And Then The Fridge Goes Out

That feeling. That feeling of opening the refrigerator door, and knowing that it really doesn't feel as cool to you as it should. The things around the outside of the freezer door, they're not as frozen as they should be. Maybe a door got left cracked open, it wasn't sealed all the way. I'll just shut it and it will get cold again. Nope. It's a sure sign your refrigerator has given up on you.

When an appliance goes out, it's always a blessing and a curse. You don't PLAN to have one quit on you. You almost NEVER save for the moment you'll need a new one. But, sure enough, you will always find yourself in the position of needing a new one, when you're least expecting it. The blessing is...you get a new appliance! No matter how "not fun" an appliance is, it means getting a new one. A NEW one!! And a new anything is fun, no matter how boring it is.

So, today I start the on-line shopping. See who has the best deals. The free delivery and haul away. The most cubic feet. No water dispenser or ice maker necessary. No french door style.
Bottom freezer. That is my perk. My excitement. I finally get a fridge with a bottom freezer. My Grandparents have had one for years. And I do mean YEARS. Their bottom freezer fridge is at least 30 years old. How in the world, have they had a refrigerator last 30 years?!? Ours has lasted 7.

So shopping today. Moving frozen food to a friends house, to save all the food we can. Getting coolers out of the attic and buying ice from the gas station, we'll make it through till tomorrow, when we can pick up, or have a new fridge delivered. I just hope we can get it tomorrow, and not have to wait till Saturday, when they're predicting snow. Yes, snow.

So our Spring Break? Flu, vomiting, broken appliance and snow. But I know from experience...it could always be worse.

Busy Busy Blah

We have been busy around here lately!

Last week, spring break officially started for the kids Friday, with no school. Cue the bad start to spring break....Jodie up all night long, throwing up every hour on the hour. Friday, it was me who was sick and throwing up. Saturday we sent 3 kids to a friends for the day, and we were off to the Spelling Bee!

Katie did excellent at the Bee! She was not a finalist, and did not place, but she did amazingly well for her first time at State! There were 49 kids in the state/regional. Katie was one of 5 of them who were in 4th grade or under! I am so proud she got up there and did her best!

The rest of the days have been filled with another child falling victim to the flu, Jesses classmate coming over to work on a science project due next week, and phone calls with surgery coordinators, getting ready for Katies surgery next week.

I got my new project supplies in! I have made a few items and am getting the feel of whether I'm liking this new "art", and I know I wasn't pleased with the condition of the glass. I have done soldered pieces, and still do when I have time. But thought that these new glass pendants would still have a fun look, with less work. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about them yet...what do you think? They will have a bail at the top (like the one on the bottom right) to hang from a necklace.



Several of them are bunnies. I'm going to go to my little sisters 3rd Annual Fiber Festival soon, and thought I might try to sell a few while at the event! The one in the bottom right, was the first one I made. I soon discovered that it was much too light to show up, and I believe the flash is reflecting off that one, causing it to be even less visible. But I still like that you can add whatever image you want to, and have some options. But I don't think I'm liking them as much as the soldered pieces.

I'll keep going with them. I bought limited supplies, so if I don't like them or their results, I don't have a ton of supplies to use up.

What's your favorite hobby or things to create?

New Project On It's Way

A wet and soggy Tuesday morning. It's pretty gray and dismal today, but my mood is too good to be ruined by a little damp weather!

I've been inspired to start a new project! I ordered some supplies last night (I just needed a few things, not much really.) And now I wait for the package to come!! Waiting on the package is the worst. I'm a person of little patience! As soon as the package arrives, I will get started and post my new creations!! I'm saving it as a secret...you'll just have to keep checking back to find out what it is.

Meanwhile, I need to talk my husband into helping me move some things around in our house. A while back, I had moved all of my craft, jewelry and scrap-booking supplies to our upstairs family room. In it's place downstairs, we moved a fireplace. Now...I have realized that I am much more productive, when all of my things are downstairs, like they were before. So I need to get him to help me move some things around, get my things back downstairs, so I can start creating again. Really, it's just the fireplace I need moved. I can move everything else on my own, but the fireplace is too cumbersome and heavy to move on my own.

Katie is feeling much better today and went ahead and returned to school. I think she would have liked to stay home one more day, but the Dr said if she wanted to go back to school today she could.

So, it's a fairly quiet Tuesday around here. Quiet is good :)

Strep and Spelling

Here we are, the Monday before the Spelling Bee, and our star speller has strep!! I'm pushing lots of fluids, making her rest, and got her started on her antibiotic. I'm hoping she feels well soon. The spelling bee is on Saturday, so I hope she's 100% by then!

It was a beautiful weekend! I am loving the warm weather we've been having and can't wait to start doing some outdoor things (fishing, camping, etc.)
We cooked out on the grill both Saturday and Sunday night. It's time to stock up on charcoal and grill out all the time! Let me know if you have any awesome grilling recipes to share!

Other than that, there really isn't too much going on. Finishing up the yearbook for the kids school, getting Katie through the spelling bee and then her surgery. Such excitement!

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

What is THAT?!? Oh, it's the sun.

What is that? What did you say? Is the sun actually shining? I believe it is. The sky is still mostly covered with clouds, but there is some sun trying to peek through. If anything, its at least a little brighter out today.

It's not even 10:AM and I have a headache. Today is picture day at school, and although the kids and I picked out clothes and got them ready last night, the morning was still rough.

But, the world did not stop spinning. The day did not stop and start over, simply because I was having a bad day. It's still going. That will lead to tomorrow, which is bound to be better!

I was watering plants yesterday, well, more accurately I was watering pots with soil and seeds in them, and noticed that one of the plants has started to sprout! I have hollyhock growing! It is so exciting to get to watch things come alive and grow! I just hope that I can keep them well indoors until it is warm enough outside. I don't think anyone has thought that our winter would be this harsh this long. It seems like it should be a lot warmer now than it is.

I am anxiously awaiting a book I ordered. It's about square foot gardening. I have been wanting to put a garden in, and was looking at numerous gardening books when this one popped up as a best seller. It uses raised bed gardens, which will benefit us and the type of yard we have. I cannot wait to get it and plan out what I think I will be able to grow this year! I'm hoping that it will help the kids get interested in gardening too. I've also heard that when kids grow their own foods and help prepare them, they're also more willing to eat them! We'll find out!

Spelling Bee News

Congrats to my Katie, who won 2nd place in the County Spelling Bee!! She will be moving on to State now! She was thrilled and is very excited to be able to go! Jesse finished in the top 8, and did really well himself! Very proud of my kids.

Today is cold and it has already snowed just a teeny bit. Everyone I talk to grumbles about the cold and snow, ready for it to end. I too, am ready for some warm weather.

I have lots of projects in mind for today, and hope that I can get most of them done. It's always good to stay in, stay warm and be creative! ATC cards and salve are a few of the projects. Making cut-out sugar cookies and letting the kids ice/decorate them is another one. I just remembered though that I still have yet to replace my mixer, and although I've still been able to make almost everything I normally would use the mixer for, but icing might be tough to make without it!

Laundry is beckoning me...although I hate to answer it's call :)

Is It Really Almost Friday?

How this week has flown by! I can't believe it's Thursday already.

Yesterday was Katie's Dr appt. She does indeed need to have her tonsils removed. We're waiting for a call from the surgery coordinator to find out what our part of the cost not covered by insurance will be, and when the surgery will be scheduled. Katie is so excited, she can hardly contain herself. I'm still glad that the worries and bad parts are still a mystery to her. If she only knew how miserable she'll feel afterward, she wouldn't be looking forward to it so much. But again, it's going to help her in so many ways. They rate tonsils on a 0-4, 4 being the worst. Her tonsils come in rating as a 4 and a 2, so it's best to have them out. Now just to figure out what's best to ease a nervous Momma and her active imagination!

Today is the County Spelling Bee! I am very excited to see the kids compete. I of course, hope they do well, and would be ecstatic if they won. But I am so proud of them that they've made it this far, that I couldn't ask for more. I am blessed with incredibly bright kids. It is a joy to see how smart they are and how well they are doing.

Tomorrow there is no school. The kids are excited for a 3 day weekend. It's weekend like this that I wish Mark had vacation time left. He does however get his vacation in May, and this year, he gets two weeks, instead of just one!

I'm hoping to make some more salve tomorrow. I'm going to try a new recipe, one I'm working on on my own. The last salve came out so nice, I thought I'd make another, with some different herbs this time. I only wish I didn't lack essential oils to give it that extra boost of goodness. The checkbook cringes when it sees the cost of essential oils though, so we'll just make due without.

Busy Monday

Okay, so today isn't so busy, but trying to plan out the rest of the week seems busy. Not totally hectic run around like crazy, but busy enough.

Tomorrow are parent teacher conferences, Wednesday is Katie's ENT appointment. Thursday is the County Spelling Bee and Friday, there is no school and I'm trying to get appointments made for both Jesse (who needs an immunization) and Lane, who appears to have had the staph return. The weekend is full of picking up a car for a friend, who can't travel to get it herself. So, there's a little something everyday, just enough to make it seem more busy than usual.

Yesterday, Case and I made some salve. It set up nicely and smells WONDERFUL! We didn't get pictures of the in between steps, but we did get a pic of the herbs and oils in the crock pot.





I will try to post a picture of the finished product soon. It turned out really nice! A very moisturizing, smooth salve. I can't wait to make more. A recipe for an "itch balm" will come in handy in the summer with mosquito and chigger bites!

Elderberry Syrup

My friend Casey came down today and we are busy in the kitchen! We've got herbs and oil in the crockpot, preparing to make an herbal salve out of them. We're planting some seeds, just to get a head start on the spring feeling! And we've made a few candles, and are going to make some more. But our finished project for the day, is elderberry syrup. Elderberry syrup is full of antioxidants and excellent for your immune system. You can take it during the cold and flu season as a daily supplement, or when you're sick to help you get over it sooner.
You add elderberries to your water to boil.



Then, you grate fresh ginger, and add a cinnamon stick and cloves.




Next, you strain the liquid out (after you've simmered it to reduce by half.) Now, you add your honey.


And finally, you pour your syrup into your sanitized bottles and wait for it to cool, so you can put on the cap and store it in the refrigerator.


Now, you have all natural elderberry syrup! It makes me feel better knowing I'm giving my family something that is natural and good for you, instead of questionable ingredients.

Friday is Here!

It has been a fairly long week. It seems we've been a bit more busy this week with a bunch of different things. The school budget cut meetings, half day of school, the Suburban breaking down,etc. But it's Friday and that is always a good day.

Much to, no ones surprise, it's snowing again! I cannot remember how long it's been, since we've had so much snow. I'm not sure if it's even the amount of snow that we've had, but just how often it's snowed! The snow today is really wet, and has clung to everything. It's so gorgeous! If the Suburban were running, I would take Lane out so we could take some pictures. I did get a few in the back yard.



Friday usually means grocery shopping. I've been reading up on other blogs about coupon shopping. I'm anxious to see what kinds of savings I can make, using coupons and store sales. I will let you know how it goes.

How Much Say Do You Have?

Oven baked chimichangas are in the oven. Two kids done with homework, one left to finish theirs, and Lane is crying. Sounds like a regular night here at our house.

I'm going back and forth between attending the 2nd budget cut meeting the school is holding. I attended the first on Tuesday night, and there is a 2nd tonight. At the first, we learned a lot and a little, all at the same time. Tonight, it's a parent led meeting, which makes me hopeful we might get more answers.

I understand that everyone nowadays is having to make ends meet. But when you discuss our children and their education, we tend to get a little snippy. There are choices that the school board is going to have to face. Do you cut elementary library, or middle school band? And those ARE some of the things on the chopping block. As is closing down an entire elementary school, and shuffling the kids into the other 3 we have in town. I wish we had more say, and maybe at some point, we WILL have a say. But up to this point, we haven't.

It's a frustrating thing, and there are always questions you will never have the answers to. At least not an honest and direct answer anyway. But attending the meeting is as close as it comes to being active and showing concern. So it looks like I'm in for a night of budget discussion.

Another Chilly Day

Brrrrr! I had thought it was supposed to be warming up, but it's definitely cold and overcast today. Most of the snow is gone now, with just a bit still hanging around in the shadows. We're looking at possible snow again Fri, Sat and Sun. It wouldn't be so bad, if I didn't need nice weather so my husband doesn't freeze fixing our Suburban!

Yesterday morning while the Suburban was warming up, it died. I was able to get it started a few more times, but it would die each time. My husband is a mechanic (although it's not his full time day job anymore.) so he diagnosed it promptly after getting home. Now comes the fun part. Fixing it. So I'll be on the standby with lots of hot coffee to thaw his frozen hands if he has to fix it in the snow.

This week has been fairly busy so far, but next week is even more busy! Meetings, appointments, and I can't forget about the County spelling bee!!

But right now my mind is on comfort food. Nothing drives away the cabin fever blues like something hot and yummy from the oven. A little afternoon treat, some hot coffee and a good book sound great to me. But I know that, in reality, that probably won't happen. It will be something more like, a quick gulp of hot coffee gone cold, and trying to get things done I should have done yesterday.

I'll see what I can do about that hot and yummy treat though...that may be too good to not make happen!

With Visions of Ice Cream...

I called this morning to make an appointment with an otolaryngologist (ear nose and throat doctor). The appointment is not for myself, but for my daughter Katie. Since birth, she has been a mouth breather and she snores, like a chainsaw. Seriously. You can usually hear her snoring from another room. After talking with her pediatrician and orthodontist, we determined she needs to be evaluated to have her tonsils and adenoids removed.

The orthodontist, you say? It's hard to believe, but posture of your mouth is very critical in how your lips and facial muscles help to keep your gums and teeth formed and in-line. If you are a mouth breather, your muscles tend to be more lax, which then allow your teeth and gums to protrude forward and sort of shift around. Either this is a totally new concept for me and it really is true (especially in her case) or, I'm very gullible and will believe whatever an orthodontist tells me.
So we'll soon be visiting the ENT for an exam, to see what they think about surgery. I don't like the thought of surgery, especially anything elective. But it has been a problem medically and is also a problem with moving forward with the orthodontist.

Katie is okay with the idea. I think she is excited about being able to see some progress with visiting the orthodontist. She's excited about not snoring anymore. But most of all, she's excited about the ice cream. I had my tonsils removed when I was younger. I remember the pain. So of course, I promised her lots and lots of ice cream.

Now if someone told ME I was having to have surgery, the night before, all I would be able to think of is the surgeon losing an instrument inside me, cutting off the wrong part, or possibly never waking up. I don't think kids think like that. At least not Katie. I wish I could be a kid, and the night before surgery, falling asleep with visions of ice cream...

Herbs Syrups and Salves OH MY!

Today, the UPS man brought me a package! I love getting packages! Last week I had ordered bottles and containers for some of my current projects! I had to order more tincture bottles, for my herbal remedies (I found out I didn't have enough for my batches I've made prior!)These are some of my tinctures I've already gotten bottled.


And I also ordered 8oz bottles, for the elderberry syrup I'm making, and salve jars for a few new salve recipes I'm trying!




I'm really excited to get the elderberry syrup and the salves going! I need to wait a bit before I have all the ingredients for the salves, but the syrup should be going soon! I can't wait to get in the kitchen and concoct some awesome remedies!

Do you take or make any herbal remedies?

Homemade Butter!

After an uneventful Saturday, Sunday was a welcome day of fun!

My friend Casey and brother-in-law Scott (who are dating) came down to our house for the day. Scott and my hubby Mark, wanted to get some work done on the boys room. The boys room has been a long on-going project and it's all starting to come together now. Once dubbed the "Swiss Cheese Room", it now has walls and a closet! So they worked on the room while Casey and I found fun things to do.

One of the things we had wanted to try, was to make butter. I'm not really sure why, other than curiosity and wanting to make something homemade.

I had prepped the cream by letting it sit out for the better part of the day (directions say to let it sit out for at least 12 hours, but no longer than 24 hours). 1qt container gave us each 2 cups to shake to death in a jar!! Ready, set, start shaking!!!!

After a few minutes, our liquid cream started getting thick..shake shake shake...another few minutes, and it didn't even feel like it was able to be shaken at all it was so thick...shake shake (ugh, are we done yet? my arms are tired)shake...wow, that's strange, it sounds like all liquid again!
A quick internet search to make sure we were on track! We passed the jars off at this point to a couple of the kids, just to make sure they had as much fun as we were ;) Shake shake shake...open the lid to peek in, OH! It's BUTTER! We kept shaking till we were sure we had creamed up all the butter possible. Then rinsed and rinsed in cold water.

Beautiful, fluffy creamy butter! One 2 cup jar of cream made enough butter to just overfill a pint glass jar. Next time I make butter, I promise to photograph each step to post! It's a lot of fun, and a good feeling, even if its something as silly as butter!

Art or Something Like It

Since recently re-starting this blog, I have been searching through other blogs, checking out what cool gadgets, backgrounds and buttons there are. I've seen an amazing array of blogs. From ones that make you want to stay on the blog forever, it seems so welcoming and quaint. To ones that make you want to claw your eyeballs out and give you a headache in the nano second you lingered on the page!!

I have realized that you can get a LOT of inspiration from other blogs. Really, a whole ton of it. And even though you may think that, well, look how many people out there scrapbook...nobody really has anything that looks exactly alike!

I consider myself creative, an artist of sorts. But the problem is getting that creativity to flow.

Luckily, I have a friend, that is placing a deadline on me. To work, to create and to succeed.

Hope I can post some of my creative works here soon. Maybe I can inspire someone if they run across my blog!!

Cold Weather Pick Me Up

Today, it is snowing.

This year, it started snowing just before Christmas. Several large storms brought plenty of snow to us! The snow stayed on the ground for weeks. It was beautiful. Just the kind of perfect White Christmas everyone wishes for. Then we were done with it. It couldn't melt fast enough! By the time the snow completely melted off last week, we had been trudging through a gray and sloppy mess for weeks. Then, just as it starts to dry up, and all the snow is gone, we get more.

There are a couple inches on the ground, with another inch or so expected. And with a high today of, 22 and a low of 9, it will make for a stay inside and stay warm kind of weekend.

Wonder what kind of warm and tasty recipe I can find, to give us that cold weather pick me up?

Got Junk?

Thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, antique stores. What do all these have in common? Treasure! I am a firm believer in the saying "One mans junk is another mans treasure". I have found endless useful items for a fraction of what they would cost if purchased new. And a lot of times, they have even been in new condition.

Last night we drove to a town about 35 miles east of us, to pick up a dog house. It is perfect for our dog, Daisy, who is mostly indoors, but needs shelter for those times she needs to be outside. The best part of the doghouse? It was Free! Cost to buy new at store? $50.00! I consider that a big savings! Sure it cost us gas money to drive to pick it up. But it also provided family time taking a drive together.
I am a member of several local Freecycle groups. Freecycle is a group that strives to keep stuff out of landfills. If you can't use it, maybe the family down the street can! Use it up, wear it out. Recycle it! When you have something to get rid of that you no longer need or use, you post on Freecycle and you usually can have it gone within a day! If you're looking for something, ask for it. Quite often someone will have had what you're looking for, taking up space in their garage, and they'll gladly give it to whomever needs it! It's really a great group/resource to use. Check it out!

Triple Layer Cookie Bars

The newest recipe I tried today:

1 1/4 c all purpose flour
2/3 c sugar
1/3 c baking cocoa
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c cold butter
2 eggs
TOPPING:
1 package, 7oz. flaked coconut
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c creamy peanut butter

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add eggs; mix well. Press into a greased 13x9 pan.

2. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Sprinkle coconut over crust; then cover with the condensed milk. Bake 20 mins, or until browned. Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter and stir until smooth. Spread over top.

There's Always Tomorrow

I woke up this morning, and immediately wished I had stayed in bed. It wasn't anything in particular, it was just one of "those" kinds of days.

So I bawled my eyes out, drank my coffee and then laughed about my misery. I'm not really sure if it was a "wow, ha ha, my mood really stinks today" kind of laugh. Or more of one of those "wow, you've got some serious issues and are pretty much crazy" kind of laughs. Either way, it helped a little.

I was in such a funk, I decided that I couldn't handle anyone coming into my home for our Thursday afternoon get together/bible study. Just so you know, my home is as ever changing as the Kansas weather. One day, it will be spotless and the most amazing sanctuary. The next day, it looks, well, like my house threw up. Contents of drawers spilling out, cabinet doors open, dirty clothes...you get the picture. So I called, plead insanity, and got bible study moved to my neighbors house.

So I spent the morning wallowing in mental anguish, rushing around doing things I should have done last week instead of last minute.

I did however manage to make the treat for the meeting. It was a new recipe I hadn't tried before, and it turned out pretty good, in spite of my last minute realization that my one and only mixer broke two weeks ago and I have yet to replace it. And for those of you who like to pick up little kitchen tips here and there, I've got one for you. You know those fancy pastry blenders? The kind that you use to "cut" in the shortening or butter? Yea, you don't really need one of those. A potato masher is an amazing substitute. So I got the treat made, and even got a compliment or two on it. It was a chocolate gooey treat, and that might have helped my mood a little bit more!

But this is just a bit of today. There's much worse and much better that can still happen before it is time for me to get to bed. And then, after today, there's always tomorrow.