Autumn Asks: What Did You Plant This Year?

Now that we have passed May 15th, we are out of frost danger.  We can now plant.

We did fairly well with our container tomatoes last year so we thought we would try again. We did not like how small the tomatoes stayed so we looked around at other possibilities.  And this year I found Straw Bale Gardening.  Looked worth giving a try since its a larger medium and still keeps the plants out of the poisoned soil. We even went so far as to cover the bottoms with an old shower curtain (so they are diapered!) to ensure there is no contamination.

Mouse did talk me into a couple of flowers also. I find this a waste of time because you can't eat them. Why do I want to use water and time and energy on something I can't eat?  (You must understand I am highly allergic to just about everything that grows so flowers only hold pain...no pleasure.)

So I actually planted out these tomatoes a week ago. They came a little early....and I didn't read the directions that said to baby them indoors and then harden them off. Last years instructions didn't say that so I just planted them.  Plus it turned out that they sent me 2 orders of the yellow/orange tomatoes and left out the bush/container tomatoes. So I called them and they sent the others - leaving me with 3 extra tomato plants I wasn't planning on -- not that I'm complaining.

I did lose one, but a week later they have doubled in size. I'll let you know how this experiment goes as the season progresses.  They are supposed to need more water than a normal container. Also I will need to fertilize/feed them once a week.

And the cool thing? Living in military housing you have people moving out all the time and throwing things away.  The day I was outside planting a neighbor across the street set all 7 of these planters out in the trash by the road.  Score!! And they are the expensive ones! The couple bought a house so I have no idea why they would leave such nice planters behind....but I sure grabbed them and ran!!

And so my garden has enlarged even more.

The rest of the tomatoes are now in and line one side of the fence. I didn't plan to have this many...that's what the straw bales were supposed to be for...but hey, its all good! I can't believe how fast they are growing.

We also have several different pots/planters of lettuce. This is the most mature (bought that way) and others are started from seed.

There is also spinach....

and bib lettuce....

And yes we have already eaten many salads with fresh greens to round out the iceberg.

We also have cucumbers to trail on the fence...

Red and yellow bell peppers and even some jalapeño

Throw in some mint for my tea and some other cooking herbs and I'm calling it done.

Hope it all works out. Its always a risk when you know you are taking a family vacation during the hot part of summer and will have to find someone to take care of it all for you.  As a matter of fact I'm hoping to find a college student that would come in and stay at our place while we are gone to take care of the monster dog and the plants.  Wish me luck!

Let's Go Treehouse Camping!

I survived.  And the cold weather didn't hit until about two hours before we left the campsite on Sunday! That's all I asked for.  The rain we had....but the cold held out.  God is good.

So.  First camp out of the year. And if it is any indication on how the rest of the camp outs will go this year...its going to be a fantastic year.  Have I mentioned before how much I love these girls???

We left early so we could make dinner at the site. The girls love to do a canned food night...where they each bring a can of something and we stick it over the fire right in the can and then they eat out of the can. That is my Progresso soup night. LOL. This trip we had 10 girls and two adults with another girl and her mom joining us the next day.

Our lodgings for the night were treehouses.  They had a real roof so we didn't have to worry about the rain. The only hard part was hauling all your gear up into them. They had ladders or stairs -- of course I used the stairs. Hauling my 200lb body up on its own would kill me....can't imagine adding all the baggage too.

 The weather was in the lower 70's, high 60's and the place was rather damp from the rains. We saw lots of interesting fungi all over.  These white ones looked like sea anemones.  I was sad all I had was my phone camera. I do believe its time to get my lense cap ring fixed on my camera so I can start taking real pictures again.

   Snails were everywhere....

The girls spent over an hour playing with snails. They built teepee's and corrals and such for them. At one point I think they had almost 20. When they wanted to know if they could keep them we said no...but I did suggest we could eat them.  Escargot or snail soup for dinner??  They were not very amused.

Saturday was a full, fun day.  We went on a hike in the morning.  We found a creek which pretty much ends a hike and starts a wet fest with our girls.  Most were completely drenched by the time we were done. We always have them pack extra shoes since they are such water bugs. And you see that bank behind them? Its a clay bank.  Not much longer after this shot some of the girls had completely covered their faces and arms in clay. Wish I had a shot of that.  Then they happily sat in the creek and had a bath.  Crazy.

After lunch they practiced making temporary shelters with just tarps and rope.  The top one was so good it was even dry the next morning after a night of thunderstorms.  But the time-out teepee was my favorite! LOL.

Then came the rain. So we loaded the girls up in the cars and drove about 20 miles to a local underground cavern.  That was fun.  I was shocked at the number of girls that forgot their coats at home or decided to leave them in camp. I did warn them! But they survived.

On the way out we found a great climbing tree.  Our top climbers are 3/4 the way up the tree. We have alot of tree climbing girls.  I can't even look when some of them climb they go so high.

A little mining for rocks afterwards completed our trip.  The girls spent over an hour just doing this. I suggested the caverns because my girls needed to finish up their hiking badge and it seemed a neat place to do it....but I had no idea they would have as much fun as they did. Love it when that happens. It became the highlight of the trip for most of them.  (Plus I had never been so BONUS!) This particular cavern is one of the most colorful in the states and even has some types of formations that are not found anywhere else in our country.  And guess what? We missed all the rain while we were underground. Could not have planned that better.

Most of our girls went to bed early that night.  Even the ones that requested a night hike disappeared to their tents earlier than normal. And the rains/thunder started about 10pm and thats when the last called it quit. We did have two girls that were not feeling real well and were homesick so the boss had her hands full reading them to sleep.

 
The next morning was not only colder...the whole site was covered in boot sucking mud.  By lunch the girls were all ready to go home.  And I was cringing because I was putting 5 mud covered girls in my 2 month old van.  You see, the Mr. is rather picky about his cars.  Makes being a Girl Scout leader a challenge for sure...because they are some messy, trash leaving, kind of girls.  So I pulled out my sheet and towel and threw them on the carpet to try damage control. Worked pretty well.

And the temp just kept dropping so by the time we got home we were all very tired and very cold and everyone was so glad to see their parents.

It was a great first camping trip for the year.

Looking forward to the next one.

The Camping Year Begins

I grew up camping. My father was one of those crazy "Bass Fishermen".  There were tournaments a couple of times a month....and we went.  We saw some pretty cool parts of the state (Arizona) and even visited the Grand Canyon once...but I really don't remember much of that.

I remember camping got REALLY fun once dad bought an RV.  LOL. Who doesn't want air conditioning and a bathroom???

Hubs and I haven't really camped together much...unless it was scout related.  As an adult most of my camping is a direct result of Girl Scouts.  And we have a blast.  And just to add...a much SAFER blast than my son had as a Boy Scout.  His stories give me chills.  Boys like fire.  And bug spray makes a great flame thrower.  I could go on.

Anyways.  Camping here in Ohio is fantastic.  Nebraska was great also -- but there are so many free programs in this state that it even beats Nebraska.  The weather doesn't get as hot as Texas/Arizona/New Mexico and there are no fire ants.  That last part cannot be over stated.  But I do have to give kudo's to one camping trip in Texas because I discovered soap that I now order for bugs and other good smelling stuff that does not bother my skin! 

In our very very active scout troop, there is alot of camping.  I want to say I went like 7 times last year.

And they begin in May.

And let me tell you, last week was still frosting in the mornings.  I was getting very very nervous.  I can take the rain....just don't give me the cold.

But this week is actually hot and the mornings are in the 50's so I'm feeling a little better about this! Plus its an older girls trip so Mouse will be staying home and I don't have to worry about her.  We are doing "tree house camping".  Not sure exactly what that means but that's what the girls wanted so I'm going along.

One thing I did find last year is that my beloved enamel ware cups heat up too fast.  Mouse ended up with burned fingers a few times trying to carry her hot cocoa.  I am not willing to give up the enamel ware as it is safer (health wise) than plastic, doesn't break like ceramic and are pretty much tough as nails. Easy to throw in a dunk bag with everything else and hand off a line to drip dry.

So what did I figure out for this year......

  I found a free tutorial online on how to custom make a cozie for a cup with a handle.  It was written for those great coffee travel cups but the directions tell you how to custom fit so I knew it would work.  I found this tutorial at Polka Dot Cottage.

So yesterday I sat down and dug out some fabric scraps and made one of these cozies for each of our enamelware cups.

I had some insulating batting to go in the middle left over from the coffee cup cozies I made my friends. The buttons were dug out of the button jar.  The elastics were stolen from the hair supply bin.  Did not have to purchase a single thing to make them.

You know, with the sleeping bag backpack and the water bottle carriers I think I've actually sewn more for camping than I have for my home? Hah. Kinda crazy.

So wish me luck. I'm off tomorrow with one other adult and 12 girls. We having a hiking trip planned through some of the caverns in the area also - we could really use some dry weather for that.  The menu the girls came up with is awesome....and since its Juniors and Caddettes we do NONE of the cooking or cleaning....we are just there to provide rides and opportunities.  LOVE IT!!!

Autumn Survives Her Daughters First Prom

I bought 3 dresses this year. Three.

First it was homecoming.

Then it was the military ball.

Prom was on the horizon.

And I did a stupid.

I stated that I WOULD NOT buy three dresses in one year.

Besides, prom is for Juniors and Seniors.

Which my child is not.

No worries.

Until I go to pick up the girl from practice.

And she gets into the car with an armful of roses.

And a crazy story....

Of a guy with a guitar...

and a song written especially for her....

to ask her to prom.

And I knew I was buying another dress.

I am so NOT your typical mom.  Of course not.  But then again I was so NOT the typical teenager either.  You couldn't get me to a dance with bribes even.  And there was no way I was going to burden my parents with the cost of a dress.  They are expensive. And on a military salary there wasn't much to go around. Besides. I just don't like dancing because I am no good at it.  And it required a dress. No way.

So how did this happen? How did I end up with the kid that gets asked to all the dances?  Is it some kind of cosmic karma/payback????  

I guess most moms would be thrilled to see their teenage daughter being asked to the dances. I watch the other parents get all excited and make a fun day of shopping for the perfect dress.  I give my daughter a price limit and cringe because I know we have just taken a chunk of our summer clothing allowance to pay for a dress she will only wear once.  You don't really think I could talk her into wearing one of the other dresses do you??? I did try. And as I pay for the pretty I think of all the summer clothes her sister needs...and I now cannot buy. 

And of course she wanted shoes. Which I wouldn't buy. Thank goodness for friends. Because I already bought shoes she could have used...but she didn't think they were the right color.  Whatever.

And then there was the mani/pedi.  Which I wouldn't pay for. So she saved her money and paid for it herself. 

Hey - I won't blow what little money I have on one for myself...think I'm going to do it for anyone else????

And nowadays? They have prom after parties at the schools.  At Songbirds school it lasts until 3am.  Hah. No.  The mean parents came out.  15 year olds have no business out until 3 am with a guy. Sorry. I don't care if they are just friends.  15 + 3 am = bad parenting. Now, if she was a senior it would be different.  

So while I am very glad that Songbird had a great time....I am more glad that it is over. And we managed to survive our first prom.  And on FB I saw a guy call "dibs" on taking her next year....and then get shot down when she told him someone else already beat him to it.

I think its time to start a dress fund....

Or the rest of us will be going naked the next two years.

A Man And His Dog

Which begins as a boy and his dog....

This post is a little delayed as we added a new family member almost a month ago. There have been so many of my blogland friends and others that lost their lifetime pals recently that I wanted to put off the news a little bit.

Some of you may know that my husband has had a lifetime love affair with Dobermans.  His mother liked to show them and Hubs also used them from an early age in 4H/County Fairs.  At 8 years of age he was already winning ribbons with his dog Dusty.

As you can see, Dusty was a red Dobbie.  Dusty also ended up getting kicked in the head by a horse and was never the same afterwards.  My skinny little husband had to carry around a piece of sawed off broom handle to chase Dusty down when he got loose...just in case the dog cornered him.

And this began his love of all things Dobie.

When I met him at 18, the house was full of Dobies.  This was rather shocking to my system as we didn't have pets growing up because we moved too much.  When I was real little my mother had a poodle...who only tolerated my sister, father and myself. When she was very old (and I was very young) they had to put her to sleep. That pretty much did it for my mom.

So the first time I go to the Hubs house when we are dating we got mobbed at the door.  And this Doberman came charging up to us with a full face of teeth showing.  He tells me not to worry it is a smile.  I backed out of the door.  Smile? Right. I was not real comfortable wading into the house through 3 Dobermans.

Of these three, Willow was Hubs' love.  I almost scanned a bunch of photos of family events that show something significant.....and Hubs down on the floor with the dogs playing instead of posing with the rest of the humans.

He loved that dog. I think it broke his heart to leave her when he left home and joined the military.

Jump ahead about 4 years and now we have two firsts.  Our first Dobie and our first child.

This is Duke and Bones. Bones had just had his first ever chocolate spoon (frosting) and as I went to get a cloth to clean him up, Duke stepped in to take over.  He was good about that. (Can I get a big YUCK moms???)

Duke was the biggest baby ever. He didn't like to go outside when it was cold.  We put a thermal shirt on him and pinned it up just to get him out the door.  Um....and did I mention we lived in Texas???? Serious wimp factor going on.  Duke started out his life as a show dog but developed a slight dip in his back at the shoulders that counted against him....so he was placed in a home...ours.  He was incredibly beautiful and only 9 months old when he joined us.Sadly, orders to Korea had me moving back into my parents house with the baby and we had to find Duke a home.

A couple of assignments, and another child later we have Sable.

 Sable was found at the dog pound the summer the Gulf Of Mexico/Florida got pounded with so many hurricanes. There were many dogs that were just turned loose when everyone was evacuated because it is so hard to travel or to find a hotel that will take you with a large dog.

Sable was not the same quality of Dobie (that sounds so snobby!!) that Hubs was used to owning but she was amazing.  She was Hubs running partner and a great family dog.  But orders to Iceland where we could not take her cut her time short with us. Luckily Hubs moms Dobs had all passed away by this time and they were happy to take her.  So we did get to see her for many years after we returned to the states.  We did not take her back at that point because she had taken to Hub's dad so much.

So for the last 11 years I have kept Hubs at bay and denied him his next Dobie.  I'm so mean.  But Omaha he was gone more than home and I traveled to Texas all the time with the kids. My parents didn't have dogs so I could not really take a dog...or afford to kennel one.  No dog.

Then when we moved to Waco and bought a house we were on a 4 year controlled tour so we knew we were on borrowed time. I really didn't want the dog trail through the back yard or the dog smell in a house we were going to have to turn around and sell.  Call me mean.

Moving here we moved into base housing so we don't have to worry about selling.  So Hubs could stand it no longer.  Did I want a big dog right now with our future so uncertain?  No.  But Hubs wanted his running partner...and the teens Chihuahua would not play with Hubs and pretty much cowers ever time he walks in the room.  So I gracefully agreed to not stand in the way of the man and his dog.

 Meet Cinder.  She was adopted from a Doberman Rescue Society in a nearby city.  We had to go through placement home studies and paperwork and interviews to even be considered for adoption.  This absolutely cracked me up after having adopted internationally and all that we went through. Anyways, in the above picture you see her on the day she came home.  Her hip bones and all her vertebrae were showing as she had been picked up as a stray and was starving. It was so sad....and we saw her weeks after she had been picked up.  The society had her at the adoption event more to get her used to it than anything. She had just been spayed and was very under weight so they were not even interested in adopting her out yet.

But she chose Hubs.  And Hubs chose her.  And to make a long story short, with our history with Dobie's and rescue dogs, they went ahead and let Hubs take her.  

 And she is a sweet dog.  The Chihuahua hates her.....but whats to like when a monster steals your bed and your pack right??? LOL.  He will need to get over himself.

And a month into this new relationship Hubs has an amazing looking dog that loves to wrestle (and is too mouthy for the rest of us at this point...she is still a pup) and is learning to be his jogging partner.

And yes, she does gets LOTS more kisses than I do.  Lots more hugs and cuddles.  And hey, she snores too. So really, they just need a room of their own so we can all sleep blissfully and it will be all good.

And that pretty much explains my very busy month. Handling a dog this size with no information on her past means constant supervision. She is a professional counter surfer after being a stray and loved Mighty Mouses stuffed lady bugs...which are SACRED ya'll!!  We've had to find a high protein top rated food to put weight on her in the right way.  She plays way too rough for everyone except Hubs. She jumps on the fence -- and we don't want her to figure out she is big enough to clear it...or don't know if she already knows how to do this so she has to be supervised out back also for the time being. And she likes to insult the Chihuahua. He can't stand anyone to be anywhere near his hindquarters...even when being petted.  She will come up behind him and when he is rude and attacks her, she grabs his whole butt in her mouth...and then spits him out.  Or she flips him off his feet with her nose.  HYSTERICAL -- except to him. Oh my. I swear its like having a newborn some days and a 2 year old on others.

The good news is she is learning words (she recognized none of the standards).  She is very sweet when she is not wrestling.  She is house broken and has not had a single accident in the house. She is learning to be more gentle when playing.  She watches out for the little ones and even though she really wants to play with them, she seems to get that they really aren't for chewing on.

And she totally loves Hubs.

So, she's here to stay.

100 Random Things

Because I still have nothing worth sharing, I will once again shamelessly swipe a post from a blog I read. The victim this week is Heather from Want What You Have.

Heather - you are right. Lots of people get you. And just to show you how much I get you, I am going to bold all my answers that are the same as yours (read - I didn't even change them).

So, Heather decided to share 100 random facts about herself in the name of being open and forthcoming. Here is my very similar list:

1. I do not have a single prime time show I watch on tv.
2. I have never known what I want to be when I grow up.
3. I love amusement parks. I love roller coasters.
4. I hate putting away laundry.
5. I grew up in a very moral....yet not Christian household.
6. I'm double jointed.
7. I can burp louder than Olympic Champion burpers. The only person I know of that can out-do me is my teenage daughter. You go girl.
8. I've always been embarrassed about my teeth as they have been very yellow since I was a small child (supposedly high fevers). I thought maybe the new bleaching techniques were going to be the answer but I've been told they probably can't help me. Seriously??
9. I normally have very long nails. Its genetics. I don't do a thing except shape them.
10. I sleep more than the average person. Its allergy related but it can be embarrassing.
11. I used to swear all the time. I was particularly fond of the F-word. And being third generation military I've got some good ones. But after getting saved it sort of disappeared...except when I'm tired or overly stressed. Then it all comes back in the blink of an eye.
12. I have never broken a bone, and I still have my tonsils and appendix.
13. I love horror movies. Mostly bad B-rate monster movies that are totally unreal. I DO NOT like scary movies about the occult or supernatural stuff.
14. Zombies are my fav.
15. I'm honest and direct. Some people find this off-putting.
16. I make no apologies for it.
17. I cannot stand butt kissing. I could never work in any profession that required me to suck up to people.
18. I love, love, love "period" movies.
19. I hate reality television. But I do like Man vs. Food and Anthony Bourdain. Also that crazy exterminator guy.
20. I'm a speed reader.
21. I love the smell of rain.
22. I didn't keep baby books for my children.
23. The smell of cardboard boxes makes me sick. (Move much?)
24. With each of my pregnancies, I had mad cravings Sonic Cherry Limeades.
25. I used to hate my name. In junior high, I wanted to be called Elizabeth.
26. I like my name now.
27. My mother called me Audi when I was little.
28. My husband knows better than to call me this.
29. I don't think I spoke in public or to strangers until I was 17.
30. Once upon a time I was a cheerleader. I'm so not cut out for that.
31. I'm a really BAD dancer. But I'm an even worse singer.
32. I'm not athletic but I played varsity soccer.

33. I was the only girl on a boys soccer team as a senior when I moved to a place with no girls team. The next year they made sure they had a girls team as everyone wanted to know how I got on - and was shocked to hear that they couldn't deny me because of my sex. (I should have been a lawyer.)

34. I hate to exercise but loved it when we lived on the beach and I could take long walks.
35. I hate competition.
36. I'm not naturally organized. I have the ability to organize, but I have to really work at it, every day.
37. I'm not a go-getter. I'm actually kind of lazy, I think.
38. I'm easy to please. I don't need much to be happy.
39. In my marriage relationship, however, I'm high-maintenance. I expect my husband to make me his first priority, because he is mine.
40. I think that's how it should be.
41. I'm not a "joiner." I tend to cause problems when I do join. Not intentionally. My bull shi* meter is very sensitive and I call a spade a spade. Which has not endeared me to some of the big wig wives in military wives groups.
42. I think that Donald Trump is a complete jackass. I hope that he runs for president just so I can watch him get knocked down a few pegs.
43. I love to have something from all the places I've lived or traveled as visual reminders.
44. Because of this my 'house' is never really my home....my stuff is.
45. I love having three children. I would have had another up to about a year ago but now I'm done.
46. My kids are spoiled.
47. There are very few Christian blogs I can tolerate....because the judgment and name calling/finger pointing are anything but Christian.
48. Same with some adoption related blogs.
49. I don't care about outward appearances, and I don't believe in putting on airs.
50. I seriously want to teach my children about serving others IN THEIR COMMUNITY...which is why I am big on Scouts.
51. If I really like a book or TV show, I can read/watch it over and over, a million times, and never get tired of it.
52. Where my diet is concerned, I must have lots of variety. I rarely make the same thing for dinner, twice in one month.
53. I am sarcastic way too often. Its my biggest personality trait I think. I have improved with age thankfully.
54. I was going to name my rock band Dead Red.
55. I hated school to the point that I refused college. What a shame.
56. I attract freaks and weirdos. But I now know how to detach and separate.
57. My husband is not a freak or weirdo. He is just challenging.
58. I'm a natural mimic. It's very easy for me to pick up accents.
59. I want to travel and travel and travel....hopefully Ireland is one of those stops.
60. I really like Colin Firth. One word - Nadine.
62. My husband is not good at accents. He sounds like his dad or grandma. Except for his terrorist voice and his French one. The kids love both.
63. I have a weakness for men in uniform. Especially older men.
64. I was never nominated for anything in school. Maybe because I was never in a school long enough to even make friends it seems.
65. I almost never win anything. Although all of a sudden I won an Accucut Go Cutter and a 42 inch tv.
66. I don't want to live to age 100.
67. I want to die before I get to the point where someone has to help me go to the bathroom.
68. I'm terrified of nursing homes. I never, ever want to be in one.
69. I'm quite independent. I don't like to rely on anyone, because I find that people are generally unreliable.
70. Losing my husband is my greatest fear. Whenever he drives away, I say a little prayer for God to keep him safe.
71. Losing one of my children is my other greatest fear.
72. I'm also scared of being injured or killed in a car accident.
73. Because of this I refuse to be involved in teaching my children to drive.
74. My favorite potato chip is baked Lays Barbeque
75. I love steak. With a baked potato and a big salad with Ranch dressing.
76. I love almost every vegetable imaginable.
77. Organ meats and shellfish totally disgust me. Shrimp is ok occasionally but only occasionally.
78. I hate fish.
79. I hate raw onions, and don't like it when my husband has them on a hamburger. No kisses.
80. Too much garlic gives me a stomachache.
81. I don't like my food to be very hot.
82. I don't like very cold drinks.
83. I am not a wishy-washy person.
84. I know nothing about Japanese anime.
85. I've never seen any of the Harry Potter movies, and I don't plan to.
86. I refuse to watch Real Housewives of anything, Jersey Shore, Mob Wives, or any other show of this ilk. This kind of programming makes me feel like the whole world is made up of vulgar, shallow idiots.
87. As much as I dislike these shows hubs hates them even more. Makes life easy.
88. I can't believe how much weight I've gained and that I can no longer drop weight at the drop of a hat.
89. Hubs isn't doing much better. But at least he tries to be fit and in shape.
90. I thought those commercials about drugs to make you have thicker eyelashes were stupid. And then I tried to wear mascara and realized I don't have half the lashes I used to....and those commercials are for ME!
91. I love my air conditioning....but I also like to camp so I'm ok without it in those situations.
92. I don't fit a political tag. In some ways I am very conservative. But then in some ways I am very liberal. There is no party or affiliation that I would claim or fit into.
93. I hate politics. I especially hate arguing about politics, and listening to people rant about politics. BUT I would rather see people engaged and caring about the issues than not even informed or caring about what is happening in our nation. Sticking your head in the sand should not be an option.
94. I'm a procrastinator of the worst kind.
95. I don't blog for anyone but myself. See, I'm easily amused....I amuse myself with my writing.
96. I giggle when I think of Heather stressing over her lack of comments on her post. I never miss a post but probably response one in ten times....and I think thats probably pretty normal.
97. I have an extensive vocabulary because I read so much. But I mispronounce most of those words and sound like the village idiot anyways. And I can't spell to save my life.
98. I LOVE reading.
99. I wish all women would support each other even when we take different stances. We are all women trying to get through this life with the tools we are given. And we are not given the same tools...so why should be try to do everything the same?
100. My motto in life is: Adapt, improvise and overcome.

And now I'm going to go leave a comment for Heather....cause she needs one.

Autumn Asks: Have Any Confessions?

I've got nothing. That would be why I'm so quiet over here. I should probably feel guilty....but I don't do guilty very often. I own where I'm at.

So Cassie at This Journey Through My Life did a post on 10 confessions today and asked us to join in. Click on over and visit Cassie...she's having one of those weeks. If you are a mom you know exactly what I mean. A cyber hug would not be remiss.

So Cassie, here's my 10 confessions for the last couple of weeks:

1. I feel like napping every day lately. I know its probably more about allergies than anything since its spring, but it really makes me feel like a slug.

2. I have zero motivation to get anything done. I'm working on a big project and I have the "don't wanna" syndrome. When I try to get started....I go take a nap instead.

3. I haven't really cleaned the house in 3 weeks besides a courtesy swipe at the dust and vacuum runs.

4. My kitchen has been flooded daily for over a month and I'm so sick of calling it in that I just throw towels down and change them out daily. I would never do that if I owned the place. (Of course I would have FIXED it if I owned the place....not played around with housing maintenance.)

5. My meds expired and ran out in Feb and I waited until last week to make an appointment and get it all going again.

6. I hate prom even more now that I'm forking out the money for my daughter than I did when I was a teen and refused to go. What a money hole. For what?

7. I'm so tired of my baby coming home from school with sickness or bugs. Really???? Right now there are several parents that I would like to actually smack for sending their kids to school to infect others. And I'm not talking about the people that didn't even know...I'm talking about the parents that DO know and send their kids anyways. I've acquired an education on how many people do that when chasing down these issues to ensure further contamination doesn't occur. I have no nice words for these people so I shall shut up now. It's almost sent me back to home schooling.

8. We've been here almost 2 years and we still haven't found a church.

9. We've been here almost 2 years and the garage is still not unpacked and organized.

10. By Christmas I bet I have more gray hair than red. It's not gonna be pretty people. And I can't decide if coloring my hair is worth it. After all, we KNOW that hair dye is a serious carcinogenic. Is it worth the increased cancer risk? Look like an old hag or die a painful death. Can't decide.

So how about you? What kind of nasty confessions are you willing to share?

Geesshhhh

New dog

new dog

hubs out of town

new dog

food poisoning?

sick kid

sick kid

back to school

4 hours in the ER

Strep, ear infection, possible pneumonia

sick kid

new dog

Spring break

Rain, rain go away and let us enjoy Spring break

Please

Prom Dress

Underwear for prom dress.....$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

When can I get my permit?

sick kid

new dog

No...no...no...

sick mom

Lil' China Love

For those of my readers that also follow Tonggu Momma....you all have heard the fab news that they finally received their referral.

It was like FOUR YEARS in the waiting. Is that not crazy???

A wait like that really deserves some recognition. Way to hang in there guys!!

And this fall or summer (excuse the brain damaged memory) my mother sent me a box full of the left-over material from Mighty Mouses 100 Good Wishes Quilt. I used some of it for a charity quilt, but still had so much left over.

So of course I had the brilliant ideal of making a Referral Gift for TM and Co. out of that stash.

I had one piece that was a decent size and had a scene on it that I really wanted to use for the middle. And I had a decent size dragon piece for the back border. So I started playing with it and this is what I got... Lil China Love:

As there is no absolute guarantee that the baby will be a girl I did not get too girly. Bright yellows and blue and reds are the dominant colors on the front...

With a green waves pattern on most of the back. See the dragon piece in the light blue? It is the coolest fabric.

A close up of the children on the center front. I love this fabric. It came after we had MM's quilt already cut so I didn't get to use it. Then I thought I'd make a dress out of it ... but I never got around to it. So glad!

This was my first serious try at a free motion quilting pattern of Leah Daey's. Its called bamboo forest or something like that. I did it on the outside borders. It was a real good one to start with...not REAL easy but not excessively hard and it is very forgiving.

The green waves backing.

I struggled with the border. Finally I found a bright red with a vine pattern on it that worked well with the other reds....and helped keep the quilt from being too girly "just in case".

And there she is. I am auto posting this on a date they should have the quilt by...so I hope they already do and this is not ruining the surprise. Its been very hard to keep quiet as I LOVE the way it turned out ...and its been done since December!

Congrats friend!

(Better pictures)

Wherein Autumn Earns A Camp Name

This was a crazy weekend of Girl Scouts gone wild. Spring Break had nothin' on us.

Ok. Not really so -- but it was a very full and fun weekend.

Friday we headed to a nearby town with the Juniors and Cadettes for a night of Science fun at a College. We did lots of really cool stuff and ended the night with a bang...literally...in the chemistry lab. College chemistry is way cool. We got to see things set on fire, frozen, shattered -- some really really cool stuff. And girls this age? They LOVE this kind of stuff. I think we really made the professors night. Maybe even year. They all wanted to come back and go to college there.

Saturday. Oh Saturday. I had adult enrichment/training with the leader of all the ages in the troop and another leader that handles the Brownies. We had to meet early as we didn't do the whole overnight 3 day thing...just the all day Saturday. After a rough start where I discovered that Starbucks doesn't open until 7 am in our area, we hit another place for Liquid Awake and off we drove to the campgrounds. I had hiking lost trails, Journeys and then orienteering on my schedule. Hiking I was doing with the Brownie leader and orienteering we were all doing together.

Weather was in the 60's with scattered showers. (And God was smiling on me because those showers/downpours occurred during Journey classroom and lunch -- when I was indoors.)

So off M and I marched to discover a lost trail that used to be used when the camp had horses.

And it had rained the day before.

Where it was true up and down hiking. (With ropes strung at strategic spots to keep us from slipping into a ravine.)

On soggy ground. Here is where I insert the fact that I have never lived anywhere that has such a spongy ground in the spring. Its kinda gross. Its very squishy. And it eats shoes if you aren't careful. Hence my recent purchase of the only pair of rain boots I have ever owned. Which I was not wearing for hiking either.

Now - before I go any further let me explain a very old Girl Scout tradition. Its the "camp name". It is a nickname you earn while at camp that sticks with you for life at any GS camp you attend afterwards. Pretty important stuff if you ask me.

But I never actually earned one as there was never really anything epic, weird or out-of-the ordinary that happened to me at any of the camp-outs.

I don't mind getting dirty or bugs. Rain isn't a problem. I've never set myself on fire or burned up dinner or anything fire related. Its just been camping.

Back to the hike.

It was muddy and wet and steep in places. Many of the women were afraid to fall. We all slipped and slid here and there. There was lots of fear and complaints of how they got stuck in this class and would never hike on their own...etc.

And then it happened.

Oh, I didn't just fall. Oh no. And I didn't just slide....way to boring. No.

I fell AND slid....on my um....chest....like a fat kid on a slip-n-slide.

Oh yes I did.

And I made this FANTASTIC loud ker-splish sound when I hit the ground! Movie sound effects had nothing on me.

And to make it better, the reason I was on my..er, girls...was because I had the hands thrown up and back to keep myself from bracing my fall and hurting a hands or wrists, AND my feet up to keep from injuring a knee. Great, great posture for a full frontal slide.

Oh. Yes. I. Did.

And after the stunning discovery that I was COMPLETELY unharmed (but covered in mud) we were all able to relax as I took one for the team and got the required fall out of the way. Totally totally unharmed. (Still in shock over that.)

But you don't have to feel too bad for me. See, we took a couple of steps and then BAM. M's nose blew out in a gusher to beat all gushers. Yes, by the time we reached the top of the ravine we had to get the instructor to pull out the tp to stop that sucker. Kleenex just weren't gonna do it.

Now - another thing you have to realize is that our big boss wasn't with us because she was giving the lodge camping training the first two sessions. Yes. Our leader is not just ANY leader...she's a name at our council. She's been a scout in this council as a child and then became a leader and she knows it all. Really. Not being funny or anything.

So now I'm snickering cause her underlings have just shamed her.

And when we confessed our shame to our fearless leader she did laugh. And I told her I never ever expected to earn a camp nickname of Mudslide. And she shook her head and laughed.

Mud and Blood.

Yep - that's what she called us.

See - so my name really IS Mud!!

And to wrap it all up...on Sunday we had WAGGS day to celebrate the 100th bday of GS.

And I got my first sunburn of the year.

Because it was in the 80's!!!!!!! I am ecstatic!!!!!

Never have I been so happy to have a burn!!! Come on hot weather!!

And so there it is. Can you top it? (I know Andie can because she went to the big quilt show in Cinnci.)

I'd really love to hear how my friends spent their weekends and did things that make me look good -- or at least better.

Anyone?

(crickets)

My Baby Is 7

And I'm feeling it.

This is the last one. No more for me.

And I'm one of the lucky ones as I've stretched this mom thing out for years -- 6 years between the first two, 10 years between the second and third.

And I really did want to adopt one more from China. But hubs said he was done. So, done it is. (Which is even harder when someone else gets their new referral info the day before my baby's birthday. Go TM!!!!! So excited for you!!!!!!)

And this weekend we celebrated Mouses 7th birthday. She eats pizza now and requested Chuck E. Cheese. (I thought I was done with that place!) So off the four of us went to the strange smelling kid mecca of games and noise.

And that was after an overnight with 70 girls at a Children's Museum. Sleeping on a concrete floor. With children that would not go to sleep. Or stop running up and down the stairs. You really never realize just how well your Girl Scout Troop behaves until you combine with others for something. And ear plugs? Worth their weight in gold.

For Mouses cake she wanted Kim Possible. Leave it to my kid to come up with a character that was popular 10 years ago. And all I can say is hat's off to Eba*.
Of course Mouse loved it so much she kept tracing it through the plastic and totally destroyed the top of the cake before pictures or eating. But, being a third child, we just shrugged and moved on. LOL. I would have been so mad with the first child...and maybe even the second. But she saw it was what she wanted and its not like it tastes any different all scraped onto the top instead of pristine. So, whatever. Oh - and Jamie....the jam layer in there? It was great. The teen even commented on it.

And my little 7 year old? She has changed so much in this last year that I don't even think her nickname fits her anymore. She is just like many other kids her age now.

Do you know how shocking and amazing that is?????? I am pinching myself. She talks on the phone to people. She eats more foods and can be convinced to try something without throwing up all over the place or gagging. She interfaces well with other kids and adults as often as not now. She pulled her first card at school. She has put together her own little cheerleading team in our back yard...complete with cheers she made up and taught the other kids. She doesn't listen. She breaks the rules. She yells and gets loud.

She's finally FINALLy....so normal. (Which isn't to say she is totally normal...no kid is...which makes her normal. )

And I think I'm just a little bit shell shocked by it all.

Because I just don't know how I feel about all of this.