Random Thoughts

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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:

1. Thank the person giving the award


2. Tell seven things about myself


3. Nominate 15 newly discovered blogs


4. Let your nominees know about the award.

Seven things about me:

1. The formatting on this post is driving me batty.
   
2. I am wife to superman and mom to my best girlfriend.
   
3. I work at a software company.
   
4. Following in my daughter's footsteps, I'm learning to ride horses - english style. Our horse is Hippo, a flea-bitten grey Arabian.
   
5. I love Jane Austen novels. My latest favorite is Emma.
   
6. I love to shop at Goodwill.
   
7. 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:

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


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


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


4. 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!)


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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.

It's been one of those days.