This and That

It was a lovely weekend here in my part of the Midwest. It was just warm enough to be happy and comfortable, and just cool enough to be happy and comfortable. (In other words, it was in the upper 70s and my poor preggy legs, ankles, and feet actually weren't swelling. That's how I judge a good day now. LOL!!)

I really didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked to this weekend, but we did relax and have fun. I got some more seeds replanted in the garden. Carrots and such. I also re-potted my hubby's plant from his office at work and finally planted some of those flowers that had just been sitting around in their original containers getting root bound instead of looking pretty on my patio.

I am hoping to have enough peas ready in the garden to be able to have them for dinner tonight. My parents are supposed to come over, so it would be nice to surprise my retired gardener Dad with some fresh produce. Although he will walk out to my garden and remind me that I need to tie up my tomatoes, I am sure. They are a bit out of control right now because I am (ok, my hubby is) building some new supports for them with PVC pipe and chicken wire. Right now my tomatoes are visiting with my broccoli and it is a bit hard to walk around in the garden, so I need to get that under control.

Other than that, it was a long relaxing weekend. So relaxing, in fact, that I must now go clean before my parents come over. I don't want them to think that I have gone sloppy!

As an aside, I was saddened to hear that George Carlin has passed away. He was 1 year younger than my father is. Yes, I know that he was controversial and used some pretty foul language. I may not have always agreed with him, but sometimes I did. And sometimes he just made me laugh, like with his baseball and football comparison. (*I tried to make sure that this video is clean!* I didn't hear any dirty words on this clip, but beware of any other Carlin videos if you have the kiddos around or if you don't want to hear any objectionable language! Oh, and watch the comment section. But other than that, you should be ok.) But when you stripped away the cuss words, he really said things that made you *think*. I like people who make me think. Thinking is good. Sometimes you learn something new and sometimes you just learn to see something from a different point of view. But a person who is solid in their Faith should never be afraid of a different point of view. I have always found that it makes me a better person to understand something from someone else's perspective.

Anyway, hope that everyone has a great week! :)

A Beautiful Gift

For those who may not know, I entered the Catholic Church this year during Easter Vigil. It was a wonderful experience and I had the opportunity to meet many people who were able to enrich my knowledge and help me grow in my faith. Throughout the experience, I was given many gifts from the church and from individual people. Rosaries, scrap books, medals, books, plants, scapulars, etc. etc. etc. were some of the many gifts that I received during this time. I am so grateful to everyone for their generosity. But my favorite gift of all is my subscription to "Magnificat" magazine.

Although I am sure that many of my fellow Catholics are familiar with it, I had never heard of it until I was given a copy by one of the wonderful women who were helping to teach RCIA. I LOVE this little magazine. For those who are not familiar with it, it is so small that it can easily slip inside your purse but it contains SO MUCH information to help you grow in your prayer and faith life. There are entries for each day the contain a morning prayer, hymn, psalm readings, OT and NT readings, Gospel Readings, Intercessions, Mass section, Meditation of the Day (kinda like a Homily)and Evening Prayer and Saints of Today and Yesterday section. WOW!!! It is a powerful tool.

I know that one of the criticisms of Catholics by some of our Protestant brothers and sisters is that we do not spend enough time studying Scripture. I have to be honest. I do not spend as much time reading my Bible as I would like to. I have a million excuses - children, husband, home, yard, cats, dogs, work, cooking, shopping, illness, etc. That is why I love and value the Liturgical Calendar. (IMHO, I think that those Christians who don't follow a true liturgical calendar are missing out on alot. But again, that is only my opinion.) As long as I follow the Liturgical Calendar, I can make sure that I meet my basic spiritual needs. The Magnificat Magazine makes following the Liturgical Calendar so incredibly easy for me as a busy wife and mother. If I don't get to read everything for the day and I have a doctor's appt. or something like that, I can easily slip it into my purse. It's like having a copy of the Bible, "Chicken Soup for the Soul", and a prayer book all rolled into one portable little book. I strongly encourage you to try the Magnificat if you haven't already. A one-year subscription is a bit pricey (apx $40.00 I believe) but it is really worth it and I will be continuing my subscription after my gift runs out.

Have a wonderful Day!! :)

Preggy Update, etc.

Well, according to my Baby Center emails, I am officially 17 weeks pregnant. I don't really feel like I am. But I am DEFINITELY not complaining about that. I am more in shock because when I do the math I realise that I only have about 23 weeks (in a perfect world) to get everything done that I have dreamed I would do before the baby gets here. I want to clean out every closet. They really need it! We have a "Don't open the closets when company is over" rule. Kinda like our "Don't open the kitchen cabinets when company is over" rule. Oh, and don't forget the "Don't open the door to the play room when company is over" rule. You get the picture, right? If I don't do everything now, things will only get worse after the baby comes. So I plan to be as busy as my body will let me be. I feel pretty good so far, and believe me when I say that I thank the good Lord every day for that! :)

My strawberries are coming in - slowly. I was able to harvest 18 whole strawberries yesterday. Who hoo!! I brought them in, washed them off, and set them in a bowl on the kitchen counter. Then I went upstairs to shower and contemplate exactly what I was going to do with only 18 strawberries. Should I freeze them until the rest of the crop is ready? Should I make a nice jello mold or jello pie or something? Maybe some strawberry quick bread? I just didn't really have a clue about what to do with only a few strawberries. When I came down the stairs after my shower I noticed that my bowl of strawberries was missing from the counter. Hmmmmmmmm..... I looked down in the family room and saw that my two DDs had discovered the perfect use (in their opinion) for the strawberries: a nice mid morning snack for two growing girls. Oh well! At least they went to a good cause!!

Ok - One more post today

I couldn't resist linking to this article that I read today during my lunch break from cleaning. Wouldn't it be great if the government would listen to the voice of the people and actually allow FREEDOM OF EDUCATIONAL CHOICE for our children?

No blogging time today

I swore that I was going start doing the everyday posting thing. I had really good intentions. Then life kinda crept in and said otherwise. I really don't have oodles of time to blog today because I have to clean my house. I was going to that yesterday, but our cat threw up on the family room floor (with the new light beige carpet) not just once but THREE separate times. I spent yesterday steam cleaning my carpet. Several times. Because you can't just clean a spot on light beige carpet. So I had to do the whole room (the biggest room in the house) the first time, and then spot clean every other time. At least my carpet is so clean now that it is a sight to behold. :) Did I mention that I LOVE my Bissel Pro-Heat carpet cleaner? With 2 kids, 2 cats, and 1 big dirty Husky, I just can't live without it.

But I must clean today because the tile guy is coming over to give us an estimate on finally putting the shower in our downstairs bathroom. It has been 10 years in the making, but it appears that the time has finally arrived. With the baby on the way, my hubby is a bit worried that he may never shower again unless we finally add that shower. And I don't want the tile guy to turn me in to Kim and Aggie and have my home appear on "How Clean is Your House?". So I am off to scrub now.

Have a happy day!

Forgotten Lyrics

Hubby and I were outside working on the pool and preparing for our pre-Father's Day cook out on Saturday. He popped some disks into the CD player. (Yeah, we still use CDs. Pathetic, I know. We do also have MP3s and VZ Music on our phones. But old habits die hard. Especially when it would cost bundles of cash to upgrade our stereo and music format. We just have better uses for our money.) He put on an old Queensryche CD and this song came on. I remember hearing it back in the day and thinking: "Wow! This song is so true it's scary!!" It is even more true today, over ten years later. So much for progress.

"Sign of the Times" - Queensryche

Heading for the classroom yesterday
The kids file through the metal machine
It finds what they may hide
No it just ain't right...
A sign of the times

Another church is burning to the ground...
Looking for the vandals and
they're nowhere to be found
But the hate's alive
A sign of the times, Sign of the times...
A sign of the times, Sign of the times...

Would someone please let me know
how we have spun out of control?
Has the captain let go of the wheel?
Or could we please try to find a way to be a bit more kind?
I see the road to tomorrow in the haze!

On the Senate floor they congregate
Many pockets lined with green,
From those behind the scenes,
yeah they take the bribe ( it's on the side )
A sign of the times, Sign of the times...
A sign of the times, Sign of the times...


From the album: Hear In The Now Frontier (1997)
Hear it here. Not the best version. Sorry. :(
---------------------------

And yes, I am a pathetic MetalHead. :)

In the Grrrrrden

All that I have to say about this year's growing season here in the corn belt is:
GRRRRRRRRR!!

Have you been reading those stories about higher corn prices? The last that I read, a bushel of corn was going for $7.58 (That's really high folks!!!!) and was projected to be much higher later in the summer because of the harsh spring and SERIOUS FLOODING in Iowa. (Let's take a moment to say a prayer for all of those folks who are suffering right now.) Here in my neck of the farm fields, farmers started out the year almost 3 weeks behind in planting because of the cold and wet spring that we had. Now many fields have some standing water in them. Most vegetables don't grow in standing water, especially corn and soybeans. And those two crops have a great deal of control over food prices as a whole.

The points of this little post are as follows:

1. My garden is hurting, just like the farmer's crops. So my usual buffer against the rising cost of food isn't going to be what it usually is. GRRRRRRRRR!

And, most importantly, number
2. Food prices will be going up up up in your grocery store. I know, they already have gone up. But it is going to get worse. So, if you can, try to stock up a little bit now. My area of farmdom, besides growing some of the finest sweet corn that you have ever had the intense privilege of eating, grows a large portion of feed corn. And we have lost a lot of crops. Lots of farmers and just chucking the corn that got damaged and planting soy beans. (Sigh. I have my own opinion of soy, and it is not good.) And Iowa, the #1 corn producer in the nation, is under water. So expect your beef, pork, chicken, eggs, and dairy to go up because the price of feed is going to suffer a big price jump. Stock up and freeze if you can.

On the bright side, my peas and strawberries are coming in and I should have some lettuce and spinach shortly. We are going to expand our garden AWAY from the flood zone of our property, so that might save me next year.

Now, I have to go out and de-bug, weed, pull cilantro, and plant some carrots. It is also time for me to start my fall seeds so that they will be ready to plant in August. The fun part of gardening is that I always have to think a few months in advance.

Well, I am off to go cry in my garden. Have a wonderful day!!!

On Christian Unity

This is a comment that I left over at Candy's blog at www.keepingthehome.com:

"I am pretty certain that this comment won't be published, but I am going to give it a try anyway. I am also pretty sure that I am going to get some not-so-nice responses from some of this blog readers, but I am going to say this anyway.

Yes, this IS Candy's blog. She CAN say whatever she wants. It doesn't mean that she *should*. There are plenty of other homemaking blogs out there with content that is just as good or superior to the content on this blog that are maintained by Christian women. They, just like Candy, share their faith on a daily basis. But they DON'T target a specific denomination as being wrong or "cult-like".

Ladies, we are all Christians. We all love the Lord. But there are widely different interpretations of the Bible even among Protestants. Honestly, ask yourselves why you enjoy Candy's anti-Catholicism posts (if you even do). Closely examine why you feel that they are beneficial to a Protestant Christian or to a Roman Catholic. Do you really think that a practicing Roman Catholic woman who truly knows her faith would read what is written and become "saved"? Or do you think that it would hurt her heart because if she has any real knowledge of her Catholic faith she would find it offensive and inaccurate? Do you really need to hurt or anger someone in order to make them believe? Do you think that a Protestant woman would find these anti-Catholic articles relevant to her daily life? If she comes from certain branches of Protestant Christianity, she probably already has an unfavorable opinion of Catholicism. So in essence these articles are "preaching to the choir", if you will, and hurting other Sisters in Christ in the process.

I am sure that there are many of you who will be angry with me or tell me to go to another web site and go away. And that is fine, you are entitled to feel that way. But a Roman Catholic woman is also entitled to feel very hurt when her faith is presented in a way that she she knows to be untrue by a website that she otherwise enjoys. The Internet is a wonderful and strange place. You can say anything that you want and back it up with the "Freedom of Speech" line. But Freedom of Speech comes with a great responsibility. Are we meeting that responsibility when we tear each other down in such a manner? Or are we just guilty of the same thing that non-believers have accused Christians of for many years - that we can't even peacefully co-exist without tearing each other apart??

Have a blessed day and a wonderful weekend."

This comment was sent exactly as I have it shown here, with the exception that I ran spell check on this version. I have lots of stuff to do today and I wa typing quickly over at Candy's site. I am sure that my spelling errors will be brought to my attention by other readers of her blog. But I am curious to see if she posts it at all or if she will cut and paste the parts that she wants to use. We'll see...

*UPDATED TO ADD* Well, it looks like I didn't make the cut.

Catching up with myself

I am so glad that May is over. Can I just say that one more time? I am SO GLAD that May is over!!!! What a busy month! School, work, birthdays, etc. took up all of my time. Now here it is almost the middle of June (GASP!!!) and I still don't feel like I have recovered from that crazy month. I have so much that I want to do and absolutely need to get done before summer is over and the kids are back in school, but I really haven't even started yet. So much for progress....

My garden is suffering along. It has been a crazy spring. We went from too cold to too hot and then WAY too much rain. I still have some planting to do, which I will hopefully get done tonight after dinner. I can't seem to find already growing jalapeno pepper plants, and mine bit the dust somewhere in between too cold and too hot. So I am going to throw some seeds in the ground and pray. It probably won't work, but you can't blame a girl for trying.

Here is what I have planted so far:
Tomatoes:
Roma
Cherry
Tiny Tim
Super Sweet 100
Big Tom
Green Peppers
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Carrots
Onions
Cos Lettuce
Spinach
Mesculin Mix (I'm not really happy with this so far)
Peas
Cucumbers
Zucchini (There's a first time for everything!)
*Need to get my Pumpkins in!
*Need to plant MORE Carrots and Broccoli!
Cilantro
Basil
Marjoram
Chives
Parsley
Mint

It sounds impressive, right? Ah, not so much. Mother Nature is a fickle lady, and she has decided not to smile upon our spring growing season this year. I am hoping for a better summer and fall so that I can work extra hard and catch up. We'll just see how it goes. It is especially important for me to catch up because our cruddy spring has ruined a lot of corn crops in our area. Yep, brace yourselves for higher food prices all around since I live in the corn belt and we have suffered this year. My little garden does help me provide a buffer against rising food prices, but this year is a bit rough going. Now don't get me wrong. A garden is ALWAYS worth it. You just have to work a bit harder some years and this is one of those years.

Well, I am off to *try* to enjoy my night. Hubby is at an IRON MAIDEN (!!) concert tonight and it looks like he is going to be one of the lucky few who get to go onstage with Maiden and sing "Heaven Can Wait" with fan club members. Yes, we are geeky Metal Heads who belong to a fan club. Membership has it's privileges. ;) I was supposed to go, but our tickets were for the main floor and it was standing room only. No seats. Because of the crowd push and my swelling ankles we figured that it would be best for me to skip this concert. (We had ordered the tickets way before we knew that I was pregnant, otherwise hubby would have skipped it with me or we would have ordered box seats so that I could sit and enjoy the concert.) Although I miss him (and the concert) I am going to try to get some things done tonight while he is out. Wish me luck!!

Hello?

Yes, I am still here. Just recovering from some very busy weeks in May. Hopefully I'll be able to put up a more substantial post tomorrow. But I am here and things are still growing - both the plants in my garden and my belly. ;)

Positive

My blood test for fifth disease came back as positive, so they are going to keep an eye on the baby for the next 4 -6 weeks to make sure that nothing goes wrong. I am feeling better now, although I am starting to reach that stage where I am getting REALLY tired. Looking forward to that burst of energy that I usually get during the second trimester! :)

They moved my due date from December 3 to November 22 based on my ultrasound measurements. I highly dispute this since I know exactly when my LMP was because I was on the pill. But just try to tell a doctor that you actually know something.......... It's a losing battle. Sigh.

Well, I have to get some housework done. Hope that everyone has a great weekend!

Not Feeling Well

I am not feeling very well today. And I didn't feel so hot yesterday either. I have been exposed to Fifth Disease at school, so I am really hoping that I am just feeling preggy (although I have never felt preggy until late in the second trimeseter before, but each pregnancy is different) and not coming down with fifth disease. Maybe it's just a little cold or something. But anyway, I am off to rest now.

I finally got some more planting done!!

It has been a challenging year in the garden. Too wet, too cold, always just "too something" for me to be able to get out there and plant. I even took a bit of a risk this year with popping my tomato plants out there so soon. But what can I say ~ I'm just a crazy risk taker in the garden. Sometimes you just have to be. ;)

Did you know that cats munching on your seedlings really don't do them a bit of good? Yeah, I found that out this year. I already knew that, but sometimes it seems like I have to find out the hard way just to make sure that I never forget. This was the first year that my cats really messed with the little bitty seedlings. I usually just left them in my big, sunny bay window and never had to worry about them until they got so big that the temptation was just too much for the kitties. This year, it seems that they acquired a taste for baby salad greens. I came home from work one horrible day to find dirt and half eaten seedling so carelessly strew about. It was an all-they-could-eat salad bar. I almost cried. So I tried to replant them and I did manage to save 3 Big Tom tomato plants, 1 Tiny Tim tomato plant, 3 jalapeno, 2 green pepper, and 1 broccoli. My cauliflower, spinach, lettuce, and most broccoli were completely destroyed. I put the survivors in new peat pots and hid them in the not so ideal location of our my DD's play room. The natural light in there is horrible, but I put a grow light in there and prayed for the best. And the plants grew. So did some MOLD on the side of my peat pots. Little white fluffy stuff. This has never happened to me before!! Apparently, there was just not enough air circulation in there for growing plants. So, I tried to ride it out for as long as I could. I scraped the pots off, tried to keep them dry, and prayed. Yesterday was the end of the line. I had to stick my poor plats in the ground before the mold got to the plants and the roots system. So yesterday was planting day!

Here's what is in the ground now:
3 Big Tom tomato plants
1 Tiny Tim tomato plant
1 Roma tomato plant (Yep, had to buy that one. Sigh.)
1 really pathetic looking broccoli plant (Thanks, kitties)
Broccoli seeds (and prayers)
1 really really pathetic looking cauliflower plant (Thanks again, kitties)
Cauliflower seeds (and prayers)
Carrot seeds
Peas (Already growing GREAT!!!)
Lettuce seeds - Cos and Mesclin mix
Spinach Seeds
Green onions
White onions

I have to plant:
MORE MORE MORE carrots
more Broccoli and Cauliflower (I gave up and am going to buy some plants. Sigh.)
More onions
Maybe another cherry or grape tom plant
herbs - cilantro and basil
Green and jalapeno pepper plants
cucumbers

Here's a garden tip for you if you don't already know this one: Pepper plant like warm weather, so try not to plant them until your night temperatures are above 55 consistently. For zone 5A like I am, this usually means after Mother's Day through late May is ideal planting time for pepper plants. But the key is the NIGHT TEMP. Too cold and your plant leaves will turn yellow and die. If you are container gardening, you can plant them in your big containers but be sure to bring them in at night until your night temps are high enough.

Organic garden tip: Plants onions around your cucumbers to keep cucumber beetles (aka squash borer beetles, those yellow and black striped beetles) away. We have tons of those little guys in our area. I do this every year and I have never had a problem. They hate onions! You can even do this in a container.

Happy Gardening!!

Things that make you go hmmmm.......

Ok, I am again going into territory where I gave up venturing into before, but I thought that this was an honest question that I left over at Keeping the Home blog. She said in her post that reading the KJV Bible has been shown to increase one's intelligence. Really, if you are going to make such a sweeping claim you should at least be able to back it up.

According to Candy: (Reason #7 why she loves the KJV)
"7) Reading the KJV has been shown to improve the IQs for many people. My IQ literally shot up 20 points after the first time I read the KJV, and I was then invited to join Mensa."

And my question to her was:
Although I absolutely love to hear and read the KJV, I curious about your sources for the claim that it increases your IQ. Do you have any references for that other than personal testimony? It is indeed a beautiful version of the bible, but I am a bit confused by this claim especially since you have it listed as a 5.5 grade reading level. I have read the KJV for years, but I do not think that it alone was responsible for any increases in my IQ score. Just curious....

Thanks, and have a great weekend! :)

I guess that I don't deserve an answer.

And another thing..........

about the business of having babies. I have always kinda let this one go because it is such a personal and emotionally charged issue, but we seem to have a divide between those of us who are able to have a "natural birth" and find it "empowering" and those of us who want or need to deliver either regularly or via c-section in a hospital setting.

I am one of those who delivered in a hospital. I have delivered both ways, vaginal and c-section. Now I am going to take a huge amount of slack for this one, but for me personally the c-section experience won HANDS DOWN. And I don't just mean during delivery. I mean all of the after effects as well. I can tell you, and I am going to be frank here, marital relations with my hubby was much better much sooner after my c-section. I also retained full bladder control after my c-section, which absolutely did not happen when I delivered my first daughter "normally". I suffered horrible bladder and bowel control issues after my "normal" delivery. (Sorry if that was TMI) That experience, even though my first baby came out the "right way", was not very empowering to me. Let's face it, having to cross your legs every time you laugh, cough, or sneeze just so that you don't wet your pants or having to wear a poise pad everyday to catch the leaks just isn't "empowering". It's embarrassing. :(

I could drone on and on about this, but I really have a simple point. My c-section worked best for me. I am sure that there are ladies who had a wonderful normal delivery in the hospital while using pain medication and that's what worked for them. I am also sure that there are women who had great birth experiences in free standing birth centers or at home, pain medication free and surrounded by family. My method of delivery was not what "empowered" me as a wife and mother, though. It was my new baby, my husband, God, and my own sense of self that empowered me. It was NOT the delivery. I don't consider myself any less of a woman and mother just because of how my babies were born. And no one should really feel any more or any less "empowered" simply because of how they delivered their baby. The method of delivery is only a way of getting the baby out. That's all, and nothing else. We can't let our personal childbirth experiences define us as mothers and women because every single woman's body has different needs.

I'm just sayin'......

My peas are popping up.....

and my belly is popping out. ;) I am officially 9 weeks along now. And may I just rant for a moment? Good, because I am going to anyway.

I will be 35 years and 2.5 months old when this baby is born. Obviously, it was conceived while I was still 34. As most ladies know, 35 has been decided to be the "magic number" of your childbearing years.Apparently it doesn't matter that my baby will be mostly busy gaining weight during those 2.5 months that I am 35. Because I am going to be 35 when the baby is BORN I must have every single invasive prenatal test ever invented or else I am a bad mother. I am 34 going on 35, but I refuse to believe that I am automatically broken and in need of extreme medical intervention just because I have the apparent misfortune of turning 35 before I give birth. Sheesh!!! My husband kind of thinks that this is quite funny. He keeps saying "Well, you are getting old hon." Wink, wink, nod, nod. But he isn't the one that they want to run a cvs test and an amniocentesis on along with an ultrasound in every trimester. I have an autoimmune disease, but it was never an issue in previous pregnancies. They almost didn't seem to care when my blood pressure shot up and I swelled up like a water balloon. The baby was fine even though I wasn't, so everything was going to be ok. I specifically asked if these tests were related to my previous pregnancy complications. They said "NOPE". It's because of MY AGE!(!!??!!) What the heck! That makes no sense to me! I have plenty of relatives who delivered normal, healthy babies after age 35. We have NO HISTORY of birth defects in my family or in my husband's family. NO history whatsoever!! I am apparently incapable of producing a baby without birth defects just because I am past my expiration date. UGH!!! It just makes me so mad. And I have really been treated quite badly in the dr's office over this. They try to make me feel guilty for not submitting to all of their tests. But really it just makes me feel like they are using my age as an excuse to jack up my delivery charges ("High Risk with Advanced Maternal Age") and make as much money from the tests as possible just because I have good insurance that will blindly pay for all of their goofy tests because I fit the "profile". (And we wonder why our health care costs so much in this country. But that is a whole other topic...)

And no, we wouldn't abort anyway even if I took the tests and they came back as having a birth defect as a possibility. So what's the point of all the tests?

I understand that my Hashimoto's disease makes me higher risk. I understand that I am high risk because I only deliver by c-section. What I don't understand is why the BIG HUGE emergency is not those risk factors but the fact that I am going to be 35 for only 2.5 months before I deliver. It just makes no sense to me!!

Ok, I am done ranting now. Thanks for letting me vent. I feel better already.

And here is my new battle cry: "Old mothers of the world, UNITE!!" ;) Let's fight the power and tell them that we are only old, not old and broken too.

I feel like a carton full of eggs that are past their expiration date........

Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh how I wish that I was this eloquent!

Some times the right words escape me. I just can't seem to write what I mean to say, especially when it come to calmly and graciously making a point when someone is misrepresenting the Catholic faith. This commenter on the Keeping the Home blog said in so many fewer words what I tried so very hard to do in my rambling comment that I posted a few days ago. (I'd give you a link to the exact post on that blog, but the blogger does not allow access to her archives.)

Anyway, I really wish that I was able to write like this:

Hi Candy!

I've started perusing your blog recently; I really like the post about CHOOSING not to have a bad attitude on "those days". That was great.

I just wanted to say, in regards to your post about Mary, a really good book to explain the Catholic position on Mary is called "Hail, Holy Queen", by Scott Hahn. It is a quick easy read; if you are into apologetics, it is always good to understand where the other side is coming from, right? I think you'll like it, and gain a new perspective on those of us who are your brothers and sisters in Christ and practice Catholicism.

Thanks for the blog,
Shannon in Dallas

Rethinking the Victory Garden

There was a time, long before I was born, where Americans were actually encouraged to be self-reliant. I'm sure that everyone has heard of the "Victory Garden" effort of WWII. America was at war (sound familiar?), food was being rationed (starting to sound familiar?), and food costs and supplies needed to be kept in check to help support the war effort. America planted with ZEAL and Victory Gardens at one point provided up to 40 percent of the civilian food supply. The "Victory Garden" meant victory for America. I would like to suggest that we rethink the idea of a Victory Garden as a victory for your family and for our society in general. I have no doubt that there will soon be a uproar over the recent rationing of some foods in America. People will want the government to "do something" about the soaring food prices and global food shortages. I agree that the recent headlines are upsetting, and I hope that something will change in the near future so that prices and supplies return to normal levels (but goodness I hope that the government doesn't get TOO involved!). Until then, I am going to expand my Victory Garden and plan to win the war against ever climbing food prices.

If you would like to join me, you may have to *rethink* some of your perceptions:

Rethink your fear of time. Yes, a garden will take some time to plan, plant, maintain, and harvest. But you will be repaid in so many other ways and you will be doing something good for your family, the earth, and the economy.

Rethink your fear of work. A garden can require a bit of brow sweat, but how many of us take time each week to "workout" to burn calories. I KNOW that I used up alot of calories double digging my garden last weekend, and I will actually have something to show for it at the end of the gardening season besides a better figure. ;)

Rethink your fear of a lack of space. You can grow a lot of food in a container. You can grow herbs next to flowers. You can grow a LARGE amount of food from a small patch of dirt in the ground. Pick up the book "Square Foot Gardening" to help you get started.

Rethink your fear of the cost to get a garden started. Do you have a shovel and a spade? That's what you need to get started. If not, you can pick them up for a relatively cheap price. Buy the best that you can afford so that they will last. Use the spade to cut and remove your sod. Use the shovel to double dig and break up clumps. Add topsoil ($0.99 a bag on sale in my area) and some peat moss for an instant soil boost. Use a rake to spread and level. Use hand tools to plant. You can find inexpensive vegetable plants at your local garden center if you haven't started from seed. You DON'T have to have the latest garden tools or the newest tiller in order to have a successful garden. I don't even own a tiller. IMHO, it kills to many earthworms in my small garden so I always double dig. Gardening can and should be frugal!

Here is an interesting link in case you would like to read more:
Revive the Victory Garden!

I am off to bed now. Have a great night!

Yet another reason to get gardening!

Candy over at Keeping the Home does have a good article up today about food storage. (We won't talk about the anti-Christian? post below it right now). I am eternally grateful for my humble garden. It has provided my family with a vast amount of fresh and healthy vegetables during all four seasons. I have to take a moment here to encourage all of you to consider giving vegetable gardening a try. Food prices are going up, up, up but seed prices have stayed relatively consistent. (We'll see how long that lasts, though.)

I am in the process of planting and expanding my garden. I'd like to use this post to allow any of you to ask any questions that you have about vegetable gardening. I will post them and answer them to the best of my ability. We have more reasons than ever to try to be a little bit more self-sufficient. My garden is in a small space in a suburban backyard, but I know of people who have container vegetable gardens in the city and folks who have half acre gardens. You can try it wherever you live! Here is to NOT being complete slaves to rising food prices any longer!! FREEEEDOM!! ;)

I know better than this......

but I am going to do it anyway. I have been shying away from posting rebuttals to anti-Catholicism on my blog, but I am going to go ahead and post my comment to the poorly researched article that Candy at Keeping the Home has posted because I am pretty sure that my comment will not make the cut. Please forgive me. Just out of curiosity, has anyone else submitted a comment to this "Anti-Christianity?" article that has not been published? I am waiting to see if she posts mine, but I doubt it. If you have left a comment over there that has not been posted, feel free to post it here in my comment section. It will be fun to see how many comments are actually left that never get posted on her blog (***WARNING*** if you are commenting against Catholicism, MEAN, NASTY, OR FALSE COMMENTS WILL BE DELETED. Play nice and don't attack me or other commentors personally. No "Jack Chick" or "Jesus is Lord" allowed. Statements must be back up with real facts, not made up ones.)

Well, here goes:

"Shannon said in an earlier comment that she has a theory. She thinks that we Catholics (paraphrasing here) know in our hearts that the Catholic Church is wrong and so we lash out as a cry for help. I have never read any hateful comments or snarkiness in comments that Catholics have left here. I do read comments from Catholics who know their faith, love it, and are upset that it has been misrepresented by this blog over and over and over again. It is difficult to read lies and not want to correct them. Although I cannot speak for all Catholics who read this blog and comment, I know that that is why *I* submit comments. I want to defend my faith from the lies that are spread here on this website. (I also want to address Rebecca's statement about the Lutheran Church and infant baptism, but that would make this comment way too long. But I grew up in the Lutheran Church and I hate to see it misrepresented as well.) Please stop for just a moment and think about that and ask yourself how YOU would feel if I said that any of you are not really Christians, etc. You would want the opportunity to explain what your faith is really about too, wouldn't you?

I do have to echo the kind thoughts of Susan in her comment above. Thank you for your concern for my soul, but I know the truth and that is why I too will continue to be Roman Catholic.

Have a blessed day!"

In the garden, at last!

We has such a glorious weekend here! Temps in the 70s with sunny skies and gentle breezes. A perfect weekend for finally getting my garden started. On Sunday, I double dug the garden. It seemed like a much larger garden this year, but I am sure that had something to do with the fact that I was digging while pregnant. It became painfully abvious to me that it is going to take me a little longer to garden this year than in years past, so I have to be sure to pace myself on digging, weeding, etc. But that's ok. It'll all come together.

Yesterday I put up my pea fence and planted my peas, carrots, and some onions. Today I am going to plant more onions, radishes, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower. I am so excited! I am waiting until after Mother's Day to put in my tomatoes and peppers. All danger of frost will be gone by then. I am doing lots of herbs in containers this year. The reason for that is ease of care and increased space in my garden so that I can step up my yeild. I made it to April without buying any vegetables other than corn, brussel sprouts, and asparagus (none of which I grow, although maybe someday). I am hoping to make it to spring harvest next year, so it will require hard work, dedication, careful planning, and lots of luck. ;)

Well, I must go finish my spring planting. Have a great day!!!

Earthquake?!?

It figures. The one time that something kinda scary and unusual happens in our area and I sleep right through it. Apparently a minor earthquake ripped through our area. It happened about 5:00 AM. People called the local radio station saying that they felt their house shaking. Not me. I was sound asleep.

Early Morning MidWest Earthquake

Still here.......

Just pregnant. And busy. I am REALLY trying to cut back on my commitments at my kiddos school right now, so I am tying up some loose ends and saying the word "NO" alot more. I really have to prepare for this baby. I am a Hashimoto's Disease patient with hypothyroidism. I know that I am going to get REALLY tired very soon, so I want to have as much done in advance as I can. I am kind of lucky in way. I always seem to enjoy a healthy 1st and 2nd trimester, while all of my friends suffered with morning sickness and 1st trimester blahs. I hardly even feel pregnant. It's the third trimester that gets me every time. And it hits me hard! Pre-Eclampsia, high blood pressure, severe edema, bed rest on my left side. The doctor has told me that although there is always the possibility that I can have a picture perfect pregnancy this time, the reality is that I am probably facing more of the same pregnancy complications that I had with my other two. Oh joy! So, time is of the essence. I have to have everything ready by September, just in case. I know that I sound crazy and that I should trust in the Lord to take care of me, but I think that in this case the Lord is giving me the push that I need to make sure that my family is prepared to weather the upcoming storm. Yes, I say a prayer everyday that things will be perfect and easy. But I say that prayer as I hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Maybe it comes from hearing "God helps those who help themselves" all the time in my youth. ;) And in case I really don't struggle this time when I hit that home stretch, I can just kick up my swollen feet and relax a little. :)

But just in case you are wondering: Yes, I am still going to have my garden. I have never gardened while pregnant before. I had tomato plants and herbs, but that's it. So it should be an adventure. "How to garden while pregnant"....I see a blog series in that somewhere. LOL! I think that I am going to do some more container gardening this year than I have the past few years. I have always wanted to try a variety of carrot called "Thumbelina" that does very well in containers, so this may be the year. I also may have some extra mesclun lettuce in containers. It looks so pretty and you can keep snipping it for salads and watch it grow and grow! More fresh herbs in containers are also on list growing list this year. I am very behind on my gardening this year, for a variety of reasons. But the great thing about gardening is that something will always grow, even if you think that you are too far behind.

Have a great weekend everyone! I am off to clean frantically. ;)

We now interrupt this blog for a very important announcement.....

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball. Sometimes you just have to trust that God knows what is best. Sometimes the unexpected things in life are the best things that happen to you. Keeping all that in mind, it is with great shock that I announce that I am pregnant. Yep. Pregnant. Nope, it wasn't planned. Yep, I'm feeling fine. The due date appears to be around December 3, but that may change after I see the doctor. Wow. I'm still in shock. It is a happy shock, but shock just the same.

At least SOMETHING is growing for me. My Cats have eaten most of my precious seedlings, forcing me to nurse them back to health and grow more. I am behind on my garden. It has been a wet spring, so I haven't even turned the soil yet.

It's been a crazy year, folks. And it's about to get crazier. But that's what life is all about I guess. Sometimes hanging on by the seat of your pants is what reminds you that you are ALIVE and life is all around you. So, here we go. Wish me luck. :)

My Kind Of Town

I shamelessly admit that I have lived within driving distance of Chicago for my whole entire life. And I LOVE it! Granted, I probably love it so much because I don't actually have to live in the city but I still love it.

Today we took the girls to the American Girl Doll Store in downtown Chicago, otherwise known as "The Money Trap". But my girls had such a wonderful time. We got their doll's hair done in the salon (at $20.00 per doll!! Grandma thought that this was a wonderful idea but I wasn't really convinced, so she paid because I said "No".) Just FYI, if you ever go to the store to have your doll's hair done, we waited 2 hours for this. Prepare to wait. We heard from one Mom in line that they waited five hours one time just to have the dolls hair done. CRAZY!! We dropped our dolls off, went to have lunch, stopped at the Hershey store, and then picked up the dolls.

We ate lunch at California Pizza Kitchen in Watertower Place. As a die hard Chicago area native, I am a pizza purist. I like mine either extra thin and crispy or Chicago Style deep dish with only the traditional toppings (but no pepperoni for me, please). New York and L.A. style is just a Chicago code word for "Bad Pizza". ;) It felt like a crime against Chicago to walk into that restaurant instead of a place like Giordano's or Gino's East. I mean, if you are going to do a tourist pizza at least stick with the Chicago icons. I was dubious at best, but my kiddos wanted to eat at CPK so that is where we went. I ordered the Carne Asada pizza and I have got to tell you that it was absolutely DELICIOUS!! I mean it was really really really really good. Good as in "I ate the whole entire pizza until my stomach hurt because I just couldn't stop eating it" good. I will be craving that pizza for quite some time. I am a convert, although I will never admit that to my fellow Chicago Pizza loving friends.

Our next stop, which we walked to very slowly while I was nursing my bulging and aching belly, was the Hershey Store. We've been there before, but I never fail to be amazed at all of the delicious chocolaty things all in one place. We hit the bakery shop where you can get chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and truffles all made with Hershey's Chocolate. I took my Mint Chocolate brownie to go because there was no way that I was going to fit another bite of anything, no matter how delicious and chocolaty, into my painfully full tummy. I know that it will be sinfully delicious when my belly finally recovers enough for me to be able to eat it.

Then it was back to the American Girl Doll Store to pick up our beloved dolls. I have never seen so many little girls walking around clutching dolls as I have seen in that store and all over the streets around that store. We started out the day saying to the girls while we were walking to the store "Oh look, she must be going to the American Girl Store". But it literally seemed like we were saying that about EVERY single little girl that was walking around that area of Chicago, so we gave up. Words cannot express how crowded that store was. I thought that it was bad when we got there at 11:00, but it was even worse after lunch. I was kind of happy to leave that craziness.

We drove home after that, with a few minor family related stops along the way. I am now completely exhausted and ready for bed. But the girls got to enjoy a day of Chicago tourism and I had a great time. I can hardly wait for the next time that we go, because there will definitely be a next time.

Have a great night!

The Famous Catch-Up Post

I think that all of us who blog have been here before. You know, the "Where am I and what have been doing" post. So, here's mine to try to make up for my lack of posting in recent weeks. :)

Let's start from the present and go backwards, just for a change of pace. I became an official Catholic at the Easter Vigil last Saturday. It was a wonderful, beautiful, and oddly fun but very long service. I really had planned to do a profound post on why I chose this path, but that may have to wait a bit before I have time to do it.

My kiddos are on Easter Break. YAY!!! It feels so good to just stay home and get stuff done. I am trying to cram in a TON of spring cleaning, a journey to the bottom of Mt. Washmore, a trip to downtown Chicago (just for fun, cuz you can't be all work and no play), and some serious gardening chores before we have to return to the daily grind on Monday. Wish me luck. The days go by much too quickly.

We ended up having the Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner and Late Nite Catechism show. I won't lie, we lost money but we had a GREAT time and we got rave reviews for the food and the entertainment that we had lined up. Our Priest decided that we just shouldn't let a few loud people break our spirit. So, we came together as a parish and enjoyed some food, fun, and fellowship. It was more like a huge St. Patty's day party than a fundraiser, but that's ok when you look at the big picture. Folks who atteneded were blown away by the spirit of the event and many of those who didn't come expressed their regret to me for not being there. The stage is set for next year so that it can be bigger, better, and maybe have a great crowd show up! The Bishop of our diocese, who is very aware of the events that have been brewing at our parish, was so impressed with our efforts to bring people together in a positive atmosphere despite the turmoil that he wrote our Priest a letter praising the event.

My seedlings are coming along just fine. I hope that I will be able to get out into the garden soon, but my soil is just too wet right now. I risk compacting my soil if I work it too soon.

Anyway, that is all the time that I have left for this post. Hope that everyone had a great Easter!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

As far as I know, I am exactly 0% Irish. (German, Dutch, English, and Native American is what my pedigree reads. I am a mutt.) But My hubby has some strong Irish roots in his family tree, my youngest DD has one of the most Irish of first names, I do cook a mean corned beef roast, and I make boxty to die for. So I guess that I can post this little quiz in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

What Your Shamrock Says About You

You are a high achiever. Success comes fairly easy for you. At times, you can be slow to act. You don't like to be outside your comfort zone. You don't really consider yourself a lucky person. In your view, people create their own luck. You are stylish, in a classic sort of way. You are particular about how you like things.

The Shamrock Personality Test

Forgive and Forget

There was a very heated school board meeting last night. If there were ever a reason for me to consider homeschooling, the actions of some people who were attending last night's meeting would rank really high. The head of the athletic board raked our poor priest over the coals. Father didn't deserve it at all, but he took blow after blow with a humbleness and kindness that will be legendary someday. He even shook the hand of the man that accused him of so many things after the meeting. He is a true Vicar of Christ.

Change is hard. Our parish has gone through some shocking changes over the last 2 or 3 years that would be hard for any group of people to process: the sudden and shocking death of two veteran and well-loved faculty members from cancer, the retirement of the Priest that had been with our parish since 1993 and the arrival of our new Priest who has new and different ideas of what we should be as a parish, a beloved teacher leaving because of the birth of her first child, the Principal announcing his retirement, a new Bishop for our Diocese and the many shocking changes and budget cuts that often come along with a new Bishop. The list goes on. People are hurt and confused. So we are lashing out at each other instead of figuring out how to move on together in a new direction. You could just see the pain in the room last night. Change is HARD, but it is a fact of life. It is my hope that last night helped people begin to release some of the hurt and resentment that they were holding inside. I really want to be hurt and angry over everything that has happened over the last few months. But I know in my heart that most people were just running on pure emotion rather than logic. When you are hurt, the knee-jerk reaction is to lash out. I understand this; I spent 5 years in college majoring in psychology. It's just hard to be on the receiving end of all that lashing.

The only hope that we have as a school and church is to forgive and forget and move on from this sad and horrible place that we are at. I can't control what other people do, but I can make the decision to forgive and grow myself. So that is what I am going to do starting right now.

Have a great day everyone!

Cancelled

It looks like we are going to cancel the Late Nite Catechism 2 show because of lack of interest. Although it does hurt my heart, I know that I did everything that I could to sell tickets and it was just out of my hands.

Hear that? That's me getting ready to breathe a big sigh of relief. Although canceling the show gives those who were boycotting it the smug satisfaction of knowing that they, in fact, were able to destroy it I also have the smug satisfaction of not having to deal with those folks who were trying to ruin it anymore. I guess sometimes you just have to cut your losses. Lesson learned.

Have a great day, everyone. I am off to clean my house.

Little Miss Sunshine

Although I am a bit late, I am going to add "complaining about my current state of fundraiser affairs" to the list of things that I am giving up for Lent. But please, dear readers, forgive me if I stumble on that one because this truly feels like my only outlet right now.

I have come up with a new publicity scheme. I sent two tickets over to the local AM radio station for them to give away as a freebie in the hopes that it will drum up some publicity. Desperate times, my friends. Desperate times.

What is not so desperate is my windowsill garden. I am very pleased to report that my cheating heart has produced some very lovely seedlings. I have some lovely broccoli sprouts, some cauliflower, spinach, cos lettuce, and my tomatoes and jalapenos are just starting to break the surface. I know that I will probably have to re pot the tomatoes and jalapenos before I finally get to plant those outside. As a general rule, I never plant my toms and peppers before Mother's Day. It's just to risky in my area.

Are you thinking about your garden right now like I am? I just can't wait to get out there and get my hands dirty. Just remember, don't begin to prepare your soil (for in ground gardens, not containers) until it had dried a bit. If you till or dig while your soil is still too wet, it will dry into nasty clumps that you will spend hours trying to break up. Trust me, it is not fun. This year looks like it might be a bit of a late start for me outside because we have had so much snow that we may have to go through quite a spring thaw. I have to wait a few weeks to see how the weather goes, but I have mentally prepared myself in case I have to wait extra long this year. But I have the worst case of Spring Fever that I have ever had before!

Well, I must go mix my meatloaf. Yum! LOL! I needed a quick dinner idea. My lunchroom shift ran late today so I didn't make it to the grocery store. Oh well, at least it is food.

Have a great night!

Still not Better

Someone came up to me after Mass yesterday and said "Boy, you guys sure aren't on the ball with this whole corned beef and cabbage thing." It was a person that I had previously considered a friend. I could feel my heart just sink. We have worked so hard and have done EVERYTHING in our power that we could to help promote this thing. We have been working on it since September. There is a little click thing going on at school made up of folks who have been there for a long time and have planned every church and school event. This person who said that to me is the "Queen Bee", so I fear that we have stepped on some toes by agreeing to do this rather than pass it on to them. But we were asked to do it and the Queen Bee announced early in the year that she was stepping back and letting other people do things in that school and church. We really didn't know that she didn't mean what she said. Oh well, too late now.

I am keeping on keeping on, though. If I fail, at least it won't be because I didn't try my very best.

I'm going to look at my seedling and plant a few more to help cheer myself up. Have a great day!!

Taking the good with the bad

The good: My seeds are sprouting. Isn't amazing how something as simple as sprouting seeds can make you feel better?

The bad: Things are bad at school. Really, really bad. People saying all sorts of mean things about me and the woman who is my co-chair. Oh, and the whole boycott thing. I'm really fighting with myself to not let it get me down. I'm losing. Fortunately, I have only 15 more days or so until I can let this whole thing be history.

I'm off to have a drink now.

?????

I got this from A Soldier's Wife

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Sigh

I truly believe that we, as Christians, are meant to have a community together and a formal building that is set aside for worship only. That being said, I do (and I mean REALLY DO) understand why there seems to be an increasing movement among Protestants for home churches. It is much "safer" and you are much more "in control" of what goes in in the environment. I can see the allure right now. But I also believe that what does not kill us will make us stronger, and that God has a lesson for us in both the good things and the bad things that happen in our lives. So, teach me O Lord. I really need to get SOMETHING out of everything that is going on in our Parish right now. UGH!!

We have sold 12 tickets out of 250 for the Late Nite Catechism 2 show. The show is March 15th. I have been told that we are being boycotted by members of the church because of things that are going on in the Parish and School. But this falls into the category of cutting off your nose to spite your face. We need the money from this fundraiser to be able to keep the school open. Boycotting us because the Priest has made budget cuts to keep the school open while we try to increase enrollment just doesn't make sense. We really need people to support this so that we can make money to end the budget cuts. So, we are going to outside parishes to try to sell tickets. If we do not sell these tickets we will LOSE over $4,000 that we cannot afford to lose. Pray for us please. We need all of the help that we can get right now. We're in big trouble.

I can't wait for spring!! I am so ready to get out in my garden. I have been neglecting my seedlings a bit, but they are struggling along. As soon as the weather breaks I am going to go out and spring clean my garden, double dig, add my soil amendments, and let it rest (if possible) for a few weeks before I plant my heavy duty feeder stuff like broccoli. I'll plant my peas directly outside as soon as the weather permits.

Well, that is all of the blogging that I have time for today. Have a great day!

Playing Catch Up

Hmmm.... Where to start, again. There has been lots of stuff going on in my boring old life lately. I have been much too busy planning for a Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner and Late Nite Catechism 2 show at the school. Lots of people aren't happy with the way that I am planning for it and are saying some really awful things about me, but those same people haven't purchased a ticket or offered to help. I have a delicate heart. I cry when people say mean things about me. So I have been really sad about this whole thing (that I am doing only because I was ASKED to by the Priest, not because I volunteered). I am just gritting my teeth and trying to get through it with my dignity semi-intact. But it has really left me in a state of wanting to just go hide in a corner and lick my wounds. Please, if you could be so kind, say a little prayer for me that I might take the higher road through this mess and make it through without making a fool of myself. This all ends after March 15th, so I have less than a month left.

Also, there has been alot going on at our school lately. We were blessed with a new Priest a little over a year ago, but many people are unhappy with the direction that the school and church are being taken in. It has been a difficult year. We have lost lots of students. More are saying that they are going to leave. I am wondering if we would be better off leaving now to the Catholic School that is just down the road from us. There are pros and cons. It is weighing heavy on my heart. I just don't know what to do.

So, these are some of the reasons why I have been a bit absent in bloggy land. I'm working through them. Guess I just need some time to think this all through. I'll keep you all updated.

Have a great weekend!

Has my "Rebel Yell"......

turned into a Rebel Whimper? I shudder to think.......

You Are 39% Non Conformist

You conform a normal amount. And the amount you don't conform is also pretty normal. So congratulations, you're a conformist nonconformist!

Are You a Nonconformist?

Soil Mix

In my previous post, I mentioned that I make my own seed starting mix. I started thinking that some of you may be interested to know how I make it. (Cuz I am just SO interesting, LOL!!) My mix is very simple and I have no exact measurements. I simply use 1/3 peat, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 soil with just a sprinkle of lime. This really works well for my garden, but your garden may have it's own needs so I will include this handy link to give you some ideas of other soil mixes. Enjoy! :)

Cheater, Cheater pumpkin eater

Ok, ok. I admit it. Sometimes I cheat a little here and there in my garden. I am a bit pressed for time lately because there are a few (ok, quite a few) projects at school that are finishing up this month and next. Usually when I start my seeds I pull out my reusable windowsill greenhouse, carefully wash and bleach it, mix up my perfect starter soil and carefully plant each seed. This year, I just really need to get my seeds started fast so I found this little gem (#p036) at the grocery store. It seems easy enough, and I figure that some extra doses of compost tea when I water the seedlings will help make up for the lack of nutrients in the seedlings because I didn't use my regular starter mix. Right now, I am going to start my green peppers and jalpeno peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower. I'll start my tomaotes, lettuce, and spinach in another week or so. Wish me luck, and I will let you know how it turned out.

I'm not lost!!

Really, I am still here. And for those of you who have been checking in on me occasionally to see if I really do still blog: Thanks for not giving up on me. :)

Hmmm.... Where to begin? First, we had a wonderful family vacation. Yep, vacation. Our very first one as a family unit and we all survived. And it was great. On January 18th we flew to California. In a whirlwind 2 day tour, we did Disneyland and San Diego Zoo before we boarded a big beautiful ship and set sail for Mexico for 7 days. We went to Cabo San Lucas. (Cabo Wabo Cantina RULES!! We love Sammy Hagar! But I swear that I will remember to take the Dramamine with next time that we go whale watching on a choppy sea with empty stomachs.) Mazatlan and Puerta Villarta were the other stops that we made. It was so BEAUTIFUL and if I ever get the pictues downloaded onto my computer and take a few minutes to learn how to post pictures on blogger I swear that I will show you all some pictures. But trust me, it was beautiful.

I am behind on getting my seeds started. But I will get it done before the end of this weekend. Bad Kitkat, Bad!! I have been more focused on planning our Late Nite Catechism II and Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner at school. I have been slacking on everything else and I desperately need to stop and pay more attention to my family and home. It's so easy to get caught up in the things that matter less. It's a personality flaw that I am working on. But it sure is a hard flaw to fix.

I have officially given up Pepsi for Lent. Oh the pain! But I am doing ok except for one small incident at a Taco Bell where I TRULY did forget that it was Lent and got a pepsi from the fountain out of habit. :(

Well, that is all that I have time for today because I SWORE to myself that I would get my house something that resembles clean today. And I have a slightly sick kiddo at home so that makes it all the more challenging. Better get cracking!!

Take care and have a great day!! :)

Earth Boxes

An interesting link for container gardeners: Earth Box

I have wanted to try these for quite some time but never got around to it. The concept is very interesting but the cost was a bit high for my budget at the time when most of my veggies lived in containers. If anyone decides to try these I would love a product review from you. These are still something that I am considering because my DH REALLY wants me to grow corn but I would have serious space and soil issues if I planted it traditionally.

Why should I grow my own veggies...

when I can just buy organic from the store?
Do you really save money growing your own veggies?
How do you grow enough for your family when you have a small garden?

These are just some of the questions that I get from my friends who have not yet discovered the joy of small space gardening.

Let's start the first two questions, especially "Why should I grow my own when I can just buy organic from the store, co-op, farmer's market, etc.?" There are many answers to this question but the most basic answer is CO$T! Yes, you really do save money in the long run when you grow your own veggies. Last year, I spent just under $25.00 dollars for seeds, supplies, and soil/peat moss. My costs now are low because I am an established gardener. It was higher when I was collecting supplies over the years. Last year was my most abundant year but also the year that I lost the largest percentage of my harvest to frost, floods, etc. BUT despite my losses I still have NOT purchased frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas, or onions since JUNE. Yes, my friends, I typed that correctly. My family of four has not had a store bought vegetable (with the exception of corn and brussell sprouts and veggies for Thanksgiving and Christmas because the holidays would have been hard on my stash) since JUNE. If I keep using at the pace that I estimate that I will not have to buy the veggies that I grew in my garden until March. In March, my carrots and peas will be scheduled to come in by May along with my radishes, lettuce, and spinach. So, if (and with gardening it is always a big IF) everything goes well, there will only be about a 2 or three month span where I will not have my family eating something that I have grown with my own hands. That is a great feeling!!! I have saved so much money!

I have two separate gardens that combined equals a garden much smaller that what most folks consider big enough to feed a family. I have one small garden along the side of my house that depending on the season and crop rotation grows strawberries, lettuce, spinach, onions, green peppers and jalapeno peppers. This garden is approximately 3 ft wide by about 10 ft long. Tiny. My "big" garden is really two squares corner to corner joined together by a triangle. It is stuck in the corner of our yard where our fence juts in around a utility box, that is why it is an odd shape. But it is still small. In there, I grow my broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers (vertically), peas, onions, cilantro, and mint (in a container otherwise I would have a garden filled with mint).

So, what is my secret for growing so much in a small space? Crop rotation, companion planting, and a "small space" mind set where I plant crops close together in a more "French gardening" stagger method vs. the traditional row planting. I also use "bonus spaces" such as the areas along my paths to grow things like extra carrots or green onions because they grow almost straight up or underground and don't take up a great deal of space. Creativity, determination, and a willingness to experiment and perhaps fail are important if you are going to get the most out of your small space garden.

Over the next few weeks/months I plan to chronicle EXACTLY how I set up and care for my beloved garden so that those who are interested can keep tabs on what I am doing. Please keep in mind that gardening is based on region and I am in zone 5a so your results, plants, etc. may be different. If you would like to know what grows well in your area, I recommend that you contact your local gardening extension or just leave me a comment and I can help you figure out what will work in your area. (Unless you live in, let's say, Florida or Arizona. I have no idea how to grow things in those states. LOL!!)

Gardening is easy and fun. You will learn more about your region and it's weather and ecosystem than you ever imagined you would. You will learn to love bees (we would run out of food without them to pollinate everything!), butterflies, spiders and snakes. Your children may just eat things that you never thought they would. You will learn to be patient and wait for a natural predator to come and begin eating whatever is bugging your plants. I am still amazed when I see the wasps come year after year to clean up the cabbage worms from my broccoli and cauliflower. You will know the satisfaction of growing something yourself and not relying on the store. You learn to see the hand of God in nature. Gardening is GREAT and I hope that you will feel inspired and confident to do it in whatever method you can, be it in 5 gallon buckets on your patio or on your very own path of land somewhere in your yard.

Have a wonderful weekend!! :)

A New Favorite "Big Blog"

I consider any blog authored by a person who may be remotely widely known to be a "Big Blog". I don't know of a better word or the correct term for it, so that's what I call 'em. (If you know the right term, please let me know!!) Anyway, I LOVE Relevant Radio (see the link on my sidebar) and the author of this blog (Sheila L. ~ I can't remember how to spell her last name.) used to have a wonderful afternoon show on Relevant Radio. This is a blog that focuses on ISSUES relevant to, I believe, people of ALL Christian denominations even though Sheila herself is passionately Catholic with a son currently in Seminary. Sheila is very very logical, an attribute that I appreciate greatly. I usually try not to get "all political" on my blog, but I feel confident enough that Sheila discusses the many issues that we are facing in our society with a fair, balanced,and logical view to be able to recommend her blog to those who may be interested. I hope you enjoy what you see if you take a peek at this informative blog.

Here is her website: Inforumblog

Gardeners, Start Your Ordering!!!

Attention all gardeners: If you have not already done so and are planning on ordering seeds for the 2008 gardening season, DO IT NOW. It can take 6 - 8 weeks for you seeds to arrive depending on where you order them from. I personally am recommending Veseys this year.

A few seed tips:
* Make sure that your choices match your hardiness zone. If you try to grow something that has a longer growing season than what you have, it won't work well. Trust me. Luckily, You can grow lots of veggies in most climates! Just check the maturity time. But if those flowers catch your eye, be sure they will work in your area.

* Read the description carefully. Make sure that it will match ALL of your gardening needs including space, time, water, feeding, etc. If you are going to be container gardening, be sure to try out the "patio" or "dwarf" varieties as these are usually hybrids that will do well in containers or small spaces. Some good small space or container plants are certain varieties of tomatoes and cucumbers, all herbs, lettuce, and even green onions. All of these are a great way to get started if you have never done container gardening before. (I will have a longer post on container gardening in the near future)

* If you do not have one, consider purchasing a windowsill greenhouse seed starter. They work great!! Also, consider purchasing some peat pots to transplant your larger plants into once they outgrow the windowsill greenhouse. You can just pop the peat pot into the ground once it is time to plant. Works GREAT!!

* Have fun!! I get such a thrill when I am ordering. I hate to wait for the seeds to arrive, but it just makes my day when they do. I get started right away. This year, I don't have to order. Veseys sent me plenty last year and I have seeds left over that will still germinate. So you guys have fun and let me know what you ordered. ;) Or you can just wait a bit and buy some nice seeds at the store. Sometimes that is easier.

Well, I am off to go grocery shopping. YAY!! (Note heavy sarcasm) Have a great day!

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!!