my first guest post

I'm so excited to be guest posting for Duane Scott today over at Scribing the Journey!! This is my first guest post everrrrrr, and I had a lot of fun putting it all together.

Hop on over and see for yourself - especially if you're hungry and cold!

crickets, christmas, and mrs. c

For all of you just dying to know what Christmas with Mrs. C (that's me) is like .....

*crickets chirping

Ok, so  nobody's dying to know such information. But Mrs. C (remember- that's me!) is dying to tell. So here's my 2010 Christmas story thus far, in pictures:

Did anyone here know that Andrew is a juggler? He has a part time job with the circus.

Just kidding.

But he IS pretty good at juggling. Even pine cones!

Here's a few goodies I've made along the way. Chocolate covered popcorn, and a cheese spread to put on some delish crackers. Actually, that popcorn is covered with chocolate and peanut butter chips. I had a lot of fun drizzling. In fact, I may have gotten just a little bit carried away when I flung some clear across the kitchen, and hollered out to Andrew "Hey, this drizzling stuff is pretty cool!"

Those little things that look like deer pellets are capers. I didn't know what capers were until I made this recipe. Wait - I still don't know what capers are.

You don't know what deer pellets are?

Well, I don't feel so bad then.

Shaun and I at a Christmas party. No, we did not match on purpose. We're just hip like that.

*more crickets chirping

 Jessie and Riley at the same Christmas party. Funnest night of the season so far, but the season is far from over!

Santa's lil' helper. Cough, cough ...

And yes, those bulbs are actually hanging from her ears. Yikes! 

We decorated Mom before we decorated the tree. Just to see which one would be cuter.

The tree won.

*crickets

Once Ashlee and Daniel get here (Five more days!!!), I'll have a ton of things to show and tell. *claps hands in excitement

Until then, I have toilets to clean, laundry to do, presents to make, presents to buy, and one sick boy to take care of. Here's to hoping the rest of us (and you!) stay healthy and robust through the Holiday.

Merry Christmas to all of you!!!!
 

one little word

One little word was extremely important in my morning routine this morning:

small

Unfortunately, when I read the directions, I skipped right over the word small. The result? A head full of leave in conditioner. A lot of leave in conditioner.

This resulted in me running my fingers through my hair with water over the bathroom sink, Andrew looking at me like I'd lost my marbles, and well .... one uber conditioned mane.

Moral of the story?

If all else fails, read ALL of the directions.  

Jus' sayin' ...

christmas shopping, car wrecks, and a pop quiz

I haven't done one of these entries for quite some time. They're fun, and they let everyone out there know that I'm just a normal, everyday person, with an incredibly exciting life.

*crickets chirping

Ahem. Anyway ... if you'd like to participate also, click here and visit the lady who began The Simple Woman's Daybook. Then link up and viola!, you're in.

Here we go:

Outside my window... It's sunny today, but cold. Yesterday was cold and cloudy. I think I prefer the cloudy.

I am thinking... I should really start to make my Christmas gift list. I can't shop until next week anyway, but I really need to be prepared mentally before I step foot out of the house. We all know what happens when women go shopping without a list. We buy things we don't need (but they're soooo cute!), and things other people don't need.

I am thankful for... being able to see Ashlee and Daniel for Christmas! They'll come in on Christmas morning, and we get four or five days with them. I haven't seen them since the wedding in April. Too long!

From the learning room... Hmm. Not much new going on here. We are learning about light in Science, different religions in History, diagramming sentences in English, and fractions in Math. 

From the kitchen... All of the turkey is officially gone. However, there's still a few pieces of pie!

I am wearing... Jammie pants and warm socks. :) Well ... and a long john shirt.

I am creating... Sorry. It's a secret. Christmas gifts, you know.

I am going... to take the car to the body repair shop for an estimate. Shaun got in an accident last week (everyone's ok, and it wasn't his fault). This is the 6th car bash we've experienced in the last five years. Blows my mind.

I am reading... The book of Joshua, Romans, and The Holiness of Grace, by Bryan Chapell. Oh yes ... and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

I am hoping... for a few select things for Christmas. I may very well post my Christmas wish list later on. Just in case you're struggling with what you want for Christmas. Perhaps it'll prime your pump. ;)

I am hearing... The shower running upstairs. Nothing more. Hmm... except for my to-do list running through my head.

Around the house... A two inch think layer of dust. But not for long!

One of my favorite things... Getting a new hairstyle that I love!!! Yeah ... doesn't happen very often.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Not a whole lot. Small groups on Wednesday evening, a little grocery shopping on Friday, just normal every week stuff. Next week, let the shopping begin!

Here is picture (or two!) for thought I am sharing... Ok, students. Get out a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Pop quiz time! Tell me who this is and why she is impersonating an Egyptian princess. Right now! Hop to!

sew dorky

One of my goals for Thanksgiving break was to get a little sewing done for Christmas. So when I sat down to make a ______ for _______ (Ssshhhh! It's a secret!), I was more than a little disappointed to find out my machine wasn't operating properly. At all.

I had just replaced the needle, made sure it was threaded properly (four times), etc. I couldn't find anything wrong with it. It just wouldn't sew right. So I took it in to the place I bought it. It's under warranty, and I figured I might as well. So I made the trek into town yesterday.

They were closed (grr!).

I went again this morning, walked in, and let Mr. Ed (the repair guy) know what was going on. He took the sewing machine and said, "Alrighty then. Let's take a look at what might be going on."

Mr. Ed's the nicest guy ever. He's old enough to be retired, I'm sure. But he's the repair man for his wife's sewing business. I think that's the cutest thing ever. :)

Anyway - he looked at it for what may have been an entire fraction of a second, and said, "Well ... looks like your needle is in backwards."

I ran away, as far as I could, as fast as I could. Right out the front door.

Just kidding. But I wanted to!!

"I see you've got a Singer needle in there," he continued.

"Is that bad?" I asked.

"Well, typically, you can use Singer in a Viking machine. But they don't really make Singer needles like they used to."

"Ah. Good to know."

He quickly replaced the needle with a good one (and facing the right way!), tested it on some fabric, and viola! It's fixed.

Honestly, I was relieved. I thought something horrible was wrong, because of the way it was performing. But I was a tad embarrassed too. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, he thought it was quite humorous.

I told him thank you, and that I wanted to look around a little bit, and asked him to show me where the needles were for Viking machines. He graciously and kindly helped me. Not only did he show me where they were, but I got a quick lesson on which needles were good for what.

I chose a few packs, browsed through their fabric, checked out their scissors, and got in the check-out line. I was hoping I would get Mrs. Ed, because I wasn't sure how much more teasing my bruised ego could take, but no ... I got Mr. Ed.

"You ready to check out?"

"I am," I said, as I placed the needles on the counter.

He quickly scanned the items. "That comes to $11.10"

I handed him a twenty dollar bill, and said, "I think I might have the ten cents."

"Oh! I love it when that happens!"

We both laughed.

I said, "Yeah. It's the little things ......"

Long pause ....

"Like knowing which way a needle should face."

He laughed. Hard.

I laughed. A little.

I'm sew dorky.

cheese, quilts, and reading

As you read in my last post, I wasn't feeling very well in the first part of the week. The second part of the week, my cold got better, but then I ate some cheese, and I've been feeling very sluggish because of it. This is what happens when I crave something that is "legal" on my diet, but still doesn't sit well with me. I take a few bites anyway - and then suffer.

For three days.

The question is: Will I ever learn?

The answer is: Probably not! :))

But in other (good!) news ... Next week is Thanksgiving, and not long after that, it'll be time to start getting things ready for Christmas! Ashlee and Daniel are coming and will be here three or four days. I'm so excited I might just wet my pants stay away from forbidden food that makes me feel awful.

We plan to go see the new Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader while they're here. Can you believe I've never read the Narnia series?

Biggest crime for a reader, I know. However - in celebration of the new movie coming out, I'm going to read as much of the series as possible. 

How 'bout you? Are you doing anything special to celebrate the Holiday Season? Leave a comment and tell us about it! Or - tell me what you're reading and whether you would recommend it. I'm always on the lookout for great books!

One more bit of good news before I go. I finally finished Jessie's Coca-Cola quilt!! This is the good part about being down with an illness. You tend to get a lot of hand sewing done. :)

I could have wrapped it up and given it to her for Christmas, but since it's been hanging on the stairwell for three years (cough, cough!), I didn't figure it would be much of a surprise.

Next post, I'll show you her reaction to (finally) getting the quilt.

 

P.S. I chose Coca-Cola because 1.) She likes Coke! And 2.) Her bedroom is decorated in Coca-Cola garb. Her bed cover is red, and her sheets are black. Her curtains are also black, so it goes well with what she's put together. Not sure how we coordinated so well ... I guess we're just awesome like that. 

*rolls eyes

happy biptiday

Three years ago, I made Andrew a birthday cake and decorated it - all by myself! Only thing is ... it said "Happy Birtday."

H's are highly overrated anyway, right?

Pathetic little cake, isn't it?

Ahem ... well ... for Jessie's birthday this year, I wasn't sure what to do. She doesn't like cake, so that wasn't an option, but I wanted to make her something. So we decided on cheesecake. Cherry cheesecake, to be exact.

You can't very well ice a cheesecake, so I decided to buy some nifty letter candles that spelled Happy Birthday.

At least I thought that's what they spelled ...

Until I opened the package and saw that two of them were broke. They're wax, so I couldn't do much about it. The only thing left to do was to have one heckuva Biptiday. 

The good news?

Jessie did have a Heckuva Biptiday. 

See?

I guess she'd rather it be PAYDAY though ...

This is our good friend, Riley. After he ate a ton of turkey and mashed potatoes, he leaned back in his chair and moaned and said, "I'm sooo uncomfortable!! I can't even swallow!"

Snort! I love to feed people.

All in all ... a successful Biptiday! 

a total ADD post

A few observances ...

Squirrel!!! 

• Vacation is fun, but returning from vacation is not.

• I think I'd like to open a photography business. And an Etsy shop. And a quilt shop. And finish writing my book. 

Can you say focus?

• Oh, and did I mention I'm thinking of taking Violin lessons beginning next year? You know. Just because I don't have enough to do. 

It's the pits being a grown up with ADD.

• Things I need to do are: Shampoo my carpets ..... 

Oh, never mind. You don't want to hear about all that.

Squirrel!! 

So if you live in my area, and would like some pictures taken of your kids, and are willing to risk dealing with an ADD photographer, email me at the address in my About Me section at the upper right hand corner. 

For now, I've got to go make dinner, fold the laundry, go to small group, run to the store ... 

Focus ...

Focus ... 

Focus ...  

Squirrel!!!! 

Want to see a few more pics from our vacation?

Andrew got his first buck (and his first snake!) while we were gone, just as every 14 year old should. :-) And yes, those antlers are legal. Barely ... but barely is good enough.

The rest of these were taken in my Grandma's backyard, where we stayed. You'll see at the end that Summer was hanging on for dear life!

 And in conclusion of this ADD, politically incorrect post ... I'd like to say ....

Good riddance, Nancy Pelosi!!! 

Ritalin, anyone?

wednesday mishmash

Yes, I'm back. No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth.

Darn gravity.

I haven't been feeling very well, and blogging is always the first to go. I'm a bit back up to par today, and hopefully I'll stay that way. I was a little disappointed when I stepped on the scales this morning. My jeans haven't been fitting very well, telling me my butt was disappearing. Anyway, I'm officially two whole pounds underweight. I normally fluctuate between right on the border to five pounds over. At Ashlee's wedding, I was nearly 10 pounds heavier than I am now. So ... I'm not happy. But ... I also don't know what to do about it. I'm eating as much as I can.

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I've been experimenting in the sewing arena. I've branched out of quilting, and am now making various other items. Almost done with them, and I'll post a picture next post. Scout's honor!

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I was cleaning our bedroom last night, and ran across a pile of papers Shaun had put next to the alarm clock. This was among them, in his own handwriting:

How to bore your audience:


1. Stare at the power point while talking.

2. Before the start of the meeting, show no energy.

3. Avoid eye contact.

4. Let your sentences trail ... off ... to ... nothing ...

5. Mumble.

6. Remain glued to a 3 foot diameter circle on the floor.

I assumed he wrote it down quoting some famous Pastor or something, trying to better himself when he preaches. Turns out, he wrote it in a really boring meeting at work. Hahaha! I thought that was hilarious. Somebody could actually turn that into a dang good article and sell it!

-----------------------------------------

This girl:

 Is leaving tomorrow to go see this happy newlywed couple:

And

I

am

jealous!

But so happy they get to spend some quality sister time together.

Have fun, girls!!!  And don't OD on the Starbucks, eh?

pleasantly disturbed - r.i.p. little bunny, hello marcel the shell

I think Thursdays are a great day to celebrate being pleasantly disturbed. Come Thursday, I've usually had enough, so I had better start laughing to avoid crying. And who better to share that with than you - my lil' bloggy friends!?
Speaking of bloggy friends ... A new found bloggy friend give me an award for this here blog (pardon the prairie talk), and I still haven't gotten around to accepting it! Does that make me a horrible friend?

Speaking of friend ... I've been praying for a friend. A close friend. Other than my husband, of course. It's been quite some time since I've had one. This is due to several reasons (none of which have anything to do with being disturbed - I'm just sure of it!). So when I ran across this video, I knew my prayer was answered!! Marcel the shell would make a great friend, yes? I'm going to ask her if she'll be mine.




I just love her lil' doggy. And she's very lovable and not afraid to really give of herself. I mean, who else do you know who is willing to care for a lint pup? We're talkin' serious sacrifice here.

She's also hospitable enough to have friends over for a salad. Gotta love hospitality.

And self-esteem!! Lemme tell ya'. That girl's got some confidence, in spite of her .... uhh ... appearance.

Yes ... I think she'll make a perfect friend. Thank you, Lord, for answered prayers.

Speaking of perfection ... Excuse me while I drill myself:

Perfection is not the goal in homeschooling.

Perfection is not the goal in homeschooling.

Perfection is NOT the goal in homeschooling.

Perfection ... is not ... the goal ... in ... homeschooling.

Speaking of homeschooling ... A school day officially ends when you discover the pet bunny has died.

At that point ... it's funeral time.

R.I.P, little Fizzles.

This post has been part of Duane Scott's Pleasantly Disturbed carnival. It takes place every Thursday. Hop on over there and link up, or read more PDT posts!

Or both!!

pleasantly disturbed - baseball, men, chocolate, bacon, and cholesterol

I'm linking up with Duane Scott today for Pleasantly Disturbed Thursdays. Not that it has to be Thursday to be pleasantly disturbed, you understand. It's just the day we choose to flaunt our disturbing mindsets. And uhh ... our pleasantness.

You want to know what disturbs me?

Exercising. I can't seem to get motivated to do it. My cholesterol is rising, rising, rising, and yet I can't seem to get the gumption to do anything about it. The thing is, I'm afraid if I burn many calories, I'll lose weight. And that's something I really don't need to do. Also, it does not give me energy. I'm more tired when I exercise! Perhaps I haven't done it long enough to see the benefits?

Ho hum. Whateva! 

Speaking of cholesterol. And Duane Scott. Yes, Duane. The chocolate covered bacon is a heart attack waiting to happen. So dig in! What are you waiting for? You're young! I'm sure your cholesterol is nice and low, ya' big stud. So bring home the bacon. Fry it up in a pan. And dip it in chocolate! You'll feel like a man!

Speaking of men ... I just don't understand them. Sometimes I envy them. But only because they don't have female health problems. Oh yes, and because they seem to get better looking as they age. Women? The only thing we have to look forward to in our old age is not having our monthly, gray hair, road map faces, and saggy chesticles.

Big. Honkin'. Whoop.

Speaking of whoop ... Andrew's baseball team got their booties whooped last Sunday. It was just one of those games where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. We normally coach him to learn from his mistakes he made in the game. This game? We said, "Forget it all. Erase if from your mind!! Throw it in the trash. It's gone. Done with. Finished!"

Speaking of finished ... I am almost finished with three, count 'em, three quilts. One big one, one table runner, and one mini-quilt. All I have to do is tack the binding down. Pics will be up as soon as I'm done with each. I know, I know .. you've heard it all before. But really. I AM almost done.

Speaking of finished (again) ... I'm finished with this post!

Want to show off your ability to be pleasantly disturbed? Link up with us right here!

big sister, little brother

By the looks of the pics, I should title this big brother, little sister! But I'm going by birth order here, not who is taller. Jessie is actually wearing tall high heels, so this picture doesn't really do Andrew's height justice. I'm three inches shorter than Jessie, so you can imagine what I look like up against Andrew. 

Sigh ...

Jessie took Andrew on a date the other night, so I'm simply posting these pictures as proof that just because babies grow up ... they don't lose their cuteness. 

Amen? 

 

You don't suppose this post had anything to do with the date idea, do you?

Nah. Me either. 

And I'm posting this one to show off for your viewing pleasure. 

chocolate covered bacon

I don't eat chocolate.

So when my church put on a function entitled "Chocolate Lover's Delight Night," I wasn't exactly .... thrilled. There would be a prize for best tasting, best presentation, and best combination.

My lack of passion, I suppose, is understandable. If I can't eat even one morsel of the incredible spread of chocolate, why go to all the trouble of making a fancy schmancy chocolate dish? For sheer torture, or what? So I told my husband I was going to make a pan of brownies. Better yet, Andrew would make a pan of brownies. Just plain. Ol'. Brownies.

As said hubby and I got to talking, I remembered hearing men were to be the judges. So I started immediately thinking of hearty foods I could possibly put with chocolate. Peanut Butter came to mind, but there would likely be many other chocolate/p.b. combinations. To try for best presentation just made me laugh. I don't have the tools or patience to enter that. Best taste? Meh. Possibly.

Then I remembered a recipe I spotted a few months back ... chocolate covered bacon! 

It was hearty.

It was salty.

It was sweet.

It was a done deal.

And I won the prize for best combination!! Woohoo!!

What did I win?

This:

Serves me right for having a bad attitude about serving others with delicious chocolate, huh?

Nothing a teenage boy won't help get rid of, I suppose ... 

Although I can't tell you how the bacon tasted, I will tell you that several men were in favor of it, and not a single piece was left. One teenage girl liked it, and one didn't. So women, eat at your own risk. :)

Here's the recipe, for those of you who are interested in trying it out:

• 12 Servings
• Prep: 20 min. Bake: 20 min.

Ingredients

• 12 thick-sliced bacon strips (about 1 pound)
• 12 wooden skewers (12 inches)
• 6 ounces white candy coating, chopped
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• Optional toppings: chopped dried apple chips, apricots and crystallized ginger, finely chopped pecans and pistachios, toasted coconut, kosher salt, brown sugar, cayenne pepper and coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

• Thread each bacon strip onto a wooden skewer. Place on a rack in a large baking pan. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until crisp. Cool completely.
• In a microwave, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Combine chocolate chips and shortening; melt in a microwave and stir until smooth.
• With pastry brushes, coat bacon on both sides with melted coatings. Top each strip as desired. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 1 dozen.

Nutrition Facts: 1 bacon strip (calculated without toppings) equals 212 calories, 14 g fat (8 g saturated fat), 10 mg cholesterol, 252 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 5 g protein.

Chocolate-Covered Bacon published in Taste of Home April/May 2010, p70

Do not, I repeat ... do NOT use cheap, thin sliced bacon or else you'll end up with it looking like the last picture I've posted of the bacon. The thin sliced bacon doesn't thread on the skewers well, and they end up looking like beheaded, sickly cows.

Disturbing, I know.

The beheaded, skinny cows!! 

And for your pleasure, here are some of the other entries that night. We've got some super duper bakers at our church!!! Isn't this first one gorgeous?

This one below won best taste!!

Made by my friend, Lynne. So pretty!! 

And this won best presentation, of course. Our Pastor's daughter, who recently became engaged, was practicing for the wedding. Haha! You go, girl! 

P.S. If you would like to know more about why I'm unable to eat chocolate or bacon, click here. I didn't want to goober up my pretty post by talking about health problems!