My body has confirmed it. Mother Nature is ahead of schedule. Sticky, scratchy eyes, runny nose, aaachoo..aachoo...those white fuzzies floating around in the air usually don't start here until the first week in June, but here I am mid May in full allergy mode. The past few years, it hasn't really bothered me, but this year those white fuzzies are making up it. Curse you Cottonwood tree!

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms! I'm so grateful for my children, who've allowed me to claim this role and my husband who helps and supports me. I can remember being a little girl, dreaming of the day I'd be a real mom. Motherhood is such a blessing! I'm also very grateful to have been given a wonderful mother who has inspired me to love, laugh and be strong.

My Soul One

Its very difficult for me not to miss him terribly today. The calendar date reminds me, we belong together. Our celebration will have to wait for a day/night we don't have to work.

26 years ago today, he picked me up for our first date. I waited for him outside, playing catch with my older brother. I think my brother wanted him to know, I had an older brother. :)

I was a senior in high school and weeks earlier I had decided I was not going to stress over having a boyfriend anymore. I was just going to make friends and have fun with my life. God had other plans for me.

I first saw him years earlier at school, but I always thought he was an upperclassman. At my large high school, you rarely mixed with anyone not in your year. Plus, why would someone so cool want to get to know me?

My senior year rolled around and he was still attending my high school! I figured out he was in the class behind mine. I also discovered my friend worked with him at McDonald's!!

I wrote him a note, "There is something about you," and left it at that. (I was inspired by a song at the time.) He wrote back asking for my phone number.

7 years later, I marry him, on the anniversary of our first date. That was 19 years ago.

It doesn't feel like we've been together 26 years, married for 19. Simultaneously it feels like a quick 26 years, yet also eternal, like time didn't exist until May 8, 1986. I can't explain it. My love for him is eternal and I think this is why it feels timeless. 

We had our growing together pains. I imagine most young adults who stay together go through this. Who you are at 17 is not who you are at 18, and every year you age after that. Just when we'd feel pretty solid, a bump in the road would make us jump. Thankfully, we've always landed together. We're at the point now, having jumped so many bumps, that our kangaroo marriage legs are pretty strong.

I can't feel I had a life before he was brought to me. He woke up my soul, and I found what life was really about, love. He is my Soul One, and I don't want to ever be parted from him.

WPA Homeschooling Conference 2012

Friday we left for Oshkosh, leaving the roofers to make noise without us. We picked up DH from work and headed off on our road trip.

Oshkosh, is not our favorite city. Years ago the Wisconsin Parent's Association held their yearly homeschooling conference in Stevens Point, WI. We love Stevens Point and miss it. Oshkosh just doesn't hold the same appeal for us. Its become our family's inside joke, reasons we don't like Oshkosh. Here's this year's list;

1. Road construction - There is always road construction in Oshkosh. They've put in the most dangerous roundabouts ever.

2. Five inches of rain within 24 hours created major flooding the day before we arrived. It also left the town smelling of backed up sewage.

3. Bug swarm - Oshkosh does have a free, cute little lakeside park and zoo but we couldn't leave the car. I'm not sure what kind of bugs they were, but they looked like mosquitoes on steroids.

4. The near deadly Jimmy Johns delivery driver - The conference takes place on the UW Oshkosh campus. As we walked through the parking lot, we were nearly mowed down by a Jimmy Johns delivery man going 90 mph. Yeah, they're freaky fast alright.

We hosted 3 family friendly workshops. Friday night we hosted Apples To Apples for over 40 people. The room they put us in this year was too small for so many people. Saturday morning was Letterboxing, another popular workshop. To save gas, we did not travel to Oshkosh ahead of time to find hiding places. We spent Friday afternoon setting up hiding spots. I think it all worked out. We had several families report back to us that they had a great time. Saturday afternoon we hosted an Artist Trading Card workshop. That went well too, although it seemed to go by too quickly. Many of the kids didn't want to stop creating art cards.

We came home road trip weary but we overall, had a great time. We've volunteered for WPA by hosting workshops at the conference since 2006. WPA has worked very hard to maintain homeschooling freedoms in Wisconsin. Its our way of saying thanks for protecting our family's lifestyle.

 

Choosing A New Roof

Its difficult enough for me to choose paint colors. Choosing a roof color is daunting because unless a tornado rips it off, I won't be changing it for over 30 years!

Our house is a light yellow cream color. I personally like living in a yellow house because it reminds me of a Blind Melon song that also reminds me about homeschooling with my boys. Click Here to hear the song. My husband likes that we live in a yellow house because its his favorite color. We most likely will always keep the house yellow if we upgrade the siding.

Our existing roof is very worn. It was a light brown, reddish color I think, but its so worn its difficult to tell.

At one point I thought a blue roof would be fun, kind of Swedish actually. My husband liked the idea of a green roof with the yellow siding. There are other yellow houses in the neighborhood with green roofs that don't look so hot. I worried about how a colored roof would hold up. Eventually that dye in the shingle will fade from the elements.

I know I didn't want black, but I didn't want to go too light either. A black roof would get too hot in the summer and since snow covers our roof in the winter, it wouldn't help during that season either. Light roofs don't look too attractive to me though.

We decided to try and stay in the gray family, but you wouldn't believe how many different shades of gray there are! We've gone back and forth for weeks now, but I think we've finally found our roof color.

I present to you..... Georgetown Gray. When I look at it closely, I can pick up shades of slate and sage.



I hope it works out, but I suppose until its up there on the roof, we really won't know. There are no other houses in the neighborhood with this roof as far as we can tell, so we're taking a risk, but then again, I like having something different than everyone else. Our subdivision is very cookie cutter.

This is not a photo of my house of course, (I wish!) This is the photo from the shingle manufacturer's website.

Someday I would love to add stone detail to the front of our house. All of the newer homes built in the cornfield next to us have a certain percentage of brick or stone along with siding. If we add this detail, it could help our home blend between the two developments.

I'll be sure to take a photo after the roof is on and you can tell me what you think.

Potatoes are planted. I decided not to build a potato tower but use an existing 4 x 4 bed and add support boards as the plants grow, adding in more soil & compost for more potatoes to grow in. Harvest time, we'll just have to get our hands dirty, but that's part of the fun, right? I wonder how many potatoes we'll end up with.

The Day I Was Suppose To Win A Chevy Sonic

Does this look like tailgate food to you? When I'm invited to a tailgate party, even if its at a modern hotel trying to be swanky, I expect grilled meat patties or links and potato salads.

My name was drawn at my local dealer to be a semi-finalist in the Chevy Sonic Badger giveaway. The deadline date on the entry form was my dad's birthday so it gave me a feeling I was going to be lucky. The car was painted white and red with a big Wisconsin W on the hood and Bucky Badger on the side. I really wanted that car!

Names were drawn all over the state so I was one of 40 some finalists, invited to a tailgate party at the Hotel Red, which is directly across the street from Camp Randall stadium. I had never been in this newer hotel so I was curiously looking forward to this tailgate party.

The party wasn't a tailgate party at all. The hotel design I guess tries to be modern but it comes across feeling like a concrete bus station. The hospitality suite was really just a poorly lit room with too few cocktail tables for the contestants and their guests.

The food was crackers & cheese, a "meatloaf" slider, bacon wrapped scallop, and chicken salad in a stale bite sized crust. The 3 guests I could bring were my teenage boys and manly husband. This food was not the tailgate they were expecting. Where were the brats and dogs? This is Wisconsin after all!

When my name wasn't chosen, my dreams were crushed. DH said he really had a feeling I was going to win and he was disappointed too. We still won an autographed football and tickets to the game. We also were allowed to go on the field for pictures.


The game was fun, but it was cold! Bundled up in winter coats, it didn't feel like a "spring game." I know DS13 had the best time and at one point made eye contact with his favorite Badger player, Montee Ball.

If I would have been a finalist, I wouldn't have won because there was a trivia contest about the coach, Bret Bielema. I would have lost it on the last question, "What is Coach Bielema's favorite type of music?" I never in a million years would have guessed Reggae. 

To the swollen, lumpy, lymph nodes on the back of my neck, I don't have time for you. Settle down! I became aware of a large knot where my head meets my neck last night. Its the size of a walnut. This morning I woke up with several more, not quite as large, spreading out across the back of my neck. I don't have time for this. I cannot get sick. They are sore and itchy at the same time. That can't be normal. I'm tiring more quickly, and I have a slight brain cloud headache, but other than that, no other symptoms. I just need another 24 hours! Come on body! Work with me!

Just spoke to a very sexist man who made my blood boil. Thankfully the next man I spoke to was my husband who restored my respect and trust towards the opposite sex. Truly great men are out there, and I won't allow one bad apple to spoil my day.

What Song Is In Your Heart Today?

Every morning, when I first reach consciousness, there is a different song in my head. Well, that's not exactly true, some songs repeat occasionally.

Before we roll out of the cocoon, my husband and I share which song is with us. Some songs are favorites, but sometimes there are not favorites lingering in our heads as well. Whether they are songs we love or songs we're not too crazy about, there is a purpose having these tunes on our minds.

I'm truly amazed at the power of music. My son yesterday was asking me why I liked certain songs but not others. Some songs speak to your heart and soul and they stay with you. I enjoy a wide variety of music styles, but some songs I share a connection with.

I really don't understand why some traditional schools cut music programs. They don't understand how music strengthens the brain. Music should be a major part of our everyday lives.

This video is worth the 6 minutes it takes to watch it. Its amazing to witness the transformation music has on this man.


I hope you have a song in your heart that is always singing. If you don't, I encourage you take time to bring music to yourself and to others. "The world needs to come into music."

I can't get over how much this cat is shedding. Every time I pet her, I'm left with a kitten in my hand like some sort of magic trick.

Our Easter Weekend

I was playing with the new to me camera and I used the timer function to snap this shot. I'm still having great difficulty using this camera. Outside, in bright light, its impossible to see what you are taking a picture of and the focus seems to work only 50% of the time.

We took an Easter Day stroll through Petrified Springs with G-Ma. Before the hike, we ate out a huge dinner. In retrospect, I wish I could have reversed the order of those events. DH forgot his hat in the car and it was a little too windy for his head so I gave him the hood from my jacket.

The day before we celebrated big too, at my sister's house. I tried to take a little taste of everything but we had so many options, a little here and there quickly added up to quite a bit.

We had a wonderful weekend visiting with family and it was great my parents were able to make the trip and stay with us all week. 

We learned a new board game called Telestrations. Its a mix between telephone and Pictionary and its hilarious. Using dry erase flip boards, you take turns guessing the word or phrase or drawing a picture, continually passing the flip boards around the table to all the players. When everyone has completed drawing or guessing words, you review all the guesses and drawings and it so funny how things get misinterpreted. I think I'm going to have to add this game to our collection someday soon.

Today I need to catch up on errands and laundry before work. Its going to be a busy start of the week. Hope you all have a good one! 

Beautiful sunrise this morning. Happy Easter! Looking forward to seeing even more family today, continuing this wonderful weekend.

Its not fun staying in the cocoon without my cocoon partner. I guess I'll venture out into the world and try to focus on what makes me happy.

I should not have exit the cocoon today. Where's the chocolate?

As I was sleeping, I began dreaming. In the dream I fell asleep and dreamed some more. What an awesome way to sleep! I feel extra rested today.

April Fools!

 I told my family there was a raccoon in the garage. When they opened the door, this is what they saw.

Sorry the image is blurry. I've been trying to use a new to me camera, and I can't get it to focus correctly.

I've been limping along with my broken camera, but lately I'm losing photos. I purchased a new memory card, but it wouldn't work in my broken camera. I broke the camera years ago when I tripped and fell on it. The battery case barely stays closed and the micro setting stopped working. Now that I'm losing photos, I think its time to upgrade.

I should just buy a new camera but shopping for one is not something I look forward to. There are so many options to choose from. Budget wise I'm not looking for a huge SLR. On the other hand, I want something a step up from point and shoot.

My son saw a water proof, impact resistant up to 5 feet camera that also shoots video. Its the Nikon Coolpix AX100. It also has GPS. I'm very tempted but I can't pull the trigger. Its a little over what I wanted to spend, and how do I know I'll really like it? Such a purchase is difficult for me without being able to test it out first. Of course having an impact resistant camera could make sense for clumsy me!

Then there's the question of should I buy a photo camera that also has video or a video camera that takes stills? Should I just use my phone or my son's I-Pod touch?

I have to figure something out, because I'm realizing I'm not taking enough photos and time is passing us by.

Got any camera/video advice for me?

We Are Keepers Of Set Lists

Last night's concert was great. We saw Sleeper Agent, a new and upcoming band from Bowling Green, KY. We first saw them perform last December at a Cage The Elephant concert and ever since I've been listening to their album while I work out. Its great music to keep your heart rate up.

Last week we attended The Joy Formidable concert, another band we first saw last December at that same Cage The Elephant concert. That show was amazing as well. I can't get over how big their sound is considering there's only 3 band members.

Somehow we've been fortunate enough to grab set lists from both shows. From the Sleeper Agent show, both myself and my husband received a set list after we asked band members for them. I love how the Sleeper Agent lists are handwritten!

The Joy Formidable set list I was yelled at for taking. The show was over and the band had left the stage. Someone next to my husband reached over and grabbed the list taped to the stage floor. A security guard yelled at him to put it back, and I was surprised the kid did.

I asked my husband to grab it. He did and then passed it to me. The security guy of course then yelled at me to put it back. Fans around me screamed out for me to, "Just put it in your purse!" I completely ignored the security guard and simply walked away with it.

What was he going to do to me? Throw me out? The show was over!!! I guess I'm older and not afraid to be a trouble maker than the first guy who tried to claim it. Or the security guard didn't want to pick on an older woman. LOL!

I'm looking forward to the day we can see these bands perform again.

Strawberry Spinach banana smoothies + Raw garlic + Echinacea tea + Sleep = I'm not getting sick! Yeah!!!

Are You Broccoli?

Note to self - The Black Sharpie is indeed permanent. The Purple Sharpie is not.

I checked on my winter sowing containers and discovered we'll soon be playing, can you identify this plant. Half of my containers I used a black sharpie, the other half purple. The purple has worn off. Most of what I labeled in purple could be veggies I believe. We'll find out eventually right?! LOL!

I am doing my best not to get sick. My husband has been really sick for a week now. He is getting better, but really slowly. I sat by his bedside last weekend trying to help him feel better, and now I can feel something trying to brew in my head. For the past few days now, literally depending on the hour, I go from feeling yes, I'm definitely getting sick, to perhaps not. I'll keep throwing echinacea tea and raw garlic at it and hope for the best. Immune systems need occasional workouts to keep strong right?

I'm not getting to everything I want to, but I also know its important to respect my body's need for rest. It is what it is, and I shouldn't stress out. Hopefully I will not get sick, and I can catch up this weekend.