Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year, everyone!! Here's to an even better 2008!

And because we all know that blog quizzes are so incredibly accurate:

You Had a Fantastic Year!

Compared to most years, last year was definitely great. Overall, you're living a much better life than you were twelve months ago. And nothing is a better mark of a good year. Here's to hoping next year is even better!

How Did Your Year Rate?

Ok, I admit that I rigged this quiz. I mean, who really wants to admit that you had a bad year? Or even a normal year? For our Family, it was just a nice, regular year. Filled with Ups, Downs, Highs, Lows, Struggles, and Triumphs. The stuff that life is made of. I wouldn't have traded my regular year for anything in the world. But it sure is fun to pretend that it was fantastic. ;)

"See" you all next year. Oh, I have just been dying to say that! Cheesy, aren't I? ;)

Whew!!

Ok, is it just me or do you find yourself wondering how Christmas could POSSIBLY be over already and yet slightly thankful that it is? Wow!! That is all that I can say about Christmas right now. Of course it was a WONDERFUL celebration in remembrance of Christ's birth. :) But it was also a huge family gathering!! At my house!!! AHHHHH!!!

This was our menu:
Crown Roast of Pork (Yummy! Stuffed with carrots, onions and celery)
Stuffing
Slow Cooker Broccoli Casserole (No, I didn't use my stash of homegrown broccoli)
Chive and Herb Corn
Cranberry Relish
Applesauce
Cream Cheese Bacon Crescents
Irish Cream Cheesecake

If you would like to know my menu for the rest of the week, please refer to the menu listed above. :) Yep. Lots of Leftovers!! There is so much food in this house right now that I am just plain embarrassed. We will be eating good for the rest of the week.

My youngest DD just celebrated her 6th Christmas here on this earth. This was also, by far, the most excited she has ever been about Christmas. We have ALWAYS stressed that we give presents in honor of Jesus' Birthday and that it's not about the presents, but this year she was just TOO excited about the presents and the festivities and such. Starting at 4:00 AM (!?!?!?) on Christmas morning all I heard about every thirty minutes was "Momma, can I wake up now?" I am still recovering from the lack of sleep brought on by her enthusiasm. We really try each year to limit the number of presents that our kids get. But this year they got WAY TOO much stuff. (Overzealous Grandparents!!) All in all, it was a good Christmas for them and I am sure that they will remember it for a long time.

I was lucky enough to get some nifty presents myself. My favorite by far: The Chia Herb Garden given to me by my parents. My dad knows me so well. He knows that if I didn't start growing my own food again soon I would go stir crazy by the end of January. At least now I have something to keep me busy until March. :)

Well, I must go clean my house after yesterday's festivities. Hope that all 2 of my readers had a Wonderful and Joyful Christmas Day!!

Merry Christmas!

Isn't it amazing how the time just flies when you are getting ready for Christmas? My To-Do list isn't shrinking as rapidly as I would like, so I have to focus on all of the things that I need to do for the next few days. I hope that everyone has a Blessed and Merry Christmas! "See" you all after the 25th! :)

Just a quick post....

I am trying hard to live up to my promise that I would not wait three weeks to put up another post. To be quite honest, I am just not in a good mood today. I always try to have a sunny disposition, but some days it is just SO HARD. You see, it has been such a Monday. My donut order for "Breakfast with Santa" has to be cancelled because someone decided that Krispy Kremes would be better and cheaper. The school kitchen was FILTHY this morning because nobody cleaned up after the Our Lady of Guadalupe Taco Fiesta Dinner so I spent all morning and afternoon cleaning it. The folks preparing the tacos used our Hot Lunch aprons while they were preparing raw meat and nobody washed them afterward so they smelled bad and were contaminated. I pulled my sliding oven rack out of the oven only to discover that someone had broken one of the wheels off so it was completely useless to me. I spent all morning pulling scalding hot oven racks out of the oven by hand rather than being able to simply slide them out like normal. Then I called our Lunch supplier to report the broken sliding oven rack and they told me they would TRY to send someone out tomorrow but it may be more like the end of the week. I could go on and on and on, but just trust me when I say that it was definitely a MONDAY.

So I opened my advent Book of Devotions when I had a few moments to myself after I returned home from school. Surely, I thought, my little advent book would give me a little bit of joy to chew on. Today's devotion talked about John the Baptist and how he prepared the way for Jesus. It spoke of how he was part of something bigger that he never really got to see the end result of. It also told the story of a woman living alone and putting up her Christmas tree. She was arguing with herself about putting it the tree up because no one would see it or appreciate it but her. Kinda how I felt today alone in the kitchen cleaning up a mess that no one would know I cleaned, I guess. The passages in that little devotional book didn't have anything listed for today that I could directly apply to my wretched day. But just spending time with the Word of God did help me begin to stop having my little pity party and remember that I am pretty darn lucky no matter what kind of day that I have. I found it reassuring, in an odd sort of way, that just spending time reflecting on this time of preparation (Advent) was able to bring me out of my funk. Sometimes it's easy to want God and his Word to give us immediate answers or solutions to whatever it is that is bugging us. And sometimes he does just that. But sometimes he simply gives us peace and a nice way to cool our heels. I have learned to appreciate either kind of answer. :)

Oh, I am such a bad blogger!

Gone for weeks with hardly a peep. That sure wasn't responsible blogging, huh? :) I have still been reading all of my favorite blogs but haven't been commenting much. I kept sitting down at my computer saying to myself "Ok, I am going to put up a new post today." Needless to say, I never got around to it. But today is the day!! There's no turning back now. ;)

Where to begin, though? I guess since my last post was right around Thanksgiving I should probably start there. Anyone remember me mentioning the great Thanksgiving Feast at my children's school? Yeah, me neither. ;) It seems like it was so long ago. But it did go wonderfully. We had a few snags here and there, like how we kept tripping the circuit breaker in the kitchen with all of the roaster ovens that we had going to keep the turkey hot. (It is an old building.) And the stuffing that some dear sweet mom brought in. She was SO proud that she was bringing in her homemade stuffing. But when we opened her pan up we discovered that it was more like stuffing soup. I didn't have heart to tell her. How do you tell someone that their "Famous Stuffing" didn't turn out? It seemed so cruel to do that. So we did our best to mix it with rest of the stuffing and told her that it was wonderful. Is that a little white lie? And is that as bad as an outright nasty lie? I just don't know. But stuffing and electrical issues aside, everything really did work out. I got lots of compliments from event workers and staff on how well it ran and how good everything was. I can't take any credit. To me, everything tasted as good as it was last year and I was lucky enough to have a great team of hard working volunteers who made everything fantastic. I simply oversaw everything. No big deal. But don't let me do it again next year!! LOL!! It was a lot of hard work and planning.

I was really looking forward to doing a post about the INCREDIBLE concert that my Dear Hubby and I went to see on December 2nd. I'm finally getting around to the post almost 3 weeks later. Let's hear it for my friend procrastination!!! ;) Anyway, we went to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra! The show was absolutely incredible!! Our seats were so close to the stage that you felt like you could just reach out and touch the performers AND we were in the section where it fake-snowed on us. (That's a big deal. If you have ever been to a TSO concert, you know what I mean.) My hubby got to high five the female lead singer (She has such a beautiful voice!) and Paul O'Niell (one of the founders and composers) was there. (Again, a big deal if you are a TSO fan.) He came out into the audience during the show and he walked right past me while he was autographing folk's programs. Of course, we were late getting to the concert so it was the one year that we DIDN'T buy our program before the show. Murphy's Luck. But he did say 'Hi' to me. And he was just an all around cool guy. One family had about six kids with them and he gave ALL of the kids T-shirts and autographed stuff. It was just so cool of him. If you like your Christmas music with a little electric guitar and you have never heard of TSO, I strongly encourage you to go to their website, check them out, buy a CD, and go to a concert. You won't be disappointed. But then again, I am a big TSO fan so I may be a bit biased.

Now I working on putting the finishing touches on our school's "Breakfast with Santa" show on December 21. The kids get donuts, a magic/juggling show, and a special appearance by Santa. I know, I know: some folks don't like the whole "Santa" thing. I totally understand. But the kids just love it and most kids know that it is NOT really Santa up there on that stage. Our school Children have the benefit of learning about St. Nicholas and his feast Day. (December 6th. I had to plan something for that, too. All the kids left their shoes out by the classroom doors and we room moms stuffed 'em with goodies.) But it is good fun and the kids just love it so I have a hard time making a stink about the whole "Santa Thing". I'm a sap for tradition, I guess.

I hope that you all are having a wonderful Advent & Christmas season. I have to try to clean the house now before I go pick up my kiddos from school. But I really don't plan on having another 3 week break anytime soon. No more procrastination! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are having Thanksgiving at our house this year, as we do every year. Hubby and I are both only children and our parents are kind of spread out all over the area, so we are a neutral location. I am going to be extremely busy this week! I keep saying that phrase, don't I? ;) But it is a good kind of busy, one that I never complain about. However, blogging time for me will be a bit hard to come by, so I just wanted to send out a big "Happy Thanksgiving" to everyone!! May it be filled with love and joy, no matter where you are or how you celebrate it. :)

And just for fun:

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

I Passed!

When I came home this afternoon from a frenzied day of grocery shopping for the upcoming Thanksgiving Feast I found the most exciting little letter in my mailbox. I actually passed my Food Service and Sanitation test. With a 95%. Woo hoo!!! Now I can be absolutely certain that my food for the Thanksgiving Feast at school tomorrow will be safe. Who knows if it will taste good, but it will definitely be safe. ;)

I must return to my turkey and stuffing now. If you ever need to know how to make an entire catering size tray of stuffing (apx. 90 servings), just drop me an email and I'll tell you all about it. I've never made this much stuffing before, but I sure know how to do it now!

Thanksgiving Feast

I have been doing entirely too much at my kiddos school this year. Seriously. I have had folks come out and ask me if I have moved into the building. It's been crazy, and I did it to myself so I have no one else to blame. This Friday, I am the "General Overseer" of the Kdg - 4th grade Thanksgiving Feast. And this is not just a small little lunch. We are feeding about 215 kids and adults a real Thanksgiving Meal: turkey, corn, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, rolls, etc. I have been busy all week shopping and trying to find people to help cook and serve. I am not complaining. As I said, I did this to myself. But it has been keeping me very busy. So if I am a bit scarce over the next few days, you know why. And if you wouldn't mind, please say a prayer that I have planned enough food for everyone and that everything goes well. I'm running on a wing and a prayer this week. ;)

PLEASE REMEMBER

to Thank a Veteran!!!

* Sorry that I am a day late :( I chose the link above because they have some great pics, educational materials and info about our Veterans.

For the record.........

I was in grade school in 1983. ;)

You Belong in 1983

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

What Year Do You Belong In?

Unexpected Little Blessings

I still need to clean up my garden for the winter. It's been a bit of a wacky gardening year and I have been very busy since my kiddos started school, so I just keep putting off my garden cleaning. It got to the point where looking at my grungy garden was reminding me of all of my failures this past garden season. Sure, I had a nice harvest, but it was nothing like *I* had planned. I wanted a full three seasons overflowing with vegetables. I wanted to walk into church and loving donate all of the extra perfect vegetables that my family couldn't eat because we had such a great harvest. I wanted to stock my freezer with 30 containers of homemade marinara. I still had a wonderful harvest. I still have a freezer full of fresh veggies to help feed my family over the long winter. But it just wasn't ENOUGH for me. I wanted more!! I wanted no powdery mildew to kill my pumpkins and peas. I wanted no standing water in my garden make my tomatoes burst on the vine. And I wanted no unexpected frost to kill my tomato plants after they had FINALLY just started to recover and bring me more luscious fresh late season tomatoes. I felt defeated instead of victorious. So I let my precious garden sit and fester.

My cauliflower plants had a rough spring, too. I managed to eek out three heads of cauliflower before the weather got too hot. There were three more plants left in the garden before the hot weather hit, and I just couldn't bring myself to pull them. So they sat in my garden all summer long. I had hope for them. When the weather cools, I thought, they will finally wake up from dormancy and grow again. Then the cabbage worms came in early September. I was too busy at school to be able to hand pick my cabbage worms as I always do, so they feasted on my poor last cauliflower plants. There went my last hope of more fresh cauliflower!! But I still didn't pull my sad leafless plants.

This weekend I had a few spare moments while we were closing our pool for the winter. So I strolled out to my garden to get a peek at everything that still needs to be done. I found lettuce that needs to be pulled because we had 70 and 80 degree days during most of September and October that made it too hot for it to grow. Dead tomato plants that need to be pulled hung sadly from their stakes. My broccoli went to seed. And I found ONE beautiful, perfect head of cauliflower on a tall scraggly plant with barely any leaves. WOW!!! I could not believe my eyes. I had to call my hubby over and show him. I had given this plant nothing except my sympathy and it repaid me with one of the most beautiful heads of cauliflower that I have grown all year. And please understand, dear reader, that this was truly one UGLY plant! It defies all commonly understood laws of gardening that this plant produced a head. As I was standing there in my garden with the cool autumn sun shining on my face, I was reminded that it is GOD who is in control. Not me. Only GOD. He can perform miracles with things that we dismiss because they don't meet *our* standards and expectations. God made my garden give me plenty but I was upset because it didn't go my way. Then when I gave up and walked away in frustration, he took over and gave me a little reminder of who I should let be truly in control and who I should thank even when things don't go the way that I planned.

My blog header says "Just planting some seeds and waiting to see what pops up next". I try to live by that motto. Enjoy what I have, take life as it comes, trust God. But I fail, alot. Isn't it wonderful when God sends you unexpected little blessings to remind you how important it is to wait and see what pops up?

Where's KitKat??

I wonder that myself sometimes...... (LOL!!)

But this time I know exactly where I am. I have been busy enjoying some type of stomach flu along with my whole family while my hubby has had the week off to celebrate our ten year anniversary. Nothing says romance like having hubby help you out when you are ill (and vice versa). :) Even after ten years I still hate when he sees me sick, but it is so sweet how he takes care of me and the kiddos when we are down.

Anyway, we are all feeling better now and I am off to try to enjoy that last few days of his vacation. I'll be back in a day or so.

Have a great weekend!!

This is only a test

Well, I passed my test. I think. They have to send all of the tests from the class downstate to be graded and then send us the results in 4 to 6 weeks. (Grrrrrrr!! I hate to wait!) But I am pretty sure that I passed. The actual test was 80 questions and you could miss up to 20 and still pass. I really don't think that I missed 20, although there were 4 question that I wasn't super sure about. Anyway, I am really glad to have that over with. Now I just have to sit and wait patiently for 4 weeks to get my results. I think that is the REAL test. ;)

Back to School ~ for Mom!!

I really don't know why I haven't mentioned this sooner. I guess the days have just been getting away from me lately. But I do have some kinda sorta fun news! I am going back to college. Well, for two days totaling 16 hours anyway. I have to get my "Food Service and Sanitation" license so that I can continue to be the cool school lunch lady. I started last Saturday and go back again tomorrow so that we can finish the class and take the test. Wish me luck, because it is an incredible amount of information to memorize in literally one week. Most of it is common sense, but there are alot of government (as in FDA and my state public health department) terms and regulations to cram into my little cranium. I'm glad that it will be over tomorrow.

I also feel very blessed that the school is paying for me to take this course while I get to keep the license. It is always nice to be able to add another skill to my tool belt (as if wife and mother doesn't create enough skills!). I'm that crazy planner lady who always say "Expect the best but plan for the worst!". It give me comfort to know that I will have another marketable skill, "just in case". Yes, I am crazy, I know.

My husband was teasing me last Saturday, telling me that I was going to be the old lady in the class. It turned out to be just the opposite! With the exception of one other obviously young girl, I turned out to be one of the youngest. Lots of lunch ladies and day care workers there, and some folks who worked for nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Of course, I had to come home and tell my husband this. Needless to say, he was unimpressed. :)

Yep, going back to college was kinda weird but it brought back lots of fun memories. Too bad it didn't seem to bring back my actual working MEMORY! So now I really have to go study so that I don't have to tell my children's school that I flunked my exam. Wish me luck!!

In the Garden

I really do have a love/hate relationship with Fall. I love the cool, crisp air and the changing colors. I HATE the fact that it is officially time for me to start wrapping up my garden for the winter. I have not had much of a chance to care for it since school started and I faced a MAJOR flood at the end of August, but I will still have a fairly good harvest to help get me through the winter.

My dreams of having a complete 3 season garden have been dashed. But that is the life of the gardener. You learn to handle these things in stride, thanking God for all of the good things that you were given and reminding yourself that the bad things really could have been much worse. My gardening season started in the spring with a horrible late frost that wiped out my strawberries and set back a good deal of my other seedlings. The Everbearing strawberries came back with a VERY modest crop in June and NOTHING in September. I really wasn't surprised. (As an aside, my hydrangeas did not bloom this year either. Late frosts are a nasty way to start a garden season.) My peas were set back a bit by the frost, but they bounced back eventually and gave me a nice harvest until my sworn enemy Powdery Mildew arrived in the summer and killed them. Ol' Powdery came back to visit my peas again this fall when we had a LONG string of hot and humid summer like days. :( My carrots were fantastic all 3 seasons. My freezer runneth over with bright orange coins of carrot goodness. My green peppers were tasty and plentiful. My Jalapenos were HOT but oh so fresh and tasty. It was a great year for my tomatoes until the flood of late August left them to sit in water that made most of the fruit just burst on the vine. This was the fist year that that ever happened to me. It was a learning experience. My beautiful tomatoes, once so plump and red, were just hanging from the plant like deflated balloons. Neat. The spinach and lettuce were GREAT! The broccoli was FANTASTIC. It grew all summer long but kept going to seed by the end of summer. I had to pull the spring plants and put in the fall to keep the harvest growing. This was the very first year that I have done cauliflower. I manged to successfully grow three heads of this finicky plant. It was truly the best cauliflower that I have ever eaten. I think that I have refined my technique enough to have more luck next year. My onions just grew and grew. Plenty to freeze and enjoy. And my cucumbers were incredible! I enjoyed mint all season long, and my fresh cilantro was the perfect finishing touch for my all organic salsa.

It was a challenging year. The odds were kinda stacked against gardeners in my area. Some of us won, and some of us lost. I won. It was not my best victory, but I loved every minute of it. (Well, not every minute. Have I mentioned how much I hate powdery mildew??) Now I have to pull the last of my harvest before the first frost and clean the garden so that it can sit and rest all winter long.

Any other gardeners out there? How was your season(s)?

New Colors for Fall

I changed my template in an attempt to create a more Autumn-like feel. Maybe some day I will be able to understand why I can grow an entire garden from seed but can't seem to figure out how to use a different template than the one that blogger provides! Or maybe I'll just stick with the gardening.

Peace and Love

For the record, I quite dislike the culture (and fashions!) of the 60's. Despite this fact, I am often called a "Flower Child" by folks who know me personally. Maybe it is my garden. Or maybe it is the fact that I always say "Peace and Love, man" when it comes to matters where folks tend to disagree the most. Especially religion, which is always a hot button topic! As a matter of fact, I always think of that old reliable saying that you should never discuss religion or politics in polite conversation. But I digress......

I have been feeling a bit sad as of late. It seems like some Christians (not all, of course. No hasty generalizations here...) have in many ways lost the basic ability to just get along with those who are supposed to be our brothers and sisters in Christ. I guess the main questions that I have about all of this are: If we, as Christians, fight against each other how on earth does this make us look to other people who may not be Christians or who may be struggling in their walk with the Lord? If we can't get along with each other, how does that make us look to the rest of the world? Are we REALLY living what Christ has taught us in the Bible that we share? What is more important: spreading what YOU believe is the word of the Lord or showing love and compassion to those whose personal beliefs may be different from your own?

I could go on. And on and on and on. But I think that you get the picture. Where is the peace and love? Where is the mercy and forgiveness? I would be interested to hear any readers (all two of you) thoughts on this. What is the greater sin: allowing someone to continue to live in what you may perceive as an error of thought or to treat a fellow human (or Christian) in a manner that could be considered unkind but justify it by saying that you are trying to "save" them? These are thoughts that just keep swimming around in my head.

Anyway, peace and love everyone! Have a nice weekend, too! :)

What a Day!

Well, our Roasary Garden has been blessed now and I have a rather exciting story to tell. I will try to keep it brief as I have very little time to blog and also because my head is still spinning. During his homily, the Bishop spoke of the Crucifix that he was wearing. It was given to him personally by (are you ready for this?) Pope John Paul II when the Bishop met him in Krakau, Poland in 2003. The Bishop mentioned that this crucifx would probably be considered a class III relic when Pope John Paul II becomes canonized. I had the honor and privilege of meeting the Bishop after he had finished the blessing of our Rosary Garden and I was actually allowed to hold the Crucifix. It was incredible. I cannot even begin to describe the feeling of what holding a small piece of history in your hand is like. I cannot describe what is was like to touch something that was probably in the hands of a man who's gentle spirit and wisdom made me want to be a Catholic. My head is still spinning right now, so perhaps I will try to blog about it more when I have better clarity of thought. I am just too humbled and blown away right now to even think.

An Emergency Question

As some of my readers many know, I have been working on the Walking Rosary and the Rosary Garden at our parish. Our hard work is almost (but not quite) over and we are preparing to have a wonderful Mass on Tuesday to dedicate and bless our new garden. Here is where my question comes in: the Mass is to be presided over by the Bishop. My oldest daughter, who is a member of the Rosary Club, has been chosen to do the first reading and play a major part in the blessing ceremony. Since my family has been heavily involved in this project, I am going to assume (to be safe) that I may possibly meet the Bishop. This thought strikes fear into my heart because I have no idea how to conduct myself. If memory serves me, I believe one should address a Bishop as "Your Excellency" in a formal social situation. Does anyone else know if this is correct? Does anyone have any other tips for me so that I do not look like a socially inept buffoon? I am really worried about this and I will take any tips that anyone can offer. Thanks so much for your help! :)

Just for fun

Haven't had much time to blog as of late. I'm working on slowing down BEFORE I run out of gas. Yeah, we'll see how that goes.

But I have to throw this in just for fun:

You Are a Green Crayon

Your world is colored in harmonious, peaceful, natural colors.While some may associate green with money, you are one of the least materialistic people around.Comfort is important to you. You like to feel as relaxed as possible - and you try to make others feel at ease.You're very happy with who you are, and it certainly shows! Your color wheel opposite is red. Every time you feel grounded, a red person does their best to shake you.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorcrayonareyouquiz/

I wish I could say that I am suprised that I am a green crayon, but I'm not. Must be the garden thing.

I'm working on a post to show my appreciation for a wonderful blog award given to me by Courtney, but I still have to try to figure out how to get the pretty graphic up on my blog. It's been a few weeks and I still haven't gotten it right, but hope springs eternal.

We are working frantically to have our walking Rosary up by October 9th when the Bishop is coming to our parish to bless it. We are currently working on making the stepping stones. Here is a pop quiz for you Catholic mums: We have completed 20 Hail Mary stones and 0 (yes, zero!!) Our Father stones. Who can guess how many more stones we have to make before October 8th in order to create an entire garden Rosary?? The first one to guess correctly wins a wonderful you tube video of me crying hysterically while I am shoving little mosaic tiles into mortar mix. (Just kidding, but it would be a great prize, huh??) You could say that I will be a bit busy for the next few days. Just a little.....

Have a great weekend, everyone!! :)

My Favorite "Binder"

Call it a "mother's helper", "Control Journal" a la FlyLady, "binder", or whatever you want. Sometimes a Mom just wants a special place to help her keep her affairs in order. This is my favorite binder template (and as a bonus, it is completely free to download and print!!): http://brocantehome.typepad.com/brocante_home/the-housekeepers-planner-.html

I wish for..........

Kid-sized bubble wrap. That would be perfect! You could just wrap them up before school or play and send them on their way. Then you wouldn't have to worry about broken bones or scraped elbows and such. But alas, no such thing exists and our children have to go out into the world unprotected to get their scrapes and broken bones no matter how much we poor mothers worry.

My oldest DD was running races yesterday on the play ground at school during recess. She tripped, somehow, fell onto her left arm and slid across the blacktop parking lot. Her arm came away from the incident with only a minor road rash, but her left clavicle wasn't so lucky. I was working in the school kitchen at the time, so the teacher on playground duty came up to the kitchen window (looking gravely serious, might I add) and said "Mrs KitKat, can you please come with me to the office." (Insert ominous music here....) After a slight joke on my part (The "Oh great, what did my kid do now?" kinda thing), I realised that it might be a tad serious. There in the office sat my beautiful little one just bawling like crazy and saying "I think I broke it Mommy! I want my Daddy! It hurts!!" My oldest DD can take a lot of pain without complaint. This was the kid who once told me "I think my ear hurts a little" when she had a double ear infection. The kid just doesn't cry, so I knew that we were probably in big trouble. I called my hubby and we decided that a trip to the ER might be a better choice than our local Quick Care, so I loaded her and my youngest DD into the car and off to the ER we went. (I pulled my youngest DD out for the rest of the day just in case I didn't make it back in time. It was the ER that we were going to, after all.) Hubby met us there right after we got out of X-Ray and just in time to listen to the doctor tell us about her fractured left clavicle that can't be put into a cast. So, my little girl has to walk around with a broken collar bone and her arm in a sling.

I think that the 9 year old is handling her first broken bone better than her mother is. But that, my friends, is another story..............

And did I mention that she has been working really hard the past few weeks on her school play? That's why I have been a bit scarce in the posting department. She in our school's version of "Alice in Wonderland". They have been rehearsing everyday. And she's Alice. And the play is TOMORROW! AHHHHHH!!!!! I will have to let you know how this all works out because I am not really sure what is going to happen.

And she broke her clavicle on the day after her 9th birthday and the day before my 34th birthday. I told her that nine years ago she gave me the best birthday present that I ever got, and then yesterday she went and broke it. At least it made her smile and laugh. Then she told me not to make her laugh anymore because it hurts to laugh.

It certainly has been a long week. But yes, I can still laugh about it. :)

A comment that didn't make the cut

Over at My Blessed Home blog:

This is the exact, unedited comment that I submitted for approval. (ok, I admit that I did correct my spelling. I was tired when I typed it up last night and I didn't do a good job of proofreading. But I only changed the embarassing spelling errors.)
~
Jennifer, you have hit the nail on the head when you said that the "testimony" of Sister Charlotte (which I also have serious doubts about the truthfulness of) does not put forward one real argument against Roman Catholicism. In my humble opinion, both the "testimony" and the pagan symbols argument rely heavily on "emotional appeal" rather than on what most Protestants and Roman Catholics would consider serious theological issues. I attend a Catholic Church but was formerly a Lutheran. I NEVER heard anything like these arguments against the RC Church when I was a Lutheran. We did not attempt to villanize (sp?) Roman Catholics or the RC Church. The doctrine of Sola Scriptura provided enough of an argument. We just stuck with the theological facts and didn't need to make up additional stories to prove our point.
The use of such heavy handed and emotional tactics is what I believe makes the Roman Catholic readers of this blog so upset.
~
A definition of "emotional appeal" (from the University Writing Center of The University of Central Florida)

Emotional Appeal (pathos)
Not surprisingly, emotional appeals target the emotions of the reader to create some kind of connection with the writer. Since humans are in many ways emotional creatures, pathos can be a very powerful strategy in argument. For this same reason, however, emotional appeal is often misused...sometimes to intentionally mislead readers or to hide an argument that is weak in logical appeal. A lot of visual appeal is emotional in nature (think of advertisements, with their powerful imagery, colors, fonts, and symbols).

When done well, emotional appeals...
Reinforce logical arguments
Use diction and imagery to create a bond with the reader in a human way
Appeal to idealism, beauty, humor, nostalgia, or pity (or other emotions) in a balanced way
Are presented in a fair manner

When used improperly, emotional appeals...
Become a substitute for logic and reason (TV and magazine advertising often relies heavily on emotional rather than logical appeal)
Uses stereotypes to pit one group of people against another (propaganda and some political advertising does this)
Offers a simple, unthinking reaction to a complex problem
Takes advantage of emotions to manipulate (through fear, hate, pity, prejudice, embarrassment, lust, or other feelings) rather than convince credibly

Quite a Thinker!

I love MZEllen's blog. She's a smart, smart lady who really does get me thinking. She gave me a bit of a challenge to define the term "Gospel" in my earlier post about the readings at today's Mass. I left her this in response ~

"Ellen, that is a great question. And no, I do not take that as an attack. :) I guess that my personal definition of the "Gospel" comes mainly from my LCMS upbringing. I view it as the Greek definition of "good news" (of salvation) and from the four books of the New Testament that are traditionally considered "authoritative" in their stories of the life of Christ: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.Good question, and I think that I see the point that you are making. Other folks may have a different definition. I guess that mine is rather narrow."

Over on her blog, she has challenged us to give our definition of the term "Gospel" .I hope that you stop by and give her your thoughts. It really is a great question to ponder.

I Smell Fall!

There is no doubt about it, fall is in the air in my little neck of the woods. September is always a bittersweet month for me and my little patch o' the earth. I do so love fall crops. Spinach, lettuce, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, and pumpkins make me smile. But I also fell a sense of urgency. I know that fall can betray me. One early frost plus one ill prepared me can equal the loss of my entire fall crop. Right now I have to clean up my leftovers from summer and still try to squeeze out the best that fall can offer. It's a delicate balance. Sometimes I win and have a great fall crop. Sometimes I lose and have a bunch of icky wilty veggies that can only be eaten by my crazy Husky. I'm not sure if I am quite ready to leave summer behind and play the fall garden game. But it appears that I may not have any choice.

I'm off to plant some frost resistant spinach and check on my fall peas. :)

What I Heard at Mass Today

To me, one of the most maddening allegations against the Catholic Church is that they do not "preach the Gospel". I cannot even begin to tell you how wrong this is. I grew up loyally attending a Protestant church (LCMS to be exact) and I now attend Catholic Mass. I can see no difference in the amount of Bible readings between the two. Now some folks are going to attack both by saying that the LCMS is just a toned down version of Roman Catholicism. Well, that might be your opinion and you are certainly entitled to it. But I would just like to share all of today's Bible readings and then open the floor and allow you to tell me how little the Catholic Church uses the Bible during Mass.

(Please note that I am typing only part of the reading. I am listing all of the verses that were read aloud, though)

Readings for September 8-9, 2007: Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading - You sent your holy spirit from on high and thus were the paths of those on earth made straight. (Wisdom 9:13-18b).
Psalm - in every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge (Psalm 90).
Second Reading - I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary (Philemon 9-10, 12 - 17).
GOSPEL - Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? (Luke 14: 25-33).
~Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ~

Following the Gospel reading was the homily that was based on (prepare yourselves for a real shocker here!) the Gospel reading.

***If you would like to go ahead and attack the reading from the book of Wisdom please do some research first about why the Catholic Bible contains these books and the Protestant Bible does not. Research from jackchick.com, jesusislord.com, etc does not count and will be DELETED if left in a comment here. I will only accept research material that would be considered historically valid by reliable sources -i.e if you could use it in a college thesis paper then you can use it here. Anything less will be deleted immediately.***

Here is a list of the readings of the week:
Monday: Col 1:24 - 2:3: Lk 6:6-11
Tuesday: Col 2:6-15; Lk 6:12-19
Wednesday: Col 3:1-11; Lk 6:20-26
Thursday; Col 3:12-17; Lk 6 27-38
Friday: Nm 21:4b-9; Phil 2: 6-11; Jn 3:13-17
Saturday 1 Tm 1:15-17; Jn 19 25-27 or Lk 2:33-35
Sunday: Ex 32:7-11, 13-14; Ps 51; 1 Tm 1:12-17; Lk 15:1-32 [1-10]

As you can see, there are readings listed from both the OT and NT. There is a Gospel reading listed for every day of the week. Father Pete encourages us to study each reading at home before Mass so that we are fully prepared to participate.

I just can't understand why some people still believe that Catholics do not read the bible or hear the Word at Mass. Some folks go so far as to allege that they have attended Mass and have been saddened by the fact that Catholics did not bring their Bible and the Priest did not read the Word. I absolutely do not bring my Bible to Mass, it's true. I did not bring it to any LCMS services either. Both denominaitons provide copies of the readings for the day to all those in attendance. Since I try to study the readings before I go, the copy of the readings in the Missal is good enough for me.

I hope that this will help in some small way to clarify any misconceptions that one may have concerning the "lack of the Gospel" at Catholic Mass.

Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Why do people lie?

For attention. Really, it all boils down to that point.

It is with great reluctance that give this blogger the attention that she craves, but I really have to say a few words on this post: http://www.myblessedhome.blogspot.com/. This former nun story is widely circulated on the internet. But a simple google search will also provide information like this: Sister Charlotte's Testimony Refuted.

PLEASE, stick to the facts when debating religion.

Anti-Catholicism

Disclaimer: First of all, please ignore my typos today. I really don't have time for much of a post, so I am typing as fast as my little fingers will go. Second, I just have to say that my blog is open to EVERYONE. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. I am not here to pick apart your beliefs or to tell you that you are wrong and I am right. Frankly, I don't claim to know exactly who is wrong and who is right in the vast world of theology. I simply have my beliefs that I have come by over the years through formal religious education, self study, and personal experiences and reflections. But if you are a human being, I consider you my "sister" or "brother" in this great big world and it is my prayer that we can all work together to make the rapidly shrinking world a better place for people of all faiths. If you happen to like what I say, great. If not, well, I still like you anyway. ;)

That being said, I do have a strong dislike for outright lies. If you are going to question or attack the faith of another religion please do try to skip all of the great exaggerations. If you are going to attack Roman Catholicism, please try to stick with the facts and not the fanciful imaginings of various authors throughout the years. And PLEASE skip the web sites hosted by non-Catholics if you ever want to fully understand what Catholicism really teaches. If you have never been surrounded by Catholic culture, you really have no idea what it is about EVEN if you think that you have studied it over the Internet or through "interviews" with various fallen away improperly Catechised (SP??) Catholics.

In case you are still wondering what (or who) I am talking about, please read this: http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/2007/09/roman-catholicism-and-paganism.html . The blog entry titled "Roman Catholicism and Paganism" is just filled with inaccuracies and some really nasty lies. (Does anyone really still not understand that the upside down cross in that picture is the Cross of St. Peter, the rock upon which the Roman Catholic Church was built? I was taught in grade school that the inverted St. Peter's cross was a symbol that was stolen, if you will, by Satanism over the years. It is a common practice in Satanism to take the sacred and make it profane. But do you honestly think that if the Roman Catholic Church had any real connection with Satanism it would be so bold as to advertise it for all of its faithful and the rest of the world to see?) I do not have time to go through and point out all of the faulty parallels that Candy has drawn between Roman Catholicism and Paganism. Fortunately, Visits to Candyland is back up and Elena has taken the time to explain what the symbols that Candy mentions in her article REALLY mean. Thank you, Elena.

I must say again, I like to keep my blog open to people of all faiths. If you are going to comment on this because I have offended you, please be nice. :) I truly do try to understand and respect the beliefs of the people that I meet. I just can't stand it when people LIE about what another group of people believe without taking the time to do legitimate research.

Yikes! I'm out of time for the day. I hope that everyone has a wonderful day and weekend!

Seek knowledge, but do it with love and honesty! :)
~KitKat


Updated to add:

I found this link kind of interesting ~ Bent Cross. Please let me know what you think.

Kick Me

Remember those "Kick Me" signs from grade school?? You know, the ones that some poor unfortunate young kid had stuck on their back for half of the day while every other kid in school laughed at them until a kind soul finally removed it for them. Well, I think that the adult equivalent of those embarrassing grammar school signs is the "Pick Me" sign. Only this time, it is visible to everyone EXCEPT you and it causes people to ask you to volunteer for various jobs in the school that no one else wants to do. And I am absolutely convinced that I have one of these "Pick Me" signs stuck somewhere on my body because I have so far been asked to become the Room Parent Chair person (insert scary music here!!) and co-chair for our St. Patrick's Day Meal and Late Night Catechism show (insert more scary music here!!!). I know that there is more to come. I can feel people staring at me while they are planning what they can hit me up for next. They know about my inability to say "NO". If you ever wanted a perfectly good reason to home school, avoiding all of the "volunteering" business at private school is a REALLY good one. Trust me, I know. :)

40 days and 40 nights

Well, not quite, but we did have a very loooong stretch of rain and lots of flooding in our little area of the midwest. Things are finally returning to normal after all of the flooding last week. I have to say, with a very grateful and humble heart, that our house stayed high and dry while our neighbors weren't so lucky. The only thing that flooded in our yard was my poor poor garden. I have lots to clean up out there and I may have lost a great deal of my fall harvest. But at least everything else is fine in our house. I am DEFINITELY not complaining. I know many folks who were just not as lucky as we were.

Wherefore art thou

Lady RFH?? :(

I miss you! If you still have my email address, you can drop me a line if you would like. I hope that all is well.

I guess that I wasn't kidding

when I said that I was busy. Ugh!! But it has been a productive busy, so I will not complain about it at all. My kiddos started school this week, so I have been busy running them back and forth. I have also started training for my new position as Doris the Lunch Lady.....whoops, I mean Lunch Room Facilitator (??!!??) at school. (Yes, that really is the official politically correct term for my position. Yes, it confuses me too so I can't imagine how all of the kids feel!) I have just have to say that at this moment in my life I feel so very blessed. How many people can say that they have a crucifix on display (or any other sort of religious object for that matter!) in the room where they are working? We have a beautiful crucifix hanging right there in the kitchen. Talk about a pleasant working environment!! I have the blessing of having work hours that are flexible and compatible with my children's needs. I ended up making more per hour than I thought that I would. I got the surprise of a lifetime when I was told that I would also receive a tuition discount just because of my employment. Blessings abound and I am so humbled when I think about the many good things that have been happening to me. As I mentioned before, it has been a good busy. :)

On another note, I have found the ultimate Christmas album! (Please note heavy sarcasm.) I must own this, despite the fact that it makes me seem both old and insane. Monster Ballads Xmas will be playing in our house this holiday season, even if hubby and I have to wait until after the kiddos are asleep to listen to it. I have to purchase it just for the laughs and inspite of the fact that the word 'xmas' really gets under my skin. Just a warning: don't click on the link if kiddos are in the room. The website has been known to have some questionable language on it every now and then. The 'comments' section is the worst. And please forgive me for my musical taste............... :)

I'm still here.....

Just busy. Everything in the garden is coming in at once, and I also have to put my transplants in the ground. I planted my second round of fall harvest carrots yesterday. I have also frozen 10 completely full quart bags of carrots and eight completely full quart bags of broccoli. Today I am working on making more sauce out of my tomatoes.

Add this to the fact that we have to fully replace our bay window and we have got lots of stuff going on this week. Our big bay window failed over this past winter. The seals broke and now we have so much condensation between the panes that it just drips down all the time. It's horrible, so we are going to have to get it fixed before winter. I don't even want to talk about how much it is going to cost. It's a big window and that equals big bucks. Sigh. We have to fix it, so I guess that I'm just going to try to be happy that I get a pretty new window out of the deal. Unfortunately, I am very practical. I am happier when my old things keep working than I am when I get new things. Guess that I am crazy that way.

Ahhhhhh, the joys of home ownership!

You know that you have reached a new level

of Maturity (a.k.a. oldness) when you do not attend a big free summer concert event like this year's OzzFest because you have Other Things To Do. Grown up things, like work. We had tickets and pretty good seats even though they were free. But we couldn't go because my DH had to attend various meetings all day long yesterday with people like his Area President and such. Folks who are pretty high up there on the list of People Who Are Very Important in the company that hubby works for. There was NO WAY that he could sneak out early or take a personal day. So Ozzfest had to take a back seat to making a living and advancing DH's career. Maybe it's better that way. At our age we probably seem so out of it to most of the kids there that we are either the pathetic old geezers reliving our Glory Days (Party On Wayne!!) or we are the narcs. Since when did your 30s become so old?

But hey, Ozzy's in his 50's and still rockin'. I guess there is hope.

My favorite BBQ Sauce

In the area of the country where we live, a good BBQ entree just HAS to have sauce. I don't mean to downplay my southern friends with their wonderful rubs and slow cooking. That style BBQ is also incredibly tasty! I just love a good sauce to slather on everything from ribs to boneless, skinless chicken breasts while they are slow cooking on the grill. I can't help it, it's the Midwest Girl in me. I'm not a big fan of bottled sauces but I will use them in a pinch. I prefer to keep all of the ingredients that I need on hand for this tasty, easy to make BBQ sauce. My family loves it!!

KitKat Crew's Favorite BBQ Sauce:

1/2 cup Ketchup
1/3 cup cider vinegar (definitely not white vinegar!!)
1/4 cup molasses
3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard (My preference is Grey Poupon (sp?) Country Style Dijon, but feel free to use your fave.)
1 teaspoon hot sauce (I use Tabasco brand, and more of it. We like heat.)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 garlic gloves - minced (I use 4 because we love garlic)

Simmer all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, apx. 5 - 7 minutes.

Baste your lovely grilled items with lots of sauce during the last 5 minutes or so. The sugar will burn if you put it on too soon. I always season my meat before grilling with salt, pepper, and my favorite BBQ rubs.

This sauce also makes a great topping for a pulled pork BBQ Sandwich. Yummy!

Unused sauce that you have not dipped your basting brush into can be stored in your refrigerator for about a week. But we rarely have any left.

~
It is supposed to be hot and sunny here this weekend, so we plan on swimming and grilling all weekend long. :) Hope that you all have a great weekend!

Following The Path

I have always had an unshakable faith in God. I know that sounds proud or perhaps boastful, but I really don't mean it that way. I feel so strongly about this because there have been so many times in my life where I have truly felt God's hand guiding me. This has happened so often that it has become impossible for me to ever doubt his existence for one split second. It's both strange and comforting to me. To put the scope of my belief into words and explain all of the reasons why I believe in God would require much too long of a post. So, let's just say that I believe and I simply have no time to listen to atheistic arguments. A faith free life may work for some folks, but it just doesn't cut it for me.

Sometimes in my life, the reasons for choosing a certain path have been so clear that I could not deny what I needed to do. Other times, my head was fighting what I knew in my heart to be the correct choice so I had to decide on faith alone. I have been presented with another choice recently, one that my head is fighting but I am going to again follow where I feel that God is leading me because it just feels so right. I have been given the opportunity to work part time for the lunch program at my children's school. It is VERY part time, approximately 10 hours a week and only 2 days. Gas and grocery prices have been placing such a burden on our budget. I have cut and stretched as much as I know how, but we still feel the pinch.The apx 4 hrs a day that I would be working would never interfere with being there for my children because it would be while they are in school. When school is out I would be off work, so no childcare issues would pop up. I would be off all summer, Christmas and Easter Break, and on those miscellaneous days off that pop up during the school year. It really is just too perfect to pass up. It's just a little bit of extra money for us at a time when it would really help, but without all of the common dual income stresses that we desperately try to avoid. It is truly an answer to the silent prayer that I have been saying over the last few months as gas and food prices have kept going up and money has stayed the same. In a perfect world, I would not have to think about these things but the world just isn't even close to perfect. God has presented me with an option that will help get us back on track without it being too painful. He is so good!

Making a little bit of extra money for my family is nothing new to me. Since my oldest DD was born almost 9 years ago I have had little ventures here and there to help increase cash flow. I have babysat, written a food review column for our local paper, and worked for the before and after care program at my DD's previous school. Each one seemed to magically fit into our lifestyle at that time (with the exception of the before and after care job). This is just another example of how things just seem to work out with a little faith and a little patience. It's been a difficult decision for me but I feel like I again have to follow the path that I am being led down.

SLUGS!

I have found that nothing attracts slugs to my garden quite like my delicious everbearing strawberries as soon as they begin to ripen. Now it's time to go open "KitKat's Bar" in the strawberry patch so that I still have some hope of having a great harvest. It has truly been a slug's delight here lately: stiffling humidity, lots of rain and soaking wet soil, and strawberries that are just starting to ripen. Now I just need to give those slugs some beer in little cups that I sink into the soil so that they have something else to think about besides those lovely strawberries. They love the beer so much that they just drown themselves in it. I guess I should be sad that they fall into the cup and die, but it's really hard to mourn something that will take a bite out of every single strawberry in the patch. That's my job....... :)

Harvest Time!

First of all, Thanks so much to everyone who left me a nice "Feel Better" message. :) I am feeling better now. I went a very long stretch of time without having frequent migraines that good 'ol Advil Migraine wouldn't relieve. It appears that my luck has run out as I have had several in the past few months. I am going to start taking feverfew again (I used to take it, but I quit for many years), and I think that I am going to add the herbs that Lady of the RFH mentioned, too. I used to know someone who practiced acupressure massage, and that REALLY worked for me. But alas, I have moved away from the area where he lived so I think that I am going to pick up a book about the subject and learn how to work on myself.

Moving on to a happier subject: It's Harvest Time!! Well, it's Summer harvest time for some of my veggies. Last night I pulled 10 carrots from the garden and had enough for our meal PLUS two half full quart bags of carrots to freeze for the winter. And I still have about 60 more carrots to pull. I don't know what Vessey's does to their seeds, but I have never had such big (actually HUGE) carrots. I have to really work to get those monster carrots out of the ground!

My DH found some metal border fencing on clearance at Target. He used this to cover the space between the fence around our yard and the ground in some areas where the fence and the ground didn't meet up very well. This was where we believed that our little intruder was entering the yard from. We used to have some plastic fencing there, but our intruder could just push that right over and still get through. This metal fence seems to finally be doing the trick. I haven't had any tomato raids in the last few days. And I am finally getting some ripe tomatoes back on the very pathetic looking vines. The intruder may have worked over the plants and made them look quite nasty, but they are still producing fruit. I planted the Big Tom variety that I ordered from Vessey's and they have proven to be quite strong and very delicious. Definitely a keeper variety. Thy also make a great spaghetti sauce. That's what we had for dinner on Saturday. I hoping for enough fresh tomatoes that I can make a big batch of sauce and freeze it for the winter.

I have some onions, jalapenos, and cilantro coming in as well, so I am going to be busy making fresh Salsa once the jalapenos are fully mature. I also have some green peppers that are busy growing. Hopefully those will be ready soon. I'm looking forward to some stuffed green peppers for dinner. I am also going to freeze some so that I have them for winter.

My cauliflower has had a rough year. It started out too hot in the spring, so the heads didn't mature correctly. I am hoping that fall is much kinder to my cauliflower. It's hard to grow cauliflower, but it is SO worth it when you succeed. My broccoli is side shooting like crazy, so I am hoping to be able to freeze enough to last all winter. The cucumbers that I ordered from Vesseys are growing like crazy. We are eating tons of cucumber salad. (3 peeled & sliced cucumbers, 1 sliced onion, 1 cup of white vinegar, 1 cup of sugar, & 3/4 cup water. Mix together. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste. I also add some fresh parsley if I feel like it. Refrigerate a few hours or overnight. Yummy!)

Needless to say, I am going to be busy in the garden over the next few days. I need to tidy up and weed, plant more carrots for fall, plant more onions, make room for the pumpkins, and start to put up my harvest for the winter. If I am scarce for a day or so, that is why. :)

Hope that everyone has a GREAT week!!

Ouch!

I have a relentless migraine today, so no bloggy time for me. :(

AND

I also have a garter snake, which I just found out about the hard way. I don't like snakes much, but he's good for the garden so I guess he stays. I'm having a rough morning in the garden.

My fortress didn't work.......

and apparently WHATEVER it is thinks that it really likes tomatoes but actually does not. I say this because it pulled off, bit into, and discarded every tomato that had a chance of turning red during this very hot but perfect for tomato ripening week that we are having. Oh the PAIN!! Those toms were prize winners. At least that is what my hubby told me. ;) And my Father, the tomato grower extraordinaire who I learned everything about growing tomatoes from, is coming out to visit this weekend. My original plan was to present him with some pretty red tomatoes to take home since he, at age 71, does not garden like he used to but still loves a good tomato. And he's picky. Now I just get to present him with green tomatoes and broken, yes broken, tomato plants. Apparently my garden visitor is nimble enough to jump a 3 ft fence, finicky enough to have to try EVERY tomato in order to find the perfect one, and a bit of a man handler. (Now I'm thinking it's a racoon.)

Mr. Whatever you are, if you are going to steal my tomatoes please at least leave the plant alone so that I can grow more. Be gentle, please! You are just breaking my little heart. And I am leaving the dog outside ALL NIGHT long this time.......

At least I got rid of the powdery mildew. Sigh.

No More Mrs. Nice Gal!

I had a BEAUTIFUL tomato on my plant yesterday. It just needed a day to reach peak ripeness, so I left it there with the intention of picking it this morning. I went to my garden this morning and discovered that my lovely tomato had been cruelly ripped off the vine, bitten into and discarded by something. My guess is either racoon or opossum. Either way, I am off to my garden to strengthen the fencing around my veggies.

No more free lunch, Mr. Whatever You Are! You have been plundering my garden for long enough. You are now officially on my list! I have a husky, and I'm not afraid to use her. (Actually, I am afraid to use her. But I sound really scary, don't I?)

A Quick Post

Is it just me, or is this summer just flying by?? I swear that we have been so busy every weekend. Today my kiddos went to a birthday party while I played "hostess" at church to the folks who were getting their pictures taken for our new directory. Tomorrow we go to church and then over check up on Grandma. (Who is going over to one of her friends condo tonight to play cards, by the way. Hear that sound?? Yep, it's me beating my head against the wall. But I guess that you should enjoy every moment of your life, even at age 87 when you just had a stroke a week ago.............Sigh.)

I lost some of my spring peas to powdery mildew. That is my garden scourge. So, I am just going to hurry outside rightnow, cut down all of the rest of my little peas, put down some fresh peat moss, and plant my peas for fall. In case anyone does any gardening, don't pull up peas when they are dead. Cut them down at ground level and leave the roots. Legume roots are nitrogen rich, so they add nutrients to the soil. :) That's my garden tip of the day!

Have a great weekend!

A fun tag and a Grandma Update:

I have been tagged by Lady RFH for a "Random Things about Me" list. But before I get into that, I just have to tell everyone that Grandma actually got to go home from the hospital yesterday. :) She seems to have suffered some damage to her facial muscles, but the CAT scans are not showing any other signs of damage. She's still a bit physically weak, but she should improve slightly over the coming weeks. She has an appointment with her doctor next week, and that is when they should let us know if she needs any physical therapy, etc. I guess that any lingering damage takes some time to show up. I'd like to send out a big thanks to everyone who said a prayer for her. She was very fortunate that there was not more damage.

And without any further delay ~

Random (and perhaps boring) things about ME:

1. My favorite candy bar is NOT a KitKat bar, although I do enjoy them a lot. I'd have to go with Snickers or Payday if I had to pick a favorite candy bar.

2. My favorite color is GREEN, and my hubby hates green. It does make decorating the house a bit of a compromise. But at least my garden is green, so I win there. ;)

3. Most of my friends have switched their music preference to Country, but I just can't let the whole Metal/Rock chick thing go. I can listen to all types of music, but when I am left to my own preferences I always go back to the rock. It's in my blood and I am pathetic.

4. But I do have a soft spot for Country. I was raised on it. If I had to pick some favorite current artists, I would have to go with Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Toby Keith. In the "Old School" category, I have a secret love of all things Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn.

5. Falling under the rock chick category: I have always wanted to do a cartwheel across two Jaguars while wearing a white dress. (Ladies of a certain age KNOW where I got that idea from.) ;) But at this point in my life, it's just not worth the hospital bills.

6. I studied to become a psychologist in college. I was going to change the world and help people. I never got my degree because I got married and then became pregnant with my oldest DD shortly after our wedding.

7. If I were to go back to college, it would NOT be for psychology. I no longer believe that the discipline of psychology is beneficial to society as a whole. Don't get me wrong, there are LOTS of wonderful people in the field of psychology who do many great things to help people on an individual level. Without these dedicated professionals, many people would be left to suffer with the effects of mental illnesses like depression, etc. But I also believe that the idea that we are somehow slaves to our genetic programming and abnormal impulses has done society as a whole much more harm than good. Certain aspects of psychology have become part of the liberal agenda, and I cannot participate in something that I don't believe in. OK, I am stepping off of my soapbox now...........

8. My mom and many of my relatives on her side of the family suffer from depression, other types of mental illnesses, and thyroid disease. That is the reason why I wanted to pursue a degree in psychology.

9. I have been a stay-at-home Mom for 9 years and I no longer know what I want to be when I grow up. ;) But I do dream of working as a home health care worker for the elderly if/when I need to return to the work force. I guess that I have a strong need to take care of people.

10. Sometimes I think that I want another baby, but sometimes I think that I am just too old now (even though I'm really not that old). So I'm leaving it up to God.

11. I have never travelled outside of the United States. That's going to change.

This post is officially too long now, so I am going to get back to cleaning my house. Hope that everyone has a wonderful day.

I'm Back!

Our family enjoyed some wonderful vacation time with my DH. We had a long list of home improvement goals that we swore we would accomplish, but we didn't finish a thing. Oh well, I have plenty of time to try to get stuff done before the kiddos start school again. Better start typing up that To-Do list. :)

Switching gears, we ended our 10 day vacation time with my hubby by going to visit his Grandma. Grandma is in her upper 80s and lost Grandpa to cancer a little over 18 months ago (after almost 65 years of marriage), so she lives alone in a nice condo close to my hubby's mother. Long story short, after we arrived at her condo we quickly discovered that she had suffered a stroke sometime over the weekend. Based on the info that we gathered from her and her neighbor, we think that she woke up on Friday morning with the symptoms. But she didn't tell us or my hubby's mom until we arrived on Sunday. :( DH's mom talked to her on the phone several times between Fri and Sun, but she didn't say anything. Hubby talked to her on Saturday, but she didn't say anything. Her neighbor tried to get her to go to the hospital, but she wouldn't go. But she went shopping, got her hair done, and went to church. UGH!!!! We finally convinced her to go to the hospital. She's still there and they are running tests to try to find out the extent of the damage and whether or not she has a clogged artery. So, if you wouldn't mind offering up some extra prayers it would be greatly appreciated. I think that she has become lonely (even though she refuses to move in with any of us) and scared since Grandpa has passed and she just doesn't know how to take care of herself anymore. It just breaks my heart.

To my dear Lady RFH: I have been having some email trouble and I think that I somehow lost the email that you sent me. I am working to recover it (hopefully!) and email you back. I'm so sorry ~ I didn't want you to think that I forgot about you or was ignoring you. :( Blogger almost didn't let me log in today. It said that my email didn't exist. It's some weirdo problem that I can't figure out. If I can't get it , I'm going to make hubby take a look at it. ;)

Well, that's all that I have time for today. Hope that everyone had a great weekend. I'm off to catch up on reading some blogs, etc.

UPDATE: It's about noon here and I just found out that Grandma's carotid artery is fine. God is so good!

Moving on....

I just wanted to let everyone know that I probably will be a bit scarce next week. My beloved hubby actually gets to take some vacation time next week, and I really plan to enjoy this extra time with him. I'm going to be spending today and tomorrow preparing to be able to take it easy on the home front. So I am getting off of the computer RIGHT NOW.

Thanks to everyone who has been so kind to me! :)

I Just Have to Say This

about THIS. She has in the past encouraged a reader to leave Chick Tracts around such as "Why is Mary Crying" and she is studying a book about the history of the Bible promoted by the Chick website. (I don't believe that you will be able to find the post about leaving tracts because I think that she removed links to her archives.) From the little that I have been able to read (only because I just can't stomach it) by Jack Chick and his other promoted authors on the Chick website, I got the impression that Ms. Brauer gets a great deal of her ideas from Chick publications and from other various websites and publications that are inspired by this kind of mindset. THAT is the reason why I included the link about Jack Chick in my post, not because I thought that her link led readers to the website or anywhere similar. She seems to be refuting my impression about the origin of her convictions, so I guess I will leave it at that.

I STILL don't get the Muslim Messiah thing. But a kind reader told me that Jack Chick says that the Catholic Church founded Islam to draw more people away from Christianity. Maybe that is what she means.

I rarely believe EVERYTHING that is presented to me by the media. I usually find the news to be very biased, especially against anything to do with Christianity. (And I am including the RC Church in this statement!) The Papal decree was not presented in its entirety by the conventional news media. The media only gave the public a small snippet of what the document actually says and, in my humble opinion, picked only the parts that would upset non-Roman Catholics the most. Christianity is at its weakest when it is fighting amongst itself. Please read this: What the Vatican Really Said to get the whole story. You may not agree with what the document says, but at least you will have the complete story.

At least Ms. Brauer seems to have something against all Protestant denominations, too. I guess that I can't win either way. ;)

And my comment didn't make the cut. It got twisted instead. Sigh.

I'm going to let this go now

because it certainly won't get me anywhere. But I am going to put this comment up here just in case it doesn't get published. Or in case it gets twisted if it does get published.

This is my my Response to a comment left on yesterday's post on Keeping the Home web page. I sent this in today. Let's see if it makes the cut. Hmmm.... Do you smell that? It's gasoline. And I am the crazy girl who just dumped it on the open flame. Why do I do this to myself??

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Patty ~ I asked Candy a question without being mean and responded on my blog because Candy has a reputation for only allowing certain comments to be published. You asked why people who disagree come back. I can't answer for others, but I come back because I think that people can say whatever they want without the use of slanderous propaganda such as Chick Publications. I was raised as a Protestant and I have NEVER encountered anything like this until I started using the Internet. The nastiness that is shown in the name of love to whole group of fellow Christians just blows me away. Of course, I know that many folks don't think that Roman Catholics are Christians so I guess that makes it OK to lie about them and what they believe. ?

Candy's bible knowledge is very strong. I disagree with her interpretation of many things, but she is free to believe what she wants and I will not argue with her. She is my sister in Christ. It is the use of inflammatory literature apart from the Bible that I question her on. Please do not misunderstand that. You can make your point without using little comic books and web sites that are viewed by many people as controversial at best.

Have a wonderful day!
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I'm letting this go. Really, I am. I just had to say my peace. Can't we all just get along? Peace and love, man, peace and love. We are never going to get anywhere if we keep fighting each other. It's so sad really. Christians could make such a difference in this world, but we look so silly when we do this to each other. We look especially silly when we use such inflammatory rhetoric to blast each other. It just saddens me and sickens me all at the same time. (Sigh)

Updated to add: Oops! I didn't let it go. See above post.

I. CAN'T. TAKE. IT. ANYMORE.

Please, Dear Readers, forgive me for what I am about to do. My patience has finally reached it's limit and I have a very low tolerance for complete ignorance. (See definiton 2) But, really, WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS and exactly who does this little girl think she is?????:
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From Keeping the Home website

(***My comments are in italics ~ KitKat***)

Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Roman Catholic or Christian?

The new Pope (Vicar of Christ - the Greek roots of 'vicar' is "anti", AKA Greek Vicar of Christ = antichrist) proclaimed the other day that you are saved ONLY by being a member of the Roman Catholic church. Of course, anyone who has read his or her Bible knows that that is not true. (**** Ok, before I even thought of converting to Catholicism I was taught by PROTESTANT Pastors that the word Vicar means one who acts in place of Christ. And not to be understood by the exact definition, because of course there can NEVER be another Christ on Earth. But this word refers to a person commited to serve the Lord. Also, I was taught that the meaning of the word Vicar in this context comes from the Latin root. Am I WRONG in this understanding??? ****) (*** Updated to add: What is the point that you are trying to make if you KNOW that the Latin root means "substitute"? I think that you are stretching a bit.***)

To learn how to receive true salvation, click here.(*** I refuse to go anywhere with JACK CHICK. Please forgive my Wikipedia link. It was the best that I could find on short notice.***)

Although not admitting it, this pope is leaning closer and closer to pre-Vatican 2. This is great news for many high-ranking Satanists, because part of their advancing in the religion of Satan is to become a pre-Vatican 2 priest. One ex-Satanist in his book "Lucifer Dethroned," even claimed that when he was leading the Eucharist in his pre-Vatican 2 church, the wine really did turn into blood. This was great for him, because at the time, he drank real blood daily. (***WHAT??!!?? Where in the world does she get this stuff?***)

In other news - did you know that the Muslim messiah is supposed to reign for 7 years? Coincidence? Hmmm... (**What exactly are you saying here? Are you trying to imply that the POPE is somehow the Muslim Messiah? Or something else? I don't understand your logic. To say that we have different world views is an understatement.***)

I truly believe we are the generation of the fig tree. If we indeed are, then most of us will be witnessing "the end." The signs of the fig tree are lining up like perfect little ducks in a row.

Do as the Bible says - "watch and pray." Not "be ignorant and feed the flesh while there's still time." How do you know what to watch for? If you don't have an inkling, then you need to get your nose out of the TV guide or the latest fiction, and get it into the KJV Bible. This is serious stuff. How's your spirit doing?
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My spirit is doing just fine, Thanks for asking. But I wonder about yours, dear fellow blogger. Why do you do this? What are you getting from it? There are so many other things in this world to worry about! There are so many other things in this nation to worry about! I really just don't understand. Why???

Update: If you are interested, please read the article by Elena at My Domestic Church to find out What The Vatican Really Said Yesterday.

My Great Husky Huntress

Life with a Husky can be full of surprises. For example, I've been surprised to discover that she loves tomatoes (both red and green) and can pick them off the vine without ripping up the plant. I have been surprised when I went to the back door to call her inside, only to discover that there was no doggie there. Then I was surprised to find a large hole dug out under our fence. I was even more surprised to find her in the yard the very next morning just when we thought that we would never see her again. She can dig out and IN. Who would have thought! And, boy, our neighbor was sure surprised when he saw the size of the hole on HIS side of the fence. I'm still trying to make it up to him.

I've been surprised to see my beloved doggie running up to me while I was outside talking to my neighbors. Huh, I thought that I left her inside the house so that she wouldn't dig under the fence to come find us. Just when I thought that I had the doggie equivalent of Houdini, I was surprised to discover that she had jumped out of the living room bay window (right through the screen!?!) that I had left open because there was a nice breeze. Ah, surprises!!

But all of those things happened a little over a year ago. She has been SOOOO good this year. No digging out, no getting overly worried when we leave, etc. Just a good, gentle, loving, obedient dog. But she still knows how to keep me on my toes! This morning I was opening the windows upstairs when I looked down into my backyard and saw my beautiful, majestic Husky looking up at me and *SOMETHING ELSE* laying on the ground next to her. Something else that was furry and not moving. Could it be a bunny? No, that was my husky gift last week. This little present had a long tail and sharp claws. Oh goody! An opossum. Just what I always wanted! So I yelled out the window for my dainty doggie to GET AWAY from the dead opossum and I went outside to confirm my suspicion. Yep. It was definitely an opossum. And it was nice and stiff too, so she probably caught it for me last night. Now I had to be a big girl and pick it up all by myself so that the girls could go outside and play later. Great. My lovely husky had picked a day that my hubby left for work extra early and would be home late to leave me this lovely gift. I try to be loving to all of God's creatures, but I am really not a big fan of opossums. Or dead things. YUK! So I scooped it up into a few plastic grocery store bags and began the long trek across my yard and around the house to the garbage bins. It's not really a long trek. We have a small suburban yard. But it sure FELT long as I was carrying a dead opossum in a plastic bag while saying "Ew Ew Ew!" over and over again. My faithful Husky was following me the whole way, looking at me as though she just didn't understand why I didn't love the gift that she left for me. After all, I told her to guard the garden. She was just being a good girl. I knew that something had been marauding my garden, and I was guessing by the teeth and claw marks in some discarded tomatoes that it was an opossum. And now my loyal and faithful companion has probably solved my garden dilemma. Good Dog!?!

Like I said, life with a Husky is full of surprises.

I am so proud!

I konw that pride comes before the fall, so I guess that I should watch myself. :) But the walking Rosary around the grotto in front of our Church is coming together and it looks SO BEAUTIFUL! And the flowers that I (with help from the RE Director) planted are doing so well! I have to admit, I was so worried that they would die. (I guess that I had performance anxiety or something since our wonderful RE dir. made such a big deal about me planting them since I love to garden. I said many prayers over those flowers while I was planting them!) We are going to finish the stepping stones over the summer and hopefully have them set in place before October (the month of the Rosary). If we accomplish all of these things, the Bishop (!!!) will come and bless the walking Rosary in October. I am honored to play a part in creating something that will hopefully last for many, many years. :)

I'm going to try to post some pics once we have it completed. I guess some before and after pics may have been fun, but I didn't think of that until right now.

My Summer "Top 10"

Summer has been in full swing here in the Midwest, and all of this heat made me start to think about the things that I love about summer. I know that everyone is just waiting on edge to hear my deep thoughts about the season (please note heavy sarcasm here), so I took the time to make up a "top ten" list.

Top ten things that I LOVE about summer (in no particular order):

10. The ease of summer dressing around the house. Nothing says "Relax" like shorts and flip flops or sundresses.

9. Swimming in the pool with the kids on hot summer afternoons.

8. Swimming in the pool with my hubby on hot summer nights after we put the kids in bed.

7. Lightning bugs, fireflies, or whatever you call them in your neck of the woods.

6. Lemonade, preferably with a shot of Absolute Peach. Am I a bad girl?

5. Watching my hubby grill our dinner. He looks so manly around fire. ;)

4. Iced Tea.

3. Long, sunny, hot days followed by warm nights and campfires. S'mores, anyone.?.

2. Ponytails.

1. My garden, of course.

And, just for the sake of balance, here is my other top ten list ~

Top Ten things that I HATE about summer (in no particular order):

10. Me, in a bathing suit

9. Repeat sentence above 9 more times.

Well, there you go! :-) Does anyone else have anything that they love about summer? I'm in a summer mood, can you tell?

I've been tagged! :)

Courtney and Anita tagged me for this wonderful Meme:

Five things that I dig about Jesus

Here are the Rules:
Those tagged will share 5 things they "dig" about Jesus.
Those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers.
Those tagged will provide a link in the comments section here with their name so that others can read them.

I'm going to agree with Courtney about changing the word "dig" to "love" because it suits me a bit better.

So here we go...............

5 Things I Love about Jesus:

1. He loves me despite the fact that I am truly a poor miserable sinner.
2. He loves mankind so much that he was willing to suffer and die for us.
3. I find it incredibly touching that he loved his mother so much that he made sure that she would be cared for after he was gone from this earth WHILE he was suffering and dying on the cross.
2. His ability to show his humanity makes me feel a bit less unworthy. He hung around with a wide variety of people here on earth, too, so I am ever hopeful that I would have been able to hang around him had I been alive at that time. Could you just imagine being able to see him on earth??
1. Those times in my life when I felt that I was unable to carry on were the times when he would pick me up, dust me off, and lovingly carry my soul until I found the strength that I needed to continue on. He is truly my strength and refuge.

Both Courtney and Anita gave so much better answers than I did, so be sure to check them out.

I am horrible at tagging people, and the few that I would tag I am sure have already been. So I am going to say that I would be honored if you would do this Meme, and leave me a comment letting me know that you have. ;)

I think that this is a perfect post to share one of my favorite quotes:

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ in me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me.
Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left,
Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit,
Christ where I arise.

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me;
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me.
Christ in every eye that sees me;
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Salvation is of the Lord; salvation is of Christ.
May your salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.

~ The Breastplate of St. Patrick

A sad confession......

I'm not as young as I used to be. There, I said it. I keep trying to deny it, even though I the mirror tries to tell me that I am not in my 20's anymore. I can ignore what is in the mirror, but there is no ignoring what my body is telling me.

There was a time in my life when I could go out, stay up until all hours of the night, and then go to work the next morning. Yeah, I was a bit tired, but I could still make it through the day and be somewhat productive. Um, NOT ANYMORE. If I stay up until, let's say, 3:00 AM talking to my cousin and her husband like I did when they came over for a visit on Saturday I am completely useless the next day. We're talking useless as in sleeping on the couch until 11:00 am and ordering pizza for dinner.

Please remind me to never do that again. EVER.

Quick Post and Parsleyworms

I am very blessed to have a hubby who gets to work from home sometimes. He has been able to do a lot of his work from home for the past few weeks or so. I'm not complaining, but it does limit the amount of time that I can get on the computer because he needs the computer for work. So that is one of the many reasons why I have been short on posting time lately. Today is also one of those days that my DH is working from home, so I have to hurry to get this post up. Please ignore any errors in spelling or grammar. :)

I also would like to say a big THANK YOU to all the folks who left me "Get Well" messages and prayers. I am feeling so much better now, and your kindness really helped speed that along!

I was pretty excited this morning when I was able to harvest 3 heads of broccoli! I have 7 more that are still developing and 1 that is working on getting a side shoot after I cut off the main head a few days ago. I also have 2 heads of cauliflower that are blanching and a few more that are starting to form small heads. I should be able to blanch them in about a week, and they will be ready for harvest about 2 weeks or so after that.

My girlies are really looking forward to the annual arrival of the Parsley worms on our carrots. The tops are just about big enough to attract them. As I have mentioned before, I try to control garden pests by natural methods. But I rarely try to control the Parsley worms. They only feed on the tops of my carrots and once they are done feeding they turn into BEAUTIFUL black swallowtail butterflies. Since I try to attract as many butterflies into my yard as possible, I personally feel that it would be a crime against nature to destroy these creatures. Instead, we have learned to live in harmony with them. I allow them to eat my carrot tops. They don't destroy them and we don't use the tops for food anyway. They reward us for sharing by producing a spectacular butterfly show when they emerge from their cocoons. It is a win-win solution for all of us, even though my carrot tops are less than impressive when the parsley worms are finished feeding. I even allow the girls to keep one worm each, feed and care for it, and watch it go through all of it's stages in a butterfly keeper. We release them once they have hatched and dried their wings. They get to learn about butterflies AND about trying to garden in sync with nature rather than against it. :)

Well, I am off to do yard work and prepare for the 4th of July. We may (or may not) have a small gathering. I want to be prepared either way. Have a great day!!

Getting Better and Catching Up.

So who takes care of Mom when she is sick? In my house, the answer is usually Dad. But what happens when Dad is still sick, has pink eye, and has to work? Yep, we were pretty much a wreck for a few days. The kiddos tried to help, but they can only do so much so lots of stuff just didn't get done. I have a house to clean, laundry to fold, errands to run. You get the picture. So that's what I have to focus on today.

On the garden front, my high yield Dual peas have provided me with two good sized bags of peas for my freezer. And they aren't finished yet!! My tomato plants are almost five feet tall (??!!??!!) and really aren't showing any sign of slowing down but are still carrying green tomatoes. It's time to harvest my lettuce and try out Moey's salad. And the broccoli and cauliflower are doing very well despite my dire predictions of heat damage. Have I ever mentioned that I am really loving the seeds that I got from Vessey's. Canada must know something that Burpee doesn't. :-)

Well, I am off to a busy day. Hope that you have a great one!

Another one bites the dust

I'm sick. Despite my most valiant efforts, I fell ill with the same nasty cold/flu whatever thing that my hubby brought home from work. So, I haven't really been doing much of anything. I did have a fun adventure over the weekend during a brief period of time where I foolishly assumed that I was getting over this thing. But I'm going to have to tell that story later. Right now I am going to bed.

And Moey, I am going to try that salad, I promise!! I just didn't feel much like cooking. Hopefully I will whip it up tomorrow before my lettuce bolts. :)

Have a wonderful day!!