JUNE IN REVIEW

Wow!  It's already the middle of 2013!  Where does time go?  I do know that it waits for no one!  Here it is, the first month of our summer break, come and gone within a blink of an eye.  From the time I closed the school doors after our end of the year party to today, a lot has taken place, but not much that is productive.   Sigh.

First week, hubby took the week off and we took a desperately needed trip to the beach (without all the kiddos).  Neither of us had been to this particular beach in close to 20 years.  I think it tickled my hubby to hear me say randomly, "I am having such a wonderful time....without the kids."  You see it is not often that we (he & I) get to get away like this.  But it was an absolutely wonderful trip, even if it only lasted 2 days.

The rest of the week was spent cleaning house and getting the kiddos and ourselves ready for a week at CAMP EUNICE, one of our homes away from home.  On Thursday, I took my brood over to Nan and Pop's (sorry, dad, I like the name Pop...fits better with Nan :) for some R&R.  I spent the next couple of days fishing with my dad off his dock on Lake Eufala.

We caught over 50 fish!  I came home with a cooler full of fish to put in the freezer (points for my preparedness project).

Hubby and I each taught a class of high schoolers at camp.  I perfected my skill at power point presentations and at least entertained a few of the girls in my class and actually had one come to me at the end of the week and tell me my class was just what she needed for that week.  Imagine my joy to hear that!  Something I did made a difference!

While at camp we had our roof repaired.  That is a huge load off my mind, especially when it rains now.  BUT...while the roofers were here, they blew the fuse in the laundry room where my freezer is located.  IMAGINE if you will my distress as I lifted the lid to the freezer and found that most everything was completely defrosted and was rotting.  The stench that rose from the destruction nearly made me vomit.  Veggies, FISH, steaks, roasts...all now garbage!  So that Saturday was filled with cleaning out & disinfecting the freezer and outdoor fridge.  Fuse was replaced and now everything is working as it should, praise the Lord!

 The following week, the kids and I returned to my parents on Wednesday for some restocking on fish.  I was not so productive although I did learn a lot about noodling for Catfish. (I pulled in a hefty 8lb cat!)   My Aunt B was visiting, too, and I enjoyed spending time with her, especially in the mornings and afternoons, as we drank our Caffeinated coffee!  (My mom  cannot have caffeine, so mom went out and bought it special just for us.  Thanks, Mom)  I found we have a lot more things in common besides our birthdays and coffee. As we prepared to go home, my parents handed me the fish caught that weekend, to restock my freezer, but it didn't feel right to me.  My Aunt had come all the way from St. Simons to visit with my parents and fish, and she hadn't caught anything.  I insisted that Aunt B take it home and enjoy!  And I would restock the next time.

I absolutely got nothing done this past week.  It was, let's say, a vacation from vacation.  Hubby and I did take a plunge and purchased smart phones on Friday and since then that is all we have done...learn about this new piece of technology that may one day make or break us.  Needless to say, 4 of our daughters (ages 16-25) are super excited that we were catching up with the rest of the world in communication.  I am a little skeptical still, but psyched I can take better pictures now.  LOL  (And facetime my rising star;)

So, there you go, JUNE in REVIEW.

Today is July 1st, and I am determined to use the next few weeks to clean and organize, etc as much as possible before our next rush of camp duties is upon us.

My goals for the rest of the year: I am restarting the 3 day Military Diet today.  (Lost 20+ lbs from Oct-May, hope I can lose another 30 before Christmas!) I am going to return to the gym with my sis, (its the only time I get to see her), I want to finish at least one home remodel project before Christmas,  I want to finish writing a novel that my rising star and I started, I want to plant a garden, and get a good start on our preparedness project. 

So, with all of these goals listed here before me, I feel the urgency to leave my computer and actually put my hands to a more productive purpose...laundry.  (uggh)  Until next time, be blessed and rest in the Lord!

Mama D

STILL CLIMBING ABOVE MEDIOCRE

Greetings my friends!

How I have long missed writing and journaling my thoughts and experiences here!  LIFE happens. I am sure you can relate.

Its been almost a year since my last post!  Due to moving our school out to the country, technical difficulties with my computers, and my Adult ADHD (ha) blogging was put on a back shelf somewhere.

Dusting off my technical skills and imagination I am back at the keyboard ready to share more on my journey.  I feel there is SO much I must tell you about this past year, but one blog would bore you senseless.  So I digress.

I will just hit the high spots.

I finished my first year of school successfully.

After our annual church-wide tent camping trip to NC last summer, my husband and I felt the need to move the school to our church property.  Very exciting!

I just completed my second year of school, also, successfully.  My oldest graduated.  That brought on a myriad of emotions that I still haven't dealt with and tucked away.

I have toyed with writing my novel(s), started several projects, and experienced many things this past year.  My projects include: a family cookbook; a FB page devoted to connecting to distant family members, their recipes, and old ways of doing things; losing 50 lbs (I have lost 20lbs so far); dropping processed foods and making as much as I can from scratch; getting mentally and physically prepared to being a self-sufficient homesteader; making home repairs; being prepared in case of a drastic economic down-turn; and I am sure many other projects I have failed to mention will surface after I post this blog.

I sometimes still see myself as a teenager that lost something important in the pile of stuff on the floor in my room.  As I search for "it", I find many other things I forgot I had lost and  then get lost myself in the memories they hold.  Can you relate?  So goes my life...

Sometimes, I wish I could compartmentalize like my husband.  You know, everything (thoughts mostly) in a neat organized box in a location that is easy to find and to get to when you need it.  Oh, well, guess that means I still have some growing to do and some organizing:)  

It's a great day today!  I am excited to be blogging again!

Talk to ya soon!

Mama D

Life Givers

On my journey of "rising above mediocre," I look at the Proverbs 31 woman.

Let's glance at Proverbs 31 for a moment:
¹¹ The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
¹² She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
¹⁵ She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
²⁰ She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
²¹ She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.

In these few short verses we see that God has gifted women the opportunity to be life givers.
Of course the obvious one is childbirth.  What an awesome and beautiful thing it is to bring life into this world.  how precious are those little ones we carried for nine months when we finally get to hold them close in our arms?  Men will never know.
Another way women can give life is to give life to their husbands or the men in their family (if the woman is single)  How? you might ask.  R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  If I have learned anything in the last few years of being married to my hubby, it is that men thrive on respect.  I am still learning and growing, as is he, but there is LIFE when there is respect.
I am borrowing from a book I am reading entitled, "31 Days to Clean-Having a Martha House the Mary Way" by Sarah Mae for a few of these points:
Ways women give life: (chapter 2, paraphrased)
-by our words
-in our homes by decorating, preparing meals, and creating an atmosphere of peace and hospitality
-Educating ourselves, your children, and others
-Using our gifts
-Socially, by bringing life through encouragement and empowerment and example
-by inspiring others through culture and creative arts by sharing an appreciation for both
-through heritage and tradition by enriching the lives around you.

{This is an unfinished post I found and felt it best to leave as is and post anyway.}

Mama D

I am still here.

With the loss of certain pieces of technology, mainly my computer, I have been unable to peruse the usual websites and blogs because, honestly, I had everything under my favorites and never wrote the sites down.  So I am gradually remembering and finding my favorites and my sanity.

The past couple of months have been a blur, filled with school stuff, couponing, home repair, yard work, church ministries, trying new recipes, trying my hand at gardening, Arts and crafts, etc.  The list really does go on, and each item in the list came with its trials and accomplishments.

You find what you are attached to or what is attached to you when you lose the function of something.  In my case, my computer was my link to the outside world, and like an extra brain.  Thankfully it was my tech-brain that crashed and not my physical one, although, my kids may beg to differ.   Thankfully, my friend Selina, the savvy computer doctor, was able to restore my second brain enough to move my very precious files to a different device and is very confident that she can get my baby back up to perfect health.  LOL

Since the crash, my beautiful step-daughter, Vicious, has loaned me her back-up computer for school and miscellaneous.  Also, I have become hooked on a new drug called Pintrest!  Just kidding, it's not a drug but is HIGHLY addictive!  Be warned if you check it out, and you will if you haven't already, you will think, " I will only be on here 10 minutes," then 3 hours later you check your clock...Seriously.  In the praise of Pintrest, I have learned SO much helpful information that will assist me in making my home safe, healthy, clean, and organic!  Right now I am in the middle of a few projects that I am so excited about.  I cannot wait to blog just HOW I am RISING ABOVE MEDIOCRE!

See ya next blog!
;D

Strange Sightings

Strange Sightings:

Have you ever come across something so odd, it made you stop and wonder? Ever been so confused by something you saw that you just had to investigate it further?

Well, that was me last night. I was the chauffeur for last night's Bible Study Car Pool. After dropping off a dear lady at her door I noticed the oddest, strangest thing I had ever seen (in a long time, anyway). A ziplock bag half filled with water with a single penny resting in the bottom tacked to her kitchen door frame.

Hmmm...Not wanting to embarass anyone, most of all myself, I walked back to my car and asked Vicious if she had ever seen or heard of such. Well, to my surprise, she knew right away what it was all about.

She proceeded to tell me that the bag of water was to keep house flies away. What? At first I thought she was pulling my leg, but she looked it up on her phone and sure enough, she was right She read to me the reasons and scientific knowledge behind this strange house fly repellent.

Are you wanting to know how it works, yet? Does it really work? I am not exactly sure, but as soon as I arrived home, I put a ziplock bag of water with a penny on my door. There is nothing peskier than a house fly (except maybe half a dozen of them).

• The common house fly has a morbid fear of drowning and is somewhat claustrophobic so goes out of its way to avoid enclosed bodies of water.

• Its the reflection of the penny that keeps them away, it appears to be a predator.

• One theory about why this method works is that flies are skittish by nature, and that a fly's compound eyes, containing thousands of facets, are exquisitely sensitive to motion and light. The bag of water acts as a great lens, refracting light and magnifying images that it then projects in several directions. This confuses the fly into believing that there is an imminent threat. (ehow.com)

• The common house fly has compound eyes, which contain up to 8,000 lenses each. These eyes are designed to detect movement, which is why flies are difficult to catch. Proponents of this remedy suggest that water in the clear bag reflects light in every direction. Flies are disturbed by the refracted light coming from the freezer bag and may also mistake it for a nest of hornets or wasps and leave the area.

Read more: How to Keep Flies Out of the House With Water Bags | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_12051946_keep-flies-out-house-water-bags.html#ixzz1j4bsndEy

So, investigate this for yourself. Everything that I have read so far about it leads to the positive testimonies of more that 30 people. I am game to try it for myself...are you?

Enjoy Your Day!
Mama D

"Ketchup" blog #1: Our first big Publix shopping trip!

November 19-20th

First dose of very cool weather.

Saturday, Georgia Bulldogs football game, seats on the 50 yard line, my first trip to Athens. This adventure was long awaited, but a surprise when the day finally came! (I know you are thinking what has a GA football game have to do with a tale about a Publix's Run? Hold on, I am building up to it....imagine....)
My husband called me and said he had tickets to the GA game on Saturday if I could see if the kiddos could visit the grandparents at the lake. Extended visit with the grandkids was welcomed. So on the long but exciting drive to Athens, I had my treasured coupon binder, note pad and the Publix sales paper. My Hubby and I talked about many different topics (much needed adult conversation-because during November & December I see him even less due to the peak season for UPS.) When there was a lull in the conversation, I opened the Publix ad and started taking notes on all the B1G1 opportunities. As I did so, I flipped through the binder and took out the matching coupons. What is wonderful about Publix is that if it is a B1G1 deal you can use a coupon on each if you have them and if you follow the rules.

I ended up with 1 1/2 pages of items to purchase (or walk out with for FREE), an envelope of coupons, and my courage. But then, I looked at the sales paper and found that the sales in that particular paper ended that night. There was a slim chance I would make it back home after the GA game in time to go shopping.

DAWGS WON! We stopped in Gray, GA for some celebratory bbq at Old Clinton BBQ, yum! Needless to say, I did not make it Publix before it closed. Sigh. But it was a wonderful vacation from the normal everyday routine!

Sunday morning (very early), I went to Publix to buy a couple of the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspapers. When I got out to my car, you would have thought I was Charlie from Willy Wonka opening the last chocolate bar and finding the Golden Ticket!!! The new Publix sales paper had even better deals and steals in it than the one the day before!!! I went home to ready for church, while my head spun with the possibilities of the upcoming challenge.

Sunday afternoon, Vicious and I went back to the lake to get the kids only to deliver them to their dad for a few days. While on the road, Vicious drove and I developed the battle plan.

We arrived at Publix, binder and courage in tow, just minutes after 8pm. We took our time going down every aisle, examining the merchandise and checking and double checking our list and coupons. Vicious keeps the binder, the list, and checks things off after they are in the cart. She also acts as my back-up brain. Although I have meticulously written out the list, the coupons being used, the money being saved and spent and it all makes sense, I can't make sense of it once I am in the store. I started getting a little panicky. Heart-racing, jitters, cold sweat, hot flashes, my goodness you would have thought I was menopausal! HA!

By the time we got to the end of our list there were only a few items left and no room left in the cart. I nervously walked back to the front of the store for a second cart. As I am returning to Vicious, I noticed the store manager eye-ing me closely, and not in the flirty way either;) I am sure he was thinking: "Okay, these two ladies have been in here almost two hours; what are they up to with a second cart?"

Stacks of toilet paper and paper towels, coffee creamer, cheese, shampoo, and deodorant fill up the second cart. Before we staked our place in a line, we pulled off to the side and went through our list again, checked and double checked each and every coupon, and then said a little prayer. As we neared the check out, I was nauseous. The manager spied that we were heading to the front and kindly open another lane just for us. A sweet little girl, looking barely over 16 years old, smiled and greeted us. A chatterbox bagger came to her rescue and for our entertainment.

"Are you ladies Extreme Couponers like on the tv show? Where is the camera crew?"

"Us? Ha! No. Not quite. Just trying to save some money."

"Wow! Look how much you have saved so far! That's pretty good. How long have you been couponing?

"Not long, this is actually our first BIG trip. (Under my breath, I think I am going to be sick. Where is the panic button?)

As the checker kept swiping the items, the rising total flashed before our eyes on the convenient display screen by the debit machine. As the cost went up we noticed a second total of what we were saving and it was almost matching the the amount we were to spend. After all the items were scanned, the coupons thoroughly examined and scanned, our grand total saved was...$202.57! Our total cost was $203.32 before taxes!(Pictured above is all of the items that were FREE!!! Now double this and add a few other items and you can see why we needed the two carts. Praise the Lord for our bountiful pantry!)

With two carts full of bagged groceries, a huge sigh (from holding my breath as the last few coupons were approved and scanned) and a lighter step, I thought to myself. This is going to be do-able! I like going home saving 50% on my groceries. We had purchased multiples of many items that before I would only purchase one, and then return the next week for the same item. By purchasing multiples, I can go weeks maybe even a month without purchasing the same item until it is on sale again.
Until next time,
Mama D

"Ketchup"

Ever had one of those days? weeks? months? year? where you feel all you are doing is playing "ketchup"? Now I am not referring to the condiment but the southern accented expression for "getting caught up on everything that needs to be done" (disclaimer on the picture: #1 why is this woman sitting down? Don't we do most of our "ketchup" standing up running from one thing to the next? and #2 Is the martini necessary? maybe some would think so. HA!)

Since my last post (if the date wasn't on it, I wouldn't remember when it was posted) two weeks ago, so very much has happened! From interviewing a new family for the school, to learning new skills domestic and artistic, to scrambling up (& gobbling up) Thanksgiving meals, to Black Friday deals, to extremely successful shopping trips, to packing up Fall decor and putting out winter and Christmas dainties, to enjoying my husband and babies (my ever growing & maturing brood of young'uns my own & those of other mothers) the fun never ends and the chores never stop multiplying.

So I am playing "ketchup" with everything. Vicious so gently reminded me that I needed to blog about the wonderful things that have happened with our many new experiments around here. So I plan to do so, one day at a time.

I am sure this idea of "ketchup" is not foreign to many of you. Especially around the holiday season, we somehow find ways to fit in extra chores, visits, trips to town, baking, gift wrapping, etc. It is a good thing teachers have the Christmas vacation time to play "ketchup," but what about everyone else that works through the season?

I pray that as you find yourself swimming in "ketchup" that you will RISE above it all and rejoice that you have family, friends, and health!

Merry Christmas!
Mama D