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Man, I love a good list (and some Easter grass)

I love lists- I'm not bashful about it. I like making them, I like checking things off of them and I like reading other people's lists.

My list for today- Things I successfully avoided on my day off:

The pile of laundry on the dining room table- you know if you avoid the pile long enough eventually people pilfer enough off and it magically disappears

The bills- although I did do a fantastic job of putting them in a nice little pile on my desk

Library fines- so maybe we have a few overdue books and videos.... what's another day?

Running- I think I'm going into hibernation, I'm eating a massive volume of food and avoiding physical activity at all costs

Reading the Backyardigans book for the 15th time this week- this was purely a stroke of luck on my part, I must have caught him at a weak moment when I slipped in a replacement

Shaving my legs- back to that hibernation thing, you need a good coat before winter comes

The pile of garbage/bills/pictures/important papers/etc on the bed in our spare bedroom- oh there is also some Easter grass you stuff in baskets, you never know when you'll need that

See, so really I was quite productive today. Go me.

Towering Red Rocks

In my unofficial Top 10 places I have been, Sedona Arizona is definitely on the list. Hubby and I visited this summer sans child- we ate, drank, hiked, 4 wheeled, visited ancient Indian ruins and then did it all over again the next day.

Hubby took this pic at the top of Catheral Rock- one of the tougher hikes we did but definitely the most rewarding.

Solitary

I am one of those people who have thousands of pictures loaded on their computer yet never develop them. So this pic is for a certain friend of mine who shall remain nameless. She commented the only way she gets to see any of my vacation pics is to read my blog. This certain friend is also the reason my blog is named "Anneabelle", ah I digress. More about her later.

I have a couple favorites from our trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowsone but today this one wins the prize. I love the contrast of the tree against the Tetons. And the tree is a reminder of how harsh and brutal the environment can be in the winter.

Oreo's

Somebody stop me. Seriously. I can't stop (ok, let me rephrase that- don't want to stop) eating the Double Stuff Oreo's.

And I can confirm it's all my son's fault (see- you can blame your kids). He has a book from the library about counting Oreo's and ever since I have been buying them. Instead of counting them, I just eat them.

Oh no, I couldn't just get the regular Oreo's. I had to get the mother of all Oreo's- the Double Stufferoo. I can only imagine what my husband was thinking as he saw them slip into our cart again at Target today. Of course, I offered up the obligatory, "look they are on sale".

Did you know they make an excellent appetizer? I can attest that 3 of them before Pizza night makes a well balanced meal.

Some of the things we loved as a kid (i.e. Ramen noodles, Chunky soup, Fruit Rollups) now thankfully fall into the category of "did I really use to eat those"? But some of the childhood addictions slipped right on through to adulthood- Doritos, Taco Bell, Fruity Pebbles and the dreaded OREO.

I must stay strong. But I won't. What's the fun in that? I really need to return that library book.

Things I have done since I left work....

Received a running start hug from my 3 year old that almost knocked me over

Ate a burrito from Qdoba

Borrowed/Stole/Used tequila from my brother for the margaritas that are a requirement for eating Qdoba

Watched my 3 year old cry because he didn't want to take a bath

Watched my 3 year old cry because he didn't want to get out of the aforementioned bath

Checked my ever growing list of blogs for new posts

Checked my work e-mail- Ok, I need to get a life if this is how I'm spending my Friday evening

Listened to The Fray at a deafening volume in my car and sang at the top of my lungs- think anyone noticed?

Checked the weather for Sunday night- we have tickets to the Playoff game!!!!!!! Beer, hotdogs, baseball, a cold fall night and my hubbie- that's good stuff.

Listened to my son get the hiccups- one of the many unfortunate traits he inherited from his momma

Tried to talk my husband into watching a recent episode of Oprah- this is making me laugh as I type it. To my defense it's an interview with a NY Times columnist who released a book regarding the war, our President and the media's coverage of both.

Tucked my son into bed with the "bestest biggest hug ever"

2 minutes later listened to my son sound like he was climbing the walls- sleep, who needs it?

Picked my son up off the floor of his bedroom, sound asleep next to his books and put him in bed. He puts up a good fight against sleep but thankfully, sleep eventually always wins.

And last but not least, fixed one of my items posted earlier for some incredibly nasty grammar, must have been "margarita speak"

Goodnight.

Should we jump?

Ok, so there is a house in a little town called Defiance, MO that has been quietly grabbing our attention for months now. So we finally decided, instead of looking at it online all the time why don't we actually go look at IT. Uh Oh.

Anneabelle loves the house- now fondly renamed the "treehouse". It's on 3 acres of beautiful woods with a view out the back that would make anyone pause for a second to take it in. Is it perfect? No, but it's quite close to perfection for me. Small, but not too small. Different, but not too different. And did I mention the view?

We talk all the time about moving out to the middle of nowhere on land. It's on our official list of "things we want to do". But now that we have the opportunity it's a little scary.

There are little voices in the back of my head saying this is a bit crazy and then there is a really loud voice saying "DO IT!" Stay tuned....