REMINDERS:

It's almost November 1st - and I'm ready to start "30 Days of Thanks"!! 
So often we dwell on the things that seem impossible rather than on the things that are possible. So often we are depressed by what remains to be done and forget to be thankful for all that has been done.
-- Marian Wright Edelman
Since it's the end of the month - and some of the coupons here will be expiring.  Make sure you don't miss anything:





And one more FREE gift idea from Vistaprint - I'm so doing this (after I do my laundry, organize myself for next week, cook, clean, walk the dog, rock the baby, spend time with my husband, etc etc etc):



Get one free 4x6 flipbook from Vistaprint! Choose from over 80 designs and add text to tell your story. Includes 20 pages with the option to add more. Upload your own photos and text to create a one of a kind memento. The flipbook is FREE, just pay shipping and processing! Shipping starts at $6.01.

Black vs. Braun

Today I browsed the coffee makers at Wal-mart ... They had a coffee maker on clearance - one box left - so I took it as a sign that this one was meant for ME.  I am taking a real chance on this thing:

 I know Black & Decker makes tools ... but coffee makers??  As long as I get some decent coffee, I'm not going to complain!  Believe me, the price was my biggest incentive. 

In considering this new coffee maker, my mind started making some bizarre comparisons between this new one and my beloved old Braun that served me many, many years.

BLACK & Decker coffee maker-
It's black. 
It's an all-American brand name.
It's programmable (coffee waiting for me in the morning, if I remember to set it at night!).
It makes up to 12 cups of coffee.
It has a built-in clock. 

 My dearly departed Braun coffee maker:
It was white. 
It's a well-known German brand name (coincidentally also known for electric SHAVERS!).
It was NOT programmable.
It only made 10 cups of coffee.
It did NOT tell time.

I mean, even the filters are different!!  ROUND vs. CONE. 

In the end, all I want is a DECENT CUP OF COFFEE, please.

This little review had absolutely nothing to do with Black and Decker, Braun, or Wal-mart ... The observations given are entirely my own, completely & totally unsolicited and definitely not compensated. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving TO YOU!

On facebook, I recently shared that my beloved Braun coffee maker was on its last leg ... I'm so sad.  I'm also so tired since I'm currently drinking instant coffee each morning (bleck!!).  I'm mostly sad that I'm this dependent on COFFEE - but I also think God made the coffee bean so it can't be all that bad?!  There are supposedly health benefits for coffee drinkers, and I'm just trying to reap those.  :)

Anyhoo ... the other day, I get this email from CSN stores, which is where I won a $50 gift and got my office chair.  (Stay with me all this WILL come together:  coffee maker, CSN stores, Thanksgiving).
By the way, CSN stores have SO MANY options for **STUFF** - everything from barstools to baby stuff!

SO.....
They were offering me ONE of two options:
1)  to review one of their products from one of their 200 stores (which would include me possibly reviewing a COFFEE MAKER which I get to keep) ... OR
2)  to give away a $45 gift certificate to their many stores to my readers. 

WELL, since I'm focusing on Thanksgiving - and being grateful, I was thinking about how grateful I was for the 2 or 3 of you who faithfully share my life and my ramblings and give me feedback on my futile attempts to write.  And so, I chose the give away.  It will happen in NOVEMBER! 

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I hope to give away a $45 gift certificate/code to be used at http://www.cookware.com/!!  :)   

For example, right now Paula Deen's cookware is on sale - like this pan for $39.95:

Cookware.com also has other "brands" like Rachael Ray, LeCreuset, Pfalzgraf, Calphalon, etc etc etc!! 

I'm so excited about this opportunity!  Happy (early) Thanksgiving!!  Stay tuned for more details once I finalize everything!!

Time Flies ...

October 2010 is nearing an end.  Can it be possible?  This whole year has just flown by for me ... I don't know if it is because we are so busy, or I'm getting older or what; but time just races by, especially when I'm desperately trying to slow it down so I can enjoy my ever-growing children a little longer!

I am however excited about November!!  Last year, I really enjoyed participating in "30 Days of Thanks," and I'm looking forward to beginning this daily dose of thanksgiving all month long again this year!!

I hope this November, several of you will join me again!!  Even if you can't post every day, it would be awesome if you could jump in when you can.  Focusing on giving thanks can change a negative attitude or a bad day around really fast!  Giving thanks puts the focus back on how blessed we all really are.
The unthankful heart ... discovers no mercies;
but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and
As the magnet finds the iron, so it will find,
in every hour, some heavenly blessings!

--Henry Ward Beecher

In a Cavern ... In a Canyon ...

On Monday, I drove the van for Anna's 5th grade class to go on a field trip to Meramec Cavern in Stanton, MO - about a good hour's drive from our school.

BTW, did you know that Missouri - though most known as the "Show-Me State" - is also known as the "Cave State"?  Yep, it is. 

At the cavern, the children first had a class about rocks and minerals - and what the difference is (but don't ask me because I was too busy entertaining Miriam to gain any knowledge!).  And then after this, we entered the cavern, which consists of a nicely paved mile and a half of walkways - though no strollers are allowed.  Thankfully, several of the adults helped me carry Miriam and the diaper bag so that I wouldn't suffer from muscle fatigue!  Especially when she took about a half hour nap during some of the walking tour.

 We learned lots of interesting facts about the cavern.  One was that it was a source of saltpeter, which is used in gun powder.  In fact, Union troops had a gun powder factory set up here underground during the Civil War.

 There were light shows and a shallow "river" to see ...

 And of course, LASSIE:

 BECAUSE two episodes of the t.v. show LASSIE were filmed at Meramec Cavern in 1966!!  (A version of TOM SAWYER was also filmed here at one time - where Tom & Huck discover gold ...)

Seems like all kinds of folks like hanging out in caves.

Like outlaws Frank & Jesse James who were rumored to have entered the cavern to escape their pursuers - and found a back exit to the cavern to escape to safety ... at least for a short while.  They also supposedly used the cavern as a hide-out at other times as well.

It was quite an educational, enlightening, and EXHAUSTING (LOL) day!  :)

Monday Fun!

Today I spent a lot of time with these 3 highly entertaining girls:

 And with this little girl:

 And with this girl too: 

Did you know that the TV character/collie Lassie was a GIRL DOG but was played by a male dog??  Find out why here:  Lassie - Boy or Girl?

More tomorrow about how the above girls all had a part in my day!  :)

Seriously

I made a free photo calendar with the help of Vistaprint recently.  It would make a GREAT present, I think ... but I liked mine so much, I'm keeping it!!  :) 

Christmas is "only" 2 months away!!!

Here's my "cover":

It's easy to upload the pictures either from your computer or from you camera card.

You can also write in important or special dates each month - and add graphics.

My calendar was shipped to me in just a few days' time!!

(I do think I paid shipping - but it was SO worth it)

10 Month Update

 Baby M is now 10 months old.  Her personality is starting to come out - to include a glimpse of a TEMPER!!?  This is one girl who doesn't like to be left alone or to have to entertain herself.  She's got a shriek that will raise the hair on the back of your neck!  Right now she is a total momma's girl - but will settle for Daddy, a sibling, or a nursery worker as long as Mom isn't in sight. 

 But overall, she's a sweetheart.  Her smile will melt your heart - and she has her own way of telling a good joke and laughing at herself.  She knows she's supposed to ham it up for the camera!!

She is working on tooth #2 and just today I saw a glimpse of a potential tooth on her top gums.  No wonder she's been doing more shrieking lately! 

Other milestones:  Miriam has learned to clap and cheer for herself ("yaaaaaaaaa-ah")!  She wants nothing more than to STAND UP as much as possible; she just started cruising the furniture.  She doesn't crawl, but she gets around somehow while sitting up by turning in circles on her bottom.

We also finally came to ourselves & started reading to her - remembering that we started board books much earlier with our first two children.

One thing Miriam loves is going for a walk in the stroller, and she also is really good in a shopping cart (which hopefully is a sign that she'll be a GOOD shopper!!).  :)  Basically, if there is action and people to look at, she's fine.  If she's left to her own devices, she is NOT too happy. 
High maintenance??  Just a little bit! 

Despite some trying moments these days, just M's constant need for ATTENTION, we are just so incredibly thankful for each day with our littlest girl.  And now that she has slept THROUGH THE NIGHT for 2 nights straight (no middle-of-the-night crying jags!), we think we'll keep her!  ;) 

Welcome to Her Crib

I think Miss M likes her new bedding!  :)

 Maybe the new bedding will inspire her TO SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!! 

And here is Anna's side of the bedroom:

Now, if only it were clean, I'd think this was the PERFECT little girls' room!!  ;)

Consignment Shopping Makes Me Cry

I believe God is real.  I believe He is personal.  I believe He cares even about the littlest details of our lives.  I wasn't always so sure that He was so concerned about the nit-noid material things we as humans tend to be so concerned about ... but as time goes by, and I learn more about His character, I am beginning to see how much He loves us - and how He, as a Heavenly Father, wants to occasionally bless us with little joys along our journey.

Here is one reason why I believe this:

Because Miriam never really had a "nursery", we never really got her any matchy-matchy bedding.  We were given a gorgeous crib which M started sleeping in at about 7 months - but we decided to forgo the usual bed skirt, bumper, and all that.

HOWEVER, a few days ago, I wrote that I was adding "find a crib bumper" to my TO DO list since Miriam was waking up because she was sticking her legs out between the slats of her crib.  I kind of half-prayed, half-thought about what kind of crib bumper I'd like to have.  I had seen some at the Goodwill in passing - they were ones I didn't really care for ... outdated patterns or with cartoon characters I didn't really like on them.

After deciding that at this point, Miss M really NEEDED one though - I was going to settle.  I was going to buy the first crib bumper I could find - and I was thinking somewhere between $7-9 was my budget.  I didn't really care any more if it was stylish or matched the room decor or whatever.  I just needed to get one SOON.

Today I went to several consignment shops with a friend of mine.

At a resale store, I remembered I wanted to find a crib bumper.

And I actually found one I really liked - that actually matched the room (and Anna's) decor somewhat.

Here it is:

There was a catch though.

The consignor had put the bumper up for sale as part of a set to include the comforter, bed skirt, crib sheet, AND the bumper.  I hadn't really considered any of the other items since I didn't *NEED* them.

AND the price was $17 for the set.

It WAS a really cute set though ...

After some thought, I DECIDED TO SPLURGE.  I mean $17 wasn't going to break the bank, even though it wasn't really what I wanted to spend ...

And so, I took the "set" up to the cashier.

First of all, she told me that the crib sheet, though a match to the set, was from an entirely different consignor - and it was $4 extra.  So, that was easy - I told her I didn't want the sheet.

THEN she looked at the tag to the set & said, "OH, this set is HALF OFF."

Which means I paid $8.50!

I immediately remembered my half-prayer, half-thought - and tears came to my eyes.  I don't think the lady at the cash register could quite understand why I was about to cry - I said to my friend, "I am going to have a little praise moment now,"  and since she knew my story, she was just smiling too ... To the cashier I mumbled something about how much that $8.50 meant to me even though it didn't seem like much - and she was gracious enough to say she understood.

But I don't think she could understand - because right before my very eyes, GOD had not only given me what I wanted (a CUTE crib bumper for my baby's bed) - but He had done exceedingly more by adding the CUTE bed skirt & comforter for the very price range that I had hoped for!!

And not only that ... but long story made even longer:  I had to get dropped off at school/church by my friend (who was driving her vehicle) after shopping because our one car is in the shop, & Dan had our other vehicle but had to be at school late for parent-teacher conferences tonight - and I was going to help in the office during that time ... so my friend took my purchases home with her, & I said I'd pick them up later since she lives near by.

When I went to pick up my stuff later, there was an extra bag:  while I was busy crying over my crib bumper set at the consignment shop and blubbering and contemplating God's special little blessing, she had snuck the matching crib sheet in with her stuff and had bought it for Miriam. 

You might say all that is coincidence or a lovely story of good luck ... but to me, it is SO MUCH MORE.  It is God's personal, loving, gracious PROVISION. 

Cooking Thurs.

Betty Crocker's BEEF ENCHILADAS

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 or 1 medium onion, chopped (to taste)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup chopped green pepper (optional)
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
2 whole green chiles (or a small can of chiles, drained)
1 clove garlic, minced/chopped
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
8 corn tortillas
shredded cheese, sour cream, onions, olives, etc (optional - for toppings)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook beef over medium heat in 10 inch pan until brown - drain.  Stir in onions, sour cream, cheese, parsley, and pepper.  Set aside.
In pan, heat bell pepper, water, chili powder, oregano, cumin, chiles, garlic, and tomato sauce to boiling, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to low, let simmer 5 minutes. 
Dip each tortilla into the tomato sauce to coat both sides.  Spoon about 1/4 cup beef mixture into each tortilla, spread & then roll tortilla up.  Place in a 9x11baking dish.  Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas. 
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.  Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, etc. 

My family LOVED this.  AND my son who claims to hate all forms of onions didn't even notice there were A LOT of onions in this recipe!  ;)

Here's the book I got this recipe from:

Sometimes It's Just Better NOT to Know ...

Did you read my post on Sunday about my attempt to cook a raw, bloody piece of ham for the first time ever - and what a city girl I am that I failed miserably?
The ham turned out AWFUL - and we ended up giving most of it to the DOG!

WELL ... today I found out that this piece of HAM was actually DEER HAM.  I've NEVER heard of such a thing ... but obviously, there IS such a thing.  I cooked Bambi. 

(P.S.  If you don't know my writing style, you may think I'm being serious.  In this case IT IS SERIOUS... No, not really.  It's funny.  I'm being funny ... and I have NOTHING against hunting.  As long as you don't share your meat with me!!)  ;) 

Ode to Night II (The Sequel)

I am a night owl ... most of the time.  I do like to sleep however.  Apparently, I have a daughter who doesn't. 

I'm ok with her waking once - when it around midnight as per usual.  Last night, I turned on her lullaby CD at midnight when she started fussing - and she barely made any more noise at all!!  I thought FOR SURE I'd have a good night's sleep as I crawled into my bed at 12:15 (SIDE NOTE:  does anyone else think it sounds a little funny that we say CRAWL into bed??!?!  My imagination runs silly with that thought). 

Alas, it was not meant to be.  At 2 a.m. the phone rings.  Middle-of-the-night phone calls like that always scare me ... my first thought is "WHO DIED?!" or "WHO JUST HAD A HEART ATTACK??!". Middle-of-the-night phone calls rarely bring good news - occasionally, they might be a prank call - but otherwise, they are not pleasant by any means. 

I have caller ID, so I immediately checked it.  The number was weird ... at first I thought it was Dan's parents ... but even in my fog of sleep, I did realize it was not.  The name was "UNAVAILABLE" so I was a little puzzled. 

I have my answering machine set to answer on the 3rd ring, so we didn't have to endure too much suspence.  I wasn't going to answer the phone - I wasn't even coherent enough to formulate words to answer the phone.  With both phones downstairs ringing out and echo'ing each other though, everything seemed REALLY LOUD.  Even the voice that came on my answering maching seemed just a little abrasive. 

It was the sweet, cheerful voice of my aunt (my biological father's sister), calling me from GERMANY.  Apparently, she forgot there was a 7 hour time difference!!  She greeted the machine with a happy GUTEN MORGEN  and said something (in German) about us apparently not being home and she'd try to call back later  I called her back just a little while ago, and we had a good laugh about the whole thing.

I didn't tell her that the whole "phone ringing, answering machine talking" woke up Miriam.  The baby must be a very light sleeper because the door to her room was closed.  She immediately started screaming.  I was too tired to listen to her, so I nursed her back to sleep and went back to bed hoping to sleep a long time.

Thanks to my husband thinking Miriam was fussing at 5 a.m. - and him somehow NOT remembering the whole phone ringing episode at 2 a.m. brought the baby to me instead of letting her fuss ... I tried to be gracious - so I didn't speak at all.  I just took the baby - nursed her again - and put her down in the bassinet in our room.  She didn't like that - and started fussing (again).  Dan came in - I have no idea what he is thinking - and picked her up and handed her to me?!?!!  I found my voice:  I said something like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!" 

It was one of those moments where I almost feel sorry for my husband.  He absolutely had NO IDEA why I was so upset.  He just said, "I was handing you the baby so you wouldn't have to get out of bed.  I was trying to help."  How can you be mad about that?   Bless his heart ...

I finally got the child to sleep, laid her down, and got up to begin my day - way too early and on way too few hours of sleep.  Well, so I thought.  I attempted to start - and fell asleep again!!  It's a good thing.  My coffee maker in on the fritz. It will only make about 1/4 a cup of coffee in 30 minutes' time.  I have cleaned it out with vinegar a few times, but I do believe it's about to give up its ghost. 

I hate being dependent on caffeine (the Christian's drug of choice, as some judgmental people will call it!! LOL), but with my sleep schedule, I need the all the help I can get. 

Ode to Night

I am a night owl.  I generally go to bed around or after midnight.  It is rare that I go to bed earlier than that and actually sleep.  It happened more often when I was newly pregnant - but by second trimester I was back to old habits ...

Last night I was tired.  About 11:00 p.m., I decided to go to bed.  My eye lids were heavy.  I was ready to SLEEP.  I brushed my teeth, removed my make-up, turned on the baby monitor, crawled into my soft bed, and snuggled down.  I peeked at the clock; it was 11:30 p.m.  I had a nice, long night of SLEEP ahead of me ... so I thought.

About 11:45 p.m., I heard a funny noise.  It wasn't coming from the baby monitor.  It was coming from my living room.  I focused in - I knew that noise!  It was my cat working on hacking up a hairball.  Lovely.  I waited until she - um - worked things out and then went to check the damage (which thankfully wasn't too gross this time!). 

Snuggled back into my still-warm spot in bed ... Dan had not moved - not much phases him when he's in R.E.M.  Lucky guy.  Anyway ... time to sleep.  The clock said midnight.  I was back to my normal sleeping time.  No big deal. 

12:15 ... in a foggy almost-asleep phase, I heard the distress call through the baby monitor.  Recently Miriam has occasionally been sleeping through the night - but most of the time, she wakes up for about 10 or 15 minutes somewhere between midnight and 3 a.m.  She fusses herself back to sleep, but I usually go check on her anyway. This cry sounded a little more desperate.  And sure enough, when I got upstairs, both of her legs were hanging out, stuck between the slats of her crib!!  Occasionally she does that - I really should have invested in a crib bumper but didn't want to spend the money on a cute one and couldn't find a second hand one I liked.   (TO-DO ITEM TODAY:  find crib bumper - no matter what color - at Goodwill). 

Readjusted the baby ... turned on the lullaby CD ... talked to Anna, who has to share the room with this baby ... turned off the nightstand light in Andrew's room.  Checked on the cat.  Back to bed:  12:35.  I wasn't tired.  Read my novel until 1:15 a.m. when I was finally ready to fall asleep. 

So much for going to bed EARLY.  This is why I usually don't bother - and even if the stars and planets align and NO ONE cries out or hacks up a hairball, those late night hours are blissful. I'd hate to miss them!

Another Deal!

This one is FOR REAL ...
In the past few months, I've gotten several things for FREE from Vistaprint!  I might have paid for shipping, but I can't remember.  In any case, I've tried their address labels, which I think are good enough for your every day bills and letters ... maybe not the highest quality if you're looking for something fancy like for a special invitation.
Also, I have ordered personalized postcards which will be a (free) gift for Anna's teacher - and I made a FREE photo calendar, which I was especially pleased with (again, would be a GREAT gift).

Here's a link: Vistaprint

Happy Homemaker

The weather in my neck of the woods:

a lovely, warm, sunny day!  Miriam and I just went on a walk, & she is now napping. 

Things that make me happy:

selfishly, days like this make me very happy.  I'm just puttering around my house, minding my own business. 

Book I'm reading:

Something Was Missing, the testimony of John A. Stormer - just very recently published.  He's such an interesting person - he was just at our church on Sunday & spoke in both services.
From the back of the book:  "Growing up in a traditional Catholic family, John Stormer, for years, he did what was expected of a "good" Catholic - but something was missing."

What's on my TV today:

not much of anything good.
 
On the menu for dinner:
Mexican Stew (an easy go-to soup for a busy day)

On my To Do List:

make a list of goals I want to acoomplish before I turn "XL" (that's a number, not a size!!). ;0)

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:

I guess that's on my to-do list too ... I tear out & copy off tons of recipes that I think I'd like to make - but now I need to ORGANIZE THEM!!  :)

Looking forward to this week:

Even though I've got some "fun" things planned this week, it's going to get busy.  I'm looking forward to it getting over!! although Saturday isn't looking any less busy with Anna at a birthday party, a piano recital for my kids, and possibly a coffee date with a friend. 


Tips and Tricks:

I have several "household" notebooks that I keep notes and recipes in ... I've recently started a little notebook for my blog and internet things - I keep my passwords and instructions on there for all the things I dabble in - my blog, swagbucks, affilliate programs, etc. 

My favorite blog post this week:

With Halloween coming up, my family is pretty much ignoring it.  If you "celebrate" the "holiday", please don't think I am judging you ... I always tell my kids we do what is RIGHT for our family, and other families have different traditions or standards.  That doesn't make us any BETTER or MORE RIGHTEOUS by any means ...  In any case, while I dressed up in "fun" costumes during Halloween growing up, my husband's family has never done anything for Halloween, so that is the direction we follow.  This blog post at Vision Forum gave me another reason to consider.  (please note this is a VERY conservative article ...  PLEASE do not be offended by it - I just felt like sharing a different view point). 

Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):

the last thing I need right now is a new blog to take up MORE of my time.  I'm going to be weeding out my reader soon. 

No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:
Sometimes the thing we work on the most and pride ourselves with doing well or right is the exact thing we judge harshly in others who we don't see doing it right.  Does that make sense??  For example, if you are always on time & pride yourself on being early for everything, the thing that might disgust you MOST is someone who is often late and running behind all the time.  I have a whole blog post in my head about this - and how I was convicted of doing just this very thing.  :(

On my mind:

the month of November - and how BUSY it's going to be... but I'm also excited about "30 Days of Thanks"!!

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

Today I read in II Chronicles 32 about Good King Hezekiah.  In vs. 21 it is said that he "wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God."  Vs. 22 concludes that in every work he would "seek his God, he did it with all his heart ..." 
I want to do what is GOOD and RIGHT and TRUE with all my heart, too.

BIG swagbucks day :)

I know I've talked it to DEATH ... but the swagbucks blog reminded me that today is MEGA REFERRAL DAY.  If you sign up for swagbucks TODAY (with me!!  see widget on my sidebar), we all get some major incentives.   Just FYI.  :)

You can read more about it at the swagbuck webiste.  They are also offering a swag code search so you can see how to earn more bucks (more than just the standard tool bar usage).

That's all I'm saying lest this become a VBP*.  ;)
Have a GREAT day!

Smells Like Fall

I won't reiterate that I really don't care for Fall ... although there are a few things that make it more bearable!!  :)  I do love the smells of the season.  While I don't like pumpkin pie (I know, I know - it's unAmerican - but do remember, I'm originally GERMAN!!!), I like the spicy smell of pumpkin pie.  I love the smells of apples (and I do love an apple pie).  I even - weirdly - like the smell of burning leaves?!!

My favorite candles are Yankee Candles ... though I can't really afford them any more.  My hubby has actually twice found not-used YC jar candles at Goodwill - but they were in kind of acquired taste smells (lime-vanilla and Christmas cookie)!

SO, I settle for less expensive candles - and find they are pretty much just as good.  Right now GLADE has a new Fall Collection of smells - cashmere woods, country spice, harvest medley ...

Coupons.com has some GREAT coupons for Glade products.  Plus other new coupons as well.  If you use coupons, don't forget to browse through these: 

On a Lighter Note

After contemplating heavy thoughts like "all that is not music is silence" and observing Infant & Pregnancy Loss Remembrance Day, I'm ready to LIGHTEN UP!!!! 

Let me first share with you what a city girl I really am.  WHY God put me here in the middle of no-where, Missouri where the favorite past times are hunting, fishing, floating or canoeing down rivers, and meth labs (oh, wait - that's not a hobby, at least not a GOOD ONE), I will never know - aside from the fact that the small towns really ARE a great place to raise kids.  The activities are wholesome (well, not counting the making of illegal substances!); the people are nice (especially if you can get into a good-ol'-boy club); and it's cheap living since there is no mall in sight.  But some days I just see myself as a misfit.

One of our school parents (bless their heart!!) wanted to do us a big favor - and he gave us some freshly butchered ham (IE dead pig).  If you are my friend on facebook, you know that this really presented itself as a huge predicament to me!  See, I once had food poison - and I googled the fact that improperly prepared pork can cause some really BAD things to happen to you --- to which my dear friend added she'd just seen a tv documentary about how you can get tape worms from pork that can go all the way up to your brain!!!!!!!!! 

My husband grew up in Iowa - land of pork; his grandparents, though farmers, grew corn.  His mom was asked for her hand in marriage by a pig farmer once, but she declined and married a state trooper instead.  So, despite the Iowan connection, Dan really has no knowledge of pork products. And thus, he too was absolutely clueless.

After some researching on-line, I decided to go for it & cook this ham.  OH MY SOUL - I now know the derivative of the saying, "bleed like a stuck pig." 
["Bleed like a stuck pig" is a phrase used to describe profuse bleeding, originating from a hog slaughtering technique whereby the pig is stabbed in a main artery, usually with an anticoagulant on the device used for stabbing, and dies by bleeding profusely.]
That meat was still BLOODY.  I was ready to walk out of the kitchen right then & there - but I rallied, donned my rubber gloves, and held my breath. 

First, I thought I should wash the meat.  So, I filled my sink with water, put in the meat, and watched the water turn pink.  Meanwhile, I think I saw a shark circling by the drain ... No, not really - but I've always had this profound fear of JAWS.  Anyway, then I BOILED the ham in clean water.  While waiting for the water to boil, I scrubbed my sink with disinfectant (I've seen too many Lysol commercials where the invisible blood on the counters pose a hazard to the entire family's health!!). 

THEN, I lined a baking pan with foil, put in the now-clean ham - and baked the fire out of it.  In fact, to make sure I killed any and all threats of tape worms or food poisoning, I baked it a little longer even than I thought I should.  I got out the handy-dandy meat thermometer - and was satisfied to watch the mercury rise to 190 degrees (labeled "poultry", and we all know how DANGEROUS undercooked chicken is!).  Pork was labeled at 160 degrees, so I thought we were good.  By the way, is ham supposed to be GRAY??!!

I let the meat "rest" ... that's just a concept I heard of on Food Network, so I thought I'd try it.  About 30 minutes later, we cut the meat.  It was dry.  Very dry.  We tasted it.  It was bland.  Very bland.  None of us liked it; thankfully, the dog did. 
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To end this random blog post, I have a few pictures from the season's first home ballgames.  Andrew got to play in a Junior Varsity game - and he even scored 2 points!!!  He patiently and encouragingly warmed the bench for the varsity game.
Anna's class made banners to wave, so she did her part to cheer our teams on as well.
Last minute instructions from the coach:

 #32!!! 

 Anna & friends cheer for the Warriors!

 Miriam enjoyed the ballgame too.  Since she can clap her hands now, she was thrilled to see how many people were clapping with her!