Life Is What You Make It

It's a  new year and I feel like I need to say something witty and clever and mention resolutions and express gratitude on new beginnings and blah, blah.. But truth is, new year's day is just another day to me.  It's a brand new year, yes, but the day is just the same as the day before and after it.  Andrew had to work, so it's not like we could go out and par-tay. We don't drink like we used to in the old days. Too many memories of drunken stupors and hangovers the next day. Who wants to go through that again?

When I was younger, I remember going with my parents to a party on December 31st, and I must have been 12, or 13 maybe.  I knew it was something exciting because my parents were drinking. Like real drinking. I'd never seen them drink before! But I was stuck with older kids who seemed to be all aware of adult activities and I felt pretty left out and thought the whole party was kind of boring-- could we please hurry up and go home now?

When I was 21, I could legally drink, as if age ever stopped me before, but at least now I wouldn't get in trouble. A real good friend of mine, her older brother was hosting a party in the basement of their parent's house and it was some party!  I actually liked the champagne! It was dark and there were strobe lights, the music was bass heavy and pounding. People were dancing and I imagine kissing, too, though I had no one to kiss.  You want to know where I was at that party?  Hanging with the DJ, who happened to be a good friend of mine, and helping with the music.

For as long as I can remember, if there was a party and I was there, somehow I always ended up helping in some way-- helping with the music; helping dispense the beer from the kegs; refilling chips and dips in the kitchen; picking up empty cups and helping to clean up. Even if I was the guest!  I never felt like a social butterfly, flitting around and making small talk or going from group to group and being the life of the party.  I've always felt a bit like a wall-flower and I would get tongue-tied at conversations- what do I say, what can I talk about, what if he comes up to me and says something?!? So I kept myself busy, it was easier to say "hey, how ya doing!" then have an excuse to leave by saying, "I'm helping out, gotta go!"

I do better in small groups, when the conversations turn deep or there's actual substance in what we talk about. Where I can learn more about the few people there and make connections and maybe, become closer friends with. Living out here in the country is easy for me, I have an automatic excuse not to go to big social events by saying I live too far.

And New Year's Resolutions? I don't make them anymore. I'm sure there are people who faithfully make them and follow them, but I bet there are more that only last a week and then go back to old habits. I'm pretty happy with myself and my life, I don't see that there are a lot of changes I want or need to make about myself.  I'm comfortable in my skin and it's taken me a long time to get to this point in my life. Resolutions, to me, are about making improvements in your life and I feel like anytime is the time to make improvements, not just that one day a year.

Though I am happy with myself, I am always trying to improve things around me. That's a daily struggle-- keeping the house clutter-free, feeding my family healthy meals, doing my part to live greener and improve my corner of the world. Teaching my children to be good people and loving them. Making sure Andrew knows that he is appreciated and I am thankful for all he does for us. Remembering to count my blessings and be grateful for what I do and don't have.

Here's to a new year, I hope you're as happy with your life as I am. You have every day this year to make changes so if you fail your new year's day resolution, make another one. Who says you have to wait until new year's day?

Rambling Thoughts

• As expected, we have a blanket of snow covering the ground. Good-bye pretty Spring-like temperatures, welcome back cold weather!




• The chickens aren't happy about that. Makes it harder for the girls to avoid the horny roosters. Time to sharpen the axe next time it warms up again.




• The house is nice and warm, thanks to the recent splitting of wood by Andrew.




• Funny how when one is down to the last of the wood, the cold becomes acceptable, but when one knows there is wood to be burned, the shivering becomes unbearable.




• A Buff hen has been sitting on eggs for about 10 days now. I've numbered 6 eggs, made sure they were all rounded and not pointy and check her frequently to make sure she is still setting on them. I read somewhere that rounded eggs are more likely to be female and the pointy ones tend to be male. I'm testing that theory and hoping for more hens not roosters.




• I've discovered my yeast has gone bad. I made roast beef tonight and was going to pair it with french bread- yum! While letting it rest for an hour to rise, I noticed there was hardly any air in the dough. I kneaded it again and shaped it, hoped for the best and let it rest again, but no go. I baked it anyway, figuring I can at least chop it up for the chickens if it's too dense. It rose a little bit in the oven, but yeah, it's going to the chickens in the morning. No more bulk purchases of yeast for me-- I don't bake bread often enough to use it up fast enough.



• I've recently discovered Lindt chocolate truffles. What have I been missing?!? I snagged a bunch of them on clearance after Valentine's day and each one is a bite of heaven! Even the dark chocolate ones are yummy, but my favorite is the white chocolate with bits of cocoa studded in the shell.



• Has anyone seen the A-Team movie? How amazing is it that Liam Neeson looks like George Peppard?? I never would have picked Liam to play George, but he pulled it off! I used to watch the TV show with my Dad back in the 80s. Might have to get the series on DVD...



• Any Coca-Cola drinkers out there? Did you know if you register with Coke, you can collect points from inside the caps and boxes and then get things with those points? I've been cashing in points for free magazine subscriptions! I picked up Popular Mechanics, Country Living, and Better Homes & Gardens so far. We take the magazines to waiting rooms when we're done with them.

• One of the nice things about canning your own food is seeing the empty jars pile up on the counter. I like washing them and then setting them aside to be taken downstairs and sorted by size in different boxes. It makes me feel good inside. I look forward to canning season and filling up those empty jars again.

• I recently went to one of those warehouse-type stores with a friend who is a member. We used to shop there often, then stopped when money got tight and we couldn't afford the membership or buying in bulk and paying bulk prices. I checked and compared prices and I found it very hard to find anything that I couldn't get cheaper with coupons-- with the exception of spices. I ended up getting only spices and spent much less than I expected to. No more wishing I could shop there again and would be content with getting invited to go along once in awhile just for getting spices.

• I have a hankering for pumpkin pie. I think I'll make pumpkin pie tomorrow.

Lost and Found

Now that I am not working for the kids' store anymore, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how we are going to pay the upcoming car insurance bill. Usually, the money I make from selling stuff covers the twice-yearly bill which happens to perfectly coincide with the end of the sale.

I have been talking about opening up an etsy shop, but I haven't had the time to take pictures of the sale items and post them.

We're talking about a yard sale to sell many of those children's items we have, but again, haven't had the time to get everything together.

I tried to sell some bib and burpcloth sets and soaps on here, but apparently among my readers there is no need for them and they went unsold.

Our tax return is due to come in, but most of that is spoken for and there isn't much left over for the car insurance.

What to do, what to do?

I sat down today to write out some checks for a few bills that are due and opened up a bunch of mail that I put aside. You know how it is, get stuff in the mail and first, you sort out the junky stuff and get rid of that before it piles up (and it does pile up quickly!), then put the bills in the office and open anything that looks interesting. We had company a while back and I took everything that piled up on the counter and shoved it into a box and put it in the office.

Today, I needed the mortgage bill and it wasn't on my desk so it must have been swept into that box. I dig through it and found what I thought was the mortgage bill. It wasn't. It was something better! An escrow refund! And it was almost the perfect amount needed to pay both cars' insurance bills!

Hooray for "lost" mail! That'll teach me to open my mail right away!

Snow and Ice

It started on Monday-- a light dusting of snow falling gently to the ground. Squeals of delight from children who have barely rubbed the sleep from their eyes-- "Snow! It's snowing!"

Tuesday was perfect-- several inches of light fluffy snow on the ground, which made for perfect sledding conditions. But can I just ask? Why does it take an hour to get 3 little girls dressed in their warm clothes, snow pants, boots, hats, mittens, and coats before I can finally send them out to their angel-making, sledding, snow-eating fun, only to have them come back in 15 minutes later shouting for hot chocolate? Seems to me the ratio of how long it takes to get dressed and how long they play outside is seriously lopsided!

Overnight, our area got hit with icy rain and we woke to a coating of ice over everything. Pretty to look at, but poor Hubby had to drive in it to go to work this morning. Don't malls ever close for bad weather? Why must people risk their fool heads and drive in bad weather to go to the mall? Do me a favor crazy mall shoppers, and stay at home when there is ice on the road, so my husband doesn't have to risk his life for you so you can shop for the latest music CD or just troll the mall, window shopping.

When the husband is away, I have to take over the wood stove duties, which meant this morning, I had to start the fire and then keep it going for the rest of the day until he gets home to take over. I had to go outside to the wood pile and get more logs and after bringing it in the house, we stack it loosely by the stove to let them dry from the snow and ice. While stacking, I dropped a log on my foot. My bare, naked foot. Oh my freakin' heck! That hurt! Instant purple! I burned the offending log, like pronto! Then I limped up the stairs and iced it. I'm alright now. Nothing broken. Just an owie.

When the husband got home he kissed my foot and made it better. Then we had hot dogs and tator tots for dinner so I wouldn't have to stand on my poor foot and slave over a hot stove. I love my husband! I forgot to put my ring on and he proposed to me again! I said yes. :o)

"Honest Scrap"

My friend, the famous author, Dj Kirkby, tagged me to do this meme. I'm supposed to list 10 honest things about me and then tag 10 others. I know memes are hit or miss-- some people like 'em and others hate 'em, so I won't tag you, but if you want to do this, feel free and let me know so I can come and see.

1. I don't like eating beans-- kidney beans or lima beans or any of those dried type beans. They taste mushy in the mouth and I only eat beans in chili. I can only eat one bowl of chili before my brain starts protesting and I don't pick them out so I can be a good example for my kids.
2. I can whistle the theme song to "The Andy Griffiths Show". I can still remember it from when I watched it as a kid and my husband tells me I whistle it pretty good!
3. Every time I take off my wedding ring when I am cooking (working dough, or raw meats), my husband puts it back on my finger and proposes to me all over again.
4. I always say "yes".
5. You know those "truth or dare" games people play at parties? I always said "truth".
6. I started smoking cigarettes when I was 13, back when they used to cost 80 cents a pack. My best friend and I used to walk to the bowling alley where they had a cigarette machine and put our money in, then get a pack of Kools.
7. I quit smoking on and off for years, but finally quit for good on Jan 1st, 2001. I've never smoked again since.
8. I once watched a guy shoplift a watch in a store in Georgetown, D.C. It happened so fast and he was so smooth that I couldn't believe what I was seeing. When the salesclerk wasn't looking, the guy reached over the counter, plucked the watch off the back wall, slipped it on his wrist, smiled at me, then walked out. It all took less than 5 seconds. It still amazes me to this day.
9. No, I didn't rat him out. I was too shocked to say anything and by the time I realized what happened, the guy was gone.
10. The first time I rode on a horse was bareback. I know why they use saddles-- when I got off the horse, there was hair all over the inside of my legs. ugh!

Interesting enough for you? :o)

Bad Dog!

We went thrift store shopping yesterday and this was spotted. Too funny!

WARNING:

Do NOT leave your children unattended with markers!

Strangeness

It's been strange here these past few days. The weather is unseasonably cool for August which makes me feel a little unprepared for the coming months.

Summer is a time of harvesting and putting away things for the winter, to preserve a little bit of memory in each jar, so that when you open it, you remember the day you picked the contents, prepared and canned it.

Summer is a time for stocking up on firewood, to cut and chop each log and know that you will be warm and toasty when there is a cold blanket of snow on the ground.

Summer is a time to run around barefoot and feel the warm earth between your toes, to feel the grass tickling your skin as you roll round and round down the hill.

But suddenly, without warning, it's cooler when it is supposed to still be hot. So now, I fret that I haven't done enough this summer. We haven't stocked enough wood, we are still harvesting our garden and I am still canning our memories. The grass is going to sleep and turning brown and the trees are quickly shedding their leaves, and all day today, a cool breeze blew through the windows which caused me to think about thicker blankets on the beds.

Too soon, it feels like fall. Too soon.

And I feel strange, empty almost. I putter around the house feeling like I should be doing something, but nothing comes to mind.

Too soon, summer is coming to an end, and I feel wholly unprepared.

Exciting News!

I have an article published in an online magazine! Kiss Fist magazine is a wonderful read-- full of gorgeous photos, bits of quotes and poetry, a few articles and stories. All of the contributors are Deaf and what's even nicer is I know a lot of them from school or other events, and one of the contributors is my cousin!

For my hearing readers, 'kiss fist' is a sign language slang term. You literally kiss your fist stating that you love something. For example, in sign language: I really 'kiss fist' this book I'm reading.

There is a wonderful series of black and white photos that illustrate signs peppered here and there in the magazine. I was so excited to see them and my husband agrees, it's a great way to help someone understand why a word is signed a certain way. On the cover is a photo illustrating the sign for smoking. There is a photo illustrating the sign for high heels. Just go and see for yourself!

I am so excited to be a part of this magazine. It's brand new and this is only their second issue, and I predict they will go far! Are you still here?? Go! Shoo! Then come back and tell me what you think!

Totally Random Tuesday

Would you believe I scored this totally rockin' cake cover for only a buck?! The yellow on the top is the color of my dining room walls-- exactly! Totally meant for me!!





Very Mary, of Very Mary Designs, had a 'Freebie Friday' contest and asked fellow bloggers to spill their guts on the worst party experience, ever! Thankfully, no one actually spilled their guts, but there were plenty of horror stories. The prize was this totally cool, vintage 'Party Encyclopedia' from 1960! Complete with details on how to decorate, recipes for mixed drinks and appetizers and even jokes!!

This was my entry for suckiest party moment:: "Lived at the beach for the summer with 2 other girls. one girl invited a bunch of college kids to our apartment for a party without asking the other roommates. came home to a house full of underaged freshmen students and a small handful of ex-high school classmates. trying to be gracious, I grab a beer and start talking. *sniff sniff* what smells? I look to see brown footprints leading from the front door to the kitchen. I follow footprints to the poopy shoes of a VERY drunk underaged freshman who threw up/pooped outside then stepped in it and brought it into our apartment. Party OVER! Freshman wanted to sleep on my couch along with 20 other people. uh, no? Spent rest of night on knees scrubbing floor with bleach."

I was the runner-up winner, because the first winner didn't claim her prize. Such a nifty book and the husband and I are having fun comparing notes! Thanks Very Mary!!