Weekend Notes 8/8/10

Friday morning DS11 & I saw these mushrooms while on our daily walk. They just sprang up in this family's yard over night. I'm jealous. Any mushroom spores who are looking for a place to land, my yard is open.

Our village had their garage sale weekend, and this year we decided to be bargain hunters rather than sellers. I'd rather just drop off our castoffs at Goodwill than deal with all the work that goes into having your own sale.

Thursday morning I woke the boys up early at 8:00am and taught them the meaning to the saying, "the early bird gets the worm. " In this case, it was the early teenagers get the Nerf guns. We found two awesome Nerf guns with original packaging and Nerf darts marked $8 a piece. We found a mini version of Uno, a few game guides and talked the sellers down to $15 for the lot. Not bad for our first sale of the weekend. One of the Nerf guns is going for $60 on the resell market, but we're just going to enjoy playing with it. I think its crazy how many attachments these guns have, and how you can reconfigure them.

Friday G-Ma arrived to continue garage sale-ing with us. We didn't find any great deals but enjoyed stretching our legs and adding a few more miles to our daily walking total.

Friday evening we had our cousins over to hang out after pizza supper and enjoyed brownies and scones.

Saturday morning DH, G-Ma and I hit up the other side of town to do more sale-ing. First stop was the library's used book sale where I picked up another Series Of Unfortunate Events book for my collect, a Wisconsin almanac and a favorite picture book we enjoyed when the boys were little.

We found a few more treasures including a box full of Yu-Gi-Oh cards for DS11 and a sword for DS14. Yes, a real sword. The handle appears to be silver and the blade stainless steel. We are trying to figure out what the letters inscribed on the handle mean. I can't yet identify what language it is. It could be Russian or eastern European. Both these finds were unbelievable bargains. That always adds to the fun.

We took a break from sale-ing, picked up the boys and went to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Mi Cocina.

We ran some errands, picking up wall anchors for our window hardware. Yes, the drapes arrived on Friday and I love them. Hopefully once they are all hung, it will look great. They are light blocking and insulating, and we went with a dark brown suede. Once I get the Love Nest complete, I'll take pictures.

Saturday night the family got into a cut throat game of Monopoly with G-Ma. It had been quite awhile since we had played. I had forgotten how competitive my husband can get! DS14 won once we established a cut off time after playing for several hours.

Sunday woke us with thunderstorms, which would have been more enjoyable if it wasn't so hot and humid again. We had to close the house back up and put the air on. I feel a little less worried doing this after seeing our electric bill wasn't too high from last month's heat wave. I had DS11 open the bill and tell me what the damage was. I thought it would hurt less coming from him. :) I asked him, is the first number a 1, a 2 or a 3? Thankfully he said 1 and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I still hope August isn't as hot as July was, but it doesn't have that repetition, does it.

  

Since this cupcake craving has been with me now for over 24 hours, I'm baking a batch. Who wants one?

More garage sale-ing today. Yesterday we scored two huge Nerf guns. Let a certain brother be warned. My army's arsenal is growing. You're going down bro!

Feeling Blah...

As if my wonky camera wasn't enough, now the computer is giving me the business when it comes to uploading my photos. I'll have to put the food diary on hold. Ever since we hooked up an external back up drive, I'm having to adapt to doing things a bit differently.

I'm feeling down, and I don't know exactly why. Its probably a trifecta of heat, humidity and hormones. Of course maybe the bank account and messy house are not helping either.

We have this strange leak of some kind happening in our kitchen. Its really strange, as if I poured brown sugar on the floor and wet it down. I can't figure out what it is, or where it is coming from. The pipes do not seem to be leaking, but this tan, grainy substance is showing up along the baseboard in front of the kitchen sink. I suppose I'll have to take everything out from under the sink and really investigate it tomorrow, when I have more time.

I think the Japanese beetles are bringing me down too. Our birch tree is infested with thousands and I'm fearing the worse, we'll lose the tree. Its funny how certain plants and trees they ignore completely, but others they swarm on. I've read you can chemically treat your grass to kill the larva but complete elimination of the pests could take up to 5 years of applying these chemicals. As sad as I am to see my birch tree killed, I don't think I want to dump all those chemicals on the lawn.

The mulberry tree/bushes they seem to leave along. Maybe I should encourage more wild mulberries to grow around the yard instead of trying to fight the beetles? The problem with mulberry bushes, they grow almost too quickly and for a deciduous tree, their leaves come out later than others in the spring and drop off too quickly in the fall. 

We have a mulberry bush that grew wild near the corner of the house. I had DS11 chop it down to the ground last year but we did not remove the roots. This year the bush grew back huge. Its over 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide in this growing season alone. If only we could place these bushes around the perimeter of the yard rather than the house, we'd have lots of quick privacy for part of the year.

On a positive note, as I sit here and type this, I can hear the boys outside moving the rest of the dirt off the driveway and into the garden area. They are laughing and having a good time, which is pretty remarkable considering its hard labor in the 90 degree heat. They are shoveling the dirt onto a tarp, dragging the tarp over to the garden beds and dumping it.

This is just proving to me I need to stop worrying so much about them. They are capable of hard work, and they are capable of doing it without complaining about it. I found myself worrying the other day about SAT preparations and questioning what more should we be doing, yet if I'd only relax and take a closer look, they are proving to be fine young men.

I'll leave for work soon and hopefully this will distract me. I can only do what I'm capable of. I don't have to try and solve all my worries at once. The Japanese beetles, the mystery sugary goo, the messy house, the bills to pay, they can all wait for me or I can let them go, and just try redirecting my focus.

We're hoping to be able to see some northern lights tonight. Its on DS11's bucket list and this would save me a trip to Canada if we hopefully can capitalize on that recent sun explosion. The prediction was that people in the northern states would be able to see them. If those thunderstorms hold off, maybe we'll be able to!

Weekend Notes 8/2/10

We brought this back from K-town with us. It was a gift from my DMIL. DH and I are joking about how we can't break into it because we'll turn into piranhas. When Kringles are in our Sleepyhouse, they go uneaten until that first person cuts into one. Then we become like piranhas, drawn to an injured fish. Its just too easy to cut off an inch, walk by it again and cut another inch or two, find another reason to go into the kitchen and cut another inch while there, answer the phone and see there's a Kringle nearby waiting to be cut by another inch, etc. Before you know it, we've eaten an entire Kringle. I should just freeze it and forget about it until company is here to help us enjoy it.

We did spend a lovely Saturday in K-town visiting G-Ma (DMIL). We ate pizza of course and did a little garage sale-ing. G-Ma bought new running shoes for the boys which should help with our fitness goals. Their previous footwear was nothing but skateboard shoes, which aren't all that great for hiking.

Sunday we did a bit of yard work. We finally got around to building the last of our Square Foot Gardens. I figure we'll plant garlic in it this fall and maybe try to grow a last batch of baby spinach and lettuces. Our Romas have blight. I should never have bought those few nursery plants, but then again, blight is airborne. The Romas I started from seed are dying out.

We tried to save our birch tree from the Japanese beetles, but after pulling hundreds off, we realized there would be no way we could pick off the bugs on the higher branches. I just hope our tree doesn't die. They've already eaten so many of the leaves.

We enjoyed watching the X-Games. I'm amazed at the size of those vertical ramps. They make it look so easy, but can you imagine going 40 mph and jumping through the air with a board that is NOT attached to your feet?!

We're bird sitting Gilbert, our friend's parakeet. I'm hoping ours, Tornado and Gust, don't upset him too much. Our birds are loud and obnoxious, Gilbert is quiet and sweet.

Our friends are house hunting in Houston. We are sad to know they will most likely be moving away from us. We were so excited when they moved to our neighborhood a little over a year ago. Its been wonderful to have part of our homeschool posse so close by. Unfortunately, their dad has no choice but to look for a new job. We've become such close friends, we're really going to miss them.

I ordered curtains for our new Love Nest. I settled for a darker, chocolate brown and I'm trying not to worry about how brown my bedroom will be. The object was to find room darkening, insulated and washable curtains and I did it staying on budget. I ordered them on sale from Target with free shipping too. The last step in making over our room will be artwork, which I'm really hoping will help bring color and vitality to the neutral room.

I better get moving. DS11 is up and he's promised to walk up the library with me. I have a new summer read on hold for him, Big Nate In A Class By Himself.

Our mattress arrived and all is well. DH didn't freak out. Maybe it was because I started the conversation with, "Now, don't get mad and let this ruin your night but...." The bed was delivered while we watched the X-Games. The delivery guy used his own pickup, and had his young son in tow. Thankfully DH was home to help him unload and set up the mattress. After I had it all made up it felt great. It wasn't something we felt we had to get used to, like the rock slab we had used the past week. We'll have to adjust our headboard when we get the chance, but the mattress I think is going to work out great.

Friday Five- 7/30/10

I need to distract myself from my stress right now. This Friday 5 will relax me thinking of my garden.

"I've just been outside and picked a whole pail full of green beans!  This is the first crop and I know by the time the plants finally keel over we'll be sick and tired of them.....but for now, they are going to taste mighty fine!  So these green beans got me to thinking about all us human beans and the veggies we like to plant and how happy we are when we can harvest them.....and voila!  Another Friday 5 is born!  Give me a list of 5 garden fresh veggies you enjoy and how you like to prepare them.

Don't forget to leave your link so everyone can play along!  Happy Five-ing!"

1. Roma tomatoes - My favorite tomato because along with good raw eating, they make great sauce. I'm hoping this year's harvest is as big as last years so I can savor that sweet taste of fresh tomato sauce all winter long. There's nothing like opening a jar of homemade sauce in January and being able to taste summer like that. The sauce I make and freeze, tastes so much better than store bought.

2. Sugar Snap Peas - Otherwise known as candy from the garden. I'm having a little difficulty growing these this year, but we've enjoyed a few handfuls. I planted a second crop and oddly only half the seeds have sprouted. Next year hopefully I'll have better seed.

3. Butternut squash - I love how well these keep in a cool, dark place, all winter and spring long. I still have squash left to eat from last year that are still good. I love to make butternut squash soup with apples too. Last year we grew our Butternut squash vertically using a frame and old pantyhose slings. This year we're keeping the plants on the ground and hoping for the best.

4. Watermelon - We're Melonheads. Of course we always try to grow a few melons each season, although in our zone, this is a challenge. If I can ever find a clear, Plexiglas box, I'd love to try and grow square watermelon like they do for Japanese supermarkets.

5. Carrots - Our first time with carrots. They are a smaller variety but still make for good eating. They take too long to grow though.

Join me in the Friday Five. http://fridayfivegroup.multiply.com/

Our mattress saga continues. Today they are suppose to deliver the correct bed. I called to confirm this and was told the bed could not be delivered until Saturday. I told them this was unacceptable because we were promised a Friday delivery, and they had already screwed up with the first delivery by delivering the wrong mattress. He said they would deliver the bed this afternoon sometime between 2:00 and 6:00. So help them if this bed does not arrive today!!

Food Diary- Thursday 7/29/10

Breakfast- homemade oatmeal with applesauce and cinnamon

Lunch- veggie sub on ww & green tea from Subway

Snack- chocolate chip cookie from Subway I almost forgot to photograph

Supper at work- 1/2 a black bean, rice & veggie burrito from Qdoba (you'll see the other half photographed for Friday's breakfast :))

Snack at home- mint chip ice cream cone

Thursdays can be busy days, and I end up grabbing take out. I don't like eating at work because I can't relax, focus on what I'm eating and enjoy it. I grab bites between customers.

So excited!!! DH just phoned to tell me he was able to pick up the STP tickets!! We'll see them again in Milwaukee at the Rave this August. I was planning on skipping August because I wanted fall to come sooner, but now I think I'll allow August to happen. Yes, it also means I will have to celebrate the anniversary of my 29th birthday, but I'm willing to acknowledge growing another year older knowing a few days later I can act like I haven't aged a day past 22! ROCK ON!

Stone Temple Pilots!!

Start:	Aug 16, '10 8:00p
Location:	The Rave - Milwaukee

Happy Birthday to me!!! I can't wait for another awesome date night with DH! I better start putting money away for the hearing aid I'll be needing in the future.

Food Diary- Wednesday 7/28/10

Breakfast- garden veggies stir fried with 2 egg whites & sprinkled with Mrs. Dash and cheddar cheese, Orange Juice (not pictured)

Snack after walk- unsweetened iced tea and blueberries

Lunch- tuna salad stuffed in Roma tomatoes

Snack before work- Dandy Blend frappe

Supper brought to work- Peanut butter and jelly on wheat wheat

Snack at home after work- pretzels and lemonade (no pictured)

Wednesdays Thoughts

I know the photo isn't that great. I'm noticing more things wrong with my camera lately. Its older, but I think I basically broke it when I fell on Father's Day, mini-golfing.

The monarch looked very faded. I couldn't help but think it had been through quite a bit to arrive in our backyard. DH helped free the poor thing after I took this shot. I don't know how it ended up between the screen and window.

We've seen a few monarchs hanging around our milkweed and we did find one chubby caterpillar but their numbers are definitely down this year. Yesterday on our walk, we saw another monarch, although deceased, on the sidewalk near the lumberyard. Her colors too looked very faded.

I'm worried about a potentially toxic smell in my Sleepyhouse. I started noticing it yesterday. It smells like bleach. I very rarely clean with bleach because I'm so sensitive to it.

I checked the bottle of bleach in the basement. Its not leaking and the basement smelled fine. The smell is not in our bedrooms or kitchen, but I think I can pick up in our guest bathroom and living room area.

When they began working on our city's water treatment plant, I noticed an increase in chlorine smell in our tap water supply. Now I'm worried something worse has happened and the bleachy smell is coming from the resting water in the bathroom's toilet.

My nose is really sensitive to smells. Maybe that's because my eyesight is so poor?  I wish I could open up the windows and air out the house, but I'll have to wait until after today. I'm hoping these thunderstorms will chase away the heat and humidity.

I should also call our village and ask if something was found in our water supply where they needed to add more chlorine. It wouldn't be the first time. Usually we get a letter in the mail, several weeks after the incident. I filter our water for drinking, but we don't have filters on our shower heads. 

I'm going back to photo blogging what I eat. Since our trip to Kansas, I've not done so well eating consciously. I don't like the fact I can see the Hostess cupcakes DH bought in the pantry and instantly I think I want one. I need to listen to my body again and eat better. Plus I need to prevent DH from grocery shopping. :)

I was excited to find a cool blog with links to virtual field trips all over the world. I tried to show DS11 he could virtually visit Stonehenge. (Its on his bucket list.) His response to me was,

"No. I want to see it in person. Don't show it to me on the computer. I want to see the real thing."

Sigh.... We don't have the funds to catch a plane dude. On the other hand, this is my own fault. The kid knows what you see in pictures is never as good as the real thing. He's an unschooler.

I'll never forget when I saw my first Francis Bacon painting up close. For years I had viewed his work in art books, but when you are standing directly in front of a painting, you realize the photo fails miserably by comparison. There is nothing like the real thing.

So even though I marveled at the google earth photos of Stonehenge, I'm sure being there, smelling the air, feeling the temperature, seeing the rock's close details would be a whole different experience.

I'll still spend hours exploring these virtual trips though. Here's the link if you want to do the same. Click Here!

Tuesday Morning's Ramble...

I finally caught a chance to grab the tube bird feeder and chase out the wasps without getting stung. I have to hand it to them, it is a pretty good place to build a nest, inside the tube, out of the elements. Of course they would have run out of room pretty quickly. After I get this cleaned out, we'll have to be sure we always refill the seed before it gets too low, so the wasps won't have another chance to fly in and start rebuilding.

Maybe it was the moon, but I couldn't sleep last night. I was too restless. I fell asleep probably sometime after midnight, but woke up at 3:30am wide awake. I spent most of the last hours of night trying to fall back asleep before finally giving up at sunrise. I'm sure I'll crash hard later, when I have no opportunity to nap. I didn't sleep well the night before either. I kept dreaming I wasn't falling asleep, so even though I actually was sleeping, I woke up thinking I hadn't.

We finally received confirmation of our new health insurance. I'm thankful we have something, even though its not the best coverage. What was ridiculous was the fact it took 7 weeks to start this coverage when DH was told by the agency it would be only 1 week. I'm grateful we didn't get sick or injured while we were in insurance limbo land. The run around we received back and forth between the insurance company and the temporary agency DH works for was very frustrating. The moment DH began working, we basically lost our state coverage. "You're earning too much to qualify."  We were at the mercy of the insurance company and DH's new employer, waiting for them to get the ball rolling. Something needs to be done to ensure families don't have to go with laps in coverage like this, when they are trying to get off of unemployment.

I saved an article I had recently read to discuss it with my boys. Click here to read it. It basically points out how the middle class of America is shrinking. The rich are getting richer and the middle class is joining the poor in getting poorer. I've always known the future meant competing in a global economy, and its simple to do the math and learn quickly there isn't enough world wealth to go around.

Its sobering for a US citizen to read, but its the truth. We are unprepared for this. I agree with the statement, "The truth is that most Americans are absolutely dependent on someone else giving them a job."  Our government school system is designed to produce good workers but not innovative thinkers. The problem is, the world is full of "good workers" who will do the same job for much less.

I'm hoping that what my boys will learn from this, is you can't follow the pack. You must be a pack leader. You have to be inventive and have an entrepreneurial drive to order to be marketable.

Speaking of marketing, as much as I detest salessharks, I'm coming to realize we all must learn that dark talent. Of course it strengthens you to be able to see through the wolf's clothing, but also it is important to know how to become a wolf yourself. One must be able to sell himself in this global world, or at least, be able to market you own choice of livelihood.

So, yes, I found my insomniac self watching home shopping at 4:00am this morning, marveling at how that woman could sell a pound of cookies in a boring cookie jar for $40. I think the autodidact in me will begin researching persuasive speech.

I better get some smoothie in me. I have a walking date with DS11 at 9:00am. Have a great day!

It feels so good to have the windows open for a change. The cool breeze blowing in feels wonderful. I wish it would stick around for longer.

Grrr....when they call and say, "There's a problem with the bed delivery. Can we deliver it within the next hour?" You expect them to be here within two! What do you think the chances are they will pull up in the driveway as soon as I decide to finally take my shower?

Today Our Bed Arrives!!

I'm hoping the storms break for the delivery. Our new mattress is scheduled to arrive today and I'm really looking forward to getting our Love Nest back!

The photo doesn't really show the paint color too well, but its officially known as "Nevada Tan" by Ace Hardware. If you ask me, it really should be called Chocolate Milkshake. That light spot in the photo near the vacuum cleaner is a flash reflection or spot on the lens. Ignore the dirty carpet. There's no money in the budget to replace it now.

I still have a lot of work to do before they arrive this afternoon. I have to clear a path to our bedroom! We've been focusing on getting our bedroom ready, the rest of the house has been neglected.

I also still have to find curtains. DH wants me to order a dark brown, but I want something different. Again with the color dilemma. I saw a thermal twill curtain in the color "Lake Mist" at JCPenney that is washable and on sale, but DH didn't like it. Our bedding varies depending on which blankets we use for different seasons, so I'm looking for something neutral.

We've been having crazy thunderstorms roll through. Today could bring more of the same. Last night at work we had multiple tornado warnings but thankfully they were around us, but not close enough to harm us. Of course all of the parents kept hearing the sirens and running to the front desk to check with me. Our area blows the tornado siren if anywhere in the county there could be a tornado. It could be clear outside, but 20 miles away on the other side of the country a storm is brewing and the tornado siren goes off.

On my drive home I ran into several flooded roadways. At other points, I had to drive around blown down tree limbs. I was just so grateful to be able to make it home.

Well I better get back to fluffing my nest. I'll post after photos once its all complete.

Over A Bowl Of Cocoa Puffs, Thoughts On Thursday

You snooze, you lose. The last bowl of Cocoa Puffs are all mine boys!!

I love the paint color we chose for our bedroom. I wasn't sure I was going to, but after several days of rolling my arms over it, spilling it down the front of me, and sniffing paint fumes, I'm really happy with how it's turned out. Problem is, it reminds me of melted chocolate ice cream or chocolate milkshakes. My chocolate cravings are hitting me full force. Hmmm... maybe this is why I'm grooving on the color?

It's been over a week now where I haven't had any carbonated soda and artificial sweeteners. On 7-11, we had stopped at a 7-11 on the drive home from Kansas. I treated myself- HA, HA- to a Crystal Light Slurpee. I ended up with a stomach ache for most of the long drive home. I told myself that day I was giving up artificial sweeteners for good. Since most of the pop I was drinking was diet, I decided to go back to not drinking soda either.

My next step will be giving up sugars but I know I will have to do that one slowly, not cold turkey. Even if I can stay away from white sugars, I love fruit and summer is fruit season! I've recently read how even natural sugars found in fruit can elevate high blood pressure. I think I'll try living without high fructose corn syrup first, and then keep eliminating sugar foods one by one. Maybe I won't have to eliminate whole fruits all together, but will learn how to enjoy an appropriate portion of them.

My neighbor is fighting cancer and her nutritionist told her sugar feeds cancer. She's gone 100% sugar free, no honey, no agave, nothing. When I learned this, it scared me. I do fear getting cancer and with the amount of sugar I consume, its sobering. I'm just praying I can tame my sweet tooth.

The school district in the next town over has decided to fine kids who bully others. First offense is $100, second is $500. Students under age 16 have to go before a judge, but students 16 and older may choose to simply pay the fine and avoid court. Bullying is being defined as any "face-to-face physical or verbal bullying, such as pushing, shoving, name-calling and teasing."  IS THIS NOT RIDICULOUS??!!

I doubt these kids will have the money or rather their parents will pay these fines. Bullies aren't going to be stopped by charging them!! Kids who bully do so because they lack self confidence and come from homes without proper parenting.

I know school offiicals often look the other way when they see bullying, but I won't say its their responsibility to discipline either. It is their responsibility to ensure students are safe and have a safe learning environment. Why not require the parents of bullies to supervise their children, and yes, I'm suggesting these parents have to attend school alongside their children, if they want their children enrolled in public education.

Schools receive money based on enrollment numbers, so they don't want to suspend trouble makers so easily. I know of a case in our district where they paid a teacher to sit with a delinquent 45 minutes a day in a room at the school, just so they could say he met the attendance requirements. No tutoring went on. They were buying time until this young man turned 16 and would then officially drop out. Outside of those 45 minutes at the school, this kid roamed the town free, getting into more trouble, such as stealing my sister's gasoline and setting fire to her porch. I strongly felt this kid shouldn't have been kicked out of school and into a 45 minute babysitting session, but rather his parents had been required to take full responsibility for him, 24/7. This doesn't mean writing a check or pulling out a credit card to pay for damages.

I better get off my soapbox and get back to raising my kids, who are now waking up and wondering where the Cocoa Puffs are. 

Does anyone know if it does any good to report to Multiply those spammers who don't have a true profile but post comments on yours just to promote their spam? I've been deleting their posts, but I don't want to have to make my page private. Anyone have any suggestions?

Chocolate Marble Banana Bread or Muffins

Description:
My husband loves those giant muffins you see in the grocery store, but I knew I could bake something that tastes better, was cheaper and better for us to eat. I've adapted a banana bread recipe I saw in a magazine to use less sugar. I still may tweak it a bit more, but for now, these came out so yummy I had to make a note of them before I lost the recipe.

You can make this into a loaf or make 6 giant muffins. You could also make regular muffins too, but adjust the baking time.

Ingredients:
1/4 C butter, softened
1/2 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 C mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium sized)
1/3 C fat free plain yogurt
2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided OR use 1/2 C peanut butter chips and 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the bananas, yogurt and vanilla to the wet mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, the baking soda, salt, cinnamon and 1/2 C of chocolate or peanut butter chips.

Stir the dry ingredients together with the wet ingredients.

In a microwaveable bowl, melt the other 1/2 C of chocolate chips, 30 seconds to a minute, stirring after each 30 seconds.

Remove about one cup of the banana batter and add to it the melted chocolate.

Spray your muffin tin or loaf pan with non-stick spray. Spoon in the original banana batter to your loaf pan/muffin cups, and then spoon on top the chocolate banana batter. Using a knife, swirl the two batters together.

Bake for 40-50 minutes for a loaf pan or super size muffins. Check by inserting a knife in the middle. The knife should come out clean when they are done. Pop out of muffin molds/loaf pan and cool on a wire rack.

Why is choosing a paint color for the love nest such a challenge? I know its only paint, but I want it right the first time. I want blue or taupe, he wants tan. We're so close, yet far off.

Survived The Salemen

I'm relieved the mattress shopping is over. DH & I spent most of the day getting in and out of bed, but trust me, it wasn't as fun as that statement sounds like it should be.

In total, we hit 6 stores a total of 8 times and had to fight off a total of 11 sharks, I mean salesmen. By day's end we had found our bed, at a price we could live with. I had a serious case of sticker shock, but we didn't end up too far off from our budget.

I really feel we chose the best quality bed that we could afford. We ended up with a Serta, which are manufactured to order in a city close to our home. It was the only bed that used a continuous coil instead of cut wires and it had the most foam padding around those wires. Their warranty also was the only one that stated they would replace your bed, not just take it apart, add more foam and sew it back up, if within the 10 years it starts to give out. The store we bought it from, Mattress America, also said we could exchange the bed after sleeping on it for 60 days for any other bed in the store, paying the difference or receiving credit for price differences. They will come pick up the mattress and deliver your new one no charge. They will do this as many times as necessary within the 60 days, not just a one time exchange. There also was no charge for initial delivery and no charge for removal of our old bed.

I'm amazed we were able to find a mattress we both liked. I lean towards firm, DH prefers soft. This mattress has a pillow top to give DH his softness, yet was firm enough underneath. Plus there is an extra reinforced coil system around the middle section, to support where "humans are most heavy."

I'm so happy we don't have to deal with sales-sharks anymore. Of the 11 we dealt with, only 2 were normal, respectable people. The sales-shark we ended up buying from, I'm not including in those 2, but I will admit, the second time we returned, he was less creepy to me and seemed to become more normal. When we met him as his store opened, I'm sure he was in full salesman mode, and when we returned just before closing, I think he had put his act away and was returning to his true self before ending his work day.

The worse sales-shark was a woman at Steinhafels. I think she wanted to crawl into bed with me literally. She would not leave me alone. I just could not relax and get a feel for any bed with this obnoxious woman standing directly over me. She would not shut up. I tried my best not to be rude, but at my breaking point, I told her, "I can't relax and chose a mattress with you hovering over me constantly!"

At the Mattress Firm, the sharks were more like a wolf pack. I knew we were going to be in trouble when we walked in with no other customers in the store and 4 salesmen staring us down.

For the most part, my wonderful husband dealt with the sales jerks while I laid down, got up, laid down, got up, rolled over, got up, laid down, rolled over, got up. etc. I could not have bought a bed without him playing defense that's for sure!

I was amazed at how many people shopping for mattresses would just sit on the bed or push on it with their hands but not actually lay down and get into their sleeping position. On the other hand, I could understand why. Its not easy to place your body in your sleep position and not feel vulnerable to the salesmen eyeballing your every move.

I do have to thank DH for being so willing to spoon in public! LOL! I guess mattress shopping did have it perks!

More Candy From The Garden

I almost couldn't wait to wash these off before eating them. There is something spiritual in eating food picked fresh from your garden. Its satisfying and strengthening. Perhaps this is because the food is basically still alive and you have the opportunity to enjoy the plant's nutrients before they begin to weaken and bio-degrade.

There is a touch of raw foodie in me. I love eating apples right off the tree, strawberries plucked and delivered to my mouth, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, carrots, melons, the list goes on and on. When I have the opportunity to eat raw veggies and fruit, I have to take it. Winters are long and cold here.

I harvested the last of the green beans the Japanese beetles and bunnies left for us. I pulled up the remaining stalks and threw them into the compost pile. I re-planted sugar snap peas instead of another batch of green beans. I'm hoping we'll have just enough warm summer left to be eating more garden candy the end of September.

We have a few melons so we'll have to be diligent about watering everyday. While we were at the family reunion, my potted flowers in the back of the house didn't get any water. I pulled up the dead plants and planted more basil and cilantro. Hopefully we'll be able to harvest herbs before the first frost, but in theory, since they are in pots, I could bring them inside. The last herbs I grew from seed in pots matured so quickly.

The mystery seed I spilled in two of the Square Foot Garden beds were sunflowers. I decided to leave them and see if they bloom. Next year I want to grow sunflowers along my neighbor's fence line. I never got around to planting them this year. We do have a few other wild sunflowers growing near the bird feeders.

The milkweed we left for the monarchs bloomed really quickly. We didn't seem to have too many days were we could watch for honeybees and count them for the bee project we belong to. We have seed pods forming already. Is it really that late in summer or should we expect an early fall?

I did see a chunky monarch caterpillar a few days ago, but we've lost sight of him. We were hoping to have several more to help the monarch population crisis. We have hoards of earwigs so hopefully they aren't eating too many baby monarchs.

Trying Not To Feel Overwhelmed

I'm sure its just my immune system battling two foes at once, but I feel like I can't get my groove back.

Yesterday on my way to work, I stopped to see if Costco had any mattresses. After the drive in, I felt almost too tired and weak to walk around the giant wholesaler. I had to rest in my car with the air on for a few minutes. I treated myself to a frozen yogurt and that helped.

We decided not to sleep on the futon, and slept in our guest room instead. I slept okay, but I'm anxious to find a new mattress more than ever now. The Dick Van Dyke separate bed style is too depressing.

My spider bite is a little bit better, but I did wake up with muscle soreness. That could be from sleeping in a new bed though. My head cold reminded me its still lingering around too.

Its frustrating being run down when I have so much to do. I've decided before we get a new mattress, we need to clean and paint our bedroom. With DH working again, I'm on my own until the weekend arrives.

Today I'm hoping to drop the boys off at their friend's house and try to get some cleaning done. The reality is, I'll be more tempted to curl up in my Mary Tyler Moore bed and sleep until I have to leave for work.

Being run down, I feel even more, how important it is to have a clutter free world surrounding you. It's difficult enough to find the energy to clean, but knowing first you have move stuff around feels overwhelming. When you don't feel well, you want your nest to be a comforting place. Right now, I feel displaced.

I'll take things one step at a time. I'll try not to focus on the end result, but just on what's in front of me at the moment. I'll take those breaks when I need them and remember to listen to my body.

Am I Ready For Life's Challenges Today?

My cold virus never really seemed to be at full strength, and now I'm thinking it's the spider bite that's been zapping my energy. At first I thought it was just an itchy mosquito bite, not having seen any spiders crawling around me. It grew though to the size of a saucer plate and the itching turned to painful burning and tingling. My skin is hot to the touch in addition to being bright pink.

The past two nights, I haven't slept well because my arm keeps waking me up. This morning it feels maybe a little bit better, definitely not worse, less pink, and since there is no tissue degeneration, I'm going to ride it out, continuing to use topical treatments. Of course after having been in Kansas, I kept thinking, is it a brown recluse bite?! Thankfully its not turning black.

Tonight I won't sleep well either because our bed has sprung a leak. We have the kind of water bed that uses tubes, zipped inside a mattress shell. I don't think you can buy these types anymore. Apparently the leak was a slow one, making it worse. Water has trickled out for who knows how long, and now that its finally sponged through the mattress toppers we use, its safe to say our mattress shell is beyond salvaging.

The frugal girl in me is wondering, what if we dragged it out into the sun and used an entire bottle of Febreeze? The reality is, I don't want to have to worry about mold, this bed has expired its lifetime expectancy, and I'd look like a fool trying to use the carpet shampooing machine on a mattress. I should just bite the bullet and buy a new mattress.

This is stressful though, not fun. A mattress purchase is a huge decision. I want my DH to feel comfortable, and we're both used to having an adjustable mattress. The water tubes could be filled to your desired firmness.

DH also made a comment to me this morning about the timing of this happening now. We're grateful he's working, but why is something like this always happening before we can have a chance to save some money and get caught up?

Tonight we'll move the futon mattress on top of our box spring and see if we can make that solution work until we can find a new comfortable, yet affordable, mattress.

I wanted to start walking again today but we have a heat advisory and an air quality warning. I should stay inside, but the treadmill is boring plus, its hard to stay on the treadmill because its too easy to look around my house and see everything else I could/should be doing instead. Maybe dissembling the water bed will give me enough of a workout. The water tubes are pretty heavy and a challenge to drag to the bathtub.

Its just going to have be one of those days I go with the flow, do what I can, and not worry about everything going the way I want it to.

Our Kansas Trip

The drive down felt faster than we all thought it was going to. Maybe it was the anticipation of meeting new cousins, knowing we'd be staying in a hotel with a pool and/or seeing the roadside sights. My favorite part of the drive was the southwest corner of Wisconsin. Of course I could be biased, but it just seemed so beautiful to me with the rolling hills and farmland mixed. In an alternative universe, I'm a farm girl.

We stopped for lunch in Des Moines. The service was a great disappointment, but the food was okay. She got our order wrong, blamed me, and then ended up charging us double. It ended up being too long of a lunch stop.

Missouri wasn't all that exciting to drive through. Most of the land seemed to be pasture, only we didn't see any grazing cows. I wondered why there weren't more corn fields.

Kansas City proved to be a little bit of a challenge navigating, but my parents had loaned us their GPS and that helped.

After checking in to our hotel, we headed over to Aunt J & Uncle T's. They have a beautiful home and it was wonderful to meet most of our family waiting for us.

Friday morning began with a swim in the pool,  while I raided the complimentary breakfast and served my family poolside. They had the coolest waffle iron that made cute little waffles, instead of one big one.

After breakfast, we did a little shopping at the Legends Mall. Its a newer shopping center built with a historical theme. You can walk the outdoor mall and learn about historical Kansas figures and a little Kansas trivia. We found a few new stores, but most were chains we were already familiar with. We did drop a few bucks at Books A Million.

After lunch we headed over to Aunt J & Uncle T's. I was asked to bake cookies for our picnic so I made walnut bars and chocolate peanut butter cookies. The rest of the Kansas cousins arrived and we all enjoyed pizza and visiting on the patio.

Our Aunt and Uncle have such a nice yard for entertaining. DS14 showed the younger cousins how to operate his video camera and they had fun making monster movies, running around the backyard. I can't wait to see the footage.

We headed back to the hotel for a late swim and brought G-Ma with us to stay over in our hotel room.

Saturday was the big picnic day. We all headed out to a park where Uncle T and Aunt J had rented a shelter and set up a grand barbecue. We played cards, chess, badminton, horseshoes, and flung chickens. We rested in the shade on blankets under the trees while watching the young ones run through the sprinkler. It was a perfect summer picnic day.

Saturday evening we gathered once again with family back at Uncle T & Aunt J's and ate leftovers.

DH, DS11 and DH's cousin went to a late night movie, Predators. DS14, G-Ma and I rested in the hotel room.

Sunday morning we said our goodbyes and after the thunderstorm, we headed back out on the road home. We really hope to be able to return to Kansas City soon. Its a shame we all live so far apart from one another.

We stopped at a 7-11 in Missouri for Slurpees. We don't have 7-11's in Wisconsin so it was suppose to be a treat getting Slurpees on the road. Unfortunately, I chose a Crystal Light Mango Peach flavor. I had thought, cool, a sugar free Slurpee! I ended up drinking half of it and suffering stomach cramps the rest of the ride home. I am done with artificial sweeteners and colors. I'm planning on avoiding soda altogether as well.

Monday I felt a little better stomach wise, but my cold was still lingering. I had very little energy, but my parents were here for a visit so I took them to Costco so they could load up on tuna. We made a spaghetti supper and invited over my sister's family to help us eat it. Needless to say, I got very little unpacking done, but it was nice to visit with family.

I'm sure it will take me the rest of the week to feel normal again. With all the time in the car, all the visiting, all the eating, fighting off a cold, I'm spent.

We're still unpacking, trying to get back into the swing of things after our trip. Getting over colds isn't helping this process. I'm giving myself one more day to rest and heal up. I'm thankful my head cold isn't too severe but I'm definitely suffering from a lack of energy.

On The Eve Of Our Road Trip...Thoughts

Today's my last day before our family reunion road trip. I have so much to do it only makes sense I spend some time blogging right? Actually, I don't want to run the vacuum until after my teenager wakes up.

Why clean before we run away for the weekend? Because our house sitters are my parents. It is a little strange that we have company visiting while we are gone, but this family reunion on my husband's side has been planned for two years, and my parents will still be able to visit with my sister who lives nearby. I'm actually relieved my parents will be here because they can take care of Yumi and our parakeets while we're gone. We'll be able to visit with them after we return from Kansas.

I know the trip will take long, yet go by quickly. It will be 9 hours of driving through Iowa and Missouri, and we'll only get two full days to visit with family before we have to head back. Given that DH has recently started working, it doesn't feel right to ask for too much time off.

Plus financially, this trip will be a hit to our account, but this family reunion means so much to my MIL and my husband's aunt and uncle. If DH were still unemployed, we may have had more time to travel, but the money required to do so would hurt even more. Knowing that DH has work to come back to makes it a little easier to go, knowing we'll have the opportunity to catch up.

I'm going to try and really focus on the adventure of the journey, the time we'll have together cooped up for 9 hours in the car. Its 9 hours my kids can't escape from me! LOL! Actually, I'm betting they sleep most of the way there.

Once we arrive, it will be a pleasure to meet cousins I've never met. I'll keep to my code- no discussions of religion or politics- and our visit should be friendly. DH asked me if I'm ready for the Homeschooling Inquisition. I am. After more than 11 years of learning at home, there is nothing anyone could say to me that would make me regret our decision. I don't feel the need to hide our lifestyle at all because its been working so wonderfully for our family.

I've told the boys, if they are quizzed, they don't have to play along. I told them they could quiz back, but we've decided its best just to say, "I don't feel like taking a test right now. I'd like to enjoy our visit together," and leave it at that. 

I'm not really expecting any negative reactions, but what I don't understand is why sometimes people think because you homeschool, you are judging their decision not to. I've never done this. I really feel each family must decide what works best for them. Why are people offended because I chose to follow a different method? Is it because I've rejected what they've accepted? I'm not claiming our way of learning is superior, but I won't hide the fact of how well it works.

I better get moving here before I truly do step up on my soapbox. Maybe if I make breakfast, the teenager will awaken.

Why must your sinus nerves run down through your teeth? I slept funny on my cheek, have a touch of allergies and now it feels like my upper molars are rotting away.

How Our Weekend Went....

For the most part, we had a great weekend. Friday night we met DH at Joey's Seafood for a really tasty fish supper. I had real crab cakes, not imitation crab meat. It was my first time eating at Joey's and when our server brought out mini corn muffins as the bread course, I knew I was going to love Joey's!

Saturday DH & I enjoyed a walk together and later the entire family headed out for Taco Bell and shopping. We had a few things to pick up after going 8 months without being able to buy new clothes. Funny how you learn to really appreciate new t-shirts and underwear!

Saturday night we treated ourselves to a new scary movie via the Playstation download store. It was the sequel to the Spanish horror film, "REC", "REC 2". The movie hasn't been released to theaters yet, but its available for download. I found that interesting. Perhaps that's the wave of the future. We won't go out to the movies anymore, but rather download them to our homes paying much less. The movie "Quarantine" is a remake of "REC". They are both well done, but there is something better about the original Spanish version.

Sunday, I woke up early and walked our parade blanket down to Main St. The heat and humidity had arrived, which doesn't really mix well with the aroma of dairy farms. I was surprised at how much more crowded our parade was this year, but it doesn't surprise me. Our town usually puts on a great, old fashioned 4th of July parade.

We were sitting next to a family with two, two year old boys. Their parenting skills were getting on my nerves because they kept allowing their toddlers to run out into the street to pick up candy. Our parade includes huge farm equipment, tractors, semi-trucks, as well as crazy motor sport demonstrations. I was amazed those little boys weren't squashed.

I know other towns around have banned candy throwing, and I hope our town doesn't choose to do so as well. The candy has always been a big draw. Each year, its not uncommon for a child to walk away with a bagful, but I know all it would take is one child getting hurt and they'd put an end to it. Parents need to teach their children to sit on the curb and wait for the candy to come to them. Besides, its fun to watch the dropped Tootsie Rolls get smooshed under giant tractor wheels. :)

After the parade, we came back home to recoup from the heat. We made burgers and spent the rest of the afternoon, digesting and playing games. DH & I watched the movie Crazy Heart. That was a tough one to watch, but a great movie.

Sunday night we headed over to the park to watch the fireworks. I love our small town fireworks. You can sit very close compared to other festivals Our cousins found us and we all sat together. The show seemed to start a little early, but I think they were trying to beat the approaching thunderstorms. The show was incredible. I have never before seen so many fireworks shot off at the same time. It went fast, only 15 minutes, but from the beginning to the end it was like watching a firework finally.

When we got home we lit sparklers. The boys had fun running around pretending the sparklers were magic wands. The fun was cut short though when morons drove past and aimed a bottle rocket at my children.

I was on the front porch and saw these idiots shoot off a bottle rocket into my neighbor's yard. I watched as they drove up to our house, slowed down and took aim at my boys who were running around with their sparklers. The bottle rocket missed the boys, hit the garage door and bounced into the grass, missing our car. I ran inside and grabbed the phone and the fire extinguisher. My husband followed me out.

I told the 911 operator what had just happened while DH and I waited for these idiots to drive back past. They had driven into a dead end neighborhood and there was no way back out, unless they drove past our house again.

When they came back towards our house, my enraged DH, engaged the young men with colorful language while I ran right up to their license plate number and read it directly to the 911 operator.

The morons told my husband to "calm down", but frankly, you shouldn't expect any parent not to react after you've just tried to harm their children with fireworks. I love my husband, our protector!

They drove off before the police arrived, but when the officer did make it to our house, we gave him all the information. I'm really hoping the plate number helped them locate these jerks and they were stopped from shooting off fireworks.

I'm grateful my children were not harmed and we didn't suffer property damage, but it still infuriates me these morons thought this was fun. I will be looking for that plate number while I walk around our neighborhood the days to come, but I have a feeling these were out of towners. If anyone knows how I can search for an address with a plate number, I'd love a link to that site! Of course, I won't take the law into my own hands, but I'd still enjoy the chance to give them a piece of my mind.

Rambing...

I have to add to DS11's bucket list- meet Chumlee at Gold and Silver Pawn, see "those faces in South Dakota, the presidents I think", and a visit to Salt Lake City. If only we had the time and money to take our family to these places. I would love to make his dreams comes true.

Our family watches Pawn Stars on the history channel. Chumlee is an employee at Gold and Silver Pawn, who usually provides the comic relief on the show. Its interesting to learn about these historical items but unlike the show Antique Roadshow, the items on Pawn Stars are bargained over for value.

We also enjoy watching Pickers, a show about two antique dealers from Iowa driving around "picking" through people's old barns looking for valuable junk to resell. We're wondering if on our road trip to the family reunion in Kansas if we'll come near their store. I'll have to Google it and see.

Yesterday I picked a few more sugar snap peas. I had them sitting on the kitchen table. Later DS11 told me, "I ate my pea pod for the day." On the first day I had picked 4 pods, I told each family member we each get to try one. Now I guess DS11 thinks I meant everyday he has to try one. LOL!!! Works for me!!

Today begins our village's Fourth Of July celebration weekend. Our town celebrates with small town charm. The park is set up with tents, selling homemade pies, barbecue chicken, brats, etc. We have music, games, softball tournaments, your typical summer festival fun. Tonight they are shooting off fireworks in addition to more scheduled for Sunday the 4th. I'm sorry I have to work tonight. It sounds like fun, as long as you have mosquito repellent. Our park is located next to a lake.

Sunday we'll also have our parade. True to a small town farming community, we'll have an endless stream of tractors and farm equipment all washed and shined up. The Dairy Queens will ride by in their borrowed convertibles, waving their robotic wave. The baseball teams, the local businesses throwing candy and Popsicles, the high school band, its all very Norman Rockwell and I love it.

I better get moving here. I've been requested to make mancakes for breakfast and I still have to get my walk in.

Remember When I Said I Wish I Could Really Live on Wii Fit Island?

This is the new windmill near our home. Its .34 of a mile from our Sleepyhouse and so far, I'm not noticing any effects. I'm all for alternative energy, but I had my concerns about strobe effect, noise and the effect on wildlife.

This windmill isn't too large, and we didn't find it noisy when we walked by. Today though, the breeze is calm. We didn't see wildlife near it, and I didn't notice any shadows. I'll need to find out more about it, but I believe this windmill's purpose is to provide energy for our village's new waste water treatment plant.

Now if I could somehow banish cars and trucks from our neighborhood, I'd have the perfect place to walk around, like in the virtual Wii Fit Island world.

My walking is coming along nicely. I'm at the point where I find myself wanting more time to take walks. It doesn't feel right taking a shower unless I've walked first. I'll tell myself, I can't shower before I walk so I might as well get that walk out of the way first.

My body is responding. I can feel more strength to go farther and the saying, "a body in motion stays in motion," is very true. I can't sit for long without wanting to get up and move around. I'm craving more protein too, so I must be making muscle.

On the down side, my RLS is the worst its ever been, which is ironic. I thought more activity would help. I have daily issues with my RLS now, where as before it troubled me every once in awhile or when I was over tired. I'll keep walking though and hope it gets better. I'm getting plenty of calcium and watching my salt intake so its not related to that.

Time is definitely another issue I struggle with. I want to walk more, but the housework isn't done, I should work on this, on that...., but I'm accepting that its okay to meet my needs first for a change.

Walking is an investment in my well being. It's  horrible to say this, but when I see people struggle to move, I feel grateful I can walk. I want to be able to stay mobile for all the days of my life. You don't see too many power scooter chairs off roading through forest trails. Every step I take now will ensure I'll be enjoying my lifestyle for many years to come. 

Ants are invading. It must be midsummer. They come in every year around this time, strangely in the bathroom, although this year we also have a group who discovered Yumi's cat food bag in the pantry. I'm going to try storing her food in a canister now. I really don't want to nuke the yard, but their numbers are increasing. I'm trying borax sugar poison, hoping that will take care of the unwanted visitors. You place a few drops on a piece of paper. The ants drink it and bring the poison back to the nest.

Miracle Sugar Snap Peas

I went out to do a little weeding and discovered 4 sugar snap peas, ready to enjoy. We've had so much rain the vines are all yellow and don't appear to be thriving so I wasn't expecting to see these 4 sugar snap peas. Each member of our family gets to have one. LOL! Hopefully, more will appear soon.

I also caught cute little Benjamin bunny trying to pull down the rabbit fencing from around our carrots. He had just about gotten it low enough he could have hopped over if I hadn't spooked him, naughty bunny! I did not find his blue coat left behind.

I haven't had much time to work in the garden and that has me a little bummed. I should have planted more earlier. I am shocked my cilantro has grown so quickly, its now going to seed! The basil is ready but I'm not. I wanted to make pesto, but don't have enough olive oil. There are a few bites taken out of it, so I'm thinking of starting over with the herbs and see where we end up by summer's end.

DS11 and I are into watching the game show Lingo. You have to know your 5 letter words and think fast. Watching the show with him affirms to me how well he can read and spell. He's been quicker than me to guess some of those words.

Another word game we're playing lately is good old fashioned Scrabble. I'm in a Scrabble game on Facebook that is getting competitive and after playing over my shoulder the past few weeks, the boys expressed an interest to play me in real life. I realized there's no reason why we can't keep the board out, taking turns throughout the day, so that's what we've been doing today, using our real Scrabble board game rather than the computer. I surprised them and played the word "sex." DS11 protested saying he could have played that word but didn't think it was appropriate. :)  I'm such a bad mom! LOL!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies- #11 for the100 Cookies Project

Description:
Peanut butter, chocolate, need I say more to convince you to try these?

Ingredients:
1 C flour (could use pastry whole wheat)
1/3 C cocoa powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
1/2 C butter softened (1 stick)
3/4 C smooth style peanut butter
3/4 C sugar, plus 1/4 c
1/2 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375

Mix the dry ingredients together.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugars. Add in the vanilla and egg. Add in the flour mixture and stir.

Scoop with a cookie scoop or use spoons to form balls of dough. Roll each ball in white sugar.

Bake on a silicon baking sheet or parchment paper for 11-14 minutes.

The cookies are delicate when they first come out of the oven. Carefully move them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Whole Wheat Yogurt Pancakes

Description:
I love easy and I love healthy. This 5 ingredient recipe is both!

They came out fluffy even though they were made with whole wheat. I used pastry whole wheat flour. Pastry Wheat is made from softer wheat berries. I grind our own flour, but you can buy pastry wheat in health food stores and coops. It doesn't bake up as heavy as regular whole wheat. Pastry wheat is great to use for pancakes, muffins and cookies when you don't want to use white flour. Always store your whole wheat flour in the freezer.

Ingredients:
1 C non fat plain yogurt
1/3 C vanilla almond milk
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1 C whole wheat pastry flour

Directions:
Simply mix the ingredients in the above order in a bowl. Heat a non-stick griddle and use a little bit of butter or Smart Balance so the pancakes won't stick. Pour in the batter to the size and shape you like. Wait for the edges to firm up and light bubbles start to break the surface. Flip your pancake to brown and cook the other side.

Serve with syrup or other toppings and enjoy!

Friday Five- 6/25/10 Five Sounds Of Summer

Wow! This month has just flown away in a big ol' hurry.....I've really had a good time fiving with you each Friday...and before I pass the baton to the Donut Lady I will ...if you'll allow me...take my final bow until we meet again for another five....We've smiled, listed things that stood out for us....and partied by the pool...this week let's list Five Sounds of Summer!!! All right now put on your thinking caps for this one! Thank you for playing our game each week...I loveyouallandmean it...Love, Queenie     PS As always leave your link so we can read what you hear in the summer!

1. Birds- Baby birds are squawking away for mama and papa birds to feed them. I find it very interesting to watch them bounce around the yard demanding to be fed. We always know when the sun's about to come up too, because the chirps get loud outside our bedroom window.

2. Crickets- I love the sound of crickets. I find it very relaxing. Did you know their rhythm depends on the temperature? My mother always told me a cricket found in the house was a sign of good luck.

3. Children playing- Whether its my own or the neighborhood kids, its great to hear outside games being enjoyed.

4. Lawn mowing- This one I don't enjoy. I think lawns are over rated. They use up too much water and mowing pollutes the air.  A veggie garden is better because you don't have mow it and it gives you nutrition in return for watering it. I wish my neighbors could all coordinate when we mow our lawns so we didn't have to listen to the constant buzzing all day long.

5. Thunder- I love a good thunder storm. Summer storms bring great sky shows too. 

"Melted Ice Cream With Pulp"

I asked DS11 to try some pineapple banana smoothie I had made for breakfast. He is a very picky eater, but I've asked him to at least taste new things, hoping he'll eventually find more to add to his usual menu. I thought the smoothie was very good. I used plain non-fat yogurt, frozen banana, fresh pineapple and almond milk. DS11 said it tasted like melted ice cream with pulp. 

My $15 new sundress arrived. I wanted something light weight and cotton for when we take our family reunion trip to hot, summer Kansas land. Of course the penny pincher in me didn't want to spend a lot of money. Now I just have to get used to seeing myself in a sundress. Why is it I can like an article of clothing, but when I'm wearing it, feel so self conscious? I'm really not the generic person my usual clothes reflect. I need to start dressing the part.

I'm so happy Friday is here, I'm not allowing myself to worry about what the mechanic will find wrong with our car. I drove DH to work and I'm looking forward to picking him up later and grabbing a bite to eat to start our weekend together.

He's got two full working weeks under his belt now and although we miss him, I feel better being on this path right now. I'll never have the same attitude when I sit down to pay bills now. Just being able to pay them feels good. That is something I'd never thought I'd feel.

This weekend I hope to finish off the last of our square foot garden frames, really just to have a place to move the last of the dirt from the driveway. I'll plant some herbs and probably more salad greens. The Romas now have baby tomatoes so I'm happy about that. We'll have to cage them up before they start tipping over. I never did get the sunflowers planted, but there's always next year.

I'm also hoping DH will help me build a better bird feeding stand, something squirrel proof.

Well, I better get my walk in before it gets too hot. Plus, there is a smoothie critic over my shoulder wondering when it will be his turn on the computer. Have a great weekend! 

Thoughts Before Our Computer Crashes Again....

We're still adjusting to not having DH home with us. The computer will act up and I can't call out, "Honey, will you fix the computer?"

Its been raining pretty much everyday. I think our sugar snap peas are a loss but everything else seems to be tolerating the wet conditions.

The humidity is making it uncomfortable. I did my first walk inside on the treadmill and hated it. I'd much rather be outside.

Most of yesterday, I felt a stomach flu sick coming on. I wasn't sure if it was something I ate, delayed muscle aches from my fall, too much exercise in the heat, a bug bite, a chemical reaction or just a virus. I dragged myself to work and amazingly I started to feel better. How ironic is that? I'm just thankful it didn't turn into a full blown illness and it appears to be gone today.

Its been a challenge to try and not let the negativity around me effect my well being. I can't stand seeing the ones I love hurt and finding forgiveness for those who offend me has been my personal challenge this week.

I used to mourn the fact we couldn't make our family larger, having come from a larger family myself, but now I realize its not about the quantity of family you have but quality. I take comfort in knowing my boys will always have a close bond. 

A part of me really wants to say to certain people, "Look, you are really screwing up this relationship!" I don't say it though. I keep my mouth shut. You can't change people, nor can you make them understand you correctly if they choose to judge you first.

I want to live my life in peace, not stress. I can't mandate others do the same, but I can turn my back, choosing to face the positive influences instead.

More pests- we had our first bushy gray squirrel visit. Yumi lunged at the glass door and we looked out and saw a well fed fellow hopping around. He ended up on the bird feeders, enjoying his snack. I guess the trees have gotten big enough around here, we now have this type of squirrel invading. Our ground squirrels and chipmunks always left the feeders alone. We'll have to figure out how to squirrel proof a bird feeder in addition to wasp proofing.

Anyone know how to keep wasps away from a hummingbird feeder? I've also discovered the nasty buggers trying to build a nest INSIDE of our Nyjer seed tube feeder. I don't know how I'm going to clean that out without getting stung.

Father's Day Fun

Our first holiday spent together without the unemployment cloud over us! Yeah!

We decided to take DH out for lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We're never disappointed when we eat at Mi Cocina, and today DH said it was the best meal he's ever had there. He had grilled steak tacos, while I enjoy the grilled chicken tacos. DS14 had ground beef tacos and DS11 went American on us and chose a hamburger and fries.

After lunch we enjoyed a round of mini-golf. DS11 shot a hole in one, and the rest of us got close a few times. Its crazy how in mini-golf you can do very well on one hole only to have it all fall apart at the next.

Around the 15th hole clumsy me fell. I had on my birkies of course, but lost my footing while trying to step off the playing green. The fall was awkward because I had the golf putter in my hand and my instinct was to lean against it like a cane when I started to go over. Of course, balancing on a putter is not like leaning on a cane. I continued to timber and I remember thinking, I'll impale myself if I fall on this! I chose to move it out of the way at the last minute, and I fell to the rocks. DH said I fell in slow motion. Of course we were all cracking up! I wasn't seriously hurt, just some sore arm muscles from catching myself. Thankfully we weren't near a water hazard!

After mini-golf we brought DH to a Goodwill store to buy him some ties. Isn't that the typical Father's Day gift? Since DH is required to now wear a shirt and tie to work, he enjoyed stocking up. We had priced them the other day at JCPenney's, and we were amazed it cost $30 for a new tie. At Goodwill, they were $1.00. We found 8 silk ties at Goodwill, including a vintage Frank Lloyd Wright print, made in Italy. Its very cool!

We also found some great used board games and trivia games. Not that we have room in our game closet for them! I'll have to purge some of our younger kid games out to make room. 

We did salads and sandwiches for supper after enjoying such a huge lunch. The sun, the fun, the shopping, it was a full day well spent.

We can now add Blue Jays to our list of regular bird visitors. A few days ago, we had one hop right up to the glass door and check us out as we were checking him out. I thought he would peck at the glass! This morning he was back, with his mate, enjoying some seed and some beak grooming while perched on our swing. Keeping your yard chemical free, buying bird seed, its all worth it when you are treated to nature shows right before your eyes.

Friday Five 6/18/10

"Hey Fivers!!!! We have a lot to celebrate this weekend .....remembering our daddys and the first day of summer...oh and Bren and Tom's first anniversary...wow! So much going on...we'll just have to throw a great big ol' pool party at the palace....LOL Sooooo...for your Five this week...Tell us......1. What would you add to the buffet..... can't have a party without good food!! 2. Song you would like to hear on the jukebox...a party is not a party without some good tunes....3. Choice of beverage....it's a hot summer day....you'll need lots of this......4. Would  you prefer a float or a lounge chair..... 5. I'll leave this one for you to tell what else you would bring to our little gathering....it could be a gift for the blushing bride....btw...year one is paper....or something for Daddy...or anything else that comes to mind.....so kick back, relax, and enjoy yourself.....just leave a link so we can see what you are bringing.....but to me the most important thing would have to be YOU!! Loveyameanit...Queenie"


1. Watermelon

2. Tones Of Home by Blind Melon

3. Iced peach tea

4. A float please :)

5. Cameras- so we can all take photos to post on our Multiply pages :)

Tick Removal Tip- I've recently read if you goop up a cotton ball with lots of liquid soap, hold the soap saturated cotton ball over the attached tick for 20 seconds, it will cause the tick to let go, making for easier tick removal. Could someone try this and let me know if it works? It sounds too good to be true.

There's Not Enough Chocolate....

to help me deal with life's disappointments.

I can't believe its raining AGAIN. The garden is soaked and we have non-edible mushrooms growing in the lawn. I'm tired of it being so wet all the time. I don't think we'll ever get to use all that rainwater we collected. I should have planted rice.

Day 2 of missing DH, and I'm not doing as well distracting my loneliness. The boys are watching day 2 of E3 so I'm feeling a little unneeded.

We will lose our Badger Care health insurance because DH's new contract job pays too much. (Insert uncontrollable sarcastic laughter here) If the temp agency DH technically works for offers health insurance, we have no choice but to sign up for it. I'm sure the health insurance option with the temp agency will be basically no health coverage at all. They can't explain the coverage until we begin paying the premium. How messed up is that??!

It will be interesting to see if after paying health insurance premiums, and paying more for gas due to a daily commute if we'll come out ahead of what unemployment provided us to live on.  

I remember having to shop for health insurance last year, before DH was laid off. Most family monthly premiums were around $1200. That's unrealistic for a middle class family with a mortgage.

I once heard two men complaining about the new proposed government option requiring families who make $50,000 to spend about $500 a month on premiums. Personally, I want to know where can we sign up!! That's sounds like a good deal to me!

I know I shouldn't stress about it, but I got a copy of the medical bills when I had that UTI last month, while still covered under medicaid (Badger Care in Wisconsin). In total my infection cost $419 to treat. You see numbers like that and you don't want to go without health coverage. I saw one physician's assistant for about 3-4 minutes tops and peed in a total of two cups. How in the world can that translate to over $400???!!!

I know tomorrow I'll feel better. I just have to vent today.

I need to count my blessings.

1. DH is working and earning a wage that does pay more than unemployment. I shouldn't worry about counting those chickens coming from these eggs, insurance or not.

2. We all have our health and are taking steps to continue that, literally. (Walking has really helped me deal with this stress!)

3. I have two fine young men who continue to grow and thrive learning at home.

4. Bills are getting paid.

5. We have enough to eat.

6. We have shelter.

7.  We found wrinkle free shirts I can hang directly from the dryer!
 (I have zero ironing skills and DH now is required to wear a tie daily.)

Missing Him....

Today is DH's first day on the job after an 8+ month lay off. He found a contract position in his career field, with a company who makes high end appliances, for the next 6 months. Although its not a permanent placement, it will pay more than unemployment, and that will help us catch up. Hopefully when the contract is up, he will have found something else permanent.

The Sleepyhouse feels empty without him, but we're trying our best to distract ourselves from the sadness of his absence.

After dropping off our car for service, DS11 and I walked home the 1.5 miles. While we walked, he made up a really exciting scary story about a 14 year old boy who discovers a secret about the town's mechanic. He's an escaped psychopathic who is murdering misbehaving kids with the help of a trusted town figure!

DS11 told me seeing the service garage gave him the inspiration! LOL!  I'll have to be sure and thank our mechanic and give him a copy of DS's story when its finished. 

When we arrived home, I helped him type up a rough draft of his story. His brain was thinking of interesting story twists and details too quickly for my typing to keep up! He's beginning to outline an entire murder mystery series around his main character.

It was very exciting to be able to witness my son's brain storming. I was amazed at how his creativity really brought interesting details into his story, and I shared his excitement as one thing led to another.

This afternoon the boys will have friends over to watch E3. They look forward to hearing about all the new games and technology being released. We enjoyed this last year and this morning DS14 made a remark on how he can't believe its been an entire year. Tell me about it!

I'll walk up to the grocery store to buy them some popcorn and pick up something for supper. Being without transportation means I'm logging in extra steps which is good for my sadness as well.

I'm hoping to have a big meal ready for when DH walks through the door. I'm sure this will be a long day for him as well after being home for so long.

The hummingbird feeder is hanging but so far I haven't been able to catch anyone drinking. We came close today. Sitting by this computer I could hear the buzz. I slowly turned my head and saw a hummer contemplating taking a taste. I remained still, but he still didn't drink. He just eyed up the feeder thinking about it, and then flew off. Do you think he'll eventually come back and actually drink from it?

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

Description:
Yum- enough said

Ingredients:
3/4 c butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 c brown sugar
1 L egg
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 c milk
1 1/4 t baking powder
1 c flour
2 c oats
1 1/4 cup of chocolate chips


Directions:
preheat the oven to 375 and line a 8 x 8 pan with foil, sprayed with non-stick spray

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg, the vanilla and the milk. Stir in the baking powder, flour, oats and 1 cup of chocolate chips.

Press the mixture into the 8 x 8 pan and bake for 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and toss the remaining 1/4 cup of chips on top of the bars. As the chocolate melts, spread over the bars.

Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

Thinking About Why I Stressed Out Yesterday

I'm sitting here, in the quiet of an early Sunday morning, listening to the birds and watching the baby bunnies eat the clover in my garden. I need this peace.

I'm still trying to figure out why I had such a reaction to a stressful day yesterday, and I think its mostly because my nutrition was lacking and I'm too hard on myself.

I worked all morning helping my boss represent our pool at a Safety Saturday event. It took place outside, next to Madison's famous farmer's market. It was a great morning, the rain held off, but after 4 hours I was feeling a little spent.

I was looking forward to getting some healthy lunch and recouping, but when I returned to my car, I had a flat tire. I had just paid the garage ticket too! I knew there was no way I could get the spare on in less than 20 minutes, so I ran down to the garage office and told them I'd need a new ticket.

For a moment, I thought, has someone slashed my tire in the hopes of making me a parking garage victim? I scoped the area, no creepos around.

I remembered what my dad had taught me about changing a tire. I can do this. I removed the spare, put together the jack, and started to work on those lug nuts. My body couldn't perform what my spirit could. Those nuts were on too tight and would not budge.

I ran down to the garage office once again and called a tow truck. Thankfully I didn't have to wait too long. He helped me get the spare on and even allowed me to follow him to the next gas station so I could hit the ATM to pay him in cash, giving me a discount, and he made sure the donut spare had enough air in it.

Then the stress started to kick in. I think I felt bad that I couldn't get those lug nuts off myself. I could think of so many things I'd rather had spent that $40 on!

I began to worry about how I'd get to work Monday, knowing I shouldn't drive far on this donut. I tried to stop and find a tire store on the way home. One was closed, the other wanted way too much and didn't have 4 new tires in stock. We knew we needed new tires and now that DH is starting work on Monday, we had discussed buying new tires before our trip to Kansas.

I drove home, stopping at Subway to pick up a sympathy sandwich. I treated myself to their new low fat chicken salad on a 6 inch wheat. It was a very late lunch, and I realized my emptiness hadn't helped during this stress event.

I basically ate my sandwich and planted roots on the sofa. I was tired and had a headache. DH came home from DS's Yu-Gi-Oh event, and I was happy to hear they had a great time, but I needed taking care of. DH took over, and I finally decided to take some Advil.

This morning, rested, I can see things more clearly. The flat tire was not my fault. Being too weak to get lug nuts off is nothing to be ashamed of. I did make it home without another flat. We had to put off buying tires because DH was unemployed. Who's to say even if we had new tires, I still wouldn't have had that flat? DH starts work tomorrow so we can spend the money on needed new tires now without much worry. As for work on Monday, they'll do fine without my help. I'll be able to catch up later.

I'm still disappointed in myself for basically couch crashing after I got home. I had zero energy and a throbbing head. This is our last weekend together before DH goes back to work. I don't want to be a party pooper.

Today has been given to me to make it a better day. Rested and fed, I'll take this morning to once again thank God for helping me through yesterday's unplanned stress. I'll make THIS day what I want- a day shared with my family, stress free.

The hummingbird came back and once again I was wearing red. As soon as I moved, he flew away. We have since cooked up a batch of nectar and hung our hummingbird feeder from the flower basket, but no one has returned to dine. We're still hopeful we'll see him again soon.

5 for Friday - 6/11/10

"This week I bet you can name Five things that have happened recently either in the news or in your lives that stand out for you in some way...they touch your heart, make you want to throw a fist in the air and go "YES", or maybe just leave you feeling thoughtful."


1. A job offer for DH after 8 plus months of unemployment! Its only a limited term contract position, but still, it will help us catch up and give him something to do while we continue to look for something permanent. Who knows, maybe this company will even decide to hire him after the contract expires. We're going to miss having him around the Sleepyhouse, but with nearing the end of unemployment benefits, this is a huge blessing to us right now. 

2. New work projects for me! After attending a "webinar", I've learned a bit more about our scheduling software. I'm looking forward to using my new knowledge to improve our scheduling management system at the pool I work at.

3. After living in our Sleepyhouse for almost 9 years, we have finally cleaned out our gutters thanks to DMIL and her awesome ladder and hose attachment. 6 tennis balls, a football and a few shuttlecocks- its a safe bet our gutters will now work much better after clearing all that out! But how will I collect rainwater for our containers now? Hmmm..maybe we'll be able to afford the materials to make a real rain barrel?

4. I can walk 3 miles in a workout! Since I began Dailymile a few weeks ago, my goal was to be able to walk 3 miles a day. I've been able to walk 3 miles and soon I'm hoping I can manage that distance on a daily basis. I feel so much better when I have the opportunity to walk off the stress.

5. The first harvest from the square foot garden is ready! I'm planning on picking the baby spinach and other early lettuce, adding some strawberries and having a fabulous salad!

want to join me in the Friday Five? http://fridayfivegroup.multiply.com/

Square Foot Gardens 2010 Growing Season

An album to record our gardening progress

Sitting by the window I thought I heard a low growl. I turned my head thinking someone's dog was in our yard, and to my surprise there was a hummingbird staring me and my red shirt down. I was nervous she was going to hit the glass, but she decided not to go for my red shirt and turned to check out my inpatients hanging in the basket on the porch. She was the first hummer I've seen this year. I had given up thinking they were coming back.

Better Rice Krispie Treats With White Chocolate

Description:
The white chocolate really makes these amazingly good.

Ingredients:
3 T butter
10 ounce bag of marshmallows
1/2 C white chocolate chips
1/2 t vanilla extract
5 Cups of Rice Krispie cereal (Not the 6 the recipe on the box says! It makes a difference with the consistency and texture.)

Directions:
Line a 8 x 8 square pan with tin foil and grease or spray the foil with non-stick spray

Melt the butter over low to medium heat in a large pot

Add the marshmallows and white chocolate chips and stir until they are completely melted

Remove from the heat source and stir in the vanilla and Rice Krispie cereal

Pour the cereal mixture into the prepared pan and with wet, but not dripping hands, press the cereal into the pan. I rinse my hands, shaking off the excess, and this way when I press the cereal into the pan, nothing sticks to my hands.

Harvesting Sweet Rain Water

"Mom, are you harvesting the rain?"

"Yes! You could say I am!"

This is how you collect sweet, sweet, un-chlorinated water for your garden when you can't afford a real rain barrel. For weeks I've been watering our gardens with water tapped from the city and I've worried about chlorine contamination. I really wanted a rain barrel, but we can't afford to buy a ready to go model, and I've been too busy to try and make a homemade version. When it started to pour, I grabbed our empty plastic storage containers and started collecting.

To my surprise, they were filling up really quickly. I ran and grabbed our grain buckets and pulled out our bags of wheat berries.

When those filled up, my husband- the BEST HUSBAND IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE- cleaned out these old cat liter buckets. They no longer had clean liter in them, but rather, well, I'll spare you the horror.

Now I'm out of containers and buckets and I'm eyeballing all our containers still containing toys from years gone by. Dare I empty out the Hot Wheel bucket? Where can I put the gazillion Happy Meal Toys?

Wait! I just remembered! We have an old artificial Christmas tree stored away in a giant container!!!  (photo now added) 

We're Moving!

My whole family has began exercising more, and I'm very happy about that. I was hoping this would happen as I renewed my commitment to exercise. The boys have made a goal to run a mile each day on the treadmill and DS14 this week increased his goal, running 1.5 miles a day. My DH is back to his running routine too and also often walks with me.

I can remember back in high school gym class groaning about having to run the mile. We only did it once or twice every two weeks or so, but it was the dreaded day of P.E. "We're running the mile today, ugh!" Usually we tried not to sweat. LOL!

Now here I am as an adult and I feel blessed to be able to walk a mile. I WISH I could run like I did back in my thinner youth!

My boys have a completely different outlook when running on the treadmill than I had at their age.  Maybe that's because for them its about fitness, and they don't have worry about being sweaty and smelly around their peer group? Plus, they get to watch TV while they run, or if they walk with us, they know they have our undivided attention to speak their minds.

DS11 will also tell me, "This will make me a better cop one day, being fit." To him, the exercise is a way a meet his goals. To me back in high school, running the mile felt like a punishment the gym teachers demanded of us. 

This is another example of how self-schooling (unschooling), is so much better than trying to force something on someone. You have to decide to want the change, growth, advancement, education, etc. for yourself. You make that personal commitment to do it for yourself first and no one can ever take that away from you.

I want my children and husband to be healthy, but it would be wrong for me to say to them, "You need to exercise, You're out of shape and unhealthy, " and expect them to want to change. I would only be passing judgment on their choice of lifestyle.

I have learned a better way is to first do it yourself and wait to see if others will be inspired by you and follow. By nature, I believe God made us to be monkey see, monkey want to do too, and if we "be the change we want to see" it will work to bring others closer to sharing your world.

Because we self educate living in a family dynamic, we also are aware we are setting an example for those we love, not just acquaintances. This makes a difference because due to the strong bonds you have with loved ones, you want nothing but the best for them. You also want to be the best you can be FOR them as well.

The family environment is designed to support and lift us up as we work through life's obstacles. This effect cannot be duplicated in any other social network. Our family loves each other unconditionally. We've created the perfect safe place, our sanctuary, for inspiring and learning from each other and the world around us.

Training Log for Running, Cycling, and Triathlon | dailymile

http://www.dailymile.com
I've been having fun logging in my walks. I really enjoy the weekly report of how far I've walked, and being able to create and map out different routes. If you feel like joining me, please let me know and we can "friend" each other for support.

Food Diary- Monday 5/31/10

Breakfast- English muffin with peanut butter, almond milk w/chocolate sryup

Lunch- leftover chicken from the cookout on whole grain bread

Snack#1- walnut bar

Snack#2- cherries

Supper- McDonald's hamburger, small fry, sweet tea

Snack#3- graham crackers with nutella and peanut butter