My Recipes!

This has been on my to-do list for quite some time, so I just wasted a lunch hour getting it going. It my very own online recipe archive! So check out my recipe blog and I sure hope you'll post a comment if you try one of them!

By the way, I'm a pretty picky eater so you won't find anything containing "soy" or "salmon" over there. I'm a meat and potatoes girl, and my recipes will definately show that.

There is also a link on the left side of my page called My Recipes.

Come On Over!!

Contest!!

Jennifer at The Wilson Six is having a contest to win some free notcards...custom made by HER! Just go HERE and leave a comment and she'll sign you up. And if you post a link to her site on your own blog, she'll enter your name and extra 5 times.

Check out her other posts as well. She's on my blogroll. I love reading about all her creative ideas.

Our Halloween!

My cousin, Chilihead, is hosting a Halloween Open House. I may not be following her rules exactly, since we really don't decorate for Halloween around here. We're one of those families who scrounge around at the last minute for a costume to wear. But we do carve pumpkins, so here are some pictures of that.

Green Getting Started

3 and his Pumpkin Guts

The Final Product

Happy Halloween!!

Sunday Morning

This morning we skipped church. And it always easy to feel guilty about that because when we sit at our dining room table, we can see the church. Ehhhhhhh...

This morning 3 wanted to play a "family game" since we were all still hanging out in our jammies. So he pulled out the poker chips and cards and we had a good 'ole time playing poker. During church time. While sitting at the table looking at the church.

Poker instead of church.

Good one.

BUT -
We were still folding our hands. Some of us more than others.
We were bowing our heads.
We were raising our hands in praise to the King, esp if we had 2 or 3 of them.
We all putting money into the pot.
We sang songs. "I am the Champion" and "You Don't Have Any Chips Left"

It's all good.

Anatomy of a Bumper Sticker

There is a new family in town. The only reason I know of them is because I see their minivan dropping kids off at school each morning, and there used to be an out-of-state license plate on it. They have a bumper sticker on their car which has baffled me since the first day of school. It reads:

It’s Mean to Wean

Ok, let’s break this down a bit. It’s mean to wean. I can think of several things this could mean, but going by the other bumper stickers on the car, I’m going with the obvious meaning – breastfeeding.

So if it’s mean to wean a child off breastfeeding, let’s review what options are available:

Never Wean Your Kids From Breastfeeding
I’ve actually done some research on the web about this particular bumper sticker saying. Apparently the idea behind it is to let the child decide when they are ready to be done rather than the mother deciding. Heck, no wonder it takes you so long to drop off your kids. Apparently you’re letting your 4th grader finish up “breakfast” right there in the van. YUCK. And is your husband still stopping over at your mother-in-laws for his mid-day snack? DOUBLE YUCK

Never Start Your Kids Breastfeeding
Ok, but you’d have to give them a bottle then, and wouldn’t you have to wean them from that? I mean, it would look silly for a middle school kid to be pulling out a bottle of formula out of his lunch box. Or does this really mean that you just start out with a Happy Meal the day your child is born? “Oh, isn’t our new baby sweet, honey? Now run your ass down to McDonalds before he gets hungry.”

I found a website where you can buy these bumper stickers along with several other sayings that I find quite humorous:

“Keep Breastfeeding. Don’t be a weaner.”

“If they are young enough to ask for it, they are too young to wean” Wait – don’t all men ask for it?

“Breastfeeding for all. Circumcision for none.” That’s just plain wrong.

“Silly Man. Tits are for kids!” I am SO using this line.


The website I found this information on is part of the Gentle Parenting webring. That cracks me up that the word “tits” is on a gentle parenting site.

NOTE: I did not breastfeed either of my boys. Didn’t try it, didn’t want to. I truly admire those mothers who do, though, and this is by no means an insult to them. I just wanted to talk about that dang bumper sticker! So don’t post nasty comments to me.

WFMW: Free Sirius Trial!

If you are not a Sirius customer, today is your day to give it a try...FOR FREE! (Actually, tomorrow is your day too, since it's a 2 day deal.)

So head on over to their website HERE and listen to your heart's content. I recommend the following channels:

Channel 8 - The Big 80's
Channel 23 - Hair Nation (big hair bands)
Channel 105 - Laugh Break
and of course...
Channel 115 - Radio Disney

Green's Day

Obviously I could never list all of the things I love about Green. But here are a few tidbits I want to share about my baby boy.

You put on a “tough” outer shell, but when it’s just you and me I see the sweet, cuddly Green.

You have a huge heart, and hate to see others hurting.

Your “rainbow of freckles” over your nose makes me melt.

Everyone needs a passion, and I’m so excited to watch you have fun with your passion - even if it is sports/ESPN/FOX Sports.

You are successful in school and you are aware of how important it is to do your schoolwork and do it well.


Happy Birthday, Sweet Pea. I love you,

Mom

While I Was Out

So here are some good things that have happened to me since you last heard from me:

I have gotten totally addicted to www.paperbackswap.com. I mean, what could be better than getting books basically for FREE? I’ve gotten 4 books so far. I have to wait until people request my books before I can get books from other people. If you are a reader and have extra books on your shelf, you MUST join!!

My mom is recovering from her gaping head wound. So here’s the rundown…she passed out/had a seizure (still not sure what) while shopping at Menards. Who would have thunk that place could be so dangerous? We caught up with her at the ER. They shaved a bit of her hair, stapled up her head, ran some test, kept her overnight, ran some more tests, then sent her home. Still not sure what the hell happened there, but we’re keeping a close eye on her…and keeping her out of Menards.

Both of my brothers ventured back from Colorado to visit those of us stuck back here in the homeland. I love it when we get to spend time together, even if it is for a very short visit. I love those guys.

I bought a new sweatsuit at J.C.Penneys. Huh, you ask? OH YEAH. IT IS AWESOME. And it’s especially awesome that I bought it the day they had their “Buy 1 get one for 88 cents” special. It’s soft, cuddly, and I put it on every night when I get home from work. Some day I might take it off long enough to wash it.

I bought new, high quality flannel sheets. It’s a little bit of heaven.

I found where I can listen to Bruce Williams online. I used to travel a lot for my job and was always on the road between 5 - 7 PM. I've missed him since those days, but now I've found him! If you are as nerdy as I am, here is your link.

More posts coming soon - I will try not to go MIA anytime soon.

Don't Worry - I'm Still Around

Thanks to those of you who continue to check my blog each day, hoping for some AMAZING post. I am still here -- just haven't had any extra time to devote to the ole BLAWG.

Hopefully I will find the time to get an awesome post up today. Ok, maybe not be awesome, but it will be a post.

And on a sad note, you are probably aware that Canon - the boy mentioned in my previous post - passed away. Please send your prayers to his family. I do not know the family and I certainly can't say that I know how they are feeling now, because I don't. I truly cannot imaging anything worse than losing your child.

Canon

Please take a moment to click on the image above to send a prayer Canon's way. He is very critical tonight.

"The Call"

Never before have I gotten “the call”. I’ve always been terrified to get “the call” because I wasn’t quite sure how I would react. Today it came.

“Green3, I just got a call from the Clive police. Your mom had a seizure while shopping and has been taken by ambulance to the hospital.”

Ummm….ok.

Now my mom is not someone who you would expect to have a seizure while deciding what shopping for a new light bulb for her makeup mirror. In fact, when I called DH to let him know, his reply was, “YOUR mom?” See, she works out every single day, watches what she eats, doesn’t smoke, and only drinks wine a couple times a week. My mother just doesn’t have seizures in Menards. But apparently I was wrong.

So I grabbed my dad - I work with him - and we hauled ass to Des Moines. (Darn near beat the ambulance there, thank you very much.) Besides an awesome gash to the head and some very low blood pressure, she’s fine.

On my way home, I realized I was more shaken that I probably appeared to be at the hospital. I stopped at Target, made a few phone calls from the parking lot, and then realized I just wasn’t in the mood to shop. Sorry, Mom, I know you are disappointed. So I headed for home.

On my way home, I realized how very lucky we were today. Once we get her home tomorrow, things will be pretty much back to normal. But what about the families who haul ass down to the hospital only to be told they were too late? The thought makes me shudder.

There was some humor today. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll feel like laughing about it a little bit more and can share some of that with you.

I love you mom. I am so glad that you are ok.

ch ch ch ch changes

Ohhhh...am I excited. I'm on Susie's list to have my blog redesigned. I'm down for early November, so you can expect to see my "new do" soon!

Weekend Math

= good








= good

( x 8) + = bad, very bad

A Peek into My Weirdness

I have a favorite website...one I really have never shared with others. I can't explain why it's a favorite. And I also can't explain why I'm sharing it with you now.

It started with searching for homes of famous people. Not because I'm a stalker or anything. I just think it's interesting. And then I ran across this website...and I'm hooked.

Yes, gravesites interest me. Especially gravesites of famous people. I'm interested in what their headstone looks like, where they are buried, and all that strange stuff. So take a look and see if you can be hooked just like I am.

Find A Grave

Dad Gone Mad

If you are not a regular reader of his blog, take a look at his current posting. He totally cracks me up!

His link is on my left sidebar.

Sugar Woes

Green – Did you know that (friend's name here)had to quit JAM? (JAM is an after school program one day a week, and stands for Jesus and Me.)

Me – Why?

Green – Because she’s allergic to sugar.

Me – What does that have to do with it?

Green – She can’t eat sugar anymore because she’s allergic. And that’s all we do at JAM is eat sugar.

Me – What?

Green – DUDE, the minute we walk in the door, we just start eating sugar until our parents come to get us!

Tattling

3 - Mom, Green's throwing water all over the bathroom!

Me - But nobody's bleeding?

3 - Rolling his eyes and walking away.

Now I'm hearing a cheerful chant in the bathub by Green. "Tattle taler. Tattle taler" And then some arguing. 3 marches back into the kitchen.

3 - Mom?

Me - What?

3 - Green said he's going to tattle on me for tattling on him.

Me - So let me get this straight. You are tattling on him, because he wants to tattle on you, because you tattled on him?

And End of an Era

Our racing era is a mere 4 hours from coming to an end...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120039266781&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26satitle%3D120039266781%26fvi%3D1

I will miss it, but I understand, 3. If it's not your thing, it's not your thing.

WFMW: Vacations

Next time you go on vacation, consider staying at a private home instead of a hotel. These homes are owned by regular people, who are just renting them out to help pay the mortgage. They are oftentimes true “vacation homes”, which means they are awesome!

The homes rent out for similar rates than you’d find at a hotel. Sometimes the cost is a bit higher, but it is SO worth it. My family rents a home or condo each time we go to Colorado and we have so much room. It is so much better than staying in a hotel.

A majority of homes in the Disney area are brand new and have their own private swimming pool. And the rates are SO reasonable!

To find the homes, you can use this popular website listed below. Some areas have their own websites, so you could search on “vacation rental” to find those.

http://www.vrbo.com/

And here is an example of a home I've actually rented. It was a little bit of Heaven right there in Colorado... http://www.vrbo.com/18725

Happy Vacationing!

Check out more helpful tips at Rocks in My Dryer.

I Need an Intermission

Ok, Life. Can you just STOP for a moment so I can catch my breath? This week has totally sucked, and it’s only Tuesday.

I know ya’ll stopped by for some chipper blog posting, but I’ll warn you right now – this ain’t it. Once I get out of my frump, I promise I’ll post something more, umm, happy. Until then…

Yesterday started off ok. I forgot to send something with Green to school, but it was nothing critical. It could go the next day, so no real problem there.

I get to work and think, “This would be a great day to load the software update that’s been sitting on my desk.” Bad idea. By noon I wanted to chuck the $500 software out the freakin window. By 3:00 I was starting to panic that I was totally screwed. At 4:55, after major searching on the web for my error message, I finally got my old software restored and back to where I started at 9:00 that morning. You can just write that whole day off.

I had to go to the doctor yesterday for an appointment that totally sucked. But I found out that I couldn't be healthier, so I guess that is some good news. Ok, actually I could be healthier but that point has nothing to do with that doctor appointment. :)

My car is without brakes. I’m having to work from home today so they can have my car, but they just called and said the part for my car would not be in until tomorrow morning sometime so they’ll need to keep my car another day. Ok, see, in order for me to pay you to fix my car, I’m really going to have to go to work. So I kinda need my car back. (ok, ok, we all know that this problem is under warranty and I can work from home in a pinch, BUT STILL! I don’t like being stuck at home.)

There were other things going on as well, but I’ll quit boring you with the details.

I’ll be back later when things are going swell.

3 and His Friend Gerald

3 is in fourth grade, and they now have “manor buddies.” They visit the manor a few times a month to visit their buddies. They can just sit and talk or they can play games…whatever. 3 was “lucky” enough to have gotten hooked up with a cheery fellow named Gerald. Below is 3’s account of their first 30 minute visit.

3 - My name is 3. What is your name?

Gerald – Gerald

3 – Do you like to play games? We could play a game. They have checkers or cards.

Gerald – I don’t much care for games.

3 – Ok. Do you like sports?”

Gerald – I don’t like sports

3 – Do you like to watch television?

Gerald – No.

3 – I love to read. Do you read? What are your favorite books?

Gerald – I don’t read much.

3 – What is your favorite food?

Gerald – I don’t know.

3 - Do you have kids?

Gerald - Yes.

3 – Do you have anything you want to ask me about?

Gerald – No.

3 – ooooooookaaaaaay

silence for the next 28 minutes

My make believe confrontation with Friend Gerald:
Listen here, you old fart. My first born son walked his ass all the way down here to the manor to help break up your monotonous day. If you don't want to participate, then stay in your f**king room. He has made an effort to be your friend not once - BUT TWICE. He feels bad that you don't want to talk with him. He wishes he could have gotten "the guy who likes to play games" but instead he ended up with some chump who won't even carry on a conversation. I've told him to just put in his time and these visits will soon be over. I've also told him that MOST old people would love to have a child ask them questions about their past or want to spend a few minutes with them.

This is Better Than Sliced Bread

Book addicts, LISTEN UP!

You MUST visit www.paperbackswap.com. This website lets to trade books with readers all over the country. To participate you have to list 9 or more books. You receive 3 credits right off the bat, which can be used to get books from other people. All you have to do is pay for the shipping. There are no other costs!!

As soon as I signed up, I ran downstairs and tore through my bookshelves. I plan to do it again when I have more time. What an awesome way to get rid of all the books I don't want anymore -- and get some in return!

Many thanks to The Wilson Six for this tip.

CHECK IT OUT!!! CAN YOU TELL I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS? AND IT'S 11:33PM AND I'M TYPING IN ALL CAPS! I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE TYPE IN ALL CAPS! better get to bed....

WFMW: Cheesy Potatoes

I'm stealing this top from Momof4. At a recent party, I commented on how awesome her cheesy potatoes were and she shared her secret with me.

Next time you make your cheesy potato recipe, replace part of the sour cream with a container of chip dip. I use Anderson Erickson Party Dip, but I think that's only available in the midwest -- and maybe only in Iowa.

**Updated Note** This dip is more ranch flavored than onion flavored.

Adding this really adds some extra flavor to your normal cheesy potatoes. I'll never make them without it again. It works for me!

Check out more tips at Rocks in my Dryer!

For The Love of Technology

Let me provide some background information:

1. We are NASCAR fans. More specifically, I am a Jimmie Johnson fan.
2. My husband is an elementary computer teacher.
   

So I had been looking around for some Jimmie Johnson earrings to wear to the NASCAR race last year. I could not find any locally so I casually mentioned to DH that I was going to check out ebay.

The next day, I was at work but was checking my home email – which is our email address we use for our ebay account. I see that DH has been bidding on something so I open the email to see what it is. “Holy Crap!” I said to myself. “He’s bidding on Jimmie Johnson nipple rings? Exactly who does he think he’s married to?”

I immediately jump on instant messenger, because that’s how nerds communicate. Now remember, on the other side of that instant message is an elementary computer teacher who is innocently unaware of what is about to happen. He’s got his computer screen displayed on the screen, demonstrating something to his class. He’s going along with his class, his pupils listening and watching intently. When out of the blue pops up this instant message…ON THE SCREEN IN FRONT OF YOUNG INNOCENT CHILDREN.

Why the hell are you buying me NIPPLE RINGS? My nipples aren’t pierced!

Technology. Gotta love it.


Note: DH was simply thinking that I could use the nipple rings as earrings. Poor guy.

Please Welcome Again...

Ok, friends, please stop over again and welcome Momof4GreatKids. She's changed some settings on her blog, so anyone can now leave a comment on her blog. So give it another try!

Success!

I have my own library in my home. In my library, I have shelf dedicated to “success” books. Some may call these books “self help” but I prefer to call them “success” books. I don’t need help. I just like to be energized and hear enthusiastic people remind me to keep aiming for my goals. If you are like me and love to be encouraged – or if you happen to be in a rut in your life and need some words of advice, please keep reading.

I subscribe to a personal growth email that I receive on a regular basis. I read every single issue that is sent to me. It’s fabulous. A recent email mentioned that I could get a free CD from Mike Litman, who is a world-famous success speaker and author. All I had to pay was the shipping and handling. So I went for it.

I listened to it on the way to work this morning. In one section he said, “If you are driving right now, pull over because you are going to want to write this down.” Yeah, right, I thought. But as he continued, I found myself scrounging for a pen and scratch paper and writing down the things he was saying. Here are a few of the lines I was writing down this morning on my way to work:

• People form habits, and habits form people
• Successful people make a habit of doing things they don’t like to do.
• Don’t focus on the process. Focus on the reward.

And he offered this 3 step approach to success:

1. Ask yourself, “What is one thing I don’t want to do today, but if I did it it would move my life forward?”
2. “How would I benefit from doing it?”
3. “Do it now!”

These lines may not mean much when reading them in my blog, but when you hear the CD he explains each of these lines and how you can use them in your personal and business life.

So here is a link to Mike Litman’s website where you can request your own CD. Also read through his articles. I highly recommend it. Please note that I do not know Mike Litman, have not been asked to promote him, nor will I benefit at all if you go to his website. I simply want to share what I have found.

(If you are a "success" book reader, let me know. Maybe we can share titles!)

Reasons I Don't Have a Post Tonight

1. I tried to download Internet Explorer 7 - and now my IE is all horked up. I'm stuck using Firefox for now. I guess I don't know why this is keeping me from posting. I'm just pissed about it, so it's number 1 on my list. So there.
   
2. I've been trying to come up with a different look for my blog. I've spent a little bit of time looking around, but have come to the conclusion that I just don't have the time. But I definately want to get rid of this harbor look. What the hell is that about? I'm in Iowa for cryin' out loud.
3. I'm working on my 100 Things list. It's mostly in my head right now, but I may have it done by the end of the week. I'm mostly nervous that I can't settle on 100 things. I mean, what if I post it and then I think something needs to change. Do you have any idea the stress I'm under here??
   
4. I'm recovering from our weekend at the races, which was awesome.
   
5. I'm gearing up for the upcoming weekend at the Iowa State-Nebraska football game. I don't have a ticket, so I'll probably end up holding up the fort at the tailgate. The crew will come out at halftime and find their coolers empty and me passed out in the ditch.