A Happy December!

It's always a happy December when we hear Christmas carols playing everywhere!  I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving and that the upcoming holidays become a time of great joy and happiness.  I don't want to be the kind of person who dreads the holidays because of all the stress it brings with shopping and making sure everyone is happy with their gifts.  Nope, I'm not going to do that.  I will focus on the true meaning of the season of Advent and prepare for the coming of the Christ Child.  I will work to step out of the darkness and into the light and THAT will be my focus.  

What will your focus be?

Computer Issues

I'm not sure what our problem is, but for some reason, my family can NOT keep a cord to my computer in decent shape!  I have had my computer for at least 5 years now, and gosh darn I've been through at least 4 cords!  This last week, my cord would not charge my computer so I was out of communication for a week.  I was lost and terribly behind.  Over 900 emails!  UGH!  

I am back, I have a good cord, and I will try my best to keep this cord in good, working condition. Because you see, I think it breaks every time my kids trip over it as they're setting the laptop down and getting up.  I see the problem:  kids touching what they really shouldn't.  I might have to put a stop to this.  Perhaps by buying Kindle Fires for both of them so they can have internet access to play games and such.  Then they won't touch MY computer.  Mine, mine, mine!  Don't I sound like a spoiled brat?  Well, when you have a "toy" that costs this much, I really SHOULD be selfish!  I'm thankful my computer still works after this many years.  What a good computer.  I love it!

Depression Hurts

I'm calling it depression.  What else can it be?  I have never felt better in my life as I felt this week.  Then?  My husband starts yelling at me today once again because I'm spending more time than he deems necessary cleaning the house AND I wasn't cleaning the area he thought should be cleaned first.  Seriously.  I even told him this, "I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't!"  His response?  "Well, I guess you're damned then because I look around and the point of entry to our house isn't cleaned!"

I made it through most of the day (in which he thankfully was gone at a football game) but as soon as he walked in the door, it was like my face was made of wax and it melted.  I can't smile, my head hurts, I don't want to talk to anyone, I'm tired and I couldn't battle the forces that are battling within me.  I ate some beef and rice casserole I made for the family.  Then I ate some brownies my daughter and her friend made.  Then I ate some pizza the girls made.  And you know what?  I feel worse then I have felt in months.  I can't believe I did that.  

Stress is terrible for fat peeps.  And talk about depressing:  I saw an ad on television for a pill that is supposed to act like "liposuction" in a pill.  The depressing part was the example they showed of a human body with the fat cells in the stomach, flat as a board, barely visible.  Then they show a tummy after babies were born.  A little more yellow fat showed up.   THEN they showed a tummy after work and stress and life was factored in.  HUGE.  And it looked like mine.  And I wonder why I'm feeling depressed?  Nah, not really.  I don't wonder at all.

I'll be back on the wagon first thing tomorrow morning with my Shaklee Cinch Detox (probably starting from the beginning, but it's a beginning I'm looking forward to start again) and all next week should be a wonderful week.  My husband is leaving early tomorrow morning for a business trip and won't be back until Friday.  I can detox to my heart's content without a massive level of stress.  Here's to healthy eating and good feelings starting tomorrow...

11-11-11

Whoops!

Forgot to wish everyone in the military, past and present, a Happy Veterans Day.  I always want to wish my Daddy a very happy 70th birthday that he celebrated today, too!  I love you SO much Dad!  


By the way, did you make a special wish at 11:11 today?  I missed the a.m. option so I made myself stay up for the p.m. option.  I ended up praying to God instead of making wishes but it was special at 11:11 on 11-11-11!  

Monday Blogs

Yup, I'm back on the schedule to post a "My Memories Suite" blog post over at The Memory Boutique.  Every Monday.  Had a snafu already, though...I scheduled it to post at 7:00 on Monday and it didn't work.  I can't figure that one out.  Mary??

So my Monday post actually posted on Tuesday.  Go figure.  In any event, I'll share it here, too!  Well, I'll share the LINK.  Won't you go check it out?  Thanks!  =)

The Middle

For the 30 Days of Thanks, I'm thankful for my big sister (the middle child), Sherry.  She has ALWAYS been there for me whenever I needed her.  She has shown me how to be selfless and to give rather than to receive.  I could not have asked for a better sister!  Thank you, Sherry!  Love you!

Dino Pinata

Yesterday my sister asked if I'd dog sit her newest addition to her family:  a chihuahua mix named Dino.  Dino was a rescue dog so they know very little about his former life.  He now lives with a family that dotes on him, takes him every where they go if possible and they rarely leave him home alone.  My sister will drive 40-50 miles out of her way to go pick him up before she goes somewhere.  I say "bah", but she loves this little guy!

In any event, they had to go out of town for an evening awards banquet  and Dino came over to our house.  He pottied outside before he came in so I thought all would be good for at least an hour.  As soon as they left, he ran around and around the house looking for them and whimpered.  Then he peed on my carpet.  Oh yeah, I was not happy about that.  So I decided to take Dino and our dog, Sadie, out for a long, long walk.  My son and daughter went with and it was beautiful outside.  Jon stopped at a friend's house so it was just me walking Dino and my daughter walking our dog.  Turned out to be a nice walk until some dude let his three dogs outside to go potty....

All of a sudden, three big dogs came running around a bush, saw Dino and came rushing toward us.  I yelled to Maddie to pick up Sadie.  Dino's a very scaredy doggy so he started screaming well before they even got to him.  I tried to pick him up, but being the scaredy dog, he was even backing away from me.  In a split second, the three dogs were between me and Dino, going after him.  Not in a vicious, kill-the-dog way but in an aggressive/beat the crap out of him/play-type way.  Dino screamed, Maddie screamed and the only way I could get Dino was to pull him straight up out of the middle of the three dogs.  I tripped on a dog and fell to my left knee.  I looked up at my hand that I was holding way above my hand and saw Dino swinging back and forth like a pinata as the other dogs were trying to get him and poke him with their nose.  He was still screaming.  I almost wish I could've been standing off to the side watching this...it probably looked hilarious!  Not for me at the time, though.  I'm laughing thinking about it right now!

I finally shoved to my feet, grabbed Dino and wrapped him in my arms under my jacket.  Those damn dogs continued to follow me and were jumping up trying to get at Dino.  He was just shaking like a bowl of jelly.  This whole time I'm not entirely sure what my daughter was doing while all of this was going on, but I can tell you she was scared to death and cried all the way home.  It was actually very sad.  The guy who owned the dogs?  Yeah, he was yelling and yelling at them but they didn't listen.  I yelled to Maddie to cross the road and to get away and those stupid dogs followed us.  Finally the owner ran out into the middle of the road and grabbed his dogs.  Had I had the presence of mind, I would've turned around and gave him a piece of my mind but my biggest concern at the time was to get my daughter and our two little dogs to safety.  

What am I thankful for today?  Well, I'm thankful that Dino didn't get killed by those nasty dogs.  I happy my daughter wasn't more traumatized by seeing a dog being ripped to shreds and I'm MOST thankful my daughter wasn't injured!  

And to dog owners?  Please keep your dogs on a leash or at least have underground fencing to keep the general public and their pets safe.  Seriously.  What were you thinking???

Harvest Hoe Down

Tonight, our church celebrated an annual get together in which the parish community meets after mass to have a hoe down.  Weeks ago there were sign up sheets asking parishioners to make and donate crock pots of chili.  They line up tables around the outside of the gym and the crock pots are lined up.  Simple!  You walk in and there are larger bowls and smaller bowls...you can try any and/or all of the chili if you'd like using the small bowls for samples or the large bowls to make a meal.  Where hoe down came from I do not know.  There's no dancing.  Just a lot of eating and chatting!  

The tables also have large baskets of corn muffins and other muffins to enjoy with the chili.  For kids who are a bit picky?  Well, they have hot dogs for them.  Even some of the adults grab a dog and cover it with, what else?  Chili!  

It's a fun event and a great time for parishioners to sit with each other, chat and have wonderful fellowship.  Today, I'm thankful for our church family.  We've met a lot of people and made friends with a great group from young to old and every age in between!  We are blessed to be surrounded by these fantastic brothers and sisters in Christ!

Made in the U.S.A.

I've been raised by two parents who believe so strongly in America that since I can remember, we were buying only goods "Made in the U.S.A."  Let me tell you, this hasn't always been easy as we went without at times because everything we saw was made in China!  And Christmas gifts for my Dad?  Almost impossible.  We'd go through his entire wish list and not find a single one made in the U.S.  It's getting a little easier but not much.  It's going to take every American to get the message across to corporate America:  we not only WANT to buy American, our country NEEDS us to buy American made products and services to save our economy!  And not just American made products, but purchase them from American businesses - the locally-owned businesses (like The Memory Boutique!).  These are the businesses that keep the money in the local economy.  Don't believe me?  Read this article that shows 73% of the money spent locally stays locally whereas only 43% (less than half!) stays local if you shop at the big-box stores.  There's also a $20 challenge that I have been faithfully following since I read this article.  You think little ole' you can't make a difference?  Bologna.  You can.  And it only takes $20 a week.  And if you get a friend to do it, and they get a friend to do it, and THEY get a friend to do it, etc., exponentially it makes a HUGE difference!  We can change our economy, a $20 bill at a time.    

A friend from school posted this on her Facebook page.  I don't know who the author is, but I applaud him/her!  And yes, a New Tradition has been born at our house:  Christmas 2011 will be about Christ's birth, love, laughter, together with family and gift giving with a purpose:

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods --merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor.

This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands.

Yes there is!

It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs tofit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?  Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plonking down the Benjamines on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home

town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.

THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.

Forward this to everyone on your mailing list -- post it to discussion groups -- throw up a post on Craigslist in the Rants and Raves section in your city -- send it to the editor of your local paper and radio stations, and TV news departments. This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn't that what Christmas is about?

My Sweet, Sweet Girl

Today I am so unbelievably thankful for my daughter, Maddie.  She's been a blessing since before her birth and continues each and every day to bring joy and laughter to our lives!  She's just like her brother although she has a lot more feistiness than Jon does.  It makes her special and unique!  But just like her brother, she's a very friendly, sweet, compassionate young girl.  She's a friend to all and recognizes who's real and honest versus those who aren't.  It's a gift at this early age to have wisdom like this and I pray that she'll continue to use this gift for good! 

Keep up the good work and continue to stay strong in your faith, Maddie.  God loves you and so do we!  

Squirrel Nuts

I love cooking with walnuts.  I really do.  I tried to re-create a whiskey-walnut chicken recipe from a local restaurant and did pretty good if I may say so myself.  Of course I throw walnuts into my homemade breads like pumpkin and zucchini; it's too plain without them.  I even love throwing walnuts in my rice and quinoa dishes.  Salads, too.  Yum!  But when they're all over my yard and hitting the roof of my house (which made the dog bark each and every time the wind was blowing!), that's when I decided I don't like them THAT much.  

I was entirely certain someone would sprain their ankle on these small, hard orbs of pain strewn all over the lawn.  Truth be told it really did happen to me so that's why I was certain.  It hurts!  I spent an hour loading and hauling bucket after bucket into the woods behind my house.  They're not bad if they're still in the "skin".  Once that skin starts breaking that's when the hands get all stained (believe me, walnut stain looks much prettier on a nice table or night stand than on hands).  After weeks of being walked on, the skins were off and laying all over the yard.  My hands may be brown for a few days, but it's a good reminder of a job that's almost finished!

If I was smart, I would save these nuts to crack myself and save big bucks, but I've found the only way to get into these shells is to have squirrel teeth.  Since that's not an option, I decided to let the critters have them (Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the critters who live in our woods!) and I'll buy the ones already shelled and bagged for me.  No one can say I don't take care of wildlife.  They get pretty expensive squirrel nuts from us!  


So today, I'm thankful for the beautiful weather.  I was able to be outside without a jacket and it was sunny and beautiful!   

Thankful Even More!

Today I'm thankful for my son.  I am so proud of the young man he is and continues to be.  He's so unbelievably compassionate and accepts every person for who they are - who God created them to be.  He looks at people and will remind himself that God created that person and He thinks they're perfect.  Who are we to find fault with a person God thinks is perfect?

He'll leave his friends at the lunch table to sit with the "Asperger's" kid no one else wants to sit with, he takes the time to teach new kids trying out for basketball (who have never played or have played very little) necessary skills while others choose to laugh at and ridicule them and he chooses to give positive, uplifting and friendly comments to the kids that are verbally kicked down and rejected in the hopes of bringing them back up and maybe giving them a good feeling for the day.  

My son's amazing and I thank God every day for choosing ME to be his mom!  I am blessed more than words can express!

Oops! Forgot to Share My Thanks!

I really did post my "thankful" idea yesterday but it was on Facebook!  So yesterday I was thankful for my job at Cannonsburg.  I'm thankful that my boss took a chance and hired me, even though I'm goofy and a clutz!  Thank you, Wendy!  I love working with you!

And I'm Done With One

Last night was my last night of work for banquets.  The lodge is now officially closed for banquets and will quickly change over in preparation for the ski and snowboard season.  We're supposed to get more snow this year than last, it's supposed to come earlier and perhaps stay a little later.  We'll see.  In any event, the lodge is shooting for a December 1st opening and I promise you I will have one kiddo who's thrilled to pieces and can't wait!  He had a nightmare yesterday that he looked out the window and there was snow everywhere.  He grabbed his snowboard but each time he went out the door, the snow would disappear and it would be like summer time.  He'd go back inside and look out and he'd see snow...he'd go outside and it would be summer again.  He said he cried in his dream.  =)

It's a good thing banquets are finished.  You see, I'm a clutz by nature, so throw me into a room filled with tables, chairs and people sitting close together, I am set up to clutzify for sure (and did I ever!)!  The bride's family had beautiful white chair covers placed on the chairs with a large black bow on the back.  Well, as I was putting salad dressings on the tables, apparently I dribbled on the seat cover.  I had some people come up to me and tell me their seats (assigned seating at this reception) had dressing on it.  Crap.  We didn't have extra seat covers!  So I wiped it up (and the woman said, "That's not good enough!  You know whoever sits there will have oil stains on their clothes!"  Duh, ya think?  (Well, that's what I WANTED to say to the idiot!)  I placed a white cloth napkin over the top and they were satisfied.

As I was clearing hors d'ourves plates, I tripped on a man's oxygen tank and almost ripped the tubes out of his nose.  Fortunately, he just had to readjust them behind his ears!  I wished the floor opened up and swallowed me right then and there.  But that's not the worst of it...

As I was clearing salad plates, I didn't realize the bride was in back of me.  Yes, I was standing on the bride's wedding gown.  I was mortified.  She even looked at me like I was the world's biggest idiot.  Well, all I can say about that is even IDIOTS don't have eyes in the back of their heads, Missy!  And I was there first!  Does that argument hold?

I'm sad the job is over for the year as it was a wonderful paycheck.  The work wasn't very difficult and the job paid extremely well.  So until next April, I will no longer work banquets so for all you brides, grooms, families and friends, you're all safe from me until then!

30 Days of Thanks

Once again, I have accepted the challenge of the 3rd Annual 30 Days of Thankfulness.  SO!  Here's my first installment of something I'm thankful for:

Today, I am thankful for doctors, nurses, surgeons and specialists, especially the ones who performed the surgery on my mother-in-law today.  She came through with flying colors (no cancer) and will be coming home earlier than expected tomorrow!

Goulash

I cook.  A LOT.  I really like it.  But the way I cook is to either look at a cookbook and close it while I'm cooking or just whip something together from memory.  I rarely follow a recipe which means my dishes turn out differently each time I make them.  We NEVER have the same thing more than once.  It all depends on how I feel that day!

My husband claims that one entree I create comes out pretty tasty each and every time even if it tastes different each time.  Goulash.  Funny about this one:  I usually make it with whatever I have on hand.  First, I start with ground beef or turkey browned with onions, celery and lots and lots of fresh garlic.  I like to throw in some great northern beans for extra protein, home-grown corn and my own stewed tomatoes.  That's what gives it such great taste:  home-grown tomatoes stewed with additional onions, peppers and usually some shredded zucchini tossed in!  Seasonings?  Whatever I see that looks good to me.  Usually oregano, additional garlic powder, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper.  Noodles?  Yeah, whatever I may have on hand at the time.  This time I had a huge bag of second noodles that I bought at a discount shop in Shipsewanna, Indiana.  (Honestly, how a noodle can be considered a "second" is beyond me...they all look the same width and length but hey...I found a 4 pound bag for $1.92!) They're small, fine egg noodles usually used in chicken noodle soup.  They also work great in goulash!  

Like any good cook on t.v. does, before I serve my dishes, I taste it to make sure it tastes good.  It was missing something this time, a little more than just salt.  When there's a lack of flavor as well as sodium, I will add a teaspoon or two of bouillon, but not just any bouillon.  I only use Better Than Bouillon because I love it's rich, natural, robust flavor.  AND I can buy an organic version that's fat-free, GMO free, non-irradiated and 95% organic.  I always make sure I have the chicken, beef and vegetable variety on hand at all times for all cooking purposes.  Love it!!

Once I added the beef bouillon and let it simmer for a few minutes, it was so unbelievably delicious that my husband couldn't stop eating it!  I had to admit I had a little more than I should have, too.  I can do goulash.  Yeah, I sure can!  Toot toot!

Funerals and LOTS of Them!

My Mom has been a funeral luncheon coordinator at her church for many years now.  It's kind of funny...I remember after my Grandma passed away how touching the funeral luncheon was, seeing all the ladies working so very hard to make our luncheon so wonderful.  I made a point of getting involved in funeral luncheons so I would be able to offer the same love and support we received.  I was the one who asked my Mom to go to a meeting with me at church!  And that's how she ended up in funeral luncheons.

Since October 1st, we have had 6 funerals.  I'm praying that no one else passes away between now and October 31st because quite frankly, we need a break.  You see, I personally don't work at every one of them because I work at other jobs.  But when I AM available I do work.  Initially my job is to call for all the donated salads and desserts a couple days before.  Sounds easy, no?  Well, it's not rocket science so in that sense, it's easy.  But the difficulty arises when I sit down with the list of people who signed up to donate dishes and make 18 calls to find that only 2 people will answer their phones!  It's a lot of time on the phone and sometimes I even get yelled at by these people.  Christians.  Go figure.  At least I didn't get yelled at this time.  My sister, Sherry, did!  =)  

Today was a long day but one filled with many blessings.  We see families who come in after burying their loved ones in the cemetery, often times with tears still in their eyes, and we offer them food made from the heart and served from the heart, too.  They're surrounded by their close friends and family and by the time the luncheon is over, the family is laughing and talking and reminiscing about the good times and it's beautiful.  It's a beautiful ministry and I'm so glad to be a part of it.

I'm SO Blessed!

Today I celebrated my birthday and it was better than I could have ever imagined!  I slept in until 9:00 a.m. and when I awoke, Jon was up.  I made us some breakfast and we had such a nice time talking.  Then Maddie and Chris awoke at 10:00 and it hit me:  ROAD TRIP!

I asked if the family wanted to go to B & G Discount in Schoolcraft, Michigan.  Chris decided to stay home with the puppy so my son and daughter went with me.  The ride takes an hour and 10 minutes and we had such a good time talking, laughing, listening to music and just sharing our thoughts freely with one another.  

Then the shopping!  SO fun to shop at a store like that with them.  There's no rhyme or reason to what they have at the shop (it's more like an unclaimed freight store) and shoppers literally need to pick in the boxes and go up and down every aisle to see what's offered. 

Jonathan found some amazing tools, knives, winter caps and hunting gear.  Maddie found "girly" items likes fuzzy socks, writing journals, coloring books, jewelry and winter hats.  

Me?  I found a couple of items (like the amazing deal of a dozen fuzzy gloves for $8.00!).  But more importantly, I was able to spend the morning with my sweet children and see the joy and excitement on their faces.  These are days in which the blessings abound and I thank God daily for my amazing family.  

After shopping?  Straight to back-to-back basketball games and youth group.  And now, it's time to tuck everyone in and happily fall asleep to dreams of a beautiful day.  

It's Over

Today was bitter sweet.  It was the last day of my son's rocket football...forever.  It's been five years of Rocket Football and it's done.  =(  But, now we're looking forward to 78ers and then right into Freshman football after that so it's not as though football is done for good.  Just this chapter is closing.

Today was also my daughter's last day of Rocket cheerleading!  And the worst part?  I was decorating a cake and didn't get to go!  Chris said she did a great job and was there to yell and cheer and support her on my behalf.  

We may have many more years of cheerleading, so I'm not terribly sad she's done.  It'll be nice to have no practices and having to be at football fields every Saturday, rain or shine, warm or cold.  It'll be nice to sleep in and spend some quality family time together.  Ahhh, life IS good!

I Messed This Up

I'm trying to learn new things, one being how to decorate the blog.  It's not working out so well for me, and I'm terribly sorry it looks the way it does!  

I will do my best to learn more and get this cleaned up.  I just wanted a seasonal theme and it's not working so well at this time.  Bear with me and I'll get it - I promise!  =)

19 Years...

19 years ago today I married my husband.  It was a beautiful fall day with sun shining and a crisp, chill in the air.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  And what a beautiful celebration that brought our families together for the wedding ceremony (which was at 1:00) and then get-togethers at my Mom and Dad's house for my relatives and a get-together at Chris' Grandma and Grandpa's house for their family.  Reception at 6:00 so there was a lot of time in between to entertain!

I can't believe it's been 19 years.  SO much has happened in these years:  deaths of family and friends, births of our children and nephews, nieces, cousins and friends' kids, lots of moving and experiencing different parts of our amazing country, making friends in all the places we lived, traveling all over the U.S. and even a trip to Germany, many different jobs, hardships, illnesses, surgeries, many college classes, lots of churches we worshipped in, lots of laughter, lots of love, lots of tears and so much in between.  It's been quite a ride!  And one that I would choose over and over and over again.  Would I change some things?  Well, I might be tempted to say yes, such as avoiding unemployment, but when I reflect back on those hardships, it made us stronger, more resilient and increased our faith.  How could we trade that?

Happy Anniversary to my husband, Chris.  It's been a great life and I'm looking forward to many more years!

Poop Licker

I am SO grossed out.  No wonder I have never had a dog living in the house with me before this.  It's almost unbearable.

The wedding reception went late last night as I had to stay and re-set the room after the reception was done for a job fair scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.  By the time we cleaned, broke the room down, vacuumed, re-set the room and shut down, it was already after 12:30.  I didn't get home until close to 1:00 a.m.  

Needless to say, I was very tired when I came home.  I was in my bathroom washing up when I heard the puppy come in behind me.  I have a dish of water in there for my cats and I heard the puppy lapping up the water.  Brain not working well, I thought, "Boy, she's really thirsty!"  Then it hit me:  she shouldn't be drinking so much water this late because she'll just have to go out and go potty soon.  So I turned to stop her and she wasn't at the water bowl!  I looked and saw her in the shower.  I thought she was licking up water leftover from my husband's shower.  Nope.  Not even close.

After my cat had emergency surgery in May, he's had some challenges with the litter box.  Hurley won't go unless it's perfectly clean and doesn't smell (meaning we have to have fresh litter in the box at all times - easier said than done).  So he's been finding a pristine place to urinate and also for bowel movements.  My shower!

You got it.  Hurley pooped and this little dog that I once thought was too adorable for words is now a cat poop licker upper.  She lost a lot of her cuteness, I can tell you that!  I yelled at her to stop and she kept going at it.  I started to gag (remember when I was laughing at my husband for gagging cleaning up the dog poop?) and yelled for my husband.  It was about 1:30 a.m. and, although he was still up because he waits for me to get home, he wasn't too quick.  I grabbed the dog, tossed her out the door, turned around to clean up the mess and the dumb little poop licker is SO fast she was already back at it!  I gagged again, this time almost throwing up, and grabbed the little creeper a second time.  I tossed her out and tried to keep my foot on her to keep her back.  She was like a bull charging.  Chris finally came it and got the dog.  AND he cleaned up the cat poop.  

Sadie tried to lick me after that.  Like I'm going to let THAT ever happen again.  NOT.  Sick.  Gross.  I think she's going to need her mouth cleaned out with a disinfectant.  I'm not even sure I want to reach in there to do that!  All I can say now is, "Why?????????"

Winning, Wind and Weddings

What a day today!  My son and daughter had football games today and wouldn't you know it?  We have high wind advisories with gusts over 50 miles per hour and with the wind chill?  It felt like 43 degrees today.  Brrrrrrr!

My son's team won their football game today at the high school stadium.  I'm quite pleased as the team has lost their last 3 games.  =(  The team isn't very good about blocking and a lot of the kids just stand there and watch as the other team flies around them.  It's been disappointing to watch so today was a good day for the team.  They needed this win!  Jonathan had a pretty good game, too.  He made a touchdown, scored a 2-point conversion and ran for a lot of yards.  And he's very sick!  I can't imagine how well he would have done if he was feeling well!

After Jon's game, Maddie cheered.  I didn't get to stay and watch because I brought Jonathan home to shower and drug up.  He's coughing so hard he's vomiting.  Not fun for him at all.  Chris stayed with Maddie and said she did a great job cheering in the chilly wind today!  She was very happy to come home and get warmed up, though.

And now, I am off to work at a wedding reception.  Hopefully the guests and the bride and groom won't get blown away by the gusts (and I'm hoping to get out of work early because I'm very tired!).  

Enjoy the beautiful fall colors!

Dirty Shoes

We don't claim to be masters of anything.  I freely and honestly admit that.  Including potty training a puppy.  That's not going so well.  We have Sadie trained to the point of the front door.  She knows she has to go and she's supposed to go outside.  She just can't open the door and we haven't figured out a way for her to tell us she has to go.  Yup, she's been laying down poop at the front door two times now.  I'm just happy it's not on the carpet as tile is a LOT easier to clean up.  But still.  It's smelly, disgustingly gross and highly unsanitary.

So what do I do with a husband who doesn't smell and/or see it and walks THROUGH it, not realizing that he did as he walked DOWN the stairs on the carpeted steps to see if he can figure out where the SMELL was coming from and walks back UP the stairs before he realizes what he did?  I have to be honest.  I'm not sure what situation is worse.  The puppy or the hubby?

As I type this, my dear (sometimes doofus) husband is cleaning up the mess.  Occasionally I have a wicked giggle escape as I hear him start to gag (I know, I'm quite mean!) but it's a good lesson for him to learn.  I guarantee he'll never step in poopy again.

Now if only I can figure a way for the puppy to communicate that she needs to go outside, life would be, well, back to normal.  Sort of.

God's peace to you all!

Cakes Galore!

My mom taught herself how to decorate cakes and she always made us the prettiest birthday cakes, year after year, when we were growing up.  It was always so special to be able to choose the color of our flowers for our cakes!  We also loved eating the leftover frosting on graham crackers...my Mom was so cool!  

Shortly after my daughter was born, I took a Wilton decorating class with a couple of my girl friends.  I was very unsure if I would be any good because I really don't have any notable skills.  It was fun and I realized that I DID have a talent:  I can make frosting roses like no one's business!  And it turned out that I am pretty good at almost all of the flowers:  violets, poinsettias, mums, daffodils, daisies - I found a creative niche!

I'm very anti-fondant as I think it tastes like crap, plain and simple!  I'm not going to go through the time and work to make a delicious, moist cake and not have good frosting on the top.  It's a package deal.  And yes, fondant is amazing to work with because it's smooth, easy to cut out shapes, and it's easy to create forms and designs in the fondant.  It looks beautiful.  But I'm into the look AND the taste - it has to be joy on the taste buds.  So I boycott fondant and strictly use only buttercream frosting.  I even skip royal icing because who likes to chip a tooth on a hard flower that looks pretty but tastes like a rock?  Everything made in royal can also be made in buttercream if you know what you're doing.  And I think I do!  =)  So here's some pictures of cakes I've made.  No fondant, just pure buttercream goodness in every bite.

Princess Fairy

My nephew's graduation cake using an edible cake topper from The Memory Boutique!

Order YOUR cake topper here at The Memory Boutique using your very own picture!

What's to explain?  It's a soccer ball... =)

Ignore the mess in the background...just look at the cake.  It's an erupting volcano.  Did you get that?

Lady bug using the Wilton pan.  I think from now on I'll use my own pans to form the body.  She looks funny!

Whipped this baby out in 30 minutes for my son.  He likes football.   A LOT.

Bad lighting but it shows the pretty roses on top!

It's hard to make a bad-ass cop car using a VW bug pan.  Oh well.  It's a "Herbie" cop car!

Love lattice!  Lighting is bad in the pic but the more I look at it, that's good because the lattice isn't straight!

Just plain fun.

First Communion cake for a boy.

My daughter's First Communion cake.  

I love this.  It looks so pretty on the side (and it covers up a lot of non-smoothing-of-the-frosting issues!)

My daughter's 9th birthday - my son helped decorate this cake which was a flower pot.

I have three orders pending and I'm sure to have fun creating these:  one over-the-hill cake, one tarantula cake and a cupcake order for a sweet little girl to take to school for her treat.  Just for the record, I'm not licensed so I am legally not able to "charge" for my cakes.   But most people have been generous and made donations to my children's "college" funds.  It works out in the end.  =)  

There's No Room for Bullies

Plain and simple.  Bullies do NOT belong ANYWHERE.  We're dealing with a personal situation involving bullying and I can tell you that it HURTS, it's SAD, it's INFURIATING and I will not tolerate it.  

If you know someone who's been bullied, won't you take a moment and let them know that they are wonderful, special, necessary, unique and loved (and any other adjective describing how great they are)?  They deserve to know how special and loved they are and that they do NOT deserve to be treated this way.

If you know someone who IS a bully, won't you take a moment to enlighten them?  NO ONE likes a bully.  As a matter of fact, people have very negative feelings and attitudes towards bullies.  Who wants to be disliked so much?  Bullying also means that this individual(s) has some self-esteem issues.  Help them get help so they can heal and stop hurting others.  It takes a village to raise a child and it also takes a village to help them with their issues.  Don't turn your back on anyone in need and don't be afraid to speak up for what's right.  It can make all the difference in the world to someone in need.

Sadie, Sadie, Sadie

I found I have a little time between sick children and getting them (and myself) to bed.  So here's the puppy story!

Jon & Maddie with Chloe

We ended up getting Chloe, the blind-in-one-eye dog.  The kids couldn't wait to get her home after meeting her last Sunday afternoon (especially Maddie) so, after church, my husband took the kids to pick her up.  I was teaching a faith formation class so I warned them I wouldn't be around to help until almost 9:00 p.m. but they wanted to get her anyway!

When I came home, the dog was on the futon with Maddie.  Chloe was shaking terribly bad.  She vomited shortly before I came home and I noticed that she was running into walls and falling down the steps as she had no depth perception.  It was terribly sad.  She even walked down the hallway right into our cat, Hurley.  She didn't see him and he slapped her.  After that, her nose kept twitching because she was smelling everything.  I realized quickly that she was in fact blind in both eyes, not just the one.  It was a terrible night.  She wasn't eating, she wasn't going outside to relieve herself and she acted completely scared and nervous.  

My husband said we should take her back and I agreed with him.  So the next day, I made the difficult decision to return this free doggy.  I cried.  My kids cried.  I cried all the way there and I cried like a baby while I was there!  The poor woman felt so bad for me and my family that she offered us a puppy.  

The REALLY good news is that my Aunt Margie (who's been a widow since 1997) wanted to get another dog after her sweet dog, Penny, died a few months ago.  Aunt Margie called me on Monday out of the blue to order a cake and I had a feeling that I should mention the dog needed a good home.  Long story short she took Chloe home and they are wonderful for each other and madly in love!

Here's Sadie!

So yes, the kids went and saw "Baby Girl" and fell in love with her.  She's a bundle of energy and she's the perfect fit for our family.  Now if we can only get her potty trained, life will be good.  =)

Sleep Deprived

This is a long story saved for another day when I can think straight and type well.  In any event, the ending of that long story is that we have a puppy and her name is Sadie.  She's a Coton de Tulear and is a ball of energy.  She's like Tigger on steroids.  She's funny and makes us laugh.  She's also learning to potty train and she's a pain in the butt.  But we love her.  And I'll share the story how we ended up with this crazy little doggy another day.  For now, here's her mugshot:

Our Newest Family Member:  Sadie Carafeena Lyals (name chosen by the children!)

I Married A Good Man

There are times when I think my brain will explode because of something my husband said or did.  Yet it passes quickly and I'm back to loving him.  And then there are days like today...

Last week Thursday, I was offered a free dog.  FREE.  It needs a good home and can no longer stay at the breeder's house.  FREE.  Cute little white dog.  My kids have wanted a dog for over 5 years.  FREE.  I didn't search for this...it found me.  FREE.  This offer couldn't have come at a better time and it certainly couldn't have been better for our family.  And my husband said, "No!  Absolutely not."

On Monday, my son and I went shopping and I saw dog dishes and dog toys.  I made the decision right then and there to get that dog.  So we bought the dog dish and the dog toy and I knew I would have to play my cards right to get my husband to change his mind. 

I told my boss about the dog on Tuesday and she said, "Let's go see her!"  So we did.  And I truly believed this dog was meant for my family.  It's a Coton de Tulear and it's a cute little white dog.  Her name is Chloe and she's blind in one eye.  When I first saw her, her blind eye is glazed over and it's a little larger than her other eye.  But Chloe is sweet and loving and she came right to me and rolled over so I could give her a tummy rub.  No one else wanted this poor little dog and my heart went out to her.  I left there determined NOT to take "No!" for an answer!

Yesterday, my daughter and I went to shop at a flea market in Shipshewanna, IN.  We saw a LOT of dog toys and clothes.  We bought a dog leash and brush.  And then I called my husband and told him I think we should get the kids the dog.  They really want one and I think this one would be good for our family.  He said he'd think about it and we'd talk later.

Today, I sat down and smiled at him.  Then I raised my eyebrows at him in question.  He looked at me and nodded his head "Yes".  I married a man who would LOVE to think of himself first, but he doesn't.  He thinks of all of us first.  I know he doesn't want a dog.  He doesn't really like animals and he caved in numerous times (we have three cats!) already.  But he loves us and he thinks of our happiness.  I love him.  And not just because I got my way.  He's a good man and I'm blessed to have him as my husband.  

And we'll have Chloe living with us soon.  I'll post pictures...

Love and peace to you all! 

Teacher Issues

Okay, I have a hard time confronting people because I like to avoid conflict.  But seriously, when a teacher criticizes my child for having a paper that was "bad" (after saying to others, "Perfect, good, good, perfect....BAD!") and there's "too much on it", I think that's where I have to draw the line.  I believe in constructive criticism and by all that is holy and mighty, I believe that if you negatively criticize a child, especially in front of her classmates, that's damaging to their self esteem.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying my child should have her hand held and be cradled in the teacher's arms.  I'm saying that teachers have a major impact on kids with their choice of words.

The above allegedly (and I use this word because I realize there's two sides to every story) happened to my daughter by her social studies teacher.  My daughter, who LOVES school and everything about it, came home and told me she no longer likes social studies which happened to be one of her favorite subjects.  When asked, "Why not?", that's when she told me what the teacher said to her.  If this really did happen, I could have thought of about 150 different better ways that statement could have been said.  And I think I may send this teacher an email suggesting ideas for her to use in the future.  Perhaps, "Wow!  This paper has a LOT of stuff on it!  Maybe next time you can try to focus on just a few states and make sure they look their best rather than trying to get all 50 on the paper!". Or "Maddie, your paper has too many states on it.  I think it would have looked better if there weren't as many." Or "Next time why don't you try to keep the paper a little less crowded."  I think ANYTHING rather than simply saying it's "bad".  I'm saddened that my daughter was hurt by this and the Momma Bear is starting to growl.  In fairness to the teacher, though, this needs to be discussed before I go all "bear" on her.    

72011

I know I've written about this a few times, but this is something that has clearly affected my life.  I'm going to share some more information about Matt Hales and his untimely death.  I say untimely because he was only 27 years old at the time of his death, and don't we all feel that people should live long lives before they die?  Everyone should be old when they die, not young, right?  One of my longest memories of my father's advice (by longest, I remember him telling me this early in life and he's never stopped repeating this statement) is:  "The old must die and the young may."  

When Matt died on 7-20-11, it was 11 years after his severe accident in 2000, 11 days before his 28th birthday and in the year 2011.  But Matt's wife, Stephanie, posted on her blog some more information that is profound.  Matt died in the 11th hour.  7-20-11:  7+2+0+1+1 = 11.  Jesus Christ - count the letters:  11 letters in His name.  Coincidence?  Or Heavenly messages?  I believe it's a message.  See a YouTube video discussing this phenomena at 11:11

Often times we question "why?".  WHY would God let someone who's so good and wonderful die at such a young age while there are rotten, nasty, evil people who live SO long and hurt so many during their lives?  Regarding Matt's death, Matt was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  It wasn't a critical accident caused by God.  The Bible's explanation of why there is suffering and death can help us understand that God is not responsible. For one thing, the Bible alerts us to the fact that "time and unforeseen occurrence" befall all humans (Eccl 9:11).  For example, Jesus brought to light that 18 people were killed when a tower fell on them.  He made it clear that their death was not because of God's displeasure but because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (Luke 13:1-5).  Just like Matt was.  God doesn't cause events such as this, but He has ways of comforting us.  Like all of the coincidences with the number "11" involved in Matt's life and death.  Do you think this is God's way of showing us that Matt was called to Heaven and is perfect once again so that our grief can turn into gladness for Matt?  I believe.  I believe with all my heart.  I hope and pray that Stephanie will find much comfort and be blessed with inner peace.  She deserves it.   

Fall Festivals Abound!

There's something to be said about fall and all the church festivals that occur this time of year.  We attended festival at my parent's church to celebrate my daughter's birthday!  Walking up to the parking lot with the large tents set up brought back such fond memories.

When we were growing up, my sisters and I would go to church, often times to the 7:00 a.m. liturgy because that's what my dad liked best, and see the huge white tents set up in the middle of the parking lot.  The excitement was almost too much to bear!  We would have to go home and come back later when the festival started.  My mom was for many, many years in charge of the pie room for the festival dinner.  She would leave early, sometimes taking us with her, other times leaving us home with my dad.  He was never in a big hurry to get there, so it was difficult waiting for him!

Once we arrived, we would stand in line waiting for tables in the school basement to open so we could sit down and eat the grilled chicken dinner our church was famous for.  As a youngster, I could have cared less about the dinner and would have just preferred to play games in the game tent!  Time would drag until we'd get the okay to go out and play.

The games were typical festival games but they were just plain fun.  And the huge bounce house was by far my favorite part of festival.  The pony rides in the circle was fun and sometimes there was a horse drawn wagon that would take us into the orchards and back.  Those are some very fond memories!

I'm happy that I was able to share that same fun with my kids a few weeks back.  While the festival has changed over the years, the innocence of childhood fun never ceases!  

This coming weekend OUR church is having a festival.  It will be small and cramped, but we're doing our part in planning and working and we'll give it 100%+ effort.  We'll take lots of notes and continue to make our festival one that grows and gets better every year.  Here's to a fall filled with lots of church festivals and good food served by good, hard working parishioners.  We're blessed!

Nervous After 20 Years!

Can you believe that I still get nervous to teach faith formation even though I've been teaching for 20 years?  I'm starting a new class tonight and my heart rate is relatively high right now!  You'd think that I'd have this nervousness whipped but I don't.  

I think I have set such high expectations for myself.  I know how I feel about our faith and I want to make sure I get the kids to feel the same way, too.  Possible?  I hope so.  I just have to remind myself to speak from the heart, share and get them to share in return so that maybe they'll either light a spark in their hearts or the spark that's there will turn into a blazing flame!  

This picture of Jesus shows him before the crucifixtion, after the crowning with thorns.  The artist (sorry, the artist is unknown to me) has done an amazing job capturing the emotion in Jesus' eyes.  This is beautiful and it just helps to reinforce my belief that what I'm doing is right and good.  Thank you, Jesus...  

Today is Catechetical Sunday.  During the mass, our priest called all catechists forward for a special blessing by him and also had the congregation extend their hands over us with prayers. It was very special and I left there with such a wonderful feeling in my heart.  I believe I was blessed with the Holy Spirit and I pray that the Holy Spirit will remain in me and guide me on the path to bringing these kids into a deeper faith with Jesus Christ.  

Heavenly Father, please bless the children who will be in my class tonight.  Open their hearts to receive You and to learn so much more about our faith.  Father, please be with me and bless me with the Holy Spirit.  Let the Holy Spirit guide me and help me in making choices that are pleasing to You, Lord.  Let me be Your vessel so that I can make a difference in these kids' lives.  

Amen.

It's All Relative

The work, the bills, the work, the bills.  It's all relative and that's why we do what we do, right?  There are bills, one must work to earn money to pay bills, repeat, repeat, repeat.  

I'm thankful that I have as many jobs as I do.  I know people who have been looking for work for two years!  I remind myself that as I'm working...to do the best job I can because there's a lot of other people out there who can do the job better so I need to make sure I give it my all!  Every time. 

Thank you, God, for blessing me and my family.  You provide for us in so many ways and I want to be certain to thank You and praise You.  With wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God!