Sunday we will be heading back to Washington for about a week. Dale has some work to do there and as work here is slow, this seems the perfect time. I am excited to visit family and friends. We will be able to make more definite Christmas plans ( We are having an Italian feast at my house, I am soooo excited!), take walks (Gale :), and just relax and enjoy each other.
There's only one real problem: Schoolwork! It must be done and I have been doing a lot more overseeing here of late. I thought about cutting back for the trip, but honestly if I cut back every time something comes up, we would never be doing schoolwork. We have been enjoying math ever since we started geometry, so that won't be a problem. So sorry for those of you still in Algebra, every time I think back to it, my eyes start to cross from the brain strain! The schoolwork will definitely cut into my time away, but it must be done! Hopefully we can get started early and then have the afternoon for visiting. If the other homeschooler's will cooperate with this system and NOT do anything crazy like call off school because Andy is in town, (hint, hint) things should work out well.
Check back with everyone next week!
A week away
My profile
I was editing my profile today and when I got to the favorite movies entry, I tried to think about a few more movies that would fall into this category. The first things that came to my mind are Aladin and the Lion king. I refused to list them, feeling some how immature for choosing them as my favorites. As I sat there trying to come up with better answers, I remembered the many, many times I have seen each of these classics.
Andy was totally crazy over Aladin. About 10 minutes before the end of the movie he would say over and over again how he wanted to watch Aladin. As the end drew nearer and nearer, he would get a little more frantic, being afraid that we would let the movie be over (He was 2). So, needless to say we watched Aladin all day long, day after day. You would think that after all that I would hate the movie, but that was a long time ago and I have a soft spot in my heart for the little guy. In fact I have been know to break out, at any given time in, "A whole new world."
The Lion King is the first movie we took Andy to the theater to see. We ended up owning it, and putting it on in the mornings allowed me a little extra sleep. I just love simba, and again, the music just stayed with me. "I'm gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware!..."
I have decided that I am not to proud to admit that these wonderful children's movies are definitely some of my favorites, and even top my own childhood favorite, Sleeping beauty. I hope the rest of you can still enjoy a fun kids movie once in a while!
Thanksgiving
This thanksgiving is going to be little different than usual. This is the first time we are hosting it and I am so excited. We have Randy and Cheri coming in from Colorado just for the thanksgiving weekend. Bill will also be heading over on Wednesday night in time for church hopefully and stay the weekend. I can't wait for everyone to get here!
With the thought of thanksgiving, I have decided to list a few of the things I am sooo thankful for. I'm sure everyone out here is doing the same, Tis the season to be thankful!
I am thankful for:
-My wonderful husband and what God has given us. I remember so often back 15 years ago when he was so sick. I thought he was going to die. I tried to prepare myself and plan what I would do, but God had a different plan and I am so thankful that I have him with me each day.
-My son. God is so merciful!
-My parents and the examples they have been to me. I lean on those things so many times, even though they are far away.
-My in-laws. I am so blessed. I couldn't have dreamed of a better family. I thank God so often that he brought them into my life. They are a huge encouragement to me!
-My dear friends. God knows how each one touches me. Again I am so thankful he has brought them into my life. I can't imagine it without them!
-The Brethren. The "family" of God. It is so beautiful to be a part of it!
-My wonderful little nieces and nephews. They mean so much to me.
-My son's close friends who have become like son's to me. I truly love them.
Okay, I could go on all day, and maybe I will, but not on here. I want to try to be more thankful more of the time, not just during the "season." I hope everyone has a great time coming up with their "thankful" list!
On my own
Andy has been staying at best bud Isaiah's this week. I have a list (surprise ,surprise) of a few things that I wanted to get done while he was gone. Andy is pretty independent about getting his school work done. I don't usually get involved to much, so I didn't see having much more time than normal to get my list done. Wrong! I can't believe all I have been able to accomplish with only me here. I have all day and there is no one to talk to or to distract me from my goals.
It's amazing! I have also noticed a cleaner house. Andy is pretty good to pick up after himself (when reminded of coarse) but I have a lot less dirty dishes and laundry with him gone. Also, the Calvin and Hobbs books haven't been cluttering my kitchen table everyday! I thought that the books just magically flew off of the shelf everyday! (sometimes multiple times a day) Now I know who the culprit is!
I have also been working on getting myself around earlier. Normally I will try to clean the kitchen or do laundry first, only to find myself still cleaning the house at noon, in my robe. I have made huge efforts to rectify this problem. Yesterday I was dressed before 7 (am of coarse) and this morning I had exercised, showered and dressed by 9. I am hoping to continue this success when Andy returns. That could be a problem since getting him to take less than a 30 minute shower is nigh on to impossible, but if I get my HOT shower first, maybe he won't take so long. (hee, hee)
As I enjoy this week of accomplishments, I can't help but look into the future and think that this is how it will be in just a few short years. It takes away the joy of my peaceful, accomplished week. So, to those of you who are envying me my time alone, give your babies a big hug and a kiss, and enjoy them while you have them!
Complain, complain, complain
I feel like all I ever do is complain, and today is no different. Most of you know that I like to tackle my grocery shopping all in one day every month. I have a brand spanking new, huge walmart just minutes away, so I thought that would make the day even easier. WRONG!!
Many times in the past I have gone into walmart only to find that they are out of stock on 3 or 4 items on my list. My new walmart has carried on with that tradition and went even further. There are many bare shelves and in some areas it is plain to see that they have spread one item out along the shelf to make it look like they have more stock than they actually do.
Today I went in to get my snow tires put on while I shopped. It was supposed to take 1 hour. No big deal, I would browse for a while and then get my list of things. The list was considerably smaller than it used to be because of my previous experiences of them being out of this or that. Even though my list was only 5-6 items, they were still out of stock on 2 of them. Then to make matters worse, the car took 2 hours instead of 1! I am furious with them!
I want to boycott walmart. I am comparing prices at other stores and amazingly Walmart isn't as cheap as I thought they were!
A New Post!!
Yes we successfully moved to Redmond. Blah, Blah, Blah... I am so done with the whole moving discussion so I am not going to be blogging about it for now anyway.
Moving on...
I just got back home from Oklahoma. I had a wonderful time and feel like the Lord has perfect timing. I was able to sit in some very encouraging meetings. I enjoyed seeing my family and spending time with them, it's never enough time.
I am VERY glad to be home and getting things back in order.
Sorry so short, sad today, not in the blogging mode.
Tagged!
LADAWN
I have been tagged!
Here are the rules..
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don't have a middle name use the middle name you would of liked to have had.
3. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.ere goes.
Here goes:
L... Listmaker. I have a list for everything. I go a couple of weeks sometimes with out using my daily planner, then I realize I am not getting anything accomplished. I need lists to function. I am extremely forgetful. We all know the old saying, "If my head wasn't attached, I would forget it." That is my life story without lists.
A... Aunt. I have many nieces and nephews. I love having them over to spend the night, or just to spend some time. As they are growing up we are able to bake together, fix hair (for some reason my nephews do not enjoy this), play games, and just plain talk. I love it. I already miss you guys!
D... Determined. I am determined to get my way! I like doing things my way and it's hard for me to give in.
A... A again, hmmm let me think. A favorite motel of mine is Daysinn. They are always nice and clean, they have breakfast and a pool and most important, they are cheap. Not really an A but a nice piece of information!
W... Worker. I like to get my work done. I hate going to town and leaving a messy house.
N... Nervous. If I'm not careful, I don't put all my faith in God and I allow myself to become nervous about a situation. Don't we all from time to time?
Warning!!
Has anyone ever heard of Curves for women? A gym just for ladies, sounds great doesn't it? I am hear to warn you about the pitfalls of Curves. I hope someone can learn something from my experience.
In January I joined curves. I loved it. I was very dedicated and made it in almost every day. The manager there was an up beat, energetic gal who was very motivating. She would always visit with us and plan games for us to play while working out.
In June she quit and the tone of our Curves changed dramatically. The new manager was always busy at the computer or putting away clothes. She seemed completely uninterested in the ladies working out. But we all decided to give her a chance to warm up to us. After several weeks, she did finally come over and chat with me once while I was working out. I thought things were improving.
The first week in July, Amanda, the new manager, informed some of the ladies that the Elma location would be closing August 1, 2007. Most of us have our Curves membership taken out of our bank accounts automatically, and Amanda said no more drafts would be taken.
I wasn't one of the members Amanda said this to, and when I went in the following day after hearing this information, I was surprised that once again she was to busy for the customers and said nothing about the store closing. I should have asked, but she seemed very busy so I didn't bother her.
I didn't return to Curves to work out after that, with a busy summer, the news of the store closing, had deflated any want to for exercise.
I was surprised however, when on July 16th Curves took my monthly membership out of my bank account. I went down right away to see if there was some misunderstanding. The girl in Curves at the time was very rude and told me that Curves wasn't closing, they were moving to a new location 10 miles away, but the manager would be in the next day and she would have her call me.
When I talked to Amanda, the manager, the next day( I went in, but she was just about to call me, yeah right) she was very condescending and said they had changed their minds about closing, they were indeed moving. I have a telephone they have my number. None of the members were contacted about this "change," and everyone still had to pay. Well, I won't go into the hairy details of the conversation, but I did give my cancellation in writing so that there wouldn't be anymore confusion. Amanda rolled her eyes and was condescending the entire time, but especially when I told her I was giving my cancellation in writing. She thought I should trust her word that she wouldn't charge me anymore.
I haven't been back for a workout since, but my Curves membership came out of my account again today, August 16. I'm not happy. When will this end?! They have over 30 members who are quitting because of the location move, and if they charge all of them for 2 extra months, that's over $2000.00!! Sounds like they've got a racket going on to me!
I have contacted Curves International over this matter, and I am trying to file a complaint with the BBB. Hopefully I will get some money back!
If you ever join curves, I would suggest paying the monthly payment instead of having it withdrawn automatically. It's about $10.00 more per month, but I have payed $73.00 extra so far. We'll see how next month goes.
I know there are those of you who are battling this along with me, feel free to copy and paste any part of this to form a complaint at www.curves.com
Moving
We have been planning to move to Central Oregon for a few months now. We have given our notice to be out by the end of the month. I guess it is time to get serious about moving. We are going down to try to get a house next week. We have made many, many long distance moves, not counting the local ones, in our 16 years of marriage, but this time I feel more nervous. I have prayed about having faith in the matter, but I just haven't been able to shake the feelings.
Our ministry last night was about having more faith, in fact the minister used some scripture that is very special to me. I know that God can take care of all things and I need to leave my cares with him. I am thankful that God helps us along in our lives, like giving me what he gave lastnight. It is our daily manna. Hopefully I can remember it and hold onto it for a few days!
I've been Tagged!!
How many of us aren't being tagged lately? Well here's my life story.
Here are the rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I can tell you eight things about myself
2. I will tell you eight random facts/habits about myself
3. If you are tagged, you write your own blog post about your eight things (include the rules)
4. At the end of my blog, I will choose eight people to tag, and list their names
5. Don't forget: Leave them a comment telling them that they've been tagged!
Here are the facts:
1. I have 3 younger brothers and no sisters. My mom is a girly-girl and she was determined that her one and only girl would be ALL girl, so I was in curls and ruffles as a small child. I naturally followed in her footsteps and had no use for bugs or dirt, the fun things my brothers wanted to play with. I do remember Lee (my brother closest in age to me) and I playing Starwars. In my mind it was a love story so it was ok to play with the action figures.
2. I met my husband when I was 5. My family moved from Oklahoma to Oregon and I was able to meet many of the people who greatly affect my life today. I didn't want to move to Oregon and often cried and prayed to go back. Then when I was about 12 I had a dream that we did move back and I had to say goodbye to all my close friends in Oregon. It was a true nightmare and I never had the same feelings about Oklahoma again.
3. My least favorite chore is dusting. I remember going to each of my grandmother's homes and the help they wanted was dusting, so they probably hated it too. It must be hereditary. I only do the dusting if I have overnight guests coming and sometimes not even then. Maybe someday when I have grand daughter's my house will be dusted more often.
4. One of my pet peeves is the misuse of the words seen and saw. I am definitely no grammar buff, but for some reason every time someone does this I mentally correct them. For example people say, " I seen Bob yesterday" It should be " I saw Bob yesterday." Seen should be used with have. "Have you seen Bob?" or " I've seen you everywhere today, Bob." Every time someone says " I seen... " I automatically add an okie accent to their words in my head. Just a crazy little thing about me.
5. I had laryngitis at my bridal shower the week before my wedding. My good friend Trina sat up front with me and as I would mouth a big thank you to someone, and use my eyes and face to relate how I felt, she'd say, in a very mellow tone, "She says thank you." She has such a great sense of humor!
6. I used to get canker sores all the time. Growing up it seemed like I was always fighting one of these, including on my wedding day! I had been fighting sickness (remember the laryngitis) and in the end I had a monster fever blister in the corner of my mouth for the wedding pictures. Oddly enough, after I had Andy I didn't have them as much, but he did! At one point when he was 7 we made him cut way back on pizza, spaghetti, ketchup, and the sort (all of his favorites) because he couldn't get rid of the soars. As he has aged it has gotten better for him but he does have one as we speak.
7. I have served hairy home made noodles to company. We were having some dear old friends over to do some reconnecting. I spent all day making home made noodles and the works. As we were sitting over dinner we ALL found hair in our noodles. I had not pulled my hair back when cooking and I guess I was doing some big time shedding that day. I was sooo mortified. The company assured me all was fine. Truly I can't think of anyone I would have rather had over in that experience. Thanks for still loving me even after eating my hairy noodles Trina!
8. I have fallen bottom first into an un-flushed toilet with the seat up. Remember my 3 younger brothers. I do love them. I am a deep sleeper and I was practically sleep walking to the bathroom one night to relieve my bladder. I awoke rather suddenly and wasn't to happy about it as you can imagine.
I am tagging: Kali, Trina, Michelle G, Teresa, Gale, Mary, Cherrie,& Marisela
As most of you have been tagged recently I suppose that list will do. The rules are subject to interpretation.
The life of a list-maker
I love organization, making lists, cleaning shelves, ect, hence the name of my blog. I also love organizing other people's things. When I visit my mother, I enjoy cleaning out her pantry and reorganizing kitchen shelves. My mother is a fabulous house keeper, but like all of us she has some areas she hasn't had the time for. Some of my near and dear friends have made a few comments lately about how I don't understand having clutter because I am so "organized."
The once again eventful grocery day
I know you are all dying to know how my grocery day went this month, so here goes:
I have been going grocery shopping with my niece Tammy and her 2 boys, Levi (2), and Ben(8months).
The day was to begin at Tammy's at 9:00 am. I got an important phone call that morning and was running late (as usual). So at 9:30 we left Tammy's for costco, a 45 minute drive. As we are taking the exit, my grumbling tummy reminds me that I forgot to eat breakfast because of the unexpected phone call. We run thru Panera Bread for a yummy morning bagel, because I know I can't tackle "grocery day" without breakfast.
Now we could finally go to Coscto. We head for the 1 hour photo to get our pics done while we shop. Sounds simple and logical. HeHe. Tammy's picture cd from walmart crashed 2 of the computers, but the 3rd time was a charm and she finally got her order in. I realized I had accidentally ordered mine with borders only ten minutes after I turned them in, but when I asked them to make the change, they said mine were already done. There have been times I've had to wait an extra hour for my pics to finish, but this time when I want to make a change they are done in 10 minutes! Just my luck, truely.
After we completed the picture fiasco (while juggling babies, don't forget), we start our Costco shopping. In the cold section I reached in to get us both some cottage cheese. The stacks inside the refrigerator were taller than the door, so I had to stand on the concrete ledge, reeeeeach up, and then pull it down thru the door. As I did so I hit my finger on the door. OUCH! That hurt. Oh well, I'm not a wimp (shut up gale) I just went about my grocery business and ignored the finger.
2-3 minutes and 15 feet later, I took a look at my grocery list to see what was next. I had been using a red pen for marking the things off my list and I noticed that the pen is having a huge leaking problem because my list is covered in red splotches. However, when I checked the pen, it was fine. I turned my hand over and my finger I just hit on the freezer door was bleeding profusely. It has ran all down my forearm, onto my CREAM pants, all down the front and side of my thigh, and on the floor! EEEEEWWWWEE!! YUCK! Well luckily Tammy is a well prepared mommy and she provided wet wipes and bandaids.
After 2 hours in Costco, we happily exited the store into the rainy day. We are parked up to a sidewalk and we push our carts to the car on the sidewalk. There is no place to get the cart off the sidewalk though so we start to unload and carry things down to her van. While she was putting one of the boys in, all of the sudden her cart started to move and fliped off of the sidewalk and wedged itself between her van and the car next to us leaving a 2 inch scratch on the car. She had spent around $200 in costco and all of her groceries, including 5 dozen eggs were still in the cart when it fell.
I was on the other side of the van putting boy #2 in, so I didn't even see the CRASH coming. We calmly unloaded the groceries wondering what to do about the car. Many of her eggs eggs were busted so she took them in to see if costco would replace them, which of coarse they did. They have awesome return policies. Ok back to the matter at hand.
While Tammy returned her smashed eggs, the people who owned the car next us came out. I watched as they pushed their cart in our direction, and when they got to their car they put one person on each end and shimmied their cart between their car and another. I smiled and thought these people are going to totally understand what happened. So, I immediately went over and told them about the basket falling and scratching their car. They politely thanked me for bringing it to their attention, but assured me they were not in the least concerned about a scratch you had to have a magnifying glass to see. WHEW!
I could go on and on about the things that happened to us that day, things like how that Walmart is ALWAYS out of stock and I am very seriously thinking of boycotting for the few dollars they might save me per month. But then if they don't have what I need, I can't save money there! And, how that the boys were in screaming mode while we stood in snail checkout lines. Also how my finger started bleeding again all over walmart. It wasn't bad enough that I had blood on my grocery list from earlier. Sick, Yuck, Ewe. I left home that morning at 9:00 am and returned at 5:00pm just for walmart and costco. I am glad that day is over. I'm sure I am convincing all of you out there that getting all your groceries in one day is the way to go!
Help Wanted!
It is time, once again, to compile the monthly menu. These last few months I have found some great recipes, but it is time consuming pulling out the cookbook and making an elaborate recipe with lots of steps and ingredients every night. What do you make for dinner on a regular basis? Or do you have a favorite summer recipe that doesn’t heat up the house? I am looking for some basic meals for our busy summer. Crock-pot recipes are fine too, just as long as the prep time is short. Friday is grocery day, so PLEASE get me your ideas quick! Thanks in advance!
Homeschool Convention
Last week was the Homeschool Convention. I was able to go both days and I feel quite rejuvenated. This past week we have gotten back in gear to be able to finish our school before summers end. Geography has been a huge interest of Andy's and this past year we have really dove into it. I purchased some atlases and maps to further our study next year. We still have Europe, Antartica, and Asia left.
We are reviewing our algebra book for the next few weeks before we move into our new geometry. We use Math-u-see and love it!
Wordly wise, an audio of the lion, witch and the wardrobe, and a new typing program(typing instructor delux...Love it!) are some of my purchases.
Stop and smell the...Daisies
This summer has been quite busy as most of you know. Yesterday we had an evening to ourselves. We took a drive up in the forest behind our house and then a short hike. It was beautiful. The sunset was simply awesome. It was so nice to just walk along and take it all in. There were wild daisies growing everywhere! We grabbed several and I brought them home and made a nice bouquet for the table. It is a great little reminder of our family time together.
A list makers nightmare!
As you all know, I started a new journey a few months ago trying to find new and interesting recipes. I have been very successful on this quest, but it means that my grocery list is quite intense. I like to purchase the bulk of my groceries only once a month, with a few trips to my local grocer a few times in between for produce, milk and bread. Town is about 45 minutes away, so I can save gas this way.
On the first of this month I sat down with my recipes to plan a months worth of meals. This took some serious planning time to go through each recipe and make sure I had all the ingredients, then I pulled out my staple list that I keep at the back of my better home and gardens cookbook for easy access. It is a 4 page front and back list with 2 columns per page. It includes most everything I buy anywhere from spices to shampoo, to make sure I don't forget anything. The end result is a massive list that is worth about 3 hours of my time.
I usually hit costco and walmart in a big way, then swing by fred meyer to pick up a few soy specialty item. This is exhausting all in one day. This month however was able to ride along with some friends who were going to fred meyer a few days earlier than my planned grocery day. I was excited at this oppertunity, it would make the actual "grocery day" a lot easier, so I thought. I was going through the aisles with my beloved grocery list. I vaguely remember setting it down to help one of the other ladies with some bulk food. Ok now I will cut to the chase, Yes you guessed it, I left my list on the fred meyer shelf. I didn't even realize it until the next day, I thought about calling in but I don't see a store clerk saving a grocery list they found laying around on the shelf and I'm sure they would have thought I was a little crazy for asking! I knew deep inside what the fate of my list had been. All of those hours of work just trashed!! It's hard for me to bear even now!
The life of a homeschooler
I so enjoy being a homeschool mom. Our day is what we make of it. We do what we (I) want for the most part. There is so much freedom in that. Recently Andy mentioned an interest in going back to public school. I reminded him of some of the differences in the two lifestyles.
Homeschool vs public school
He just took a trip to Oklahoma. The only vacations in highschool are around
the schools schedule
He likes to spend time at best bud's
Isaiah's sometime during the year.
Andy starts school around 9am. The bus runs by our house about 7:45am
Andy is usually done with school by at least. The bus runs by our house about 4pm
2pm (thats with an hour for lunch)
Andy almost never does school work in We know some public highschool kids and
evenings or on weekends they have hours of homework every day!
There were many other reasons as well and Andy was easily convinced that his life is all good just the way it is. Then he started drivers ed. He was a little irritated that he was given 2 hours of homework every class. He has class twice a week so 4 hours of homework. This week he is doing state testing at the highschool plus drivers ed, and have I mentioned that I have a homeschool geography class once a week?Here is our day yesterday:
7am everyone up
8:10am take Andy to highschool for testing
8:30 I go to curves for my morning workout
9:30 I get home shower, do laundry, and clean
10:30 go get Andy from highschool
11:00 get back home for lunch
11:45 Andy mows the lawn
12:15 lawn mower runs out of oil
12:25 Andy changes clothes from mowing
12:30 Andy works on homework for drivers ed that is due this afternoon
1:15 leave for geography class
3:15 leave geography class for drivers ed
3:30 drop Andy at highschool for drivers ed
3:40 I happily blog my hour away on the library computer
4:40 I head for home and make dinner in record time plus some cleanup around the house
5:20 go pick up Andy from drivers ed
5:45 finish up making dinner
6:00 eat
6:25 get ready for church
6:45 leave for church
Today there is no drivers ed and tomorrow is the last day of testing, but with all of these extra classes and home work, I don't think we are going to have any more public school discussions. Andy is stressed and ready for life to get back to normal. The homework for just one class has been a huge eye opener for him. It has been a good experience.
yummy chowder
About three years ago I discovered I was allergic to dairy. At that time I made a big change in my diet, with great results: I feel a lot better and I lost weight. That's all good and fine, but I miss a lot of things. One of those things is clam chowder. A few days ago I found a chowder recipe that uses soy milk instead of regular. I was sceptical but also excited to try a yummy bowl of chowder. I proceeded to fix it for dinner last night and at the last minute we had unexpected company. The chowder was a huge success!! I savored every bite! I even had to fight Andy for the tiny amount of leftover chowder today at lunch time. Since it had been 2 1/2 YEARS since I'd eaten any, I prevailed and enjoyed it down to the last drop!
List, files, and folders!
You all know how organization makes me happy, well today I have found something else to organize. I have long avoided putting music on the computer, because I didn't know what to do with it once it was there. Andy has lots of music on the computer, but it is just a huge jumbled list of track 1, track 2, ect.
Today I have successfully downloaded over 6 hours of music into the appropriate files and folders, and I also learned how to create a playlist of my favorite songs. I even taught Mr. Andy how to correctly make a playlist. Yes, I know I am way behind the times on this stuff, but I feel that I have made a big step today!
It gives me such joy to see my hours of songs neatly put in one Moms music folder, then divided into 8 separate mini folders with album names, artists, titles, ect. Andy was quite taken back to see the difference in My music and His music. He got right to work on it, so that mom wouldn't out do him. We'll see who can keep their music "room" the cleanest!!
Souper fast Dinner
Here in the northwest we have been having our share of rain, rain and more rain. One of the few good things about a rainy day is that it makes a hot bowl of soup sound warm and filling. One of my tried and true favorite recipes is this minestrone soup. It is yummy and souper fast.
15-20 minutes!!
1/2 lb pasta shells, macaroni, or even spagetti broken into very small pieces
1 small zuchinni
2-3 carrots
1/4 cup onion (or 1 tsp. onion seasoning)
1 cup cabbage
1 15 oz can tomatoe sauce
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 or 2 cans beans of your choice( I use great northern)
2 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt
pepper
cooked chicken or other meat(opt)
First I get a 4 quart soup pan and fill just less than half way with water. Put veggies into boiling water. I use a different pan to cook the pasta in because it tends to get overcooked otherwise. When the veggies have boiled for about 5 min, add all other ingredients except pasta. Add water to fill up pot. I put the pasta in the soup pan just before serving. A loaf of french bread finishes off this meal nicely.
Off he goes into the wild blue yonder
We had yet another tramatic experience today. Andy flew by himself to Oklahoma. I have been dreading this day. It all started at 3 am when the alarm sounded time to get up. I was VERY nervous! We planned to get there with two hours to spare, just in case. As I parked the car, my stomach was all in knots about all the scenarios that could happen to Andy today.
When we went in, there were people everywhere! I don't know if I've ever seen it that packed except maybe at holidays. We stood in incredibly long and slow lines. All of the sudden I remember that in all my nervousness, I forgot to pay attention to where I parked. Andy tells me the parking space number, but I am a stress case about if he can do this alone or not, so I still don't pay attention to the number. We have flown as a family countless times, so Andy has a lot of experience, but as his mother I still feel the need to take care of him.
I got a special pass to be able to walk with him to his gate. I saw him board the plane and even had him call once inside. He thought I was going a little overboard, but he is my baby! When he called from inside the plane, I reminded him to turn off the cell phone when we were done.
About 2 minutes after we hung up, I suddenly remembered that I still didn't know where I parked. I franticly called Andy back, but as an obedient son, he had turned off the phone! Ok, no big deal, how hard can it be to find the car. I know I parked on the 5 level, so that's where I headed. I felt pretty confident about it as I started traced our steps back to where the car should be. First, go across the skywalk, then up the elevator, and then just on the other side of the elevator should be the car....
My car was no where in sight. I was in a dark parking garage full of vehicles, but no people, and I have no idea where my car is. I was remembering scenes from movies at this point, it's not good. I started going across every aisle, begining to panic now. Breathe, calm down, Ok, what was it Andy told me?? 5N something or other? I am in aisle D. I start to head for aisle N looking down each isle. I am getting closer, closer, (there are about 800 cars on this level) finally aisle N. There is my car, right where my son said it was.
This is just another one of those life lessons for me. Andy has now safely landed and is in my mom and dads care, but today my eyes have been opened to the fact that my son is quickly growing into a man. I thought I needed to go into the airport to "take care" of him, and the biggest problem I encountered was my own parking problem, which Andy solved for me.
So, I end this day with pride that Andy is so capable, but also with a pang of sadness that my little boy is no longer my "little boy."
Drivers Beware!!
Life is a journey. We have many twists and turns along our way. My son Andy just got his permit yesterday. This is a big change in our lives. In the last 24 hrs, I have spent 2 1/2 hours in the passengers side with him behind the wheel. Whew!! I feel tense all over.
I have kept my calm and only grabbed the wheel twice. My foot feels like I have a pulled muscle from trying to apply the brakes on my side. My right hand is tight from gripping the door on my side in fear of going off the road.
We did about an hour in a big empty parking lot practicing corners, parking, backing up, and parallel parking. It was great, he only hit about 10 imaginary cars. Next we hit side streets. At one point he had to cross main street. He stressed out a little then, because the car across the street waved him on, but there were cars coming(way back there, but hey better safe than sorry) so he wasn't sure what to do. Finally he listened to the guy across the street and went in front of the cars. It was totally safe, but I want to teach Andy to wait if he isn't comfortable, instead of feeling like he has to trust other drivers judgement. He drove to Uncle James and Aunt Gale's and was richly rewarded with wow's and cool about his permit and driving. He is feeling quite pleased with himself.
I am pleased with myself that I have been patient and willing to let him drive so much. I guess I am looking to the future, where I can hand most of my driving over to him because I don't really enjoy it and never have. But for now, if we can just get home safely from the library!
The cooking hum drums
In the past few months I have been getting very bored with my meals and when I mentioned this to my family they were too quick to agree. 4 oclock would roll around and I would scramble for something to cook, many times the same things like:
Meals-
fahitahs
tacos
homemade chicken soup
burritos
Sides-
green beans
baked potatoes
steamed rice
home made bread
My sister in law Gale started making a menu a few months back and she inspired me. I haven't planned a whole months worth of dinners yet, but I have done better than before.
Laurie, another sister in law, told me that a taste of home class was going to be in our area soon and this sparked my enthusiasm to make a BIG change. Years ago I subscribed to the taste of home magazine and I have liked every recipe I have tried from them, so I pulled out some of my old issues to help me in my vow to make a change. I had also gotten a new taste of home cookbook a few months back, but I hadn't put it to use yet. Between the cookbook and magazines I had many choices, butI chose only recipes that had ingredients I usually have on hand, with just a few exceptions if it looked really yummy. It has been about 2 weeks and my family is very happy. I have tried a variety of things like:
Meals-
meatloaf
fried fish
chicken stroganoff
beef brisket
pizza
stew (with left over beef brisket)
Curried chicken salad (lunch)
chicken soup with butternut squash and kale-made by Laurie (I have never liked butternut squash, but this soup is fantastic!!)
Sides-
seasoned oven potatoes
stuffed zuchinni
home made rolls
chicken curried rice
spanish rice
fried cabbage
zesty vegetable salad (zuchinni, tomatoes, avacadoes, onions, lemon juice, garlic, YUM)
steamed carrots
I have only tried one new dessert since we don't usually eat dessert. I took some peanutbutter oatmeal bars to a potluck on sunday. They were a huge hit, as were all the new recipes.
Last night we had fahitahs, and that's ok. We like fahitahs and I 'm not going to kick them out, we'll just have them once or twice a month instead of once a weak. I am very satisfied with the change I've made, my family is HAPPY, and it hasn't been alot of effort, just a little planning.
Friday night is the taste of home class and I can't wait to go and get more ideas. Thank you Gale and Laurie for giving that help and encouragement I needed.
