April 30th

Saturday is my husband’s birthday.  He will be 39.    The daughter wants to decorate a cake for him for his birthday.  She has never decorated before, so I suggested to her that we make cupcakes, and she practice on them.  That way, each cupcake could be a different technique/tip, and she wouldn’t be so overwhelmed with a huge cake to decorate.  So that is what we did.

The ingredients were assembled, and I showed her an easy way to hold up the bag as you are filling it.

We only decorated with white icing, so that if mistakes were made, they would be easy to swipe off, and colors wouldn’t bleed on the base.

First we iced the cupcakes.  The icing wasn’t home made decorators icing.  The husband has a second job at Walmart, and from time to time he brings home a few 3 gallon icing buckets that they use in the bakery.  Did you know that they leave a good 3-4 cups of icing in those buckets?   Did you know that I am frugalness personified??  I get my bowl scraper, and clean those out.   So the icing we used was Walmart butter cream icing.   So it was a bit soft, and not easy to make smooth.

We need to decorate them first, silly girl!

I then laid down a piece of waxed paper for her to practice on.  She realized quickly that it isn’t as easy as it looks.

Now for the real thing.

Stars are easy!

By this time, she was getting tired.  So I ended up decorating them………all!

You really can’t tell what they look like since they are all in white, but there are rosebuds and a stem and a leaf.   Guess who is decorating the husband’s birthday cake???

Do you decorate cakes for birthdays? do you get one at the store, or do you make a pie instead?

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April 29th.

I found another cool way to do the daughter’s hair. It is called a rope braid. I have seen them before, but I had never known how to do one till now.

Isn’t it lovely. See that gorgeous color of hair. I prayed for that hair. When I was pregnant for my daughter I prayed for 2 things for her. 1. her hair would be the gorgeous shade it is, and 2. well, she would be so totally embarrassed if I said what the second was, so I will respect her and not say. However, I can be bribed!

Today, in my quest for a lusciously green and dandelion free lawn, I went on a kill.

As you can see, my neighbor’s lawn is sprinkled with those lovely yellow flowers. So, why don’t I want them in my yard? Well…….because I am vain. I want other’s to look longingly at my lawn, like I have so many other’s.  I’m not proud of that, but there you have it!  I have also drug my son into my vanity. I should be ashamed, but I am not.

See……doesn’t my lawn look better than the neighbors? Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes, please…

Beds….we all have them.

I went to bed early last night because my favorite piece of furniture,was calling to me, actually it was screaming for me, and I just had to answer the call.  Every night when I crawl into bed, I either say out loud or think to myself with a big contented sigh “I love this bed”. The husband usually grunts in agreement, or has already succumbed to it’s powers and is snoring away.

Growing up, being the oldest, I was privileged enough to have a double bed. The sister, she got stuck with the single jobbie. When I got married, I just didn’t want to have to share all that lovely space with anyone. I was used to sleeping smack dab in the middle of the bed. Who wants to give all that up? Not me, I tell ya! So, we solved the problem by getting a King size bed. Everyone needs a King size bed. Go get one today. You’ll thank me. Really…….you will!

What side of the bed do you sleep on?

April 28th

Not blogging tonight.  I am going to bed…………early!!!

April 27th

Here is a picture of the back of the daughter’s hair. I cut it last night, and found a new way to braid it, so she doesn’t look like a 9 year old. Then I put it in a bun, and held it in place with a set of my wooden knitting needles. It looks so cute!

I spent a good amount of time on the phone today. Mostly with my sister. I rarely get to chat with her anymore. She is always so busy, but she took some time today just to chat with me. It was so good to talk to her. Growing up, I was an awful sister. I was such a bully. I know…….I know, you wouldn’t dare think of me that way now, but back then……yes, it is true!!! We were always there for each other too.

There was a “no pets in the parsonage” rule, growing up. When I went away to college, the sister begged to have a fish. So, mom and dad got her a gold fish. Told her that she had to make sure she took care of it. She did for awhile, but after some time, she either forgot to clean the bowl, or she just didn’t have time. When I came home either for Thanksgiving break or Christmas break, she pulled me into her room. “Tanya” she said, “I have to kill this fish. I don’t want mom and dad to know I haven’t been taking care of it.” Well, she had a bottle of Formula 44D on her dresser, so I said “that will kill it, dump it in.” {sorry mom, sorry dad, she made me} So she did. It didn’t die. I think we put in some crushed up aspirin, and then what I just “KNEW” would kill that silly fish…an entire bottle of Seabreeze. Nope. That fish was determined to live. However, we were determined to kill it! Finally, I told her “kiddo, we are just going to have to flush it” So, I scooped it out. That was rather difficult since the water was black. And into the toilet it went. Poor thing only had one working fin….just swimming around and around in circles in the toilet bowl, and we put it out of its misery. So, heres to the kiddo and myself. Cohorts in crime…fish murders. Long may we forget the bad and cherish the good! What am I saying, I can’t remember yesterday~

Did you have a pet growing up?

April 26th

Water….the lifeblood of man……..but when you are drinking gallons of it a day, you begin to loathe the sound of it. I am fighting a UTI, and  I think if I have to drink another drop of that stuff, I will lash a spear to a tree and impale myself.

I know that you are all sitting there, waiting with baited breath just to know how much I have progressed on my knitting, so I won’t fail you. I can not fail you, loyal readers…….here is my progress!!!

I put them together so that you could see just how cheery the daughter’s sock is.  I am getting ready to work on the heel flap~~that is the back part of the heel for those of you that don’t knit~~

I cut the daughter’s hair this evening.  I cut about 6 inches off the back.  She wanted all her layers off, so I obliged her.  It looks much healthier now.  I love doing little things like that to please my kiddos.

What do you like to do to please others?

April 25th

Where has this year gone? Do you realize that we are 5 days away from a quarter of the year being GONE???

Well, yesterday I told you I had to knit something pink or I would go insane. Well, after working for 2 ½ hours~~½ of that was spent unknitting and trying to figure out a pattern~~I have this much done.

I am not a fast knitter, but in my defense, the daughter asked me to sit in the kitchen with her while she made potato salad,~~Aunt Cindy’s of course~~ the husband was chatting with me, and then I screwed up the pattern BIG TIME!!! There is about an inch and a half there……..and you know what is best of all???? It has pink in it!!!  It is so delightful to knit with these colors…soothing on the eyes.

In other news….do I have other news?  No…..I am a boring person.  Boring people don’t have news.

I did have a wonderful talk with my son tonight, and he told me that he thought that I raised him just exactly how all kids should be raised, and that he stores little things in his head so that he can do it with his kids, and that he hopes that he is able to raise his children as good as I raised him.   I tell you that was music to my ears!!!  It TOTALLY made my day…..week………year……..life!!!

I ate a blueberry muffin this morning…..Jiffy mix.  Jiffy mix are my favorite kind of muffins.  I remember going over to my Aunt Cindy’s house when I was a little girl, and she would fix hot dogs and Jiffy corn bread muffins.  I always thought that was THE greatest food.  Such a treat for me!!!  Now she makes the best peanut butter fudge and potato salad.

What is your favorite muffin?

April 24th

Knitting…..

Bet’cha all thought that I had given up on it, didn’t you??? I haven’t. I did set aside for awhile because this gray is just so depressing. The weather is getting better, so I thought that I would work on it again. I thought…hey! it is gorgeous outside, maybe the gray won’t look so depressing in the sunshine…….WRONG!….all I got for my efforts was a sunburn on my arms!

There are 2 things I love about this pattern, one is the fact that it decreases for the ankle part, and the second is that it continues the pattern on the back of the heel. It is soooooo cool!!! I need to finish this….only I don’t think I am going to do it’s mate right now. I MUST…MUST…MUST knit something in pink or I will go insane. I need a happy color……and pink is my happy color!!!

What is your happy color?

April 23rd

Late this afternoon, I was sitting out on my front porch….watching.  I like to people watch.  The family that lives directly across the street from us were all out in their back yard.  The smallest girl is about 12-18 months old, and she was running and fell……did this several times.  Finally the dad yelled to her “slow down”.  A few minutes later her sister sees her begin to run, and she yells at her “slow down”.   About 20 minutes pass, and the people that live beside them came home.  The dad walks up the stairs 2 at a time, and I watch his boy~~about 7ish~~copy his every move.  Touching what dad touches, and struggling valiantly to go up the stairs 2 at a time.

That got me to thinking……what do my children see?  Am I worth emulating?  Do I want my kids to act like I do?   We as parents all strive to be worthy of being emulated, but do we succeed?  I hope I am.  I pray I am.

On a different track…….I am sooooooo excited!!!  We have only 3 weeks left of school!    I think the boy will have 4 more weeks of math, but you never know……I might call it quits sooner…..a pox on algebra.   A horrid, retched pox!!!  The daughter finished her math today, and the boy finished grammar.  Only 2 more subjects each.  I will be glad when this year is over with.    Wait……wait…..wait!!!  I just realized that the boy will be a senior next year……I take it all back.   School till forever!

What was the one thing that you remember most about your senior year?

April 22nd

Another lovely day today. It was a wonderful 84* out. Not humid or scorchingly hot…the breezes were cool, but the sun was deliciously warm. So please……can anyone tell me what is wrong with this picture???  The girl has 2 shirts on!!!

I am also excited to report that the last cold snap/snow fall did not kill my tulips, just stunted them a bit. Here they are in all their gorgeous glory!~

Not bad for a $2.49 box of tulip bulbs at Aldi.

The daughter and I sat last night and did our toenails together.  This is something that we do just about every Saturday evening during the spring and summer.  It has become a lovely tradition…..bonding over toes.   What are some things that you bond with your kiddos over?

April 21st

Today was such a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, and the husband was working…..A friend of mine said in her blog, and I TOTALLY agree…that she loves work, as long as she is watching someone else do it!

Last summer, due to an unfortunate event, my son and I had to move our pools. Pools you ask? yes, I use swimming pools as a container garden. I do this for 2 reasons.

1….this is the biggie….our dirt is just awful. I think that our back yard was a dump at one point. While digging a 1 foot diameter hole this past week, my husband dug out a whole brick, 2 half bricks and a rock the size of his forearm. We have bad dirt!

The second reason is because I don’t want to have to till up soil. Lazy…..yes, I know, but there it is!

After the moving of the pools, grubs moved in. Today we fixed them. We, I use this term loosely, moved all the dirt out of the pools, put some window screen down, and put the dirt back.

Lest you think I am a total lazy bum…..I offer proof that I do indeed soil~~well, not really soil, I had on gloves~~my hands.

oops……you can’t see my beautiful gloves….here you go….

After we finished getting the dirt out of this pool, we moved it down to be with it’s friends.

Honey, aren’t you going to help me with this one?

I don’t think so….besides…..it is time for lunch! now back to work!!!

Slave driver!

The boy arrived home from work early, just in time to help with the pink pool. The pink pool is mine…cause I like pink!

They have decided to go for a swim!

In goes the screen.

What is the daughter doing whilst I am busy cooking and the men are busy sweating???

Yes, 2 fly swatters……can’t be to careful. I joined her later.

How did you spend your Saturday?

April 20th

Yesterday and today we did a salad lab for home ec. The kiddos weren’t to excited about salad, but I didn’t really care!

They had to get out all the ingredients…

The boy did all the chopping…~~please note that he is using HIS knife~~

The daughter mixed up all the other things….

And I……….well, I got to taste it all.

Clockwise from the top right.  Aunt Cindy’s potato salad, Macaroni and Cheese Pasta salad, and Waldorf salad.  It was all good, but the Waldorf has always been a favorite of mine.  Please note that there is no green in the Waldorf…….that is because I abhor celery….blech…patooie….cough….

Do you have a favorite salad?

April 19th

Beasties….almost all of us have special ones in our lives.  Me?  I have 2 cats.

The first cat I ever owned is Grace. I got Grace about 6 years ago. She is my Paris Hilton. She is a princess, a priss, and she is dumb!!! But, I love her. She is a great lap cat, and she is fairly well behaved. I like that in an animal!

Then there is my Sugar. She is my Donna Young. She is intelligent, loving, and smart. She is also a mother hen. She grooms Grace and makes sure that Graces mess is covered in the litter box….She is also totally out for herself!

I have had to feed them twice a day, and in separate places because when I would just leave the food out all day, Sugar would eat ALL the food, and Grace would get none. Grace eats on the sink, and Sugar eats on the floor. I also have to give Grace a head start in eating. Why? you ask, well, because Sugar is totally out for herself, she scarfs her food down so fast, so she can get Graces…and Grace, being the Paris Hilton that she is….lets her! Because Sugar is so smart, I have been able to train her. That isn’t much heard of in a cat, but I have.

When Grace is almost finished eating, I will put Sugar’s food dish down and leave my hand hovering over top of the dish. When Sugar does this….

sits down completely and looks up at me, I then remove my hand, say good girl, and she then…
is allowed to eat.

Do you have a beastie? Who do they remind you of?

April 18th

I have always wanted a well manicured lawn.  I have always envied those that have them, and now……now I live next door to a man that has one.  See the arrow in the picture.  See that lovely lush green grass?  See that there are no dandelions in his  yard?  Isn’t it beautiful???  My neighbor spends an inordinate amount of time on his lawn.  Today is Wednesday, and he has already mowed his lawn 2 times this week!   My neighbor also has to be the first one to mow his lawn every year. If he isn’t the first, we hear about it all year long.   Yesterday, the husband was out mowing, and I KNEW that neighbor man would go get his lawn mower out.  He can not be outdone.  Not when it comes to his lawn.  He pays someone to fertilize his lawn 4 times a  year, so I have questioned the lawn care guy….and I am working on making my lawn just as lush and green…I just have to convince the husband to do it! 

Is your lawn lush and green, or is it lucky to just get mowed?

April 17th

What a lovely day today was. The sun finally decided to shine, and I was able to put laundry on the line.

As I was hanging up the forty thousandth wash cloth , I began thinking about my Grams. She, and my mother, tell of hanging laundry all year long. Grams had 4 kiddos to wash for. That is a whole stinkin’ lot of laundry to wash, hang, fold and put away.

I remember going over to Grams house when I was little. I am told that I was spoiled rotten by her and my grandpa. ~~ I can’t remember it….and spoiling is something that one MUST remember!!~~ I am told that they would give me a piece of toast and jelly. I would lick the jelly off, and they would spread more on, over and over till the bread was mush. I also remember being allowed to take a sip or 2 of grandpa’s coffee. That was ALWAYS a big deal…. I remember being petrified of her bathroom. She had an enema bag hanging on the back of the door. I didn’t know what it was for, and it was SCARY!!! They had this wonderful weeping willow tree out in the front yard that I would play under. I loved that tree…made a wonderful house! She would take a nap with me and rock the bed so I would go to sleep, and I did the same for my kiddos. Even now, I find myself rocking the bed with my foot. Grams always made THE best pancakes. They were thick and she fried them in something (butter???) that made the edges all crispy. She didn’t use regular maple syrup on her pancakes……only Karo syrup. She had big jugs of the stuff and I remember getting them out of the bottom cupboard in her kitchen. I love my grandma. She is THE best!

How do you eat your pancakes? thick? thin? swimming in syrup? slathered in butter?

April 16th

I have lost my tithe check.   I always write it out, and stick it in my Bible.   I went to put it in the plate yesterday morning…….and it was GONE!   So, when we got home, I looked everywhere, anywhere, and no where.   I looked in my register to make sure that I ACTUALLY wrote the thing, because my brain is running on 1/2 power most of the time, I can’t remember if I did….  All checks were accounted for, except this one….so this morning I spent a good deal of time reconciling my statement!   That was NOT fun.  I did find some mistakes I had made in my register, but I can not find that check.  I am afraid that I might have put it in with some bills, or it has fallen out somewhere.  YIKES!!!

How often do you reconcile your bank statements???

April 15th

Tomorrow is tax day! Just thought I’d warn you all!!!

This is how my son spent the last 2 days.  See the stack of note cards on the other chair’s arm?  Those are completed note cards.
He has known for 2 weeks that he had 40 note cards due for last Friday. So, Saturday he didn’t get to go out to breakfast with his youth leader, and today, he had to get them finished before I would allow him to go to youth meeting. He put it off and put it off and put it off…..sounds so much like his mother, it is scary!

He is getting just a bit silly….

Last night we watched Facing the Giants ~~I cried almost all the way through that one, and One Night With A King. It was good, but there was a lot in it that wasn’t true to the Bible……I have problems with movies like that. I know that movie makers take creative license, but still……it is the Bible we are talking about!!! I liked Facing the Giants better. I have been facing quite a few giants in the last 6-8 months or so, so it was very encouraging to me. Have you seen either of these movies??? Which one did you like best??? Which picture of my boy do you like best???

April 14th

Procrastination~~I passed it on to my son.  I had to get it from somewhere…..I think it was from my mechanic father……yes, I am pretty sure that it was him….and now, I have followed in his illustrious footsteps and passed it on to the next generation.

The boy seems to dislike doing research papers………as did I.  However, as his teacher, I will not relent and allow him to not do one.  He is paying for his procrastination, and he is now having to do 40 note cards…due yesterday……..today!

I hate being the bad guy!

April 13th

Some friends of mine and I were discussing rationing today.  I often think of how spoiled we are, and so many times I just wonder how American’s would cope if they had to ration their food and clothing like they did back in WWII.  I got a list of what was rationed….what each person was allowed per week…

** 3 pints of milk
** 3/4 lb – 1 lb meat
** 1 egg or 1 packet of dried eggs every 2 months

** 3-4 oz cheese
**4 oz bacon and ham
** 2 oz tea
**8 oz sugar
**2 oz butter
**2 oz cooking fat
**+ 16 points a month for other rationed foods (usually tinned) subject to availability.

I know when I look at a typical day of cooking/baking, I will use at least 1/2 a dozen eggs,  1/2 a pound of butter, 1 pound of meat, 1/4 pound of cheese, and if I am baking, I will use at least 1 cup of sugar.

I know that there is a lot that I could do without…..but could you???  Could you make do with the amount of food on this list?

April 12th

Hard working man.

My man works 2 jobs. He works them so that I can stay home and take care of the house, the kids and their education. When he does have the opportunity to be at home, this is what he looks like. I love this man.

You see that old treadle sewing machine on the side of this picture? This was my great great grandmother’s. It still works. I made a quilt for my mother on it. By the time I was finished my right leg looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s. I love the fact that I was able to create something on a machine that my grandmother used, and her mother used, and her mother used. I have real pride in my heritage, and I love knowing that I will be passing these on to my children. My kids also sleep in the beds that came from my great grandfather’s house. They still have the old metal springs.

My grandmother used to make my grandfather boxer shorts out of her old dresses on that machine. I always remember her wearing a dress and brown shoes. When ever she went out to work in the garden, she would get a pair of grandpa’s old work pants, stuff her dress down the legs of it, and out to work she went. I never once saw her in a pair of pants that were hers. She always made the best roast. She cooked in in a pressure cooker. I wish I had spent more time with them, soaking up their wisdom. She has been gone for almost 15 years.

Do you have any family heirlooms?  What do you remember most about your grandma?

April 11th

Today is our wedding anniversary.

That was then…

and this is now.

When anniversary comes to mind, what do you think of?  candle light dinner, movie, soft music, maybe some nice jewelry???  That is what comes to my mind.  Yesterday, when the husband said to me “lets go get your anniversary gift, I was thinking…….hoping against all hope I would be getting something like a 1 carat diamond ring.  That was not to be, however……..I did get this….

  Isn’t it nice?