Summer Blog Challenge Days 15, 16, and 17

Day 15 **Post a Photo You Took That Are Proud Of**
Most of you have seen this photo since it used to be in my blog banner...but I love this picture of Booger.  It just shows off his personality!


Booger


Day 16 **Fitness Guru or Couch Potato**

I constantly fight with my weight.  I have never been a skinny girl.  When I was 33, I was told that I either needed to bring my cholesterol down or I was going to have to go on medication.  That woke me up.  I changed the way I ate and I began exercising...a lot of exercising.  I lost 80 pounds.

The problem is that I learned that I really don't mind exercise.  In fact, I really do feel better if I exercise.  However, I really like to eat.  So, I've gained back 40 pounds.  While I can blame some of the issues with weight on my lazy ovaries (I have a raging case of PCOS--polycystic ovarian syndrome), I really can't blame my ovaries for my bad food decisions.

I'm working on the weight thing more intensively again...we'll see how it goes.

Day 17 **Three Things You Are Proud of About Your Personality**

• I'm strong-willed
• I don't give in to pressure...I don't take "crap" off anybody.  That can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing.
• I think I have a good sense of humor.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend, and take care of you!

Summer Blog Challenge Day #14

** Give Your Followers 15 Tips to Get Through Life **

I have a hard time with this because I don't like to "give advice."  So I will give you some quotes I have pinned to Pinterest...and a few "tips" that you can do with what you like.

1)  I end each of my blogs with the best piece of advice I ever received:  Take care of YOU.  That can mean different things to different people.  I know that if I'm not taking care of my needs, I am not truly available to anyone else.

2)  When someone is hurting, give support, give hugs, tell them you love them, tell them you are sorry...but please don't preach, give woulda-coulda-shouldas, or say how you think the person should be handling the situation.  You are not them.  Each person handles grief and pain differently.  Don't add to their pain by trying to be "too helpful."

2) "The soul always knows what to do to heal itself; The challenge is to silence the mind."  --Caroline Myss

3)  "When something bad happens, you have three choices.  You can either let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you."  You always have the choice.

4)  "Enjoy the little things in life...for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things."  --Robert Brauit (sp?)

5)  "Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate."  --unknown--  I happen to be a proponent of gun ownership.  My stance is that people who legally own guns are rarely the people who are using guns for crime....notice that there have not been any mass shootings at a gun range...just saying...Gun ownership is a right that I don't want to be taken away.  Even Ghandi said, " Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest."  I want to keep the right to defend myself.

6)  "You are always stronger than you think that you are."  --unknown

7)  "Do what you feel in your heart to be right--for you'll be criticized anyway."  --Eleanor Roosevelt (queen of awesome quotes!)

8)  "Nothing is impossible...even the very word itself tells you I'm Possible."  --Audrey Hepburn  (amazing woman!)

9)  Love what you have.  "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not, but remember that what you now have was once among the things only hoped for."  --unknown  I take this as a big old reminder to 'live within your means.'

10)  "Forget mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it."  --William Durant

11)  "Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder." Thoreau

12)  “You will lose someone you can’t live without,and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”

― Anne Lamott

13)  "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."  --Eleanor Roosevelt


14)  "Don't join the book burners. Do not think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed. " --Dwight D. Eisenhower--  I have always been disturbed by "censorship."  It's so anti-American!!  I am even more disturbed now that I work in a public library and deal with censorship on a daily basis.  Many people will bring material to us and say, "This needs to be removed from the library...it's obscene/has foul language/is grotesque/etc."  My thought is this--If you don't like the book/music/movie/magazine/etc., then don't read/watch/listen to it!  I don't mind a book with occasional graphic sex, but I absolutely cannot handle graphic violence...so I just don't read many popular authors like James Patterson, J D Robb, Stephen King, Alex Kava, etc.  If I start reading a book and I am offended (or bored)...I stop reading it.  I'm a big girl...I can make those kind of decisions for myself.  As for the children and teens...the parents need to make sure they are reading age appropriate materials.  I do think that the bigger the stink that is raised about any book (for example: Fifty Shades of Grey--"you shouldn't have it in the library" -- "it should be kept behind the counter!"  etc.) the more likely people will read just to prove that they can or just to see what all the hub-bub is about.  Thank you for tolerating my second soapbox of the day! ; )

15)  “In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.”   ― Robert Frost   [TRUTH]


This is what my mom's dog, Buster, thinks of my long-winded advice.

Well, that's what I came up with...maybe it will spark something positive in you today.  Remember to take care of you!

Summer Blog Challenge #13

** How do you see yourself by the end of the year **

I don't anticipate any huge changes for me...I'm happy with my marriage, my job, my home...so I plan to just keep truckin' along...livin' the good life in Nebraska.

Pretty boring, but that is the way I like it!



Boredom...

 Take care of you!!

An oldie, but a goodie!

THE COMPLETE BOOK OF SMALL-BATCH PRESERVING by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard is in its third revised/expanded edition.  It was updated last in 2007.  It's one of the few books I purchased after borrowing it from the library.  It has over 300 recipes designed for year-round preserving...it is awesome.

This book gives each recipe in US measurements and metric measurements...always nice for those of you who understand the metric system. 
 
I have made the jalapeno jelly from this book.  I personally think that jalapeno jelly is YUCKY, but my husband and his buddies seem to really enjoy jalapeno jelly over cream cheese on crackers.  Whatever floats their boats.

I wanted to make something new, though.  So...I found super cheap blackberries when I was at the store.  Maybe someone accidentally ordered too many??  Somebody put the wrong price down??  I just grabbed and dashed to the checkout, giddy with my find...

For less than $4, I made a cute little batch of blackberry jam.  I didn't find many blackberry-specific recipes in any book, so I used the raspberry jam recipe from THE COMPLETE BOOK OF SMALL-BATCH PRESERVING.  It worked great.  It was supposed to make 4 cups (or 4 - 1/2 pint jars.)  I put them in 1/4 pint jars, and I got 10 - 1/4 pints (or 5 - 1/2 pint jars.)

Isn't the color beautiful?

If I'm smart and hold onto several jars of different types of jelly, jams, and preserves, these make great gift baskets at Christmas.  An inexpensive basket from a thrift shop, some cute material, an assortment of home-canned goods, and a box of crackers or scones...trust me...that is a gift that is appreciated.  Of course, if you are like me, you've given away anything you didn't eat yourself long before Christmas rolls around.  Oh, well. 

Have a great week, and take care of you!

Summer Blog Challenge Day #12

** Worst Injury You've Had and How You Got It **

Last summer I decided that I really wanted to become a roller derby girl.  I found out they were starting a team in a nearby town.  I have a lot of pent up aggression, and I am always looking for ways to *TRY* to stay in shape.  So I did some research and purchased a roller derby rookie package...for only $400, I got speed skates, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, a mouth guard, and a helmet.

I got home from work on Monday, August 1, around 7:30 pm.  Trevor told me I had received my stuff.  I was so excited.  I pulled everything out, put on the skates, and immediately headed out to the deck to make sure the skates fit.  The skates fit fine, but my klutziness reared it's ugly head.  About the fourth time across the deck, I totally lost my balance.  Trevor (who was just coming through the gate into the yard) said that my feet actually went above my head.  I awkwardly landed with all my weight and momentum on my left hand; My left had was behind me...Holy Cow!!!  Holding my left wrist tightly, I squeezed my eyes shut and said, "Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow..." etc.  It hurt so bad I couldn't even swear.

Trevor ran over, "Are you okay?"

"No, I think I'm going to lay down."

At this point, he shoved my head forward.  "You are not passing out on me!"

Trevor's usual response to pain (his or anyone else's) is to giggle like a little girl.  He starts giggling, untying the skates, calling Jane and Denny (neighbors) to "watch" me while he rounds up the keys and my shoes.  At this point he says, "Do you think you broke it?"

"It's broken."

" Maybe you just sprained it..." 

"It's broken."

"Let me see it."

As my face split and fire spewed from my eyeballs, an evil "NO!  Don't touch me!" came out.

Apparently I was quite white because Jane kept asking me if I needed to throw up.  My Shiloh Dog was freaking out...he knew Mama was hurt.  He tried to bite Trevor; he must have thought Trevor hurt me.

Anyway, within ten minutes of putting on my fabulous new skates, I was on my way to the emergency room.  Two hours later I was on my way home with a temporary cast and some really good drugs.  I broke both bones in my wrist.  Three days later I got a permanent cast (purple) that I got to wear for six weeks.  Then I had two months of physical therapy because nothing works right after your wrist has been immobile for six weeks.  The tip of the bone above my pinkie finger (styloid process) never reattached, so there was talk of surgery...which was decided against.  Thank Goodness!

Now for KARMA--
My sister-in-law teased me about breaking my wrist and about how I broke my wrist, so she decided to go to a Halloween Party at a bar as a roller derby girl (with both my nieces).  I warned her not to put on the skates...but she put them on close to midnight.  She fell just like I did...broke the same bones...only she broke her right wrist...and she had to have surgery right away...don't make fun of the injured!  ; )

Since I had "worn the skates," I was unable to return them or any of the other stuff.  So, I sold it all to a girl who was joining the roller derby team...for $150.  So the whole experience cost me around $1350 (after I "recouped" my $150 from the sale of my rookie package."  Yep.  Good Times.

Moral of the story:  They include safety equipment for a reason...USE IT...

Have a great day, and take care of you!

Read about others misfortunes...on the blog hop

Summer Blog Challenge Day #11

Best Day of Your Life

I have been contemplating what to write about for this post ever since I saw it on the blog challenge list.  At the risk of being much more morose than intended, here is what I consider the best day of my life...so far.

On a rare, perfect April day in Nebraska, free of wind and with a perfect temperature, my father-in-law, Howard, my husband, Trevor, and I headed to a nearby lake.  The middle of the week in April meant that we were the only ones on the lake.  I had taken a day off from my super-stressful job.  Trevor had taken the day off to spend with me.  Howard had tagged along because we don't get to go fishing without him! 

After fishing for a while, I decided to pull in my lines and just lay down in the front of the boat.  I didn't feel quite like myself, so I was just going to lay down in the sunshine and meditate.  I thought about the last few years, about the people I had lost, my Grandma, and Step-Grandpa, Trevor's various aunts and uncles...it had been a tough couple of years.  As usual, I kind of talked to my Grandma in my head.  I told her that I finally felt like I was going to be okay...without her. 

I also thought about what the doctor had told Trev and I about our inability to get pregnant.  He wanted me to go to a specialist in Omaha; but that was not in our modest budget.  Every three months I had to go into the doctor (if I hadn't had a period) to have a pregnancy test and, when they knew for sure I wasn't pregnant, they would give me medicine to force a period and start the process all over again.  What fun! 

I knew it was about time to go in again, and that always made me a bit poopy.  However, as I laid there thinking that I really should not be feeling nauseous on a boat that wasn't even rocking...the lakes like glass...I suddenly realized something.  I was nauseous; I had been super tired lately; my boobs hurt...Oh my goodness!  I knew!  I knew I was pregnant!

Even though I knew I was prego, I didn't want to get Trevor's hopes up without proof...so I just laid there on the boat deck, smiling, soaking up the sun and the peace and the happiness.  I dreamed about our little boy who would be ornery and naughty and smart just like Trevor...I just  knew it was a boy.  I took in the wonder, the responsibility, the joy that comes to you when you realize you are going to be a parent. 

That whole day was wonderful!  Life was perfect.

As the next few months train-wrecked around Trevor and I, I often looked back to this wonderful day.  I think you need days like that to bolster you for the bad times.  In June, a friend of ours fell to her death while at work.  In July, two co-workers I was particularly close to me had major losses...One lost her sister to anorexia; Another was in a traffic accident with her whole family.  Her 16 year old daughter was killed; her young son had major head trauma.  Then on August 31, my baby boy, Hank, was still born.  As if that wasn't horrible enough, September saw a 25-year old young man who worked for Trevor killed in another car wreck. 

It was quite honestly a terrible summer.  Tragedy really does make you appreciate the simple, perfect days all that much more.

Too morose? 

Have a great day, and take care of you!

Summer Blog Challenge Days 9 and 10

Day 9 - Your Worst Cooking Disaster

I asked Trevor what he considered my "worst cooking disaster;"  he immediately said "that awful beef stroganoff!" 

I said, "You think the stroganoff was worse than the 'chicken noodle incident'?" 

He said, "Oh yeah...the chicken noodles were much worse." 

I said, "I'll write about the chicken noodles and crock pot, then."

"I thought you meant the chicken noodles where Lola ate all of the bones."  he quipped.

Boy, I have a lot of disasters!!  I'll write about both of the chicken noodle incidents...you can decide which was worse.  First of all, I should explain that I make excellent comfort food in the form of chicken noodles.  This is not soup; it is a thick chicken, homemade (or frozen) egg noodle, and corn concoction that you then pile on top of mashed potatoes.  In Nebraska, this is comfort. 

Many people buy a rotisserie chicken, but I would rather start from scratch.  So I put a whole chicken in a crock pot, spice it up, and let it cook for about four hours.  When it cools a bit, I pick the chicken off the bones, throw the bones away (unless I need to make some broth), and proceed with the recipe.

Incident #1 - Lola on a Saturday afternoon

I had picked the carcass clean and thrown away the bones.  I thought, "I better take that out right away so no body gets any stupid ideas about eating chicken bones."  At about that time, Trevor got home from work and wanted me to go with him to the bank...meaning we didn't have much time...we just needed to go...

When we got home, we walked into puppy disaster.  Shiloh didn't have any grease on him...he slept through the whole thing on his rug in the bathroom.  Booger's face was so greasy he looked like he'd used hair oil to grease back his entire head.  And then there was Lola...super greasy as well. 

Here's the thing...Lola INHALES her food--her Indian name is HOOVER.  She always eats like she's been starved for years.  So we assumed she had probably eaten the bulk of the bones...seeing as there were NO bones left.  I pretty much figured Booger got the hair gel look from repeatedly going into the garbage can looking for goodies that Lola had already swiped and eaten.

While Lola hung her head as though she knew she was in trouble, she couldn't stop her tail from wagging.  Her mood was "Doggie Glee!"  Our mood was, "I hope it doesn't kill the stupid dog."

She was okay that night, so we thought we had made it through.  Then on Sunday around noon she started barfing and puking and chucking...you get the picture...By 2 pm, on SUNDAY, Trevor decided we were going to have to call the ER Vet.  Oh, goodie!  It's $100 just to have a vet look at her on Sunday.  We took her in and found out that she was one very sick pup.  She had to stay at the vet for two nights and three days.  What did she have to have done?

• x-rays each day to make sure nothing was stuck where it shouldn't be
• IV fluids and medicines
• Some high-dollar stuff that "gels" to the  chicken bones so that they can move through the intestines without tearing the intestinal tract

So, my $2.91 chicken I had thought was such a bargain ended up costing us $519.00...for me, that equals a house payment!  Holy cow...er, chicken!

Incident #2 -- Just Trying to be Nice

The very next time I decided to make chicken noodles, incident #2 occurred.  My good friend and neighbor, Jane, had her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren (who live out of state) at her house unexpectedly because her son-in-law's father had passed away.  They were all taking care of all the business that goes with that situation, so I told her I would bring them dinner. 

Comfort Food = Chicken Noodles

By now we had a covered garbage can, so Lola was not going to get to the spoils of the day.  I had everything made up and ready to go, but the noodles were not cooking as fast as I wanted.  I had left everything in the crock pot to cook so that I could just take it over to them, and they could eat whenever they were ready.  Usually I cook everything on the stove...apparently the crock pot just couldn't put out enough heat.

My brilliant idea was to just put the crock pot pan on the stove top.  That should work...it's not like the crock pot pan is not made for heat!  Well....

This was one of those ceramic crock pots, and I found out rather spectacularly that it is NOT made for stove top cooking.  I was stirring the chicken noodles, and CRACK!  It sounded like a gun shot.  All of the sudden I had chicken noodle juice going all over the top of the stove. 

Aargh!  I lifted up the pan, and only the sides came up.  Chicken noodles went EVERYWHERE...all over the top of the stove, down the side of the stove, inside the slots in the oven door.  Dogs were all around me trying to get the bounty.  I screamed for Trevor to come help me get the dogs out of the kitchen (he was outside.)  He came running in, took in the mass chaos, and brilliantly yelled, "What the hell happened in here?!?"

By now, I had turned off the burner, taken the side of the pan over to the sink, together we got the dogs locked out of the kitchen, I'd told Trevor what had happened, burst into tears, and my normally perfect husband said, "Didn't you use your brain at all?" 

Now I was pissed off...do NOT question my intelligence in the kitchen!  It took us quite a while to clean up the mess...mostly in glaring silence...Under my breath, I very snottily said, "I did use my brain...I was trying to get things ready for Jane."  And you know what he did?  He laughed...loudly...It took me a few days to get over the incident.  I told him mom about what he said...I told Jane and her daughter what he said...I told any woman who would listen what he said...Grr.

I took the mashed potatoes over to Jane and told her the whole story.  Her daughter Amy said she'd actually broken two crock pots like that.  Jane said she wouldn't think that you couldn't put the pot on the cook stove.  I felt marginally better.

I offered to buy them pizzas to go with their mashed potatoes, but they actually had a whole ham.  It all worked out just fine in the end.

Which incident do you think was the worst?

Day 10 -- Cost aside, what famous piece of artwork would you have in your home?

I'm not really into "fine art" but I love military recruiting posters from World War I and II.  I'd probably take an original lithograph of one of those.

Have a great Sunday, and take care of you!