Happy Birthday Jazmine

Happy Happy Birthday "Jazmander"

We are so happy to be your friends. Here is the way you looked when we first met you...


Here is you and Kiara being silly....


Here is a pic of Charlee, Kiara and you on a train ride.


And here is Kiara and you when you came over a while ago.


We hope your 14th Birthday is one of the BEST EVER!

Saturday's Hope

Another verse that gives me HOPE

Phillipians 4:12-13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

I was reminded of this verse with all the minor trials I have been through this week. Tune in tomorrow for a Sunday's Festivus of all situations I have found myself in this week

Photo Friday

Us on a pontoon. An annual "get away for the day" with my side of the family.

Thursday Thirteen: A Tribute to My Dad

Thirteen Things about A Tribute to My Dad

1. My Dad is a great Christian. He lives by the golden rule, studies his bible everyday and is a great example to everyone



My Dad and I in Arizona.

2. My Dad follows the good health habits. He doesn't eat between meals, eats breakfast regularly, maintains a proper weight, gets regular exercise through his daily activities, does not drink or smoke and tries to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep at night



My Dad playing college basketball at Andrews University. He is number 9.


3. My Dad has great work habits. He put 200 percent into his 40 plus years as a church school teacher. Church schools teachers do not get paid extra for camping trips, evening activites or sports events. He did them all willingly. His motto was "If a job is worth doing, then it is worth doing right".



My Dad at his Masters in Education ceremony. He is the second one in a gown.

4. My Dad has a good balance between work and play. His motto was always work before play, but somehow we were always riding the motor cycle, down at the beach or on a family vacation.



My Dad and I on his motorcycle. He said I used to fall asleep so he would hold onto my back with one arm, and drive with the other.

5. My Dad took us on fun vacations. Like I said before, Church School teachers are not paid the best, but my dad managed to save money and take us on vacations across the US, visiting all the special places like Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, Grand Canyon etc, to ultimately end up visiting family. We also went on a lot of camping trips.



My dad on a mule for the trip down the Grand Canyon this last summer. He is 70 years old!

6. My Dad instilled self esteem in us, by introducing us as if we were the Queen of England's children. You could "feel" how proud he was even if our hair was messy and our clothes dirty from playing. Th other day we went to the grocery store and he very proudly told the cashier that I was his daughter. How special is that?



My Dad and I in my favorite car.

7. My Dad is the King of money management. He saves up for all the major appliances, car repairs and home repairs that will be needed in the future, saves for vacations and even paid money every month for 3 years, till he owned a grandfather clock, that he gave my mother for their wedding anniversary. He didn't bring it home and then make payments. He just took the money down to the store till it was all paid off then brought the clock home.




My Dad and Mom the year they got Married 1960

8. My Dad has great time management. You can tell what time it is by when he eats, brushes his teeth, and goes to bed. He is ALWAYS early for an appointment.



My Dad camping. He even kept up his routines in the wilderness.

9. My Dad will drop everything to help his children out. Need a large piece of furniture brought home? He is picking up the trailer and there in 10 minutes flat. Need a ride somewhere? He's the guy. Need help with something in the yard or with the house? He's your handyman. Someday when the teens are gone and the schedule is more free I hope to be as fast to respond to what he needs.



My Dad and I waiting for our turn to parasail in Hawaii 2003

10. My Dad is president of "National Bank of Dad". I owe him enough to keep him in a dough a year or two.



My Dad, brother and I in 1969. My sister Laughing Mommy was not born yet.

11. My Dad changed history. Not the book type of history, but family history. Families tend to make the same mistakes down through the generations. My Dad changed all that so we could grow up with a Mom and Dad, always had food, love, medical, dental, orthodontia, vacations, and even asked the dentist to do a procedure which at that time had not been tried yet. I had big white spots on my two front teeth and when my braces came off I cried and cried so my Dad convinced the orthodontist to to resurface them. Which looked great!


12. My Dad worked hard to give us kids a Christian education. He was a teacher but in the summers he would work doing landscaping so we would have enough money for school the next year.



My Dad teaching.

13. Final but a very important thing....and a continuing joke in the family.....When Dad is with you....NEVER FORGET THE SANDWICHES!

Thank you Mom for helping me find all the pictures! Remind Dad to visit my blog tomorrow morning!


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Works for Me Wednesday

Laughter is what works for me this week. In every situation I can choose how to respond. Whether I get irritated, annoyed, sad or turn it into to something funny is all up to me. My hubby is a great example of this. He turns EVERYTHING into something funny. Even when I accidentally served food that got cayenne pepper in his eye. (See I pepper sprayed my hubby post). Try to turn your circumstances into something you and your family and friends can laugh about. You will be so glad you did!

For more great idea's head on over to Rocks in my Dryer

I peppered sprayed my hubby

Well sort of. It all started out this morning when I left teen boy in charge of finishing up his breakfast. A bagal with creme cheese, vegetarian "bacon" strips, and a banana. The strips were almost done so I turned off the George Foreman grill and left him in charge of getting them off the grill, while I went to take a shower. I was fairly confident this would be done in a timely manner as teen boy is pretty reliable. However, upon exiting the shower, I smelled over cooked strips. They weren't burnt but they were hard, flat and very done. No time to cook more, so I made hubby's breakfast. In my hurry I forgot to put cayenne pepper on the creme cheese (gives it a nice kick that hubby loves) I had already put the hard flat strips on top of the creme cheese so I sprinkled the cayenne on top, grabbed a banana and served my hubby breakfast in bed. Ok, can you imagine what happened next? With the first bite the strip flipped up like a Trebuchet, throwing cayenne pepper into hubby's eye......which explains why I heard the shower running before I even made it back to the kitchen. Was he mad?....no....upset?.....no.....mildly irritated?.,....no......The best part? He makes every situation into something funny. He had me laughing so hard on the way to work, I could hardly tell the kids what happened. Which proves you can choose how you respond to any situation even painful ones. (He did mention it was quite painful and would never want to be pepper sprayed. I on the other hand will make sure the pepper is UNDER the strips from now on.

God Rocks, a weekly miracle story

Sunshine! Is it a miracle? When the weather calls for rain, you live in the pacific northwest, you have a car wash scheduled, and you have prayed for sunshine, then yes its a miracle. Today was our car wash to raise money for the mission trip. Thirty minutes before start time, the sun broke through the rain clouds and we had the most beautiful day. The rain clouds (no rain just a dark cloud) passed over a few times but just for a few minutes, then the sun was back. We washed and washed, and then we washed some more. I believe at final count we had made 339.00 for the mission trip. Kiara and I left a half hour early to take a shower and head down to our church to prepare the spagetti dinner fund raiser. I was going to have to head up the entire dinner myself, which I could do, but I am not that comfortable with. Fortunately my friend who does catering ended up back in town and was there to head up the dinner. Following the dinner, we had the Michael Harris concert. If you look up Michael Harris be sure to follow the link in my Sundays Festivus as there are a lot of Michael Harris sites and some of them are not nice (and not the right Michael). The concert was so uplifting. Michael has an incredible salvation story and a beautiful, deep bass voice. He tells of how he was a drug addict and an alcoholic and one day, while high and drunk, he fell asleep at the wheel causing an accident that left his wife paralyzed from the neck down. His story continues as he tells how God worked in his life. Now him and his wife have a ministry to tell others about God.

Todays miracle reminds me of a song one of my best friends would sing as a prayer before lunch everyday. "thank you for the sunshine....thank you for the rain....for home and food and loving care we thank you Lord again Amen"

We are especially thankful for the sunshine part!

Sundays Festivus

A place to air grievances for the week.......

My week has been full of trials. Money trials that threaten our ability to go on the mission trip this summer, weather trials which threaten our ability to raise money and time constraints which make our lives so busy we wonder how we will ever complete everything.

We just had the van in the shop and it cost 350.00. Now the Sable is shaking terribly when we brake. Add to that the burning rubber smell in the garage from the washing machine that stopped mid cycle, and we can see our tax return dwindling away. We need that money for the mission trip. So coupled with the fact that I think I can do anything with the proper info....hubby and I are going to try and fix the washer ourselves. We looked under it Saturday evening and it definitely was the drive belt. You can see how complicated this is going to be here. I will let you know how it goes. I have replaced dryer belts several times. I have laid linoleum. I have fixed freezer icemakers. (okay I had help from hubby, but I find the info, read it and then coerce him to help. He is a great sport) But this, by far, is going to be the most difficult. I will let you know next week how it goes.

Tomorrow we have a car wash scheduled to raise money for the mission trip. The weather calls for rain. It is raining right now. I have prayed for sun. I will take my sunglasses and let you know how it turns out.

Busyness. (I am actually not complaining about these as we need to raise money and the opportunities are pouring in. We are so grateful for the help of my father who set up 3 car washes and donated money, to Darryl's parents who purchased the computers and printer for us to sell, and donated their portion, plus offered to do a benefit concert) However tomorrow as soon as the car wash is over we have to run home, take a shower, and run to our next fundraiser which is a spaghetti dinner, of which I am the cook. After the dinner is a concert by Michael Harris. In two more weeks Darryl's Dad, Parson Larson will be doing a concert with a benefit dinner which we will be hosting. I have 10 donated computers and a industrial sized printer to sell. All that and only one car ( shaky car needs to go in), lots of time in a laundry mat (until washer is fixed) and a garden to plant. Oh and I almost forgot.....Squirty our Chihuahua just might be pregnant! I am thinking the puppies will only be 5 weeks old when we leave for Ecuador.

Good thing all I have to do is pray about it and God will take care of all of it for me. He will either give me the energy to handle it or will assist me to get the jobs done as easy as possible.

Saturday's Hope

Because HOPE is my favorite word!



My niece, Tessa Rosario Hope



This verse does not have the word hope in it but it sure gives me HOPE when I read it.

For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you do not fear. I will help you. Isaiah 41:13

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

A picture of my mom with Kiara in 1994. I used this pic because their birthdays are only 6 days apart.

We celebrated a week ago since my sister was going to be away, so today we took her flowers, a punch bowl cake and dinner.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

Photo Friday

My sister and I at my wedding in 1984

Thursday Thirteen ED 20

Thirteen Things about Faith

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see(Hebrews 11:1-3)

1. Luke 12:28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

2. Luke 17:6 If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you

3. Luke 17:19 Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

4. 1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong

5. Acts 27:25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.

6. Romans 3:22-24 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

7. Romans 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

8. Romans 3:31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

9. Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.

10. Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

11. Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

12. Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

13. 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

(Picture is either me or my sister parasailing)



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Results Are In for Memory Foam Topper Trouble

86 percent of your say to leave the Memory Foam topper folded on one side of the bed if it is "that comfortable", which it is. I am happy because of the comfort, but unhappy because of the way it looked. So my sis Laughing Mommy had a great idea. She said to take a few extra seconds in the morning to pull back the sheets and flip it back down, before making the bed. Great idea sis. However I think I will just do it on the weekends. To see what it looks like check out the post from Tuesday the 6th entitled "Memory Foam Topper Trouble"

Works for Me Wednesday

Barney time is what worked for us when the kids were little. We used it to explain how long it would be to a certain destination. Such as 4 Barney shows till we get there. It seemed to satisfy our son better than "2 hours" or the one my Dad always used which was "just around the next corner". Of course pick the show your toddler loves the best......



It was all about Barney when he was little. Barney clothes and umbrella and raincoat. Even the color purple was called "Barney color"

Thanks to my sister Laughing Mommy for helping me find the pic of my son in his barney outfit!

For more great idea head on over to Rocks in my Dryer

God Rocks: a weekly miracle story

Thanks to Katkat for the inspiration on the new name.

This week miracle is about a friend of mine that has already lost one leg to the complications of diabetes and was at risk of losing the other foot. It is also about trust and faith. A few weeks ago this gentleman's wife asked if my church could pray for her husbands remaining foot which had a sore that was getting worse. The doctors were going to remove this remaining foot, but at the last minute decided to give it a chance. So I had a small group pray and gave his name to our "prayer warrior. I was sure this would be a great witness to the gentleman and his wife, and I would return to work to find out it was a miracle. However upon returning to work, I found out the foot was actually worse. This was very depressing to me. I felt like God had missed this wonderful opportunity. My usual faith was slipping. After a few more token prayers, I got busy and forgot all about it. Last week guess who walked into work? (he has a prosthesis for the other leg). But still I forgot. Then I went to church and the "prayer warrior" as we call her, asked how he was and told me she had been faithfully praying daily. I surprisingly told her that I thought he must be doing great and I would find out for sure. I talked to his wife today and she said the sore is down to a tiny spot on the tip of his toe and continues to improve. Praise God for answering the prayer in his own time. And for the lesson to continue praying and having faith instead of giving up so soon.

Happy 14th Birthday Kiara!

Happy Happy Birthday Kiara!

Today you turn 14. At your last parent-teacher conference your teacher told us you were "the sunshine of the 8th grade class". I couldn't agree more. You have the ability to make people laugh, to be caring, loving and kind. There are not enough words to explain how much I LOVE having a girl. Especially you! It is so fun to talk with you about Jesus, miracles, boys, friends, family and the world. I love shopping till we drop, to find the perfect dress or item for your room. I appreciate your cooking skills. It helps me so much when you make dinner, our famous punch bowl cake, or help me with church potluck. This year you have done the weekly cleaning of our house to help pay for your rather large cell phone bills. I am a litle sad that you are all paid up, as it was so nice to come home to a clean house. You even went the extra mile and set a beautiful table. However, I am proud of you for being so careful now not to run up a bill. I am also proud of you for working hard to get good grades. This quarter you got all A's except one B which was the goal you set for yourself. You did this all on your own, even looking up "how to get good grades" on the computer. A lot of times your grades are more than 100 percent because you did extra credit. The reason these things mean so much to me is that you are growing up in the right direction. You are choosing paths that with Jesus guidance, will give you more chances of a happy, successful life.

I am so glad you have your own beliefs about what you want in life, and that when you feel strongly about something, you hold your ground. To me this means you will not be "influenced for wrong" on the things you have made decisions on. This is important because the "pull" to be like the world is so strong. Your favorite colors are light pink and dark brown. You wanted to paint your room and dresser in your favorite colors, so you paid for almost all the paint and did 99 percent of the work yourself. You moved everything out of your room, including your mattress and box springs. You taped up the window, removed the outlets, covered the floor and painted everything you could reach. You painted the dresser the next day by yourself, then moved everything back into your room the day after that. Here is what it looks like now.

This was a "biggy" as you are the baby of the family and our princess, so you don't usually complete jobs. When you were little you would say "my legs are broken" which meant you were out of energy, and we even carried you most everywhere till you were in kindergarten. It was fun birthday shopping for things to "complete your room. Your favorite car is still a Mini Cooper and you have a large poster we printed out together on your wall. Your best friend is Danielle

and you say you are so opposite, yet it seems like you are so alike, you could be sisters. She is fun too, and says things that make us all laugh. She is polite, kind, thoughtful and we like to call her "our adopted daughter" Your boyfriend is Aaron.




He is such a nice boy. He treats you like a princess and is every mom's dream for her girl. He is polite, respectful, helpful, and treats you good. (Doesn't hurt that he plays the piano for me) YOur two youngest cousins adore you and you adore them. Here they are at the park the day before your birthday.




Your favorite foods are Italian, Mexican and I think you have a new favorite which is Chinese. This year you finally changed your thoughts about chocolate and you even asked for a chocolate cake! You love See's chocolate and got to hand pick a pound, as a gift from Grandma Lou. You also asked for a "Famous Chocolate Wafer" cake that we had for your birthday at your grandparents house. Your nicknames are sis, schmoopie, and princess. I love you more than you will ever know. (Maybe someday when you have a girl of your own you will know a little)

Love, Mom

Thanks to my sister Laughing Mommy for the pic of Kiara in her new bedroom!

Sundays Festivus Ed 11

A day to air grievances about circumstances of your week.

I am realizing that I am not an effective boss. I am too nice. I want people to enjoy their jobs and to feel uplifted and to do the right thing because they know they are appreciated. However, there are certain things, very important things, that continue to not get done. I have explained how important it is, made lists, asked the employee's to figure out a way to make sure it is done, but to no avail. I guess I will go back to my "One Minute Manager" book and see what I am missing.

What are your grievances? Leave a link to your blog on Mr. Linky.

Happy St Patty's Day!

For a bunch of great Irish Blessings and a song, go visit

Its a Raggedy Life

You'll be glad you did, I was!

Here was my favorite

“May God give you...For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer.”~Irish Blessing

Saturday's Hope

Because HOPE is my favorite word....




Kiara praying


Lamentations 3:21-36
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." 25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust-- there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men. To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land, to deny a man his rights before the Most High, to deprive a man of justice-- would not the Lord see such things?

Photo Friday

Kiara and I about 13 years ago.

Thursday Thirteen ED 19

Thirteen Things about The Time Change

1. Why are we still doing this? I understand it was so the farmers would have more daylight hours. Why is it that they cant just get up when the sun does? Who cares if that is 5 am or 6am?
2. It gets harder every year to adjust
3. The children are tired
4. Teachers don't like it, cause they say the children are tired and misbehave more
5. The dogs' schedule is all messed up. If they are used to going outside to do their business at 6 am then after the time change they still want to do it at 6 am, however this is now 7am and they have already eaten and been out twice. So back to the "no messes in the house" training.
7. People at work are tired and cranky
8. There is place in Arizona that refuses to change the time. Yeah for them and any other area that might not do it
9. Losing an hour of sleep is never a good thing. It should always be a "fall back" sort of thing. I realize in theory it wouldn't work but it my mind I could use a "fall back" every month.
10. Its hard to get a kid on a schedule, and to do a time change smoothly, you have to chnage the bed time by 10 minutes a day. A lot of work for an unnecessary thing
11. It just "feels" wrong
12. There are too many clocks to change, and for weeks I am thinking is this one on the right time or that one?
13. ITS just plain DUMB. Give me a good reason for it and I might jump on board.

Visit my blog (by clicking on the "memory foam topper trouble in the sidebar) to vote on whether I should keep the memory foam folded on my side of the bed or take it all the way off.



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Memory Foam Topper Trouble

I need your help. Ever since we got Memory Foam slippers, we have loved the Memory Foam. We have a Memory Foam mattress topper on every bed in the house and recently we got Memory Foam pillows. However my hubby states he thinks this Memory Foam is the cause of his back pain, so to test it out I folded the memory foam over to my side. Now as hideous as this looks, it is now like sleeping on a cloud of foamy Memory softness. I adore it. Making the bed in the morning gives me a different feeling as the bed is so lopsided. So I need your votes to see what is the most important to each of you. Then I will make my decision.



I left the pillows off to get a better view of the "bump"

Works for Me Wednesday

Withholding privileges. It has taken me 8 months but I finally found a way to get my teen to listen to my driving suggestions. Now when he doesn't stop when I say “stop” such as when the owner of the business my husband and I work for is coming around the corner, and to be respectful and let her go first you say “stop”. And he slows but is inching forward at a rate that would indicate to the boss that she might get run into, so you say “STOP” in a tone that says “if you don't stop you may be grounded for a month”, before the car comes to a complete stop. Its intervention time. Ours is now that the teen in question may not drive the next day. To which he responds “If you don't let me drive, I wont have enough hours in, and then I wont be able to get my license” Oh really I think to my self....I don't really care if you don't get your license till your 30, so go ahead...MAKE MY DAY! (I secretly dont want him to drive because I am afraid he will get in an accident. Yes I am a worrier but I try to not let him know that)

Check out other blog entries as I have a dilema that I need you to vote on!

For more great idea's visit Rocks in My Dryer

I won!!!

I won a set of gently used inspirational books at the Ulimate Blog Party which was hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom! The prize was donated by Portrait of a Writer....Interrupted. Thanks so much for donating this prize. I cant wait to get the books and read them. Please go to each of these sites to see all the wonderful posts on their blogs!

The Watkins Lady

Confession...I hide from the Watkins lady. Is she mean? No. Is she nice? Yes. I just don't have time, and even though I explain that mornings are not a good time, as I have to get breakfast made, lunches for everyone, teens to school and myself and hubby to work. She comes right at the very moment we need to be heading out the door, weekly, without fail. "It will just take 30 seconds" she says. Her 30 seconds becomes my 30 minutes as she tells the virtues of each and every product, carefully explaining over and over about the awards each item has won. If you explain that you don't need a spice that tastes great for steak and chicken, because you are vegetarian, she has an answer for an alternate thing you can use it on. This lady could sell dog shampoo to a person who doesn't have pets. And besides, if you take another 30 seconds (I mean 30 minutes)she will tell you all about her husband of 30 years who left her for her best friend and how she is not bitter because this other lady is such a great gal that even her own children like their stepmother better than their own mother. She says this in a sort of sad way, but with no bitterness as to evoke the deepest sympathy from the depths of your soul. Of course this is why she is a Watkins lady, so she can "make a living". And with each item you agree to order, she glances upwards and whispers "thank you Jesus" as if you just put food on the table for today. Well due to circumstances within and beyond my control, the budget is pretty tight, so I shouldn't be buying spices, pills, soaps etc that I do not need. (I have not even cracked open the ones I bought the first day we met). Unfortunately, as I was getting pics of my yard this morning for my blog, I walked out front just as she was pulling in the driveway. Yikes, I wanted to run, but she had seen me. I so nicely explained that due to medical and other circumstances I didn't have any money to buy anything, to which she reponded "How about a check?". Hmmm I guess if I have no money then I could just write a check.....(and land in jail I imagine for ISF) so I very politely said "sorry no money in the checking account either". To which she reponds "How about a post dated check". So I asked her if 6 months in the future would work. She turned, dropped her head forward, slowly shaking it as she walked back to her car mumbling "I just dont know what I am going to do" followed by mumblings of all the award winning spices that were currently 50 percent off. I high tailed it to the back yard to keep my guilt from overtaking me and buying a spice that I could get at 1/10th the price at Win Co. Might not be award winning, but affordable.

Tuesday Tip: The Glue

Are you the one who holds your whole family together? Are you the peacemaker between family members? When there is dissension are you the one who works to get everybody talking to each other again? If so you are “THE GLUE”. Its a big, sometimes frustrating, sometimes rewarding job, but someone has to do it and that someone is YOU. I am the glue in my family. I am forever smoothing things over, explaining personalities and encouraging people to “do the right or appropriate thing”. Being the GLUE is not a bad thing just a busy thing. Are you the glue in your family or know who is? Leave a message in comments.


Coming tomorrow: (if I can figure it out) A survey on what to do with the King sized mattress topper. Do I leave it folded on one side of the bed? Come back tomorrow to place your vote!

Transformation Tuesday

A weekly journey into the transformation of our yard and garden. I have delusions of having a yard that looks like Heathers, so don't pop my bubble. I don't have a lot of resources so I will have to be creative. Besides the thought of taking a pic to blog will keep me motivated. As all my close friends and family know, I make huge messes trying to get to the finished product so we will start with the mess we made yesterday.....





Our neighbor told us that if we would do a severe pruning that we would get a ton of great tasting apples the next few years and we wouldn't have to prune that heavily for 3 to 4 years. So with his guidance we cut about half the tree down. Now what to do with all the branches. The larger logs we can cut and stack for next years woodstove use. This pic really doesn't show the extent of it as there are branches and logs all the way to the back fence. Tune in next week to see if we have made any progress with cleaning this up!








My favorite spring tree. I love the pink blossoms. Why oh why can they bloom all summer like that? And when they are done blooming the petals fall tothe ground like pink snow




Coming in tomorrow's Wednesday Works for Me.....Withholding priviledges/interventions/making moms day

Monday Miracles

Prayer for safety is on the top of my list. Anytime we go anywhere we pray for our safety and the safety of the vehicle we are riding in. Ten years ago we only prayed for our own safety. We were on the way up the coast of Oregon and Washington on our way to a family reunion. The kids were little and had fallen asleep. We were admiring the sun setting over the ocean as my hubby and I were singing "People Need the Lord". As we rounded a curve, our eyes drifted back to the road where we were face to face with a huge Elk cow. She jumped, and the top 2/3rds of her landed straight into the windshield. The windshield bent inward enough that the glass cut my hubby's hand. Amazingly the Elk rolled up onto the roof then off of my side of the car. Shattering glass flew all through the inside of the car. How that glass ended up in all of our underware is beyond me. The kids woke up when the Elk was already off the car. They cried because the front windshield was shattered and you couldn't see through it. My hubby had managed to get the car stopped so he stuck his head out the window and and pulled off the road. A man who had stopped to look at the sun set, saw the accident and was amazed we were alive. When we looked at the skid marks they were perfectly straight and on the right side of the road. We thanked God for keeping our family safe and for having the kids asleep when it happened. Of course now we pray for the safety of the vehicle as well as ourselves.

Sundays Festivus ED 10

Festivus...a day to air the grievances of the last week.

Hmmmm......Toliets that overflow at the most inappropriate moments, ants that go marching through my kitchen, not enough hours in the day, time changes, teens that back talk, aching feet, cakes that go awry.

My toilet has a really bad habit of overflowing right after I scrub the bathroom, just before company is coming over, and if I wash the bathroom rugs. I have picked up the habit of watching it for minutes at a time, just waiting to see if the water goes down or up. I have the plunger ready to attack at a moments notice. I would call Rotorooter, but I have a good feeling that it has more to do with how fast the toilet paper disappears, and I have to argue with myself that wiping and being clean is a good thing. It sure beats the days of small children yelling out "I'm done pooping, come wipe my butt" I have requested that a flush be performed per 1/8th roll of paper is, but I can say with certainty this is not being accomplished. I got lucky this week as it overflowed just as I was walking in to clean.

Ants. Does anyone else have ants? I dont believe in using toxic sprays, so I have to put out the Revenge and wait 3 days, so they have time to get back to their nests and share the bounty, before the numbers decrease to a stray ant here and there.

I need about 50 hours and unlimited energy in each day. I have so many things to be done, and only the ones with the most top priority actually are accomplished. I realize that this is a little bit my fault as I try to do things in a "way too perfect" manner. This means only a few tasks get done perfectly, and the rest of the place looks like a tornado hit. I did get some help from a good looking guy. Not sure who he is as my husband usually sits on the computer all day. i believe the aliens must have captured him a week ago, as this guy was helpful last Sunday too. Today he rototilled the garden, pruned half the apple tree (it is really big), cleaned up part of the garage and tore down cardboard boxes and took them to recycling. He also bought all three meals to save me cooking time and ran the teens around to their babysitting appointments. Good thing he looks like my husband, cause I think I will keep him!

Time change. I despise this time change. I need more sleep than most. And to take an hour of that away is a really mean trick. So to rebel, I drank Diet Dr Pepper all day. I not only lost an hour last night, but it is midnight and I am still going strong (I dont drink much caffeine)

Teens that talk back. Why is it that everything a parent says needs to be challenged and proved wrong? I can count on one hand the times I actually was wrong. Of coarse I remember being the same way. Well, thinking the same way, I just wasn't so verbal about it.

Aching feet. My feet were aching when I sat down to write this but they are all better now. Guess I should take a break and put them up once in a while.

Cake that went awry. Today my son's girlfriend is over and tomorrow is her birthday. Who doesn't love a birthday and a reason to celebrate? So while my son and her were babysitting, Kiara and I decided to bake a cake. I go to the cupboard to get a chocolate cake mix (her favorite), But all I have is white so we decide to throw in some chocolate chips to make it chocolate-y. Looks as if the teen boy has been into the chocolate chips, but we have a few. I need something more chocolate, so I remember that cake mixes sometimes have pudding in them, so I grab a chocolate pudding mix and tell Kiara to add it. Upon further examination, I see it is "sugar free/fat free" but oh well. Then we realize we dont have any eggs. No problem I have read that 2 T of arrowroot powder is equal to 1 egg. So Kiara adds that, We spread the cake out in the pan which is very difficult as the moisture content is missing. Seems eggs have a lot more moisture than arrowroot powder. Whoops, forgot the few chocolate chips, so Kiara sprinkles them on top, and we bake the cake. It comes out looking different, but a little frosting will fix that, so I get out the trusty Wilton recipes and put Kiara to work. We dont have any powdered sugar. No problem, isn't that what Bullet mixers are for? Although after 3 cups , at 1/2 cup at a time, I get distracted, so Kiara takes over. One of us does not blend enough and the frosting is grainy. What to do....I know. Spread it on the cake and put under the broiler to "melt" the frosting...you know....like a glaze. I thought it wasn't half bad, but hubby and Kiara said YUCK. Hubby picks up a German chocolate cake at the store when he bought the pizza's tonight. Thanks hubby for bailing me out. Do We get an A for effort?

Spelling challenged. Yes It was midnight when I wrote this post so this morning I got a huge kick out of my cake that went "a rye" instead of awry. The ensuing laughter (mine) was so worth it.

What are your grievances? Leave a link on Mr Linky, you'll be glad you did!

Goodbye

Two weeks ago my Grandpa passed away. I didn't know a lot about him, but that he was quiet and didn't say much when we were around. When I was small he gave the grandchildren our own fingernail clippers. I, for some reason, thought that was the coolest thing ever. I also remember playing "rook" until all hours of the night with him, my dad and my Aunt Carol. We drank red creme soda and would get so silly we would laugh and laugh. My Grandpa liked my Dad a lot and they loved to tease each other. I loved visiting his house as there were all sorts of treasures to explore and playing with the Aunts and Uncles that were around my age was the highlight of my visit. Especially the traditional "water fight". Maybe we can have a family water fight in heaven someday.....

Saturday's Hope

Isaiah 40:28-31

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

New International Version

Works for Me Wednesday==Kitchen Edition

What works for me this week is "Tne Kitchen Couch". My sister Staci over at Laughing Mommy told me that she had read about a kitchen couch in a blog of Catherine Newman's, you can read about it at her blog Dalai Mama. The writer had mentioned it was a great way to connect with her children. So this Sunday I managed to fit a full sized couch in my not so full sized kitchen. Within 1 hour, each of my teens had sat down and talked to me several times. That alone would make up for space it takes. I love the fact that we are connecting more, and especially that I get some company when I am in the kitchen. I encourage you to move a couch or plush type chair into your kitchen today!

For more WFMW ideas go to Rocks in my Dryer

Monday Miracles: 100 Dollars

About 20 years ago, my husband and I were responsible for buying all the laundry soap and other supplies for 2 nursing homes. We would go to Costco or similar warehouse. My husband usually brought cash from the facility. On one of our shopping trips he handed me a 100 dollar bill to hold till we got to the cash register. I was holding it with my organizer. Note I did not say "IN my organizer" which would have been the safe thing to do. I glanced down on the way to the register and the money was gone. I wanted to freak, but I immediately prayed about it while I was retracing my steps. I remember there were a lot of people milling about. I went through the whole store and as I was going down the last isle close to the front of the store, I spotted a piece of green on the floor. I ran over and sure enough, people milling all around and not a soul saw the 100 dollar bill lying on the floor. An answer to prayer! I was so relieved.

Sundays Festivus Ed 9

Sunday's Festivus A day to air grievances

The Potluck Queen and the Mystery Casserole

Healthy food is not uncommon in our church as Seventh Day Adventist potlucks are vegetarian and the food is everything from as fattening as you can get, with cheese and eggs, to extremely healthy vegan fare. The people who are not used to the vegan food get a little freaked out about how it looks. So being in charge of Potluck, I wasn't surprised when my helpers were concerned about a particular dish. I was super busy trying to organize the final preparations, so I just said “its fine, it is just one of those vegan casseroles...Put it on the table” Once again they expressed concern, but I assured them that vegan food looks a little different. Everyone went through the line and I was about the last to through. I took a little bit of the mystery casserole. I sat down and about half way through the meal, I took a bite of something that tasted so wrong it was all I could do to keep from losing my lunch all over the table. At that very moment my sis and another church member were standing over the dish discussing it. The other church member said “hey this doesn't look right” and my sister trying to be brave said “I am sure it is fine and put some on her plate” (Sisters think alike:) However upon further examination, it appeared that mold had surfaced. And in my sisters words “it smelled all kinds of wrong and looked like total goo”. So we discreetly whisked it away to the kitchen. I was so puzzled why someone would bring a dish that was moldy. I was washing out the dishes, praying that no one would get sick, taking charcoal to make sure I didn't get sick, and imagining the newspaper headlines “ Head Deaconess poisons Church members with 2 week old moldy casserole” . I tried to figure out what happened, when it suddenly hit me. The last potluck, 2 weeks ago, I remembered a gentleman who couldn't find one of his dishes. That coupled with the fact that dishes are already in the oven when I get there, was a recipe for disaster. Now after every potluck about 9 different women check the ovens to see that someones dish isn't left till the next potluck! (fortunately no one got sick)

I am finding that the bad situations I find myself in are less irritating when I remember the satisfaction that I get when I blog them under my Sunday's Festivus!

What are your grievances? Either tell me in comments or put a post on your blog and leave a message in comments. Mr Linky will automatically link to your site.

Tune in tomorrow for the 100 dollar miracle....................

Blog Party!

I am starting a little late, but I did make it, so that should count for something, don't you think? This blog party is amazing because I have already found a whole bunch of new blogs that I just adore. And more teen blogs! I had searched before and I was losing hope that there were any more mom's with teens out there in bloggity world. I am a 44 year old mom of two teens. My blog is about my 2 wonderful teens, my family, myself, health, and I have a "Sundays Festivus" which is a way to share the frustrating things that happened during the week in a funny and positive format. I have been married for 22 1/2 years and I will say it DEFINITELY gets better with time. My sister Laughing Mommy has a super great blog you will want to check out as well. Welcome to my blog and if you like the design you can click on Headmeister's button on the sidebar and see if she has time to do one for you. The cost is explained on her site. Stay for a while and leave me a comment. I will visit everyone who leaves a link to their blog (how would I find you otherwise? )

For the blog party hostesses please visit 5 minutes for mom