Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!

Last night was the annual

Santa on the fire truck.

Took a little doing, but we FINALLY got in the right

place to park and stand by the road to wave 

and take pictures 

and get candy thrown at us.

We kept coming around the corner and there they

were - in FRONT of us - again!

 

But since we were all wearing our Santa hats,

we just rolled down our windows, waved and

pretended to be part of the parade!

This is a tradition that goes back more than 30 years.

Rod and his brothers used to ride on the

old town fire trucks before they moved to Utah!

And after we got married and moved back here,

they continued the tradition,

with Rod acting as Santa and his brothers

as helpers.

They even got called to a "house fire".

Was the lady ever surprised to have

Santa Claus himself come to put out her fire!

(DO NOT start a fire in your fireplace using

BBQ starter and then try to put it out

using your canisters of flour and sugar!

It makes a MESS on your beautiful white stone fireplace...)

This morning we are enjoying a leisurely breakfast

while sitting by a roaring fire.

Ok, it's on the big screen TV.

Provided by the Hallmark Movie Channel.

When they switched to movies,

we moved to the UP channel for

a different fire and more Christ centered music.

Makes a nice background.

(And since it's already 71 here in Florida,

it's the only kind of roaring fire we can really have...)

There is a big pot of Cranberry Wassail

on the stove, making the house smell awesome.

The rolls are rising in preparation for dinner.

All is right with the world.

(Still waiting for Jim and Sabrina - but they'll be here soon...)

5 Days Til Christmas...

Whew!

I made it!

Well… I haven’t MADE it.

But I survived the last couple of days.

The last few days were a whirlwind

of activity.

Not much of it was Christmas related.

Some was…

For example:

Wednesday evening –

Home from work at 4:30

Let the chickens out and gather eggs

Start washing eggs

Walk next door to get empty egg cartons

Finish washing eggs

(at the same time)

Bake 3 dozen Cranberry Nut Cookies

(TOTALLY YUMMY and on plan!)

Toss on some make up and leave for Wendy’s

Realize I’m out of fuel and stop to get a splash.

Arrive at Wendy’s 7:02 (was supposed to be there at 7)

Spend an hour tutoring a delightful student

from my Substituting Gig in West Palm.

Meet Rod at Wendy’s at 8:00 for dinner.

They don’t have any forks.

Switch to “to go” and head home to eat.

MEANWHILE

Bake a TOTALLY YUMMY and on plan

Ham/Swiss/Spinach Quiche

for the department Cookie Exchange / Brunch.

The cookies and quiche turned out great.

I brought home 9 different kinds of cookies

(and NO quiche)

(for Kyle, since NONE of them are “on plan”)

(read: sugar laden and made with white flour)

Which ones did he eat?

MY Cranberry Nut! 

(Had to nip THAT in the bud – those are MINE! LOL)

Oooooo, just glanced over – I have ONE hiding in a

baggie on my desk!  SNACK for later!

(they are tiny and SUPER rich)

Last night all I had to do was walk next door and

Get paid for my eggs.

Plus clean out the rabbit house and bring

them some new hay.

They are MESSY!

Well, and feed the chickens and horses.

But that’s every day.

When we walked next door,

Brock gave us 4 yummy, organic cucumbers.

So for dinner I whipped up some

DELISH

Chicken and Cucumber.

So easy, quick, and TASTY!

Chicken & Cucumber

2 T butter

2 T olive oil

(I used refined coconut oil – I don’t actually like Olive Oil)

8 chicken thighs

(I used 5 breasts)

2 minced garlic cloves

2 peeled, seeded & chopped cucumbers

1 C chicken broth

1/3 C sour cream

Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat the butter/oil and brown chicken.

Remove chicken.

Add garlic and cucumbers and sauté for 2 min.

Add back the chicken and broth

Simmer for 5 minutes

(longer for breast)

Remove chicken and add sour cream

Pour sauce over chicken

Serve immediately.

I served it with green beans and asparagus.

It was really yummy and super quick!

Sounds a little weird (who ever thought to

Cook a cucumber?????)

But it’s light and tasty.

Anyhow – there is NOTHING

On the calendar for tonight.

I’m going to swing by and do a little

shopping on my way home

But then it’s

“curl up on the couch and

watch White Christmas!”

With some totally delish

Hot Chocolate Trimmaccino.

(A rich, smooth, yummy hot cocoa)

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!



Distracted Much?

Goodness...

I've been a little distracted lately.

Case in point...

Last Sunday morning I packed up my hotel room.

Went downstairs and made breakfast.

Juggled everything out to my truck.

Taught school for 10 hours.

Jumped in my truck and drove home.

Pulled into the driveway.

Opened the back door to get my suitcase to take inside.

No suitcase.

It took my brain a second to register

what I was seeing.

Or... NOT seeing.

Yeah.

My suitcase was still sitting in the lobby.

Luckily they know me there.

I called, said "Hi!  It's Collette Buffaloe..."

He said "Is this your red and black suitcase?"

Sigh...

Naturally, all week long I've needed stuff in there.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Last night we FINALLY got the tree up!

It's BEAUTIFUL!

I forgot to take a picture.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yesterday another rabbit "kindled".

She had 8.

One wasn't viable.

She made a beautiful nest lined with fur.

Then she gave birth all over the hutch.

4 didn't survive.

We have 3 this morning, in with the other 2 week olds.

THAT Mom was in there nursing this morning.

I hope the newbies found her.

Sigh.

My rabbits might be the only rabbits on the earth

who are TERRIBLE at breeding.

(Except the one - she wins MOM OF THE YEAR)

Keeping fingers crossed...

Growing like Weeds!

Let's take a moment to look back,

shall we?

Two weeks ago,

this is what my bunny babies looked like.

Just born.

11-27-13.

Yes, there are 5.

Still 5.

3 days later.

Getting fuzz.

Still weird looking.

Yesterday.

Fat.

STRETCHING.

But only 3.

Because "Wandering Wally"

is taking another walkabout.

(But there really are only 4 now...)

Oh, THERE you are Wally!

(I should have named him Waldo...)



A Glimpse Into My Day...

I really DO love my job.

I love teaching.

I love watching blank stares turn into understanding nods.

I love telling stories, jokes and making people laugh!

But there are some times I just wonder.

Seems like nearly every class there’s one of “those” students.

This week was no exception.

Case in point:

I was teaching a concept called Accelerated Benefits.

In a nutshell, if you are terminally ill, diagnosed by a licensed

physician and reasonably expected to pass away in 6 months,

all life insurance policies will allow you to accelerate your

benefits and receive up to 75% of the death benefit prior to death.

The money can be used to pay for medical treatment, or

to take a cruise to Tahiti!  We don’t care – it’s YOUR money…

To illustrate the point, I told a story.  (I tell LOTS of stories.)

There was a (fictional) client who had a $400,000 20 year Term

policy who was diagnosed with advanced stage cancer.

The doctor gave her around 6 months to live and offered the

option of Chemo and Radiation, but wasn’t hopeful.

The client chose to try the treatment, but decided if she was

going to do it, she was going to do it in style.  (Reference the movie

“The Last Holiday”…)  So she took $100,000 from her life insurance

policy, bought a plane ticket and checked into a 5-star resort in Paris!

She went through the treatment process, but with room service, a

daily massage and spa services!  (Smart lady!)

After the treatment, she returned home.

Six months went by.

A year went by.

5 years went by.

And she was proclaimed to be a survivor!

Happy Ending!

Except it’s not the end.

Her life insurance was a 20 year term policy and she was now

facing the end of the term.  We gave her $100,000 with the expectation

of her imminent death.  She didn’t meet the expectation! (grin)  (when

talking about life insurance, death and all the various aspects for 40 hours,

you have to try to keep it light!)

She had a couple of options available at that point.

1.   Pay back the $100,000.

2.  Renew the policy and continue to pay the premiums until her eventual death.

I opened it up to class discussion and we decided as a group that it would be

much smarter to renew and pay the premiums. 

At which point my Annoying Student piped up.

AS:  What?  Wait!  So I would have to pay the $100,000????

Me:  Well, yes… that would be one option.

AS:  But it’s not my fault!

Me:  What’s not your fault…

AS:  You GAVE me the money.

Me:  Well, you told me you were dieing.  And then you didn’t.

AS:  That’s not my fault!  It’s my DOCTOR’S fault – he’s the one who said I would.

Me:  That’s not really a bad thing, is it?

AS: I’m still not paying the $100,000. 

Me:  You don’t have to, you can renew the policy.

AS:  I don’t want to.

Me:  Darn…

AS:  This isn’t FAIR!  I shouldn’t have to pay the $$$.  It’s my doctor’s fault.  I’m going to sue him!

Me:  Uh, what?

AS:  Yeah, I’m going to sue my doctor.  He screwed up.

Entire Class:  STUNNED SILENCE.

Older gentlemen (who happens to be a Hospital Administrator):  You CAN’T sue your Doctor.

He SAVED YOUR LIFE!

Me:  Ok!  (Cheerful voice) Let’s move on and talk about… (looks down at the book, oh brother) SUICIDE!  (Oh goody…)

Bet you wish you had MY job!



Back to the Future

It's sad to live on the "Space Coast" of Florida

and not have any space activity.

The skies have been quiet since they

stopped the shuttle program.

But last night that all changed!

A private company, Space X has been trying to

launch their rocket for a couple of months.

It took years for the shuttle program to get it right.

We would sit on the beach and wait and wait

and then it was scrubbed.

 

I LOVE launches at sunset.

I love how the sun catches the trail and makes it gorgeous!

Kyle and I happened to be out in the pasture

at exactly the right time

Fuzzy, but it was really cool!

The end bubble got bigger and bigger

we saw 4 different peices as they flamed out.

Welcome Space X!!!!!

Meanwhile, poor CJ was back at the vet on Monday.

They have a nifty horse holder.

NOBODY gets out of this thing.

She sedated him so she could check his eye.

It's getting a little better.

She did LOTS of debriding - said lots of icky stuff

came off, so it's sore and swollen.

We don't have that luxury.

So we have to use a twitch.

(He needs to see the DENTIST!)

He (understandably) HATES it.

(me too)

*Disclaimer - it doesn't hurt, it is an acupressure thing

that actually releases endorphins, but he HATES

anything that touches his face/mouth/eye.

Barre

For part of my birthday present

Rod bought all the stuff and promised

to put up a new ballet barre for

me in Jim's room.

(I'm taking it over for my workout room)

I used to workout in the tack room

but it is getting fuller and fuller.

We've been using it for storage.

Plus now we have this great (giant) chest freezer.

But now I have this WONDERFUL ballet barre

for my new T-Tapp workout.

It's called the Debulking Sequence.

Teresa used it in her own 60 day challenge

earlier this year and lost a clothing size!

Teresa lost a size doing this!!!

It has the most fabulous lower back stretch.

I'm excited to give it a try.

And now I have a terrific barre to get started with!

Thanks baby!!!