Random Dozen

1. I've always wondered why we were taught both printing and cursive. Do you prefer to print or write cursive? (Keyboard is not a choice.)

I probably use print more than cursive, but I enjoy cursive when I'm writing for pleasure.

2. Are you a dreamer or a realist?

dreamer

3. Billy Joel or Elton John?

Neither, really.

4. What is the scariest movie you've ever seen? Not just horror flicks but also ones where the tension or suspense is killer, for example, Flightplan (2005): A bereaved woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet the child vanishes and nobody admits she was ever on that plan.

First of all, I hate scary movies. I am a very vivid dreamer - I dream in full color, very realistic, and in series (one dream can go on for days, continuing from one night to the next). So one scary movie can set me up for days of vivid nightmares. So I avoid scary movies like the plague, but I have seen one movie that gave me nightmares - "Misery." I saw this at a neighbor's house when I was 16 or so. It was horrible.

5. Now what is the scariest real-life moment you've had?

My car accident was pretty scary in the traditional sense, but I think when I took Ethan to the doctor when he was 8 months old and he was so sick he was just laying on my chest fighting for breath wins. The doctor told me that babies decline in order: first they stop playing, then eating, then drinking, then breathing. He was no longer doing the first three, so you can imagine the fear in this mommy's heart when he said that! By the way, he had RSV, and he still has breathing problems today from it. :(

6. What word do you misspell without fail?

I am a horrible, terrible, no-good speller. Which is shameful considering I was an English teacher. The Oxford American Dictionary is my friend (and the only dictionary worth owning, by the way.) I have to constantly Google words that I cannot figure out how to spell, and see if Google will kick out a, "did you mean..." statement so that I can see the right spelling! I am so excited about actually learning proper spelling rules while teaching my kids. That might be one of the main reasons I homeschool... :)

7. Name something you like to do but are not really talented or good at?

I like puzzles, like Sodoku. I have to go through and eliminate each number possible and can never see the bigger picture/patterns, but I still like to do them.

8. Do you get your emotional/mental batteries recharged by being around people or by having alone time?

Most often being around people. Of course, everyone needs some alone time now and then.

9. Have you ever been on TV?

Yep! When I was in high school, my vocal ensemble sang at a local National Day of Prayer meeting, and the news covered it. They did a close up of me singing in their report.

10. Apple or pumpkin pie? (Don't be greedy.)

Pumpkin. Cooked fruit is so overrated.

11. How many magazine subscriptions do you have?

3 - Reader's Digest, Cook's Illustrated, and Everyday Food. Unless you count the subscriptions I've ordered for my kids - then it'd be 5.

12. What lesson do you have to keep re-learning?

That absolutely nothing in this world satisfies like Jesus.

Please Knock Me Out Now

I've been on a long trip with the family. All nine of us packed into two vans. We drove to St. Louis and back. Forgive me in advance for the picture order. I don't know what blogger did to inhibit the moving around of pictures but they did and I don't have the patience to deal with it. I'm lucky to have actually gotten all these uploaded.
One thing that I really miss about "the north" is the fall colors.

We visited the arch in St. Louis, of course. That was fun. The girls had a good time with that.

We rode the Incline railway in Chattanooga, TN. That was interesting.

We walked about 2/3 of the way across the Walnut St. Bridge over the Tennessee river in Chattanooga. You can't see it but behind us was a wall of rain heading our way and we had to turn around and get back to the vans to escape the rain before we could get all the way across.

We visited the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY. I was disappointed that I couldn't take any pictures inside the museum itself. I was also disappointed that I was not able to purchase so much as a fat quarter while in the home of quilting in America. What's with that? I tried to go into Eleanor Burns' Quilt In a Day shop. There was a sign on the door that said "will be back at 1:30." It was after 2. Darn. Oh well. I bet it's more fun during the annual quilt show anyway. The quilts inside were simply beautiful though. Del and Dad were joking about how boring it was going to be but both were impressed with the museum. And that's sayin' something.

Lily enjoying the view from the arch in St. Louis. That's the Mississippi river below. Just in case you didn't know that.

I took a picture similar to this one when we were in St. Louis when Ella was 8 months old. It was just Del and Ella with the arch behind them.

We went to the St. Louis Science Center. That's fun!! Here I am holding a South American hissing cockroach. I almost died!

In Chattanooga we visited the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park. It's a Civil War site. Very interesting! I really enjoy visiting history like that. Ella picked me a flower.

Here's the view from the mountain that the Union army had. That is the Tennessee river and Chattanooga below.

At the St. Louis zoo there was this cool drinking fountain. I was thoroughly impressed with the zoo. It's free to get in and you get up close to the animals. And they had a lot of really interesting animals and all were active. The worst part was that parking was $11 but you can park on the street for free. The zoo is located in Forest Park and there are tons of things to do there but we didn't have time to do anything other than the zoo.

Here's Ella snagging a red leaf at the zoo.

The whole reason we went to St. Louis was to visit Del's family. In the picture from left to right are: Aunt Brenda and Lily, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Reed, Granny, my mom and Great Aunt Vera. On the floor of course are me and Del, Anna, Rachel, Sarah, Ella and my dad. We saw a couple of cousins also but forgot to get a picture.

We also saw Del's nephew. Here is his daughter with Anna. Dariana was such a sweet girl. Her mom is expecting and she will be a great big sister!

5 O'Clock Someday

This is what Andrew will look like at 5 o'clock in 20 years or so. Isn't he cute?

Why is it that the meals they like the most are also the messiest?

Random Dozen

1. On an average, how often do you splurge and buy something for yourself?

I splurge in spurts. Sometimes I buy something little for myself four days in a row, and then I go weeks with nothing. Probably on average, I get something 3 or 4 times a month - even if it is just a gourmet coffee when I'm at the grocery store!

2. What is the last creative project you began/finished?

If this has to be began AND finished...wow, probably a set of knit baby hats before Andrew was born almost 11 months ago! But I have started some socks (knit) and I've done lots and lots of creative cooking now that I found out we are allergic to food!

3. OK, Goldie Locks, do you consider your house too big, too little or just right?

I think my house is just right! There is plenty of room and I can still keep it all clean most of the time. When our kids are older, we might want a different layout, but I don't think I'd really want anything bigger.

4. What is your favorite outdoor chore?

I'm not sure I can put "favorite" and "outdoor chore" in the same sentence. I hate all outdoor chores. Fortunately, Jerry hates all indoor chores and so we happily do what the other hates!

5. If you knew that cigarette smoking was not bad for your health but would be a weight loss tool, would you use it? Why or why not?

I'd probably be tempted, but opt not to due to the expense and odor. And I'm vain, so the discolored teeth would be a turn-off, too!

6. On a road trip, would you rather drive or ride?

Ride and knit, baby!

7. What do you consider a trivial pursuit?

My biggest trivial pursuit is keeping up with a couple reality TV shows that I like. It is quite trivial.

8. This weekend, we downloaded the movie "Duplicity" with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Within 5 minutes, I was bored and annoyed, but I kept watching 5-10 minutes at a time hoping it would get better between small chores. I finally gave up and Jorge watched it alone, and then regretted wasting that time because he disliked it intensely, too. So ... how long do you watch a movie or read a book before giving up on it?

I used to not be able to put a book down once I started it out of some weird sense of duty to the book. I'm totally over that. If I am not hooked in the first chapter (book) or 10 minutes (movie), I move on.

9. Is there a song that you really love but are embarrassed to admit because it's not cool or it's racy or because it's by Hall and Oates?

"White Trash Wedding" by the Dixie Chicks. I don't know why I love that song, and other than Jerry, no one else knew until now...

10. On a scale of 1-10 (10 = extremely) how spontaneous are you?

4

11. Are you a food and/or beverage snob?

Yes. Except when it comes to junk food. I'll eat store brand Oreos with no problem.

12. Who/What are you trying to control in your life?

I'm so busy trying to keep up, I don't have time to try to control anything. I'd do a rotten job at it, anyway!

In Search of the Soapscuminator

I hate cleaning showers. Now I know that "hate" is a strong word, and we really should say "dislike," but really? I hate cleaning showers. My shower is huge, which is great when one is shaving, but not so great when one is cleaning. It is marble on two sides and glass on two sides, and it is really hard to keep clean. When I cleaned it today, I found myself wondering, "Why is it that a cleaner that says it cleans soap scum really cannot get it off the glass in my shower? And why is it that a cleaner with bleach (which is needed for shower mold) cannot seem to rid my shower of soap scum?" (Not that I have shower mold or anything... *ahem* We'll just think of this as more of a hypothetical post.)



I grew up using the Scrubbing Bubbles brand cleaner. My mom is one of the people I know that actually keeps a clean house all the time. She'd tell you otherwise, but I know better. When she says she needs to clean house, there is usually a stray dead spider in a corner, and a few dead leaves that have blown in, and two spots on the tile floor. That's it. Anyway, I always figured that if this was her cleaner of choice, it must be a good one. But now that I am keeping my own house clean, I am not so sure. I guess maybe if you use it after every shower or two, it might do a good job; but let's be realistic here. I am a homeschooling mom of three littles. I am lucky to clean my shower every week.

After realizing that my shower was going to need something with more muscle, I bought this Lysol cleaner with bleach. It says it cuts shower mold and soap scum, but in real life? Not so much. I followed the directions and sure enough! Whamo, presto! My mold - er, hypothetically speaking... - was gone! But even with some scrubbing, the glass still has a nasty film of soap scum on it. And really, a cleaner with fumes that make all of my mucus membranes scream and run for the hills is just not for me.

What I need is the ultimate Soapscuminator. Does it exist? Is there actually a cleaner out there that does it all? I want a cleaner that is cheap, that kills any science projects threatening to take over, that cuts all the soap scum, and that isn't totally toxic. Is that really too much to ask? I mean, I spent the majority of my childhood in the 80's, so I learned that I can have it all! Right?

For example, I am a big fan of Comet cleaner. I get the store brand for $.50 a can and use it to scrub my kitchen sink, my counter tops, and clean the insides of my toilet. And it works great!

Hmmm...I wonder if it will cut soap scum? It says it will, so maybe I will try it. I also want to try making some cleaners that are more natural and economical. I found this page of cleaner recipes that looks interesting. Also, About.com has a page of cleaner recipes under their Frugal Living section. I also found these pages of recipes. What do you use? Have you had any better luck with shower cleaning than me?

I Dream of Vita-Mix

You are looking at a picture of my newest big-ticket wish item: the Vita-Mix Super 5200. This is not just a blender or a smoothie maker. This puppy can grind or blend anything! Wet stuff like a normal blender, or dry stuff like grains, nuts, and beans!! That is why I really dream of it. My grain mill is working well for us and I have been able to make flours out of various grains, but I cannot use it for beans or nuts, which I use almost as much as grains in my new allergy baking and cooking. Check out all the stuff this can do! It even comes in red... Other than the $550 price tag, I can think of no reason not to get one right now!

Is it wrong to dream about kitchen appliances?

A Tale of Two Sisters

I would just like to point out to those of you that take in interest in my family that my last baby is seriously chubby. And really, I'm not sure you truly understand how very chubby she is.

See this baby? She's eight and a half months old. Look how cute she is. Look at her deliciously chubby cheeks. She how she has absolutely no neck at all? I often wonder how it is that she swallows!! She weighs about 21 pounds.
See this cute little girl? She's two years old. She is 17 months older than her little sister, pictured above. When you pick this girl up, it's almost like picking up a feather. I just caught her applying her snack of blueberry yogurt to her legs as lotion. She weighs about 22 or 23 pounds.

Yes, you read that correctly. I now have to share clothes between my 8-month-old and my 2-year-old.

Weird.