made-new

Blogging, Kindergarten and Mountain Lions

2011-12-07T12:34:00.001-06:00

I have four blogs (here, here, here and here) that I love to read. I was wondering what I like so much about them. I realized that each of the bloggers writes about everyday life. It's no wonder that I prefer those blogs because biographies are my favorite books to read. Their blogs are like unfolding biographies, one chapter at a time - with no end. The best sort of biography! I feel sad when one of my bloggers quits blogging or takes a break. I feel like I am missing a friend.

Then I wondered how their kids will feel to have their lives written about to the world wide web. This is the real reason I haven't been blogging the past couple of years. Princess is older now and is a very private person. I feel like I'm violating her privacy when I write about her. After all, she and the King are my life. They are what I do, who I serve and who I enjoy. However, by not blogging, I am allowing the precious mundane days to pass without documentation. Which is sad really, because I am so forgetful.

So, I again stand here on the precipice of blogdom. Do I document our daily life or just let it pass unheralded and unwritten. Something to ponder. For now, I think I will write.

I was asked to be a volunteer kindergarten evaluator (spelling: -er or -or?) at my daughter's school. Since I can't spell evaluater/evaluator, perhaps I should just resign now. I went to the training this morning with some trepidation. I did not want to be responsible for some precious future Nobel Prize winner to be labeled "unfit for kindergarten". What if I made a mistake on the evaluation? What if I blanked out and couldn't remember the alphabet? (You know you sometimes sing it to yourself, too.) What if I had a child that ran around the room like a banshee and couldn't do my evaluation?

Oh, the worry. It's my spiritual gift.

But. But. Then I went to the evaluation training this morning. Whew. It's all standardized. The whole evaluation. They even spell out exactly what you are supposed to say and you must (MUST) phrase your questions exactly as they are presented on the evaluation. No ad libbing. They even give you the answers that the children should give and how to score every possible answer. It's really well organized and straight forward. So, even though I went in with great trepidation, I am excited to do the evaluations and I really look forward to it. The wee ones are so cute and their answers will be so darling.

It has been so cold here which is very unseasonal weather. Yes, I know it is December, but in Texas you can have 80 degree weather. The lows are in the 30s all week with highs in the 40s. Very chilly indeed.

The King has been adding things to Arielle's stall to help keep her toasty and well fed. He does it to love on me, really. Sweet man. She has a wind break on the north side of her stall. She has a wind break on the south side. He installed a hay feeder and grain bin underneath. The stall walls on either side are tall and make her have her own space. Last night, after going over to the barn with me to check on her, I asked him, "Arielle really is the rich horsey, isn't she?" There was a brown horse that used to graze on land that now houses the Galleria.

If you can imagine all the trees on the left side of this picture extending over the whole picture, that's what it used to look like. This horse was grazing on some pretty pricey land. Thus, we dubbed him the "rich horsey". Now, Arielle is lavished with everything she could need and while the land under her feet is not quite as expensive, all her furnishings are very posh. She still resides in the great outdoors, but her stall is very cozy, thanks to the King. He lavishes the horsey because he loves me - alot. I'm very grateful.

Speaking of Arielle, she's sporting quite a mohawk. We are letting her bridlepath grow out and it's looking a bit ridiculous! I'm guessing, but it will probably take a year for it to fully grow out. Hopefully in a few weeks we can braid that portion and she won't look quite so silly.

See her look intently off to Princess' right? She has a reason to be vigilant. A mountain lion has been sighted near the property recently. Actually, several times over the past couple of months. I wish she could tell me what goes on at the barn in the middle of the night. She stays at a barn near our house, but a couple of blocks away. I can hear the coyotes at night near the barn, but those darn mountain lions are so quiet and sneaky. I hate them. The most recent sighting was just before Thanksgiving in the greenbelt just behind our house about 300-400 yards away from our back yard. Insert heebie jeebies. Go away kitty, kitty.

Chili

2011-12-01T13:32:00.001-06:00

Sooo, I'm still alive. My blog was wondering. September was the last post? Well, let's catch up.

I've been training Arielle and taking care of Channel Partners. Princess is becoming more responsible in school and earning the best grades she has ever had! So proud of her. She is also taking horse riding lessons from a dressage instructor. She has regained enough confidence to ride Arielle again. She rode her this week and did a fabulous job! King is getting ready to release version 4.0 of our software. We are very excited about that! He was able to go hunting with some friends and got a nice little buck. They were hunting for "cull bucks" to take out the genetically inferior bucks from the ranch.

Speaking of venison, I made chili the other day with some of our ground venison and it was especially yummy. I never follow recipes very well and this was no exception. I actually made the entire recipe, so I need to write it down in order to reproduce it. It's our favorite chili so far. I am not a recipe girl, so I put in a little of this and a little of that. The below measurements are guidelines and approximations.

Crockpot BBQ Venison Chili

4 lbs venison (processors mixed with ground beef to give some fat)
1 32 oz Box Beef Broth
1/2 C dried minced onions
2 TBSP Sea Salt
3-5 TBSP Chili powder
2-4 TBSP Cumin
1 TBSP Garlic powder
1 can Rotel
1 can cream of corn
4 TBSP ketchup
1/2 C Rudy's BBQ sauce
3/4 C Stubb's Hickory Bourbon BBQ sauce
1 large can yellow hominy

Place venison in crockpot, pour broth over, sprinkle with onions, salt, chili powder, cumin, garlic, ketchup, BBQ sauces. Cook on high for 4 hours before adding additional ingredients. If venison is frozen when put in crockpot, cook for a couple of hours and then mash it up to help it cook evenly. If venison is not frozen, stir/mash after an hour or so. Add Rotel and hominy about an hour before you plan to eat. Total cooking time from frozen: 8-9 hours. Total cooking time from thawed: 6-7 hours. Serve with cornbread or French bread, sharp cheddar cheese, 0% fat greek yogurt (can use sour cream instead). Can be served over fritos, too. :)

2011-09-27T12:01:00.001-05:00

As I assumed, my C25K road is long and bumpy. I have enjoyed a change in body shape after only 4 runs, but my connective tissues are not enjoying the change. I last ran on Saturday and while my right knee ached some at first, I was not in pain through most of my workout. Afterward, my knee and leg began to ache and have continued to be painful for 3 days now. I have refrained from running, but have continued my work at the barn. Last night, I could definitely tell that the lower interior part of my knee was swollen and painful to touch. To add a creep factor, when I bent my knee it made a gritty sound. After a couple of Advil, I woke to no swelling and my knee feels good. I hope a couple of more days of Advil and rest will allow it to run again.

While Princess was at volleyball practice, I took Arielle for some desensitizing (is that even a word?) training. In our role to help her be a confident gal, we have to expose her to lots of "scary" things. On the booger buffet yesterday was the 7th and 8th grade football practice. Blowing whistles, clapping, yelling, waving arms, numerous running "predators" ... it was exciting. It was especially exciting when the play involved 6 boys running in our direction. If someone had yelled "BOO" at that point, she could've orbited the moon. I am teaching her two "calm down cues" which are 1) drop her head even or below her shoulders and 2) lick her lips. Both of these help a horse relax. When their head is high, like in the picture below, it is impossible to fully relax (although she is pretty chilled out here).

In the picture below, Arielle is relaxed. A horse naturally relaxes when they lower their head. It releases chemicals that relax their body. The phrase in horse training is true, "Where their body goes, their mind will follow."

I am happy to say, Arielle listened to me and despite several spooks, she did really well. Our deadline is Friday when she will be the horse on display at the first grade festival celebrating Indian Day. The plan is for them to paint her with washable paint, clip feathers in her mane and pet her. I hope to get pictures!

Couch to 5K, Drought and Cactus

2011-09-19T14:22:00.000-05:00

I ran with King on Saturday morning. Delightful. What a great way to spend time together! This was my second C25K run. It was not as easy as the first run, which surprised me. My muscles are just weird. It must be the Periodic Paralysis, but I start getting sore about 2 hours after I strenuously use my muscles. Within 24 hours of my muscle exertion, I am almost not sore anymore. I ran on Saturday morning around 8:45. By 11:00 a.m. I was really sore. By Saturday night, I could hardly walk/use my muscles. By Sunday morning, I was a little sore, but walking just fine. Totally odd.

I rested on Sunday. Today is Monday and I worked in the pasture at the barn. The drought is just debilitating. One thing that was alive - cactus! So, I spent an hour or so digging up prickly pear. It was a good way to use my upper body muscles and let my lower body muscles rest.

With the drought, we have many animals coming up in the barn area for water. We do not currently have any barn cats, so the rat population has exploded. With an abudance of rats and a lack of water, you have snakes in close proximity. Hopefully, a local pet adoption agency will come through for us this weekend and bring some feral cats for the barn. The kitties will really like all the rats that we have available. With less rats, we hope to have less snakes. And with less snakes, we will have a happier Queen.

C25K shoes

2011-09-18T06:30:00.000-05:00

So, I decided that I need some new running shoes. I counted up and I've had my other sneakers for 3.5 years. :) They are fine for wearing around, but I know that my feet & legs need more support if I am going to be jogging. I am very excited about this new running program - couch to 5K. Honestly, I am not married to the idea of running a 5K. I just want to help my muscles be as healthy as possible.

Working at the barn is very good for my muscles, especially my core muscles. Between hauling water buckets, mucking the stalls and sweeping, I am really working my obliques and back muscles. I haven't been riding much, but when I do, I can tell that my abs get a workout as well as my legs.

Between riding, barn work and jogging/walking, I hope that the spring of 2012 finds me in much better shape.

Walking in the Neighborhood

2011-09-16T12:14:00.001-05:00

This morning, Arielle and I went for a walk in the neighborhood. Arielle needs to be exposed to many different sights and sounds. She did very well until a dog spooked her. Then the rest of her walk was a little antsy. It's so helpful to see the world from a horse's perspective. Everything is out to eat them or kill them. It must be exhausting to always be on the alert for "horse killers".

The highlight of the walk was meeting an elderly lady who was watering her lawn. She had never been near a horse in her life - only seen them in movies. She was so afraid of Arielle, but to her credit, she came near and pet Arielle several times. The lady was adorable with her wonder of the horse and her delight with everything Arielle did. I can just hear her on the phone with her friend/loved one today, "I saw and pet a horse today!"

We also met a young mom with two little ones in her truck. Arielle walked up and let them pet her - to the delight of the children.

It is so fun to take Arielle out and walk her through the neighborhood. We have about 4,000 people in our neighborhood, so we always have plenty of opportunities to meet people. The best part for Arielle is to have many things to desensitize her and from her perspective - to live to tell about it.

Cto5K

2011-09-15T05:30:00.000-05:00

September 14th begins my couch to 5K expedition. I am thrilled to be able to even attempt this. I don't talk about this much on my blog, but I have a neuromuscular disorder called Periodic Paralysis (PP). My muscle cells have a genetic mutation in the ion channels which results in periods of time where I am weak or completely paralyzed from the neck down. My pregnancy and resulting hormonal fluctuations triggered my Periodic Paralysis and I have learned how to manage it over the years. In the early years, I came close to dying several times during paralysis episodes. Now, thanks to a couple of general doctors, I have managed by health to the point where I can work, ride and train my horse and be active outside.

Before PP, I was very active. I jogged and did inline skating. It's been almost 13 years, but I am just getting back to where I can attempt to jog again. I used the Get Running app and feel very pleased with my run. I know it will take me more than 9 weeks to reach the 5K mark because I am going into the time of year when I am paralyzed often (sometimes every morning). I don't have a finish date in mind. I will just keep plugging along as I can, knowing that each time I get out and jog is a victory in and of itself!!

The Chicklet

2011-09-14T12:05:00.000-05:00

Since we have last spoken, good things have happened!

Princess and I got our early birthday presents in the form of The Chicklet! The Chicklet is an 8 year old Tennessee Walking Horse mare. She is a bright bay with a cute blaze down her face. (Technically, the white on her face is called a "strip".) Her barn name (the name we always call her) is "Arielle" (Ah-ree-ell) which is Hebrew for Lioness of God. Sadly, she's not as brave as her name indicates, but we are working to help her be more confident. She is very sweet, alert and a beautiful mover! Her gaits are like floating.

All of our horse experience thus far has been with pre-trained English Hunter horses who know how to lunge, jump and do flatwork. While we learned a lot in that discipline over 4 years, we did not learn half of what we now know. In just 3.5 months, we have learned more than we learned at our English barn.

Owning our own horse has been a lot of fun, pain and hard work. We do all of our own basic vet work, cleaning the stall and barn area, do all of our own feed and hay purchasing, clean and maintain pasture/paddocks, training, riding, ground manners/flatwork, etc. We do it all!

Arielle broke my foot 2 days after we got her. She stepped on my foot 3 times over three days and broke multiple toes. Needless to say, we began working on ground manners immediately. She saw a snake and figuratively jumped into my arms for me to save her. 1,050 pounds is a little beyond my holding capacity. She's like a golden retriever in that she is loving, wants to be with her humans and wants to please more than anything.

We have enjoyed her so much over the summer. Now that school has started, Princess doesn't get to spend nearly as much time with her. I am doing most of the care and training until Princess finishes volleyball season.

We have found a fun and popular training method to use with Arielle: The Parelli method by Pat & Linda Parelli. As with any popular subject, there are fans and critics. So far though, Arielle responds very well and it is a fun way for a child to train. Training horses is very much like parenting! You must be kind, gentle, firm, respectful, maintain dignity, discipline in a consistent manner and be friendly. A teenager/child is handicapped by not having the years of maturity that come with parenting. So, it can be hard to train a horse without losing your cool. The games that Parelli has created are all about having fun with the horse while teaching the horse to respect the handler.

For a nervous horse like Arielle, having confidence is 3/4 of her battle. She wants to please, but she loses her confidence so quickly. By teaching her to be confident, we have a much safer and pleasant horse.

Baptism, Horses, Rube Goldberg and All Manner of Miscellaneous

2011-04-28T12:18:00.000-05:00

This year, Palm Sunday was a very exciting celebration of the day Jesus Christ was heralded as King of kings. Our sweet girl was baptized to show her faith in Christ. She has been a believer and professed Christ since kindergarten, but the publicity surrounding a baptism has put her off.

Our church had a baptism service at a pool in town. It was so fun and such a celebration. Our girl invited her girlfriends to join in the celebration. It was so good to have some of them be able to join us.

Where would a girl be without precious girlfriends??

We have also begun the process of buying our first horse. We are super duper excited. Princess has decided to change riding disciplines from English Hunter to pleasure riding and trail competitions. Part of the reason that she is changing is because riding in an English saddle is very difficult with Periodic Paralysis. She handles it well now, but I am not able to have a strong enough "seat" (thigh muscles) to ride English. Eventually, she will have more difficulty, too, and even now there are times when she is too weak to ride and jump fences. We are planning to buy a Tennessee Walker Horse, which is a gaited horse. Princess will keep the horse at her school barn as a 4-H project. Caring for a horse 24/7/365 is going to be so much work, but we are excited.

Leaving our English barn means, of course, that we had to leave Leo.

Let me tell you how hard that was!! Mercy. We still miss him.

Princess had to make a Rube Goldberg machine, due April 21. She chose to make an Egg Opener. Good thing the King is an engineer. They had fun building it together. The best part? It worked! A steel ball was dropped through clear plastic tubing (not pictured) where it fell on the trigger of a mouse trap (bottom right). The mouse trap snap was attached to a long steel lever with a pin attached at the top. When the mouse trap snapped, the lever was thrust forward and the pin on the end popped a small balloon. The coke bottle full of water rested on top of the balloon. When the balloon was popped, the water weight in the coke bottle pulled on a pulley which was attached to a small sharp blade under the egg. The egg was resting on a holder (see picture of Princess holding egg holder). The pulley activated the sharp blade which pulled forward under the egg holder, cutting off the bottom of the egg. A small tray was underneath the egg holder, catching the egg shell and the opened egg. Tah-dah!

The King bought me a photography class for Valentine's Day. I had a great time and learned a lot! I have been playing with our camera and trying to apply all that I learned. I am also learning to use Photoshop. This bee is pollenating our cottoneaster plant in our back yard. Cute, isn't he?

Criminals and Nice People on the Internet

2011-03-30T17:37:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I am shocked at how our information is so available to whomever seeks it.

This afternoon my daughter and I were talking about who has Facebook pages at her age. She knows our rules about social media and while she respects our decisions, she is understandably drawn to the grown up things of this world. I get it - it's part of growing up. So, I decided to show her how a stalker could find info about one of her friends on FB.

I typed the girl's name in the search box on FB and clicked on her page. (I am not friends with this girl on FB, so this is all public information that I dug up.) This child has no information on her FB page, except photos and a list of family (the family app that she uses displays all of her relatives). Using ONLY the photos and captions, I was able to find information to allow me to search the internet for subsequent info. From her pictures, I knew that she is definitely not 24 as her birthday states, so assume she is under 13. I suspect that she is between 11-12. I was able to identify the names of her parents (including her mother's maiden name), that she has a sibling, her sibling's name, the name and address of her school, her father's business name and address and subsequently, GET THIS - her home address. I used Bing and found the map to her school and home and her dad's business. I was able to find her two BFF's first and last names, her friends' FB pages (some of which were quite a treasure trove of information), the breed and name of her dog, her favorite foods at one of the restaurants that she likes, a ceramics place that she has frequented, the spa she goes to for pedicures (including the exact location of said spa), when she goes to this spa, confirmation from mom's comment on a picture of the girl's birth month, that she has gone shark fishing, etc.

I could go on and on. If I were a creeper, I could totally do damage with this information. I found all of this information in about 10-15 minutes. My daughter was in shock. She shuddered and said, "That is creepy ... and disturbing" And it is. And this information in the hands of a criminal could be so devastating.

So, then, to bring it home a little more, I typed my daughter's grandfather's name, city and state into Bing and found all kinds of information about her grandparents, a map to their house, and information including that I was related to them, my age, my city and past cities that I have lived, who I am married to, my husband's age... It's just alarming what is on the web. It truly is a web and so interconnected.

I feel strongly that my daughter is not ready to be "loose" in a world like this until she can conceptualize more of the ramifications of her actions. As a child, she is innocent - as she should be - and doesn't realize that the innocent information she shares on a photo could be so lucrative to a criminal.

Thus, I am keeping her in a bubble from as much social media as possible for a while longer. It's what works for me.

Fibroadenoma and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

2011-03-24T18:00:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's been two months since I've blogged. How embarressing.

I have been enjoying the spring weather and spending as much time with our horse as possible.

I've also been doing some medical testing. I have had hip pain for about 5 years and this year I began a more intense search for answers. I discovered that I have a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. I think I have the hypermobility type. I had some heart/aorta testing done to rule out the vascular form. My aorta is good. However, while doing a contrast CT scan, they found a mass in my right breast.

Lovely. Just what I wanted - another health issue.

However, after a mamogram and sonogram, they decided to do an aspiration and/or biopsy. The aspiration didn't work, so they did the biopsy. Not fun. Thankfully the lidocaine worked well, but the combination of the doctor's personality and the biopsy itself made me feel a little creeped out.

I have a tumor, but good news - it's benign! The tumor is called a fibroadenoma. I will go back in 6 months for another sonogram, but I'm done with the breast work for now.

That last sentence makes me think of the line from "Return To Me" when Angelo says to Grace, "Don't worry. I just told him that you'd had some work done on your chest." Love that movie.

Anyway, the whole breast mass issue kind of side-lined the Ehlers-Danlos diagnosis and treatment. I need to schedule my physical therapy and see if it helps any. Then I will go back to the rheumatologist and see what the next step is for me.

It appears that my hip pain is caused by my hip not holding together correctly. Thus, when I stand or walk, my hip partially dislocates with each step. That gets rather painful. Advil is my friend. My BFF.

So, besides CT scans, mamograms, biopsies and Advil, I've just been doing the family thing and loving on our horse. It's health issues one after another. Poor Leo injured his eye about 5 weeks ago. He had his own little hospital adventure and medication regime. He's back at the barn now and sporting his lovely new fly mask. Mercy, he's the cutest little dickens.

My Equine Love

2011-01-11T20:29:00.003-06:00

Today I had a sweet lunch with a friend. After two hours of girl talk and laughter, I was heading home when I realized ... the barn was almost on my way home. The fly in the ointment: It was 39 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Translate - the Queen should be inside (due to the cold triggering my Periodic Paralysis). However, the draw of Leo was strong, so I had to drive over and give him a smooch. Turns out, it was so cold that I was the only one at the barn. Thank God for sunshine. It made the cold not so ... cold.

As a horse lover, I can hardly describe the feeling of horse breath on my neck and face. It's so warm and cozy - especially on a very cold day. The massive strength of this creature combined with his gentle eyes and eyelashes are enough to melt my heart.

I know. I know. I'm silly.

But, I love him. And isn't he so cute?

Vinegar Cleaning Update

2011-01-05T17:07:00.000-06:00

So, you may remember my vinegar post from last year. If not, let me just tell you that I tried cleaning with white, distilled vinegar and was amazed at the results. If you use it as a "mist" (from a spray bottle) with a cleaning cloth, it cleans without streaking. I cleaned windows, mirrors, stainless steel appliances, countertops, my sink, etc. I even used it to clean the toilets.

I was in love. It was one product for all purposes and ... it was super cheap.

However, while I loved using it and loved the immediate results, I did not love the long term results. (Let's not even mention the smell. Add a little oil and my house smelled like salad dressing!)

I noticed that my toilets would get that pink mildew ring in the bowl after only a few days. More specifically, it would only take about 3-4 days to have a mildew ring. This made it look like I hadn't cleaned my toilets in weeks. Kind of embarressing - especially when a guest would need to use the restroom. "Please excuse the potty, Friend. I usually clean it once a year and it's almost that special day!"

I am not totally in love with cleaning toilets. It's a big deal for me to clean one, let alone multiple toilets. And I won't even go "there" about cleaning up stray hairs that are on bathroom countertops. Somehow, a hair in my sink will trigger the gag reflex despite the fact that said hair was on my very own head within the past 24 hours. Sometimes as recently has the past 10 minutes.

Back to vinegar. I figured if my toilets were showing germs this quick, then other areas that were cleaned with vinegar were also germy, albeit not as noticeable. So, while I will still keep vinegar on hand in my kitchen for quick clean up jobs, I will not be using it as my main cleaner.

And I'm back to "real" toilet bowl cleaner. My potty almost looks clean enough to ... ewww. Nevermind.

A Clarification and Some Thoughts

2011-01-04T14:38:00.003-06:00

So, I've been thinking about my New Year's Resolutions. In my previous post about New Year's Resolutions, I said that the song that expressed the thoughts of my heart is the Coca-Cola song from the 70's. That's sort of true. The real message that my subconscious sings is, "Let's all just be happy."

I like serenity. I like music with no words. I like quiet. I like a soft tone of voice and a gentle spirit in my relationships. I like the absence of conflict.

That doesn't always happen in life. Can I get an "amen"?

There's chaos, disagreements, misunderstandings, harsh words, angry eyebrows and general grumpiness from time to time. I don't like that.

Thus, it would appear that I choose to prick myself like a voodoo doll with every possible way I can please everyone I come into contact with. Unconsciously, I try to please everyone, everyday, in every way.

Mercy. That gets burdensome.

So, while I unconsciously want "to buy the world a home and furnish it with love...", I'm waking up to the realization that I cannot possibly make everyone happy. I'm sure as I work on my NY resolution of "not caring what anyone thinks" that I will make some mistakes. I hope I can learn to buy the world a Coke, teach the world to sing in harmony and leave the "perfect" part to Jesus. Because, as cute as the 70's Coke commercial is ... it is simply not reality.

The only way we will sing in perfect harmony is when Christ comes back to make everything new. In the meantime, I get to be kind, patient, gentle, faithful, trusting, shrewd ... and not care what others think.

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-01T20:45:00.002-06:00

I have two resolutions for this year. One was created by myself and the other was created by my sweet husband.

My resolution is to send a card to every friend/loved one on their birthday this year. It sounds small, but there is some sort of disconnect between my intentions and a postal stamp. It's like I have some sort of irrational, deep-seated dread of a post office box. Nonetheless, I shall overcome.

I didn't ask for this resolution, but King seems to think it's necessary. Vital even. He says this is the year I will not care what anyone thinks. I can care what God, King and Princess thinks, but no one else. You have to know me to understand how hard this will be for me. The song that emanates from my heart...

Alas. While I'd like the whole world to live in harmony, the closest I can get to making the world live in harmony is to buy someone a coca cola. And if that makes you upset with me ... I'm supposed to not care.

And I'm trying to not care.

King gave me this resolution around October of 2010 and I began to tentatively try it. By December, I was beginning to feel some serious freedom! I could be sweet and kind and STILL not care what people thought of my decisions.

We'll see how this goes.

Thrush

2011-01-01T04:53:00.001-06:00

As a true testimony for how little I have blogged, I don't think I've talked about Leo on the blog much. Leo is an Appendix gelding that we lease. (An Appendix is a cross between a Thoroughbred and a Quarter horse.) Leo is our love. He is such a gentleman. He takes care of me while I am learning to ride and...

He is a great Hunter for Princess, taking her over 2 foot fences. He can't help that he's so adorable!

He has a club foot on his right front and struggles with thrush often when it rains. Since we have been gone over the holidays, the thrush has come back. We went out to the barn yesterday to treat his hooves. There are many ways to treat thrush, but we typically clean his hooves well and then soak them in a bleach and water solution. After the bleach soak, we let his hooves dry while we groom him. Then it's time for a thrush treatment. The brand we currently use is Durasole. It works very well! Typically, one to three treaments like this and his hoof is hard and healing.

He's not particularly thrilled with this routine in the winter because the water is so cold. He was great today though. I think he appreciates the attention.

A Wake Up Call

2010-12-31T14:13:00.002-06:00

I stumbled upon a new blog this week. I was led there by a tragedy that this family experienced. Their experience has really woken me up and reminded me that while the blogging world is fickle and difficult, blogging is also precious.

As this family remakes their earthly home, I know they find comfort in the digital memories that remain. How precious to have pictures and a story to reflect back on when all your earthly possessions are gone!

So, I am determined to blog every week. I hope I can blog most every day, but I know I am out of the habit of blogging. I started this blog to update family, but my family (save one - hi Josha!) rarely reads this blog. Now, I have turned my heart toward blogging for the sake of memories. I have had this idea before, but have not been hit over the head with it like the story of Edie and her family.

I like to be serious, silly and a bit sarcastic at times. Here's to a new blogging year. Watch out 2011 ... you will be well documented. So be nice.

Over and out.

2010-12-22T16:41:00.004-06:00

Christmas in Texas - cargo shorts and crocs and nary a fire in sight. Our fireplace has never even been lit.

What I Saw Today

2010-12-13T12:35:00.003-06:00

I think I'm going to start a new topic on my blog called, "What I Saw Today". I think I will do this weekly. Some times I see things that make me rant, or maybe I'll see something cool. It's fun to share new ideas or acts of kindness.

I can tell that I will get some of my best material for this topic at Walmart. And there's no better time to people watch at Walmart than the holidays.

1. To the lady in the parking lot: If you need to floss your teeth and you cannot wait until you are at home in your bathroom, please remember that your car is not totally private. You may feel like your car is private, but really? It's like being in a glass house. There is a reason that home builders make bathrooms without glass walls.

2. Today, at the intersection of two lanes in the Christmas section of Walmart, two ladies bumped into each other. One of them saw the other first and gasped as she pointed. The other lady saw her and this dawning came over her face. You could tell that they had not seen each other in a very, very long time. These women had shared something emotional - you could just tell - because their reunion was cause for many expressions of "Oh my God!". I was standing next to the first lady as this all went down and as I maneuvered my cart around their embrace, I couldn't stop smiling. While I am not a huge fan of using God's name flippantly, their exclamations made my day. As they hugged, I thought to myself - this is what heaven will be like. We will recognize each other and embrace with laughter and joy. Some of us will be suprised to see each other (ha ha), but it will be a wonderful time of reunion. This is the reason for the season. May Christ be glorified in heaven and on earth!

Bathroom Dreams

2010-12-10T10:04:00.002-06:00

I only wish I had thought to get a picture of the restroom in question.

So, it all started with a lot of peach tea before bed, a tired Queen and a distressing dream at 6:00 a.m.

I dreamed that I was searching for a restroom and when I finally found it, it was not in the most private area. The long awaited restroom was in an overflow dining room of a restraurant. Every time I tried to sit down, a group of diners would come in to sit at one of the tables nearby. I keep ushering people out and then more could come. I was so glad to wake up from that dream.

Later that morning, I drove to a town about an hour away to a specialty bakery/diner. While there, my large cup of coffee it me. After delivering my bakery items to my car, I went back inside the tiny little restraunt. The bathroom was literally sharing a wall with the dining room that seated - oh, about 15-20 people.

As I pushed open the door to the restroom, I was about 12 inches from the lady at the table by the restroom door. Awkward.

The restroom was a one hole joint. As I was trying to push the door closed to lock it, I couldn't because something was preventing the door from closing. I was pushing to close it and something was pushing back and finally, I let go of the door. Now, I needed to go, badly. And the large cup of coffee I consumed on the hour's drive was not making my wait very pleasant. So as I was trying to close the door and lock it, I was already unbuttoning my jeans. It was an emergency, after all.

When I let go of the door, a woman pushes the door open and walks in. ??? Uh. Excuse me. I'm not about to share my one hole potty with anyone.

Do. I. Know. You?!! I barely squelched the Steve Martin that rose up in my mind. (name that movie.)

So I looked at her like, "ummm, what are you doing?". Trying to be nice, but I'm thinking, "Lady - it is pretty obvious that you need to leave." I think after I composed myself, I said something like, "uh, can I help you?". I mean, I had already reached to unbutton my pants. She had walked completely in the room and was looking around. She looks around the one room/one stall potty and says in a thick European accent, "rrrhest-rrrhoom???".

Ah, okay. So, she's not from around here, obviously. I pointed to the only potty in the room and said, "uh, yesss, but ... um ...." and I pointed at myself. I felt like a toddler. Few words and possessive. Sorry, but it's my potty. I found it first. And I am not sharing.

Leave.

She graciously backed out of the room. I slid the lock in place and remembered my dream. Here I am, just like my dream, trying to go to the potty in a restaurant while people are walking in on me.

I really felt bad for her because she was in a different culture, but not bad enough to let her go first.

Camping

2010-10-05T08:13:00.001-05:00

Dixie's first camping trip was exhausting.
There were so many new experiences and smells.

When she was not being neurotic about being separated from me, she rested.

My very favorite part of camping is relaxing by the campfire.

I could sit here for hours.

King makes wonderful fires.

Of course, snuggling with my family is the best part of the camping.

Fall Camping

2010-10-04T11:02:00.005-05:00

We went camping this weekend. What glorious weather!

We brought two of Princess' friends with us.

Much silliness ensued.

Princess

The soccer fan.

Even Dixie got in on the action.

The swimmer.

King made some great campfires.

We ate lots of delicious food.

The girls hiked to the lake with King while I took a nap.

They took peanut butter and oreos for nourishment.

But the best food of the whole weekend was, of course, the beloved S'More.

You ate HOW many s'mores????

Random Thoughts

2010-09-29T14:40:00.003-05:00

I just returned from Target. I desperately needed hangers for the clean clothes laying in my floor. The clothes have been laying there for ... oh ... a week. Embarressing.

While in Target, I had to wait for a prescription to be filled, so I went to get the other things on my list. While looking for a flashlight, I passed two women with a 2 year old-ish child in the cart. The younger of the two women was testing lunch boxes to see which one she wanted. When I tell you that she was testing lunch boxes, you might think she was testing the lining, the compartments, etc.

No. They were Shrek lunch boxes and when you hit it, it belched.

Yes. The lunch box burped a loud, disgusting burp.

The women thought it was hilarious. So, they kept getting lunch box after lunch box and boxing each one. BUUUURRRRPPPP!

You know how the sound of a burp just seems to carry forever? I kept trying to get away from the burping lunch box, but I heard that stupid lunch box 10 aisles away. Gross.

Now, in all fairness, I must insert here that I know a good burp when I hear one. I, and a good friend, won a burping contest in high school at an overnight lock-in. (I am, afterall, the younger sibling of two older brothers.) The key is good diaphram control and some hot Dr. Pepper.

But, like I said. That was high school. I have set aside that talent.

Oh, except for one time recently. Princess is 11 years old and, true to my professions, she had never heard me burp. I don't know what came over me, but I thought it would be funny to do a high school burp to see her reaction.

You had to be there. She literally did a double take and dropped to her knees. At which point she began laughing out loud.

So, maybe there is a time to burp. Especially if it keeps people guessing.

Volleyball!

2010-09-24T10:03:00.000-05:00

Our volleyball champ and her dad. A winning combination. :)

Princess is pictured nearst on the back row. She is the tallest girl on the team and the third tallest in her grade.

Cosmic Craziness

2010-09-23T08:53:00.002-05:00

Observed in the Costco parking lot. 3D vehicular artwork. Someone has a little too much time on their hands, me thinks.

First day of 6th grade

2010-09-16T11:28:00.002-05:00

We are so blessed that Princess can walk to and from school. Everything went smoothly for the first morning of school. So smoothly that I forgot to take her picture. Here she is walking home from her first day of school. Her last year in grammar school.

I Submit My Resignation

2010-09-15T08:31:00.005-05:00

So, you know I have been milking the goats twice a week. During the summer, Princess helped me clean. Now that school is back in session, it's all me. Along with milking comes cleaning. Cleaning a lot of poop.

Since I love goat milk, it's been okay.

This week, my love of goat milk was overcome by my aversion to poop.

Actually, my fall/winter morning paralysis episodes have started, making it hard to get to the nature center to care for the goats. But, my experience on Monday just sealed the deal.

So, what happened: I milked both goats. I swept the central walkway in the barn.

I swept Ginger's stall.

I started cleaning Sugar's stall. It was a mess. Just .... gross. I picked up a mini-feeder that the goats had knocked off onto to floor. As I flipped it over to hang it back on the wall, water poured out of it. All down my leg (wearing shorts) and into my boots. I wondered, "How did water get into the....."

It wasn't water.

It was pee and poop.

And it was now all down my leg and in my boot.

I began to draft my goat care resignation letter right then and there.

I still need to clean my boot, but I'm still not over the creeps yet.

Joel Rosenberg

2010-08-09T12:04:00.006-05:00

We were blessed to hear Joel Rosenberg speak on the current events in the Middle East during our Colorado trip. He's a very funny guy!

Note the body guard just behind him. He was very professional - never smiled the entire night. :)

We also enjoyed hearing his parents speak about their ministry called Ministry Architecture.

We stood in line a while to meet Mr. Rosenberg. And when we met him, he was so personable. In 30 seconds, he made you feel like there was no one else in the room - just the three of us. What a gift for communicating!

We got there early enough to have front row seats. This was only 1/2 of the room of people. There were guests there from Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Canada and all over the United States!

milking a goat

2010-07-26T12:53:00.009-05:00

We have the blessing of a great science and nature center at our school. Part of the nature center is a barn with animals. We were recently invited to be part of the goat co-op to help care for and milk Ginger, a Nubian/Alpine goat.

We were already helping with Daisy, a cute little pony. Daisy is very easy to care for, but the goat pen is another story.

This beautiful girl is Ginger. I have never been a goat fan. I raised sheep in high school and have always considered goats to be beneath me. Ginger has changed all of that.

Before we let Ginger out, we make our preparations. Princess puts some feed in the bowl and gets the udder wash ready.

Princess goes into the goat pen with Ginger and the kids.

To distract the kids while she lets Ginger out to be milked, Princess feeds the kids some feed.

Poor Ginger is so full of milk in the morning that she cannot walk. She walks with her front legs and hops in the back. She runs straight for the milking stall and...

hops right up onto the milking stand. She sticks her head through the gate and begins to eat.

Princess locks the gate to keep her head in place while she eats.

The udder wash is made from super warm water, lavender oil, baby oil and gentle soap. Some people add tea tree oil to the wash. Princess washes the udder, giving special attention to the teats. The warm water wash helps Ginger relax and enables her milk to come down.

Princess squirts the first 5 squirts of milk from each teat to clear out any impurities. This initial milk just goes on the ground. If there were a kitty around, we would give the kitty the first 5 squirts. :)

Then Princess begins to milk. Notice how she squeezes with her index finger and thumb to create a block at the top of the teat. This creates a bulb of milk in the teat. She then squeezes with her tall man finger, then ring finger, then pinky finger. Release and repeat. She also raises her hand up as she is milking so has to not pull on the udder. It is handy to milk into a tall container with a handle so if Ginger kicks, Princess can quickly pull the milking container out of the way of the hoof. The kicking is minimal and is mainly a high step up and a stomp down. No big deal.

After she finishes milking both sides, she sprays a liquid on the teats to seal them in order to prevent bacteria from entering the udder. This spray is cold and after the warm lavender bath and Princess' warm hands, Ginger is less than thrilled with the temperature of the spray.

After milking and while Ginger is still eating, Princess brushes her and loves on her.

There's a bit of affection to go around.

From goat to milking girl. From milking girl to goat.

After turning Ginger out in the pasture, it is time to clean up with water and bleach.

After cleaning the milking stall, it is time to clean the goat pen. This is one night's activity from one Ginger and three kids. They are quite messy.

The finished goat stall. Much better. Clean goats make good milk.

After cleaning at the barn, we go home to put our milk away. We take a double stainless steel container to the barn. The outside container has ice water to create an ice bath for the milk. As soon as Princess milks into the pitcher at the milking stand, she pours the milk into the inner container in the ice bath. This immediately chills the milk. Goat milk needs to be chilled to 38 degrees fahrenheit as quickly as possible after collection. By pouring the milk immediately into a stainless steel container in an ice bath, I reduce bacteria and wind up with sweet, rich milk with no goat taste.

Next, we filter the milk to remove any impurities like hair, dander, etc.

Then, we fill our jars and bottles. The plastic bottles are handy for a rich protein snack on the go. Add a bit of protein powder and you can have lunch or a hearty snack. I also hear that Ginger's milk makes excellent ice cream. Can't wait to find out...

Blog Award

2010-07-26T09:10:00.003-05:00

My SIL was so kind as to nominate me for a blog award. Thanks, Josha! Hop on over to her blog at Running Thoughts. You will be very inspired by her story.

The rules are:

Thank the person giving the award

Tell seven things about myself

Nominate 15 newly discovered blogs

Let your nominees know about the award.

Seven things about me:

The formatting on this post is driving me batty.
I am wife to superman and mom to my best girlfriend.
I work at a software company.
Following in my daughter's footsteps, I'm learning to ride horses - english style. Our horse is Hippo, a flea-bitten grey Arabian.
I love Jane Austen novels. My latest favorite is Emma.
I love to shop at Goodwill.
I have Periodic Paralysis and am on the board of directors of the Periodic Paralysis Association. Check out our new video on YouTube.

I do not have 15 blogs to nominate, but I'll share some of my favorite blogs:

The Queen B: Sweet gal and so down to earth.

Bekah Believes: an IRL friend as well as a fellow blogger.

Ministry So Fabulous: Amy Beth is one of my favorite internet friends. Love her! And you will, too.

Small Town Life: Ann is another internet friend that would be an IRL friend if we lived closer. Maybe this award will pull her out of her blog hiatus. (Miss you, Ann!)

Water Cooler Wisdom: another blogger on hiatus. Come back to us, Katybug!
Stories of Grace: Her kids are adorable and so are their stories!

2010-07-25T16:54:00.002-05:00

You may remember our tradition of taking a family picture every year in front of a certain restaurant. Princess has grown over the past three years!

Vinegar, Eureka, Love

2010-07-08T21:01:00.005-05:00

I cleaned all day today and Oh, my! Vinegar, how I love thee. But, wait. Let me back up.

I recently let my housekeeper go because I could not afford the expense. I have put this decision off for a long time (a year?) because her family depends on the income. I know times are hard for me, but she needs a job, too.

Anyway. It's just me and the mop now. I'm saving money.

So, I threw the mop out, too. And I got this. It's not here yet. It arrives tomorrow, but I'm terribly excited.

I know. Excitement over a new floor cleaner. But, really. I have a lot of tile in my house. Like 1,000 square feet of tile. That's a lot of mopping, baby. This ... this new love of mine uses just water. Hot water. Like, super duper hot water. And I get to swish it back and forth across my floor like June Cleaver while it steams and disinfects my floor. What is that you ask? How much cleaner do I have to buy for this new floor cleaner?

I'm so glad you asked. Nada. Zip. Nothin'. Wa-t-e-r. Cha-ching. I'm saving money again.

So, yes, I have the inital expense of the steam mop, but I'm saving my back and money in the long run. And I don't have to keep buying new mops or replacement mop heads.

So, I'm thinking of how else I can save money on cleaning and into my head pops the word, "vinegar". My grandad drank vinegar and used turpentine for everything. I thought the old genetics were getting me again, but then I googled "cleaning vinegar" and lo and behold! Greatdaddy wasn't the only one who loved vinegar. I heard boastful claims of vinegar cleaning everything in the house, garage and beyond.

At reports like this, I am apt to scoff. I did.

But, being the open-minded gal that I am, I bought a couple of jugs of white vinegar at Wal-Mart. $1.84 per bottle. I figured, hey - it's cheap. Let's try it.

Ya'll. Brace yourselves. Vinegar is like - amazing. I began cleaning the kitchen and half way through I was seriously having fun. I found that a dry cloth with straight vinegar cut the greasy fingerprints on my stainless steel fridge and dishwasher. It cleaned my black glossy stovetop like I was in a commercial!

By this time, I yelled for my pre-teen daughter to come witness the miracle in the kitchen. I sprayed the front of the black and stainless steel microwave and in one wipe the smudges disappeared. She said, "Give me that!" And took off with my vinegar.

We both went crazy. We sprayed her shower where she has dribbled red shower gel down the white tile wall. The tile reappeared under the shower gel. "Cool.", she said. That was it. She cleaned her tub. Her shower wall. Her sink. Straight vinegar on the mirror = no streaks! What in the world? We were having a ball.

Next thing I knew, she had snuck the vinegar and rag into her room and was cleaning the windows.

We had so much fun. This is not fiction, my friends. I'm telling you. Vinegar rocks. We both cleaned our respective bathrooms, the kitchen, the guest bath (where the vinegar took out the potty mildew ring, thankyouverymuch!) and left glistening glass shower doors in my bathroom. I cleaned all that with ONE product today and it cost me a third of a bottle. So, what is that ... $1.84 divided by 3 = 61 cents.

And no elbow grease. I saved money. Again.

And that is why Vinegar, I love thee.

Bandaids and kids

2010-05-13T10:39:00.002-05:00

My husband quipped the other day, "It takes a lot of bandaids raise children." I think that can have a dual meaning - bandaids for the parents' broken hearts and bandaids for children's broken hearts as well as their broken skin.

Flashback

2010-04-01T09:16:00.003-05:00

Two years ago, Princess donated her hair. It is fun to go back and see how little she was and how her personality is the same, yet more mature.

Blog Thoughts

2010-03-24T11:16:00.003-05:00

Do you have those blogging thoughts? You know, you are in a conversation and think, "ohhhh. I want to blog about that!". But the problem is that you are not in front of the computer and by the time you ARE in front of your computer, you've lost the thought.

This happens to me about once a day. Pretty silly, don't you think? Especially since it's been almost a month since I blogged.

Arent' you curious about the 30 things I've wanted to blog about this month and haven't?? Me, too. I wish I could remember those thoughts...

This is what I look like most Saturdays. I take the Princess to the horse barn, sometimes letting Dixie the tiny poodle tag along. I watch Princess ride her horses. I leave to run errands. She's still riding her horses. I come back from errands. She's still riding horses. It's the Saturday thing to do, you know. The girl could probably sleep in the stall with a horse, if I let her.

Ah-ha moments

2010-02-25T11:00:00.002-06:00

A couple of years ago, I read the book "For Women Only" by Shaunti Feldhahn. That book made me understand so many things about men. I wanted to buy the book for every woman that I know. My husband, dad, brothers and guy friends all started to make more sense. I could give them much more grace after reading that book. Moreover, my expectations of guys changed once I understood them better.

I bought "For Young Women Only" by Feldhahn and Rice for my daughter. She loved it! She had many "ah-ha" moments herself while reading it. I am thrilled for her to have the opportunity to learn about boys in a way that helps her understand how they think and in a way that teaches her to be honorable and respectful to guys.

Is it ignorance or arrogance that leads society to diss guys and stereotypically label them as dunces?

Riding Horses

2010-02-22T10:22:00.006-06:00

While growing up, did you ever have an activity where you shined? I never did have anything in which I excelled. I enjoyed raising sheep my last two years of high school, but I was not great at it. I was not able to play sports during my school years and I was only okay at band and choir. I was one of those nice girls who was very average. I did not even realize that I was missing much as I recall.

My daughter has not tried many activities growing up, mainly because my health has not permitted our family to be very active. Now that my Periodic Paralysis is better managed, I can help Princess explore her passions. It has not taken long to find her passion. She is a horse lover ... And has loved horses since she was two years old.

She has been riding for over a year and still gets butterflies of joy in her stomach when we drive up to the horse barn. What a joy to see her so happy and to have a place where she shines.

Books

2010-02-16T13:32:00.003-06:00

I have read a few books lately that I have really enjoyed. My daughter reads like the wind, so it is hard to keep up with her.

She checked out a series from the library called The Door Within series. It's a trilogy. Very fun and action-filled. Dragons, sword fighting, love and heroism. I recommend this series for fun as well as having great teaching illustrations for life circumstances. My husband always says, "meet them in the book".

I read the first book in the Lion series by Francine Rivers, A Voice In The Wind. What a great and heart-breaking book. I can't wait to read the next two books in the series.

Tarantula Hawk

2009-11-13T11:22:00.004-06:00

Please do not read this post if you are squeamish. Or if you do not like bugs or spiders.

ok? Ready? If you are still with me, scroll on down.

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This is what I encountered on the road yesterday as I was driving in my driveway. That's a waspy looking thing dragging a tarantula. Notice that the tarantula's legs are not curled tightly to its body. Know what that means? Yeah, the spider is still alive. Just paralyzed. Nice. I was fascinated by this scene because this waspy thing, which I later found out is a Tarantula Hawk, was dragging this huge tarantula - uphill. Backwards. Really, really fast. Like crazy fast.

Later while telling the story to King, I googled and found out the name of the waspy thing. Unfortunately, I was right. The tarantula was still alive. If you like gross stories about the animal kingdom and its subsequent brutality, read about the Tarantula Hawk. I'm sure boys will love this type of thing. Princess and I? Not so much. It's straight off the shelf horror fiction ... only it's real. Not fiction.

This is a photo I got off the web. Ya'll, the thing is huge. Yikes. So nice to know s/he lives in the neighborhood. Where my daughter plays. (shudder)

Thermostat or Thermometer

2009-11-09T16:41:00.002-06:00

Standing at the pharmacy counter today, I pondered my social interaction in groups. I wondered, "Am I a thermostat or a thermometer?"

A thermometer: a person who reads the temperature of the group and observes. This could be a listener, an observer, a person who is simply a static part of the group.

A thermostat: a person who reads the temperature of the group and then acts as a catalyst to change the temperature. This is a person who either in a positive or negative way, influences the group to change. Is this the complainer who grumbles and makes everyone else uncomfortable? Perhaps the thermostat is a peacemaker who brings calm to the group. The person could be the "happy pill" for the group and brings the fun.

I think I am typically a thermometer. If I am ever a thermostat, it would be in a small eddy off to the side of the main group. I am attracted to groups of 2 where conversation can go to meaningful depths. I like to leave a social gathering knowing that I have had an interaction that is a blessing. I like to leave a person better than I found them. If I cannot have a meaningful conversation, then I tend to lurk in the background and watch ... observe.

Decisions and enchiladas

2009-11-06T11:36:00.005-06:00

I have decided to ban myself from making decisions after 5:00 p.m. I am most definitely not making any decisions beyond Coke Zero or water, nachos or enchiladas, athletic pants or jeans.

Nope. Not gonna do it.

Because in the morning, after a full night of rest, I almost always feel differently about the situation. This leads me to regret the decision I made the night before in my tired state. I am much more gracious in the morning.

It's good to know my problem. It's hard to make good decisions when I do not even know the problem. Now, I know that I cannot make good decisions when I'm tired.

So, if you call me after 5:00? Don't ask my opinion.

Unless you want to know if you should eat nachos or enchiladas. Then? I'll help. I'll surely recommend my friend's Chicken Enchiladas. The. Best. Ever.

Amen.

Chicken Enchiladas

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1.5 lbs total), cooked and shredded
(short cut: Honey Jalapeno Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, shredded
Cheaper option: cook whole chicken in crockpot and shred meat)
1 T. butter
1 c. chopped onion (you can buy the fresh chopped onion in the produce section)
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
8 oz. grated cheddar cheese
1 4 oz. can diced green chiles
1 c. purchased green chile salsa (Roasted Hatch Chile Salsa is good)
1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
4 t. ground cumin
Optional: 1-2 T. of sauce from a can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (it is spicy, so only a little of the sauce) Salt and pepper to taste
12-15 7" flour tortillas
10 oz. grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 c. whipping cream
1/2 c. chicken broth

Garnish possibilities: fresh sliced avocado, Pico, chopped tomato, fresh cilantro, guacamole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion and bell peppers until just soft, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add chicken, cheddar cheese, green chiles, green salsa, cilantro, cumin, chipotle chile sauce (if desired). Season with salt and pepper and mix well.

Grease 10x15x2 inch baking pan or 2 smaller pans. Fill tortillas with filling, and place seam side down in pan. Sprinkle grated Monterey Jack cheese over enchiladas. (May be prepared to this point up to 1 day in advance. Cover and chill.)

Combine cream and chicken broth and pour over enchiladas. Cover pan with foil and bake 30 - 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered another 10 minutes. Serve with garnish as desired.

2009-11-05T19:41:00.000-06:00

It's been one of those days.

Scorpion

2009-10-28T13:08:00.005-05:00

This is evil personified. I have an unhealthy feeling about scorpions. This scorpion is just one of many that we have killed in our home over the past 4 months. I abhor scorpions. I'm neurotic about scorpions.

They hurt, for petesake. Have you ever been stung?

Not fun. At all.

This is the nicest picture of all of the scorpions that I have killed. I took a picture of the one that stung me earlier in the summer. His body bore the sign of my feelings towards him. I cannot find his picture, thus I will instead show you the one I killed yesterday afternoon. I had already started this blog post and got lost trying to find the first killed scorpion picture. In the meantime, Princess called me about a scorpion that followed her in the front door.

Part of my paranoia is that scorpions are just evil. They sting repeatedly for no apparent reason other than "it's what they do".

Makes me think of how I repeatedly make the same sinful mistakes over and over. I'm a bit like the scorpion and the frog. How I wish I wasn't.

The Scorpion and the Frog

A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion says, "Because if I do, I will die too." The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream,the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown,but has just enough time to gasp "Why?"

Replies the scorpion: " I am a scorpion. Its my nature..."

The Conference

2009-10-27T14:14:00.003-05:00

I was the conference coordinator for the 2009 Periodic Paralysis Association Conference in mid-October. Here is our group photo.

The hotel upgraded my room to a VIP room. A nice little basket of fruit and cheese accompanied the room. And a letter.

"Welcome to the ____ Hotel! We are glad you are here representing the Periodic Paralysis Ass."

Me thinks someone did not learn how to appropriately abbreviate the word "association".

Bless their heart.

Tarantula

2009-10-23T11:46:00.003-05:00

My driveway is 1/10 of a mile long and runs the length of the property. About half way down the driveway is a drainage culvert. There, on the road, coming out of the culvert was this little beauty. I managed to dodge him and stopped the car. I jumped out to take his picture and ... couldn't find him. Eeek. I looked around my feet and then realized that he was farther behind the car. In order to give you the correct perspective, I layed my Blackberry case next to him.

He's a big 'un.

Isn't it comforting to know these lurk in the dark?

Just a happy little thought on this Friday morning.

Christmas Lists

2009-10-22T12:07:00.005-05:00

How do you facilitate gift-giving in your family for the holidays?

We started drawing names in our extended family many years ago. Now the grandkids are big enough to be part of the mix, so we all exchange names. The ideal is to have names exchanged by summer so that we can pick up presents as we see the perfect item for a great price. This does not always happen.

Ok, never.

Still, we aim to get the most for the best price. This year, the economy is pinching us, so we are being challenged to make as many gifts as possible. I suggested re-gifting, but that idea didn't catch on so well. I pity the person who has my husband's name. Guys are so hard to shop for, don't you think? It seems like it's either tools, electronics or hunting gear. All fairly pricey items.

Thus, the obligatory neck tie.

One man I know purchased a grey purse for every member of the family and then put the gift receipt in the purse. Guys and girls alike. He figured they would return their gift anyway, so he might as well make it easy for them. Too funny.

Amazon.com's wish list is a great idea for helping extended family who live far away. A couple of clicks and your shopping is done. Family used this last year for the King and he got a couple of things that he loves, like a guitar tuner and some other electronic gadget.

You may remember that I made aprons for friends and family last year. Any suggestions for sewing gifts this year? I'd love some fresh ideas. I have to get busy now or I won't get it all done by Christmas.

2009-10-21T03:31:00.000-05:00

Curtis & Leroy saw an ad in the The Oxford Eagle Newspaper in OXFORD, MS. and bought a mule for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the mule the next day.

The next morning the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry, fellows, I have some bad news, the mule died last night."

Curtis & Leroy replied, "Well, then just give us our money back."

The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

They said, "OK then, just bring us the dead mule."

The farmer asked, "What in the world ya'll gonna do with a dead mule?"

Curtis said, "We gonna raffle him off."

The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead mule!"

Leroy said, "We shore can! Heck, we don't hafta tell nobody he's dead!"

A couple of weeks later, the farmer ran into Curtis & Leroy at the grocery store and asked, "What'd you fellers ever do with that dead mule?"

They said,"We raffled him off like we said we wuz gonna do." Leroy said,"Shucks, we sold 500 tickets fer two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898."

The farmer said,"My Lord, didn't anyone complain?"

Curtis said, "Well, the feller who won got upset.. So we gave him his two dollars back." Curtis and Leroy now work for the government. They're overseeing the Bailout Program.

Moral of the story: Limit all US politicians to two terms. One in office One in prison.

Working from home

2009-10-20T14:41:00.002-05:00

I cannot seem to kick this cold/flu thing that I have had since last Thursday! Both yesterday and today I thought I would go in to work and ... not. So, I'm working from home. I could have gone in today, but my voice is just not a pretty thing. I certainly don't need to be answering phones. They'd think I was a cross-dresser.

Yesterday I talked to the nurse from the doctor's office. I called on Friday because I felt HORRIBLE. I guess I didn't whine enough on the phone because she told me when she returned my call on Monday, "Well, you obviously don't have the flu and you are not very sick, so I can ask the doctor if he wants to prescribe some antibiotics."

(silence).

My response, "Ma'am, I'm going to let that comment slide. No, actually I'm not. What factors did you use to determine that I am not and have not been very sick and that I indeed, do NOT have the flu??"

Her: "Weeeellllll. You just don't have the symptoms. And you haven't been sick long enough to have the flu."

(silence again)

"Ma'am, I have been sick since Thursday with fever, sore throat, body aches, fatigue and congestion. I'm now past the body ache part and over most of the fever. What symptoms do I lack?"

Poor thing. I should have cut her some slack. I didn't intend to be rude, but she was my lifeline to the doc. And as I told her, "I'm asking clarifying questions because you are my liaison to the doctor and if somehow you have garnered the idea that I have not been very sick, we need to keep communicating because I do not want you to go to the doctor and tell him that I'm not sick and am just calling for drugs."

All is well. They did call in a Z-pack. Now if I could just get my strength back from being sick, then all will be peachy.

Maybe I just need to eat a pizza with garlic-y breadsticks followed by chocolate cake with some hot cocoa. Comfort food for a sick body. Hey, that's a pretty good Rx. Maybe I should skip the nurse and prescribe my own meds...

New Dining Table

2009-10-19T10:34:00.003-05:00

Remember that we sanded and painted our dining table? It's taken me a while to get pictures of the painted table. Here is the King's grandmother's dining table. Isn't it lovely? It's so chocolate-y that I want to lick it.

Disney

2009-10-19T09:42:00.002-05:00

We went to Florida for the Periodic Paralysis Association conference last week. The conference was great! We celebrated the end of the conference (and Mommy's months of conference prep) by going to Disney for 3 days. Here we are with 3-4,000 of our closest friends, watching Fantasmic. I have a problem with the name of this show. It always makes me think of ... bedroom lingo and I haven't quite understood Disney's reason for naming this show with the ending "asmic".

Anyway.

"Cinnamon" the tiny little bear came with us for this Disney trip. He rode in Princess' pocket every day of our Disney adventure. He rode Splash Mountain. He rode Rockin' Rollercoaster. He even rode the Tower of Terror. But only once. Not even Cinnamon was enough comfort for Princess to ride the Tower of Terror more than once.

Mommy, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of the Terror. Dude. I could do that thrill over and over and over.

We had great fun. Then it was time to head home. Cinnamon took the trip in his sleeping bag (sock). It's a bear's life.

glasses

2009-10-07T21:18:00.001-05:00

New glasses!

We sold our house

2009-10-06T12:08:00.003-05:00

We sold our house. I am happy. I am sad. I will miss my old house. I am super happy to be finished with it and happy to put the check in the bank. Woo-hoo!

I am the coordinator of the 2009 Periodic Paralysis Association conference. It is this weekend. I will be glad to sew a ribbon on that huge project! Woo-hoo!

We think we have found a new home. Woo-hoo! We are waiting to hear more from the home owners. It's an unusual deal where we asked them if they want to sell their house. It wasn't on the market. They said .... "for the right price". Cool! We looked at it and really liked the house. We'll see. We are not in a hurry. If you knew where we lived right now, you would be asking why we are even moving at all! Gorgeous place.

Princess got her new glasses. I still do not have a picture to show you. Nor do I have a picture of our newly refinished table. It's beautiful, by the way. Now I want to paint everything. I felt the same way when I got my label maker. I even wanted to label moving objects. Love it.

I've been reading the book "Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckley". I did not know Mary Todd Lincoln was so self-absorbed. I also did not realize that the Lincolns lost 3 out of their 4 sons! So tragic.

Our family is studying the book of Luke. Mark Driscoll is starting a new series. Check it out...

Our poodle is learning to use a doggie door. She's the cutest thing ever. I love how smart poodles are. She learned what to do in 15 minutes. Although she did get a little sick after eating so many blueberries. I've never known a dog who loves dried blueberries. She did anyway. She ate so many the other night that she is not interested in them currently. Now, if you offered her a Honey Nut Cherrio, that's another story...

Dining Table

2009-09-21T13:34:00.003-05:00

We have never been the DIY family, because life does not slow down long enough to take on extra projects. King is the Renaissance man. He can do anything.

However, we want to change a fews things as we sell our previous home and settle into our current lease house. We may continue leasing for some time or we may buy a new house soon. We are waiting for a house to open up close to school.

So, to make our home fun and different, our DIY project is the dining table! This is King's grandmother's table. See how the edge of the table is worn? She was a lady of great hospitality. So many bellies have rubbed this table that the varnish is worn off. I long to be like her and have never wanted to refinish her table. Now, I am ready.

As a family project, we sanded the table. No small chore. Last night Princess and I went to Home Depot and got paint. We took a candlestick with us to match paint. I am so glad we did. I thought the candlestick was a blackish color with some grey. Uh, no. It's a dark, dark brown. Cool. We were able to match the candlestick and painted the first coat last night. Princess picked the color! She did great.

Oh my. I LOVE the result. In direct sun, the color is a dark chocolate. In evening incandescent light, it's a brownish black color. Very cool. I will post pictures this week.

glasses

2009-09-17T12:53:00.003-05:00

Princess is getting glasses.

I was in 10th grade and King was in 2nd grade when we received our first pair. We had her eye appt on Tuesday and ordered her glasses yesterday. Costco says two weeks. "Two weeks!", she wails. Drama. It probably will only take a week.

Her frames are adorable. She's growing so fast. The pictures above were taken in August 2008 and August 2009. In 365 days, she grew several inches. It's so amazing to watch her grow and become such a beautiful young lady.

I will post pictures when her glasses come in.

Bruise

2009-09-16T08:16:00.003-05:00

Remember that I fell down the stairs to the creek on Saturday? Silly me. I'm still sore where I am bruised. See my bruise from the middle of my arm to my elbow? That's the only bruise that is appropriate to photograph. :) I'm so thankful that I fell on muscle. I took most of the hit on my right side and all of my weight went bumpity bumping down the stairs on muscle. I totally would have broken my arm if I had fallen a little more to the right, on the bone in my forearm.

God is so good. I think this is the perfect example of giving thanks in all things. 1 Thess 5:18 says, "...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I could have really injured myself. As it is, I learned to avoid the mold on the steps, I did not break anything and all my aches can be relieved by Advil.

Thanks to Jesus!

Rain

2009-09-13T20:53:00.003-05:00

We have had a horrible drought and finally the rains came! It's rained 5 and 1/4 inches in the last three days. With much glee, we walked down to the creek to see how much the water had risen. The good news is that the creek is up ... way up. Still not running yet, but the fish, turtles and frogs are having a frat party down there.

The bad news is that I fell down the stairs to the creek. The steel stairs. Thankfully, I fell on the last section of stairs and I fell on muscle. I am a sore lady today!

Oh, and do you see that sad, pathetic little plant in the foreground? The plant has not appreciated the record breaking heat and drought. Let's hope God's showers bring it back from the dark side.

This is Princess' tent. I was trying to be brave. I am not a camping person ... even play camping.

Fun Personality Test

2009-09-10T12:58:00.003-05:00

UPDATE: I should add that we were goofing off at work because the lightening had knocked the power off. No computers were injured in the taping of this game.

Ok, my sweet friend gave me this verbal test at work today. Answer each question and THEN read the interpretation for your answers. Don't cheat. You'll laugh harder if you don't peek at the interpretation. I'll give you the questions and then tell you my answers and then give you the interpretations. Don't read ahead. :)

Questions:

1. What is your favorite color?
2. Why is it your favorite color?
3. What is your favorite thing about nature?
4. Why is that your favorite thing about nature?
5. If you could have absolutely any animal for a pet, what would you choose?
6. Why would you choose that animal?

Ok, my answers:

1. Royal Blue
2. It's vibrant, bold and lively
3. I love the tropics and anything that is lush with foliage, green, bold colors
4. Because it represents living, thriving
5. Horse
6. Because it's useful and it's fun.

Ok, for the Interpretations:

2. This is how you see yourself
4. This is how you see God.
6. This is the spouse you desire

I laughed so hard. King is useful and fun.

So, my single friend who gave me this test also dislikes all animals. Bordering on hate. She answered that she'd like a dead deer on the wall for her pet. Why? 'Cause it's old and it doesn't bother her. She is either going to be single forever or marry a really old dude that has one foot in the grave.

Guess what?

2009-08-31T10:06:00.004-05:00

I took a blog hiatus. I did not even plan one.

Lots happened over the summer.

King and I went on the South Beach Diet and have kept our weight off. That diet will kick your behind, but it works.

Princess rode horses almost every day. In July, she woke up at 5:30 am 6 days a week and was at the barn before sunrise. She's still leasing a horse, but the horse has changed. In the summer she leased a quarter pony named Spotty Showers. He's gorgeous, but has been mistreated in his past, so he has fear issues. He started spinning on his back hoof and throwing Princess when he would approach a jump. Flowers scare him. Crossrails scare him. Cavaletties scare him. The poor thing gets scared so easily. After 5 throws in three weeks, she was all done with riding Mr. Spotty Showers. She still loves him and he loves her. The silly horse is like a dog. He stole my heart ... he's soooo sweet. He's just very young and needs training before Princess can ride him again.

So, now she is leasing a "flea bitten gray" Arabian. He is ingloriously named, "Hippo". He's beautiful ... AND, he doesn't spin on his back hoof.

Today is King's birthday. Happy Birthday to Superman!

Oh, and we sold our house. We close on it the 21st.

It's been a good summer.

"Woo-hoo" post

2009-05-31T21:34:00.007-05:00

Well, it's been a while since I updated the blog!

The King's uncle (like a 2nd dad) passed away May 14th. We had the funeral and burial May 17th. We went to the church building to hang out with each other after the graveside/burial service. Thirty minutes later, I got the call that my Granny had just passed away.

It was a rough day.

We have hired a new employee and she began this past week. I am training her and she is smart and teachable. Everyone shout "Woo-hoo!" with me!

We list our house with a realtor this week. I had a garage sale this past weekend and worked my buns off. I made a little over $500 though. "Woo-hoo!"

We have huge, ginorous, killer software deadlines this week. Actually the deadline was this past week, but we couldn't get the software ready in time. The King is finishing testing tonight and will send it to HP tomorrow. All together now, "Woo-hoo!"

Princess is out of school! "Woo-hoo!"

I got two weeks worth of laundry done today. "Woo-hoo!"

We began our annual Summer Fun Fridays at our house. This past week was our first week of the summer. I pick up Princess' close girlfriends in the morning and bring them to our house to swim and play. I take them home just before dinner in the evening. Much fun is had by all.

The King found Princess like this the other night. She snuggled in bed with me, but sadly, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep. I guess she was tired, too.

Granny

2009-05-07T10:42:00.005-05:00

I've been super busy and realized I haven't even blogged. wow.

Granny update: We went to see her the next day (on Friday and Saturday) after I last posted. She was not great when we got there, but by the time we left on Saturday at lunch, she was sitting up at the table in her wheelchair, laughing and eating a sandwich!

She's been doing better since her downward spiral that I posted about although she is not long for this world. Her mind has good days and not so good days ... mostly not so good. The past couple of days, she has been wandering around the house looking for her husband, Greatdaddy. When she can't find him, it makes her cry. Greatdaddy passed away about 5 years ago. Bless her heart!! Please pray for her to be peaceful in spirit, to feel Jesus' nearness (Isaiah 40:11) and to be pain-free until Jesus calls her home.

So! It's Mother's Day this weekend. Totally caught me by surprise. A couple of years ago we went bowling for Mother's Day with our small group. That was fun. I'm not sure what we will be doing for Mother's Day this year.

We leased Cougar, the little Arabian, for Princess for the month of May. Leasing a horse is a month to month situation, so we can try it and if it works for our family, we can keep leasing.

She is beside herself with joy. It's fun to see her so happy.

Sweet Granny UPDATE

2009-04-23T15:35:00.004-05:00

I got a call at noon today with the news that my Granny is unresponsive and has been for 2 days. She is 93 and tired. So tired. Her pulse at noon today was 30 and her blood pressure was super low.

Look at that beautiful face. Can't you just feel her sweetness and love oozing from her? She's precious. She's my Granny. I love her forever.

Fly to Jesus, Granny. I don't want you to go, but I'll see you on the flip side...

UPDATE: she rallied tonight and I talked to her. She was incoherent, but at least I got to hear her soft voice and tell her I love her. I hope to get to see her tomorrow, Lord willing.

The Dentist

2009-04-21T16:17:00.004-05:00

I had the illustrious privilege of witnessing a horse have its teeth floated. At least, I think that was what was happening. That's the horse's tongue the vet tech is holding in her hand. They sedate the horse and then file away.

I feel a little like this in the dentist chair. People are doing ungodly things to my mouth, the sedation is not enough and when it's all said and done my tongue doesn't fit in its proper place anymore.

I'm just sayin'.

2009-04-16T13:26:00.002-05:00

I don't even know how to title this post. We've just been very busy around here.

The King was gone to the NW states for a week and is now home. We got serious about putting our house on the market. We haven't lived in it for a year and have been too busy to navigate paralysis episodes, work and emptying our old house. Besides, I love that house and all our memories. It makes me a touch sad to button it up for another family. It's my house, afterall.

Ok, so maybe I need counseling in addition to the other things on my list. I'm really not as materialistic as I sound. Or maybe I am. Ugh. I think it's just that, as a woman, I have "nested" in that house and I hate to tear up my nest.

So, there are 5 other houses for sale on our street being represented by 5 different real estate agencies. We thought since we are one of the few 1 story houses in the entire (huge) neighborhood that we probably wouldn't have to list the house ... not yet anyway.

Sunday, 45 minutes after putting a FSBO sign in the front yard, we had a call. We showed the house 4 hours later. That was 4 days ago. It's only been 4 days, but this morning I began to contemplate our options. We got a call at noon today from a lady who is dying to look at our house. We show it tonight. It helps to have a one story house on a highly desired street. I really hope we don't have to list it.

In the meantime, we've put the steam on. We're trying to get the last of the stuff out of the house. If you have moved, you know the feeling we have right now. I'm better today, but over the weekend I wanted to pour gasoline on it and toss a match to the whole mess. Persistence pays off and we have a routine now. We have been going over every evening after work. We all three hit a room and work as a team. We are getting a lot done this way and we are teaching Princess how to work. It's amazing how we model a strong work ethic for her on a daily basis, but she still has to be shown HOW to work which, I guess, is pretty normal for kids.

GoTo123

2009-04-10T03:26:00.000-05:00

I've read this before and each time it makes my heart thump and tears well in my eyes. In story form, this tells a more memorable truth than any amount of words I can share with Princess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get on-line. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:

ByAngel213:Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home today. It was really weird!

GoTo123:LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?

ByAngel213:Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.

GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't done that have you?

ByAngel213: Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.

GoTo123: Did you have a softball game after school today?

ByAngel213: Yes and we won!!

GoTo123: That's great! Who did you play?

ByAngel213: We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! They look like bees. LOL

GoTo123: What is your team called?

ByAngel213:We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are really cool.

GoTo123: Did you pitch?

ByAngel213: No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be done before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. Bye!

GoTo123: Catch you later. Bye

Meanwhile.......GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew about Angel so far.

Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985
Age: 13
State where she lived: North Carolina
Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall. Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon until her parents came home from work He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey. He knew she was in the eighth grade at the Canton Junior High School. She had told him all this in the conversations they had on- line. He had enough information to find her now.

Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the ballpark that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from walking home from the softball games. Parents were always overreacting and hers were the worst. It made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't be so overprotective.
By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her.

Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her. It was then that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second base position to see a man watching her closely.

He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he smiled when she looked at him He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed the sudden fear she had felt.

After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found her.

Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was only a few blocks to Shannon's home, and once he saw where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his car.

Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to Shannon's house. He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to make his move.

Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the living room.
"Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded upset and she couldn't imagine why. She went into the room to see the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa.

"Sit down," her father began, "this man has just told us a most interesting story about you."

Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents anything? She had never seen him before today!

"Do you know who I am, Shannon?" the man asked.

"No," Shannon answered.

"I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123."

Shannon was stunned. "That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14. And he lives in Michigan!"

The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. You see, Shannon, there are people on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But while others do it to injure kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids from predators. I came here to find you to teach you how dangerous it is to talk to people on-line. You told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me to find you. You named the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze."Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't live in Michigan?"

He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh. It made you feel safe to think I was so far away, didn't it?"
She nodded.

"I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into giving out information a little here and there on-line. Before you know it, you have told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it again. Tell others about this so they will be safe too?"

"It's a promise!"

Lawyers

2009-04-09T05:48:00.000-05:00

I typically don't get into stereotypical bashing. However. I'm making an exception.

But, before I make my exception, let me make a tiny disclaimer. I love certain lawyers. I have a couple of lawyers that are near and dear to me... just precious.

But, the whole lot of 'em? Blech. Argumentative, bullying, unteachable, unwilling to listen, impatient and entitled. That pretty much sums up my customer support experience with lawyers. And sadly, I've listened to a bucketful of them.

Tuesday, I received a typical call from a lawyer. Instead of being like 99% of our customers, he asked his question and followed it by immediate, impatient, harrassing lanuage. He didn't even wait for an answer and then finished his tirade by asking if there was any live person at our company that he could talk to.

Um. (checking pulse in neck) Hello? Will I do?

Forgiveness

2009-04-08T01:30:00.002-05:00

I currently need to closely monitor all the ingredients in my food. Which means I am cooking everything from scratch. I am working 50-60 hours a week around paralysis episodes and daily migraines.

One evening last week I was so tired and grumpy. I asked Princess to make Angel Biscuits for dinner and being a kid, she was getting distracted and not working with diligence. I am not always patient with childishness. I should be, but am not. So, here I am tired, I have a migraine, Princess is goofing around and the window of opportunity for dinner is closing.

Then the dog pukes on the floor.

The yeast is ready to add to the other ingredients. I have to get the green beans going.

The dog pukes again. On the carpet this time.

I lost it and crabbed to Princess about her lack of diligence and her work ethic while I scoop up dog puke.

That's when it hit me ... "Would I want to be cooped up in a kitchen trying to help someone like myself?" My attitude was terrible. It didn't matter how I felt. I needed to apologize and be gentle and kind.

When I apologized to Princess, she forgave me so quickly. Like a child does. Then I realized that I really DO like childishness. I like the quickness to forgive. I like the unconditional love of a child. I like the playfulness of a child.

The rest of dinner prep was not easy, but was so much more pleasant because I chose to change my attitude and seek forgiveness.

Works for me!

Beautiful Girl, Beautiful Arabian

2009-04-07T09:00:00.003-05:00

Riding a horse is not as easy as it looks. Riding English is especially hard. Princess looks great in this photo. Her heels are down, her shoulders are almost exactly over her hips and she's looking ahead. Her instructor calls this "driving the horse". Princess is doing a great job!

She's leaning too far forward and has her hands on Cougar's neck, but her eyes are looking forward and she's squeezing with her knees. Leaning forward shifts the rider's weight and communicates slowing/stopping to the horse.

Cougar has a very long mane. I love to see it fly when he goes over the crossrails. Princess has a pretty good "two point" position, but she has her hands on Cougar's neck. A no-no.

Princess's body is in a good "two point" position (except for those pesky hands on his neck).

I love to watch her ride. She has so much fun! She almost fell off 3 or 4 times this lesson, which is a record. She hasn't fallen off yet so far. Cougar will buck or rear if he has the inclination. He is good for her in that he doesn't let her get away with poor riding skills. She is good for him in that she doesn't let him cheat. Friday's lesson was frustrating and there were several tears shed on cougar's neck and a bit of railing towards him. Horse riding is a great way to toughen up a person and teach perseverance.

Princess's instructor says that horses wake up each day trying to figure out how they can cheat. I believe it. These pesky kids strap on a girth around their bellies, put a bit in their mouths, and then have the nerve to make them cantor and jump when they'd much rather be in the pasture with their muzzle in some soft grass.

Socialism and the Economy

2009-04-06T05:52:00.000-05:00

Just how bad is the economy?

Bad enough that even the most arrogant, proud, independent of the animal kingdom has endorsed Obama and his socialistic ideas.

I give you, the cat.

Am I missing something?

2009-04-03T05:55:00.003-05:00

This is teen fiction? A partially naked young woman on the cover of a book named "Untamed"?? Perhaps that describes our society ... untamed and haunted.

I thought teen fiction was this...

But, what do I know?

Little House

2009-04-02T21:43:00.003-05:00

My MIL made this adorable ensemble for Princess. Princess loves history and has very much enjoyed the Little House books. She did comment after wearing this for a while, "Boy, all these clothes are hot!" Have I mentioned how thankful I am that we live in the 21st century?

Dairy-Free, veggie-free diet

2009-04-01T08:46:00.003-05:00

I have wrecked my body with stress. I now have messed up my resting heart rate, blood pressure and am completely and utterly lactose intolerant, among other things.

It is wicked hard to find good tasting, dairy-free recipes. Come through for me, Weblings! I really need some ideas!

I can have sharp chedder and lactose-free milk. That's it for the dairy aisle. Oh, and Fleishman's no dairy margarine.

Ideas? Besides spaghetti and chicken fajitas and roast beef? I'm getting kinda tired of those.

Oh and I have another dietary restriction that prevents me from eating most green vegetables. So, salads are out. So are onions, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes.

Pasta, rice and potatoes are good for me. For more helpful tips, visit WFMW.

Seattle

2009-04-01T05:18:00.001-05:00

I have always longed to go to the Northwest USA. I love rain and the earth's reaction to rain. The lush forests and beautiful green lanscapes thrill me.

We are in the process of beginning a church plant and will be partnering with Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Thus, King has been making a number of trips to Seattle. These pictures are from his trip three weeks ago. He was dining on a boathouse. So beautiful. I hope to be able to join him this summer for a trip.

Do you ever ponder the evil in this world?

2009-03-31T10:40:00.004-05:00

So, the alarm goes off at 4:00 a.m. and you stumble out of bed, grab your McDonald's uniform and get dressed. With puffy eyes, you walk into work, grab your headset and begin a new day's work at the drive through window. It's not a glamorous job, but it pays the bills. You're thankful to have a job these days.

And then. Lucifer's Posse comes through the drive-through lane and up to your window.

Deep breath, everyone. It's just a hamburger.

Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY — Police said a customer fired one or two shots into a Salt Lake City McDonald's after the driver of the car he was in was told the restaurant was not serving lunch yet.
Police said the female driver of a white Dodge Intrepid pulled up to the drive-thru and ordered from the lunch menu early Sunday but was told only breakfast was available.
Police said two men then got out of the car and one pulled a sawed-off shotgun from the trunk, shooting into the drive-thru window once or twice, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Monday. No one was injured.
The car then left the scene.

Youth Volleyball

2009-03-31T05:53:00.000-05:00

Princess signed up for a youth volleyball team. It's a 6 week league played outdoors on grass courts. Here is Princess with her team on the first day of practice/play. She has two really good friends on her team.

After instruction for an hour, they play matches. It was a beautiful day and seems so idyllic.

What is wrong with this picture?

2009-03-30T04:40:00.005-05:00

While watching horse riding lessons on Friday, I sat in my car with my notebook (computer) in my lap. It was a beautiful day and, smiling, I watched as a horde of 5 year old girls descended on the ranch for a birthday party. One mother/grandmother drove up next to me and unloaded her children. After making a few trips from the car to the picnic tables by the riding arena, she decided she was finally finished making trips back and forth.

At which point she held up her key fob and "beep-beep", locks her car. The one in the picture.

Alrighty then.

Purse Dump

2009-03-28T11:13:00.005-05:00

Just ignore my red nose. If you've been around, you'll remember that I laugh and then cry when I really hurt myself.

I hit my head -hard- and needed to find some Advil. We were out of Advil in the medicine cabinet, so I told King to look in my purse. He's the king, afterall, and quite courageous. However, the line of courage was drawn at the contents of my purse. What is in that black hole of a purse?

Well, let's see:

1 wallet
1 bible
1 hand sanitizer bottle (warm sugar vanilla, of course)
3 packages of Eclipse gum (cinnamon inferno - cause I like it hot, baby)
1 bookmark
2 mints from Abuelo's
1 snack bar
1 chapstick
6 pens
1 pencil
1 set of keys
1 ipod holder, sans the ipod
1 Blackberry
1 upopened hand warmer, from a pkg of two
6 earplugs, running loose
2 earplugs, in their case
Can you tell I have migraines?
1 driving glove
3 coupons
9 receipts
5 unused napkins
3 used napkins
1 sad looking, partially used tissue
1 cookie cutter, ice skating boot-shaped
2 safety pins
1 loose penny
1 bottle of Advil
1 bottle of Phazyme
1 bottle of Excedrine
1 bottle of herbal pills
1 bottle of potassium cloride
7 packages of Lactaid
and 47 chip crumbs.

So besides being a migraine having, bible toting, drug carrying, Blackberry using, hand warmer needing, receipt storing lady ... I have a lot of stuff in my purse. No wonder the King did not venture inside.

Wild Turkeys

2009-03-26T11:32:00.002-05:00

On our spring break trip, we had the opportunity to see Thanksgiving lunch a little early. In the field by the road were a covey of wild turkeys. The two Toms looked just like a kindergarten craft project. They were so cute.

You know you are a Texas when...

2009-03-24T10:26:00.002-05:00

the waiter has not brought your drinks and you need to take Excedrine for your migraine, so you swallow your pills with a huge dollop of salsa.

One Trip Queen

2009-03-23T01:37:00.000-05:00

I wish I were making this up. Wishing that this was Photoshopped. It's not. This is a family joke now ... this behavior. This is from 3 years ago, but sadly, my behavior has not changed much. If I make a trip to do something, I try to carry as much as possible. It cuts down on how many trips I have to make, afterall. Can you see the cylinder of tea falling beside my right hip? Yes, this is common. I try to carry so much that I drop and drop and drop as I walk.

Groceries? 3-5 bags per trip from the car to the house.

Laundry? 5o pound laundry basket hauled in one big heap to the laundry room instead of 4 trips of roughly 10 pounds each. oh, I kid. Sort of.

And, for the record? Can we ignore the junk in my hallway? If only I walked through the house tidying up like I carry groceries! Maybe my hallway would look different. Maybe.

A Most Beautiful Sight

2009-03-20T01:16:00.000-05:00

Only 6 more months 'til football season!

Interview with the Princess

2009-03-19T01:55:00.000-05:00

1. What is something your mommy always says to you? I love you

2. What makes your mommy happy? Chocolate

3. What makes your mommy sad? Country music

4. How does your mommy make you laugh? tickle me

5. What was your mommy as a child? I don't know

6. How old is your mom? (correct answer given) :)

7. How tall is your mommy? 5'4"

8. What is her favorite thing to do? snuggle Daddy and I

9. What does your mommy do when you're not around? work

10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? the church plant (Mars Hill Church Underground Austin...coming soon)

11. What is your mommy really good at? hugging

12. What is your mommy not very good at? singing country music

13. What does your mommy do for her job? PDF Complete computer work stuff

14. What's your mommy favorite food? chocolate

15. What makes you proud of your mommy? I don't know

16. If your mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be? Reepicheep

17. What do you and your mommy do together? sew

18. How are you and your mommy the same? we both like horses

19. How are you and your mommy different? she's older than me

20. How do you know your mommy loves you? she gives me all sorts of kinds of gifts

21. Where is your mommy's favorite place to go? home

22. Her worst place? Hollisters

Birthday Gift Receiving Tip

2009-03-18T01:05:00.001-05:00

Ann is preparing for her son's birthday party and it reminded me of the way I have helped Princess receive gifts at her birthday parties over the years.

I love birthday parties. One thing I do for Princess is have each of her guests individually sit beside her when she opens the present. Each person gets a turn being close when their present is opened. That way two things are served: 1) the guest gets to literally give the present to the birthday girl and 2) I have a photo documentation of what said guest gave the birthday girl. Handy for writing thank you notes. It has also turned out to be a sweet way to encourage focusing on being thankful to that person for giving the gift.

For more fun tips, hit the WFMW on Wednesdays at We Are THAT Family.

Making the Smile Turn Down

2009-03-16T11:51:00.004-05:00

Mary says it much better than I can. Hop over to Owlhaven for a terrific idea regarding teaching kids the effects of poor choices/bad behavior.

Misplaced Zeal

2009-03-13T06:30:00.001-05:00

Dear Mr. Retina,

It is with great appreciation that I write today. Because of your enduring and faithful work, we can see. It is perhaps your faithfulness that I must address today. You see, your zeal is overdone. You are overzealous, my friend. Your need for being noticed in a photograph is, quite frankly, annoying. Must you scream out at us when we flash our camera? Do you really need to be so noticed?

Please, on behalf of amateur photographers everywhere, I beseech you to lay low. Please do not give our friends and loved ones the red eye. Our precious pets appear as though some green monster has taken residence behind their cute little eyes.

Enough is enough. You have ruined pictures for years. I implore you to cease and desist from these overt attention-grabbing actions. From now on, please do your job of reflecting light in a demure and unobtrusive way.

With much gratitude and hope for better photographs in the future,

The Queen

Swimming, In March?

2009-03-12T05:42:00.000-05:00

Yes, ma'am. On March 9, 2009, my girlie jumped in the pool with one of her girlfriends. They said it was a little cold, but not too bad. Makes me shudder. I will not be in the pool until June. I must have upper 90 degree days, many of them in a row, and have a chaise lounge nearby to sun on. Princess, on the other hand, just wants to be a fish.

Go get 'em, Princess. I'll kiss your little blue lips when you crawl out of the pool.

Cottontail Bunny in our yard

2009-03-11T06:15:00.001-05:00

You know it's Spring when you see a bunny in the yard!

Little Bunny, where did you go?

Girlfriends

2009-03-10T09:42:00.004-05:00

Princess had a friend spend the night Sunday night. They played outside on the swing, explored the creek, heard an animal in the bushes, freaked out, ate dinner al fresco, played Wii and crashed. A great day, indeed.

A Real Steal

2009-03-09T06:26:00.000-05:00

Do people not think before naming their business? How many people are going to trust a real estate agent who works for Jesse James Real Estate?

I got your back, Babe

2009-03-08T19:05:00.001-05:00

I may be small, King, but I'm pulling the load for you. See you soon!

Snack Attack

2009-03-07T20:52:00.002-06:00

From Yahoo news:

BOSTON – What is 7 feet long, weighs 30 pounds, has eight arms and fits in a box slightly larger than a milk crate? Truman the octopus. Truman squeezed into a clear, acrylic box while trying to snag his lunch at the New England Aquarium in Boston.
Aquarium workers often place food inside locked boxes for the intelligent animals to crack open. It's what the aquarium calls an "enrichment activity," but it didn't go as planned Thursday.
In this case, crabs were locked in a smaller box inside the bigger box, which is 14 inches per side. The impatient Truman bypassed the locks and squeezed his body through a 2-inch hole in the exterior box.
He spent about 30 minutes inside before slithering out, delighting staff and guests who witnessed the spectacle.
He never did get the smaller box open.

Popularity Contest

2009-03-06T12:27:00.010-06:00

A recent Harris poll rated the most popular heros. How romantic. Let's see the basics according Mr. Harris Poll:

What Makes a Hero?

The public gives multiple reasons to explain their choice of heroes. Those mentioned most often include:
• “Doing what’s right regardless of personal consequences” (89%);
• “Not giving up until the goal is accomplished” (83%)
• “Doing more than what other people expect of them” (82%)
• “Overcoming adversity” (81%), and
• “Staying level-headed in a crisis” (81%)

With that in mind, let's look at who was nominated. Again from the Harris poll:

These heroes were named spontaneously. Those surveyed were not shown or read a list of people to choose from. The Harris Poll was conducted online among a sample of 2,634 U.S. adults (aged 18 and over) by Harris Interactive® between January 12 and 19,2009.

The list below is in order of popularity. The first number after the name is their rating in 2001 and the second number after the name is their rating in 2009. For example, Obama was not on the list in 2001, but ranked #1 in 2009. Jesus ranked #1 in 2001, but got bumped to #2 by Obama in 2009. (More on that later...)

Base: All Adults Rank July 2001 January 2009
Barack Obama *, 1
Jesus Christ 1, 2
Martin Luther King 2, 3
Ronald Reagan 6, 4
George W. Bush 19, 5
Abraham Lincoln 7, 6
John McCain *, 7
John F. Kennedy 4, 8
Chesley Sullenberger *, 9
Mother Teresa 5, 10
God *, 11
Hillary Clinton 29, 12
Billy Graham *, =13
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 15, =13
Mahatma Gandhi *, 15
Colin Powell 3, =16
George Washington 13, =16
Bill Clinton 10, =16
Condoleeza Rice *, 19
Oprah Winfrey 14, 20
Sarah Palin *, 21
General George S. Patton *, =22
Bill Gates *, =22

*Less than 1% in 2001.
“=” prior to a number indicates a tie

So, it's all very interesting. And telling.

So, first, let me get this straight. Jesus and God are listed separately? Um, hello? Let's not vote for them if we don't even know who the person is, shall we?

Now that's settled, can we address the issue that God didn't even make it on the list in 2001? Wha-? I mean, was no one polled in 2001? I think it's so interesting that Jesus and God are seen as different people. I know most people don't believe Jesus is God, but still. It surprises me that God didn't make the list and Jesus did. At number one.

Now, can we talk about the qualifications for being a hero? As seen above, let's compare our #1 and #2 on just the first qualification:

• “Doing what’s right regardless of personal consequences” (89%); #1= Buzzer sound. Sorry, even the Dow Jones gives him a skunk score on this. #2 = "Ding" I'd say dying and rising for mankind qualifies Jesus as having done the right thing regardless of personal consequences.

Also, isn't it heart-warming to know that someone who wasn't even listed in 2001 has bumped Jesus to #2? Isn't it a further delight to know that this person is leading our nation? Moreover, how about the fact that Obama never disputed that he should be more popular than Jesus. Atleast, not that I can find.

Bless his honey heart. I don't want to be standing nearby when Harris poll #1 stands before Harris poll #2. It's not going to be pretty.

I'm not totally neurotic

2009-03-05T21:10:00.006-06:00

I am not obsessed with skunks. I'm not. I promise.

It's just that it's spring time. I'm outside more. The skunks are out more. We're sure to interact at some point.

Tonight, turning off the road and into our driveway, we thought we saw a skunk. It reminded me of the pictures my neighbor took last summer. One Sunday morning, this is what they saw in their front yard.

Have you ever heard to rinse your yogurt cups so that creatures won't be attracted to the yogurt cup and get their heads stuck? I had heard that, but come on. Really.

Oh, yeah. Really. He really did get his head stuck. He really did run laps around their front lawn ... ready to spray anything that came close to him.

Anything did come close.

They came too close, as you can tell from the black dog in the background. The corgi is about to get a full-face shot in this picture.

Just so you know? There really are skunks out there.

They really do like yogurt.

You really should rinse the cup out.

Disclaimer: No animals were hurt in the filming of this blog posting.

Energy!

2009-03-04T08:14:00.002-06:00

I increased my calcium three days ago and can I just say .... I feel GREAT! Calcium levels are critical to my Periodic Paralysis and there's no way to tell if they are high enough except by how often I have paralysis. Yesterday, I had so. much. energy. And no episodes.

This is the first morning in WEEKS that I have been able to get out of bed without being paralyzed. Normally, King brings me potassium and after it takes effect, I can get up and walk.

I'm just a little excited to be back to my energetic, playful self.

Fire Ant Hill

2009-03-03T12:27:00.003-06:00

I've decided what King's life is like right now.

Picture a man bound with ropes, tied to a stake and "planted" in a fire ant bed. A large ant bed.

It's not one deadline. Or one discouraging phone call. Or one grumpy employee.

No. It's thousands of little things that sting and irritate to the point that he's swollen with ant bites.

Poor guy. You'd never know it. He doesn't let on that he's being stung to death. I see it though.

We're blessed that we get to work together, at home, 24/7. I know him so well. And it makes me sad that he's in an ant bed.

The good news is that I'm helping cut the ropes and soon time and effort will allow him to be out of the ant bed.

Annual deadlines are like this. This all too shall pass.

Character of God

2009-03-02T19:22:00.003-06:00

I have had a migraine all day today. The kind of migraine that cannot tolerate light, sounds, hunger or smells. My neck hurts, my head hurts and I'm nauseated.

I have 4 different physical "ailments" afflicting me at the present. Thus, my lack of words.

So, on this painful day I will post what I know to be true... the character of God. Characteristics from Psalm 145, 146, 147.

Understanding 147:5
Protects 146:9
Just 146:7
Satisfy/Fulfills desires 145:16, 19
Near 145:18
Food Giver 145:15, 146:7, 147:9
Gracious 145:8, 13, 17
Compassionate 145:8-9
Slow to Anger 145:8
Abounding Love 145:8
Faithful 145:13, 146:6
Righteous 145:7, 17
Hears 145:19
Saves 145:19
Guards 145:20
Greatness 145:3, 147:5
Goodness 145:7,9
Acts/Works 145:4-6, 12
Mighty 145:11
Helps 145:14, 147:6
Raises 145:14, 146:8

After Dark

2009-02-26T21:20:00.002-06:00

This is my driveway.

This is my front yard.

This is what lurks in my front yard. After dark.

Tonight King and I walked the trash can out to the road. So romantic. The stars were twinkling, we were holding hands. And the only thing I kept saying was, "Turn the flashlight on again!" I'm such a chicken. We have a creek behind our house and let me tell you, there is no shortage of creatures around our house.

I'm not really afraid of the foxes or other critters, but I am afraid of getting sprayed by a skunk. I have a very sensitive nose and I think I might turn inside out if I got near a skunk, much less sprayed.

What was supposed to be a sweet, romantic walk by starlight was instead a nervous footrace to the road and back to the house. Did I get sprayed? No. Did I even see a skunk? No.

But I'll betcha a skunk saw me.

Responsibility

2009-02-26T08:40:00.004-06:00

To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

This is what Princess's room used to look like. Lotsa stuff.

This is what her room looks like now.

My genetics are so apparent in my daughter. I have been messy most of my life. I am not very messy anymore. Princess is learning that responsibility comes with a cost. Taking the parable in Matthew 25 as our boundary marker, the King and I are trying to teach the Princess how to manage her blessings and responsibilities. It is my humble little opinion that many American kids are not responsible people because they are given sooo much and so little responsibility is demanded of them.

One night, in a sassy attitude, Princess was frustrated that I was asking her to tidy up around the house. I only asked her to gather her things from the different rooms and put them away. Her response, "Well, if you want to take everything that I have, go ahead." I had taken nothing away. Yet. Praying a silent prayer for wisdom, the following transpired.

Queen: "I don't want to take what you have. I want you to be responsible with what you have. Do you want me to take away everything you have?"

Princess: "Well, if you want to then just take everything I have."

Praying again, I asked her, "Are you sure?"

Princess: some sort of sassy comment.

Oooookay. So, I spent the next hour cleaning everything out of her room. When she went to bed, she had a bed, two lamps and a chest of drawers in her room. There were not even pieces of lint on the floor. It was all gone. Put into storage.

We talked alot about the parable in Matthew 25 and many Proverbs that address laziness, responsibility and hard work. We listened to her, prayed with her and encouraged her.

As it stands, each day that she is responsible, she gets to "buy" something back. She has "purchased" almost all of the things she wants back. The rest will stay in storage or be given away. She is learning so many lessons.

1. God is merciful, loving and just. Consequences come from all of our decisions.
2. We don't expect perfection, just progress.
3. We love her no matter how lazy or how resposible she is.
4. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but it produces a harvest of righteousness for those who are trained by it. (Hebrews 12)
5. Training is what persistent achievers do. They work at something over and over until they are really good at it. Sometimes you work so hard that you throw up, like marathon training. Still, the reward of the training makes it all worthwhile.

So many good lessons. And the surprising thing? She likes her clean room and does not want to clutter it up again. She's finding that less is more.

I think I could be learning a lot, too. I wonder how productive it would be to dump all my stuff out on the front lawn and only bring back inside what I want to clean and be responsible for? Hmmm.... I feel some spring cleaning coming on.

Matthew 25:14-28

14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. 16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money. 19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ 21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ 22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’ 23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ 24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ 26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ 28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Tortilla Soup

2009-02-24T18:37:00.004-06:00

I'm getting closer to the perfect Tortilla Soup. I might have hit the bull's eye tonight. I forgot to picture the two chicken breasts and two boxes of Chicken Broth that I used (1 quart each).

2 Quarts Chicken Broth

2 chicken breasts, cubed, then shredded after cooked

16 0z diced tomatoes

1 can black beans

1 can corn

1 tsp chipolte chili pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1-2 tsp Chili powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

salt, to taste

Place cubed, raw chicken in chicken broth and cook. While chicken is cooking, add spices. When chicken is cooked, put cubes in food processor and pulse until shredded. Add chicken back to broth. Add beans, tomatoes and corn. Cook until boiling. Add lime to taste. Top with homemade tortilla strips.

Homemade Tortilla Strips

4 Guerrero "uncooked" tortillas

equal amounts: cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder

Salt, to taste

Spray oil

Place tortillas on cookie sheet and spray with oil. Sprinkle spices and salt on tortillas. Use pizza cutter and cut into strips. Broil on low for 3 minutes or until puffed.

MeRa Koh

2009-02-23T10:55:00.003-06:00

Oh, dear Weblings! I am in a whole new love level with my hobby of photography. I have read MeRa Koh's blog for over a year, but never bought the DVDs to actually teach me anything.

That changed this weekend.

I purchased the two DVD set and I'm a changed woman. After watching half of the second DVD, I walked down to the creek behind our house and played with the aperture setting on my camera. Look at the picture I took! You have to click on it to see the bigger picture.

I am so in love with my camera. Thoughts of apertures, shutter speeds and spot metering dance in my head.

US Airways Flight 1549

2009-02-20T08:48:00.000-06:00

The Lord works in mysterious ways, and with a sense of humor! Regarding the crash landing in the Hudson...

First: ... No one died!

Second: ... The passengers standing on the wing appeared to be walking on water!

Third: ... It removed Obama from the headlines for 24 hours!

Fourth: ... No one in the government could take credit for the miracle!

Fifth: ... It wasn't George Bush's fault!