I haven't posted in a while but I'd like to pass on this great giveaway and free music download from a wonderful artist...Plumb! I hope you'll take some time and check them out. The music is beautiful. The lyrics are deep and meaningful. It's definitely worth your time, in my humble opinion. :) The free music download is two new Christmas songs and they're giving away stuff like Kindle Fire and iPod Shuffle. Great, right? Hope your holidays are happy! I know my family and I will have a blessed Christmas. See ya next time. Laugh a lot!

Memory

With all the confusing muddle of thoughts bouncing around randomly across the net, I thought I'd take time to clarify what 'memorial' is truly about.

Here's the definition from my huge dictionary and while it's not a Webster's dictionary (which I prefer), it serves me well. Memory: n. 1. The mental process or faculty of representing in consciousness an act, experience, or impression, with recognition that it belongs to time past. 2. The experiences of the mind taken in the aggregate, and considered as influencing present and future behavior. 3. The accuracy and ease with which a person can retain and recall past experiences. 4. That which is remembered, as an act, event, person, or thing. 5. The period of time covered by the faculty of remembrance: beyond the memory of man. 6. The state of being remembered; posthumous reputation: The memory of Washington will endure. 7. That which reminds; a memorial; a memento. 8. The information storage unit of a computer.

Here are some synonyms: recollection, remembrance, reminiscence, retrospect, retrospection. My dictionary also states, "Memory is the faculty by which knowledge is retained or recalled; memory is a retention of knowledge within the grasp of the mind, while remembrance is the having what is known consciously before the mind. Either may be voluntary or involuntary. Recollection involves volition, the mind making a distinct effort to recall something, or fixing the attention actively upon it when recalled. Reminiscence is a half-dreamy memory of scenes or events long past; retrospection is a distinct turning of the mind back upon the past, bringing long periods under survey.

Here are some antonyms: forgetfulness, oblivion, obliviousness.

For the purpose of this day and this blog post, I think we should focus on definitions 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 & 7. Almost 3,000 people were killed on this day in the year 2001, many humans from many countries and of many faiths. That was the year our middle child was born. While innocent lives were being snuffed out in the northern part of our country, I was at home teaching our son and taking care of our infant daughter. We lived in a trailer at the time, out in the country where the air is clean and fragrant with grass, freshly plowed dirt, gardenias and all manner of good, green and growing things. My husband, who was TACP at the time and stationed at Ft. Polk, LA, called me from work and told me to turn the TV on. What I saw was unreal, like a nightmare. Much like the Challenger disaster, which I remember watching as a child, or the Oklahoma city bombing, or a father decapitating his disabled son...it was a horror. Tears rolled down my face as I considered the possibilities, probabilities and magnitude of this occurrence. I knew that at a moment's notice, my husband could be called to go away and fight. At the time he was going through the process of cross-training into a different career field but I knew that didn't mean much until we got to our next duty station. So I did the only thing I could do at the time-I prayed. Then I took my son, who was 6 and watched the news footage with me, out onto the small deck. I told him to breathe, to look at what was around us and soak it all in. What is in existence today, may not be in existence tomorrow. Take nothing for granted. Breathe. Appreciate your freedoms and don't abuse them. And after a time of meditation and prayer, we returned inside and life went on with many prayers being lifted up.

So when I hear some fellow humans say things like 'I just want to forget.' or 'Why all this fuss?' or 'I can't wait until all this 9/11 stuff is over.' I have to wonder where they were on that day. I have to wonder if they were secretly cheering for the sorry, misguided souls who perpetrated this catastrophe when it happened. I have to wonder why they would be so callous of the effect this had on those directly affected by the disaster. Why should we remember? I believe we should remember because those poor innocent souls deserve our respect and honor. Those brave public servants who rushed in to save as many as possible regardless of the fact that they might not get out alive deserve our honor and respect. Those brave soldiers who heeded the call to stamp out terrorism, even though the task was daunting and still remains a threat to this day, deserve our honor and respect. When I see people calling this memorial a political thing, I find that degrading to those who lost loved ones in the catastrophe. I find it insensitive and inhumane. It's at times like these that we should remind people if they have nothing nice to say, they should say nothing at all. Please don't sully the memories of loved ones lost with your sour and misery-ridden comments. Please keep those carelessly thrown darts to yourself. The rest of us commiserate with these people. The rest of us lift them up in our thoughts and prayers, hoping to buoy them and hoping to learn something from this disaster that would make us wiser and better able to avoid such a thing in future. Why remember? Because we are all humans and we all share this planet. Why are our troops still fighting a war on terrorism? Because as long as humans inhabit this planet, there will always be a bully whose ravenous hunger for power above all things drives him to smash anything and everything in his path.

So lest we leave remembrance behind for ignorant oblivion, why should we remember?

So that we can live.

And breathe.

And thrive in freedom.

Remember to breathe...

Hope I Win This!

I entered this giveaway offered by Homeschool Giveaways & Freebies. I hope I'm able to win one of the prizes since I can always use advice in my school room. As a home school mom, any resource specifically targeted to the home school audience is a valuable tool. This particular giveaway is for a magazine subscription that I think would be a valuable addition to my classroom. If you decide to check it out, I wish you luck! And while you're checking out the giveaway, be sure to like their facebook page, too, even if you decide the magazine isn't something you're interested in. They offer a lot of giveaways with awesome resources, curriculum and tools. :) Laugh a lot!

On The Stage Again!

Over the past year, we've begun getting more involved with local theater groups. Yes, that's right. I spelled it correctly-groupS-the plural form. The closest town has a theater group and our parish seat has a theater group. The Eunice Players Theater is going to be showing "A Nice Family Gathering" in November. My husband has tried out for a part but we have not heard which part he might be playing yet. The Pandemonium Theater Group will be showing "A Neverland Christmas Carol" in December. TheShi tried out for a speaking role and was informed that she was cast in the role of Slightly, a Lost Boy who has a funny lisp. She is extremely excited. :) TheRo will be playing an extra Lost Boy. I have some work to do! I'll be making cute Lost Boys costumes for my girls. LOL! My son and I will help backstage with both of these productions. We will be busy but I don't believe it will be too much. The timing of these two plays and the practices could not have been better! It should all work out very well. If you've read my blog before, then you know that we found the Eunice Players Theater through a friend. I grew up with this friend not realizing how similar our views on life are! :D His casual conversation was a God-send, though. I'm always looking for opportunities for my kids to get involved in the community and theater is one way we can do that. While my DH is onstage, my son and I will be helping backstage. We'll also be helping with the set. It still amazes me that the Eunice Players Theater has been around so many years and I never knew! You can check out their blog here. The Pandemonium Theater Group is relatively new. It's a non-profit organization created by a mom who wanted to help her daughter achieve her dreams. They've done at least two plays so far. Their last play was our first chance to work with this group. My DH played the role of a retired Army Col. running a 'love motel' in the play "A Flea In Her Ear," an adult comedy. The good thing about this group is that it's available to any and all who wish to experience what it's like to be on stage. Any and all are welcome. You can view their facebook page here. We are really looking forward to both of these plays! It will be interesting to see them come together and make new friends. And what a fabulous opportunity for a home school family like ours!

The Cycle Begins Anew

As usual, it's been a while since I posted here. Time always seems to slip away so quickly! Since I last posted, many things have happened. We started school this past week. I'm finding that schedules are a must. With a written schedule, I can see who needs my help in what subject and who can work on seat work while I'm helping the child who needs guidance. It worked pretty well for this first week and I feel a great sense of relief. So while I hate schedules in general, they are going to be a life saver this school year. Before we started school, our kids went to stay with their nanna for a week. They had a lot of fun and I know that Nanna really enjoyed her time with them. When we went to pick them up, we stayed for a week and did a little sight-seeing around the area. McDonough, GA has some really neat places to see if you're on a budget. For one thing, it's pleasant to walk the town square during the morning hours when everyone is at school or work. It harks back to the time when McDonough was a smaller town. We discovered that Grits, a local eatery on the square, is a great place to get fried apples and peach cobbler. Their sweet iced tea is good, too! When you're done with that super cool iced tea, take a stroll around the corner to the Bell, Book & Candle used book store. They have something for every taste and it's always a bargain. On the other side of town you'll find the Henry County Veteran's Museum and War Memorial. They do not have an entry fee but donations are accepted. It's a great place to go with your kids, as long as they aren't interested in touching the displays that are not behind glass. I'm very proud of my kids, who followed the directions given to them by the museum volunteers! All the memorabilia is donated to the museum and there's a good bit of memorabilia. It's wonderfully put together and a great way to teach our kids about our veterans and the things our country went through over the years. History is really important. Why? Well, we need to know where we came from. We need to know why things were done in a certain way. We need to see where we went wrong so that maybe next time we can get it right. History is so very important. The memorial itself is situated on a small hill outside the museum building. As we read some of the quotes made by famous people such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, etc., I thought about my relatives who had fought for this country. I thought about the one relative of mine who fought and died for this country. I cried thinking about all those things, thinking about the amount of casualties in each successive war, thinking about how people who fought then had a love for their country that cannot be found in the civilian of today's United States of America. I also thought about how so much more than lives was lost each time we fought in a war. In everything there is balance. Sometimes the balance is scary. "If you wish for peace, prepare for war." McDonough has quite a few interesting stores closer to the interstate, as well. We got to visit a Summit store for the first time in McDonough, GA. I'm pretty sure if you asked any of us, we'd say it was a pretty neat experience. My husband walked away with a brand new t-shirt and I got a nifty-difty suspension coil. I'm pretty sure I can do something pretty awesome with it and there might be a future blog post concerning the creation of it. The anime store was kinda neat. It's fairly new (within the last 3 or so years, maybe) and they had some interesting and varied merchandise. The comic book store was a lot of fun. I found some cool buttons to buy. I passed them out to the kids when we got in the car. TheRo got 'compassion' because it is most like her. TheShi got 'hope' because she is the most hopeful of our children. And Nojo got 'will power' because he is the most determined. :) I think it worked out well. :) In Locust Grove, GA, there is a wonderful place called Noah's Ark where they are "bringing children and animals together." In the dead of summer, it can be a pretty hot walk. Thankfully, there are also a lot of shade trees along the route! We saw different kinds of reptiles, ostriches, emus, tigers, bears, a wolf, a jaguar and lots of other animals. It's not really a zoo. It's more like an animal preserve, I guess, since their animals are all rescue animals. It's a non-profit organization, so it doesn't cost to get in but donations are happily accepted. Can you imagine what it must cost to take care of over 1,200 animals? A picnic area is provided but we didn't visit until after lunch. I highly recommend this as an educational outing, especially if you are trying to stay within budget. It's a great place to visit! We made one last stop on our way home from Georgia. We visited Middle Earth, a self-sustaining farm in Citronelle, AL. What a wonderful place! It's a peaceful place, a welcoming place, perfect for catching your breath in today's fast-paced lifestyle. While we were there, our friends, the Kalloch's, let us stay in their barn apartment where we got to experience solar power, fresh and clean (by using reverse osmosis) water from their rain barrels and a composting potty. If you've never used one of those before, let me tell you! It's fabulous! I want to transfer all my toilets over to composting toilets since there is no danger of bursting or leaking pipes. It saves water, too! No more toilets 'running through' and running up the water bill. We were able to watch Craig and Lisa remove honey from the hive, along with two helpers, Lori and Ken (I believe that was his name. I hope he'll forgive me if I got it wrong!) Then Nojo, theShi and my husband got to help run the extractor that slings the honey out of the frames. For their efforts, we got to bring home a bit of raw, natural honey! We'd love to make another trip out to Citronelle sometime in the near future since there is so much we can learn from them. This concludes today's extremely long post. I hope you find something you like, maybe even visit one of these places someday. We had a great little mini vacation and got to spend time with family and friends. What could be better? Laugh a Lot!

Back To School Madness

As a new school year begins, I just have to shake my head and sigh. The kids have to start back to school sooner and sooner every year and I don't see that there is any more improvement in their actual and practical knowledge. Some of them, too many of them, come out of high school not being able to form a complete sentence or even spell contractions! Many of them come out of high school with a huge dose of apathy and a detrimental sense of "I don't care" or "I don't wanna" as if there was no point in gaining knowledge.  It's no wonder, really.  But I'm already getting off the topic I wanted to discuss. This was supposed to be a post about what you have to buy to begin a new school year.

While private schools have always had uniforms and fees galore, this is the first year that I heard of public schools charging a fee for kids to ride the bus. This is yet another way to charge the taxpayers more money because for those kids who can't afford to pay the fees, the American taxpayers will have to take up the slack. Here's one article on the subject: http://chestertontribune.com/Indiana%20News/713103%20attorney_general_says_public_sch.htm 

Here's another article: http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110720_Board_raises_public_school_bus_fares.html

Now if you are from one of these states, chances are you  might be in part of that 54% the writer of the second article mentioned.  But if you aren't 'lucky' enough to be in the low-income category or if you are like my family was when I was growing up (low enough income but owned a home) then you might find this a bit burdensome. My first question is this: Aren't schools non-profit organizations? Shouldn't any money they make from fund raisers go back into the schools? And if this is happening then why isn't there enough money for the schools to be able to support themselves? 

Kids are supposed to be able to get an education.  After all, that's what the public school system was created for in the first place, to be an affordable option as opposed to the private schools that cost more.  But it's becoming quite obvious that it's costing many folks just as much for public education as it does for those sending their kids to private educational facilities.  It used to be the norm for kids to get a better education at a private school but such is no longer the case. More of the private schools are moving towards the same curricula as public schools and therefore, the knowledge gained is the same across the board. So why would I pay more to send my kid to a private school when the education standards are all the same and there is no extra educational benefit in sending my child there?  So my choices in schools are much like my choices in bananas at the less than perfect grocery store: green or over-ripe? Neither option is acceptable to me, which is another reason why I continue to school my children at home.  

Another friend of mine was speaking of how much it cost her to put her public school children in uniforms and buy all their supplies. She figured that she probably spent $300 per child.  By shopping normally for clothing for my own children, which means bargain shopping these days or making their clothing myself, I save a /ton/ of money. By shopping for curriculum very carefully and taking advantage of coupons, discounts, special sales and great websites that offer free resources, I spend a lot less than what a person might spend on tuition fees. I get to choose which method I wish to use for my children, planning the curriculum in such a way that it is tailor made for each child.  This is a win/win situation, in my opinion.  

My second question is this: Why is it necessary for all the kids to have the same brand name supplies? Some of the schools in our area are actually specifying which brand of supply to buy. Isn't a binder a binder? Isn't a no. 2 lead pencil a no. 2 lead pencil? What difference does it make if the pencils have Spiderman or Barbie on them? Heaven forbid we actually allow our progeny to form unique personalities! Heaven forbid we actually encourage them to think for themselves and learn about how to be able to live and make life decisions and then live /with/ those decisions. Nah. They don't need any of that, do they? Pardon my sarcasm but it seems to be the only weapon I have these days. I'm sorry. I don't want a cookie cutter kid who looks, thinks and acts just like every other kid. I want to have a child that grows up into a responsible, thinking, fully functioning, unique adult.  I want to encourage them to reach their potential.  While I believe it's possible for a child to do this while attending public or private school, I think it's a much harsher environment in which they would need to learn.  Why put them through all that when what they are truly supposed to be focused on is not all the social stuff? The focus is education, right? I really am beginning to wonder about the true purpose of our 'education' system. Actually, I am past the beginning of wondering about it. I'm truly skeptical of it. 

Remembering to breathe...

From Chaos & Mayhem To Calm

I know. It's been /forever/ since I last posted a blog here. It's been one giant roller coaster at our house lately, with old pipes giving way and new pipes needing to be put in, one of our two air conditioners going out and needing to be replaced, and on top of all that a stage production!

Our washing machine has always had a bit of a backing up problem when it drains. We're living in the house I grew up in and it's always done that...backed up a bit into the kitchen sink.  Since it drained without further problems, we never worried about it.  Last week, it decided to completely clog and was spewing like Old Faithful into our laundry room. (sigh)  So between running loads of laundry next door, hauling the wet laundry back to our house to put them on the line to dry, and not being able to use our kitchen sink, the last two weeks have been chaotic, to say the least.  And with the economy in such bad shape, there was no question of hiring a plumber to fix the issues.  We had to do all the work ourselves.  My husband, who knows next to nothing about plumbing, put his head down and tackled the job, even while his knees, shoulders and back are somewhat messed up from his time in the Air Force.  He is one awesome guy.  He got under the kitchen sink to try to see what the problem was and the pipes under there just crumbled away in his hands. Frustrating? You better believe it.  Tensions were definitely running high that day.  So we made several trips to Lowe's, spent a few days working on the pipes under the sink, and checked to be sure all was well with the pipes under the house. Because of his dogged determination, the kitchen sink is working again and we'll be testing the washer today.

Before we had all the back up issues with the pipes, we were having trouble with one of our window units not cooling like it should. We believe it needs Freon (spelling?) but aren't sure how to put it in so we bought a stronger window unit.  But we didn't buy it until recently and working on those pipes with only one working ac in the house? Yeah, that was a definite trial. It's been hot and humid here, not that it's unusual for the weather to be that way in Louisiana.  I guess Murphy was working overtime for the pipes and the ac unit to go out at the same time. I'm just glad we're seeing a light at the end of the tunnel again.

While all this was going on, we were also having theater practice. My husband is loving the theater and I love that he loves it. :)  'A Flea In Her Ear' is now showing at the Crowley Rice Theater in Crowley, LA.  The cast consists of 14 wonderful actors and some really awesome set/costuming/back stage crew members.  We've made some more good friends and enjoyed our time with them.  But it's been adding to the hectic and chaotic whirl our life has been caught in and we are both ready for it to be done.  Thankfully, the production is going well and we are looking forward to tonight's show.

So in conclusion, I'm remembering to breathe and I'm starting to laugh again. Hope you guys, my faithful readers, will remember to laugh a lot today! Until next time...

A Sweet Smelling Treat!

As I was browsing through facebook this morning, I happened upon this super giveaway. They asked that folks share it so I'm sharing it on my blog. :)  If you love lavender, like me, then I know you'll be interested. Check it out here. And while you are at it, take a look at the awesome planner Home Educating Family Magazine has put together. I'm really looking forward to trying out this planner for my own home school needs.

Top 10 Reasons To Make Lists

It's been several weeks since my last blog post so I decided to do another top 10 in the hopes it will be a catalyst and get me blogging more often. We'll see, I suppose.

I hate making lists. I don't like the extra piece of paper that floats around my house. I don't like having to go on scavenger hunts to locate one of the many pens that are never around when I need them. It just seems like there is more hassle involved in making and keeping track of lists. But I have learned through the years that for all the hassle, a list can be quite the thing to keep me on track. I've also learned that it helps you see the light at the end of the Long Tunnel of Chores become a bit brighter and clearer as you check off items that get done or purchased. So here are my top 10 reasons to make lists. (I'm gearing up to make a massive grocery list today so I really need this, probably more than anyone else who's reading my blog today!) These are in no particular order. I'm just writing what comes into my head.

1. You can see clearly if you've forgotten anything while shopping. I don't know about the rest of you but I usually forget one really important item if I don't make a list. I never forget milk but I would probably forget the eggs or butter or maybe even my fish oil supplement. And I am the type of person that would forget my head if it was not attached to the rest of me.

2. Lists help you prioritize. In these tough economic times, it's very important for my family to prioritize what we put on our grocery list and on our wish lists. Do we really need that box of granola? Or can we get by without it? Should I get my new tattoo now? Or should I wait a few more months?

3. A list also helps you to see what you need in relation to what you have coupons for. I have my coupons in a nifty-difty accordion wallet. I never remember what coupons I have but if I used lists, I might actually remember to check that wallet more often and save myself a few dollars.

4. Crossing items off of a list, especially a to-do list, gives one a sense of satisfaction. Every time I cross an item off my to-do list, I feel a sense of relief, like a bit of a large burden has been lifted from my shoulders. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and reminds me that even when it doesn't seem like it, progress has indeed been made.

5. Lists can keep the peace. My husband and I decided to make lists to prioritize what we need to do, what we want to do and when we want those things to be accomplished. This helps us keep our needs and wants in perspective so we don't splurge on a ridiculous item and do have what we need to get necessary items. This effectively keeps the peace in our house, at least as far as money goes.

6. Lists help you see how far you've come. If you make a family list, like the one mentioned in number 5, this list will be kept for a while. As you go back to it to check off more items, you can see how far you've come in getting to all your goals. You can more easily see the path ahead as something you can definitely do because you've checked off all the other items that came before.

7. Order equals peace. I know I mentioned this in number 5 but even putting together a grocery list gives you a sense of peace that nothing will be forgotten while shopping that day. In this hectic hustle and bustle we call 'life', peace is sometimes hard to come by but it is so very important!

8. It's a great teaching tool for kids. Kids need to learn to make goals that are appropriate, reachable, doable. They can't do that without help and as their parent, it's part of my responsibility that I teach them how to make goals that are practical and how to effectively reach those goals.

9. Lists are very 'green'. You will find, if you stick to your list, that you will waste less time, money and effort when using that list. How many times have I wandered around the store thinking, "I know I needed something else but what is it?!" What a waste of time and effort! And how many times have I bought something frivolous simply because it was in front of my face? (I won't count those and you shouldn't try, either. You'd probably go cross-eyed.)

10. List making can be fun. I like to doodle. No one says your list has to be a boring bit of letters on a white strip of paper. Have fun with it! If you're teaching your young child to read, draw a milk carton or a glass of milk on your list and write the word 'milk' inside the picture. Kids love that kind of stuff and they love to help. When they smile, I smile too.

While some of my reasons may seem kooky to you, I need every one of them to make the lists I'm working on today. We happen to be at the bottom of the barrel and in need of whopping amounts of things. With that in mind, I will let you all get back to your day while I get started on that list-making. Hope you have a great one!
Laugh a lot!

Survival Skills Are Important

...And if you don't believe they are, just watch the news. If you live in the city and you've lived in the city all your life, then survival skills are /definitely/ something you need to acquire. Why city-folk and not country-folk? Well, folks that live in the country are used to making do with what they have. Many times, you have to reuse a part that needs fixing because you live too far away from town or it will take 2 weeks for the new part to come in once the parts store has ordered it. Most folks who live in the country farm, fish, or hunt and survival skills are important in all three of those occupations. What happens if you are in the woods hunting and you have an accident? What happens in you're in the middle of a big swampy area fishing and you have an accident? What happens if you're working in your garden and you get bitten by a poisonous snake? What do you do? Survival skills will get you through situations like this.

Now on an equally important note, you folks that live in the city have quick access to public servants (police, firefighters, EMTs). For those of us living in the country, well, let's just say it takes a little longer for help to arrive. What do we do in the interim? What happens if someone invades your home? What happens if a wild animal tries to devour your pet? Do you just stand there and hope help arrives to take care of your problem? What do you do? Survival skills will help you through situations such as these.

That's why I really appreciate resources like http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/ where I can find helpful hints that improve my chances of protecting my family from harm. I highly recommend that you check them out and see what helpful hints you can discover. They also have a blog, forum and store.

An Educational Site Gives Away an Awesome Freebie!

I know it's been a long while since I last posted here on my blog. However, I came across this great giveaway opportunity from Freely Educate. They're giving away a chemistry curriculum worth $100 and I wanted to pass it along to you, my readers. :) I hope you'll check out the Freely Educate website b/c they offer lots of free items to help and encourage our children to succeed in their educational journeys. You can find the giveaway details here.

The reason I am trying to get this particular giveaway is because our son will be studying chemistry very soon. I've been searching for a curriculum that is easy to understand and teach but challenging enough for the student to really stay interested in it.

For a little twist of subject, hope you all enjoy this Memorial Day weekend and if you haven't hugged, thanked, enjoyed time with a veteran yet, be sure to do so before the weekend is up. They gave so much for us to keep and enjoy our freedoms. They deserve our respect and they deserve honor.

Laugh a lot!

An Interesting Twist

My husband and I just celebrated 17 years together last weekend. We usually go out to eat or go out for coffee. This year, I wanted to do something a bit different. When my husband asked what I'd like to do to celebrate, I asked him if he'd like to just plan something and surprise me. That just made his day. :) He'd booked a cabin for two nights in South Louisiana. We only just recommitted to getting away more often, even if it's just a quiet drive down the backroads. In a way, I guess you could say that was our New Year's resolution, though we don't usually do that. Anyway, we were so excited about the trip. We planned everything out and got a sitter for both nights and all was in place. Until my husband started having trouble driving b/c of pain. I won't go into the details but we had to call the fellow that runs the cabin/camp and let him know we probably wouldn't make it. However, because it was short notice he still wanted to charge us the full price if he couldn't rent the cabin out. He was able to rent it out on the Friday night but not on the Saturday night. We still sent the kids to the sitters on Friday and took that day for shopping and dining. We came home tired but with some wonderful purchases. My contribution to our 17th Anniversary was for us to list 5 attributes we appreciated in each other. Then we had to list 5 things we would like to see happen, goals we'd like to achieve in our life together. Then we had to purchase small, inexpensive items that reminded us of those things. We put them together on a memory chain that we hang in our car so that we can see it often and remember those things we appreciate in each other and those goals we are working toward. Best part about it was that he told me my idea was a good one. :) So after we made the memory charm, we got a call from the sitter. One of our girls wasn't feeling too good. We ended up having to get the girls from the sitter. We decided if our daughter was feeling better in the morning, we'd all go to the cabin, anyway.

It was a good decision. Cajun Cabins was such a peaceful place. Everything was so beautifully kept, from the lawns, to every little detail in the cabin. Sitting by the bayou and watching the ducks swimming around was so calming. We were a little surprised to find we had to provide our own breakfast but all in all, we were satisfied with our stay.

When we left, we decided to take a different route home. I'm so glad we did! We got to take the girls to the Tobasco plant where all the Tobasco is made. The only sad thing was that the plant isn't working on Sunday. You can only view the factory at a standstill and watch the history lesson movie. But the girls really enjoyed it. We'll go back on a weekday sometime so they can see the Tobasco actually getting bottled.

We did get to view the Jungle Gardens of Avery Island and see the Buddha. It's still as beautiful as when I saw it all as a kid. When we do take the girls back, we'll also visit my favorite plantation home, Shadows on the Teche. I hope that some of you, my readers, will see something interesting here and decide to pass by sometime. ('Pass by' is what we sometimes say for 'visit' here in Louisiana.) There's a lot to see and do here!

And in conclusion, I thought I'd share a photo of the memory charm we made.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Laugh a lot!

Newest Completed Project

I know I posted some time ago that I would be making special costumes for my kids. This would've been back in September or October. My intent was to have them all made up for Christmas. Well, that didn't happen. LOL I did complete one for our oldest daughter's birthday, though. So here is the finished product. I'm happy to share these photos with my readers but please do not copy them in any way. These photos are my property and these photos are of my child. I hope you enjoy the post and the photos for the educational purpose for which they are intended.

San is one of the main characters from an animated film titled "Princess Mononoke". Her costume consists of a fur covered clay mask, a blue dress, a white slip-on top that goes over the blue dress, a pair of oversized oval-shaped shell or bone earrings, leather headband & armbands, a fur cloak with a string of teeth holding it together, a jewel dagger necklace, a pair of short moccasins, and some red face paint. Altogether, I'm not sure how much I spent to gather all the materials I needed to accomplish this but it took a long time to get them all. I would estimate that the entire cost was around $130 for the entire outfit, and considering the labor for this kind of job, you'd be looking at paying about $300 for a well done costume. That is, if you bought one from me. Um...don't ask. It's fun when it's for my kids who love it no matter what discrepancies exist therein. I'm not making stuff like this for anyone but close friends.

Materials:
blue fabric for dress-1 flat sheet-$6 (I had some left over from another project.)
White fabric for top-1 yd @ $3
Moccasins-$35 (her grandmother bought those for her)
Amethyst gemstone dagger pendant- $15
4 Shell 'Teeth'- $6/each
'Fur' fabric (fuzzy fleece)- 2 yds @ $6/yd
Shell ovals for earrings- 2 @ $1.50/ea
1 pr sensitive solutions post earring findings in gold- @ $4? I had these on hand.
Velvet ribbon for armbands- $1.50/spool
black elastic for headband- @ $3? I just had some on hand.
3 black buttons for arm/headbands- $1.50/card or so
3 bone beads for arm/headbands- $5/container or so. Depends on the size of the container.
1 pre-primed full face mask- $3 or so. Can't remember exactly.
Acrylic paint for mask- 3 colors @ $1-3 per container
Hemp cord for the dagger necklace and cloak tie- $2 or so
1 package twill tape-$3 or so
Single fold bias tape in white and blue-$3/each or so

It took about 3 or 4 days to put the whole thing together. I started with the furs since they were simply a very free hand cutout resembling animal furs. I just had to make sure they were wide and long enough to match the picture and fulfill their purpose. I simply edge stitched them with a very nice zig-zag pattern. I used a t-tunic that was already made up for her and a tank top to cut out the dress and top. I used the hemp cord to make the dagger necklace and the cloak tie. It was a bit difficult to find a long enough piece of the cord that would fit through the tiny holes in the shells I used for teeth. I suppose I could have tried reaming them but I'm a tad heavy-handed. For the mask, I removed the elastic that was to hold it on the head and used a hole punch to make holes all around the outer edge. Then I sewed the smaller fur around the edge of the mask using safety pins to secure it in place through the holes. I tacked it to some twill tape on the inside. That made the mask less likely to scratch my daughter's face or make her itch. Once the fur is sewn around the mask, there's no need for that elastic thread that comes with it. For the arm bands, I just cut lengths of ribbon/elastic the size I needed, found the middle of each, sewed a black button and a bone bead in the center of each.

I've also included a picture of the animated San for those who wish to compare. You should be able to copy and paste the link.
http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs28/i/2008/052/0/3/Princess_Mononoke___Wolf_by_Sonda.jpg

The mask should've been clay but that would've been heavy and would've required all kinds of patience I just don't have. I mixed some paints I had on hand to achieve colors pretty close to the original. I used a cordial glass to make the cirlces around the eye holes and I freehanded the white lines across the face. The earrings should've been shells that were solid and much larger but that would've just been too much for my daughter. Well, I hope you enjoy this post. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Laugh a lot!

A Wing and A Prayer, A Sigh and A Care

I'm just gonna jump right in today. My husband just called me to say gas prices went up. Now, normally that wouldn't warrant a whole text message, much less a call. I'm used to seeing the prices vary by week by about 2 or 3 cents. Aren't you? Well how about this whopper! Read it and weep. Gas prices went up a whole 26 cents. Yes. You did not read that incorrectly. Our gas prices rose 26 cents. With my husband having to drive 45 minutes or more to work every day and then again to get back home, this could be the beginning of the end for us. We just recently decided to opt out of the food stamp program b/c we felt we could perhaps make it on our own. Our own government is trying desperately to push us back into the system of handouts on a maybe. You heard correctly again! There isn't even a problem yet! They're raising prices on the /possibility/ of things going completely nuts. So our government is basically saying, "Let's stick it to the poor souls who still have jobs during this time of greater unemployment. Let's see how many more we can drive out of jobs because they can't make it in to work. Oh and while we're at it, let's continue to waste our own natural resources because the sky is blue." Yeah, folks, it makes about that much sense.

So somehow, I have to figure out a way for us to earn more income. We had to drop our dental coverage because it was costing us more than we spent in dental visits per year. You read /that/ right, too. It was a good policy but come on! Spending more to keep it than we did to use it was just a little upside down, if you ask me. Now we're going out of pocket on that but at the time, we thought we'd be able to take care of the normal visits on our own, albeit one person at a time. Oh, well, maybe I should just go to dental tech school. Back to the matter at hand, I guess I better go apply for my business license. I'll be putting stuff up on Etsy if I am able to get that license and I'll post here to notify folks when everything is a go. I might eventually put things up on Artfire if I make enough money through Etsy to cover the monthly fee for premium that Artfire charges. I really need to figure something out. I must. In this nasty economy we have, with a group of money-grubbers at the wheel who could care less about anyone but themselves, well, you have to ask yourself what is going to give next?

I'm so thankful we live in the country. I hope our garden does well this year. We're going to need those veggies. I refuse to pay $2 for second rate lettuce. And at Wal-mart, to boot! I am just so amazed that people will buy that nasty iceberg lettuce for that price. It's a sad day when iceburg lettuce costs more than romaine. Wow. Just wow. I really hope that my milk price doesn't go up. Otherwise, we will be buying a cow...or borrowing one. I won't be able to buy milk if the price goes up. And I can't risk the health of my children by buying second rate milk, either. So, what a conundrum!

So now we need to figure out how to spend money in the best way. The grocery items we purchase rarely, if ever, offer coupons. I've gotten to the point where a coupon being offered to me usually causes me to suspect the item of some kind of nefarious ingredient or chemical. So I'm watching instead for sales. Wal-mart is no longer a guarantee for the lowest price in town, though they still do the price-matching. And if they have a lower price on anything, it's usually for their clothing or for their brand of grocery items. I never shop for clothing at Wal-mart. I usually hit the outlet or bargain stores for that and only at the direst need. I can sew. :) I guess we'll be staying close to home and trimming our eating habits down to bare minimums. I wonder how many others will be having to do the same. You can pretty much bank on it that the politicians will not be among us. And for the record, I'm all about the billionaire who made his money legally being able to keep that money that he earned. He shouldn't have to pay for my kids to get their teeth cleaned. I just want us to have an opportunity to be able to hold a decent job that pays for what we need. I don't want a handout. I'd rather have the opportunity to succeed at something. But it looks like it's going to be very hard to even do that for now.

Remember to breathe.

The Ultra Super Fantastic Magnificently Marvelous Marble Dice Game

OK, so maybe all those wonderful words aren't necessary but the game is so simple and so easy to transform into something that works for your family that the words all apply. While probably not an original idea, I came up with it to help my youngest with counting and recognizing numbers in groups. We started out using only a handful of marbles and one die but we've expanded our game to include /lots/ of marbles and two dice so that the whole family can play.

Step 1: Gather as many marbles as you can find.

Step 2: Get at least one die. If you have tons of marbles, you're gonna need to have 2 or more dice...or a heck of a lot of people playing along.

Step 3: Youngest plays first (or you can roll a die to see who plays first). Roll the die/dice. Collect marbles in that amount and keep them in front of you. Play goes clockwise.

Step 4: Continue play around the circle until all the marbles are gone. The number on the die has to equal the number of marbles you take. If it doesn't (say you roll a 6 but there are only 2 marbles left) your turn is over and play passes to the next person until all the marbles are gone.

Step 5: When all the dice are gone, play continues clockwise around the circle. "How?" you may be asking. Play continues because you want to get rid of all the marbles you've collected. Roll the die/dice and replace that number back into the center of the play area.

Step 6: The game is finished when one person is out of marbles. That person to end up marble-less first is the winner!

We have one child who is so competitive that games are usually out of the question. She takes them way too seriously and ruins the fun for everyone. This game works well because the fun goes all throughout the game and you never know who is going to win until the game is over. It usually works out well for all of us...even the losers. ;)

I hope you enjoy this game! It's easy to modify it for any group of people. All you need is a little bit of imagination and enthusiasm. Happy game play!

P.S. DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN WHO STILL THINK EVERYTHING IS FOOD. MARBLES ARE NOT FOOD BUT THEY CAN HARDLY BE BLAMED FOR MISTAKING THEM FOR CANDY...

Laugh a Lot!

Yea! High Speeds Are Here Again!

Since I last visited my blog, many things have happened! My husband and I have stopped using Twitter, for one. And we also discovered that Twitter was a bit hungry. You might say it had a lot to do with our download usage getting eaten up so quickly. I'm hoping that now we will see a bit more high speed time than we were experiencing.

Another thing that happened is that my husband and I decided to take a little mini vacation. We went to Houston, TX to see a Flogging Molly concert at House of Blues with a good friend of ours. (He's the one who really got us into the band, though we had other good friends saying awesome things about them in previous years. So we're slow! LOL) Here's a great Flogging Molly tune if you are unfamiliar with the band. Flogging Molly has a website and is also on facebook (and probably on MySpace, though I don't know that for sure and suggest it for those wanting to check and see).

I don't think I'll be having anything but a salad next time I eat at House of Blues. For some reason, their food didn't really sit well. I can only hope our server didn't do something awful to it. *shudder to think*

The concert was fabulous! We got to see two pretty awesome bands we'd never even heard of: The Drowning Men (awesome, energetic and steampunk-ish) and Moneybrother (awesome, energetic and happy). You can see The Drowning Men here. Give the video time to get going. It's a pretty awesome concept. :) They also have a facebook page. You can find Moneybrother here. Please do not be offended by the song title. I happened to think it was quite imaginative. :) They were a great addition to the concert. Also, I have gained a bit of respect for people trying to photograph or film anything at a concert with 'standing only' floorspace in front of the stage.

Flogging Molly was simply amazing. We'd love to go again, in spite of John being nearly knocked out by a crowd surfer's boot and me getting a boot to the face by a different crowd surfer. I'm happy to say that most of the crowd surfers were well-behaved and went on back to their places like good little boys and girls. :) There was one guy (who must've been dared) who tried to jump up on the stage. (snicker) The security guy grabbed the back of his jacket and yanked him back down pretty quickly. Yea, Security Guy! He was our hero, btw. There were a couple of obnoxious drunken people but on the whole, it was a great experience for my first real concert. We met some awesome people and hung out with a few of the band members for just a few minutes before we decided our aching muscles and joints really needed to rest. LOL I told my husband I should get a medal for wearing heels and standing in them from at least 3:30 pm until 1:00 am or after. (The photo is similar to the ones I have but not exact.) I guess it helped that they were clog-type heels & had a bit of a platform. I'm thankful I had them. My cowboy boots would've been colder and had less traction and my tennis shoes would have offered zero protection from the stomping feet of the crowd. Pushing back an eager crowd is a difficult thing and would've been impossible in shoes without traction. Shoe shopping is in order before the next Flogging Molly concert. :D

We stayed at a really beautiful and comfortable bed & breakfast called Sarah's Bed & Breakfast Inn on the Boulevard. Here's their website b/c you just have to check them out! The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. When we walked up to the door, the manager opened it for us with a smile and chatted with us for a bit. He took us on a tour through the house and explained concerns about bad weather and the possibility of icy roads. He also helped us find a reputable taxi company. Our first taxi driver was extremely chatty and an interesting fellow. Our second taxi driver was bit more taciturn but both did the job well. I believe they were from Yellow Cab Company or something like that.

On our way back home, we stopped to eat lunch and visit with my sister & her husband. Unfortunately, he had to work but we still got to visit with my sister and speak briefly to him. It was an awesome shared lunch and we had a good visit. It's only a pity we didn't have more time. I did enjoy my mojito at Cafe Olé but I think my sister had the best meal of the three. She ordered the spinach & cheese fajitas...I think they were fajitas...and I have to say I'm definitely getting that the next time. My chalupas were good but they couldn't beat her meal. LOL

I tried out a new makeup style yesterday. Surprisingly, it worked well! John loved what I did when he got back home yesterday. :) It's nice to hear admiration from my husband and I never tire of it. :D It was inspired from checking out the history of burlesque and some old photos and vintage video footage. It was pretty interesting stuff! Too bad I didn't get a picture.

Well, I guess I'll stop here. These are the major points you should take from this blog post:
1) You're never to old to do something new, such as go to a concert.
2) You /can/ wear heels and stand for hours if you are completely filled with the sheer determination to do so. LOL
3) A bed & breakfast stay should be something you do at least once in your married life.
4) When you're getting tired of the same old, same old, Google & Bing can be pretty good resources for finding new and interesting things. Don't be afraid to try some of them. User discretion is advised, though... ;)

Please let me know if any of the links aren't working. With that, I'll say "Laugh a lot!" See you next time!

New Look, Fountain Lady, & Religious Intolerance

What a whirlwind! Since the last time I posted, I've come across several things that inspired & appalled me. How do I get these things out of my system? I blog!

First, I'm sure you've noticed the new layout. While not as varied & eclectic as I am, I'm hoping it will be much easier to read.

Next, let's talk a little bit about Fountain Lady. *eye roll* Basically, this woman did something TO HERSELF. It was HER BAD. Could she laugh it off? No. She must sue someone! It's people like her who clog the judicial system with petty upsets. Would I have loved the fact that someone plastered my faux pas worldwide through the internet? NO! But I wouldn't be stupid enough to /sue/ over MY OWN MISTAKE! That really does compound the utter ridiculousness of this poor woman's situation. Honestly, I had worse faux pas happen to me at school. I survived EVERY ONE of them. This woman must be sorely upset with her life in general to push something like this. It would've been much better for her if she could have reveled in her moment of hilarity and been happy things /weren't/ worse. Why should the security guards rush to help someone who was quite obviously not injured? Why should she sue them for her own mistake? Ah! The beauties of our broken system abound! PS If you haven't seen it through the much publicized news circuit, you can catch it on youtube...unless the powers that be remove it for trial purposes.

I'm tackling this religious intolerance issue last because I feel strongest about it. Throughout history there has always been religious intolerance in some form or other. The Jews were hated by all kinds of people (and, regrettably, this still goes on today). The Christians were hated by the Romans. Traditional Muslims seem to dislike anyone not of their religion. But is that so different from today's Christians saying, "Be careful who you befriend. People of other religions make cause you to stray from ours!" Granted, our (Christian) Scriptures are not interpreted in such a way that we believe we must kill those who believe differently... My discussion of this topic has a focus. I'm getting there. Although we tend to align ourselves with a belief that most encompasses our own individual beliefs/morals, people need to realize that all practitioners of any given religion may not agree with every little tenet of that religion they choose to embrace. It is so very wrong to judge one person by one aspect of his life. (Yes, I am not PC and embrace the age old practice of using he/him/his to represent humans in general.) This is like judging someone b/c of the clothes they wear or how much jewelry they have on, or what hairstyle/color they choose. This is like looking at a tattooed person and saying "Oh! He must a biker or an unbeliever!" Good grief, people! Get a life! There are so many more positive things you can do with your life than deride those you call Friend for the religion they choose to embrace! Wake up! If you call someone Friend, shouldn't you support them in the choices they make? Perhaps you can present your OPINION to them but shouldn't this be done in a friendly discussion with no pressure on them to /conform/ to your way of thinking?

Well, I've said my piece. I'm out.
Remember to breathe!

Perfection Is So Overrated

I haven't blogged in a while and recent life events have caused me to reflect on society's view of perfection, the wonderfully awesome post by Single Dad Laughing at http://www.danoah.com/ and how that was the start of a few interesting conversations around our house.


A few months back when Single Dad posted his great article about perfection/imperfection, it made such a great impact on me and my husband. We had a great conversation about it. At the time, we each shared some of the things that we considered to be our imperfections but not all was shared at that time. It took something major to bring out some of the other things. Now that those things have been aired, we can look at them and study them and tackle them together. I am really thankful to Single Dad for taking a great step forward and posting something that should've been posted a long time ago. I wish everyone would see the truth of it and the relief it can bring to just speak your imperfections and admit to imperfection. It's very freeing and it gives you an opportunity to 'change the things you can change' about yourself and give the rest over to God. Holding things in your heart, especially painful things, is very rough on the human soul. I wouldn't say trust everyone! No, not at all! But I would say find someone you can trust who will help you walk through those issues, struggles, imperfections and become a better person for your efforts.

On a different note about imperfections... I'm an artistic sort of person. I was always taught there are no straight lines in nature. I really, really like that. It means that when I look at something, the thing that catches my eye is the one thing that is different. For bugs and certain animals, this is quite a dreadful thing. On the other hand, those little differences are the things that make humans unique. I choose to revel in my differences and enjoy being the person I am. For too many years, I felt locked up in a box of 'You /are/ this. You are that. You are not this. You are not that." When the box was finally opened, there was a whole new world to explore right in front of me. Who was mostly responsible for helping me get out of the box? Well, that would be a combination of great folks but mostly my husband. His constant assurances of loving me as I am have helped me so very much. His encouragement for me to try new things has helped even more. My life is so much richer because he is in it and I thank God so very much for putting us together. Having said that, I'm not sure I've totally convinced him that I feel exactly the same way, that I love him just the way he is. His whole being is what makes him right for me, in my opinion. His smile brightens my day and when he's down and out, it troubles me.

My troubles start with laziness and serious cases of the 'I don't wannas'. They don't stop there but I won't go into my seriously long list of shortcomings. Suffice it to say I've made a conscious decision to strive towards doing much better in the year to come. My shortcomings are things that I /can/ change so I'm working to do just that, one step at a time. Working on hard things is much easier when two people tackle the job, even if one of those people is only there for conversation to lift the spirits. So pray for me as I start the new year with this determination, with this desire. I hope for good things in this new year, for me and for you all! Have a great one!