Service, Soup, Sauce and Shoes

On Saturday Dominic was gone for most of the day. He participated in this deal called "Wills for Heros".  Basically it is a group that lines up volunteer attorneys who help prepare wills for local fireman and police officers for free.  He participated when it was done here in Marshall last fall and drove up to Redwood Falls yesterday to help there! Pretty cool deal...not sure if it is available in every state - but if you are a police officer or a fireman, and don't have a basic will yet, you should do a google search and see if it is something offered where you live.

In all honesty before Dominic got into Estate Planning himself, getting a will done was something that we kept putting off.  If you are like us you probably think that is something you won't need for a long time...so there is no rush.  But even Dominic's accident was a reminder that having a Health Care Directive and POA is something we all need....if things had been more serious (and thank God they weren't) it was good that I had the authority to act on his behalf etc.  

So the kids and I were at home all day and I had gotten some fresh vegetables and a roast and decided to make a homemade vegetable soup.  Although the weather wasn't really soup weather...it was so good and I can't wait to make some more!!

Here it is right after I added all of the vegetables! It was yummy good and everyone loved it!! What are your favorite soup recipes...I'd love to try something new next time!

We also made some homemade applesauce in the crock pot. Have you ever tried this? So easy and you don't have to cook it on the stove all day long.  Just peel and core 10+ apples. Some of ours were smaller so we used more than that. Add 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 - 1 cup of sugar and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. I also added probably a Tbls. of lemon juice too.  Put the crock pot on high and let it cook!

Ours took about 4 hours on high and it looked like this.

The only bad thing is it cooks down so much. I suppose you could add more apples half way through, but we will just do another batch today.  We also took all the extra apples we had and peeled and cored them and then put them in gallon bags so that we can do some applesauce in the winter easily!

Ok switching gears here completely but I have to share a funny story.  I had a gift certificate from my employer to use at a local shoe store. Sole Mates in Marshall is amazing if you are ever looking for a good pair of shoes here in town.

So I am the type of person that buys a good quality pair of shoes and then wear them until they are almost falling apart.  The Ecco shoes I had in black I got almost 5 years ago and wore them almost everyday.  I really needed a new pair...but have trouble finding shoes that fit me.  I have a pretty narrow foot and it seems that whenever I am looking for something to fit me....it never did.

Well last week I discovered the reason. I was trying on shoes that were up to a full size too big!! Can you believe that?  I thought that I was a 9 1/2. Can't remember how long I have been wearing/buying that size...but it has been forever.

So when I was trying on a pair the owner said "well those are way too big for you"....let's try an 8 1/2 and would you believe it - they fit PERFECTLY!! And it wasn't just that brand....it was another brand and a completely different style.

You know how when you buy shoes for your child you make sure there is a  thumb-print space for growing room?? Well I had been doing that thumb-space trick on my shoes as well. But hello blondie....my feet are done growing!! Ahem.

Yes I know....I guess my mom-brain never switched off when it came to shoes for myself. No wonder I could never find a pair that fit me well. I was always shopping the wrong size!! So now I have shoes that fit and it is glorious!  And I even got a cool pair of boots from my co-worker because they were too big for her and fit me. Before I wouldn't have even tried them on...but because of my recent experience I did and they fit!!

I know that all styles run differently, and I do have a couple of pairs of sandals that are  9 1/2 that do fit...but at least I now know to try on that size range....because I might just find the perfect pair. Oh how a whole new world of possibilities has opened up to me!! :)

Well that's about it for now....I was hoping to get more done yesterday but it just didn't happen. We may be painting our main bathroom today. Found a cool color I am considering and while it wasn't from the $5 paint rack...it is on sale this week....so we will see! :) It is amazing what a gallon of paint can do to change the look of a space entirely.  If we get it done I will post some before and after....just slowly working on eliminating all the yellow!! ;)

Happy Sunday friends!