Celebrating the Yucky Things in Life

If you'd have asked me twenty years ago, what I would be excited about in my future, celebrating poop would not have been on that list... not even at the bottom.  But, here I am, at age forty-two, celebrating my two year old son's first and second successful attempts at going potty.  After lots of "high-fives" and a hug, I pondered on the direction that my life has taken.

I had many delusions of grandeur, but celebrating poo was not even a consideration.  But now, with two kids in diapers, getting one of them to poop in the potty is just one step closer to finding my sanity, which packed up and left a while ago.  I don't know when my sanity actually left, I was probably changing diapers and didn't notice (because when one needs a change, the other one has to have one too.)

I'm hoping that the celebrations will get considerably more interesting and desirable than poop, as my children get older.

But I'm not expecting anything too amazing anytime soon.  One thing that having children has taught me is patience (or the fact that I have none.)  But that's another story.

A Poem about the Holidays

Writing prompt by Mama Kat

The prompt I chose was to write a post in twelve lines, 

so I chose a poem and this is what came of it.

Holiday Overload

1. One, two, buckle my shoe
2. Three, four, there’s a knock at the door
3. Five, six, time for treats and tricks
4. Seven, eight, I've put on more weight
5. Nine, ten,  I see a ghost, a witch, and a Barbie and Ken
6. Eleven, twelve, too many decorations to put up and then shelve
7. Thirteen, fourteen, too many thoughts in my bean
8. Fifteen, sixteen, a whole house to clean
9. Seventeen, eighteen, where’s my caffeine?
10. Nineteen, twenty, next is Thanksgiving with food a-plenty
11. Twenty-one, twenty-two, then Christmas and Santa and reindeer too
12. Twenty-three, twenty-four, I can’t take any more

Creative Prompt

I've been looking at a lot of writing and photo prompts lately and have been inspired to make one of my own.  I'd like to say that I'm going to make this a regular thing, but I know myself better than that.  So, for now, here's a prompt that will hopefully inspire you.  If it does, please let me know.  I'd like to know if I've helped anyone with a creative block.  If I get enough kudos, who knows, it may actually get me inspired to make more.

Broken

Writing prompt by Mama Kat

What's Broken?

My Sanity, for one thing.  I don't know what I was thinking... potty training a two year old in the throws of Terrible-Two-Tantrums while also having a newborn.  I mean seriously... at my age?!  42, I'm 42 years old.  I loved my 30's, but my 40's aren't treating me so lovingly.  Although, it might be the little munchkins that I'm raising.  Of course, it was my hubby's bright idea to start potty training this early, but he's at work all the time, so it doesn't really affect him at all.  I, on the other hand, am worn thin... having to take Bugaboo to go "pee pee" every freakin' five minutes.  But I digress......

What else is broken?  Gee, around here, what isn't broken is the question.  It'd take a lot less time to list!

• The kitchen sink & counters need re-tiled (we have a new set, we just haven't had the time to install them yet.)
• The wood flooring in the living room was never finished, (thanks to a wonderful EX of mine... did ya catch the sarcasm?  I never should have let him tear up my carpeting, but that's another story) the edges were never evened out and it wasn't installed properly in the first place.  I wish I had my carpeting back!
• The fridge seems to be on the fritz, I don't know what it is, but we just can't seem to keep produce in there.  Everything else is fine, but veggies and fruit seem to go bad awfully quick in there.
• The dryer is on it's last legs.
• The roof is in a desperate state.
• The garbage disposal has a loose blade, so it makes a horrible sound when you turn it on.
• The pantry door fell off (it wasn't the right size for the pantry anyway, someone didn't know how to measure when they were building this house.)
• My patience.
• The camel's back.

The list goes on with numerous little things that, alone, aren't a big deal, but when all put together on a list like this, it makes me feel like the whole place is falling apart.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very blessed and I'm thankful for what I have, but when posed the question as Mama Kat has, I can't help but to reflect on just how much could really be improved upon.

As far as the house goes, it's mostly because whoever built this house took a lot of short-cuts and I honestly don't know how it passed code.  Add in the fact that it's a "starter home" and we're anything but "starters" since we've got a family of five, we've got too much stuff and not enough time to go through it all to weed out the crap, and we've got a two year old who gets into everything, and you've got a recipe for How to Wear Out a House.

No, this isn't actually my house & fridge. It's a
photo I took of an old run-down house a few
years ago, but it fit the post, so I thought I'd share.

What I Write

Tomorrow, October 20th, 2012 is 

National Day on Writing.  

Twitter hash tags:  #WhatIWrite & #dayonwriting

What do I write, you ask?  I write fiction... SciFi / Fantasy genre... I love Medieval stories, but I also love science fiction as well.  Star Wars, Camelot, Star Trek, Fairies, Dragons, Knights, Battlestar Gallactica, etc.  I also tinker with a little poetry once in a while when the mood strikes, such as my latest little bit of writing over here (I just realized that I hadn't actually done anything with my Tumblr account, so I wrote a poem.)

So, what do YOU write?

Five Minutes

My five minutes in between screaming/crying/tantrum-throwing children today was taken up by an interesting little flash game I came across from deviantART.com by eladrin-girl.

I probably should have used my five minutes for something constructive, but I don't get to do my own thing much anymore, especially since the second child was born, so I decided to enjoy something mindlessly fun and entertaining.

Try it out and share what you've created.

Welcome, Baby Ben!

For those of you who may wonder where I've been and why I hadn't replied to anyone's blogs or comments, I had my baby and then we had to go back into the hospital for his jaundice issues.  But we're back home and doing much better.  I'm still recovering from the surgery, so it's still slow-going... and with the new baby and a two year old running around like crazy, it's going to be interesting getting back into a routine of some sort.

Baby Ben - Day One

Fashion Faux pas

Writing prompt by Mama Kat

Today's Writing Prompt:  Share one of your biggest fashion mistakes.

My answer:  The 80's

Need I say more?!

Honestly, I was a teenager during the 80's and if you were anywhere around during that time, you should totally understand.  I wish I could find the picture... I kept the photo portion of my first driver's license... my hair took up the entire picture!  No exaggeration... it was that poofy!  I had a poodle perm and then I would take 45 minutes in the morning using a curling iron and practically a whole can of hairspray to "calm" the curls, yet make it even bigger somehow.

It was terrible.  How I didn't set myself on fire with all the hairspray, I don't know.  And how I actually made it to school on time with how long it took me in the mornings to fully get ready, I couldn't tell you that either.

These days, I'm all for comfort and ease... I wash my hair and comb it... that's it.  And just for the record, I still happen to like scrunchies and I'm not afraid to admit it.  I just use the simple soft ones, nothing huge and in-your-face with bold colors or anything, just the simple stuff.  (well, except during Halloween and Christmas, then it's no-holds barred!)  They're easier on my hair, and since I keep my hair in a ponytail most of the time, I'm sticking with them.  As for the clothes, if it's comfortable, I'll wear it.  If it looks good, that's a bonus!  But in the 80's?  Well, we couldn't afford all the really expensive brand names like many of the other girls, but I tried my best with the cheap knock-offs.  I never succeeded, but I tried my best.

So, that's my fashion faux pas from my past.  The entire decade was just a huge mistake fashion-wise, although at the time, it was fun... just ask Cyndi Lauper!

Art Journaling

So, I've started Art Journaling.  Something that I've been wanting to do for forever, yet never knew where or how to even start.  The other day, I cam across a blog that I have fallen in love with.

Art Journaling II

A wonderful blog that is a workshop to teach with a pay-as-you-can attitude.  The money was actually one of the things holding me back from art journaling sooner.  I've seen other workshops, but they all want a ton of money in order to take online classes.  Well, honestly, in this economy, that's just out of my league, especially with a teenage stepson, a two year old, and a baby on the way... all of whom are eating us out of house and home... not to mention my own prego appetite!

But now, with a workshop that I can take and then hopefully save up a few bucks to pass along to the blog owner later down the line, I can finally get started and enjoy myself without stressing out and being depressed (more than I already am) about money.

I've found a new passion and have been enjoying myself soooo much!  After not even being able to start, I'm now finding it hard to stop!  I carry my journal around like I do my cell phone, so that I can doodle away at a moment's notice when inspirations strikes.

If you're at all interested in art, drawing, painting, journaling, sketching, or even just plain doodling, I encourage you to check out her blog/workshop.  I am not being paid by her, nor even being asked to endorse her in anyway.  I'm just trying to pass along some love since she is the reason I have found my artistic passion, my muse, that had been hidden away from me for too long.

My sneaky little Muse, hiding away, but I finally found her.
Now, time to get back to work!

Now I just need to see about getting some color on some of my pages and maybe getting a few of them up here on my blog.   But I'm using my journal as an Art Journal as well as an actual diary/journal, with my daily dose of prego-hormonal-depression, antics of my toddler, frustration with my family, etc.  So, much of what I put in there will not be posted here on my blog, much of it is a little too personal to share with the world.  (not that I have a ton of readers, but still... the potential is out there.)  But there will be some, I'm sure, that will be less on a personal note and more on the artistic side of things that I'll be able to share on here.  I also need to get quite a few things scanned, printed, downloaded, etc.  But it'll all come in time.

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.~~Thomas Merton

No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.~~Oscar Wilde

Looking Forward to Baby

Writing prompt by Mama Kat

This week's prompt is:  

Share one good thing you're looking forward to.

Oh my gosh, this is so easy for me... I'm looking forward to having this baby!  Having the baby and recovering from the c-section, that is... kind of all rolled into one.

Because getting past that one period of time allows me to then be able to enjoy our new baby, play with him, learn how to juggle two small children, teach my first son how to help with the baby, hopefully I'll be able to breastfeed this time around, I want to start working on losing weight, getting rid of this really bad sciatica pain, enjoy not having to get up numerous times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, get back behind the wheel of the van and drive (I don't fit anymore with the baby belly all up in the way,) get back on my fibro medication (well, after the breastfeeding, that is, if that part happens,) and, in general, do a lot of the things that I can't physically do right now.

Because of all the pain I'm in, I can't get down on the floor and play with my son because I can't get back up without help.  The last time I got down on the floor to look for one of his toys, I almost wasn't able to get back up... and it took me a while and it was painful to do so.  I can't bend over very well anymore because of the big ol' baby belly that's taken over my mid-section.  I can barely reach the keyboard on the laptop!  I have the laptop on my lap right now and my belly keeps me from having it too close and my arms are barely long enough to reach... and certainly not comfortably.  (which is another reason why I haven't posted much lately, it's just not that easy anymore! LOL)

I don't get out of the house much anymore either, because I just hurt too much.  When going to Wally World, I need to use one of the electric carts, because my hips and back hurt too much to walk very far.  And that's totally embarrassing.  I hate having to use one of those things.  I don't know why.  I suppose I shouldn't let my pride get the best of me like that, but honestly, I was hoping to not ever need one of those.  My mother needed one and I just never wanted to get that bad, physically.  So, I suppose I should take better care of myself, right?!  But I don't and I guess that's one of the biggest reasons for me looking forward to having the baby and recovering from the surgery... Being able to get back into shape.

Well, getting into shape and becoming independent again.  It's tough having to depend so heavily on others for help.  Especially when I have always been such an independent person all throughout my life.  And I look at other pregnant women (most of whom are a lot younger than I am, which doesn't help) and I see them taking Zumba classes or some other such crazy activity, some of them, you wouldn't even know they were pregnant except for the cute little bump of a belly because they just fly around doing everything they usually do without any problem, and I'm jealous and amazed that they can move so well.

But, no need crying over spilled milk, I suppose.  It's done, I'm pregnant, and there's no going back, so the only thing I can do now is look forward to having the baby and recovering from the surgery.  Then I can move on and work on the many other things that I'm so looking forward to doing... with my babies in tow!

National Parent's Day

Today is the fourth Sunday of July 2012 and is National Parent's Day!

I just happened across a picture shared on Facebook today in honor of Parent's Day and decided to look up the holiday.  Here's the picture:

Photo credit

And that is so true, I'm finding, as my Little Man grows like a weed and teaches me more than I ever thought possible!

As it turns out, this holiday was signed into law back in 1994, but I'd never even heard of it.  I don't recall seeing it on the calendar either, but I wasn't exactly looking for it either.

The idea seems to be to have another holiday similar to Mother's Day and Father's Day, but in regards to a two-parent family, but even more so, honoring the children rather than the parents.  The focus seems to be more on the children as our most precious resource.

To quote the website for National Parent's Day, "The National Parents' Day Council does not envision Parents' Day to be yet "another" day to honor parents, but rather a day when parents honor their children and the God-centered family ideal by rededicating themselves to manifest the highest standard of unconditional true love."  Which I think is wonderful, however, I'm wondering about the families with single parents.  Can they not take part in this particular holiday?  Is that right or wrong?  Or is it neither, and is just a holiday set for a specific set of people?

Christmas is for Christians, Hanukkah is for Jewish people, Kwanza is for those celebrating African heritage, Grandparent's Day is just for grandparents, Pet Parent's Day is for those with pets, and many more, I'm sure, that I don't know of or can't think of off the top of my head.  So, I suppose there's no harm in having a holiday set aside for a two-parent family.

Basically, I'm just thinking outloud here and I don't want to get anyone angry or upset about anything, but I would like general opinions on how you feel about National Parent's Day.  Did you ever hear about it before?  Do you care?  Are you excited to go out and get a card for your wife/husband for Parent's Day?  Did you look at your calendar and did you find it there?  Are you a single parent and feel left out?  How about divorced/separated parents who are both still in their children's lives?  Any other thoughts/feelings on the subject?  Constructive comments only please, let's open a discussion about it, no arguing.  Thank you.

Photo credit

Find Me Friday

Ok, so last Friday, I posted a photo of a doorway.  Did you guess where this doorway was from?

It's located at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of Islands of Adventure.  It's not an actual door to anywhere, it's just for aesthetics, but it just adds a nice touch to the atmosphere of the Harry Potter world.

We had such a fun time!  It was actually our first real family vacation with all four of us.

Me and my family at Seuss Landing
From left to right:
Me, two Misc. Seuss Characters, my Hubby, Big Bubby
& Buggaboo in front

Have you ever been to Islands of Adventure?  Did you enjoy it?  What was your favorite part?

How Do You Do It?

Honestly, I would love to know how others do it... do "what" you ask?

"It"

"Everything"

How does anyone keep up with all the technology these days and still keep a house clean, go to work, raise a family, and still feed oneself while still finding time to do something fun once in a while?!

I was just surfing around and was looking at random about.me pages and I see where many people have many different places to find them, such as:

Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Linkedin, Instagram, email, personal blog, Flavors.me, About.me, Pinterest, Fitocracy, Dribble, Github, a personal website, YouTube, DeviantArt, Google+, flickr, Ravelry, etc.  (There are tons more, but honestly, I don't know how anyone could possibly keep up) Not to mention all the apps that are out there that constantly distract all of us.


So how do you do it?  How do you balance it all and still have a life without falling behind on the technology and the information highway?  


At times like these, I think about my life twenty years ago, before I even owned a cell phone.  Smartphones weren't even invented yet.  I didn't own a computer and there social media meant actually physically going to a coffee house or club of some sort and actually being social.


Although I really love computers and surfing around, I really miss the simpler days.  I enjoy my smartphone and love being able to keep schedules on it, but I remember the peace and quiet I had without it.  

And let me ask another question, does anyone play board games or card games anymore?  I mean the ones that aren't digital.  I see that they're still sold in stores, but does anyone actually play them with real people, face to face?  I try to get our family to play a board game once in a while on a Family Home Evening, but it's hard with Little Man and his desire for attention, along with the rest of the family who just want to stare at the boob tube and watch a movie.  I'm all for movies, but once in a while, I'd like to exercise my brain and have some actual social interaction with a real person across the table rather than on the other side of the world through a 15 inch screen.  


Not that I mind meeting new and interesting people from around the globe, but when I'm out and about and see nothing but people with their noses stuck in their phones/iPads/etc, not even watching where they're going, I have to wonder just how good all this technology really is.  And then I'm back to my question of BALANCE.  It all comes down to that once simple word that is nearly impossible to achieve successfully on any kind of regular basis.

Photo Credit

I have seen a few sites (such as HootSuite & SproutSocial) that offer a one-stop-shopping experience, per say, in the way of managing all of your social media sites.  A place where you can go and post once and be done with it and it magically posts to numerous other sites per your instructions, etc.  But from what I've seen, you need to actually pay for that service.  (At least I haven't found one that does the work for free)  


Then there's something I just happened to come across.  You may have already heard of it, you may even be already using it... WiseStamp which automatically adds different aspects of all of your social media into your signature in your email.  Your latest Tweet, your latest eBay listing, links to your Facebook and much more.  I don't know what the free account gets you, as I couldn't find that info without downloading it and I don't think I'm ready for that just yet.  You can buy premium services too, but that's not in my budget at the moment.


So, the question comes down to exactly how important is my time versus the management of all my crap?  Well, I don't really know... I've got a lot o'crap to deal with and social media is not the highest in the order of importance.  I've got a house that needs cleaned, a family that needs food, groceries to get, laundry to do, blah blah blah.... Show me a site that can manage all of that for me and we'll talk price... I won't be able to afford it, but we can still talk about it.  


In the meantime, as I look back over my post, I realize that I started this post a couple days ago and I'm just now finishing it up.  I have not posted something every single day this month like I did for June and was hoping to accomplish for this month of July as well.  I have started a new project in crocheting (pics and links coming soon.)  And I've found more social media sites that look very interesting and tempting, if I wasn't already bogged down with too many already.  

Time to do some weeding in my internet garden, I think.

Painful Pregnancy

Well, the pregnancy is getting rougher and rougher on me and my body.  Yesterday and today were miserable.  Church lasts for 3 hours, but the past couple Sundays felt like it was much longer.  Today, I was recovering and was not doing a very good job at it.  I was nauseous most of the day and my sciatica (on both sides) has been hurting a LOT lately and today was really rough.  Maybe it was the nausea that made it seem worse, or vice versa, I don't know, but I'm thankful today's almost over.  I'm hoping to wake up to a better day tomorrow.

Anyway, I'm upset that I missed posting yesterday.  I've been doing such a good job at keeping up with it, but yesterday was just too much for me.  Today's about shot as well and so am I, but I wanted to post something, so I'm posting my painful rant.

I've only got about 2 months to go before the baby comes.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with most everything and not get put on bed rest like I did when I was pregnant with Buggaboo.  But puffy feet have settled in and they don't seem to be going away anytime soon.  Putting my feet up doesn't seem to be working much either.

But it's the sciatica that's truly stopping me from doing much of anything.  It's hard to keep up with the house and meals and things of that nature when you can barely walk.  I couldn't even lift my right leg yesterday afternoon (which causes an issue when I'm trying to climb into bed and can't, or trying to step in and out of the tub and can't lift my leg high enough to do so) and today has been iffy at best with being able to get around.

Hubby's been great with giving massages when I need them and helping out more, so has Big Bubby.  He's been a great help with Buggaboo and with meals and such.  I just don't know what I'd do without them.

Anyway, I felt the need to vent my painful frustrations this evening.  I apologize for a less than happy post.  But I do have some projects coming up.  Some frugal living stuff, a few recipes, and a crochet project or two that are WIP's that I want to share as soon as I can take some photos.  Thanks for hanging in there with me. Good night, all.

My New Favorite Holiday

July 7th, 2012  Today is Chocolate Day!!  

Are you kidding me?!  Chocolate Day?!  I now have a new favorite holiday.  And I just found out something totally delightful... We now have an even better reason to eat chocolate.  Chocolate is actually a vegetable!  That's right!  Well, sort of... The Cacao tree that grows in the rainforest is where the cocoa for chocolate comes from and it is apparently a vegetable.  Which is probably why dark chocolate is said to be good for you in small quantities.  


Now, as for my Reese's cups and Snickers bars, I'm sure the sugar and all the other stuff they put in them outweighs the health factor from the rainforests.  But, it's an interesting, if not useless, fact to share with your friends the next time you are all indulging in a chocolate Wonderfall or some other heavenly chocolate treat.

I would say that these are my ultimate favorite chocolate treat of all time.
Little on the pricey side, but soooo worth it!

Now I want some chocolate in the worst way and we don't have any in the house anywhere!  UGH!

Find Me Friday

I took this photo a while back.  I thought it was a very interesting doorway and loved the feel of it... the way it was almost forgotten, hidden away, left unnoticed.

So, I thought I'd have a little fun and see if anyone can figure out where it is.  Take a guess, go on, do you know where this doorway is located?  I'll post the answer next Friday to give everyone a chance to try and guess.

Where am I?

My Little Man and His Toys

Buggaboo and his array of toys

He's a mover and a shaker, that's for sure.  I took a series of pictures of him playing with some of his toys and when I was scrolling through them, they almost seemed animated, so I thought I'd put this quick little piece together.  It's not the best, but it brings me to my subject for today.  

As you can see, he has quite a few toys... too many if you ask me (can you believe TWO toy boxes?!)  I've been so overwhelmed by all of them (and I think he is too) that I just haven't had a clue where to start.  However, I recently came across a post from another blog (via Pinterest) called Modern Parents Messy Kids... Well, that's us... at least the messy kids part... so I read on.  This post has an ingenious idea, at least in theory, about how to organize your child's toys.  So this Momma is going to try it out.  This weekend is my goal to at least start it.  


It's perfect timing too, because lately, Buggaboo has really been showing favoritism toward a handful of toys and books that he keeps going to on a regular basis, which is one of the requirements for the Loved & Lasting category.  


And I love the idea of the Shiny & Passing category, particularly the part about having a stash of these toys to keep for special occasions such as going out to dinner or a long day out-and-about in the car.  


So, I'm going to work on this project idea and hopefully be able to document it as I go along.  Wish me luck!

Independence Day 2012

Happy Fourth of July 2012!

A Great Loss Today

Andy Griffith, you will be missed.  

A devout Christian, he was prepared to meet his Father in Heaven, which he did today, at age 86.  A wonderful actor, well known for his role as the Sheriff of Mayberry as well as the attorney, Matlock, he was also a stand up comedian as well as a musician and he also did some dramatic work in movies.  One particular movie he did an amazing job in is A Face in the Crowd.

A Face in the Crowd

Farewell, Andy, God be with you 'til we meet again.

Creative Crochet Jewelry Giveaway

AllFreeCrochet.com is giving away a copy of Creative Crochet Jewelry. The deadline to enter is July 11, 2012 at midnight EST.  They’ll send an email to the winner.  Just click here to enter.

"Creative Crochet JewelryGifted By: Sixth&Spring BooksReviewed By: Jeanette Benoit, Editor for AllFreeCrochet.com  Creative Crochet Jewelry by Esther Zadock is an amazing book that will help you make gorgeous crocheted jewelry. These stunning pieces will add the perfect finishing touch to any outfit."

Check it out and good luck!  Be sure to let me know if you won because of signing up from seeing the info about the contest here on my blog.

Traditions

Happy First of July!  

No, I'm not getting confused with our Independence Day.  I'm just wishing everyone a Happy First of the Month.  It's something that my Mom and I used to do on the morning of the first day of each month.

Mom:  "Good morning, Peanut."  (Peanut and Rosebud were my Mom's nicknames for me.)
Me:  "Good morning, Mom."
Mom:  "Happy First of the month!"
I'd smile at her and wish her the same.  I'm not sure when or why it all started, but we did that tradition for years.  Probably until I moved out and started college.  I still think of it, though, every now and then and wish I could call her and wish her a happy first of the month.

It's strange, the little quirky things our family did growing up.  Going on a family "outing" to the garden, armed with a couple pairing knives and a salt shaker.  We'd pick kohirabi and eat it fresh right there in the garden.  Honestly, I don't know what else to do with kohirabi, because even though we'd grow a lot of it, none of them ever made it past the edge of the garden, having been consumed right then and there, freshly picked!

I miss those days.  I miss the garden too.  It was HUGE!  Dad would rototill the earth, we would all plant together and then tend it until we had tons of yummy veggies!  We'd have so many tomatoes that Mom would spend a good portion of the summer canning.  We had shelves upon shelves of canned tomatoes for years after Mom finally stopped canning.  I don't know how she did it.  Having a small child in her mid-forties and working so hard around the house, all the work she did as a stay-at-home-mom... I get nothing done around here and I even have the help of our teenager!

I used to have such a green thumb when I was younger... even into my twenties.

But then, I started working more and trying to fit in having a life.  My plants suffered and my green thumb turned black.  Now, I dare say I can kill fake plants!  I'm working on it, the blackness is fading a bit, but I still don't see any signs of green on my thumb yet.  I used to talk to my plants, misting them, watering them, etc.  They flourished!  Now, I'm lucky to remember to water them once every week or so.  Usually, by the time I remember to water them, they're on death's door.  

But, then again, Florida isn't exactly the best climate for many plants.  Between the heat and the sand instead of soil, it's a wonder that anything grows down here!

Anywho, I've gotten completely off track of my original thoughts.  But that's ok.  It was a nice jaunt down memory lane again.  Do you have any quirky traditions you and your family did growing up or that you do now?

I did it!

Well, I did it!  I posted something to this blog every single day this month!  I've tried to accomplish this goal many times before, but have fallen miserably short every time.  But I finally did it!  Yayyy Me!

I've had a lot of fun this month and have found out some interesting things.  I've also found out some of what people like to read about.  I've also enjoyed the writing prompts.  I hope you've enjoyed this past month of blog posts from my little corner of the globe as well.

Here's to June 2012 and a great learning experience... And here's to hopefully another month in July full of fun and interesting posts again.

A walk down memory lane...

So, I was doing my usual surfing around, looked up something on YouTube, and you know how they have the "similar suggestions" along the right hand side for other videos, right?  Well, I saw a few old videos of tv show intros that I used to watch when I was a kid growing up in the 70's & 80's.  This got me in a completely nostalgic mood and I began looking up a bunch of my favs from back then.

It's amazing how I'd forgotten about so many of these shows that had shaped me into the person I am today.  I do think that we've lost some of the good wholesome ideals that shows back then held... but I'm so glad we have better graphics and special effects now!  Wow, back then, we used to think some of these were so "high tech" in the ways of special effects because they were so ground-breaking!  Take Land of the Lost for example.  The raft going down the rapids... this was really cool back then, but now?  Totally stupid looking!  But it opened a new realm of imagination for me.

The Big Blue Marble was a fun and wonderful educational show that made me want to explore the world... although unfortunately, I still have never been outside the country, I have always had a love of travel and learning that I contribute to this show.

I only hope that the shows that my son watches now are as educational and that they make as big of an impact on him as my favorite shows did for me.

Anyway, I just had to share some of my finds with you.  It all started with The Big Blue Marble....

The Big Blue Marble
The New Zoo Revue
Land of the Lost
The Great Space Coaster
Krofft Supershow  I totally forgot about Big Foot and Wild Boy
Picture Pages I just LOVED Bill Cosby and his picture pages!  It seemed like he was really talking to me from the television.  And I had my own workbook that had the same activities that he worked on, so I was following along with him.
H.R. Pufnstuf
Shazam!
Wonder Woman I couldn't tell you how many times I had my "cape" (my favorite nightgown tied around my neck) and would jump off my parent's bed pretending to be Wonder Woman!
Bionic Woman
Hart to Hart
Mork and Mindy
Voyagers!  Oh, boy, did I ever have a crush on Joh Erik-Hexum!
Buck Rogers  Gotta love Twiki (I still have a Twiki miniature figurine with movable arms and legs!)
The Dukes of Hazard  Another childhood crush: John Schneider
Magnum P.I Yet another crush, Tom Selleck (and I must admit, I still have a bit of a crush on him even today... He still looks good!)

Well, there you have it.  A walk down my memory lane.  There are many others, but these are the ones that stand out for me.  I'm sure I'll remember a few more and when I do, I'll try to add them to this list.  But for now, enjoy the overabundance of cheesy good stuff!

Nursery Rhymes

A writing prompt from Mama Kat

What do childhood rhymes even mean?  Write something that includes a rhyme you used to sing or say when you were a child.

This was an interesting subject and I'm just going to write about the first part of the prompt, What do childhood rhymes even mean?  I've found myself revisiting the rhymes of my own childhood now that I'm a mother and I'm sharing them with my son now.  And now that I'm older, I'm realizing that many of them make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Take one of the first ones I can remember learning...

Ring around the rosies

A pocketful of posies

Ashes ashes

We all fall down

One of the possibilities for this rhyme (that is a bit controversial) is the plague that happened in England in 1665.  People supposedly carried pocketfuls of "posies" to ward off the smell of the plague (probably the smell of death) and the ashes would represent the burned bodies.  Of course, "we all fall down" is all the people lying down when they died.

This seems the most probable explanation, because otherwise, if you ask me, it doesn't make any sense.  Ok, so you're all in a circle around some roses, you put some in your pocket, but then what?  You burn them?  Something else burns?  Where do the ashes come from?  And why does everyone fall down?  I remember having fun falling down, but why?  Strange that we all used to find this so entertaining when the possibility of what it means is so devastating.  (Yes, I'm weird.)

And then there's a favorite sung by mothers everywhere...

Hush-a-by baby

On the tree top,

When the wind blows

The cradle will rock.

When the bough breaks,

The cradle will fall,

And down will fall baby

Cradle and all.

What a terrible song!  The baby falls and crashes to the ground?!  What irresponsible parent would place their baby, unsecured, in a tree (or anywhere else for that matter) where they could easily fall and get hurt... or worse?!  Even though I've found myself singing this to my son when he was first born, I actually stopped it because it just seemed a little freaky to me.  

This old man, he played one,

He played knick-knack on my thumb;

With a knick-knack paddywhack,

Give the dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played two,

He played knick-knack on my shoe;

With a knick-knack paddywhack,

Give the dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

(and it continues...)

Three=on my knee

Four= on my door

Five=on my hive

Six=on my sticks

Seven=up in Heaven

Eight=on my gate

Nine=on my spine

Ten=on my pen

This one really gets me... What the heck is a paddywhack?  Well, apparently, it means a mean person, or more accurately, a Brawny Irishman, which is a derogatory term (although I don't know why that's derogatory, but maybe to people from Ireland, it is.  I honestly don't know.)  And in the 70's, it was changed to patty-whack to keep from being the derogatory word.  What difference that made, I'm not sure.  Honestly, I don't think that's what it meant, anyway.  I mean, a knick knack mean person?  A knick knack brawny Irishman?  Neither of those make any sense to me.  And what does any of that have to do with giving the dog a bone?  That line seems to just come out of nowhere.  And then the old man rolls home?  What, is he drunk and can't walk home?  Does he fall down a hill and roll home?  Totally weird.  


I did find that this song actually got a lot of publicity from being in a film called The Inn of the Sixth Happiness.  I immediately looked it up and watched it.  It was a decent movie.  The ending kind of left me wanting closure that I didn't really get.  But I enjoyed it nonetheless.  Even though I like Ingrid Bergman, I don't think she was the right person for the part.  I think she was too pretty for it.  It called for a more plain girl who was smaller in stature, more petite.  She did a wonderful acting job on it, she just didn't have the right "look" for the movie, in my humble opinion.  And what bothers me about it is the fact that they were supposedly speaking in Chinese (although the movie is in English, in order to avoid subtitles) yet the children sing this song.  Did she teach them English?  No, I don't think so.  I also doubt that the translation would keep the rhyme with it.  

But I digress....


There are so many other nursery rhymes that I used to sing as a kid, but that never really made any sense to me.  Well, I suppose, as a child, they made sense... or we just didn't care about the logic behind them.  They were fun to play/act out and that's what mattered.  As adults, we tend to lose that child-like wonder and world of imagination.  Maybe being a mother now, and teaching these to my son, will help me to capture that innocence again and learn to just enjoy life and not boggle myself down with the details... a trait that has become a big part of me, but has also gotten me into trouble a few times as well.

Ten To-Dos in June Follow Up

Hard Work Often Pays Off After Time,
But Laziness Always Pays Off Now.

So, back at the beginning of the month, there was a writing prompt for To-Do lists for June.  I just have to say, I have such delusions of grandeur.  I knocked out #10 right away, but now it's almost the end of the month and I find that #8 (post to blog every day) is the only other one I actually have been accomplishing.  I still have a few days to go, and I'm quite proud of myself, as this is the first time I've been able to keep up with the blog on a daily basis, but for that to be the only other task completed is a bit disappointing.  

Ah, well, at least I'll be able to knock off two items off my list and carry over eight into July, I suppose.  Two's better than none.  Let's see if I get anymore of it done next month.

Stop procrastinating -
Starting tomorrow

Moon Phase

The First Quarter Moon is today, June 26th, 2012 at 11:30pm EDT

Chili Recipe

Sorry I don't have any pics to go along with this just yet.  I always forget to take pics when I cook.  I'll try to take some the next time I make this.  I will be adding this to my recipe page.  Yes, I know it's summer time, but comfort food (and I consider chili under this category) is good anytime of the year, in my opinion.

I wish I could remember how my mother made chili.  Hers was the BEST!  I've tried, but just can't seem to get it right.  I've only made two recipes "just like Mom's" and that's her pumpkin pie and her spaghetti sauce. I'm pretty good with her chicken soup too.  But as for this chili recipe, it's still a work in progress, but still a winner with my family.  Hubby, Big Bubby and Little Man all love it and I hope you will too.  Let me know how yours turns out.  

Kellie’s Chili

 Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1-2 onions, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder (more or less to taste)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1-2 stalks of celery chopped fine (my kids will tend to eat it if the celery is hard to pick out, so the smaller the better if you have picky kids)
• 1-2 carrots chopped fine
• 4  cans stewed tomatoes with liquid (I try to crush them up so the pieces aren't so big, but that's a personal preference)
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1-2 can(s) kidney beans with liquid (you can use different beans for a variety, I’ve used red kidney, black, and northern beans all together)
• Beef or chicken stock (optional for a slightly thinner chili)

Directions:

Combine ground beef, onion, and garlic in large stockpot. Cook and stir over medium heat until beef is brown then drain off the fat.  Stir in chili powder, salt, tomatoes, and tomato sauce; break up tomatoes while stirring. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to simmer, and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour.

Stir in beans. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes; stir occasionally.

Add stock if necessary or desired, depending on how thick the chili is getting and how thick you want it.

NOTE ON BEANS: if you are using dried/bagged beans, they will need to be cooked separately ahead of time.  Just follow the directions on the bag.  They can be cooked up to a few days in advance of making the chili.  

FINAL NOTE:  Now, if you prefer, you can add canned diced tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, and any other veggies that you enjoy in your chili.  This is a good time to use up any leftover veggies that you may need to use up, but don’t have much of for any other recipe.  You can also add other favorite spices as to your taste, such as pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.  Honestly, I think my recipes are always a little different because I’m always adding stuff depending on what I have in the fridge.  

Fairies Exist

June 24th is Fairy Day!

I've always loved fairies, dragons, wizards, knights, unicorns, the whole medieval/fantasy package, so this holiday is right up my alley.  I just wish I could draw them.  I've found some amazing artwork on the internet of fairies and such.  Just Google it and see what I mean.  There are just so many different depictions of fairies, that it boggles the mind.  Good, bad, mischievous, holiday, daytime, nighttime, childlike, sexy, ugly, even anime... you name it, there's a fairy for it.

For those of you who also enjoy fairies and their stories, you should check out the information on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the two teenage girls who supposedly had actually photographed fairies in their own yard.

Of course, there's Tinkerbell, and as I've said before, I'm a huge Disney fan, so I can't possibly not post a pic of our favorite pixie.

Enjoy Fairy Day!