It's a Wonderful Life!

Here is a picture that I took of my son Jeremy and his wife when they formally got engaged. The reason I'm posting it is because Jeremy just had his 18th birthday this past week, and of course I am a proud mama I had to brag on him some:) He has turned out to be such a wonderful young man, full of future aspirations.

Our children grow up so fast, it seems like yesterday I was holding them in my arms.......

This yuletide season I am truly thankful for my life. I have a wonderful family that loves me, wonderful friends that support me, a roof over my head and dreams in my heart. It really is A WONDERFUL LIFE!

OMG!!!!!

I DID IT! I ended up with two B's and one C! Yay!!!!! I am soooo happy! I have a 2.69 grade point average! Which doesn't sound like much, but I consider it awesome considering all the crap I have went through the last few months. I was praying to just pass all my classes with C's..........LOL

Next quarter will be better. Higher grades, here I come:)

Two Down, And ONE to Go!

Finals are this week at the college that I attend, so everything has been hectic both there and at home. I took two of my finals yesterday and passed them both with flying colors!!!!! On the one class that I was worried if I was going to pass or not, I ended up with a high C! The second final that I took, I know I will end up with at least a high B in there. WOOT!!!!!!! Now, all I have to study for is my Financial Accounting I, which is tomorrow evening:) I feel pretty good about that test too. I should pull out a high C in there as well! Yay!!!!!!!

Not to mention, I got a paper in the mail today from the college that is showing that the classes that I had taken at NCSC all transferred! DOUBLE WOOT!!!! Now, I don't have to take English Comp I over again at my current college:)

What are you thankful for?

Every year when my family sits down at the dinner table on Thanksgiving we say what we are each thankful for. This year because I had to work and because one of my son's has moved out, we texted each other to say what we were thankful for. I think it's important to take the time to tell our loved ones that we love them and acknowledge verbally that we are truly grateful for what we have.

I'm thankful for my family and my life. What are you thankful for this year?

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

One day at a time

I feel so exhausted lately. I wonder why. LOL Could it be the homeschooling five days a week? Or it could be working 20+ hours a week waitressing? Maybe it's going to school full time? It could quite possibly be that I am trying to get various projects done up around the house??? Naw, not any of that. LOL

I had come to the decision a long time ago that I try not to think too far ahead in the future. The reason is that I tend to worry about things. I am learning that I need to just think about today, that I just need to get through today. As the great Scarlet O'Hara states, "Tomorrow is another day!"

The best things in life aren't usually planned.....

Well, we had the halloween/reception party..........we invited well over 100 people and the majority of them said they were coming for sure.



Right.



I had a bad feeling, should have listened to myself, but of course I'm not a pessimist by nature soooooo I ignored my inner spirit screaming at me. Only about 20 people showed up and the bride's mother didn't even show up until 8pm (the party ended at 9pm) with the cake, ate some food (that I provided) and left. Not to mention, when we went in front of the jodge, he wouldn't approve Carrie and Jeremy getting married. *Read previous post titled "Road Trip"* Needless to say, there was a lot of people that I wasn't happy with.

On a positive note, the place we rented looked AWESOME. I will post pictures when I can. Also, Carrie and Jeremy are getting married this Friday in PA. I love finding loopholes and getting around governmental control:) LOL The only good thing that came out of Carrie's mom being there was the cake. I actually looked beautiful as well.

My point is this, sometimes we can plan and plan and plan to our heart's content on how we want things to turn out but sometimes it doesn't turn out that way. When life throws you a curveball, you have to accept it and be able to go with the way the wind blows. Just maybe, things will turn out better that what you had imagined:)

I want to leave you with a quote tonight that my son told me and it pretty much sums up how I feel sometimes. "Judge me if you want, we are all going to die...... but I intend to deserve it."

Road Trip!

Well, it all started when we had to go to court on Monday for our son Jeremy. No, he wasn't in any trouble, it was to see if the judge would allow him to get married. Long story short, in the state of Ohio if a male is under the age of 18 and wishes to get married: a) he has to go up in front of a probate judge to get permission to get married, and b) the bride in question has to be at least 17 weeks pregnant. Soooooooo, we went to court and was not aware that part "b" had to be followed. Carrie isn't pregnant, so in their eyes there was no reason for them to get married. I guess the court system would rather have young couples get pregnant so that they can get married instead of being responsible and wait. Go figure. If it was the other way around and Carrie was the minor, all we would have to do is get her parents to give their consent.

Anyway, the above brings me to the reason for our road trip. Since the judge said no to them getting married because of no pregnancy, we decided to take matters into our own hands..........a road trip to Pennsylvania! In the state of Pennsylvania, a couple can apply for a marriage license (they do not need be residents) and wait three days before they can actually get married. If one of the prospective newlyweds is under 18, all that is needed is consent by one of the minor's parents. We decided to go to Gettysburg because it is one of the most haunted places in the U.S. So there you go, we got a mini vacation AND a marriage license all in one shot. LOL

We will be traveling back to PA sometime next week to actually have the ceremony performed. What really ticks me off is that our state legislature (Ohio) makes up these stupid laws and we the people are expected to sit idly by and obey them. *Note to self*: remind me to vote in November...........

What month is this again??????

Well, it seems that I have been going non-stop since my last posting.

I have lots of goodies canned and I will be canning some more next week:) Soooooo far, I have canned salsa, apple butter, tomato juice, tomato sauce and a few other goodies. I have zucchini and corn frozen as well. I want to can sauerkraut, apple pie filling, pumpkin butter and maybe try my hand at some freezer jam. I should have that done within the next week or so.

Started back to school and I really like it. The students and faculty are very friendly at the new college. I am thinking about changing my major AGAIN. Why is it so hard for me to figure out what I wanna do when I grow up. LOL I will get myself straightened around sometime this semester.

I have been helping with the planning of the wedding...........did I mention before that my one son's is getting married? Well, so far I have the hall paid for and all of the decorations, table service, etc. taken care of. I am going to have sooooo much fun decorating the hall:) Carrie's (my future DIL) mom is baking the wedding cake, which comes in handy because she makes cakes for a living:) All we have left to get is the drinks and food for the reception. Since I'm a licensed minister I will be performing the wedding as well.

I got the bathroom repainted (well Jon actually painted) and I got the wallpaper border up. All I have left to do in there is get the new flooring down. Isn't it amazing how just doing a few minor things to a room can totally transform it. After the bathroom is finished, the kitchen will be next:)

I feel like I have a lot on my plate right now, it seems like the months are running together. While I'm thinking about it, this is October......right?

Never Too Old to Learn New Things....

Lookee what my husband bought me!!!!! A dutch oven at a local yard sale! It's my first one:) I'm really excited because I have been wanting one. It doesn't have the "legs" on it or the wire hanger, BUT it's good for a starter. Now I need to learn how to cook with it.

Speaking of learning how to do things........I will be learning tomorrow to blanch some veggies to put in the freezer and make some pickles while I'm at it. LOL

I love learning new things. I love expanding my horizons and having an understanding of different things. I didn't used to be this way. As a matter of fact, I used to hate learning. Couldn't wait to get out of school. It didn't challenge me and it didn't help when you had few teachers tell you that you were not smart enough to learn what certain courses required.

Like I said, I used to hate learning, that is......until I had kids of my own. It's amazing to see things through a child's eyes. The sky is the limit for them. They have such a natural love to learn and explore the world around them. They dream and think BIG. I don't think we lose that love of learning until we shipped off to public school. These kids are crammed into classrooms and are taught that "everyone is the same". Their love for learning is slowly "killed" over time. I find that sad. That is the main reason I decided to homeschool. I wanted my children to enjoy learning and to understand that learning doesn't just end in the classroom but continues throughout our lives. My children are now free thinkers, family dependent vs. peer dependent AND love learning.

So, I will be doing an altered book on things (or goals) that I want to learn (or do). Good thing I got a large book to work in. LOL

Have a great week everyone!

First Fruits!

Well, technically, first veggies. LOL I am sooooo excited to be able to start getting fresh yummy stuff from my gardens! Mmmmmmmmm.

Along with keeping an eye on both of my gardens, I finally got my school schedule and have been working 6 days a week!

Gotta go, have to get in a shower before I head off to bed:)

Have a great week everyone!

Sometimes you gotta just let go......

Sometimes when you have certain things for a long time you have a tendency to become attached to it........like a van for instance.

I loved my van. I bought it all on my own and even made all of the payments myself. So imagine my heartache when it was totaled in an accident last week. We were going straight when the light turned green and a nice looking Ford Explorer thought it was going to turn right in front of us. Needless to say, the Ford Explorer isn't pretty anymore and didn't make the turn like its driver thought that it would.

Long story short: emergency personal was disbatched, the other guy was cited for the accident and I mourned my van. That thing was like a part of my family. We had traveled over half the United States in it. Alot of memories.......

I am grateful that no one in my family was seriously hurt and that we had car insurance (the other guy didn't have any insurance at all) that was full coverage, which our insurance company will now cut us a check to get a new car. It could have been alot worse. I am counting my blessings.

So today I realize that even though we are attached to material items(or situations, people, etc.), sometimes we have to let go and just remember the good.......

Have a safe and wonderful week.

A taste of SUMMER

It is a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon and even though I have lots to do, I thought I would drop by to let everyone know how I have been doing.......

Gardens are doing great! All of our plants have blooms (going to have a boat load of tomatoes!!!!) and I can't wait to sink my teeth into all of the yummy stuff! LOL I actually broke down last week and bought a HUGE rhubarb plant. Whenever I eat rhubarb it reminds me of being at my Grandma's old farmhouse when I was a child...........(sigh)

Work is going good too. They hired a few more servers so I have been bumped up the seniority list some:) I was marvelling the other day that I have been there for 7 months now and I'm surprised that I am still there. LMAO Seriously, I love working there. Alot of the people there are willing to help each other out and they also like to make work fun in the process. So in all, it doesn't seem like I have been there that long. Ya know, time flies when you are having fun........

Lastly, with summer officially here, I like to cook different things that I consider "summer food". I was thinking that I haven't posted any recipes in a while so I thought I would leave you with one of my favorite "summer food" recipes...........

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Green tomatoes (as much as you want to fry up)

Flour

Eggs (beaten)

Lowry's seasoning salt

Grease (you can use bacon grease or leftover veggie oil from frying chicken)

Slice up the tomatoes any way you like. Make sure your grease is hot and ready. Dip each slice into the beaten eggs and then roll in flour. Put into pan with the hot grease. Lightly salt with Lowry seasoning salt. When one side is brown, flip tomato slices over and lightly salt again:) When both sides are lightly browned, take out of grease and place tomato slices on a plate with a paper towel on it (to absorb some of the grease). Enjoy!

Have a great week everyone!

Finals....... FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!

Gosh, it seems like a couple of weeks ago that I started back to school and now it will be coming to an end as of next week. I finished my English 101 final yesterday, will have my college survival skills final on tuesday and my algebra final is on Thursay. I actually enjoyed all of my classes (yes, even the algebra one LOL), so in a way I am sorry that this quarter is coming to end. However, I am also looking forward to the summer months of being outside and tending to my gardens:) I have a lot to do around here so my extra time will be put to good use.

I have my classes all ready scheduled for the fall quarter and will be looking forward to taking those classes with renewed anticipation!

Have a good week everyone!

My gardens are in!

Yep, you read that right. My GARDENS are in. LOL I have two. One at my house and one at a local community garden. Lots of goodies!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to start eating some and canning the rest!

Here's to home grown fresh food!!!!!

I LOVE This Book!

I recently bought the book "Made From Scratch" by Jenna Woginrich on a whim. My whole intention was to just read the chapter on rabbits and then return it to the local book store........I made the mistake of deciding to read it from the beginning (just to get my money's worth, you see) and I couldn't put it down!!!!!! I had it read in two days. Now, there has to be something said for that because I'm the type of person that will NOT read a book straight through. I usually read one for awhile, put it down, and then pick up another one to start reading. LOL

It's not a huge book and it does a great job to get the average person acquainted with the "homesteading" lifestyle. Not to mention, Jenna gives you oodles and oodles of gems of ideas on how to start your little homestead now even if you live in suburbia!

Ms. Woginrich discusses how to raise chickens, care for your beehive, make your own clothes and much, much more! I actually liked the chapter "Working House Dogs" where she tells you how to train your dogs for sledding and chore work around the homestead! I'm not a dog person by far, but after reading her book I find myself longing for man's best friend to train myself:)

In the back of the book in the chapter titled "Research, Son", Jenna has websites and books listed for you to further your exploration into the wonderful world of self sufficiency! This small book packs a BIG punch!

I caught myself several times smiling and nodding my head in agreement at what this talented young author had written. Ms. Woginrich writes like she is having a a nice long afternoon chat with you at the kitchen table over a cup of coffee. I loved this book from start to finish and I look forward to her next writing endeavor!

Imagine my surprise when I saw she has a blog.........Check it out!
http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/

Have a great week everyone!

It's a wonderful life!

Good morning everyone! I haven't posted in a while, I guess I got sidetracked again. LOL I have alot going on and having a great time to boot! I think spring is finally here! Yay!!!!! I was starting to get tired of the snow:)

Jon is still on unemployment but our bills are getting paid, so it's all good. LOL He's been looking for work and looking hard but nothing is out there right now. I know it will take time for America to get back on our feet...........I can be patient.

I started back to school during the spring quarter and I am really enjoying it. I LOVE my English class, the instructor is so easy going AND makes the class so much fun. I am actually doing better than expected in my algebra class, so I am somewhat confident now that I will be able to pass it! LOL

Finally, the picture above is of the new sun tea jar that we got at the thrift store. Isn't it cute? The reason I posted it is that looking at something so simple as a sun tea jar (and thinking about drinking a glass of sun tea) can really make you put things in perspective. Let me elaborate. Sun tea is simple to make and whenever I think about sun tea, it reminds me of a lazy summer day............UNCOMPLICATED. We make our lives complicated. We fill it with material stuff, nonsense and drama. In the days long past, people made due with what they had, knew where their food came from and wasn't afraid of hard work. They saw the results of their hard work at the end of a long day and carried with them a sense of whole. Maybe a better word is that they felt complete. They didn't have all this clutter around the house that we have nowadays. When we clutter our homes, we clutter our lives.......make sense? So when I look at the sun tea now, I will renew myself to live a much more simplier life.

Complete. Resourceful. Simple. HAPPY.

I feel that when we live a more simplier life, it makes for a wonderful life. Wouldn't you agree?

For the people?

Here is an interesting quote that I found talking about H.R. 875.


"House Resolution 875, or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, was introduced by Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., in February. DeLauro's husband, Stanley Greenburg, works for Monsanto - the world's leading producer of herbicides and genetically engineered seed."


Hmmmm.............Really makes you stop and think who's interests our "representatives" are looking out for.

Land of the FREE?????

I am ticked, I mean TICKED big time....... I am sitting here in disbelief, wondering who in the hell let the monkeys out of the zoo to run amuck in our government.

Someone posted an article on H.R. 875 on one of my yahoo groups and of course it caught my attention. ANYTIME, the our government says that they are trying to do something to "protect" the public, I sit up and take notice.......... I read the text of this bill and thought to myself that somebody must have been out of their friggin mind if they think the American people will sit back and let this go through.

You can read the text of the bill here:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-875


Rep. Rosa DeLauro is the sponsor (D-CT) of this hellish mindnumbing bill. They are saying it is to help protect the health of the public by preventing food borne illnesses and contamination BUT what it comes down to is CONTROL. Control of what you can do and not do.... No more local farm markets or various small organic farms because the government will be bogging them down with regulations that there is no way they will be able to survive. BIG corporations will win again. It can be better explained by looking over these links.

Here is a interesting link about the bill:
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h875/show

Click on the comment link and read through the comments. VERY interesting indeed.

Here is a link to find your House Representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

I urge you to contact your representative and tell them what you think of this bill. Last time I looked, I thought that this government was supposed to be "of the people, by the people and for the people." I guess our current leaders seem to think that this country belongs to BIG government and MEGA corporations..........

Cleaning house

Well, I have been registering for classes, spring cleaning and taking care of sick people so I think that should easily explain why I haven't posted in awhile:) LOL

I finally got my classes registered. Even though I got a pell grant I had to apply for a student loan to finish paying for my classes, books, etc. GRRRRR....... I hate having to go into debt. I only asked for a small amount of money though, so it won't be too bad to pay back. I may even be switching majors in the fall quarter, but that is another story.......

Everyone here is down sick with influenza but me. Knock on wood. I don't even want to get that yucky stuff.......

Lastly, I have been doing some spring cleaning. It's amazing what you can accumulate around the house without thinking..............I have been looking at some of the stuff and thinking "when did I buy this and why?" LMAO Which brings me to the point that I have too much "clutter" in my life. I'm tired of being bogged down with all this "gunk". I know I will look and feel much better when I'm done with "cleaning house"............


Well,I have to go get my butt in gear.......have to make a trip to the store to get groceries and THEN go to work. I work the next two days and get Monday off! Huzzah!

The Winds of Change.........revisited

Ok, again my bad for not posting. Alot has going on in my life.........AGAIN. The winds of change are blowing, which can be scary for someone like me who hates change. LOL

Here's a re-cap: Jon (my husband) got laid off of work the last week of January. His company had originally told us that he would be laid off at the end of February and then a week later basically said "Sorry our mistake, you are getting laid off next Friday AND we don't know when we are calling you back." They actually can keep him on a recall list for up to 3 FRIGGIN years. WTF? I guess I should have been thankful that he was given some type of notice as I know of some people that didn't even get that common courtesy. Bleh. Good news there is he is finally getting unemployment and will be getting sub pay from said company that he is technically still "employed" with. We are also checking out some apprenticeship oportunities and ODJFS is saying he is eligible for some type of training.

I was working 5 days a week BUT they cut us all down to 4 days for right now. The other girls I work with said it's always slow this time of year and that it will pick up toward the end of this month. I have noticed things picking up too, which is good. The nice thing where I work is that it's right off of 71 in Bellville, so we will always get people traveling:) In a way, I kind of hope that I stay at 4 days a week because I will be starting college during the spring quarter at NCSC (formally NCTC). Going for LPN, then once I'm done with that, I will "hop" into the RN program:) I was honestly freaking out because I knew that I couldn't afford to pay with school as long as Jon is laid off. I informed the school about our hardship AND a long story short the committee looked over everything and gave me a Pell Grant to pay for my spring quarter. I did my FASFA last night online for the 2009-2010 and my EFC is lower than what it was for the spring quarter............So I did another "special circumstance/loss of income petition" and hopefully the committee will help me out again. Worst case senario though is that I will have to get a student loan. Again, bleh. I don't want a loan BUT I will if I have to.

Once I am done with school I will be seriously looking at moving out of state, but we will see. The winds can always change direction, eh?

The boys are doing great. Jay is moving up the coroporate ladder where he works. He was recently made a lead and got another pay raise. He is also getting health insurance for $5.00 a week! I was jealous. LOL Jeremy is looking at going into the military. I don't want him to do that but he is a man now and has to do what is best for him. Jake is still Jake......only taller:)

Like the title says, the winds of change is blowing......and although we may not like the change that is happening all around us, sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise........

Good bye 2008!!!!!

I'm sure I'm not the only one that is happy 2008 is gone. It was a very trying year indeed.

I'm more optimistic about 2009!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!