Sugar Bend Farm

Fortune Cookie Wisdom, Fried Chicken Dreams, and Goodwill Bargains

10:03 PM, 2008-Dec-2 .. 1 comments .. Link

I have a confession to make

I can't fry...

I can fry catfish okay, but I do that in a fryer, so that doesn't count...

If it is in a pan, I can't fry it.

The problem is my batter won't stay on...

I have read how to remedy that and it still doesn't work for me.

It isn't because I didn't learn. I took four years of home-ec in high school and

My mom fried everything we ever ate, not really, but mostly...

We were the fried meat kind of people, at least they were..are still

But me, well, I am more of a bake, braise, boil, saute, steam, broil, blacken,

anything but fry...kind of gal.

Frying doesn't really do much for me.

But with that said, there are times when frying is just want you want.

Like say fried chicken...

All kids like fried chicken, and I don't really want to have to drive down to

Popeye's every timethe kids want fried chicken.

Even though I am sure they wish I would,

especially after they see my poor excuse for fried chicken.

Tonight I was in a daring mood and decided to try it again.

I pulled a bag of chicken parts from the freezer and thawed them.

Then I put milk into the bag for the chicken to soak in for a while.

I prepared my flour, adding Tony's, pepper, salt with a dash of garlic powder.

I pulled out the trusty cast iron pan and added my oil.

I coated each piece very heavily with the flour mixture and dropped them into the hot oil.

I waited, and after I felt it had browned enough on one side I

turned it over and let it brown on the reverse side.

Once that was done I turn the heat down some and continued to turn and cook.

And tonight, I guess the mood was right, and the stars aligned just so, because

my crispy didn't fall of of the meat!

Grant it, they were a little, wee bit browner than I like, but hey, there was

crispy on my fried chicken! Isn't that what really matters?

What does this have to do with anything?

Well I asked myself that very thing before I sat down to write about it.

I suppose it means that sometimes, things just work out, sometimes they don't. Just because it never worked out for you before, doesn't mean it won't at some point happen.

What does all of that mean?

Well maybe I feel like sharing a little "fortune cookie wisdom" tonight.

Maybe I just have to much time on my hands and I am just rambling...

Here is a picture of Noah in his new pj's... Isn't he a cutie!

Here are a couple of my recent Goodwill finds:

I found these two bowls three weeks or so ago. They are hand crafted Japanese pottery. The design is Wild Iris. I am sure they aren't worth anything really, but their simple design and their shape and size was appealing to me. I think I paid $2.00 each for them. They are in perfect shape, no chips and look like there were brand new.

This is a magnetic board. I paid $2.00 for it. And really I would have never bought it although I am one of those people who has my refrigerator full of clippings, comic strips, kids drawings, appointment reminders, and anything that catches my eye that a magnet will hold up on the fridge... so I could use more space for posting things. I wasn't looking for anything like that but this reached out and grabbed my attention.

This was attached to it, done on a piece of vellum paper. I suppose I was in a "Fortune Cookie wisdom" kind of mood that day also. Sometimes I struggle with things; not great big things, but those small things in my head; like purpose, and why are we here, and what is the big picture. Maybe I am the only one...

...Anyway, this caught my eye. It was like a message, on a day when I needed some voice of wisdom speaking to me, some direction, some God-inspired message just for me. Whoever thought I could find such a thing at Goodwill, and for only two dollars at that! I'd say that was quite a bargain!

It also included magnetic letters that said I LOVE MY LITTLE. I started wondering about the previous owner. Little what? For me it would mean, my little ones, kiddos. But I wondered why the person that had this before decided to get rid of it. Did they stop dreaming? Did they no longer love their little? Yes, I have such a small brain that these things cause me to ponder...Humor me, please...

...or did they catch that dream that they dared...and did the little get big...so the message no longer applied...

...maybe the motivation of the message worked so well for the prior owner they wanted to pass it along to someone they thought might need this bit of wisdom...

This is where I came in, searching through Goodwill for some source of inspiration. Some life changing Epiphany, some answers to those nagging questions that keep me up at night. So I bought it and it is now hanging on my kitchen wall, soon to be filled with comic strips that I find humorous or ironic. I will pass it daily and be reminded that in life, you should dare to dream, and you should always love your little_____!!!

I am sure that this post confirms what many of you have always believed about me...

I am a little nutty!! Some of you are saying, "More than a little nutty!"

But if you made it this far, at least it was interesting to you!!!

Or, like a freak show, you had to keep reading to see just how strange I do become!!!

Either way, thanks for visiting...tomorrow I may be medicated and the post may actually make sense...LOL!(not really, I'm not on medication, unless you count midol one week a month!) OH! TMI!! Sorry!

A Little Rant

5:11 PM, 2008-Nov-12 .. 2 comments .. Link

Yesterday I did something that at one time in my life would have been unthinkable...

Something that would have embarrassed my girls, had they been with me.

Noah was with me, but at three, didn't realize that there was cause for embarrassment....

I took Noah for his three year checkup and while I was in that area, decided to go to a new Walmart near there.

I had clipped some coupons and printed some from the computer...

I did my shopping, took my half-filled buggy to the check-out

I got in line, put my items on the conveyer belt...

After having all my items scanned, I handed her my coupons...

She pulled out the clipped ones and returned the ones printed from the internet...

She said they weren't allowed to take them..

I asked to speak with someone about it...

A CSM walked over and I told her the situation, she looked at the coupons and said that they couldn't take them because people had been faking coupons...

So I asked to speak with a manager....

I waited...

and

Waited...

Finally a manager of some sorts walked up and asked what the problem was...

I explained the situation and that I use them in other stores and she said that she couldn't take them...

So I reached in the buggy, where my groceries were neatly placed in my reusable bags, and I began taking the groceries out of the bags...

I put them back into the buggy and said to the cashier and manager that I would leave the groceries in the buggy. If they couldn't take the coupons, I would shop in a store that would.

I told them that Kroger takes the coupons, so they would get my business from now on...

I took my bags and my purse, I picked up Noah and walked out!!!

I will NOT spend any more of my hard earned money in that store!!

I took Megan the her orthodontics appointment yesterday evening, and afterward went to the Walmart where I usually shop...

When I walked in, I asked the CSM if they took coupons printed from the internet. She said as long as they scan properly they will take them...

I picked up the items I needed, and took them to the register

Without any question, the cashier scanned my coupons and gave me my total.

I paid, thanked her and walked out, feeling much better about my Walmart shopping experience...

Kroger and that Walmart store will get my money from now on!!

I think more people should have the courage to stand up against things that aren't right. Vote with your money. Spend your money where you are treated with respect. A place that will remember the old adage in retail:

"The customer is always right"

I am giving them my money, so in return they must be willing to make things easier for me as a consumer. Gone are the days of thinking that they are doing us a favor...

We are the reason they are in business, and there are many places to chose from. Some places have gotten to big for their own good, and think they don't have to please the consumer any more.

But I am going to spend my money where I am treated well and not talked to and treated like I am a criminal that is trying to rip them off...

I am sure they have people like that, but I am not one of them, and don't feel I should be punished because there are a few moral deficient people in this world.

Okay, enough rant for today!

When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important

whether I am afraid. ~

Audre Lorde~

The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to

step out of our ruts and start searching for different

ways or truer answers.

~M. Scott Peck~

Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions.
All life is an experiment
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot

hear what you say.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Coupons

7:11 AM, 2008-Nov-12 .. 3 comments .. Link

Okay, so I have used coupons a lot through the years. No big deal, right? Sometimes I would save a few dollars on my grocery bill and I thought I was really doing something.

But when I read this blog and this blog with all of those who commented on their savings, I began to think that maybe there was much more to couponing than I understood. So I began to read, and study and this is what I did..

Kroger is having a Mega deal event this week and next. If you buy 10 of selected items, you get $5.00 off the purchase. Kroger also doubles coupons up to 55 cents,(that's $1.10). So I had coupons on all these items. I got these 10 items for a grand total of ...are you ready?

I got

4 boxes of Quaker Oats,

1- 3 liter bottle of water,

2 boxes Betty Crocker scalloped and Au Gratin potatoes

1 package Betty Crocker Triple chunk chocolate chip cookie mix

2-24 boxes of Tylenol extra strength

That is 10 items

I paid....$4.13!!!!

I was so pumped! I have never saved that much on anything before!

I was hooked. I am like a crack addict looking for my next fix!

Here it is. The water was free and the tylenol was also free with coupons and the money back after buying the 1o items. $4.13!! Wow!

So I go to another Kroger store today, because the one I went to yesterday didn't have some of the items I wanted. So today this is what I got. Minus the items listed earlier.

Today's haul was great. I got:

1-4 roll Cottenelle tissue- .29 cents!

1-2 liter DrPepper

1-2 liter Big K Ginger Ale

1-64 oz Welch white grape juice

4 cans condensed soup

2 cans carnation cream

16 slices kraft cheese

1 can Pringles

3 cans Chef Boyardee

1-package Betty Crocker Chocolate chunk cookie mix (in addition to the one I got yesterday)

1 box Duncan Hines brownie mix

3 boxes Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix

2 Peter Pan peanut butter

4 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal .40 cents a box!!!!

1-box Ritz crackers

2 boxes Pilsbury Toaster strudels

1 bag Totinos Pizza rolls

2 kroger chili envelopes (seasoning)

1 bag Fritos

1 bag Chili Cheese Fritos

1 bag Cheetos

5 cans kroger brand sliced potatoes

With the $10.00 off because of buying 20 of the items and with the coupons I had the total for today's shopping trip was.....

$38.02!!!!

I am so into this now!!

I can't wait to go back to save more money!

I am a crazy woman. I am so excited!! I use to dread going grocery shopping, now I want to go everyday just to see how much money I don't spend!!

My total savings from both trips was.....

$73.16

If anyone out there doesn't use coupons, and you get them in the mail or in your newspaper, I would be glad to take them off your hands...

Just let me know and I will send you SASE's and you can just drop them in the mail to me!!

Here are a couple of cute quotes about money to end this post. Enjoy!

I feel good about taking things to Goodwill and actually, I do like shopping at Goodwill. It's so cheap that it feels like a library where I am just checking things out for awhile until I decide to take them back.
~April Foiles~

The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it.
~Edith Wharton~

I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.
~Jackie Mason~

"Saving is a fine thing. Especially when your parents have done it for you."
~Winston Churchill~

And the truest statment of all is:
"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."
~Henry Thoreau~

If more of us thought in these terms, we would have much less junk in our homes and much more happiness in our lives!

Weekly Happenings

1:38 PM, 2008-Oct-31 .. 0 comments .. Link

Well we finally did it! It took us a while, but after all this time, it is finally done! I talked about it here. Over a year ago! But little by little we completed our mission.

We got rid of one of our storage sheds!! We cleaned it out!

Everything! We threw away two truck loads of junk!

We brought the rest home for more through going through

and hopefully throwing more away.

That is $50.00 back in our pockets each month.

Some things will be kept.

Some will be given away (does anyone need a twin mattress set?). Free to a good home!

Some things will be taken to Louisiana and put into our storage shed that we own

and don't have to put out money on each month.

Those things will be things like Megan's very large collection

of Barbie dolls and baby dolls that she wants

to keep so someday she can show her children!

Other weeky events included:

Making fig preserves!

In August when my parents came for a visit, they brought me several gallon freezer bags

full of frozen figs.

These figs were picked and frozen by a very dear lady who has more figs than she can

do with herself, and is such a doll that she is willing to share

with her friends. Thanks Sis Phyllis!

The figs are delicious!

I just used one gallon bag to make these. I was just testing the recipe and it turned out well!

I thawed the figs, cooked them down in a water and sugar syrup. Added a little salt and some vanilla flavoring. I let them cook down very slowly, for about three hours, stirring often and staying very close to the pot.

The next batch I will add some sliced lemon instead of vanilla.

And another batch I will add strawberries to the mix.

I have fond memories of fig preserves.

My Granny Holaway use to make them when I was a kid.

We had a fig tree in our yard and she would come visit and I would climb up and pick figs,

she would then go home and make preserves and bring some back to us.

I loved them on toast!

I had forgotten about fig preserves for years until I was pregnant with Noah.

I started craving them. I searched and searched and finally found some in

Mountain View, Arkansas.

I bought a jar and ate my fill.

Then I started buying them at the Farmers Market at $6.00 a jar!

But thanks to Sis Phyllis, I have my own for just the cost of the sugar and my time!

Yummy!

And finally, this is my new kitchen curtain. For years, I have decorated my

kitchen in peppers. But when we moved into this house, I decided to change

the decor. I wanted to go with the "waiters" but just never did do much

toward decorating. The kitchen is smaller than I am use to and counter

space is precious, and I don't have any wall space for hanging plaques or pictures.

So I just didn't do anything.

While visiting the Goodwill store I ran across these curtains. They looked brand new,

never used. I paid $1.50 for them. I just couldn't

pass up such a deal. And I like how they look

in my kitchen window. It added a new

feel to my small kitchen. And for $1.50 how could you go worng?

Well, that about wraps up the week, other than the fact that we have all been sickies. We have been treating allergies all week. I suppose it is the change in the weather that is bringing it about.

Speaking of change:

Don't forget to change your clocks this weekend. Fall back! We get an extra hour on Saturday night to either sleep, or whatever...

But starting next week it will be dark much earlier and we will have to start

staying inside more and the days will seem much shorter. Lord knows I

could use longer days to accomplish the things on my to-do lists, but I suppose for

a few months, we will just have to deal with shorter days and more indoor

activities. Which sends me looking for one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/Uplift-Technologies-DL930-Day-Light-Affective/dp/B0009MFUWC

Because we know that less daylight= SAD for some of us.

Maybe this year I will actually try the light therapy. Wonder if Goodwill has one of

those lamps? HMMMMMMmmmmm......

Spiritual Food

9:08 AM, 2008-Oct-24 .. 0 comments .. Link

While visiting the library a couple of weeks ago, a book was accidently checked out and put with our books. When we got home we discovered it. Turns out it was a Beth Moore book. I have read of Beth Moore, and heard others talk about reading her books but I have never read one. So I thought that maybe it wasn't really an accident and maybe there was something in it that I needed to read.

The book is, A Woman and Her God. In the first chapter she talks about the void that God created in each of us, in order for us to seek Him to fill that void. I have always heard it referred to as a God-shaped void, that nothing else would fill. I have known people who seek in the wrong places to fill that void, only to become addicted to drugs, alcohol, sex and other things which do not fill their void. People have ruined their lives along with the other people in their lives, seeking after the wrong things. If only they realized that only God would fill that void. If you allow God to fill the void, then you would not be seeking in the wrong places, because you would be complete in Him. Then He would bring into your life the things that would compliment you and it would be good things to give you an abundant life.

Beth Moore quotes the scripture Isaiah 44:20

He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside,

that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

She talks about the "lie" being anything that we hold to for our strength, of comfort or to fulfill us. Other examples she uses is food, alcohol, drugs, money, or work. She says that our cravings will help us see what "lies" we are holding onto.

While reading this scripture in the KJV of the bible, I saw a reference scripture for the word lie.

So I looked it up and it was Romans 1:25

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

The next scripture says:

For this cause God gave the up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

The scripture continues on in this vein and it got me to thinking about what is going on in our world today. The evil that resides here. The world has become an evil place, if you doubt, just listen to the evening news or read the newspaper. That is all the evidence I need to tell me that the world has tried to fill that God-shaped void with things other than God. And as He states in Romans 1:28, God gave them over to a reprobate mind. They are believing the lie, and will be ****ed.

God open my eyes Lord, don't let me believe a lie, help me to see the lies in my life. Help me to rid my life of the things that are not of you. Things that I may be using to try to fill the void that only you can fill. Keep my eyes wide open in the spirit, so that I won't be fooled or mislead by my own lusts or desires. Keep my heart and eyes set on you and on TRUTH! I don't want to lose this precious truth of your word.

My new ride!!

11:09 AM, 2008-Sep-22 .. 0 comments .. Link

No! Not that one. Don't I wish! Although I am working on it. That is my new dream car. Does that mean I am going through my mid-life crisis, because I want a convertable--beetle bug? Hopefully that will be my next new ride. But for now this is my new ride.....

This is Megan's new ride. She really likes it!

Even Noah got into the action. He got a new bike for his birthday. I will post that photo later, but to go on rides with us, until he builds up his stamina to ride that far, he can chill in his new trailer.

Of course, that means I will have to really work extra hard to pull him and the trailer. I definately will have to build up to longer rides.

The bikes I bought new, but the trailer was a blessing. I had been looking at them and pricing them....$100.00 and up. I happened by an estate sale the other day and bought this great, like new trailer for $15.00!!!! I was thrilled. It was just a little dusty and needed the coupler to attach it to the bike. No big deal. Less than $10.00 bucks, cheaper than I thought, and we are good to go!!

Happy trails!!!

A new week before me...endless possibilities abound....which road will I take....

8:52 AM, 2008-Sep-15 .. 0 comments .. Link

While surfing the web and reading some blogs I frequent, I ran across this blog post by Alex the Girl. It was dated June 2nd and it was her latest blog post.

I was challenged by her words and agree with it. I have become to attached to the internet and need to back way off in the use of it. Our whole family could disconnect for a bit. Not sure that will happen, but it is something to consider. You can read her post here:http://alexthegirl.com/2008/06/289

Hope you enjoy it. And follow her advice at least for some time.

AWOL blogger

10:21 AM, 2008-Sep-11 .. 0 comments .. Link

Yes, I realize that I have been AWOL from this blog for some time. I have stopped in a time or two to update, but basically haven't been keeping things interesting around here.

Since returning from Chicago, I have been really busy and tired. Sometime vacations will do that to you. I have been keeping up with other blogs but somehow I feel like I am in a slump and can't seem to muster the mental creativity to sit down and put words to paper; or computer screen, as it were. I have photo's from the trip to Seattle and to Chicago that I haven't even downloaded onto the computer, much less edited. I just feel blaaaa....

For those of you who know that feeling well, I don't need to explain. But for those of you who are always energetic and full of creative fire, well... all I can say is I envy you.

I am somehow feeling a bit lost, somewhere between vacation and real life. Trying to muster up the energy to put your nose to the grindstone again but not wanting to at all. When kids are in public school or even private schools, all you have to do is buy the necessary items and get them there on time. But when you homeschool, it is all on you. You have to do everything; you are the parent, the teachers, the principal, the school board and the superientendent. And nothing works if you don't make it work. You design it, run it and carry the weight of all of it on your shoulders. That can be somewhat daunting at times.

Last year we tried something called unschooling. It is a relaxed approach to educating a child. Based on the idea that children learn naturally and without being told to learn. I love the concept, I believe in the concept. And I was perfectly happy with the experience. However, my daughter, who is 13 and in the thoes of puberty, felt that she was strange because she wasn't doing "school" like her peers. Part of the problem is due to the fact she has no homeschool peers. I know, that is my fault, but that is another story. All of her friends and peers attend "regular school" and being the insecure, pubesent that my daughter is at the moment, she felt like she was weird, or strange because she doesn't do "regular school". So this year we are going to try to do "regular school". I plan to get her enrolled into a program that offers study skill training since she has never really done "traditional school". I think it will help her confidence and her ability to organize and keep up with her studies.

Noah who will turn three on Saturday, well we have two more years before he has to worry about being school age. So we are doing unschooling with him and just calling it fun!

Lauren is working on her photography business. She has a couple of weddings coming up, and three senior portraits to do between now and October. She is getting more work and hoping that things will take off. I hope that it works out for her. I think if you find the thing that you love, and work at it, you will succeed, even if you don't get riches and fame, if you are happy with what you are doing, then that is success. However, I am not an idot, I realize that you need money to live, and now days, lots of money...so I am still encouraging her to go to college and get a degree. She says she is...in the spring. But she said that before and didn't. I know that she is smart and can succeed at whatever she tries, if she wants it bad enough. So I don't worry so much anymore about it.

Well, this post took a life of its own, and once again, I was rambling. At some point I will post more photo's of Seattle and Chicago and talk more about them. For now I just want to hold the memories close and try to pretend that I am still on vacation, even if it is just for another day or two.

Today I have to go find a Thomas the Train cake pan to make Noah's birthday cake. Time files, I can't believe my baby will be 3! The last four years have been bitter sweet, since moving to Arkansas, there have been many losses in my life, struggles, pain, tears, dry spells where I felt the trials would never end, but in the midst of it all, this beautiful gift from God-My little Noah!
I read that the name Noah means comforter, I would agree. He has been a source of comfort and joy for me. God knew what I would face over the last four years, and he knew I needed something extra special to get me through, so he blessed me with Noah! Thank you Lord for your blessings and your grace and mercy in my life.

Phoenix in the rain?

12:22 AM, 2008-Aug-8 .. 0 comments .. Link

I am sitting in the hotel room in Phoenix and it is storming outside. The hotel next to us is out of electricity because a transformer blew just up the street. Thank God we still have electricity here.

We went to the Saints game...yippee! I am not interested in the least in football, but hubby is a fanatic, so we compromise. I spent the entire game taking photo's for hubby and texting with my kids back home. Megan was sick, started running a temp today. I think it is just her allergies, but if she isn't better tomorrow, Lauren will have to take her to the doc. Just the kind of thing that keeps a mom worrying when she is away from her kids. Other than that, all is well on the homefront. Noah is doing well. I spoke to him on the phone tonight and he told me he was staying with "Larnon (what he calls Lauren), MeMe (his name for Megan), grandma, and pawpaw." He said that he had put a puzzle together by himself and that he was having a good time. So I feel like he will do fine. Just pray that Megan gets well soon!

Anyway, back to the game... Attached are a couple of photo's I took. I couldn't take my zoom lens in, so I just have panoramic shots.

Tomorrow we leave for Seattle! Yea! Now the fun begins for me!

Views of the hotel room: comfy bed!

Great Kitchen--love the decor!

Where we ate before the game

It is like a 50's style diner

Had a good homestyle burger and fries.

As the other team was introduced onto the field

Some Saints players on the bench and the ESPN camera guy

More Saints players

Views from the walk back to the hotel after the game.

Gotta get in bed it is getting late and I have another flight to make tomorrow. I will post from Seattle in a day or so.

Early morning trips

12:32 PM, 2008-Aug-7 .. 0 comments .. Link

Today this post comes to you from Phoenix, Arizona. I am sitting in a hotel room in Phoenix trying to recover from an early morning flight. We flew to Dallas and then flew from there to Phoenix. I have been up since 3:30 this morning and I didn't get to bed until 11:00. So I plan to take a nap as soon as I am done here.

Andrew and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this month and while my parents were visiting we decided to take our anniversary trip. We are flying from Phoenix to Seattle tomorrow.

I am having some jet lag and just basic lack of sleep issues, so I will end this post now. I will post more later with photo's.

Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated

8:35 AM, 2008-Jul-18 .. 0 comments .. Link

Yes, I realize it has been a while since I posted...But life has been happening. I have been working a lot and when I am home, I am to exhausted to think. Today is my day off this week and well, I am still to tired to think to much about this post. So I just wanted to post something to let anyone who is still reading this know that I am still alive and kicking! Just not kicking so high as of late. This having to get up and go to work everyday thing is crazy! I can't imagine why anyone would want to do it!

On the home front: Kiddo's are doing good. Lauren has a couple of photo shoots coming up. Megan is as usual, being very entrepreneurial. And Noah, little mister Noah, has been growing and expanding his vocabulary and his imagination by leaps and bounds! Andrew started a new project and the drive is much shorter than before, so our gas bill should drop. That is a great thing! As I said earlier, I am working...I have another week and then I will go back to the usual schedule. I will be so happy to go back to one day a week...I think I will celebrate.

We are still trying to plan a vacation. And Andrew and I are trying to plan an anniversary trip and then we are planning to take Noah to see Thomas the Tank Engine when it comes nearby. So the summer is just getting going for us. When most people are wrapping up theirs and going back to school, we will be getting our fun started.

Camp Meeting is starting the first weekend of August, so we will be busy with that for several days. Several people we know from Louisiana are coming up for that, so we will get to visit with old friends.

Of course birthdays are also near. Andrew and Lauren in early August and Noah in September and then I will turn the big 42 in November. Oh I can't forget Daphne's wedding in October, so we will be making a trip to Louisiana.

Whew! I am sure there is something else, but right now, I can't think of what...

Anyway, just to let you know, I am still here and do have more to say, but this is my one day off and I need to catch up on the laundry, dishes, floors, toilets, tubs..................well you know the routine.

I will leave you with a quote, well other than the one in the title.
I am back...I decided to leave you with a poem instead. Several years ago I discovered Billy Collins. He was the US poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003. It was during that time that I found some of his work in the library where I worked. I loved his wit and the way he thought. It reminded me of some of the quirky thoughts I have. Only his are much more articulated than my own. Which explains why he was Poet Laureate and well I am not!!

Anyway, this poem is one of my favorites of his, it is so very true. I have reached the age where this really reminds me of my own battle with trying to remember things. I hope you enjoy it.

Forgetfulness

The name of the author is the first to go

followed obediently by the title, the plot,

the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel

which suddenly becomes one you have never read,

never even heard of,

as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor

decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,

to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye

and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,

and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,

something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,

the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,

it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,

not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river

whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,

well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those

who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night

to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.

No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted

out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.

~Billy Collins~

Job stuff...

8:41 AM, 2008-Jun-30 .. 0 comments .. Link

It has been a while since I updated. Seems like June has been a busy month. I have been working more than usual. I have trained on another route and substituted on that route a couple of days. I am going in today to train on the case on a route that I have had to carry twice without training. I am going to try to learn the case so I can be used on that route also. Not necessarily my idea, but that is the way it is going, so I am just going with the flow.

My job is one area that I completely turned over to God. Not that I haven't in other areas also, but the job is one that I just allow Him to handle it. I am torn about working outside of the home. I struggled for years with the notion that I should be working, having a career, and being a "super woman", having it all; great career, kids, husband, and the great life that all that was suppose to offer. But I have also struggled with the feelings that I needed to be home with my kids.

It wasn't until around the age of 38 or so, and the birth of my son, that I let it all go, and realized that I didn't want that life. I truly wanted to be a stay at home mom. But it was also around that time that we really needed the extra income boost. We had decided to stop traveling with the company that my husband had been working for and settle down in Arkansas. So my husband took a job locally, which meant less pay, lower bonuses, fewer benefits and perks.

We thought we could handle the reduction of pay, but didn't factor in all the other losses. Such as loss of a company truck, that also included insurance paid, GAS paid, all upkeep paid for by the company! Wow! When we had to buy another vehicle for Andrew to use for work, add to insurance, buy gas and pay for upkeep, that was a lot! Then at the same time, our oldest daughter got her drivers licenses! Was that a shock. She was added to our insurance also. It doubled!! Then add a third child, which as an infant required formula, diapers and all the other things babies need.

So all of this was unplanned for expenses that we didn't factor into our decision. But here we were and so we had to do something. I had prayed for years that God would provide me a job that I could do without being away from my family full time and long hours, but would provide enough extra to make a difference.

One night, while awake worrying about what we were going to do, I was on the Internet and thought, "Hey, I think I will check the post office and see if they are hiring part time. I signed up to take the test. I prayed that God would have His way in this situation. I went to take the test. A few weeks later I got the results, and I did well. A few days later I got a letter to come for an interview. I prayed again for God's will. I was given the job on the spot. I was told to go to training for close to three weeks. I again prayed God's will, and the training went well. I began to pray God's will in advance for the job placement and the right situation. I was placed in a great post office with great coworkers and supervisor.

I took each step at a time, and told God that it was all in His hands. While others fret and fuss about this or that, I say my job was given to me by God and it is in His hands. Recently there were changes made because route count was low this year. Many of the routes got changed from a K route to a J route. Among other things, a K route means the regular works 5 days a week and has a sub 1 day. On a J route the regular works 5 days one week and 6 the next. Meaning the subs only work every other week. The route I work is one of the only ones in our post office that wasn't affected. I am still working every week.

So I felt that was God's hand. I have been working at the post office over a year and a half, in November it will be two years, and in that time, we have had three supervisors. But I am not going to stress or worry. I go to work, I do my job to the best of my ability. I know that God gave it to me, if it is His will, He will move me or keep me there. My faith is in Him. He is my boss. I do my job unto Him, not for the supervisor, or the post office, but I am in service to God, even on my job. I have placed it into His hands, and accept His will in it. So when something happens at work regarding my schedule or my placement, I know it is His doing. And that makes it easier to accept the changes that take place with my job.

So far, He hasn't done me anything but Good! I know He will not fail but guide me in each step. Who knows where it may lead. When I took the job, I didn't think long term. And I still don't think to much about it. But if for instance, I am still there a few years down the road and a full route comes available, if it is His will, then I will take that step at that time. But for now, I am just doing what I am doing and letting God open the doors and with His help, I will step into them and follow His lead.

Well this isn't want I had in mind when I started this post, but it just ended up here. So for today I will leave it at this. There are other things I wanted to post about; the cake decorating class Megan and I are taking, photo's of recent happenings, the one year anniversary of my Mawmaw's death, and other things, but today this will have to suffice. I gotta go do some dishes and laundry and cleaning before I have to go to work at noon.

Old hippie revisited

2:40 PM, 2008-Jun-23 .. 1 comments .. Link

Maybe I need to clairify my previous post on the old hippie comment. I didn't mean that we are seeking the values of the hippie movement. I just meant that the hippie movement was a counter culture movement that went against what main stream America expected us to be. The hippie's chose to free themselves from the constraints and expectations of middle class America. Choosing instead their own paths. We as a group of homesteaders are chosing a different path from what main stream America embraces today.

Our society encourages us to become consumers and not producers, followers and not leaders, people who are taught what to think and how to live by the media, ie..television, hollywood, and mainstream liberal media organizations. We as a society are expected to accept their advertising and liberal opinions as the gospel. But we are chosing instead to think for ourselves, be producers of our own goods and food instead of relying on the government and big business to provide for us.

Many of us are rejecting the notion that only schools can education our children, chosing instead to education them ourselves. We are rejecting the notions that we must all live in cookie cutter houses in suburbia, with manicured lawns, flash"y" cars and a need to keep up with the latest fashions or fads. We aren't seeking after consumer goods that are pushed down our throats by big business We are refusing to believe that happiness and sucess comes through having more, or bigger and better...ie., through spending, seeking and keeping up with the Joneses.

My view of a hippie has less to do with the 60's movement that involved free love and drugs, but more to do with an attitude that we don't have to keep the status quo, and live like everyone else is living. That we don't have to change with the times, the old ways can still be good ways. We don't have to embrace the ideals and lifestyles that are shown us in the media, but rather we can chose our own paths, our own way of making a life. As long as that way doesn't go against God's principles for living. Because many of us are seeking the right path that God has ordained.

Many of us grew up with the idea that we needed to be a two income household, so that we could provide more for our families. But some of us realize that we as women can't really have it all, that was a lie perputuated upon us so that we would earn more, pay more taxes to the big government and spend more money making more big business rich. Some of us discovered that while attempting to have it all, something had to suffer, usually our kids, and families, and marriages...And we discovered that we could survive on one income and that the family unit could function in the way God imagined.

To me an old hippie is one that still embraces his/her convictions and beliefs even though the modern world wants him/her to believe that those ideas are outdated and ignorant. An old hippie is someone who still lives the way they believe is right in the face of opposition and ridicule. One that feels out of places in this crazy world we are in now. Someone who has lived and learned and sees value in the small miracles of life and the world that God created. Not someone to go off on tangents, in the way they think or believe, not swayed by popular opinion or public opinion. Someone that has seen enough of life come and go, to realize that it is all temperal and vain. Knowing you must have an inner compass and an inner thermostat, not relying on the thoughts and opinion of others.

So when I posted about being an old hippie, I just meant that we as homesteaders and homeschoolers are creating a new counter culture that is going against what we are told is the normal way of living in our modern society. We are finding our own way, chosing to think for ourselves and letting our hearts guide us down that path. So with that in mind, again I post this link to "Old Hippie." (You will have to pause my playlist on the side bar so you can hear this.)

Old Hippie

8:30 AM, 2008-Jun-23 .. 1 comments .. Link

For some reason this song by the Bellamy Brothers has been going over and over in my head. When I think of the lifestyle that many of us are seeking, I think about a group of people that's forming a counter culture.

We are seeking a different path. A path that goes against what modern America seems to have become.

Although I don't agree with all that this song is about, it makes me think about seeking our own path and searching for the way things were and how they should be again.

Here is a link to a good version I found on you tube, if you are interested in hearing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhxc1ZysPXA

I haven't learned to post the video to my blog yet, so you will have to follow the link. Sorry. I also have it on my play list if you want to click on it there. It is the Bellamy Brother singing it there.

Eggs, Eggs, and more Eggs...

10:35 AM, 2008-Jun-16 .. 1 comments .. Link

I sure have been missing my hens lately. The last week or so I have been craving eggs. Boiled eggs mixed with mayo, mustard and a little sweet pickle. That is how I make egg salad. Anyway, I have been eating egg salad everyday. But they are store bought eggs and not my farm fresh eggs that I use to enjoy from my hens when we had Sugar Bend Farm. I am hoping that we will soon find the place we are searching for and be able to have hens again with fresh eggs!

Birthday's, trips and such...

3:27 PM, 2008-Jun-11 .. 0 comments .. Link

I haven't posted in a few days due to being very busy. Updates on the happenings are: My baby girl just turned 13!! I can't believe that she is already a teenager!

Friday, June 6th was her birthday and we decided to surprise her with a trip. She has always been into American Girl dolls and last year they opened an American Girl Boutique and Bistro in Dallas so we decided to go, before she got to old to want to go. So I got someone to cover for me at work Saturday and Andrew took off on Friday and we drove to Dallas for the weekend.

Noah having fun by the pool at the hotel

Megan, Noah and Andrew cooling off in the pool

Megan and I got up early Saturday morning and drove to the American Girl store and had a girls morning out.

Megan with her loot.

The girls of the year

We picked Andrew and Noah up at the hotel and drove out to Grapevine Mills outlet mall for a little while.

Noah enjoying a carousel ride

What a surprise to find a Thomas the Tank Engine store! Noah had a blast!

We had planned to go to the aquarium on Sunday, but decided to go visit with some cousins who live near Dallas and plan another trip back to the aquarium and Six-Flags in a few weeks.

Noah and Nikko

Beverly, Rick, and Nikko

After a nice visit with Bev and her family, we drove back down town and got out and walked around Dealey Plaza and the area where President John F. Kennedy was shot. It was very interesting and had a sacred feel to it. Maybe that was just me. Anyway, all in all it was a great trip. We all enjoyed ourselves and it was nice to get away.

These are photo's of Dealey Plaza and the building where Lee Harvey Oswald was said to have been when he supposedly shot JFK.

The wisdom of Garfield

9:50 AM, 2008-Jun-5 .. 2 comments .. Link

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Garfield. I use to have a couple of stuffed Garfield's that I kept in my car when I was young and single.

Anyway, I have always found his humor to be...well humorous!

Anyway, with all the heaviness of the world we live in, it doesn't hurt to occasionally find humor in things.

In fact, laughter doeth good like a medicine. Someone wise once said that and I would have to agree with him.

I have this cut out and put on my fridge and I laugh at it daily. Yea, I suppose I am easily amused, but it is so much the way I feel as of late! You know I am almost 42!

I found this one on a friend's mom's blog that also loves Garfield.

Chocolate junkie

10:27 AM, 2008-Jun-4 .. 0 comments .. Link

Dadgum you Ree!

Why did you have to post such a wonderfully delicious, delightful, decadent dessert like this on your site? And why did I have to try it? I should have just walked away and let it be, but no, I couldn't do that. Those tempting photo's you posted. You made it look so easy, and it was easy.

That is the problem, it is to easy to walk into the kitchen and pull out the blender, pour in those chocolate chips, crack four eggs, add some vanilla and salt. Then pour over that hot coffee as it blends...

The hardest part is leaving it in the refrigerator long enough to set. So I do it at night, and in the morning, when I get up...OH! there are wonderful dishes of goodness waiting for me. All I have to do is top it with ready whip, and enjoy!!

I guess that I am just a chocolate junkie and couldn't help myself. Now I want it all the time.

This is the second time in two weeks that I have made this stuff and have eaten way to much of it.

You sure do know how to hurt a diet!

If you want the recipe for this luscious dessert you can get it here. But don't say that I didn't warn you...It is addictive!

Coming late to the party...again

9:33 AM, 2008-Jun-4 .. 1 comments .. Link

I know I always seem to be coming late to the party, but have you seen this...

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/monsanto_movie080307

Tuesday Happenings

8:40 AM, 2008-Jun-4 .. 0 comments .. Link

Well, yesterday was Tuesday and you know what that means. Adventure...

Well, it doesn't always mean adventure, but yesterday we were up for an adventure so the kids and I jumped into our awaiting carriage...

Or what we like to call, "Our new toy" the fun mobile.

Away we went...We went to the Rock...

Little Rock, that is...

We went to the downtown Little Rock Farmer's Market

Since I have to work on Saturday's, I only get to go to the Tuesday's Market. But I suspect that Saturday is the day to go...

I had planned to take a photo of my favorite vendor, but got sidetracked by the fruits and veggies. Next time I will ask him if I can photograph him and his stand. It is actually back near the red truck you see here. I guess I am a bit partial to him because he goes to our church. But he also has great produce. And he goes out of his way to have the wonderful fig preserves that I love so much.

Then we walked into the River Market because the girls were thirsty and wanted a drink. We got there just after the lunch crowd, so there were a few vacant spots to sit.

They have recently redone the inside with new lights, decor and seating.
It was then that I spotted the two vacant vending spots on the right of the photo below. There are actually three, but one had a sign on it that something was just about to open there. It has been a long held dream of mine to have a small lunch style eatery. Or even a small family restaurant. Yes, I know, I am crazy, but this fueled my dreams...What if I could get one of those spots and open a lunch counter! The red one has a stove already in it. So it is ready...

But, for now, that is just a dream of mine, I don't really think that I could meet the demands of something like that right now. So, I will tuck that dream back inside my dream box and pull it out another time...

After leaving the market, we took a long drive in the jeep while Noah slept and we enjoyed the sunshine.

So all in all, the day was fairly adventurous; for a Tuesday at the Rock that is...

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