More bulleted thoughts

(Many of these are updates from past posts)

Remember back to a post I did in August when I was espousing how much I loved Kmart? If only because they have jeans for boys for seven dollars? I bought a bunch remember. Two pairs of them had knee blow outs this week. I am so glad they were only seven dollars a pair. They will make great cut offs next summer.

Why did I suddenly have a dream last night about high school? That was odd.

My two year old is so close to being potty trained, I love it. He told me for the first time in the car yesterday he needed to go. Well, that is great, except we were doing sixty five on the freeway, with no potties in sight. My specific goal over the Christmas break--get that kid on the potty train! He has some super hero underwear that are the size of a grapefruit. It's so cute!

I am not in the Christmas spirit yet at all. Everyone around me is. There is ten more minutes to November, and I am milking it for all it's worth!

They are saying we are supposed to get snow tomorrow. That is highly unusual for where I live, but I would absolutely invite a day to be holed up in my house. Seriously doubt it.

I have been so busy selling candles the last few weeks, if you say the word "votive" to me again, I might get angry. I get this way every year. Might be one reason why the Christmas spirit is coming slower than usual.

My dog has been acting strange lately, and I can't figure out why.

I love the idea that seems to be pretty pervasive this year. Instead of giving extravagant gifts to people, give an in kind donation to a favorite charity. My aunt has asked for this specifically. So I will be giving a donation to a favorite charity for her.

Our family is also doing something different. Instead of buying gifts for all the adults, which gets extravagant. Each adult buys a fifty dollar gift. We do some sort of exchange on Christmas morning, and you get one nice fifty dollar gift. I like it! Some of my inlaws are retired and certainly don't need to spend a lot of money on me. But this could be fun!

My husband is baffled at what to buy. Post me some suggestions for him. I think a copy of the "Scene It" game is a good one. I also think a fifty dollar gas card would be ultimately practical, though lacking in the "heartfelt" department. I am not supposed to know what he chooses. We each do this independently. I like it!

JM visited Santa at the mall over Thanksgiving. Santa asked him what he wanted. JM answered, "I'll have to get back to you on that."

Haven't had any more hits from the wannabe-pedophiles in a week plus. I think my sharing about salvation scared them away.

The two year old child in our state's foster care system is still up for grabs. The state released a statement today saying they need more time to really consider this. Click here for that little blurb. Again, kudos to the foster parents who saw this coming and started going to the press and shed a spot light on this. I have the feeling the media attention will get this kid to stay with his foster, soon to be adoptive, parents.

Connections Academy is advertising like crazy on the radio here. Plus they are having an event next week for prospective families to come check them out and also take the kids roller skating. I don't think we'll be able to attend, but I hope they do it again soon. I am getting pretty excited about this.

Get ready. My stalker will be on the move soon. Why? Because it's the holiday season and she seems to act weird this time of year.

Also, you remember my example of my cousin's husband getting shamed by my stalker? Look back at "Defanging the Beast" sometime last August. My cousin has filed for divorce. I don't know the reasons why, so no comment there. I am sure he is looking forward to the holidays this year without my stalker being in it! He is yelling "Freedom!" at this point.

My sons will both be shepherds in our church's Christmas pageant. My oldest will have a speaking part. Nice!

JM came home from school with an award yesterday for most improvement in his efforts to work. I told him how proud I am of this, and that award got posted on the fridge. I think suddenly he is taking school more seriously, and it's not just all a social event for him. I am glad!

There you have it. My random thoughts for the time being. I'll have some more later.

More Rat stuff...

Here is an article that will give you new perspective on rats. Click here. Rats have wiped out all the bird life and plant life on "Rat Island" because a rat infested ship wrecked there several decades ago. Can you imagine living on that ship? After reading this article, it would probably be accurate to say rats are the only living inhabitants of this island, and I would be interested to know if they have become cannibalistic. It sounds horrible.

I know. This picture looks all cute.

If I had my dog with me while this was photographed, the picture wouldn't have happened. She likes the taste of dead rat.

Oh! That reminds me! Be sure to vote on my poll at the bottom left of my blog homepage. There is only a few days left. It is the "germ a phobe" poll. How germaphobic are you? Does this picture help clarify that? Vote and let's find out.

Germ A Phobe Poll

It is sickness season.

I just had a meeting with my church's parents over some changes in the nursery and toddler rooms. We spent well over a half an hour talking about the finer points of sanitizing toys. Don't get me wrong, I am about sanitizing kids toys. But the discussion started going to bleach, then cleaning off the bleach with a soap, then a rinse, etc. I am not quite there.

I am a soap and water girl. The things I hear about those "remove 99% of all germs" is that they tend to help super germs grow. The news I hear is that a good wash with soap and water works.

But after this meeting, I am realizing that there are many of us who classify ourselves as "germ a phobes". They are the bleaching, soaping and rinsing people. And there are a lot of them!

So I put a new poll at the bottom left of the page. You can answer more than one of them. I put all the things I could think of that I see people freak about with germs. I will share some thoughts at the end of the six day poll. I will also share I am germaphobic in some areas, but not others. I'll let you know how I answer the poll in the end as well.

Now, go take some vitamin C, wash your hands, and cover your mouth when you cough.

UPDATE:
I don't know how your formatting comes across, but from my end it's hard to read the poll. Here is the list:

Yes, I am constantly grossed out
Yes, I wash my hands more than the average person, but not grossed out often
I use Purell constantly.
I am average. I live by the ten second rule.
I don't mop my floors unless my socks are sticking to the linoleum
I don't let my kids touch anything unless it's been sanitized (ie toys, shopping carts, door knobs, etc)
I don't use public restrooms.
I get sick often.

Our genetic pool....

Our kids are so different, it is almost freaky. JM hates to take medicine. We have to tackle him and force him to take it. BH says "Yum! More pweese!" JM is a picky eater, BH isn't.

Here is the latest. JM hates to have lotion put on his skin, mostly his arms and legs. AA (African American) skin is incredibly dry, and it is very visible when it gets dry. It gets "ashy", almost a gray color. It is absolutely uncool in the AA community to not take care of your skin and your hair. You are a poor representative of the race if you are ashy. Look closely at JM's hands in the picture. (Click on it to make it bigger.) See the ashy white spots? That is ashy.

Well, we have a fight to get JM to put it on. It isn't pretty, but as he gets older, it becomes less noisy. I suppose that is a step in the right direction.

Last night, I am rubbing lotion on my face, and also massaging my temples for my own well being. It relieves tension. BH comes toddling up to me, "Whatcha doin'?"

Me: Putting on lotion. Wanna try?

He tentatively puts his hand out and I put a small dab on his palm. I show him how to rub it on his arms and face. He is getting into it.

BH: One more wo-shun? Pweese? (He holds up three fingers, trying to show me one.)

I give him a dab more. We repeat this several more times until we are both slicker than an oil spill. Of course he loves lotion! Only because his older brother hates it. He goes and shows the hubbie how proud he is of putting on lotion. It's very cute.

Suddenly the lines from "Silence of the Lambs" comes into my head. High pitched, upset voice comes to me saying "It puts the lotion on it's skin....!"

Keep rubbing the temples....it relieves stress and random, silly thoughts.

Bee Movie

It has been incredibly chilly every morning this week. The hubbie and I have the kids loaded (contained) in the car ready to go to church. He notices a very lethargic bee (really, it's a yellow jacket) on our back porch. If you poked it, there was slight movement. The little guy was very cold. I got the brilliant idea to grab a jar from the recycle bin about five feet away and capture the frozen thing.

I don't know about you, but I loved catching bugs and looking at them up close when I was a kid. I know it's a long, slow way for a bug to die, but in this case, the world is a better place with one less yellow jacket. All the kids at church thought it was so cool to get a look at this buzzing creature. One kid had a run in with some bees recently and kept his distance for a bit. Trust me, I screwed the lid on incredibly tight.

One kid asked me why God made yellow jackets, the only silly answer I had was "He has some extra yellow paint." I don't know!

Anyway, in the car, the little bugger would slightly move a leg on the way to church. But just as I thought, he got warmed up in the car and suddenly his belly is pumping and his wings are fluttering, and he is acting like the yellow jacket he is--ticked off!

JM has named him Joshua. Before we settled on Joshua, he also went through the litany of his friends names, and I told him it wouldn't be nice to name a yellow jacket after one of his friends. He doesn't have a friend named Joshua. Yes, the video above is about ten seconds and lays to the side. Trust me, the video in the theaters is more exciting. The only interesting thing about Joshua is he can buzz quite loudly, enough to hear through the glass into my little digital camera.

I'll let you know when Joshua goes to yellow jacket heaven. Currently, he is alive and buzzing.

Thanksgiving highlights....

It is over! I declare this holiday over and finished!

This year was no different than any other for us. We traveled two and half hours to my in laws' to have the twenty minute feast. I was delegated salad. So I bought a traditional salad mix and I made a broccoli salad, which I dearly love.

The pics above are of the kids and I on Friday evening walking to a nearby river and feeding the ducks. JM and BH holding hands just brings tears to my eyes. BH and his cousin, H, talking about the finer points of tossing bread is pretty cute too.

The pan of butterscotch brownies is my celebratory "thing" for tonight--the Saturday after Thanskgiving. It is over, and we must celebrate that.

The living room photos are from this morning before we headed home. My hubbie and JM were wrestling like crazy in the living room. Then we did a pile up picture on my sister in law with all the kids. That turned out pretty good considering how much set up it took.

I did do some Black Friday shopping yesterday. I replaced our portable DVD player. BH had been given too much freedom with our previous one and thought pounding on it made a nice sound. We won't be repeating that mistake.

We saw "Ratatouille" at the dollar movie theater on Friday afternoon. Okay, you all know my feelings on rats (if you don't check one of my very first posts called "Food Chain"). I was okay in the story and didn't have much "ick" factor until the huge colony of rats swarmed. I almost lost my turkey dinner when that happened. I am sorry, folks, rats are vile, disease carrying, highly evolved, smarter than a fox, rodent that just make me want to sick my dog on. If I were cast in that movie, I would be the grandmother with the shotgun in the beginning. I would shoot the crap out of my house trying to kill a rat. No, I don't want to have one cook for me. Yes, I know it's animated fiction. But since the movie, can you guess how popular rats have become as pets? Can you guess how many are named Remy? Yuck!

We also listened to the University of Oregon get shut out by UCLA on the way home from the in laws. More yuck....

We did listen to "Wallace and Grommit" on the new DVD player in the backseat.

We didn't get any leftovers from the in laws, so we usually buy our own turkey and have some great leftovers. I love stuffing!

Late last night, I watched "Deja Vu" with my mother in law. I liked it! It is an action packed version of "Back to the Future". It's time travel with Denzel. All movies are better when Denzel is in them. I liked it, and I recommend it. Plus, Jim Caviezel is in it too. It was the movie he made right after "The Passion", and he plays a really nasty guy. I think it was his successful attempt to not be typecast as Biblical characters.

Our two year old recently has been fascinated with the movie "Cars" lately. I actually really like the movie. It has a story line that kids can actually follow ("Happy Feet" failed in this department) with a really good story line with a good moral to the story. In particular, BH likes Mater. Secretly, I do too only because Larry the Cable Guy makes me laugh so hard, I really do wish I had a DVR because I miss so much of his dialogue. Anyway, picture this....

driving down the freeway. Six year old quietly playing his Game Boy. Husband driving. I am crocheting. It is quiet. It is enjoyable quiet. Guess how this peaceful bliss is broken?

Ka-Chow!

Thankful for....

Many of us are off to our holiday festivities, and of course, we need to be thankful.

Here is what I am thankful for:

I have a wonderful family. I didn't always have a wonderful family.

I have a great husband.

I have a roof over my head, and we, hubbie and I, can provide that roof.

I have my health and well being. Moment of truth here, I am not thankful for my eyesight!

I have redemption through Jesus Christ. I would have committed suicide a long time ago if I thought that salvation only came to me through some task I did. I can't do anything like that right.

I have fabulous friends. I have friends who I can call on for help, and they would come in a minute. They also know I would do the same for them.

The future looks bright. I am thankful for that.

I am so thankful for my kids. They make the world a better place just because they are in it.

I am thankful that my worth is in Christ. No matter what anyone else says about me, it doesn't matter. At all. Period. What Christ thinks of me is all that matters. I needed to remind myself of this with Scripture this week. I am recovering from getting my back stabbed by a friend, but it doesn't matter. Christ thinks I am worthy of saving by dying on the cross for me....I think what my friend has to say about me pales in comparison.

I am thankful that the older I get, the more I don't expect perfection. Oh my word, I am so glad I am over that! In fact, I find myself expecting imperfection, and it makes the world easier to live in. Thank you, Lord, for giving me a bit of wisdom with that. I find myself saying "Well, that is to be expected, don't you think?"

I am thankful that I live in America. If I lived anywhere else as a Christian woman, in most places except for parts of Europe and Australia, I would have very few of the rights and privileges I enjoy now. I am so thankful, you have no idea.

I am thankful that my six year old is reading voraciously! I love to read, and it just makes me glow to watch him enjoy reading.

I am thankful my two year old wants to be like his big brother, and he is actually starting to figure out the sounds of letters, and is starting the basics of reading. He's two! More glowing!

I am thankful that I will have food on my plate to eat tomorrow, and I have never been without a meal.

I am thankful for all that I have. Even if I lived under a bridge, I have so much to be thankful for. If all is gone, I am thankful for the Lord our God. Without Him.....well, let's not go there. I have Him. We have Him. I am thankful, beyond what words can express, for the salvation God gave us through Christ.

Sesame Street

I have a really old copy of a Sesame Street Christmas video.

I watch as Oscar the Grouch goes on a swearing tirade, but is drowned out by a passing train. I suddenly remember that part of watching Sesame Street as a child. Oscar was mean and nasty. He still is, if you watch the show, but he's definitely been censored. No more swearing tirades. Yes, Ernie and Bert seemed a little close and Bert was almost as nasty as Oscar. Snuffleupagus was only visible to Big Bird, now everyone can see him. That change to the story happened when I was in high school. But it was fun for Big Bird to have an imaginary friend!

My hunch is correct. Click here for an interesting look at Sesame Street's history.

I don't know what I think about this. I think much of the changes are the typical over sensitive types scared someone is going to complain and file a lawsuit or something. But I also think I don't want my kid's thinking that when they are mad, going into a rage is how to resolve it.

Did you know the same guy has been playing Big Bird since the beginning? That big huge outfit and he is retirement age. Also, did you know Big Bird and Oscar have the same person doing their voices? Did you know that the voice of Elmo is a big, strapping African American dude?

What do you think? Read the article and let me know.

Brain Fuzz

Okay, here are some of the random thoughts I think we might all have at some time in our life:

**What is the point of white crayons?

**Why do we pay for recycling to be picked up? The recycling centers make a profit on our garbage, yet we pay them to take it....why?

**We pay for garbage bags, so that we can pay the garbage man to take away the garbage. It's garbage. Why?

**Why do we pay a ton of money for lawn fertilizer, bug killers, weed killers, etc? Then we cut the grass.

**Why do my kids play with toys and lose them, then expect me to find them? They get really mad when I refuse. Same for shoes. Why?

**Why do my kids hate getting in the bathtub? And then once forced into the bathtub, they hate getting out?

**Why does my dog have such a fascination with dirty underwear and the cat box? My friend's dog will chew up a dirty pair of underwear....and that is just disgusting.

**I got married, and suddenly I am in charge of sending birthday, anniversary and special day cards to ALL family members, including my new inlaws. Why is that? I never agreed to that on any level--but it is just assumed. Keep in mind, my inlaws are no longer "new", and I am much more comfortable figuring out a card for them....as a newlywed, I didn't know them that well.

**We can put a man on the moon, yet we can't figure out an easy way to give a cat a pill. Why?

**I sit down to use the bathroom, and suddenly the phone rings. What is the connection between my behind touching the big white throne and qwest?

**Why didn't I get a DirectTV DVR when I had the chance to get it for free? Now it's going to cost a lot of $$.

**Why do I always seem to get the retail clerks who are talking to their BFF's on their cell phone, or talking to their fellow clerk about somebody and last night, or who answer the phone while I am standing right there? Why does this bug me? I was taught specifically not to do any of those things, with threat of dismissal, back in my college days of working in retail.

**Why when I go to Kinko's and I ask to use a computer they ask me to "wait right there" while they help the rest of the line, then they help me? Why does using the computer suddenly send you to the back of the line, basically?

**Why does my dog go in our backyard and just lounge around today, yet yesterday, she digs to China in a frenzied effort to escape? Why? What is different about yesterday from today in a dog's mind?

**At a certain street in my city, I can stand in one spot and see four different Starbucks. Why?

**Why does the media give Britney Spears so much attention? Why?

**Why does the media look for everything negative to say about our current president, yet had not much to say when the previous president had oral sex in the oval office while conducting official duties? Why wasn't that put in a negative spin? It should have been.

**Why does my neighbor take his rowing machine out on the sidewalk and row? Not the front porch, or the driveway, but the sidewalk. He also talks to himself. Why?

**Why do other neighbors of mine choose to let their house fall apart, yet are spending money putting in a new deck? Shingles falling off the roof, peeling paint, scary wires coming out of boxes, yucky hibachi that hasn't moved in six years on the patio, etc. Yet he is spending money putting in a deck. Why?

**On the news yesterday, a children's toy storage shelf is being recalled because a child was tragically killed when climbing on it and it fell on him. Keep in mind, I am so sympathetic. I can't imagine ever losing one of my children to death. But why do we recall the whole slew of shelves? Why don't we just teach kids to not climb on the shelves?

**Why do I get sucked into arguments with my six year old?

Here is how this went in the car this morning.

JM: When do we go to Grandpa's and Grandma's?
ME: In two days.

JM: Two days? Really. I think it's three. (Feel the argumentative mood he is in on this one.)
ME: Nope, today is Tuesday, so Wednesday then Thursday. That is two days.

JM: Are you sure? Well, what are we going to do with Clementine?
ME: Take her with us.

JM: Why?
ME: Because it would not be nice to leave her by herself in the house for two days.

JM: I would like it.
ME: I think you might get scared, a little like she would.

JM: I'd be fine.
ME: I don't think so.

JM: But Mom! I like Clementine! I want to take her with us!
ME: I said we were taking her with us.

JM: No you didn't! You said we were leaving her here for two days!

Where did I go wrong? Why? Take a long drag on the coffee and breathe.....

Kindred Spirits....

I have mentioned before that I meet amazing people in my line of work. I just got home from a very fun and festive candle party. I met Tink. That is her nickname, and we'll go with it. She'll read this too, I am sure, so I need to remember that some things that happen at candle parties stay at candle parties.

As we chatted, we realized that we have connections. The main one--I am an adoptive mom, she is a birth mom. She placed a child for adoption a handful of years ago. As she told me her story, her eyes were a little teary and so were mine. But they were tears of goodness and joy. I am always glad to hear when a birth mom says, "That was the best decision. I picked a great family, we have some contact. My life is in a better place now." She is now married to a great guy, has two children, and doing great!

As an adoptive mom, that is water to a dry soul. That is my continued prayer for my kids' birth moms. That this decision to place their child with me is a decision they can live with, have confidence in, and they have new opportunities that would have been missed otherwise. Thank you, Tink, for sharing with me your story, I will sleep well tonight and be reminded to pray for my kid's birthmoms tonight.

Also, another connection with Tink. We're talking about homeschooling and she feels the same way I felt about it. Wants to do it, intimidated by what's involved and all the responsibility of doing it right. I told her about Connections Academy--she is all over it and is excited. She is going to really look into it, and if she does it, we agreed it would be nice to get our kids together for activities. How cool would that be?

She wants to learn to sew. Has a sewing machine. I can help with that just a bit.

I used to work at a crisis pregnancy center, she used to volunteer at one. Her father was in the military, so was mine. It was a crazy fun night to meet her! Anyway, I am exhausted and all keyed up at the same time.

I hope Tink will post here on occasion because as a birth mom in adoption issues, it's nice to hear from that perspective. We don't hear it that often, and I think she has a great story to tell.

A boy and his dog

Let me set this up. Our dog, Clementine, is a fairly clean dog, until she drinks from her water bowl. Then she leaves water splotches all over the floor. She doesn't drool, luckily it is just water. If she has drank from her bowl and you don't know, walk across the kitchen in your stocking feet, you now have wet socks.

Recently, I am working at my computer (where else?), I hear JM (six year old) fussing at Clementine.

Me: "JM, what is going on?"
JM: "Clementine is watering me!"




PS More warm welcomes to the pedophile-wannabe-admirer community! Tipp City, OH, Jacksonville, FL, Birmingham, AL (scary is that you are logging in from an educational server) and Toronto, Canada, welcome to my blog. Please see the previous post, it is just for you.

See I wondered.....

T confirmed it for me. I have attracted the pedophiles! I linked to the pedophile-wannabe's blog, so now I have a bunch of pings on my blog from all over the world. Ten years ago, I would have said "yuck" and removed the link right now. That was before I went through the valley of the shadow of death and dealt with some pretty serious crap in my life. For our international community, when I say crap, I mean, sin. I say sin, because most of my audience here are Christians, and they know what it's like to survive sin.

No, I am not just talking about saying a swear word by accident. My normal audience is a group of Christians who walk a real walk. I have dealt with crap/sin that others have not survived so well. Out of the most incredible crap in our lives comes the beauty of redemption in Christ.

The irony of all of this just about makes me laugh! We do need to add some more hello's to our list. Please welcome and say hello to India, Nepal, Malaysia, and Greece.

For our international audience, here is a message for you, please remember the things I talk about here tend to be about God and His wrath and His forgiveness. I have children, if you are reading this, you will remember being one once too. Remember, Jesus specifically had a special place in his heart for the innocence of children--and protected them before He protected adults. You will find no support on this blog for hurting children, specifically molesting/abusing them in any way.

You will find support on this blog to lay your crap at the foot of the cross of Jesus and working out your crap with the Maker of the universe--the One who created you. Let me know if you need more direction on that, otherwise, my blog will be pretty boring for you. We still say "hi", welcome, maybe you are supposed to stop for a minute and think about what is in your head right now. It isn't pretty, and maybe this is the message God meant for you to read--stop what you're doing and look for those things that are beautiful, clean, and holy. Not the "thing" that drives you inside right now. That "thing", I encourage you to lay it at the foot of Jesus Christ. Out of that can come some pretty beautiful redemption and living life free of the "thing" in your head.

No, it won't be instant. It will take a lifetime. The span of your life is a blink on the spectrum of eternity. And I assure you, hell is eternity. The torment you might have done to a child up to this point in your life will not even compare to the torment in eternal hell. Fire will be the least of your worries.

I think this is weird....

Okay, for someone who doesn't have much time this week, I know I have been posting a lot. But no matter how busy I am, I keep up on the news, and that is what my posts are about this week.

Look down toward the bottom left corner of this blog, there is a sitemeter logo. I can look at that (you can't) and see how many hits a day my blog gets, the location from where that hit comes from (like where my stalker lives in Colorado), etc. I don't know who the person is, sitemeter only lists the ISP address, so like Comcast, Qwest, etc.

For the most part, I can figure out who is checking my blog. I really check it only a few times a day really to keep tabs of the stalker. She has been quiet as a church mouse, I must say! The tentative consensus is that my rant "Defanging the Beast" shut her down. But that is tentative, you never ever let your guard down with the stalker.

Anyway, I post about the idiot-pedophile-wannabe yesterday, right? Suddenly, today my sitemeter has ISP's from Toronto, Tokyo, Arhus (Denmark--not it's not Greg Boyd), Parana (Brazil), Nottingham (England), and Warwickshire (again, England). The Toronto was from the last hour. All today.

I looked at idiot-pedophile-wannabe's blog to make sure he didn't have a link to mine that might be generating this. I honestly have no idea what changed in the universe to bring about this "thing".

So I am not sure what celebrity status I have because of this sudden international attention. But everyone, I invite you to wave to your screen! Hello everyone! Feel free to browse the blog, click on my friend's blogs! Feel free to post a comment, I would love to know where this all came from. Just remember my one cardinal rule--no anonymous posting. You must be willing to share, even briefly, who you are.

Aloha!

Update--last ten minutes, welcome to Henderson, NV and Plano, TX! Howdy everyone! Welcome to my suddenly busy blog! Hope you enjoy it!

More updates...

Check my blog for October 8th. I told my opinion about an adoption case here in Oregon over a fourth month old foster kid who was about to be adopted. Click here for an update.

It has become heated! Ironically right after that I met someone who works for the state who made her opinion very well known that she supports the state. Huh? She did tell me though, that the paternal grandmother has procured an attorney and had rights. I told her, with all due respect, no she doesn't. This child is an American citizen. The governor of our state was asked his opinion yesterday, and made it clear, as a person (not governor) "he's an American." One of the few things I agree with the governor on.

Recently, the birthfather has stated that he believes the child should stay here and is in a good place. So that is the problem? Seriously!

The paternal grandmother! She has said that she wants another chance to raise children, etc. She is the thorn in the side right now. Keep in mind, she doesn't have parental rights, the father does, and he is willing to sign them away. It's so strange.

What is cool....a judge today said the child is staying put until this is all sorted out. That was a fear because the state could have shown up to the soon-to-be-adoptive parents home and taken him away.

Another cool thing, the governor has asked the state's attorney if he has any jurisdiction to make any power plays on this issue. Wise move! I think if the governor has a say, we'll find this kid staying here. He has made it clear his opinion.

Again, kudos to this adoptive family! They are fighting for their family and children, and I have always said, sometimes you have to do this in adoption. Give them a medal!

Blogs to check...

Under "blogs I watch" click on Kim's. I have been hesitant to bring attention to her because it's been hit and miss for awhile. She leaves today for India to bring home her daughter on Thanksgiving day! Congratulations Kim! What a perfect day to come home, we are all thankful with you.

Also, click on Natryn's. She has a pretty huge prayer request going over there. What a tragic turn of events for that family. Please please pray for the family she is referring to.

Please pray for Krav Mom! She is traveling this week. Traveling can be a little harder on her than most other people, so just pray for some extra peace in her heart. Pray that the conference she is attending will be fruitful and fulfilling. She will actually get to see my husband who is there now as well. I have a very specific, secret prayer that I am praying fervently for with that meeting. She will know what I am talking about. I can't tell you, but please pray God will make His will known. It most likely isn't my will. Isn't that always the case?

Also, hubbie will be meeting with F's husband, J. F posts a lot of comments on my blog, and has a cutie pie baby boy. I just hope these get togethers at this conference will be good for all of these people I love dearly.

On that note, pray for me. I am single mom this week, and sleep is a premium. There is no break when my husband travels. Plus all the little extras that is he so sweet at doing for me. Feeding the dog, taking out the garbage, feeding the kids breakfast, etc. All those little things he does for me gives me a few minutes to breath or get something else done. So, come Sunday, this house will look like the HAZMAT team needs to come, but we'll be happier when the husband comes.

Wisdom prevailed!

Click here for the update from a post I did on September 6th regarding the idiot wannabe pedophile from California that heard the Pacific Northwest was a haven for the offbeat culture. That is his translation for the actual truth--the state of Oregon is porn heaven, and the laws support that. Please click on that post to see my rant about that. I don't necessarily want to repeat a whole lot of the sick things he is into.

But! It sounds like the police gave him too much guff and he thinks it's too cold here in the winter. Fine! Send him back to California. There is a prosecutor there just chomping to punt kick him into jail.

What I find weird about him. He just sucks the system dry. Here is what I have gleaned about him from the media. He is homeless, but maintains a blog, so he has access to a computer, I am guessing a public library. Or he has a computer and he mooches wireless from somewhere. But where did he get the computer? Don't get me started on my thoughts on libraries letting people use them inappropriately all in the name of freedom of expression. My public funds are helping him run his sick blog. According to the link above, he flashed a Medicaid card to the police. So he is using Medicaid funding for the disability he has. Well, I have seen interviews with him. The dude is capable of working. The cops who pulled him off the bus also gave him some pizza and were actually quite pleasant to him. More handouts.

Now, if you have ever wanted to see how slick a pedophile is--here is the link to his website. Please only click on the homepage. Warning--graphic language regarding his sick attraction to small girls. There are no horrible pictures or anything illegal, but just reading it will give you an idea, as a parent, what to look for. Honestly, I looked at it because I wanted to see where the guy was at. I tend to go to the places where little kids are, and if I see his mug, I wanted to be prepared.

The other ironic thing about this nut job--he says he just wants to live. Just be left alone. Just have his little sick fantasies, why do people keep picking on him?? Easy answer--he keeps putting his face in front of news cameras and local radio microphones. All parents have memorized his face and know that if we see him, we will exit the scene and/or watch for him to make one false move. Luckily the cops did it for us.

Even if the dude weren't such a sick idiot, he's a shameless mooch! Just wait, he'll get prosecuted for doing something, and he'll end up in jail with a warm bed and three squares a day.

Whatcha doin'?

As if I don't have enough to do, I spent a lot of today (since the computer was gone) finishing a bunch of projects for my church's huge craft and food bazaar they are having this Saturday.

If you are in my area, and you know who you are, I have a gift certificate for you to have a cup of coffee and a piece of pie if you want to go. It's the largest 100% all homemade craft bazaar in this city. It's impressive.

Anyway, the quilt I posted ages ago might get done in time. Pictured is a blue afghan I finished last summer. Used a ton of scraps from the church and it turned out really nice. To the left of the afghan are six doggie sweaters. Another great way to get rid of tons of scraps of yarn, plus pet stuff sells like crazy. On top of the doggie sweaters are crocheted pumpkins. Those were fun and they are quite cute. Above the pumpkins are four stockings. I banged those out today on my sewing machine that almost gave me a much grief as the computer.

Over the Thanksgiving break, I'll probably do another afghan for next year's bazaar. I am not kidding, the one pictured is heavy and will be quite warm on someone's lap or bed. I did three others that are already at the church. If you want a really nice, warm afghan, please be sure to contact me so I can direct you where to go. I was impressed how nice those turned out.

One thing I realize as I do these things--I am so thankful that someone took the time to teach me how to do crafty things when I was a little girl. I know how to sew pretty well. I can crochet, knit, cross stitch, and do bead work. I have to be honest, my stalker was one of my teachers. You can imagine, some of those lessons weren't pleasant, but that is a silver lining. I hope someday to have a daughter who enjoys doing these kinds of things as much as I do.

I thought this odd....

Okay, so my monitor goes out on my computer today. I apologize now, before all, I honestly thought my six year old had messed with a setting and done it in (it's happened before....). I apologized to him as well.

I am somewhat freaking out. Hands down, this is the busiest week of my entire year for my candle business. Thousands of dollars worth of sales need to be submitted to my company as I type this. I need to email constantly with my customer base. The monitor going out is not good.

I call Gateway. Yahoo! Our incredibly expensive warranty is going to expire at the end of this month. That is good because after trouble shooting, the tech guy concludes "your monitor is shot." Yup! It is. They are sending a new one right now--no charge.

Here is what is so odd. He spews off a bunch of order numbers, tracking numbers, etc. I ask him what I need those for.

"So you can go online and track your order."

Uh huh. Because the braille function still works on my only monitor. I think that is the most shortsighted advice I receive from technical support--and I get it all the time.



PS I am borrowing a friend's right now, the only reason why this entire sales week doesn't go down the toilet.

Bowl of Big Red Chili Goodness

This recipe had been a family recipe for years taken out of the "Coors Taste of the West" cookbook. When my parents divorced, my dad and I shrugged and counted that cookbook and this family favorite as lost in the divorce. The book went out of print and I couldn't find it anywhere. He and I were on a road trip several years ago and found the book at a second hand store and had a long discussion as to who got it for a buck. I won, he has a copy of the recipe. This is the best chili. Plus it brings back fond memories of Colorado. We made this on a lot of ski trips and cold winter days when I was a teenager. It's getting to be chilly weather here which makes for great chili eating weather.

Get ready to chop a lot of veggies and brown meat until you are red in the face, but it's worth it. Those of you who own a Pampered Chef chopper--break it out, it makes the chopping last for about five minutes without having to handle onions and jalapenos. I have a double batch in my crock pot right now. What you don't eat freezes extremely well. This is also a good recipe for Super Bowl Sunday.

5 slices of bacon
8 ounces hot bulk pork sausage
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove of garlic
1 or 2 dried red chili peppers, seeded and crumbled
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of chili powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
two twelve ounce cans of Coors beer (okay, we cheat a lot and use Hefeweizen,
or a good amber ale)
one 12 ounce can of tomato paste
one 16 ounce can of pinto beans, drained

Cook bacon till crisp; drain and set aside. Brown sausage. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of drippings, set aside. In reserved drippings, brown the ground beef, onion, green pepper and garlic. Add bacon, sausage, pepper, chili powder, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir in beer and tomato paste. Bring to boiling; simmer, covered for 1 1/2 hours. Add beans, simmer, covered, 30 more minutes. Serve with shredded cheese and chopped onion.

I got tagged again....

Rules: Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1. I am legally blind. Take my contacts away--give me a blind stick. No joke. When I have my eyes examined, my doctor has to lead me through his office or else I am flat on my face.
2. I love to sew and quilt. I only get to do it in the middle of the night practically, when everything else is done, so once every six years or so.
3. I love selling candles. I truly love my job. No joke. Plus, I am really good at it!
4. I LOVE ice cream too, Natryn. I just buy anything that is good. Since I am adult now, Bubble Gum ice cream is no longer "good" to me.
5. I haven't been to the dentist in a long time. I have some missing pieces to some fillings too. Yes, I know, I will get the stern chewing when I see my dentist.
6. I have the hardest time keeping up with the laundry in my household. I would die if I lived in pioneer times.
7. I am not a Harry Potter fan at all. I have not read one of those book. I do find it absolutely stupid that JK Rowling found a children's book conference to "out' that Dumbledore character.
8. My kids ROCK!

Now to find eight people.

I can't think of eight people, so maybe KravMom, F, Tracy, T, ummmm.....I can't think of others who are avid bloggers. I have lots of friends who check my blog but not bloggers themselves. But--I think a tag is a great way to start a blog (=

The irony continues....

I took JM to school today because he was feeling better. The rule at schools (and I follow it!) is to keep your kid out of school for 24 hours if they have wretched or had a fever. His twenty four hours were up and he's feeling better.

I thought we missed the rapture when we arrived at school. No one was there. I went through my mind that Veteran's Day wasn't today, was there a field trip I got mixed up about, etc.

Nope. Almost the whole school is sick with this stomach bug. Talking to another mom, our one night experience with it was nothing compared to her ordeal of all night and day with it. So half of JM's class was gone yesterday, and only a few trickled in when it started this morning.

The kindergarten class is in the same boat. It's not just JM's class. Yuck!

This is one thing I won't miss next year when JM is at home doing home school.

By the way, I have to say, I think I am on Connections Academy radar. I checked my sitemeter (I can see the server of who has visited my blog and where they are from) and about a week ago, lots of corporate Connections Academy folks were checking my blog.

Everyone wave "hi" to them! No misinformation here about Connections Academy! With my luck they are going to call me and tell me to quit mentioning them. I hope not. I am SO looking forward to doing school with them next year. If only for keeping the stomach bugs away!

The Yin and Yang of life

Yes, I am a Christian, so as far as truly believing in the whole yin and yang thing, it's more just the irony of life. Here are a few in my life I have noticed lately.

**Warning--towards the end of this post, some audiences may not be able to stomach the icky factor. Not suitable for all readers, especially those who don't have children and have not cleaned up messes that HAZMAT teams should really be cleaning up.**

* When I play bunco with my girlfriends. When I am trying to roll for ones, I get sixes. When I am rolling for sixes, I get ones. When I am rolling for fours, I gets twos. Others in my group think it's a sick cosmic joke to make those who are too competitive absolutely mad by the end of the bunco night.

* Another bunco one. You have just finished a maddening round of ones, and the next round is twos. Your round of ones was so infuriating because you rolled a whopping two ones in the whole five minutes you were playing. Now, playing for twos, you can roll a two to save your life, but you rolled a handful of ones. Sickening.

* In my business, as soon as I make a trip to the post office, I come home to find a message from someone needing me to send catalogues--today if possible.

* In my life, as soon as I decide what to make for dinner. I make a trip to the store for that one ingredient. Because in any recipe you will never have all the ingredients on hand--never. You come home, pull out the recipe, you forgot one more. Silly you for not checking the recipe.

* Here's the one that is most important right now. Last night, I am basking in our new bathroom. My husband and two kids are curled up in bed, all together, just snoring away. It's a perfect night. Then that familiar sound comes. It's the familiar sound of a six year old child wretching.

By the time I reach the scene, child is in the bathroom, and you can follow his trail. At the beginning of the trail is my husband and two year old blinking out of sleep and wearing the beginning of the trail.

My fresh floors! My fresh walls! My freshly cleaned children who got to bath in the new bathroom......all gone. I have been doing laundry constantly today, while taking care of sick kids.

The yin and yang of life.

Project Drip--Over and out!

We have a couple of little finish things to do, but 99% of this project is done!

I must be dramatic for a minute. You need to understand how hard it was to keep this bathroom clean. The walls were gross because I had put a silly texture on it years ago that really made the surface like sand paper. Hard to wash when the wall takes pieces of a sponge as you are wiping it.

Also, the baseboards were nasty. Basic water damage around the tub, other kinds of damage around the toilet. I warned my contractor guy. I have always fought off a slight smell of urine around the toilet as long as we have lived here. We found the culprit when we pulled those baseboards. That is gone. Yay! Plus the new baseboards are sealed with paint and caulking. We shouldn't have that kind of moisture damage for years to come.

New sink. It's purty! New light fixture. It's purty too! New floors. It's so purty!

First thing I did tonight....squirt cough medicine on the new walls. Wiped up like a charm. Love it.

I am no longer embarrassed to let anyone use my bathroom. So feel free to come by and try it out. It's so purty!

"Project Drip" almost ready!

I'll tease you with one "before" picture and one "after" picture. The baseboards are about done. The sink needs to be installed, and a few fixtures done. And we are done! I'll give the big "reveal" soon.

"Project Drip" Update

Our contractor was hoping to be done today. I was skeptical but hoping he was right. Unfortunately, I was. But progress was made. Linoleum tile has begun, just needs to be finished. The wall patches are complete and dry. The whole bathroom has been repainted. I also spent time outside today painting the long boards that will be the new baseboards.

What has been kind of cool with this project is the paint we're using. I use Miller Paint. Miller Paint is a Pacific Northwest company that specializes in paints for this wet climate. Bathrooms can become extremely moldy only because they hold steam from baths and showers, and suddenly you have black moldy patches on your walls. I grew up in a very very dry climate and was amazed at mold when I moved here years ago.

I ask Miller Paint for a gloss paint for my bathroom. The guy offers me, for a couple of dollars more per gallon (I am buying one gallon and one quart), I can use a special anti microbial paint that is specifically used for Pacific Northwest bathrooms to cut down on molds. Nice! I'll take it.

As I am waiting for one coat to dry tonight, I read the can of paint. It is called "Acro Pure--environmentally responsible paint". Okay, I am intrigued. I read the back of the can, it reads:

"....started making ZERO VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paint before it was cool to be green. As a matter of fact, we took our number one product line and pulled all of the solvent out of it (which are the major contributors of VOC) because we thought it was the right thing to do. Nobody asked us to do it, but we knew there would come a time when indoor air quality environmentally consciousness and sustainability would be important to our loyal customers....
......Available in four sheens, all with built in antimicrobial protection to guard against mold and mildew, there is a finish that is perfect for your project."

My bathroom will be green, and I didn't even mean to do that! Nice! I am quite excited. Plus, I am excited that when we paint the other rooms, I can use this as well.

Now--what else has impressed me with this paint in the two days it's been on our wall--it really doesn't let anything stick to it. I tried to tape off a border tonight to do some trim painting--the painters tape fell off. Now I am in a pickle. I will need to consult my contractor guy--I am anal about trim looking nice, and I can't paint trim free hand. I need my painter's tape!

With great gusto, I totally recommend this paint. If you ever visit, sneak into the bathroom and run your hand over the walls. They are smooth, not high gloss, and icky things will wipe right off of them, making keeping this room clean much easier.

So, this slide show will reveal the new linoleum. My girlfriend who wanted to keep the old, or use expensive marble came over and was very impressed. This is linoleum, yet very much looks like marble. I got those for free from a friend years ago who finished a kitchen with them. She didn't want the extras, so I took them. My contractor's exact words, "You just saved yourself $400." Nice! Plus, I think they are very nice looking.

You will also see the fixed wall and the beginning of the sink going in. Plus, my painting project on the driveway. Can you believe that it was sunny on the fifth of November in Oregon?? The plank by the base of the pedestal is to show the color of the trim. It's a very light butter yellow. It will match some of our other bathroom fixtures, soften the stark white, and also capture some yellow highlights in the linoleum. The new light fixture is in as well. Love the brighter, yet soft, lighting.

Where is Ty Pennington when you need him?

It all started with a drip....

You know, our bathroom sink started having some plumbing issues. My hubbie goes and gets plumbing things, and tries to fix it. He gives up--the sink is old and shot.

For me, I have always hated our bathroom sink. It's a cookie cutter, cheap, home center, generic, just enough to get by sink. We have a very tiny bathroom, and it's vanity sink that takes up a lot of space.

So we call our contractor friend that does work for us. We talk about the sink and replacing it. We all agree, a simple, porcelain, pedestal sink would fit our bathroom better. It won't take up nearly as much space and it fits the 1920's era of our home.

After discussing that, I make the mistake of asking how much to put something new on the floor. Not many of our voting team wants what I want. We have chicken wire shaped tile that is most likely the original tile laid in 1926. It has become fairly beat up, hard to clean and the grout is black. I don't like it. We are getting different flooring put down to the chagrin of a girlfriend from the girlfriend network (keep in mind--she was talking $25-a square foot marble!) and the guy at Home Depot. None of them live here.

Then we discuss when we put down this new flooring, we have to pull up floorboards and well, we should also just replace the icky wood. And then well, maybe we should just paint as well.

Yep, it's almost a remodel.

I will give you "before" pictures now. Please look for the disgusting hole cut in the wall by a previous owner behind the vanity. Nice! Our contractor guy has spent a good part of two days patching that and making it secure. Just that dumb gaping hole has been a chore. I do appreciate that he is fixing it right. I certainly don't want a new sink with a nasty hole in the wall behind it.

Please also look at how yucky the walls are behind the pulled out floorboards. I knew the previous owners of our home were slobs. I stripped off wallpaper in this bathroom when we first moved in that reeked of the two little boys who missed the toilet. Now I have two little boys, and I clean around our toilet with a bleach/anti-bacterial something every two days. That is being the mom of boys. Anyway, pull up the floorboards, and oh my! Those previous owners just seem to keep on leaving things for us.

Oh yeah, and there is this nasty heating vent that is older than rocks. How do we do new floorboards with that? Well let's yank it out, patch the wall, and put in something new.

Plus, well, if we are going to put in chrome fixtures on the sink, maybe we should change the gold tone light fixture to a more period appropriate fixture.

All of these new fixtures are still in boxes....why? Because, as I am learning, all things like this take an enormous amount of prep work. What was the first thing I bought in this project? The pretty fixtures. What have we bought since then? Paint, putting, plumbing, putty, wood, screws, etc. Nothing really pretty.

Yep, this is turning into a project! Enjoy the pics!

I am also starting a new label. After last summer's painting job, this fall's office moving and the bathroom....our house needs it's own label.

Feel my pain.

So my hubbie and JM are doing high fives this morning. When doing this with a six year old boy, it becomes painful. Here is how that went:

Hubbie: JM, I am all done. My hands are sore.
JM: Let me see.

Hubbie: You can't see. My soreness is an objective state of consciousness. (Did you know he is a philosophy professor?)

JM: What's a subjective snakes of continents?

Post Halloween Highlights

What a crazy morning this morning! My husband accidentally took my keys with him to work. So me getting kids out the door for school was hectic at the very least--maddening is more accurate.

Anyway, so I go to my husband's work to get them, and he takes me to the campus coffee shop as payback. I also have BH with me--high on Halloween sugar. The kid can't stop moving and talking.

We bump into a staff member who's title is "Donor Relations". That is the political job of schmoozing donors trying to get them to leave their trust funds for the future of the school. He also has a distinguished looking man with him. You can feel the schmoozing going on. We are all arriving at the coffee shop together.

Donor Relations Guy says to BH: Hi! How are you?
BH: I go poo poo in the potty!

What's even worse--he's never gone poo poo in the potty...

Halloween Highlights

Okay, I have decided that since I have quite a few Halloween pictures, we'll do a slide show. If you have ever downloaded multiple pics to blogger, you know it becomes a formatting mind bender.

I found an absolutely easy and yummy recipe for a pumpkin pizza. So we made that after coming home from school yesterday. Then we dressed up, took pictures, waited for the dark to arrive a bit, then I sent my husband out with the kids. Trust me, I put my parenting time in doing the pizza! Click here for that yummy recipe. It is Mexican style, not Italian style.

You will notice that we found the very fun Potato Head Pumpkin decorating kits. Love those! I thought about actually carving pumpkins, but the thought of a sharp knife in the hands of my six year old just wasn't sitting well with me. We just have too many times when he says, "Ooops! Sorry Momma!" I don't want to hear that while he has a knife in his hands. Anyway, I totally recommend them, they are on major clearance for like a dollar at Target right now. We'll yank them out of the pumpkins and use them next year as well. Depending on the size of your child, you can see they also make great child decorating kits.

JM was a boxer, and I thought he did quite well. BH was Elmo, which is just his speed right now. The head of Elmo wasn't the best fit, but sure made for cute pics.

What did I do? I watched the marathon live showing of "Ghost Hunters" on the sci fi channel.