We Moved!

I have moved in very suddenly with my parents.  That's kind of weird, because I'm 44 years old and have a 16-year-old and 12-year-old.  The first night, I went by myself and left the kids home with my husband.  The kids packed their bags the next day and came over to the farm, too (there's something about Dad taking care of them - it's just not the same!).

Mom had to go to the hospital by ambulance yesterday, Saturday morning, because she couldn't walk and was in tremendous pain in her hip and back.  They didn't help (x-rays didn't show a fracture so GO HOME! they told her) but sent her home with enough pain meds to last until 3:00 a.m. Monday morning.  Seriously.  Only until 3:00 a.m. and she was told to follow up with her primary care physician.  Am I thinking I'm the only one who gets this right now? How can she follow up with her doc when they aren't even IN until at least 8:00 a.m. Monday morning?  3:00 a.m. versus 8:00 a.m.?  I called the E.R. and asked for more pain meds for her.  They said the only way she can get them is by coming back to the E.R.  I explained the only way she can get there is by ambulance and they said, "Well, if that's the only way then you have to do it."  Seriously?

Pain Meds are the norm now!

I called in a favor with a couple friends:  a chiropractor and a PCP who's in the same office as my Mom's PCP.  He prescribed more pain meds and shared the info with her PCP.  Dr. Marc, the chiropractor, came over to her house and put his adjustment bed right next to her bed and helped her out of bed to flop right on his table.  She did get an adjustment and that made an amazing difference for 3 - 4 hours (she was actually walking again!) but the results didn't last.  That's to be expected.

In any event, the lesson of this story?  If you have to go to the E.R. and they give you pain meds, make DARN sure they prescribe enough to get you through until after you get in to see your primary care physician.  You'll be glad you did.

Football Frenzy

It's fall so at our house, that means football rules. Our son has played football since he was five years old, but this was our first official year of high school football and we were ready because practice started in August. I remember one very warm afternoon waiting in the parking lot for him to finish and listening to the band practicing.  There's just something about the band's drum line and football - the two seem to go hand-in-hand.  I was giddy with the anticipation of the first game!

My Football Hero!

Our almost-six-feet-tall, 200 pound freshman was pulled up to play JV football so our world was rocked a little more than expected, and going in to a brand new school not knowing anyone, it was an adjustment for him and us!  He did great, though, and the team had a great year (6 and 3).  Of course, I had my camera at all the games and I think I averaged about 250 pictures a game.  Considering there were 9 games in the season (plus numerous scrimmages), I have well over 1,200 images!  Thank goodness I have the dates of each picture because seriously - they all look alike.  1,200+ images of my son and his teammates running this way, running that way, carry the ball, kicking the ball, making a tackle...do I really need to have 1,200+ images of the same thing over and over and over?  I could, but that would not be a very interesting photo album, would it? Plus it doesn't make sense to spend all that money printing them either individually or in scrapbook pages.

District Champions

So what's a shutter snapping, photo addict like me to do in a situation like this? The answer:  make friends with the "DELETE" button.  This has been so difficult for me because I take pictures with a purpose, pictures that mean something to me. There's my kid in it, for crying out loud and if I delete it, that's like throwing away my child! Do you ever feel that way, too? Get over it, Jackie! Deleting an image does NOT throw away your child. I'll have the best images saved, printed and I'm learning to delete by following these steps:

1.  Go through and get rid of the blurry, out-of-focus images. Even if it was the best play of the game...no one enjoys looking at a picture that doesn't look good. Period. Let it go.

2.  Get rid of duplicates. Is my son standing in formation before the ball is in play?  Sure, I think he looks good standing there, but do I really need 100 pictures of him like that? No! Choose 5 that are the best and delete the rest! Whoa. That's a darn good mantra:  choose 5 that are the best and delete the rest!

3.  Let's take it game by game (day by day, event by event or however you have your photos organized) and choose from each the 5 that are the best and delete the rest! Let's say that I had my continuous shooting going on my camera and I have 10 images that show second by second an awesome play. I said it was a mantra, remember? It's not the law so I can bend a little here and there.  Images like that would make an excellent collage on a page. But I have to keep that to just 1 or 2 per album and remember the mantra for the rest.

I am the queen of keeping it all so I understand how difficult it can be to delete images, but let's face it.  No one wants to sit and look through albums filled with thousands of pictures. A single picture can tell an entire story so of course, 45 images from the 9 games will make a memory book filled with many stories and great memories to last a life time!

Most importantly, I want my son to be able to look back fondly on his first year of high school football and have an album that will make him smile for many, many years to come.

Aaaaggghhh! Fruit Flies!

There's nothing better than fresh fruits and vegetables right from the garden. It's like Heaven on a plate! But every rose has it's thorn (thank you Bret Michaels): fruit flies. Yup, I have them all over my house and they're driving me nuts! The worst part is that they are not only a nuisance, they can be a health hazard (((shudder))). The rotten little buggers can contaminate food which can make you and your family very ill! I did a LOT of research online from many, many different sites and links with so much information my head was spinning. Seriously, they're little, nuisance flies, but here's the scary part:

They love bits of rotting food remnants and seem to thrive in even the smallest amount. When fruit flies move in, they just don't want to leave and will lay eggs in and on anything they can find - fruits & vegetables left on the counter, sink drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles & cans, garbage bags, and even mops and rags.

A Few Fun (okay, not really) Facts About Fruit Flies:

- Can lay up to 500 eggs at a time

- Their entire lifecycle is complete in about a week

- While considered mainly a pest, they have the potential to contaminate food with dangerous bacteria

We all know that removing the food, getting rid of the garbage & cleaning up plays a big role, but we also know what it's like to move a piece of fruit and have a swarm of fruit flies fill the air only to escape your attempts at killing them. Where are they gonna go? Obviously the ones flying around can't be easily captured or killed, so they'll linger about until they find some other place to lay eggs and the whole cycle starts again. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I read about folding an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper, making a cone, and placing it in a jar with vinegar or banana. Pain in the butt in my opinion. I read about buying traps from the store. Expensive!  Check out an idea using a banana:

1. Get a small jar you don't plan on using again ( like a baby food jar or something similar ) and wash it out well. Make sure it is not a jar with a funky smell such as a used pickle jar or anything that use to have strong spices. You want a clean, odorless jar.

2. Take a chunk of banana and place inside the jar. This is why you want a clean, odorless jar - so that the banana smell won't be overpowered by other not-so-tempting smells. Banana seems to work the best, but you can experiment.

3. Fit a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the jar, making sure that it fits tight and well sealed around the edges. Then take a pen or pencil and poke 4 to 5 holes in the plastic, just big enough for a fruit fly to fit into. Once a fruit fly crawls in, it can't get out. You would think they would just fly back out through the holes, but they won't!

4. Place the jar in an area where you have seen the most fruit flies. Depending on the amount of fruit flies you have, you can expect to start seeing the jar fill up within just a few hours. After 24 hours, you will discover just how bad your fruit fly problem is!

This simple, inexpensive & safe method works perfectly and if you don't want the jar on public display, you can always slip it behind the garbage can, in the cupboard or even under the sink (Just don't forget about it!). You will want to empty the jar every 3-4 days before any eggs have a chance to hatch. While adult fruit flies can't easily escape through the holes, their maggots can very easily, and besides that - they are disgusting to see crawling around in the jar. You don't want to see these things crawling on your counter!

Cleaning out the jar shouldn't be a problem. Kill the bugs with bug spray, wash out the jar and start the whole process over again if there are still some fruit flies left to capture.

For bad fruit fly problems, you will want to use this method for a good two weeks to make sure you've captured the majority of fruit flies. You might even want to use a few jars in different places. Before long, your kitchen will be back to normal.

Maybe for some people, but not for me. Too many steps & too much hassle of maintaining the darn thing. And I don't use bug spray (it's the organics in me). So what do I do? Simple. Fill a small jar with apple cider vinegar, add a few drops of liquid dish soap, mix it up and set it out on the counter where there have been a lot of fruit flies. Watch them come in for a drink (and because the soap breaks the surface tension of the vinegar, they fall in) and voila! They can't get out! Dump, clean and re-fill as needed until the buggers are gone

I understand that the fruit flies really love beer (I wonder who conducted that survey?) but too bad I won't let them have a "happy" death - that would be too nice of me. I guess they love red wine even better (ditto on the survey). Sorry little pests. If I have red wine in my house, it certainly won't be for YOU to drink!

And don't stop eating fresh fruits and vegetables like my husband suggested (go figure). Just accept the challenge and fight to win! Now I must go clean my counters AGAIN.

MyMemories Suite 2013 Gold Award Winner

Why do I love MyMemories Suite so much? I could go on and on, but do you have 3 1/2 minutes to watch this video by Top 10 Reviews to hear why they rated it a GOLD WINNER?  Click the link below:

Top Rated Digital Scrapbooking Program

MyMemories Suite Version 4 digital scrapbooking software is a fun and creative way to create scrapbooks, photobooks and more, whether you have a Mac or PC. The software's design tools will help you to build entire albums and other printable projects effortlessly using one of the many installed templates or designing your very own pages from scratch.

Available worldwide. Intended for English-language computers. Technical support is English-only.

You can click the link to the right on my blog screen or click this link here. But wait! Before you go, you should write down this code because I give it to all my friends and family and new visitors, too!  The code (STMMMS70891) will take $10 off your purchase price of the software! Unbelievable price and quality galore...you simply can't beat it. But wait...you CAN beat that deal. Purchase MyMemories V4 and you'll receive a free photobook (you'll get all the details with your purchase receipt)! So what are you waiting for? Head on over to purchase this fabulous scrapbooking software that the entire family can use. You'll be creating works of art in no time that will be cherished for ages!

Digital Freebie from MyMemories!

Being affiliated with MyMemories, I am given the wonderful opportunity to give away some really neat freebies, and here's one for you! How cute are these hearts?

You can easily make these (or have your kiddos or grandkiddos do it for a fun summer project) and use them as decorations or party favors. Oh yes, I have TWO 50th wedding anniversary parties coming up, one for my in-laws in August and one for my parents the end of November...can you just see these little babies decorating a room? I can! They're easy, simple but absolutely adorable:

Our set of three freebie packs are simply packed with lots of goodies for you:

Kit #1, Honeychurch Paper Hearts (click link) includes 17 page elements and 4 quick pages. Free!

Kit #2, Made in the USA Hearts (click link) also includes 17 page elements and 4 quick pages. Free!

Kit #3, Summer Sorbet Paper Hearts (click link) includes 16 page elements and 4 quick pages. Free!

To download, simply click on the links above to download the freebies from MyMemories. For complete assembly instructions (with step-by-step photos to follow!) click HERE.

Be sure to grab them by July 28th as after that date, they'll be placed in the shop and they won't be free any longer!

Remember, if you use MyMemories Suite V4 to digitally scrapbook, you'll have the ability to customize these hearts. If you don't have MMS V4, it's a sad day to be sure.  That can certainly be turned into a happy day, however...you simply have to click your mouse over to MyMemories and download the software which can be used on PCs and Macs!  Be sure to use my special code, STMMMS70891, to receive $10 off the software. You'll also receive a free photobook from MyMemories upon checkout after your purchase (see your receipt for details). It's get no better, folks! I guarantee you'll be happy!

Mission: Zucchini

I plant a garden every year at my parent's house (I have a yard full of trees, thus too much shade for my own garden at home) and between what I plant and what my parents plant, we have very abundant crops. The garden's about 200' x 300' and there's 37 rows! Let me just say that I spend the majority of my summer pulling weeds because we garden organically and use no herbicides to assist with weed control. My two hands are all the control we need! Well, that and a good rototiller!

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that grows quickly, produces quickly and continues to produce through most of the gardening season. Inevitably, we end up having so many zucchini that we aren't sure what to do with it all! We give it away to friends and family, donate it to food pantries, eat as much as we can, freeze it, dehydrate it and there's STILL more!

My mission this year? Eat as many zucchini as we can in ways I haven't eaten them before (as well as the old ways that are tried and true), ways that are delectable and, well, down right delicious. I found a new way and when I tried it, I was hooked. I AM hooked. And I will make it over and over and over!  The recipe/idea was found in a raw food cookbook (don't stop reading because you saw the word "raw" - trust me!). But first, I needed a special piece of equipment...

I found a great deal on Amazon for a spiral vegetable slicer by Paderno Cuisine about a month ago. It literally cuts veggies into "noodles" just like spaghetti! I bought it on sale but if you look around you can find one that costs less. I found one that looks exactly the same (same little holes in the side and everything!) from a different manufacturer but that is only $21.99.  Hmmm, if it walks like a duck...

I picked my first zucchini and knew I wanted to make it into "noodles". First, let me say how easy this little device is.  Insert the blade by dropping it into place, load the zucchini and that's it:

It's not electrical so it runs as fast as your hand can turn the crank and push it through. SO easy my 10-year-old was able to use it while I took pictures!

And it's just plain fun. Had I read the directions, I would have read that I needed to cut a notch out of the zucchini so that the noodles would only be a certain length. As it turned out, I didn't put that notch in it and ended up with some strands that were 12 feet long (I measured it to see!). From a zucchini. TRUE story! Look at this one noodle:

No big deal, though. I just cut them into smaller lengths. But seriously, how fun is this? I didn't cook them this time because I didn't want them to break apart although I think a quick steam or boil would make them taste much more like spaghetti (I liked the "crunch" similar to spaghetti squash). What I DID do was sprinkle the noodles with a very liberal amount of salt and left them sitting in a colander to drain off the liquid. I rinsed them with water after 30 minutes or so, heated up some pasta sauce and put the hot sauce over my "noodles". The sauce warmed up my pasta because it was at room temperature to begin with. A little sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano on top and, well...can I just say it?  YUM!!!! The looks? It looks pretty green in spots, but it would look just like regular pasta if I would have peeled off the green skin first. With so many of the vitamins and nutrients found IN that green skin, it's best to leave it on, though. It's a fab dose of goodness most bodies couldn't and shouldn't pass up!

This little slicer says it works great with potatoes, carrots, apples - pretty much anything that isn't too hard or too soft. We will be having fun with the interchangeable blades. I can't wait to see and eat what we cut next because I have a feeling if it fits and can be cut, it will be!

Tis Better to Have Loved and Lost

"'Tis better to have loved and lost than never  to have loved at all." - Alfred Lord Tennyson

I typed this and thought I was at the point where I believed this, but really, I don't think it's true. At least not yet. Because the way I see it, you love with all your heart, and when that love is gone, you don't feel better knowing you had it. It just hurts and it hurts deeply because it's gone.

On June 18th, I had to have my little dog put to sleep. She just turned 2 years old on June 5th and shortly after her 2nd year, her life had to come to an end.  I'm crying right now as I type this so I know it's too early for me to feel okay about this and I picture a fork stuck in Alfred's eye.

When I do feel the best after all this happened, though, is when I think about something she did or used to do every day that made me smile, and I'm finding that some times, it will bring a smile to my face. Not a joyful smile, mind you, but a smile filled with sadness from missing my little friend so. It's the memories that will help with the healing...

I remember the first time I saw her. I laughed because she looked like a white, fluffy Muppet who acted like Tigger, and that's how I described her to my kids. I knew instantly that this little bundle of energy would be a great addition to our family because she would get along just fine with my kids.  We had our moments with potty training (here's one!) but that's normal with a puppy.  She was such a smart little dog, though, and learned quickly. So much so, in less than 24 hours, she learned how to ring a bell on the door to go outside and go! I was so proud of her.  She even learned to ring the bell when she knew the neighbor's dog was outside and she wanted to play! I think she was a little too smart.

She was amazing.  And she's missed. And it hurts. And I don't feel better right now. Tennyson, you are not right yet.  But hopefully, someday, I'll be able to share a happy story and feel better because I did love her, I know she loved me unconditionally and I'm a better person because of it. Pictures will help, and I'm so thankful we have them.  But I'm not quite ready to create her final album just yet.  It's exactly one month today that she's been gone, so that album will have to be some day later when I agree with Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Rest in peace, Sadie. You are loved, you will always be loved and you will always be missed.