Mad Skills

It takes a special kind of talent to ruin something that comes, pre prepared, in a box. But fear not. It is a skill I apparently possess in spades.

Oh, my lucky family!

I give you…Blackened Garlic Bread!











Want to hear the really sad part? They ate it anyway.

Fish Talk

There is an empty 2 gallon fish tank in the boys’ room and the girls’ room because, well, we stink at pet ownership.

When I overheard my boys staying the following, I decided maybe I am scarring them for life.

G ~ “I wonder if Mom will take us out soon to get some more fish for our empty fish tanks?”

B~ “Why don’t we just save ourselves the time and get dead ones?”

Not good, not good at all.

It Hurts, No It Itches, No It Hurts...

Things you can do to keep your hands busy so as not to scratch Shingles spots clean off your body…

1. Crochet

2. Rip out crochet stitches that are wrong due to not paying attention to what you are doing because you want to scratch so much.

3. Type

4. Erase typing because no one wants to know how many ways you can say ‘it hurts’ and ‘it itches’.

5. Read out loud to the kids (This might actually work if it’s a really good book.)

6. Read Job, that’ll put it in perspective.

7. Stuff chocolate into mouth.

8. Talk on phone with friends, (this only works if you hold the phone with both hands)

9. Ride in 16 year old son’s bouncy truck because he needs to go to the bank and the library and he only has a permit. (This works rather well as you are too busy holding on for dear life to scratch.

10. Pray…with hands neatly folded, for healing...or the Rapture; whichever is faster.

A Boy's Best Friend

I think perhaps I am a bad mom, I think my kids may be missing out on a right of passage for all American children. I developed this impression because of the response my children exhibited when they were the recipients of no less than 7 boxes of sugary cereal. There was weeping, there were cries of joy, there was dancing…from my 13 year old boy, dancing people.

You see, I put a moratorium on sugary cereals sometime last year. I do by cereal, but I buy the healthy kind. I also get lots of eggs & sausage, bagels & cream cheese, English muffins with low sugar jam, stuff like that. What I don’t buy anymore is sugary cereal.

My kids have been known to buy, with their own money, sugary cereal, but even then I won’t let them eat it for breakfast. They can have it for a snack after school is done.

Whichever scientist decided that high doses of sugar do not affect a Childs behavior has not met my children. If I want them to focus on anything before 11 am, I must make sure they get a healthy breakfast with very little sugar.

Well, my sister in law, the mom of T who is living with us, brought us 7 boxes of sugary cereal. 7 boxes. 7!


G dropped to his knees weeping, and while holding the box of cereal close to his heart he began to whisper, “chocolate crispy puffs, chocolate crispy puffs”, over and over again, while rocking back and forth.

I think tomorrow morning at the start of school, I will be weeping due to the cereal, but for an entirely different reason

I Think They Call it Shingles Because the Skin on My Back and Side look Like Roof Tiles...

1 Peter 6-11

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

I am holding on tight to those verses right now. I feel as if I’m being devoured. I have Shingles. I got this pain that just kept getting worse and worse, like no pain I’ve felt before with my Fibromyalgia, and that’s saying something!

I finally developed a funny rash, then the rash started to HURT! Like when my shirt would rub against in it would take my breath away.

So D said “Please, please, please go to the DR.”

See here’s the thing with me and DR’s; I spent 10 years of my life going to various DR’s about the pain in my hips, and they tested me for everything under the sun and then decided I was nutty.

Finally I was diagnosed with FMS (Fibromyalgia Syndrome). At least now I’m not nuts (well only a little).

So I am hesitant to go to the DR for fear of hearing the “well, we can’t find anything wrong with you…” given with a condescending, you’re nuts look on their faces.

But I went to a nice, new, lady DR here in town. She took one look at my rash and said, “You most definitely have Shingles, and aren’t you in A LOT of pain???? And why have you not come in sooner???”

So I’m on the ‘you must rest and drink lots of fluids, and Oh yeah, you’ll be contagious for the next month’ program now. I can hear all the spinning plates crashing to the ground.

This is really, really, really, really not a good time to be sick! And did I mention it is not a good time to be sick?

‘And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast’

I’m holding on tight to this one God.

Could I get any more boring?

I went to Target today. I shouldn’t have because that store is a giant cash eating black hole for me, but I did it.

I bought my winter wardrobe. I am hoping that if I spend money on warmer clothes, I’ll actually have a chance to wear them.

So here is what I bought. I am so boring. This is just the long sleeve version of my summer wardrobe. And instead of jeans, in the summer, I’m in jean shorts. WHOO HOO! Such a fashionista I am!

I did buy a multicolored striped purse and some flats that had some pattern in them (I can’t tell you how happy I am that flats are back!!!) but for the most part, everything I own is a solid color.

Here are a few of the things I bought.

They had this shirt on sale so I bought a few more in various colors; one can never have too many solid colored T’s in TX.

Then I bought several colors of this, just like above, but note the longer sleeves.

I did go a little crazy and get this version with a peter pan color, but I bought it in black so I can wear it to church.


And let's not forget the must-have hoodie. (AKA a sweatshirt if you're over 18.) I do own a nice coat to wear to church on the 3 Sunday's a year that it is necessary, but mostly I just wear this. I also have a nice crocheted sweater, but well, that is harder to wash, so I stick with the old standby. Could I get any duller? Hello grey, my old friend!

I think if my sister in laws knew I was buying more solid colored shirts they‘d have a fit. Someone has to be the plane jane in the family, and I take that position very seriously!

Weather you like it or not.

I have lived in TX long enough to know that September is not fall here. It is just an extension of summer. I expect hot humid days in September. I have gotten used to it. Now and then we'll get a cooler day in September to remind us that it won't be 100 degrees with 87% humidity forever, but most days in September it's just downright hot.

But in October I expect more, I expect cool days. I expect some 70's with a crisp feel to the air.

I am unwilling to except this...

Hi 91
Lo 73
Partly Cloudy
80% Humidity


It's just not right! It's October, I want to wear a sweater, or at least 3/4 length sleeves with out sweating buckets, dadgummit!

The He-Man Veggie Haters Club!

I am not feeling very well today. It is co op day and my fibromyalgia is acting up, or flaring up, or whatever. I try not to mention my fibromyalgia much because I’m in denial, and to type it is to own it. I don’t want to own it.

I neglected to throw anything into the crock pot this morning, and D is working late, so I’m doing dinner the easy way. I went downstairs and pulled out the boiled eggs, peanut butter crackers, pickles and a bag of apples and rounded up the kids. “Dinner”, I tell them.

The three little girls were thrilled, they love cracking eggs and eating pickles.

G however was not impressed. “It’s Monkey food.” he says. “I’m not a monkey; I can’t survive on fruit’s and vegetables!” “Momma (here I must interject that when he calls me Momma, he looses all "man" credibility, it's just too cute.) I’m a man, I need man food! I NEED MEAT!!!”

Oh, save me from the HE MAN club!

And I feel I need to point out here that instead of choosing the decidedly non veggie items like boiled eggs and pb crackers, he opted for a bowl of cereal. Hummm? No meat in cereal, I'm pretty sure.

Because I'm her mom...

I think she has some real talent.

The Lily's I got for my birthday in July...

E's drawing of the Lily's I got for my birthday in July...

The next Georgia O'Keeffe? Perhaps.

Yummy!

Just thought I should let all my many readers know that the recipe I posted about on Thursday, you know, the one that I put in the crock pot and neglected to plug in, was pretty darn good!

I went ahead and cooked it that night when I got home, then refrigerated the whole thing (my crock pot comes out and I can stick it in the fridge) then the next day about 2 hours before dinner I got it out and skimmed off the fat, then put it back in the crock pot to cook the rest of the way.

I think this made the au jus sauce even better because the fat from the meat had been skimmed off. It was easy, and a big hit around here. YIPPEE!!! I found a crock pot meal that does not make D run for the hills.

Here is one tip though. Use low sodium soy sauce. It was a bit on the salty side.
So there you are a good, easy crock pot meal that a manly man will like; just don’t forget to plug in the crock pot!