18 years ago...

8:00 am.  We had just arrived at the hospital to be induced.  Our first baby was 10 days overdue and frankly, I didn't think he or she was ever going to decide to make an appearance on his/her own.  The doctors concurred.  Thirteen hours and one blessed epidural later, Hayley was born.  Two became three.  Such a defining moment.

 

   
Flash forward eighteen years.  Can it really be that eighteen years have gone by and this sweet little baby...

has grown into this sweet young lady, ready to take on the world?

 I wish I had more baby pictures scanned in to post right now.  Alas, that was in the pre-digital era and they're in a box upstairs and I'm on a tight schedule here.  See, little Hayley plays volleyball.  Really well.  And we're headed to Yakima today to watch our girl play tomorrow in a tournament at the Sundome.  Go Lady Cougs!  (They played their first game of the season last night and basically taught Cedarcrest a lesson and it only took 3 games to do it!  Ten kills for my girl...woot!)

So, for now, my baby gets to finally sleep in today, we'll make her a yummy birthday breakfast, and then there will be a fun bus ride to Yakima for the team this afternoon and we'll all meet up for dinner at the Olive Garden.  My girl dies for their soup!  And no doubt there will be some napkin folding going on at the table too.  (Guaranteed photos of that coming!)

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY HAYLEY!   We love you and couldn't be prouder!

Edited live from Yakima, Washington!
I told you there would be napkin folding at the Olive Garden!

Hayley taught her mad napkin-folding skillz to her fellow Lady Cougs!  That's Brian in the bottom left corner...pretending he doesn't see  the antics!  Well, either that or he's hungry and just wants to order his Seafood Alfredo already!

Then there was this little surprise that came with Hayley's dessert...eighteen gorgeous pink roses from her boyfriend Luke! 

Hey Luke?  Well played Sir...well played!

I'm off to bed.  I know the formatting is all off on this, but I'm tired and we have to get up uber early to watch some awesome volleyball!  LAKEWOOD COUGARS IN THE HOUSE!!  I can't wait!!!

A new beginning...sort of.

I'm back.

My apologies to those of you who checked in now and again to see if I'd had anything to say...and left with no news. And many thanks to those of you who asked if I was ever going to update my blog...I have a hard time believing that more than a few people read it, until one of the kids friends mentions it (and the lack of posts...Hi Jared!)  Plus, I got on Facebook and its so easy to just post a photo with a caption and carry on.    But for some reason, here I sit at my computer, and I want to write.  I could post a photo or two on Facebook, but I think some photos just need more than a one-line caption.  For instance, this photo:
 

Holy Cats!  Who is this 6' (at least) dude?  In front of his own car?  Smiling?  On the first day of his JUNIOR year of high school? You know where this is headed, right?

Just yesterday Brian was still letting me send apples for his teachers on the first day of school.  Ten years people.  TEN YEARS....poof!

In case you're wondering where the girl-child was on this fine September 1st morning, she was around.  But since she's on the college schedule, Hayley doesn't start school until the 20th.  So, instead of heading to school, she headed south on the freeway to meet up with friends at the mall to do some back-to-school shopping.  Sniffle sniffle...almost 18 and she doesn't need her mama for that anymore.  Honestly, I can't wait to see what she comes home with.  So before she left, she posed with her little brother on his first day of school.

Seems we need to do some measuring tonight.  Hayley pointed out that Brian is now taller than she is.  I measured him a few weeks ago at an even 6', but she's just shy of that so he must've grown...again!  (You have to say that like Forrest Gump, "...and I got invited to the White House.  AGAIN."   Heh heh!

So, that was our morning.  I met my good friend Diana for coffee.  Then Dano and I took our morning 2 mile walk through the neighborhood.  Then I read the local newspaper and found Hayley's picture in it with an article about how awesome her school volleyball team is hoping to be, which was kind of a nice surprise to come across that with no warning!

Hopefully, soon I'll have some posts catching up on the Liebel Family Summer 2010.  It was busy (visits from Missy Laura and Corey, Uncle Pat & Aunt Andree, Josie Grandma & Grampa, Uncle Keith, Uncle Pat (AGAIN) plus two really cool volleyball coaches for our school VB camp, a visit for Hayley and I down to SoCal, Brian kicking butt at the bowling alley and life in general.) 

But for now...I'm back.  =)

Envy and a Trip Down Bird Memory Lane

Last week I received this picture in an email from my good friend, Jeanne. I call her my JeanneDeb. She knows why. We bowl together on Tuesday mornings and I love her to death. She gets me. And that is why she knew I'd DIE when I saw this photo...taken right outside her window! She sees this action all the time. I admit to full-on envy.

Can you stand it? I cannot. Anyone that knows me has no doubt had to listen to me rave about the wildlife up here in ye olde Pacific Northwest. Not once did I ever see this type of action in SoCal. The closest I came was once when an unseen wayward skunk "exploded" under our bedroom window, causing us to think there was a massive chemical spill in the area that was going to kill us. True story.

Anyway, I thought I had it made last week when an eagle flew right over Brian and I as we were pulling around our corner. Then I laid eyes on this picture. JeanneDeb really has it made...and she knew that sharing it with me would make my day. Thanks JeanneDeb!

So, what kind of wildlife do I have hanging around my house? Well, check out Exhibit A: Baby birdies! Okay, so they're not baby bald eagles, but I take what I can get. But there is an interesting back story to this nest. It's a story of recycling. (And yes, that is my very high-tech device that I refer to as my "compact mirror lens." Fancy schtuff.)

Remember this? (scrolllll down past Laura making googly eyes at the coffee maker....heee!)

Look familiar? I couldn't bear to just throw the engineering marvel of the nest in the trash, so I put it back up on the beam. And there it sat, undisturbed for the past 10 months. Last week, Danny asked if the nest was still there. I'd actually checked the week before he asked and told him, "Yep, still there. Still empty." So, while sitting on the deck steps the other day, I saw blue shell fragments. Horror!!! You can imagine my surprise when I went and grabbed the nest, expecting the worst only to find three tiny babes fast asleep (I think there are 3...I didn't look too long for fear an angry mama bird was going to dive-bomb me.) I checked again today and the mama is obviously caring well for them because they've easily doubled in size. Now I have to worry that the big, bad raccoon that frequents my other deck just about every night will discover them. GAHHHHH!!!

So the weirdest part of this is that my Missy Laura and her Corey were up visiting last year when the nest massacre went down. And they were just here two weeks ago. (Exciting blog post about that coming next!) Laura, I'll bet you that the nest had pretty blue eggs in it while you were here and WE DIDN'T EVEN LOOK!! We must've been busy drinking margaritas that your man whipped up for us. =)

In other animal news, Willie didn't come home this morning. We always worry...and then he always comes home. Sigh. Just not yet today.

Edited Thursday morning: He sauntered home last night around 10:30. Right after the raccoon ate all his food that sat out all day. Serves him right! Ha!

When Pigs Fly

While these two tolerate each other, and I use the term "tolerate" very loosely here, they've never had a relationship that involved this much trust. People, this is big. For those who haven't met the key players, allow me to introduce Willie and Molly. While they share an uncanny resemblance, they're only related by the bonds of adoption. In other words, we adopted sweet, stray Willie last July (as an outside mouser kitty only...ha!) and Molly has been wondering when the vagrant boy is going to leave. He comes in now and then (okay, 3 times a day) for lunchmeat snacks and naps on Dad's bed, but the boy fa-reaks when shown the litter box inside, so he can only stay in for so long. Imagine the confines of a proper litter box when the whole world had always been your litter box.

I digress.

So, they normally do a cursory once-over and sniff noses and then ignore each other. Lately though, Molly has taken to batting Willie in the face. And that doesn't go over so well. So, imagine my surprise when Dan brought Willie inside (people, it is COLD outside!) and he hopped up onto our bed to find Molly in his spot. I expected kitty fireworks, but instead got this: Utter and complete indifference.

Ummm, so not what I expected. He got busy chewing dirtclods from between his toes.

Not to be outdone, Molly decided a quick toe-clean was in order. Unreal.

Then, like men will do, he fell right to sleep. He's a funny guy. I think outside life is so stressful for him sometimes that when he comes inside, he's out like a light in mere minutes.

Molly's thinking, "Seriously? Dude, you're like, a foot away." He was unfazed.

So she gave in and fell asleep, too. They're still like this...an hour later.

When pigs fly. Go figure. =)

A quick housekeeping note...

Contrary to popular belief, I have not fallen off the face of the Earth. I just fell off the blogging wagon. I'm sorry, but I just wasn't feeling the blog mojo.

However, after some gentle prodding from certain people (you know who you are, you Blog Nazi's...and I mean that with the utmost of love!) I will be warming up my blogging fingers and posting very soon. For now though, I'm playing around with the formatting, etc. so Liebel Life will look a little different in a few days and probably a little screwy in the meantime!

Thanks for sticking around! See ya in a few days!!

P.S. Molly the she-cat is not fat. She's just big-boned. =)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Coming to you live from beautiful Southern California... ...we PNW Liebels wish you the Merriest Christmas! We're having a wonderful time here visiting with dear family and friends and hope you're enjoying your holidays as much as we are! P.S. Yes, our Christmas card was Photoshopped (Thank you Hayley!) and then I actually had to re-touch it to take the glare of the picture . Sheesh!

I'm Leaving This...

...for two whole weeks. This was last night. Our bed. Also known as Willie's Favorite Spot in the House.

And this was tonight. It seems to be Willie's Favorite Position on Willie's Favorite Spot in the House. Not that he ever gets to come into the house. Ahem. This little boy with the big mitts has purred and kneaded his way into all of our hearts. And now we're going to leave him and Molly here at home (our nice neighbor Amy is going to take care of them) while we go play and celebrate down in California. I'm quite sure there will be a few staring contests through the sliding glass door while we're away. Abby will be going to stay with her old friend Sasha. Lucky girl...Tom knows how to spoil a pup! Even though all our Fuzzies are going to be in good hands, we're still going to miss them like crazy.

I have to go hug a Fuzzie now. =)

Cookies: Version 2 (ME WANT COOKIES!)

Hi Athena and Zoe! (That was for you!!)

Maybe the Cookie Monster should come to our house! This past Wednesday, my good friend Kathy came over and we had the 2nd Annual Cookie Baking Extravaganza. (Scroll to the bottom of that post for a photo of last years haul!) We don't just bake three or four varieties. No, that won't do. We baked a grand total of 19 varieties of cookies! People, NINETEEN!!! This was bright and early, around 8:00 am. Kathy was just unloading her stash of doughs, icings, toppings and supplies. My Kathy just might be the most organized gal I know. Hi Kathy!!! =) She inspires me. See? Those are all my bowls along the back counter and on the left side of the island. Have I mentioned how much I love my island? Cuz I really do. It is a bakers dream. Anyway, once we get started, we don't stop. I'm not kidding. We mix, roll, cut, bake, sprinkle, ice, stack, etc. Oh, and we taste. A cookie from each batch is split in half and we critique. Sometimes, we have to re-test a cookie...for quality control purposes only. Heh heh.

There isn't a lot of time for photos. We're just too busy. But these little gems were my most anticipated cookie on my list. They are Lemony BonBon's. Just the name alone makes my mouth water. So, you start with a pre-roasted pecan half. And then lay them good side down on the baking mat (and if you're me, you make sure they're all laying in the same direction!...kinda like the hangers! Hi Missy Laura!) I digress.

Next, you place one of the rolled balls of dough on top of the roasted pecan... ...and squash it flat with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Bake, cool, slather with lemon icing and... YEEEAHHHHHH!!!! For a girl that likes lemon, these did not disappoint. I think this recipe will be on next years list for sure.

These are Zesty Lime Shortbread. AKA: Pain in the Ass Butt to Come Up With A Lot of Lime Zest But So So Worth It Shortbread And this was less than half of these! Yummy!

Now, lest you think we have only idyllic, perfect cookies to show for our efforts, I offer you these: Ummm...that is a dozen cookies. Ummmm...they tasted really good. Ummm...okay, I can't come up with anything else redeeming about these. And while they were Kathy's recipe this year, I have to say that I had a similar Fail last year with a similar recipe. They ended up with Earl Grey ganache sandwiched between them but were so delicate, it almost wasn't worth it. I know...I lost you after "ganache" didn't I?

All in all, it was the perfect day of baking. Until about 5:00 when our feet and backs were aching from NOT SITTING DOWN ALL DAY and we headed to the Roadhouse for dinner with the menfolk. Hayley came with and snarfed down her dinner before heading off to Confirmation at church. After dinner, we went back to the house for another hour or two of final icing and packaging. If you got some of the cookies, we hope you enjoyed them. It is truly our labor of love and we have a ball doing it. And no doubt, Kathy and I will be hunting down new recipes and cookie cutters for the 3rd Annual Cookie Baking Extravaganza!

Meanwhile, we woke up to the first flakes of snow this morning! It's been falling steady this morning...nothing too heavy but it sure does make everything so pretty!

Have a lovely day and stay warm! Even you SoCal folks down there!

The little lights are not twinkling...

Anyone who knows a Liebel is well aware that most of us cannot get through the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas without peppering our conversations with choice lines from the collective Liebel favorite holiday film "Christmas Vacation." It simply cannot be done. And truth be told, it doesn't even have to be the holidays. It has become Liebel-speak. And so introduces this years version of the gingerbread houses. And the little lights are not twinkling...because I couldn't find little lights. What is the crafting world coming to??? Is it too much to ask that Michaels keep on carrying the little strings of lights for me??? I guess it is...I guess IT IS.

My grandpa was an old German baker and these are made from his secret recipe for gingerbread. Honeycake, as he called it. I grew up watching my mama make the little houses and then I got to help decorate them. For a full recap of the entire process involved, go HERE (Step 1) and HERE (Step 2) and HERE (Step 3!) This house if for my friend, Holly. I put one of the houses up for bid in the Silent Auction for our Sports Booster Club (GO COUGS!!!) and Holly very sweetly camped out at that table to make sure she got the final bid for a little gingerbread house. I just sent her an email letting her know that her fresh prize is ready for delivery.

This is the second of the three houses I made this year. Cute yes, but the little lights are not twinkling.

I have got to find little strings of lights. Obviously.

This is the last of the houses...errrhhh...houses and trailer! Can you stand it??? This little darling is for a friend of Dan's. He's a sweet old man that lives right on one of the prettiest lakes around here. He has this cute little trailer and the most amazing trees, plants and bushes surrounding it. He invited us over to fish off of his dock one day. The fishing wasn't so good but it sure was fun to sit in the sun with a margarita and a fishing pole, watching the bald eagles soaring above and listening to fishing stories with friends. So this is my ode to Bud...my rendition of his charming trailer with a little bit of Lake Shoecraft thrown in for authenticity.

HI BUD!!! Thanks for the fun afternoon fishing off your dock! =)

And now if you'll excuse me, I have to eat so I can take my back pill!!! (See, I told you it couldn't be done!!!)

Cookies: Version 1

First of all, a happy photo. This is my dishtowel drawer. I know….sigh. This is just one of those things that makes me smile. And yes, I really do keep them folded and stacked all orderly like that. My own mother laughed at me when she saw me folding my dishtowels just so. What can I say? Happy. Once December hits, the everyday towels switch places with the holiday ones. Admit it: Looking at that photo brings a smile to your face, doesn’t it? =)

Now, on to the cookies. The ORCA program that Hayley attends is Oceanography-based, so when I came across fish-shaped cookie cutters, I knew we had to make cookies for teacher gifts.

Then I found little fishie plates and about died of The Cute right there in the store! Hayley and I decorated these little babies last night. It’s time consuming and a little messy, but the end result is worth it.And for all the kitty fans out there: This is what I have to go through to get a photo. I think its pretty obvious that our MollyMo didn’t get the memo about kitties staying off the counter. Tsk tsk.