A Day In The Life Of Me

Happy Birthday Rerun!

2011-03-06T15:00:00.002-05:00

my little man is 9 years old this week! I just finished making rigatoni for his birthday dinner thanks to his daddy for making the sauce!

Gotta go wrap the cloths from my mom and pack up the car to head to my in laws for the party!

Pics soon. Maybe, if I remember.

What was lost is now found

2011-02-24T20:52:00.002-05:00

Little man's glasses have been MIA for about 2 months now. Stopped in to the school today to drop off his costume for the wax museum and the secretary asked if we ever found his glasses. She then said, we have 2 here, is either of these his?? YES!!!!! So we now have his glasses back and I wrote his name on them just to make sure we don't lose them like that again!

the light at the end of the Silver Journey!!

2011-02-24T20:51:00.001-05:00

Finally AJ is seeing the light at the end of this very long journey to completing her Silver.

She started on the path with the old requirements, halfway through the Journey requirements came out and in our council we were told since she hadn’t started the Silver project itself she had to follow the new requirements. Thankfully we had already been working on the Amaze Journey so it wasn’t too much of a gear switch.

She then decided to do her Silver project on Astronomy. She was going to plan/run/teach astronomy to younger Girl Scouts. Then she found out that it couldn’t be for Girl Scouts; ok, she’ll do it for Cub Scouts, but that got shot down too. So she pitched the idea to the principal at her old elementary school and they loved the idea!

At that point she’d spent over 40 prep hours on this project. By October 2010 the school came back and said no to the club idea but yes to teaching during school over her spring break (different from theirs) for all the 5^th graders.

Today was another meeting with the principal and another bump in the road but she took it in stride! They realized that the week that she was going to come in and teach was the OAA prep week (state testing) so she’s back to an after school club for grades 4-6. She’s still doing the same program she planned for during the school day but will be doing it after school with the StarLab coming in on Friday all day for her to teach children grades K-6.

Now all we have to do is finish the paperwork after this week is completed and turn it in for her to get her pin!!

MIA

2011-02-10T14:31:00.002-05:00

Ya that's me. MIA. This blog has been MIA for just over 3 months... my other one it's been almost a year!

Lots to talk about, nothing to say though.

Keeping busy with the kids and scouts. Working hard for next to nothing.

Jer and I get to go out to dinner about 2 weeks ago. First time in almost a year we've gone out without anyone else, no other couples, no kids, no anything. It was nice. It was really nice.

Now he's busting his butt at work while I attend GS meetings about troops, council programs and day camp. I love the fact that he only complains once a month about the fact that I spend more time volunteering with our kids then making money for us to eat on. Yes that is a real compliment, not a backhanded one. I really do love the fact that he only complains once a month, I know other men may complain more (most do from what I hear).

Report cards came in this week. The girls are straight A's. The little man is going to get a swift kick in the butt if he doesn't start doing a little better. Yes he has A's and B's but it's the N's that I have issue with. The kid needs to get his homework brought home so he can do it, and start listening in class.

Oh the joys of parenthood.

Recent Discovers

2010-11-28T17:52:00.002-05:00

I've recently cut out all dairy from my diet. No small feat with the amount of milk that is consumed in my house! On a good note - I'm not gassy, bloated, or running the the bathroom within an hour after eating any more. And I'm not up 3 times a night either! The real downside has been finding food that I can eat.

No going out for coffee and doughnuts.

No cream in your coffee when you go out either!

No eating at the church buffets because nobody cooks without some dairy in the food

No hotdogs

No cheeseburgers

No really good food from Olive Garden or Red Lobster (I get to go there once a year and now even that isn't fun!)

No turkey on Thanksgiving

No blue cheese dressing

But I really can't argue with the good side, I do feel better. I am eating healthy, still getting lots of calcium and such. Just more home cooking then anything else.

its official!

2010-09-29T11:54:00.002-04:00

We've officially become the fryers in the family! We've been frying up chicken, cheese, hush puppies and corn dogs all to the rest of the families delite! I use to love fried foods, now... not so much. We did about 75 cheese sticks on Sunday and froze about 25 for later frying. My waistline can't take much more...

2010-09-04T19:14:00.006-04:00

Its been a few months.... feels like years but anyway... I just had to talk about what I'm cooking this weekend.

We did a fish fry a few weeks ago and it got me thinking... how do you fry mozzarella??? So I checked a few sites and tried my hand at it.... What do you think?

This is all that made it to the plate for pictures, the kids snagged them all before I could even plate them!

But that was last night.... Tonight it's ratatouille. Basic recipe with Herbs de Provence.

Can't get a good picture at the moment, still cooking. I'm planning on serving this over a baked potato. I know not the traditional way but then... I'm not traditional. So on to the recipe....

eggplant

zucchini

yellow squash

cherry tomatoes

olive oil

Herbs de Provence

salt and pepper

Cut everything to bite size pieces and place in mixing bowl.

Add olive oil (I didn't measure just went twice around the bowl)

Add all the seasonings (again, no measuring, just till it looked good)

Toss all until everything is well coated

Spread out onto a cookie sheet in a single layer

Bake/roast uncovered at 400 for about 40 minutes, stirring once

No for me, I'm planning on making baked potatoes for dinner for the kids, so I'll be having this on to of my potato in place of my normal toppings.

I'll let you know how it tastes!

Gotta love Mondays

2010-05-17T08:31:00.002-04:00

Ok, A is home sick, I called off work. Now to get laundry done, kitchen cleaned, and try to find the bathroom. Can I do it? Nope! Instead I'm going to type.
Little lady hit the ball yesterday and made it to first base! Then stole 2nd and 3rd before getting out at home.
Rerun has still not hit the ball. Really need to practice with him.
A finished up track but will miss the all city meet since they rescheduled it twice and now its on a day she can't make.
Little lady and Rerun both have a music concert tomorrow. Now to remember to record it for their daddy.
Mom's hubby is in the nursing home, not sure if he's going to be coming home or not. Last I heard he wasn't able to walk and since there are stairs at their house, he has to stay put.
Me... busy as ever. Can't think of what to write so maybe I will go and do the housework, or read, can't decide.

What a day

2010-03-20T15:32:00.002-04:00

now I remember why I don't ready everyone's posts, either here in blogland or on facebook. I really do have a hard time with other people's problems.
You're having a hard day? I feel your pain and wish there was some way I can help
You're mad at me for what I said or did? I want nothing more then to fix it and make you love me again
You're hurting and crying and scared? I want to jump in my car or on a plane and hold you till you feel better
But I can't. I can't do any of those things, I'm stuck here taking care of my family, raising my kids, and living as best as I can. Reading others posts makes me realize just how great I have it, which only depresses me and makes me wish I could help you have a great life too.

Today I drove Jess to Rainbow to see her doc. Seeing her coughing and hurting, I just wanted to yell at the doc to fix her. But he can't, nobody can. CF sucks.

I read my sister's latest blog post. I want to hold her and tell her that its all ok, but I can't. Life is such that we don't see each other but once a year if we are lucky.

Damn it, I hate it when I get this way. Life sucks sometimes.... Now to put on the happy face, go to work and smile.

First RVDC meeting of the year

2010-03-10T06:53:00.002-05:00

Last night we got the 4 incharge ladies together for an hour meeting that lasted 2. It was GREAT! We talked about craft ideas, program ideas, cache placements, unit placements and all sorts of other stuff!

No tie-dye this year, but duct tape has returned, bigger and better then ever!
Each unit will be getting about a 1/2 day of geocaching experience, maybe more if I can find some more scouting geocachers that want to help.
I'm checking on the Oberline heritage center for our field trip, underground railroad should be interesting this year
We are going to talk to the metro parks about bringing Ohio Mammals this year

Next meeting is in a month, hope to have it all nailed down by there.

Ugh!

2010-03-04T07:21:00.003-05:00

Library didn't open until noon! Didn't make it yesterday, won't make it today either.

On a good note the cookies are IN!!! Anyone interested in Girl Scout cookies??

Girl Scout troop 17

2010-03-03T07:10:00.002-05:00

I have decided to go in search of old GS information from my troop 17 years. I searched 3 months worth of film yesterday, talk about a dizzying event! Then found a simpler way and found that we had done a paper and can recycle event in Sept. of 1984, the only thing regarding our troop that made it into the archives for the Chronicle Telegram. :(
So, today I'm going to go to the North Ridgeville library in hopes that they have the Press and Light on film there and see what I can find.

I did find a really neat binder of Girl Scout history for Lorain county that someone had put together for the Elyria library. Really neat stuff!

Here's hoping that I have better luck today!

Cooking classes and menu ideas

2010-02-01T18:08:00.003-05:00

We're starting a cooking group at the church. Once a month, freeze the meal cooking. We're starting with 5 meals, all chicken. No real side dishes or veggies just the main dish. We'll see how it goes. It got me thinking, all these sites tote $100/week for a family of 4. Well I have a family of 5, with big appitites. Can it really be done?? Well all of January was only $350.93, and that included going out to eat. Now most Sunday dinners are at my in-laws so that's 1 less dinner. Lunches for me are leftovers, for the kids its PBJ or lunchmeat. Jer will buy lunchmeat or soup and keep it at the office for the week. So having seen this, I'd say that yes we can do 6 dinners, breakfast and lunch all for under an average of $400 per month.
Now to see if we can stick to it. I haven't done any shopping for this weeks meals so I'll start with tonight's shopping and see what happens.

Girl Scout movie day

2009-12-27T14:15:00.002-05:00

Today we (the girls and I) went to see The Princess and the Frog with other scouts in our service unit. At $5 per person, including popcorn and drink, its a price you can't beat. The movie was great and we all agree that we would definately go and see it again, in fact I want to find the soundtrack!! I love New Orleans music. It was great to see so many of our girls at the movie too, I just wish I had gotten more of the older troop there, they really would have liked it. Oh well, what can you do with 7-9 graders.

Christmas is gone... now to relax for a few days

2009-12-27T14:11:00.002-05:00

Ya right, who am I kidding, I don't relax!

Christmas this year was really fun. The kids got the stuff the asked for, I get a new coffee pot (single cup style) and Jman got to play poker twice.

The biggest thing though was the fact that we got a used PS3 and the kids used their giftcards to get a guitar and GH world tour game. I think we've only had about 6 hours of silent since they went shopping yesterday they love the game so much!

Me, I love the new coffee pot. It may be 50 cents a cup but the coffee is better then at a shop and I don't have to drive anywhere.

Another great weekend at camp

2009-11-03T08:44:00.002-05:00

We just finished another great weekend at Camp Timberlane. We had our service unit campout last weekend and it was perfect weather!! No real rain during the day. The clouds waited until about midnight both nights so we could use the observatory. We had a nearly full moon for the night hikes. Oh and did I mention that the food was great?!

So I was in charge of the observatory and I helped out at archery. The latter I won't comment on, but the observatory???? WOW!! We looked at Jupiter and 4 of its moons, Andromeda (M31), a planetary nebula (M15), Lagoon Nebula (M8), and others that I tried and couldn’t get to look good. Totally forgot M57, M44 but that's what I get for not remembering my star chart and going by memory!

Nothing to report

2009-09-17T07:38:00.001-04:00

Life has been nothing if not busy since our return.

caching in Germany

2009-08-02T11:00:00.002-04:00

Well I'm trying to get this cache that's by my sister's house. Its a multi cache which means it has many steps to getting to the final cache.

This is the link to the cache, http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=5d9e14e8-de16-4e51-b5c7-71ddf8511c5f goes by the name of Dülmen Bahnof.

Here are some of the pictures from walking around the station... Opps don't have those loaded yet. Be back soon.

why do people think stupid?

2009-08-01T09:49:00.002-04:00

I haven't seen J in 4 weeks. I will be getting home to stay overnight at a friend's house, then off to the condo in Destin where this same friend and his family will join us the next day for the WHOLE week. I get less the 24 hours of being with Jman before I have to share him not just with the rest of his family, but now with his friend and their family, all in 1 condo!! 9 people, 600 square feet of living space, 7 days. After living with Ali and family for a month I was looking forward to some space with Jman and the kids alone. Now all I want to do when I get to the states is drive straight to Ohio and forget about the Florida stay!

UGH!!!

night time sucks

2009-07-30T16:39:00.002-04:00

I hate it at night.

I remember that he's 4000 miles away.

How do people handle longdistance relationships?

Sad to say he doesn't seem to feel the same way.

Missing You

2009-07-30T12:44:00.000-04:00

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/saraevans/noplacethatfar.html

Yep I'm stuck there.

To the ZOO! To the ZOO!

2009-07-28T04:16:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was the big zoo trip.

Lots to see and do, of course the kids liked the playgrounds the best!

My favorite part.. ok one of my favorite parts was that we not only got to see the elephants (the ones at the Cleveland Zoo are gone for the next 2 years), we got to FEED them. Totally cool and awsome and neat and... well you get the idea.

Yes that is my little lady there giving an elephant a bit of apple and petting it's trunk.

Did you notice that there is no cage or fencing here? These are free birds! Totally cool concept!

OMG I am such a nut!

2009-07-23T06:22:00.002-04:00

it starts with me telling Ali that we need to start planning a weekly menu so that we can actually know what we're going to eat instead of flying by the seats of our pants. Yes me the planning queen of the family, the organizational guru of the county was finally done with this laid back style of household life. I just couldn't take it anymore.... So what did I do you ask... We I started by looking at what was in the freezer and the food pantry. Then I look at the little frig and fresh produce. I come up with a somewhat good idea of what we can do. Now I look at Ali and ask what she thinks.... I'm not cooking tonight so it's whatever you and A-man want to do.... OK switch gears.... How about pizza tonight.... We have to use up the apples.... pie? No... Homemade applesauce? Yes... now to find the recipe.

She's got lots of great stuff in the freezer and pantry but since I can't make heads or tails of most of the German language I can't really make a full plan here..... OK, give this idea up for now... We'll just continue to work on a day to day basis.... Oh all right my heart just isn't into it since I know I have the menu and recipes at home and I'm willing to just wait for J-man to email them to me!

On to organizing.... I've been doing this little by little every day really. Of course it's right back to the way it was about 5 minutes later with all the kids running around. At least we've gotten to the point that the boys will clean up their toys before going to something else. On a good note I've been able to make my bed each day since there's never anyone else sleeping in it by the time I'm up and dressed in the morning. I even keep the cloths put away and such.... even with all little man's legos everywhere. I do have the boys keeping their room clean too with them even putting the toys into the right bins, something that little man is still learning at home.

Museum fun and games... and fun

2009-07-21T20:06:00.005-04:00

Pics from the museum visit.

The kids had a great time looking at all the different stuff from the wall of bugs to the time line style of skulls. Me.... I liked the hall of cats and the space stuff. My nephew couldn't get enough of the dinosaurs and little man loved everything, had to keep telling him not to run.

Has it really been a week already?

2009-07-21T19:42:00.004-04:00

It seems like time just isn't the same here. Maybe it's because the sun is up from 5am to 10pm and that doesn't include dusk or dawn... Maybe it's because there's just nothing that I have to do... I can just relax and go with the flow, no running for scouts or work.

In any case it's been great. We went raspberry picking and had a wonderful pie that Alice made from it. We went to the Natural History Museum and saw lots. We went to a local castle and had fun playing with all the stuff.

There there's this...

Doesn't she just look so bored? That was the complant that the kids gave when they weren't doing something every single second. So we let them paint the window one day. (Thus the weird stuff on the window) and have a water fight with the hose another day.

Have fun storming the castle

2009-07-19T19:50:00.000-04:00

I just had to say that.

Here are some pics from the castle visit.

day one all done

2009-07-11T23:53:00.003-04:00

sun's coming up now. been in Germany just under 24 hours. Got off the plane and got the visas, nice and easy. Got the bags, little harder, got to the car and off to Ali's. Nothing much to report... Gave out gifts, had lunch and dinner (or breakfast and lunch however you look at it). I'm learning to type with a German keyboard, I know I can switch it over but I won't remember to switch it back so I'm trying to remember to switch z and y and that the shift isn't in the same spot.
The boys played for hours - legos, Bob the Builder, running outside. Everyone got to hold the baby. Hope to get some pics today, yesterdaz was just too busy saying hi and talking.

Paintballing

2009-05-03T20:04:00.004-04:00

I just have to share a few photos, I may talk later.

Oh and check out Alex's blog, she got a nasty one in the neck!

The dawning of a new age...

2009-03-27T17:25:00.003-04:00

Well today was very eventful. We started out slow but got moving by lunchtime.

Our first stop... CVS for passport photos. Yes that's right we are getting the photos done so we can order the kids books.

Stop 2... Work... Nothing big, the kids played, I painted and hung out.

Stop 3a... Jeremy called and I had to have him stop at home for the SS# and birth certificates.

Stop 3... Post office to order the books. Can Jeremy leave now, he has to go to work? Just a minute (It's now been 40 minutes into his 1 hour lunch)... sign here, here, and here. Ok he leaves.

Stop 3b... Still at the post office... the photos are the wrong size. Do you want to come back Saturday or Monday with corrected photos? (Can you see where this is going?) We pay for everything and make arrangments.

Stop 4... CVS... I need replacement photos... Ok... Retake pictures... Machine goes done... Reboot machine... 1 photo is good... Machine is SSSSSLLLLLLOOOOOOWWWWWWW! 45 minutes later we have the second set done and are out the door.

Stop 5... Home for dinner.... Wish this wasn't a preshow for the weekend!

Such is the life with 3 children! Never a dull moment and always somewhere to go!

Julie

PVC Camp Gear

2009-03-25T07:58:00.003-04:00

I was looking for an outdoor wash station for the scouts today and came across this great site. I thought... this is GREAT, we can build this stuff, and store it easily. And the best part is it's lightweight so the girls can actually set up without help!

Here's the link to their site. Perfectly Versatile Campsite

back to scouts

2009-03-21T13:42:00.003-04:00

I recently made a list of everything that they have done this year... it's a lot of service and program aide work! Every event we've tried to have with either the SU or council where they weren't working, has fallen through. The mall lockin was canceled. Kalahari they didn't want since it included boys (no leader for the lockin either) We've had 2 campouts but both were working camps no just having fun the whole time. Really the Wizard of Oz has been the only real for FUN only activity these girls have had all year.
I'm pushing them to go to hershey, PA this June for a camp-o-ree. It's 6 hours away, most of these girls haven't been more then 1/2 hour from home, but I really think that they'll have a great time! AM I nuts? We're talking on the ground tents and campfire cooking.

Oh and I'm really, really hoping that the other troop that our is level decide to come and join us and that we do get to go to this camp-o-ree. I think it would be a great way for the girls to hangout and have fun!!

The problem that I see... what do we do if the girls just won't go that far from home? I really don't want to do Cedar Point since it is so close to home. I wanted to get the girls out somewhere they hadn't been or was at least a full tank of gas in each direction. Any ideas? Oh and it has to be FUN!!

What a month!

2009-03-03T16:43:00.002-05:00

Where to start... Lots of scout stuff, work stuff, family stuff.

The big news is my sister had her baby!! YAH!!! Both are healthy and doing well. So I now have a new baby neice!! Can't wait to meet her (hoping to make it to Germany this summer!!)

Let see... The foot is all better. She's now had 2 casts and 4 broken bones in 4 months.

It's cookie time again... Thankfully our troop drop down to only doing 5 booths this year. They've only sold about 75 cases but I'm not worried about it since we aren't planning any big trips like the junior troop.

Oh... LCCC caught on fire a few weeks ago. i think you can find some info at the following blog... http://evileyecafe.blogspot.com/

Last week we went to see the Wizard of Oz at the Lorain Palace. It was really good, Open Door School was putting it on. Next play in town is Grease, which I LOVE and can't wait to see how the high school does with it.

Little man turns 7 tomorrow. We're baking tonight.

I can't believe it's broken

2009-01-24T10:57:00.004-05:00

Ok so Wednesday big A goes to dance class (moved from Monday for the holiday) and she comes home and decides to practice in her socks on our hardwood floor. BOOM, AAAHHHHGGGG!, sobbing... what's wrong? I run in and she's on the floor crying and can't walk. We move her to the couch and check it out. Not swelling, no bones sticking out. Ok so we ice it and send her to bed. Thursday she's walking, sort of, on it so we send her to school. She's still complaining after school so we schedule a doc appointment for Friday.

Still thinking it's a sprain I have her leave her stuff at school, we'd be back soon right? Nope... doc orders x-rays, and when the tech comes to talk to us she's got the travel envelope, oh no, I've been a bad mommy! Off to the ortho for a cast and 4 hours later we finally make it to the in-laws to get the rest of the kids. Ya we were at the doc offices for so long all her stuff is still at school, and my MIL had to get the kids for me.

So her cast is purple (love the color) they let her keep her toes open (originally they were going to cover them!). She's got to keep it on for 4 weeks. We had a scout program that night so I had to call the other adults that I was working with and let them know we'd be late. She decided that she wasn't going to let this stop her from going either since the program was inside.

A little cast never stopped anyone... Of course being that this is the second cast in 2 months... I'm wondering if she's going to take after her father and break a bone or 3 in every limb!

No school!

2009-01-16T11:26:00.002-05:00

It's so cold here...

How cold is it you ask...

Try -8 without the wind! Can't remember the last time it was that cold around here. We get lots of snow but this is ridiculously cold, it's -27 with the wind... step outside for even a second and you freeze! UGH!

The kids are happy since with school being canceled yesterday they get a 5 day weekend.

Now to find something to do in the house before they drive me crazy...

Quiet time

2009-01-11T07:27:00.006-05:00

Stayed at the in laws last night... Woke at 6am to them moving around, man are they early risers! I'm home now and it's quiet... no one here to interrupt me or anything. Which means I can finally get to a recap of what's been happening around here.

To start with Ali is home with her family and doing well. Still preg., still stable, still praying for a full term, healthy baby.

The oldest is dancing again. She's started back this past fall, just a jazz class with her sister. Now she's in jazz 4 with girls her age and loving it. It's non-competitive with is exactly what she wanted. The last studio we were at she was in 3 classes and 2 competition classes plus the competition schedule and she got to the point of hating dance, so we quit. Having her back in just 1 class and loving it is so great to see. She's doing well in school and enjoying scouts. She has a training session tonight to learn how to help run the new telescope we have at camp. I'm just glad to see her still being a child and not growing up too fast!

The younger daughter has decided that dance isn't for her. She's now taking ice skating lessons. Her first class was last week and she was having a great time... that is until she sort of ran into the wall/fell into the wall and did the splits. After that she was done for the day. I was just getting ready to take a picture too. I asked her if she wanted to go back this week and she said YES!! she loved it, even if it does hurt to fall. I may have to go and get her some skates of her own soon. We'll see what happens. She's doing great in school. Her scout troop is planning a New York trip this summer. It's a big trip without parents, just the leaders. I'm not sure I'm ready for this.

On to little man. What can I say about him... His doing well in school grade-wise, now to get him to stay out of trouble. He's getting bored in class and acts out for something to do. We're working on it, it's just taking time. He's in scouts too, tiger cub. Doing well there, he wants to earn all the belt loops and such I keep telling him one at a time, slow down... I think he really only has 2 speeds really fast and sleep!

This is a pic of him playing Joseph in the Christmas play. He just had to wear all his tools and bring his woodwork so he would "look like a real carpenter".

Speaking of Christmas the kids have been having lots of fun with their gifts. The oldest and youngest both got bikes that they decided to try out by riding in the house (don't ask, I'm not sure what happened to my brain at that point) and the little lady got her DS she'd been asking for. The in laws (God love them!) got the kids a Wii (with 3 controllers!) and thankfully the kids have all been playing nice with it. Can't get on it much when their home, lost the use of the tv when they want to play, but at least they aren't fighting.

She's home!

2009-01-09T18:41:00.002-05:00

Thanks everyone for the prayers. Ali is home for now and doing well.

It's getting worse

2008-12-26T09:14:00.001-05:00

I had a message from Ali's hubby... she's getting worse not better... they are waiting to see when the doc wants to take the baby... Happy Birthday little one... get better sis, I need you still.

I wish I had my passport

2008-12-24T13:00:00.001-05:00

I wish there was some way I could be with my sister right now.

I don't want a Christmas niece!!

2008-12-24T10:18:00.005-05:00

Crap! Crap, crap , crap!! Ali is in the hospital! I don't have my passport yet so I can go and see her. The doctor's don't like some of the numbers from her 24 hr. BP test from earlier this week so they have her in for 2 days for observation. They're giving her BP meds, etc. but she's only 28 weeks (as of Christmas Day anyway) it's TOO soon. Ok everybody... prayer time, PLEASE!

movie review: Australia

2008-12-04T20:46:00.002-05:00

Last weekend I went with my friend Jen to see the movie Australia. We left the kids with the men-folk and set out for the 10pm showing. Yes that late, I had a flat and was running late (as usual).

Here's the movie's official site... http://www.australiamovie.com/

Anyway, this movie opened really well, got you moving and interested then kinda fizzled. Not for long mind you but at times it really was dragging. The story is of an English woman who goes to Australia to find her husband and bring him home, only to find him murdered and the local athorities blaming an aborigini. It goes on to show all is not as it seems as she finds that she is falling in love with the land that her husband fought so hard for. The story continues with her hiring and working with a local cattle driver and their journey through the country to get the cattle to the ship. Even then, when you think the movie is over there is more. There is the the misionary island for the "orphan children" or "creamies" as their called. There's the Nazi bombings. There's romance. There's action. And every time you think it's done there's more... 3 hours worth... and no even at the slow parts you don't want to go to the bathroom - you might miss something and really you don't want to miss it!

Would I see it again at the theater? Probably not.
Would I rent it or watch in on tv? Yep.

In all it's a good movie, nice bits of history thrown in too.

"Craft" of the night

2008-12-04T20:37:00.002-05:00

The scout troop baked cookies. Only. I should them where to find things in the kitchen, even told them where to find the recipe books. Then I walked away. They had to figure out what recipe to use, if we had all the ingredients, what utensils to use (I did say no the the kitchen aid). The only thing the leaders did was put things into and out of the oven (wall style, don't trust anyone but me with them :))
Anyway more of the chocolate chip cookie mix made it into the girls then on the pans... After everyone got to try one we have just over a 1 and 1/2 dozen. Not bad for a spur of the moment craft!

Making Bread with kids

2008-11-30T14:00:00.000-05:00

Last week the kids had the day off before the holiday. The cousins were at the inlaws and we were at home cleaning as usual. Anyway we decided the night before that we would go over and all the kids would make the rolls for the Thanksgiving dinner. You see the cousins were going to be with their mother for the holiday so if we wanted to do something with them we had to do it then. Ok I'm talking too much....

We get to nana's house around noon. I go about fixing lunch for everyone - corn dogs and fries for the kids, stir-fly for me and MIL. After we clean all that up I set about making the dough. I tried to get the kids to help with this but they weren't interested in mixing at this point. Now once the dough had doubled and was time to make the rolls or knots actually. I divided the dough into 3 pieces, rolled that into a 14 inch roll and divided that into 14 pieces, now the kids come in. 6 kids making long dough "snakes" and then tying them into a knot it was so cool to see.

Oh and the rolls were SO good. About 1/2 of them didn't make it to the dinner table the next day. Everybody kept wanting to try one (or two for the kids).

Ok this is amazing

2008-11-21T10:59:00.004-05:00

Check this out!

Movie Reviews

I didn't know I talked like that. It makes me wonder how they get this rating...

Good news

2008-11-17T18:18:00.001-05:00

The cast is OFF!!

Experiments in the kitchen

2008-11-14T10:38:00.003-05:00

I am in love with the sugar. I use it in my morning coffee and refuse to share! Go make your own. It's really simple, just a few cups of regular sugar into an air-tight container with a whole vanilla bean that you split and scrape (all into the sugar, no waste!). Let it sit for a week, shake and use. Delicious!

On another note... the marshmallows have turned into a BIG hit. The science fair next week should prove to be interesting. I've been doing more searching for other ideas on recipes and have come up with some really cool ideas that I want to give to the big girl to try. She proved her self right that you can substitute the flavored gelatin for the plain, even if the texture changes, it's not by a lot and it still tastes great. I'm going to challenge her to find one that tastes like salsa (think "spicy brownies"). Maybe even try for a coffee flavor....

Oh and before I forget again her basic recipe is
3 packs of plain gelatin (or 2 plain and 1 flavored)
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla (for use with plain gelatin only)
cornstarch and powdered sugar to dredge

Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup water in stand mixer, let sit
Combine sugar, 1/2 cup water, corn syrup and salt in pot, medium heat to simmer
Pour sugar syrup into gelatin mix with mixer on low, once done pouring bump speed until it's at high for about 15 minutes (we put a towel over the mixer to keep it from getting marshmallow everywhere) adding vanilla at the last minute
Combine cornstarch and powdered sugar and use it to dust a 9x13 pan
Pour marshmallow into 9x13 pan and let sit overnight, then cut with a pizza cutter, dredge each piece in the cornstarch/sugar mix and store in an airtight container (it doesn't last long in our house so I'm not sure how long you can store them for)

Marshmallows

2008-10-30T14:32:00.003-04:00

So the other night my daughter starts her science fair project... Homemade marshmallows and mixing of ingredents to see if she can make it less sticky on the outside and healthier. I got to say, I like it the way that it is, they taste GREAT!! So we're out of ingredents and I just got back from getting more.... Now I'm doing my own experementing... I'm going to make vanilla sugar. It's easy so it's really not an experement but this kids will have fun making it.

Happy birthday Alice!!

2008-10-25T16:41:00.003-04:00

I can't believe that it's really been more then 1 week since I last posted. Lots of things happening in the house.

Tonight I have the cousins over. They get to go to work with me and the kids tonight and tomorrow morning. I forgot what it was like to have a bunch of boys around. Little man is far too calm when he's only with women.

The scouts got lots of compliments on their behavior and attitude from the camp weekend that they worked. I've never seen so many adults say so many nice things about tweens!

Little man is officially in cub scouts. He's been to about 4 or 5 meetings now, next week is the holloween party. I thnk the family is going to go to it, it sounds like it will be lots of fun!

Alice is officially 34 today. I got to see her online but it's still not the same as giving her a hug. {{{Alice}}} this is me hugging you.

I think that does it for the short update. Later.

just a little brag

2008-10-14T15:14:00.000-04:00

This weekend was the first in what I hope will be many events that my 6th grade cadettes get to work as PAs. I was very nervous about having them actually be in charge of activities even with an adult nearby if needed. I wasn’t the only one to be apprehensive about it, the other cadette troops’ adults weren’t sure how these 11 yr olds would do helping with fire building, archery, games, songs, ceremonies, astronomy and camp history. We were all pleasantly surprised. My 5 little 6th graders soared with the 8th graders and even took on a lead role or two. I had 3 of them ask if they could get the specialty training to help with the telescopes again (they got a crash course on the manual ones) Even my newest member (1 month now) was able to teach scout songs and graces and help the younger girls learn.

Part of me knew they were ready for this… but an even bigger part wasn’t so sure. They proved that they can do it. We can set the bar and the will soar over it. We just have to give them the chance.

They have started working on the new cadette Amaze journey. I’m hoping they like it as much at the end as they do now… yes that surprised me too, I didn’t think they’d go so quickly with it. Next up is learning about the silver award and working on the basics to earning it (the few parts that can be as a troop and I think would be good for them all), camping more then 20 miles from home, and doing something new (No they haven’t told me what that is yet)

I am SOOOOO tired

2008-10-13T10:11:00.003-04:00

What a weekend. The girls had a blast. The weather was pefect. The moon was just bright enough for the hike and not too bright for the observatory. I even got 3 of the girls started on getting trained on the manual telescopes.

Est. Time of Departure

2008-10-10T12:10:00.002-04:00

We have 4 hours and counting until we leave to go to camp this weekend. This will be the first offical activity that the girls will work as program aides. They get to stay at one station the whole time and teach (or help) other younger girls how to do whatever the station is. Last year was great with the hayride and pumpkins and I'm really hoping that this year is a hit! It wasn't looking good a few weeks ago when we almost had to cancel due to lack of attendees. But we got more people so off we go.

For the last few weeks I've been teaching the program aide training and the camp prep/training for the girls that will be program aides at this event. We've had a blast (I think so anyway) learning and doing and leading (New GS model). Every girl that made all the meetings got their PA pin and 4 hr. toward PA patch. I just think this is way too cool.

I got my training for the obseratory on Tuesday night. Tonight is promising to be clear so we'll get to show the girls Jupiter, Saturn, Alphacentari, and all sorts of other deep space stuff. I can't wait. The best part of all that prep stuff the last few weeks is that the girls have little to do tonight so I can really keep them busy with the telescope for a while!!

Oh I forgot to mention that we made troop shirts... we tie-dyed them last night, they look really cool. Next up is ironing on the troop number. We'll wear them tomorrow and I'll try and post a pic later.

Updates

2008-10-02T20:05:00.002-04:00

Ok. Big B is going to have heart surgery in the AM. I'll keep you up to date as I get more info.

And the little boy I mentioned before.... Well they were all set to operate when the doc found out that his 2nd whooping cough test was positive. Seems this whole thing is whooping cough so they took him to recovery to let the anesthesia (ya they were that far into the surgery) wear off and sent him on his way home.

One home. One to go.

Big Bob

2008-10-02T07:27:00.002-04:00

I just got a call from mom. This is the third in 2 days and I have no minutes to talk so I let it go to voicemail and check it after 9pm. Well I called back on J's phone. Big Bob is going into surgery again. Emergency this time... some sort of blockage but nothing to do with the pacemaker they put in last week. I called Y and told her I'd meet her at the job later today so I can go to the hospital and sit with Lo for a little while.

This makes 2 people that I personally know having surgery today, and not the routine kind.... the other is an 8 yr old getting a lung biopsy. He's 8 yrs old for crying out loud!

If you are reading this... say a prayer for them both!

Funk of a day

2008-09-30T16:37:00.004-04:00

Today was (is) the anniversary of dad's funeral. Not an all together bad day, the weather was nice, the kids were all to school on time. It's just well let's start at the beginning.

I didn't get to the store for groceries AGAIN! Life has been so hectic that I haven't really gotten to stop and do nothing during the day for any real length of time (after 9pm maybe just not before).
Anyway.... I started the day running late... no milk so no real breakfast for the kids... but at least they were to school on time right?
I skip my 9:30 meeting to go shopping, get the food for the next week and 1/2 for lunches and meat for dinners... Short of cash so take all the meat off the bill. OK now I'm down to $0.75 to my name... Take the kids some lunches for today... Go to work and put the perishable (ie. milk) in the fridge there and then get to work making circles for scouts (more on the later... maybe). By now it's creeping up on noon and my next meeting. And I forgot the get a lunch for me. So now I'm sitting in a lunch meeting without a lunch... Talk about fun.. NOT! Oh and by this point depression is sinking in. Gee I don't know why....
After the meeting I get some more stuff around work done... Mind you that only the noon meeting is actually work, the rest is all volenteer hours, so it's stuff that in a different frame of mind, I'd be glad to do. Just not today.
So now it's 4pm. I'm home and unloading the groceries (after I go back to work since I forgot the stuff in the fridge). Little lady decides to make some jello... I say fine you know how to do it... next thing I know there is an exposion in my kitchen and glass is everywhere! thankfully none got on the kids but WOW!! Turns out she didn't remember how we made it before and set the glass bowl on a burner and turned it on!! What a mess... what a smell. I now have melted glass and grape jello stuck to the burner and the under side of the stovetop.

Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed!

It's getting close

2008-09-22T21:35:00.002-04:00

This is the recipe I found online and tweeked a bit. I just mixed it all in the bowl and microwaved it for 4 minutes, it did stick to the bowl a bit but it was soft, moist, spongy, and pretty good. I think it was the best one so far. Now to just get it to a coffee mug size for easy indulgence without the over eating....

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt

DIRECTIONS
Spray a medium microwave-safe bowl with non-stick spray and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and milk; blend together. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; blend into the mixture until smooth. Pour into greased bowl.
Cover and cook in the microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched. Since all microwaves cook differently, adjust the cooking time to accommodate your machine. To serve, let the cake cool five minutes, then cover the bowl with a plate and turn both bowl and plate upside down so the cake falls onto the plate.

butterfly garden

2008-09-22T08:45:00.003-04:00

milkweed

tickweed

black eyed susan

cone flower

queen anne's lace

bergamont

Its' official!

2008-09-20T16:28:00.007-04:00

The girls finished their Bronze this week. According to the person I talked to the paint we used will stay on the clay tags for the garden. I figured that if it doesn't then we can always re-write them in another type of paint or dye. The girls were so proud of themselves for finishing it, especially since it morphed from this little part in the beginning to some very major work by the end (at least that's how they see it)
See this link on the way to bronze regarding some of what they did.

Here is another part.

After they dried we put them in the garden. Hopefully they are still there and in one piece when we go back next month.

With this finally under their belt they got to receive their bronze awards. And about 10 minutes after that ceremony we had the bridging ceremony. Now everyone is at the cadette level. I feel like the girls were some how cheated out of a year at the junior level, but really there wasn't much left for them to do at that level.

This year we are going to try this new thing that national has called Journeys. I have to admit that it's a good program for the cadette level, but for my girls specificly I'm not sure they'll like it since we do character education at school and this year it's the same as what is in the cadette journey. Oh well, we'll find out on Thursday at the meeting when they all get their books.

Experiment munber 5

2008-09-15T07:54:00.003-04:00

I decided to try again after the girls tried the following wih varying results...

Adding peanut butter - really BAD, had to throw it out.
Adding extra vanilla - no real change
Adding peanut butter chips - not bad with the chocolate, still has the same issues as the others though

Adding 1 extra TBS of sugar, honey (didn't measure) :(, 1 TBS brown sugar and NO cocoa - Not bad, tasted like a honey cake, still has a funny texture thanks to the egg but you get that will anything you use egg in with the microwave. - Verdict is I'd do this mix again. Forget the chocolate until I can come up with a better mix.

Cake number one

2008-09-12T17:40:00.002-04:00

Ok this one tasted better then the one I made last night. This time they used the Hersey's chocolate instead of the Nestle And they added semi-sweet chips. It came out really moist and tasted good. Not great but better then before.

3 minutes to chocolate heaven

2008-09-12T16:35:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago someone emailed be the 3 minute chocolate cake recipe. I forwarded it to a few people without trying it (something I never do) and now I have to say that I don't like the recipe as it stands. You see I'm not a chocolate fan. I do like good chocolate but not a lot of it. So now I'm handing the recipe over to the girls to let then have fun in my kitchen trying to make a better chocolate cake. This is the recipe that they will start from...
4 TBS flour
4 TBS sugar
2 TBS baking cocoa (not hot chocolate)
1 egg
3 TBS milk
3 TBS oil or melted butter
3 TBS chocolate chips
Splash of Vanilla

Mix the dry then add egg and mix then add milk, oil and vanilla and mix
Bake on high in microwave for 3 minutes.
Let cool slitely and eat.

Having said all that I guess I should go and taste test each version they come up with... Maybe I can get them to add some Nutella....

Results will be coming soon.

visitors

2008-09-11T07:52:00.002-04:00

I just found out some really interesting stuff. I have a program that tells me where people are from that look at my sites. And I really do have people other than my sister reading my blog! Australia, India, Greece and Portugal. That is so way cool!

In other news we are having a new girl visit our troop tonight. We're really hoping she decides to join us. It would be so great to have another person in our troop.

Speaking of scouts, I start PA training next week. I'm hoping that everyone from my troop can come. I've got some really cool stuff for them, I'll have to take a picture later and show you.

Frazzle dazzle day

2008-09-09T12:54:00.003-04:00

I am forcing myself to stay home today and work on the class the I'm suppose to be teaching next week. It's program aide training for the cadettes in our service unit.

The material that I've seen so far is way out of date so I'm trying to get it up to date and fun. Who wants to sit there and listen to somebody talk for 4 hours! Yuck! But I must say that it's a lot more work trying to get the program interesting then I thought it would be. I definately won't open my mouth next time... or maybe i will... it could be fun.

The real frazzle of it all is while I'm getting this class all set up I'm also getting the first aid, cpr and babysitting classes set too. ANd not jsut for the scouts, I'm getting this for the adults that volunteer at the church and for the youth at church that are volunteering in the nursery. Lots of work with very little time to do it.

Now the dazzle is the SU campout. That looks like it is going to be so much fun this year!! My girls are signed up as helpers (PAs) this year so they get to help teach and lead all the activities. And the great part for me is all I have to do is make sure the girls get trained, then supervise!! I won't have to be "in charge" of anything (as of right now). Someone else is cooking and planning all the activities.

That's all for today. For now anyway since we all know that my schedule changes quicker then Ohio weather!

It's amazing

2008-09-01T00:28:00.003-04:00

What a half bottle of Riesling and a hot tub will do to one's perceptions. I feel much better now. Still missing the family but at least I know they'll be home by tomorrow night.

I've had the house to myself for 60+ hours now. Haven't done much work but I've done lots of introspective thought. I've decided I would much rather have the hubby and kids around for all the chaos then to be without them for this long again.

How to spend time without the family

2008-08-30T13:17:00.002-04:00

Yesterday the family left for WV. I had no clue what to do with myself and was contemplating getting drunk and sleeping until work Saturday night until my friend, Lady T, called me. She invited me to come over for dinner and to hang out since I didn't have my family with me she would share hers. Now this sounded much better then the plans I came up with so off to Vermilion I went. And stayed. It was a great dinner, the kids cooked these awesome teriyaki pork chops and noodles and we made a salad and WOW was it good. Lady T and I stayed in the kitchen for a little while watching her hubby and friend install the new washer and dryer and stove that she had won. Yes you heard that right someone I actually know won something huge from a contest. Huge as in $10,000 in kitchen (and laundry) appliances! After all the excitement died down we settled in for a Star Trek Enterprise marathon. These are so my kind of people!

So anyway, it was way too foggy for me to go driving home at midnight last night so I stayed on Lady T's couch and drove home in the morning. That's where I am now, cleaning house and getting ready for the cable guy to get here so that we can get a new internet set-up and cable, which we haven't had in years. I can so see me not sleeping tonight... or the next night... or the next night.

5 days into school.... what to do now

2008-08-27T10:43:00.001-04:00

I don't know.

Class schedule nailed down finally. Still working on the library schedule. Haven't even started on the scouts calendar, wonder if we have a board that needs decorating?

Why do I get myself into things like this? I love helping out, but really I keep forgetting to clean the house. Laundry is an issue too.

Weather's cold, were did the summer sun go? I think it liked FL too much and headed back south!

Suprise!

2008-08-24T04:03:00.002-04:00

It's 4am right now. And guess what I woke up to??

A hot tub full of drunk people!! At 4am!!

I tell ya, my SIL never ceases to amaze me, Let's not even get started on the rest of those in the tub!

Home sweet home

2008-08-18T10:50:00.002-04:00

We got in around 2am this morning. Straight to bed. In the am (actually I think it was after 12) we unloaded the van and cleaned up the house. It's amazing the amount of dust you get even when nobody is home.

I finally got to a Beta Sigma Phi meeting this year... granted it was in my house, but atleast I got to see everyone.

School starts Thursday (YAH!) More on that later.

Talk about a view.

2008-08-16T11:26:00.003-04:00

Last night we went to the roof of the Aegean. It's only 5 stories up... with a little wobbly railing, and a straight drop down. But it was so beautiful to see the city at night from here.

I tried to write about this last night but my connection wasn't any good. So today I'm in the lobby and I'm watching the people as they check in and out of the condos. It's so fun, especially since we never have to check in and out ourselves since the in-laws check us in before we get here so they can get in and put stuff in the fridge and we just drop the keys on the counter when we leave... just need to remember to take the laundry key with us since that's not a renter thing, just the owners have individual laundry facilities here, otherwise it's the big laudry room on the 4th floor for everyone... at $1 per machine per load, I'd never have clean cloths!

Has it really been a week?

2008-08-14T23:56:00.003-04:00

It's amazing that just last week we were on the road on the way here. Today started out ok, double red flag to start, but switched to single so the beach was fine, even if the waves were way to high to be in. We went out for dinner again. This time the Twisted Palm. We had the seafood dip (to die for, it was SO good) and oysters on the half shell. I haven't had raw oysters in years, so I decided to try one... Oyster on a cracker topped with cocktail sauce. It was really good. I think I'll order it tomorrow if we go out again. Followed with grilled talapia and coconut shrimp, good but I like what cousin A had better... steak! Then again the pizza Jman ordered looked good too. Oh I also had 2 Stress-inis... Absolut, Coconut Rum, pineapple and cranberry juice... very sweet but good. Topped the whole thing off with an excellent Key Lime pie.

Did I forget to mention the wedding...

2008-08-13T11:23:00.003-04:00

There was a wedding on the beach a few days ago. Here's my favorite pic of it.

I love the sailboat (ship) in the background. I wonder if I should figure out who it was that was getting married and send them a copy.

NO SWIMMING!!

2008-08-13T11:15:00.003-04:00

That's what we have today.

All that rain and stormy weather has made it a closed beach day!!

Life's a beach... and then it rains

2008-08-13T00:05:00.003-04:00

Doesn't it just figure that it would rain during vacation. Last camping trip it rained, last vacation it rained. I know we need the rain but come on, it's like every since time we are down here we have 4 days of rain!!

So it did finally let up after we got back from lunch. Half the crew went to the pool and the other half went to the beach. Which left me all by my lonesom in the condo. (can you here the tears) I got quite a bit further in my book so I'm happy. I'm reading Wicked right now, well not right, right now since I left it at the condo and it's downpour rain so I'm not going back to get it. But you know what I mean.

At around 6 or so I go and get the swimsuit on and head to the pool. Everyone is there, talking, laughing, swimming. We are having a great time and the guys play chicken with the kids and jump in and have swimming contests. The highlight though was when Jman and his cousin decide to throw my BIL's fiance into the pool, chair and all. Wish I had the camera but with my luck, and the family luck, cameras and pools DON'T mix.

Rain again

2008-08-12T08:31:00.003-04:00

Woke up early again today. This time from the storm outside. Not much thunder but lots of lightening and hard rain. Hard, vertical rain. Soaked the patio doors and everything out there.

It's finally starting to let up a little. The sun is coming out so we may actually have a good, if a litte wet, beach day.

Just to tell you about the pizza

2008-08-12T01:27:00.001-04:00

It was great... a little salty but I'll get to that...

I got a small Pollo Bella which is 6 slices of roasted chicken, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and cheese with extra italian spices on the crust. It smelled so good my mouth was watering before I even took a bite. I have 3 more slices in the fridge for breakfast/lunch, just have to remember to brush off those spices... seems like they may have added salt to the mix, hence why it was a little salty, but if you don't eat the crust you'd never notice.

Waiting for dinner...

2008-08-11T20:37:00.003-04:00

Today was spent talking and visiting everyone at the condo. We go to talk about the upcoming weddings. yes that is plural, it seems that Jman's aunt is getting remarried this winter and she and the BIL's finance were trading notes.
Once the rain stopped half the group headed to the the beach with the older kids going to the pool. The 3 oldest females actually had time to chat and catch up from last year's talk.
About 5 or so everyone decided they wanted to go out to dinner, we decided not to. Not that I mind, I'm not a fan of the Louisiana Lagniappe. It's not bad food, it's just I was raised on the real thing so anything less is just not going to cut it.
So we decided to order pizza from Merlin's Pizza down here. I ordered the Pollo Bella pizza and everyone else is getting a pepperoni... they just can't seem to try new things, I just don't get it. Atleast I got them to not order from Papa Johns or Marcos.
More on the food in a later post.

Early morning wake up call?

2008-08-11T08:33:00.002-04:00

Why is it that I keep getting up at 6am?? I'm up before the sun or the beach chairs and umbrellas. This never happens at home when we have school or something like that... no it's when we're on vacation and I can actually sleep in if I wanted to.

Oh well... up, showered, fed, and ready for the beach. J man's playing tennis in about an hour, the kids are either going with him or to the beach with me. Should turn into a fairly uneventful day.

Sleeping with the surf

2008-08-11T08:29:00.001-04:00

Just to let you know... I opened the patio doors last night and we slept to the sounds of the surf. It made the condo smell better too!

I think he's really asleep

2008-08-11T00:38:00.002-04:00

Wow!! I thought he was just pretending to sleep. He's not. Now he's farting, YUCK!!

Wonder if there's space in the kids beds... it's going to stink in here.

Edited for content: Aug. 19

Sun, surf, and tv

2008-08-10T23:54:00.002-04:00

You'd think that we would spent the day and night at the beach or pool but no. We are currently watching the Olympics on the tv. It's been on the tv for most of the day too. Yes we were at the beach and we did our nightly pool swim until it started to rain anyway. Then it's back to the condo, visit some more and now we are back at our place and watching the swim team getting metals.

It's funny, the kids bug you all year to go to FL to swim in the ocean and what do they do when we get here? Complain about the sand and the jellyfish. Pick fights with each other (there's 6 under 13) and gerenally make themselves miserable. Oh and even though there are at least 2 t.v.s in each condo they complain that the show they want isn't on the t.v. they want to use. Oh well, I'm chalking it up to the fact that the 4 older ones are all to close in age (9, 11, 11, 12) and the younger ones are only a year apart.

But I just have to say... my younger neice can SWIM. She's diving off the boards at home and gererally looking like a little fish in the water.

Beach day

2008-08-09T23:49:00.001-04:00

Can I just say that I love hearing the waves when I go to sleep at night? I may not love all the sand in places that mother nature never intended but the waves... now there is something I can deal with at little sand for.

Ocean Breezes

2008-08-09T07:11:00.004-04:00

Well we made it to FL in record time... about 16 hours!

I'm sitting on the patio as I type, listening to the waves crash and watching the sun come up (it's 6am here)

I can see the fishing boats getting ready to leave for the deep sea fishing soon. The lifeguards are setting up the umbrellas and chairs.

I know I had stated that I didn't want to come down this year... but I was wrong... this really is a wonderful place.

White sand, clear water, great family (ya I lucked out, I LOVE my inlaws)

View from the condo. I'm going to have to find my camera (hope I didn't leave it at the house) for a better pic of the beach.

More later.

Training dayz are gone again

2008-08-07T09:27:00.002-04:00

Well I think I'm finally rested from all the training. Tuesday was fun, I learned some new t-shirt designs and did some more cooking. The evening course left a LOT to be desired, but I'm not sure it that was due to the material, the trainers, of the fact that it was training number 6 and I was really tired.
Yesterday was fun. I got to make a charcoal stove and a vagabon stove and a few charcoal starters. Then went to a SU training meeting... I started out not happy about it... then asked lots of questions and got some great ideas... Not thinking about it I think it was really good that I went and will hopefully be able to take the info back to the SU.
Then I got the kids and went home. Then to Timberlane for more training,, this time the Observatory. IT's STILL not installed, we've had to much rain. I find that strange since, ya it's rained but all the grass is brown around here. Anyway, it was cloudy and raining and we really didn't do much other then talk about what we will be able to do with the girls once we get certified on the equipment (we aren't certified now) and how it will be great eventually. We did get to see the moon (same magnatude that I get with my telescope) and we looked a Saturn for a few minutes until the clouds covered it (I didn't get a good look since my eyes need to adjust and there wasn't time for that) Oh well. Hopefully we get a real training on it soon.

Home again. Time to get packing. ETL is 8 hours.

Day one of training done

2008-08-04T21:57:00.002-04:00

WOW!! That's all I can say about the camp that the training is at this year. WOW!!

As for the trainings...
I started with a hands on outdoor baking... Let me tell you that I finally feel comfortable about using a dutch oven for cooking at camp. And I now know how to get a box oven make correctly so that it will work (they tell me that I will be making one in another training later this week). We made a Lasanga in the dutch oven and a cheesecake in the box oven. As well as a cobbler and a dump cake. I had NO room for lunch!

Next on the adgenda was Silver training... Boy did I have a LOT of questions. Most got answered which is great and the trainers were wonderful with handling them all. They almost topped the trainers from the baking class!

Last on the day was the Journeys Roundtables. Not a lot to tell there, we talked about the new books and had the whole question and answer session. It actually ended early so I got home before 10pm which was nice.

It's my birthday

2008-07-31T10:53:00.002-04:00

Happy birthday it's a great day
Happy birthday
(insert dance moves done badly)

Well I"m finally up showered, dressed and fed... now to go to the store for some shopping and then the pool to swim...

What a day.

It's happened

2008-07-29T18:49:00.002-04:00

I've just had the most horible thing said to me. It's not that I'm extremely offended, but really I didn't mean for it to happen, and well.... Oh I didn't say what it was that was said...

I was told I'm just like my mother.

No it's not that bad I know. It's just that well, I really like to think I'm my own person, not a stamp of someone who came before. And well... it kind of hurt to be told this... Especially since it's coming from one of my oldest and dearest friends. Not my sister or the friends that see me all the time or even my mother. No it comes from the 1 person that I see maybe once a year. I mean even my husband hasn't said it... that is until I told him what she said and then he's like... "well ya, I can see that. Even back at HS band camp your mom would yell at me."

Have I truely turned into my mother? Is it really that bad?

Ok so I read the posts from the park incident... YES I HAVE TURNED INTO A BAD FORM OF HER!!

Mom I am so sorry for turning in to a witchy form of you... Everyone else... WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING?!??!(Insert whiny voice) I will try to be nicer, more polite, and not such a drill sargent. I will say please and thank you. I will not raise my voice (This one will be hard!) I will try not to take over every situation that I am it... (scouts, church, and school included)

For those few of you that read this... tell me to shut up and sit down next time I get over bearing, please.

the rock hall

2008-07-29T17:19:00.002-04:00

Today was a fun and interesting day. Friends from Virgina were in and we made a little GS troop and took a trip. We are notorious for this, we always find stuff to do as a troop when we are together. Today was no different. you see, today we took a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If you've never been I recommend it, lots of really neat stuff to see and read. Of course we had the obligatory scavenger hunt... Do you know which president Les Paul played for? Or how much Joplin paid for her porche? These girls do!! They even got the patch to prove it!! Ok so part of the reason that we decided to go the to rock hall was to finish the Ohio Badge and IPP for the girls but for the most part they did have fun.

The best part though was afterwards at the park. We ate lunch there and then went for a walk on the rocks and took pictures. lots of fun!

A pic that is LONG overdue

2008-07-27T22:39:00.007-04:00

Many many months ago when the oldest had the flu and we had feet of snow outside a friend gave me something that I'd like to share with you. For those of you that know me well you can understand why I stayed up most of the night to get it together and why it now has a place of honor on my computer desk where I can see it ALL the time.

These are the pics...

Yes that is the Enterprise, in pieces and it wonderful captain.

If you didn't know before you know now I'm a sci-fi nerd... Trek, Dune, Star Wars, a few others but that's it mostly. Oh and for those that are in the know, never leave home without one of these...

No that's not the one I always have in the purse or pocket (mine's a bandana, much easier to dry) And no that towel didn't get used again after we put the toilet back.

Anyway... Today isn't a good day to die, Life long and Prosper, and ALWAYS remember your towel!!

IDIC

I just have to vent!!

2008-07-27T17:20:00.002-04:00

ok so I'm at a little fair/fund raiser at the park today. There's a few girls from a local troop volunteering. I see one have a Bronze pin on so I ask what she did for her project... this is the conversation...

me "what did you do for your project"

girl #1 "ummm"

girl #2 (now she doesn't have a pin on) " We make some books for a day care center."

me "umm Ok."

girl #2 "ya, we had to do like 5 hours of community service for it, but I have more then that."

me "Really? The girls in my troop have over 30 hours each and still aren't done with their project."

girl #2 "I haven't finished mine yet..."

me "so your going into the 6th grade? Have you bridged yet?"

girl #1 (finally finds her voice) "No we're going into 5th grade."

me "Wow! you finished your project in less then a year?"

both girls "ummm"

I finally just walk away. Little man was done with is art project that the girls were helping him with. I never did see any leader type person there.

I know, I know the Bronze is done when the Leader says it's done, but really, how can you justify giving the pin to a girl or girls that #1 can't tell you what they did and #2 didn't even know the requirements for the pin and #3 got it done in less then a year??? NO WAY!!

My girls have been working on it for 2 years now and will be done before Oct. 1 which is when they will officially be cadettes thanks to the new allignment of levels (Not a gripe, just really glad we'll get it done before bridging!!)

And don't get me started on the fact that these girls vests weren't even put together right!! I know that I harp on this with all the troops I help with (including day camp) but really, if you are going to volunteer as a Girl Scout then you had better make sure that your uniform is correct!!!!

Scouting

2008-07-25T09:14:00.002-04:00

I've been reading lately. Ya I do that a lot. I've been talking to people too. Something else I do a lot. But the subject is a relatively new one for me since it's a "new" subject in general. It's about the scouting program and the coming changes.

It all started about 3 or 4 years ago when I first heard we were going to be changing things in how we ran the troop or badges they could earn or whatever. Back then national came out with Studio 2B. It was new and different and it held some girls in that would have left the movement. Similar to when they started with the Brownie try-its or the Daisy movement or even the Daisy petals. ALL of these changes were to help INCLUDE others to get more girls involved and stay involved in scouts.

I read somewhere that people think the asterik next to God in the GS promise is negative. It's not... It was done with the intent to include girls of religions that were not Christian in the orginaization... the word God can be filled with Yawah, Allah, or Father. The orginizaion may have been founded by a Christian but like our country it isn't religion. It's what's so great about scouting... you can get to know people from ALL walks or life and ALL religious backgrounds. But I digress...

Scouting has always strived to stay with the times in that it wants to keep girls active, involved, stimulated, and educated. Looking back on all the changes that have taken place just since I was a Brownie and I can see why each and every one of the changes happened, and I can see that they were for the better of the orginization.

Did some people complain... maybe... but I'm really trying not to be one of them. Do I have questions on these new changes? Yes, of course I do, it affects my troop(s) and the better I understand it the better I can explain it to the girls and the better the program will be.

I guess what I'm saying is that this... GS is for the girls, it's here to help them learn and grow and lead.

You'd think I'd be done by now...

2008-07-24T23:15:00.003-04:00

Well another year of VBS has come and gone. In all it went well, I was in charge of all the crafts this year. We canceled the t-shirts about a week before, and killed 2 other crafts before the week was out. We just ran out of time. But the crafts we did do were really neat. We made a sand castle tissue box (ok, not the cleanest craft, but lots of fun to make); sand candles; wiggly fish; doorknob message boards, coffee filter suncatchers; mobiles; and prayer pails. Considering I only had about 1/2 hour per group I think I got a LOT in.

But that's not the reason for this post... The reason is that you'd think that now that we nolonger have a dog that I would be done with dealing with dogs that have been skunked. Not a chance. You see after VBS tonight (hence the lead-in above) I called my friend who was going to have my oldest overnight to let them know we were finally on the way. Anyway she has her DD let the dog out and then we hear a cry and oh no and she tells me that dog's been skunked and so has her daughter! So I tell her that I'm on my way, don't bother with the store since that tomato juice thing doesn't work anyway and call another friend to see if she can come up with any good suggestions.

So I get there. The girl is in the shower getting the oils off, I give her some dish soap to use since it a great grease cutter and will work well to get the skunk oil off. I then help to calm down my friend and put the dog in the cage out back with instructions for her to take the dog to the groomers in the morning or to bath at home. Either way she needed to sleep and calm down.

I checked the dog and saw no marks those I'm sure she's not happy with the smell on her. The girl smells fine thankfully I think it was all transfer from the dog and not directly from the skunk. And I'm hoping my friend is fine and trying to sleep. I've found a recipe for removing the skunk smell so I think I might call or email it to her.

I tell ya, it's always something!

Only a few months to go

2008-07-20T17:16:00.006-04:00

That's hopeful but if all goes well we will have our Bronze Project done for scouts before Oct. 1!!!

We have to go and buy clay sisnce what we thought was clay was really mud, but we had lots of fun getting it!

You may be asking what we need clay for... we they girls decided in Aug. of 2006 to work with the butterfly garden at camp as their project.

They learned origami specifically the butterfly and taught it at the garden opening to everyone.

They made cement stepping stones and thankfully the method we choose had held up and all our stones are still in one piece.

The last part of their project has taken the longest... They are making clay tags for all of the flowers and trees in the garden. Since it may actually be fall before we can place them the girls will need to make a map of the garden to mark out what flowers are what. Thankfully they have identified all the plants and trees so all we have to do is make an acurate map, figure out how many tags we need to make, make, fire, and place the tags. YA!!!

All's quiet on the home front

2008-07-08T20:16:00.002-04:00

We had a nice rain storm come through again. Not as big as the one last week at camp but enough to make you look for a flashlight just in case.

I'm finally getting things to where I want them at home, now the get work to where I want it... That may be asking too much for now. I still need to orginize the supply room with all the stuff from about 3 different closets, redo a bulletin board, send out flyers and cards and get ready for teaching in the fall! Ya know I never realized how much work it was that a teacher did before the kids even got there... and I only have them for an hour or two on Sunday!!

It's funny it's only 8pm and I'm ready for bed. It feels like it's been a long day but it really hasn't, just a busy one. Now with me and the kids at home it's showers and bed for everyone. Maybe I can find a book around here that I haven't read yet...

I'm not wobbly!!!

2008-07-08T18:37:00.001-04:00

I'm not wobbly anymore!! I finally got around to replacing the van tires that I was suppose to take care of last year before the FL trip... Nothing like procrastinating!!! Now $300 later I have new tires that are warrentied for 40,000 miles and a van that doesn't do the shimmy every time it moves!

Home from camping

2008-07-06T15:54:00.009-04:00

It started out a rough week. We had to put Jake down on Monday. (see previous posts) Wednesday we went to Findley State Park for a campout with friends. The original plan was 3 families, 1 night. It turned into 2 families, 2 nights (1 family left after 1 night), LOTS of rain, thunder and lightning, and tons of fun.

So we get there Wednesday morning, unpack and set up the tents (yes we stayed in tents!). We then take the kids fishing...

After that it was swimming and then back to the campsite to start the fire for dinner.

We had just finished cleaning up from dinner and smores when the rain decided to start. And it rained, and rained, and yes the 1 tent did get wet but not badly.

We cooked breakfast between downpours and by dinner it was beautiful again. I love foil packet chicken and veggies.

Friday was bacon, eggs, toast and sausage again and then we packed up and before we left we decided to go canoeing. 2 hours of paddling, without any real help from the kids... boy are my arms tired! J man didn't want me to take the camera in the canoe (just in case we tipped?!?) so I didn't get any good pics from there but I wanted to show this one of a tadpole I found while we were fishing.

In all it was very relaxing. We made a few new friends, and saw a few GS cadettes dedicate their Silver Project during the rain Thursday.

This is the end...

2008-06-30T09:08:00.003-04:00

We kept a close eye on him. He's not eating, he can't walk, he is still not looking well. J man has taken him into the vet. We think this is the end. I hate this.

Sicky at home

2008-06-29T18:56:00.006-04:00

So I've talked about everyone in the family but the dog at this point. So now it is Jake's turn...

Isn't he cute??

So you'd think this would be a good post, a happy one even. But the truth is that this cute little guy is 12 years old and is a sick little puppy. He's been throwing up and doesn't want to do a lot of anything. No barking, running, begging, eating, playing... nothing. He just keeps looking at me with these sad eyes.

This isn't the first time that this has happened. The first time was a few months ago, he was lossing his control over his hindend and peeing on the floor and having seizures. We took him to the vet, all they could tell us was that he was anemic and they wanted to do x-rays. Our thoughts were that why x-ray for you to tell us that he's dieing... So now a few months later, after nursing he back to health and him doing well we are here. Where I don't want to be.

More house guests

2008-06-26T20:47:00.000-04:00

So my sister and her family left on Thursday morning. Mansfield A and friend are coming to visit Friday night (overnight) and Saturday one of J man's friends and family is moving in. I feel like we are a hotel, except that the guests pickup after themselves and cook and help with food. Ok so I guess it's not like a hotel.

And she's off

2008-06-22T19:47:00.002-04:00

I just got back from the UCC camp that my little lady decided she wanted to go to this year, instead of GS camp. It's quite a drive to Mansfield, but the camp looks nice. It's her first boy/girl camp. I can't wait till Sat. when I go and get her and hear all about it. She didn't want me to walk her to her cabin, she's getting so big, so we said goodbye at the camp store and she was off!

I'll miss you...

How to get new tiles and flooring in the bathroom

2008-06-18T17:58:00.002-04:00

So we are still painting here in our lovely abode. Today's project the upstairs bathroom. It is also going to be BRIGHT yellow, just like downstairs. The only problem is that I can't stand the color now that I have half the room painted. It's not a bad color, just not any good with what we have on the counter and floor. I called J man and told him my opinion.. he asked can we change the floor and counter and it look good... I say well ya, but... he says ok, I have stuff at the shop.

So now I'm going to get new floors and counters upstairs too! That was way too easy!

2008-06-17T19:53:00.001-04:00

For those of you that don't know. My oldest little lady is allergic to EVERYTHING!!

This pic is what her back looked like about 1 hour after we had the testing done... can you say itchy!!

I'm at it again...

2008-06-16T14:12:00.002-04:00

I think I'm asking for trouble... A and R will be in tonight. Sis and family are still here. And I'm planning on painting the girls' bedroom and the upstairs bathroom tonight. Really that's only 5 kids with 3 or 4 adults maybe 5 is the J man gets home early. That will leave only the hall and stairs to be painted. I think I've definately gone of the deep end. 2 weeks of home guests, only 3 weeks left ( 2 with sis and 1 will J man's friends) then all will be back to normal. Nice and quiet... What am I talking about... I've never had nice and quiet around here! I thrive on the chaos! I posts pics when we finish the painting.