I have a "neutral" accent. I guess that's good

What American accent do you have? (Best version so far) Midland ("Midland" is not necessarily the same thing as "Midwest") The default, lowest-common-denominator American accent that newscasters try to imitate. Since it's a neutral accent, just because you have a Midland accent doesn't mean you're from the Midland.

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My Friend Eddie Died

On April 1st of this year, my friend Eddie died. It's been almost three months, but some days the thought just won't leave me alone.
He was a very special person to a lot of people. There were more than 400 people at his memorial service. But, he was like a brother to me. I miss him terribly.
I moved 5 years ago, and he stayed in his hometown. We hadn't talked in months. Infact, I drove to his house in January, but it was an unannounced visit, and he wasn't home. I should have followed up with a phone call when I got home, but I never did. Now I will never get the chance.
If there's someone in your life that you've lost touch with, or someone you've been meaning to call, pick up the phone, or write a card. You never know if it might be the last chance you'll get.

Where I've been

I’m so productive around my house this week. The problem is that I am really not here. I got stuff listed on Ebay, I mowed my entire 3 acre property, I sewed with a friend all day on Monday, I really feel good about my accomplishments this week. But, I haven’t had the time or energy to sit here and type.

In one way, I am sorry about that. In another way, I feel like a good example. If there’s one thing I want all of you to remember, it would be “There is nothing in the cyberworld that is more important than the real world.”.

And there is my timer. I am sewing for my daughter today, I sewed for a friend’s grandchild on Monday, and she is feeling left out. I only have three hours left to work on it, so I have to go. I will try to write tonight, but I have obligations until 10:00, and I am trying to be in bed by 11:00 every night.

I thought Summer was supposed to be laid back and relaxing.

Please help me choose a name

And I thought naming a child was hard.

People who hear my Ebay name, “Lullaby Lake”, think babies. I don’t mind that, because I originally wanted to sell dolls and bears. Soft and sweet.

But, I would like to have a web page now that represents more. I liked the old “no label please”, because it was versatile. However, versatility isn’t my only concern.

In the bottom of my auctions I typed, “I am a collector, a designer, and a bargain hunter, keep checking in to see what I have this week.” That’s the image I want to portray on Ebay. I will sell anything that I find that I think people want. I don’t want them to be surprised to see books or clothing, although I don’t really want to sell books or clothing. I will keep the Lullaby Lake account for soft and sweet, but I want something else for everything else.

The following are words I like. I thought about combining two of them. I’ve seen it done lately, although I can’t for the life of me remember what they were. You know how Pottery Barn isn’t a barn, and they sell way more than pottery? I need a business name that sounds cool, but leaves the way open to sell more than dolls.

This is just a free flow of words that I could use. I can’t figure out how to combine them. Do you have any suggestions?

Places:
French
Cottage
Cabin
Lake
Wood
Prairie
Hideaway
Beach
Retreat
Garden
Park
Bay
Market

Names:
Spencer
Lorraine
Stewart
Lacey
Bailey

Things:
Butterflies
Ribbon
Roses
Roosters
Shell
Doily
Camelia
Foxglove
Fiber
Berries
Seahorses
Buttercup
Palomino
Feathers

Fabrics:
Cotton
Linen
Organdy
Denim

Qualities:
Grace
Style
Sweet
Sincere
Honest
Care
Easy
Comfort
Casual
Warm
Natural

Colors:
Sage
Pink
Purple
Salmon
Celadon

Nonsense:
B'Diddle
Bunchies
Bangles
Fluff
Frills

Designs:
Paisley
Gingham
Plaid
Smocking
Toile
Felt (ing) or (ed)

Sewing/Crafting tools:
Thimble
Scissors
Felt
Thread
Bobbin
Button
Ruffle
Flounce
Ric rac
Needle

Clothing Items that sound cool and old:
Chapeau (French for hat)
Petticoats
Pantaloons
Frock
Parasol
Bonnet
Pinafore

I like misspellings and double meanings. Like: Artsy Phartsy.

My grandmother’s name was Lorraine Spencer Stewart. I used to live on Lacey Dr. That’s what the names mean to me.

I’m a native Floridian, and don’t like the cold. My style will always be light and cool, although I will make scarves and mittens in the winter. I prefer natural fibers over synthetic. My style is cottage casual. I decorate with fabric and paint, but I love natural wood.

Names that are already taken:
Thimble Berries (a fabric line for quilting)

Did you know? Paisley is a town in Scotland. It makes me think of India.
Paisley is also the town that my grandmother’s lake was. It makes me think of her and the times at the lake. "Paisley Lake", really to me is my grandmother’s lake. When you “Google” it, you get the town in Fl, because it is in Lake County. I don’t think I want that.

I thought about "Paisley Lorraine", which really makes me think of my grandmother. But, it also sounds like a porn star.

“Paisley Feathers”- I can see that one working for me. What do you think?

“Spencer Paisley” – I could have had an ancestor from Paisley, named Spencer

“Paisley Cottage” is a resort in New Zealand, so I can’t do that.
“Paisley Princess” is already being used to describe a girlie hippie retro style.


Organdy is a thin, light, see through fabric used to make collars and baby clothes. It is very feminine. The word is fun, not over used, and makes me think of seamstresses from the 50’s.
The word also makes me think of an organ grinder, and that’s cool, because I like monkeys.

“Organdy Prairie” is not taken yet.

“Organdy & Denim” I like the juxtaposition.

“Spencer Organdy”

“Organdy Lorraine” - a friend said this one sounds like a quiche.

“Organdy petticoat”

“Organdy Parasol”

“Paisley & Organdy”

How about – “Foxgloves and Buttercups” – They’re flowers, but they sound like something totally different. I could get my sister to draw a fox wearing gloves, and drinking from a cup made of butter. - My kids HATE this one, but I have a friend that likes it.

Sincere Summer?
Linen Camelias?
Seahorses and Butterflies?
“Paisley Butterfly” – Taken, darn.

“Beverly” means one who dwells in the valley of the beaver. What if I called it Beaver Valley? Nope, taken

“Sincere Garden”?

“Casual Petticoat” juxtaposition again.

“Cotton Rose” is taken

I like the word sage – means a shade of green, and wise.

“Owl Sage” – No, too masculine.

“Paisley Frills”

I don’t want something like “Nimble Needle”, although I think it’s cool, because I want to sell antiques and collectibles too.
I like the word “found” or “find”, because I would like to “find” things to sell (other artists or yard sales). Maybe Discovery, although that sounds like kids.

“Palomino Feathers” – You know, like Horse Feathers, only blonde.

“Paisley Flounce”

I signed up the kids for Virtual School

I am actually excited about school in the fall. I usually try to gear up over the summer, but this year, I'm really getting psyched.
This year, my son will start high school. It's a critical point. If we don't count credits correctly, he won't get a diploma, or be able to go to college. It's something I've really been dreading, because I'm not the world's best organizer.
The teacher that does our end of the year evaluations showed me the answer. It's called Florida Virtual School.
They're still considered home schoolers, they will still be elligible for dual enrollment, they won't have to take the FCAT, but all the classes and curiculum will be provided for them for free. They will get a teacher who will grade all their work and keep up with their progress. We will get progress reports, they will get grades.
They will have book reports and papers to write, they will have essays and labs. I won't have to worry if they're missing out on what high school has to offer academically. And they will be able to learn at their own pace, without the distractions of public school.
I'm sure it will be an adjustment, because I am not always dilligent about making them do all 30 math problems on the page. But, I think it will really prepare them for dual enrollment.

As an added bonus, I might actally get more done around the house. It looks like a win/win situation. I'll have to keep you posted.

Why I home school my kids.

Boy, I'm on a roll today, guess I'm over the voice recorder.

I've home schooled for 6 years now. Gosh, I can't believe it's been that long.

If you would have known me 8 years ago, you would never have believed that I would home school. Eight years ago, I wouldn't have believed I would. But, times change, and we all have to adjust to whatever comes up.
See, I was at my children's school every day. I was on a first name basis with every teacher, custodian, lunch room worker, and principal. I was on the PTO, the yearbook staff, and the Elementary School Task Force. I volunteered atleast 4 days a week, I was involved.

I believe in education. I think that every American should be able to read and write well. I think there is merit in knowing basic Algebra. I think that if you can't pass high school Economics, you shouldn't be allowed to have a credit card. So, why in the world would I decide to take my kids out of school? There are many reasons, but I'll tell you about the most important few.

In the state of Florida, they have a policy that says that each student can learn at their own pace. They will not hold back a student if they can move on. Sounds great, doesn't it? I thought it was, my son was doing 6th grade math in 2nd grade. But, the teacher was teaching 2nd grade math. My son sat in front of a computer, learning the 6th grade math on his own. He had no book to bring home, because it was all on the computer. But, he was still expected to do homework every night.
When I asked the teacher what we should do, she said that it would always be a problem, because he would always be so far ahead. Her solution was to have him get to a level where he no longer understood it. Then, he could wait for an explanation until the other kids caught up to him, then they could all learn it together.
Since that solution was obviously not the right one, it fell on me to teach him math that year. Every night, he would sit at the kitchen table, and I would help him with his homework. He had been in school all day and was exhausted, but we would keep at it until he finished his work. Sometimes it took 3 hours to complete all his homework.
So, why didn't I teach him at home at that point? Well, I wanted him to learn "socialization". Isn't that what home schoolers are missing out on?
There's only one problem. When you're that far ahead of your class, you're not going to be the most popular kid in the class. Most of the jokes you tell will make the teacher roll on the floor, but the other kids are just going to stare at you. The socialization smart kids get in public school consists of learning how to deal with being picked on, that's just the way it is.
In March of the last year that my son was in public school, there was a school shooting in Santee California. I think that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I couldn't bear my child that I was working so hard to nurture being around that environment every day. He wasn't learning anything I couldn't teach him at home, and the socialization that kids were getting in schools was obviously not working.
I will never regret pulling him out at that point. We spent most of the first year just working on socialization. We looked at pictures in magazines and tried to decide what the people were feeling. We paused movies and talked about why the characters were upset with one another. We discussed how they could resolve their differences. We read stories with character conflict. And, we learned a little math.
Oh, did I even mention that I have a daughter that's two years younger? Her public school career lasted one year. She was in a kindergarten class for 7 days. She was so far ahead, that they moved her to the first grade class, where she was continually teased for being a "baby". She did make friends though, and I think she would have done well. However, her teacher had to have surgery that year, so she had a substitute teacher from December to the end of the year. The real teacher still did all the paperwork, but the substitute was in charge of their learning. I personally think the sub was a wonderful person, but she did not have a degree in teaching. So once again, my child was learning from someone that wasn't any more qualified than I was.
What I will always wonder is, what if I had been less interested in my children's education. What if I hadn't been privy to some of the conversations I heard among the teachers in the lounge? What if I hadn't seen first hand what the principal had to deal with?
I guess I will just count my blessings and be glad I made the right choice for my kids.

I hate learning new things.

And, it seems like that's all I ever do anymore. Nothing is easy, nothing is comfortable.
I just turned on Windows Media Player. I guess it's been a couple days since I listened to music on the computer. Well, they "improved" it.
*sigh*
All I wanted to do was listen to my favorite songs. You know, the ones I had on my playlist, the ones I spent 2 hours organizing in my playlist. The ones that are on the playlist I can't find right now.
*bigger sigh*
I know, I know I'll figure it out. I will find my playlist, it's on my hard drive, I just need to get the new player to find it. But that's not what I wanted to do right now. I wanted to write a little something that was in my head before I cooked dinner. But, whatever that was has been replaced by frustration at learning one more new thing.
I hope I never turn into one of the old people who can't keep up with technology, but I can see why they give up. It's like dishes and laundry, as soon as you get it done, there's more to do.

Menu Ideas for the Summer

Summer is my favorite time of year. I get winter time depression, so I really come to life in the summer. When so many people are feeling lazy, I am invigorated. But, when I really think about it, I wonder if my improved mood is due, atleast in part to my summer diet. In the winter, I cook warm food. I heat the house with the oven, so I bake a lot. The opposite is true in the summer. My oven is broken, and I barely notice it.

Summer food can be fun. I mean, is there anything that doesn't taste good grilled? Grilling is fun for picnics, but it is also the perfect way for me to cook while I'm gardening. I hate cooking when I've been pulling weeds all day. My mind has been focused on the outside of my house all day, until I'm suddenly thrust inside. The yard is saying, "Hey, you worked hard to make me pretty, and now you aren't even looking at me.".

When I grill dinner on those days, I sit on my porch while the food is cooking. I can enjoy the fruits of my labor, watching the butterflies reclaim their territory on the zinnias. The smell of the flowers is slowly overtaken by the aroma of the grill, and the table calls me in.

Another summer picnic favorite is baked beans. I made my own this year. Actually, I used a recipe I found online from Emeril. I put his ingredients in the slow cooker and cooked it on low all day (I checked on them every hour and added water when they soaked it all up). They turned out great, and they had no high fructose corn syrup. Since I put them in the slow cooker, they were ready when the grill was.

Macaroni and cheese is another classic, just make sure to use whole wheat pasta and low fat cheese. You can mix up the ingredients the night before, and just put it in the toaster oven half an hour before you want to eat.

A salad mixed up quickly while you set the table is always a good idea, and the vegetables are so much fresher this time of year. Don't forget to check out the local farmers markets and produce stands where you can enjoy locally grown, healthy alternatives to frozen or canned veggies. While you're at it, grab some berries to serve with ice cream for dessert.

So, when you plan your menu this week, don't forget to add in the picnic foods that are so much fun in the summer. Ironically, your family will probably remember the hamburgers on the grill more fondly than the four course dinners you work so hard on.

A Voice Recorder Killed my Blog

I was blogging every day. I was never at a loss for what to write. It just came to me when I woke in the morning, drove in the car, and cooked dinner.
Infact, I felt very much like Anna Nalick in her song “Breathe”:

“2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song

If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,

Threatening the life it belongs to

And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd

Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud

And I know that you'll use them, however you want to”

The words were in my head, and if I didn’t get them out, I couldn’t think of anything else. Naturally, I couldn’t blog all day, every day. So, Hubby suggested that I take his voice recorder with me. He said I could put these great ideas on it, and I could go about my day without them bothering me. It sounded like a good idea, so I tried it.

In one respect, it was great. I accomplished so much more around the house. I had all that energy that had been flowing into the computer to focus on my chores. I must have had a little more available thinking ability, because I finally understand how to use CSS.

But, it destroyed my blog. Once the words were in the recorder, they were no longer bothering me. I am perfectly content to leave them there. It’s almost like Pandora’s box. If I open it, I’ll have to do something with them. I know I will get them out someday, but for today, they are safe there and I got all the laundry in the house done.

I won’t put anymore on it though, it’s not as fun. I like it here.

The Official Beginning of Summer

Well, tomorrow officially starts summer for us. We're finishing our school year today, we have to go to the teacher's house and test.
I'm a little nervous, but the kids don't seem upset at all.
I'll be gone all day, because the teacher that does our testing lives an hour and a half away. After we test, I have to go to a friend's house that lives an hour in the other direction from my house. So, I'll be putting over 300 miles on my car today. When I think about gas prices, that makes me want to throw up.
The good news is that I'll be traveling country roads, so the traffic won't be bad. And, sometimes there are yard sales along the way.
Hope everyone has a great day. I'll let you know how they do.

If I had a million dollars

I read a blogging article yesterday by Alister Cameron. He was quoting Robert Allen who asked,

“If Bill Cosby won the state lottery, would he retire from show business? Would
Barbra Streisand quit singing? Would Shaq O’Neil quit playing basketball?”

The point he was making was, if you didn’t have to do your job, would you? If you’re not happy doing what you’re doing, then you’re not going to succeed.

This started me thinking, “If I were suddenly rich (I don’t play the lottery, but someone might give me a large sum of money) what would I do with my life?”. What would I pay someone else to do for me? Then I wondered if I could make those things take less time than they do now. That way, I’d have more time to do what I really love.

House cleaning, there’s what a lot of mom’s would pay for, a maid. Well, I wouldn’t. I don’t want someone else mopping my floor or doing my laundry. When I keep up with the house, it gives me a sense of accomplishment. If someone else folded hubby’s underwear, I’d be upset. Since I’ve been following FlyLady’s advice, my house really does clean itself, I don’t need anyone to do that.

A personal chef, that is one thing I think hubby and I would agree is something we would love. It isn’t even the actual work that I mind with cooking, it’s the planning. Meals on the table, on time, without any planning, that would be great. Wait, that’s what I get when I do Leanne’s slow cooker freezer meals. I do have to cook one day a month, but what’s one day? It wouldn’t be worth spending my millions on a chef when I get wonderful meals without the hassle from www.savingdinner.com.

I would hire a landscape architect. Not a long term gardener, but a professional who could help me finish my yard. I like to do the maintenance, and I do like the planning too, but 3 acres is overwhelming me right now. I could just use a little help. Maybe I could sit down today and make a five year plan for my landscaping, then it wouldn’t weigh on my mind.

I would also hire a teacher. I love home schooling my kids, but I do get behind on grading papers. This also can be done without too much expense through a correspondence course. I think if I can pay for that next year, it would allow me to spend more of my time and energy on projects and fun learning.

I would hire one additional person. I would hire a seamstress. I would take her the fabrics that I pick out, and I would take the patterns that I want cut out, and I would show her what I want the finished product to turn out like, and she would do the real work. I could spend my time smocking, embroidering, designing, and the projects would get finished. I would really like that a lot. Maybe someday I can have a business partner that does that for me. But for now, I will have to be that person. My day to do that is Wednesday. It’s FlyLady’s antiprocrastination day. So on Wednesday, I have to finish the projects I’ve been dreaming up all week long. That’s not to say that I don’t sew on the other days too, but I have to finish up things one day a week.

What about the things that I could buy with that money? I’m obviously not spending much on services. The Bare Naked Ladies song, “If I had a Million Dollars”, sums up my feelings,

“We wouldn’t have to eat Kraft Dinner,
Yeah, but we would eat Kraft Dinner,
Yeah, we’d eat more”.

You see, I’d still buy the things I buy now. I might buy more, but I would still buy the same brands I use now. I don’t use the brands I use now because they’re cheap, I buy them because I like them. I would still buy off the clearance racks, because it just makes sense to me.

I would figure out how to buy wide shoes. I might have to have them custom made somewhere, but I would get my daughter and I lots of shoes that fit. I know I can’t afford that now, because we have odd sized feet.

Would I buy a bigger house? No, I like the location here. I would make a few changes to the house.
I would remodel the kitchen and include a desk area for schooling and business. I would give myself a crafting/Ebay room, and I would have a new laundry room and a bathroom on the porch where we could shower and change after a swim in the lake. I would make a deck that wrapped around to connect the back and side porches, and the deck would have a hot tub. I would make all the floors in the house hardwood, and I would screen in the front porch. I would put siding and soffit and facia on the house along with a new roof. I would make a grilling kitchen down by the lake and cover it with a gazebo.
I know those things won’t get done right away on our income, but I don’t think any of them are out of the realm of possibility. Infact, if I really wanted to, I could get a mortgage to cover all of that right now, but I don’t want the payment.

OK, I would buy two new cars. Last week my mother said, “You know, when I see most people get a new car I think they’re being frivolous, but when you get a new car, I’m going to say, ‘what took you so long?’”. We live so far in the country that we put way too many miles on our car. If I had two cars, I could put half as many miles on each one. Phooey, if I had lots of money, I’d have a convertible for the beach and fun rides, a fuel efficient car that could carry groceries for shopping trips, an SUV that the dog and kids had lots of room in for geocaching, a truck for going to Home Depot and antique shopping, and a nice sedan for when I’m dressed up.
When I do decide to go car shopping, I’m going to take that list to the dealer. Maybe he can help me find a SUV/truck for kids, dogs, antiques, and geocaching; and a car that is fuel efficient, has room for groceries, is fun on the beach, but looks good when you’re dressed up.

Do you see what I’ve done? I’ve prioritized the things in my life. I’ve decided what I would change, and realized what I wouldn’t. It helped me see that I really am contented. I really don’t need to win the lottery. What would you hire out? What would you do, even if you didn’t have to?

I hope that you are doing what you love and loving what you do.

This post starts with an appology. I've been very busy lately, and I think I've been short with a lot of people in my life. It's even crept in here, but today I was busy and having a bad day, and I said something that hurt my daughter's feelings.
I am very sorry that I said it. It wasn't meant to be hurtful, it was a thoughtless comment. But it addressed something that she's sensitive about, and I should have known it was important to her.
I would never want to say anything that would upset her. She's such a great kid, and I'm really proud of her. Unfortunately, she's a lot like me, and she sets standards for herself that are way too high.
Goals are great, but she needs to remember that goals are things that you're trying to do, not things that you are already able to do. You can't beat yourself up for not accomplishing your goals instantly. If you do reach them immediately, they weren't the right goals.
I just wish that my daughter and every woman on the planet could see that not being able to do something today, is not the same as never being able to do it. And, that Can't really can't.
I can't take back what I said today, but I can try to help her to see that what I said was just stupid. Moms make mistakes too. And even if I don't like the way she does something, I love her and her enthusiasm.

I do want to post here every day. But, when my family needs me, that's where I need to be. And that's the thought I leave you with today: Your children will never be the age they are today again. There will be other grocery shopping days, there will be more laundry and dishes tomorrow. But, when your child needs to talk, they can't wait. You can hire someone to do the housework, but no one can replace "mommy".

Go hug your kids.

So much for Ebay today

I worked for 6 hours this afternoon getting things into the computer, so I could list them tonight. We had a thunderstorm to the south of us, I could hear the lightning, but it was moving South, so I ignored it.
The power flickered, and I don't have a battery backup. The program that I use to upload to Ebay was open to an item I was editing.
Now, it's all gone. I can't even open the program to start over. I tried Live Help, but they won't open till 7 tomorrow. Tonight is wasted. This week is wasted. I'm wasted.
I don't really want to talk tonight, I'll see you tomorrow.

Don't mend your sails in a storm

A little more than 19 years ago, when hubby and I got home from our honeymoon, we eagerly watched the wedding video that a friend made. We were surprised to find interviews with some of our friends and family on it. The comments included advice from people of all ages and walks of life, but the only one I remember is this: "Never mend your sails in a storm".

Tonight something happened, and my initial reaction was to come here and say, "I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm not contented, I have no business telling you how to better yourself, I'm a mess myself." But, now that the storm is over, I realize that it is the ability to get through rough weather is what proves we're sea worthy.

I am not perfect, I do not do everything with my family as well as I would like to do it. My hubby gets sick and tired of me sometimes. But, he's always there for me. He is my best friend, no matter what. I love my family, and I'm trying to do my best.

If you want a magic fairy to tell you how to be the perfect wife, you won't find it here. If you want someone who knows how tough it is to deal with homeschooler's that you never get a break from, pets and science projects all over the house, and a hubby that just wants to spend time with you alone, I hope you hang around and leave me a comment now and then.

As you can see by the time of this post, I'm failing on my bed time goal too, so I will leave you until tomorrow.

Do you have a goal?

I think it's very important to have goals. If you aren't getting better, you're probably getting worse.
I've found that three things help me accomplish my goals, writing it down, telling a friend, and getting encouragement.
Writing it down gives you a sense of commitment to your goal. It makes it more real to you, sometimes writing a goal and putting it where you see it daily is all you need.
Telling a friend your goal is a little harder. By letting someone else know, you're really commiting to the idea, because if you don't reach it, your friends will know. Fear of failure is the number one reason to not tell a friend. But, remember this, without telling a friend, you'll never get the next help, encouragement.
Studies have shown that people who try to quit smoking on their own are less likely to quit than people who find support. We all need a pat on the back once in a while, a little cheering on.
Well, I found a website that helps you reach your goals by using these keys. It's called 43things.com. My list is at http://www.43things.com/person/nolabelplez . You write a list of goals, and you get to check them off when you're done. You can network with others that are trying to accomplish the same things, and you can cheer each other on. You can leave comments on how you're doing, and when you've reached your goal, you can leave comments on how you did it.
I hope everyone has at least one goal they're reaching for whether personal, financial, physical, or spiritual. If you don't have a goal written down, go write it somewhere. If you make a list on 43 things, let me know, so I can cheer you on.
Here's to hoping everyone meets their goals.

OK, so there are nights when you don't have time to cook

When I started to eat "real" food, and get away from the stuff that's packed full of preservatives, I actually started to notice food. When I ate fast food, I never liked food, everything tasted the same. Now, I enjoy the flavors of the various rices available (yes rice has a flavor, and there are different flavors).
Cooking and eating real food is so much better for your body and soul. I really try to make dinner and eat at the table with my family each night.

Yes, I know. Sometimes life happens. It happened to me today. Reality is that there are days that you don't have time to cook.
So what do you do when the trip to the library runs longer than you thought it would? Don't pull into that drive through, step into the grocery store.
Yes, I know, you don't have time to cook. But, your local grocery store gives you healthier alternatives to burgers. Most of them have delis with rotiserie chicken. But skip the potato and macaroni salad, they're just high carb, low benefit sides. Grab one of the bagged salads in the produce section instead, hop over to the bakery for a crusty whole grain bread, and you've got dinner fit for company with no effort involved.
If that doesn't work, look at the frozen entrees. Wait! Don't go there without thinking. This section is full of high calorie, high fat, low quality choices. You have to be careful, but there are some that are really good.
My personal favorite brand is Kashi. There's no High Fructose corn syrup, or white pasta. They have real ingredients that actually taste good. And, because they use whole grains, they are high in fiber. When I used to try frozen entrees, hubby would eat two. They were too high in calories, but they didn't fill him up. We don't have that problem with these.
This isn't a long term plan, trust me, with the limited choices, your family will quickly tire of this. I still want you to plan a menu for next week. But, in a pinch, it's still better for you and tastes better than burgers and fries.

The importance of planning a menu

I'm picking my kids up tomorrow, which means it's still just me and hubby for dinner tonight. I just informed him, "We're eating frozen dinners tonight. I'm too busy planning the menu to figure out what to cook".
When I have to decide at 4:00 what's for dinner, it usually turns out badly. It's why I used to hate to cook. When it's time to cook, I'm either not hungry and don't really want to think about food, or so starving that I can't think straight.
When I have the menu planned ahead, I just do what I'm supposed to, without much thinking involved, and there's a nutritious meal on my table at dinner.
So, tonight, I'm taking a few minutes to pick out my family's favorite meals, and a few healthy recipes that I've been wanting to try. My plan is to have 4 weeks of meals that I like in the summer. Then, I will just repeat them until it gets cooler.
I'm putting it in Excel, but you could do it on paper. This isn't about perfectionism. I know that in the past, I bought programs that would automatically print shopping lists, but I never got the recipes I wanted added, and my family didn't like the recipes in the program. Don't make this a bigger job than it has to be. Just do something.
If you really can't figure it out for yourself, www.Savingdinner.com has a great menu mailer. Leanne gives you a shopping list and recipes every week. She also has something I love to do. She has recipes for freezer meals. You do all the prep work on one day, and then freeze them in bags. When it's time to cook, it takes less than 20 minutes. They are so easy, anyone in my family can follow the instructions to cook them. - In fact, it's safer for kids to help with, because there are no knives involved. With a little help, a five year old could start one of the crock pot meals.
However you do it, just do something. A little advanced preparation today will make next week's dinner so much better.

Wednesday - Craft Day - Boy was I busy! Aprons and Sun Hats

Wow, my mom came today, and we sewed up a storm. I not only designed my heart out, which always makes me happy, but also actually got somethings finished, which is really the point, right?

The other day, when I was sewing for the doll, I thought that a matching sun hat would be cute. I also was designing a dress for my friends 8 month old little girl. So, when I bought the pattern for a baby dress, I found one with a little sun hat. It's exactly like I made the doll one, six pieces around the head and a ruffle for the brim.

Today, my mom and I made 7 baby sun hats, two were for the doll on the left, the rest were for real babies under 6 months.

I also made three aprons. It was hard work, and my shoulders hurt so bad that I can barely sit here, but I feel good that they're finished. (OK, except two of the aprons need the top band. I didn't have enough binding on hand, and have to buy some.) Now that I'm looking at them, I think the second one needs to go to a friend of mine, it reminds me of her somehow.

I really like mixing and matching patterns, and both these projects gave me an opportunity to do that.

They look so much prettier on, see how they hang?

I'm going to list them on Ebay and see how they do, but I may end up doing a local mall or craft show, or something. I'd love your feedback on how I could improve them.

A strange message on my answering machine

Last night, someone called my house and left a message on my machine. He said he was looking for someone with hubby's name and his mother, who had my name. From the little bit of info he left, I assume that he's looking for a long lost family member, probably a birth mother.
I called the number he left and got a machine myself. I left him a message that said I was sorry, but we weren't the people he was looking for. But, I wanted to do more for him.
Looking for a birth mother has to be so hard to do. Imagine just calling strangers to find out any information you can. To wonder with each call if it will be another dead end. To wonder whether it's easier to not find them, because if you find them, how will they react?
But, it's closure that some people need. It's the reason I never could have adopted a child. I think it's wonderful that some people can open their hearts like that. But, I don't think it's something that I could personally deal with.
I offered to blog about him, I thought that maybe we could all band together and help him find her. I wonder if he'll call back.
Probably not, I'll probably never know what happens. Well, I hope he finds whatever he's looking for. If not in his birth mother, then in himself.
Here's to a fruitful search, for everyone who's trying to find someone important.

Please tell me there's not a woman on the planet that would fall for this one!

OK, I had a thousand things to blog about today. Some were thought provoking, some were humorous, some were just stories about my friends and family. But, I had to go to town, so I didn't get a chance.
On the way home I was listening to the radio. When the kids are with me, we either don't listen to the radio at all, or listen to what they want. When I'm alone, I listen to country.
Yes, my music of preference is Country. I can't believe I just admitted that in public. I take ribbing from everyone I know when I admit that.
I usually try to defend it. I know that a lot of the songs are about breaking up and running around, but there are really nice songs about staying married and family values. If you've never heard "Hot Mama" by Trace Adkins, you have to. It's my theme song.

But there has to be a line, and I think Brad Paisley crossed it.

I started listening to his new song, and I thought it was a bit weird at first. Then it went so far into rediculous that I had to show you. You won't believe this if I explain it, so here are the words:



everytime you take a sip in this smoky atmosphere
you press that bottle to your lips
and i wish i was your beer
and in the small there of your back your jeans are playing peek a boo
id like to see the other half of your butterfly tattoo
hey that gives me an idea lets get out of this bar
and drive out into the country
and find a place to park
cause id like to see you out in the moonlight
id like to kiss you way back in the sticks
id like to walk you through a field of wildflowers
and id like to check you for ticks

i know the perfect little path
out in these woods i used to hunt
dont worry babe ive got your back
and ive also got your front

id hate to waste a night like this
ill keep you safe you wait and see
the only thing allowed to crawl all over you
when we get there is me

you know every guy in here tonight
would like to take you home
but ive got way more class than them
and that aint what i want

cause id like to see you out in the moonlight
id like to kiss you way back in the sticks
id like to walk you through a field of wildflowers
and id like to check you for ticks

oooh you never know where one might be
and oooh theres lots of places that are hard to reach
id like to see you out in the moonlight
id like to kiss you way back in the sticks
id like to walk you through a field of wildflowers
and id like to check you for ticks
oh id sure like to check you for ticks


Don't you wish you could find someone that had such a way with words?

I can't write anymore, just reading them again left me speechless.

I updated my Ebay "me" page. What do you think?

OK, I just made it match my auction layout. How’s that?

http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=lullaby*lake

See more progress on: Update my Ebay ME page

What's for dinner?

I didn't plan well today. My kids are out of town, so it's just me and hubby for dinner. Now it's 5:30 and I have no idea what to make. I have ground turkey thawed. I was going to brown it off with some onion and garlic, add brown rice, some seasoning, and let it cook till the rice was done. Guess what? No rice in the house.
What can I do? I looked in a couple recipe books, but nothing looked good.
Here's what I'm going to do:

1. See what else is in the cupboard. - I have couscous. I like couscous, but it cooks in 5 minutes, whereas the rice would have taken 45. I've never done that before, would it be OK? I'm not sure I want to experiment.

2. Google "ground turkey couscous".
Wow, couscous is exotic, isn't it? I don't know that hubby is up for that tonight. I picked turkey, because he didn't feel great at lunch.
Yumsugar.com has a turkey couscous salad I might try another day. It calls for pomegranates, and wouldn't you know it, I'm fresh out.

3. Look at the clock and realize that it's getting closer to dinner time, and I'm not any closer to having it ready.
See, this is where perfectionism is killing me. But, atleast I'm able to see it. I will make sure the turkey is fully cooked while I'm browning it. I'll add the seasonings and the couscous and have it ready in 5 minutes. It will be fine. Breathe.
Now, I'm going to turn off my computer and make a nice dinner. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Something is better than nothing.

My house is always the messiest it ever gets on Monday. Even before FlyLady, I always did a big cleaning day on Monday. But, now that things don’t get that bad, I can do what needs done without spending the whole day.
But, it’s easy to get discouraged and overwhelmed when the house gets really messy.
It’s then that you have to set the timer for 15 minutes and just do it. Today I thought we’d address the “I don’t have time” excuse. Do you have 15 minutes? I bet you do. Let’s see what I got done in 15 minutes.
Over the weekend, I got creative. Remember the mom’s design studio in Yours, Mine, and Ours? That’s what my house looks like when I’m in a designing mood. This is what my house looked like this morning:





I forgot to take a picture of the kitchen counter, which was just as full. It’s spread over two rooms, because I don’t have a proper table in the craft room (because it’s my formal living room). It’s ransacked to the degree that it is, because I couldn’t find my elastic box (still haven’t found it). – you know what? as I’m writing this I realize that I probably took it with me the last time I sewed at my mother’s house and left it there.-

Anyway, I took these pics and then set the timer for 15 minutes. I started in the kitchen. I sorted, threw away scraps, put it the half finished projects in labeled boxes to finish this week, and wiped down the table and counters in 15 minutes. My son woke up and started talking which did distract me a little, and I had to feed the cats to make them stop meowing, but I basically kept focused on the job at hand.

This is what it looked after 15 minutes:



The living room did take me a little longer, and I did do some less stressful jobs before I tackled it. But, I decided to declutter while I was putting away, so there was some sorting involved. Normally, picking up is just putting something where it goes, not deciding where it goes.
This is what it looked like after 30 minutes. Not done, but a lot better. If you only had half an hour, wouldn’t that be better than, “I don’t have time”?






I set one more 15 minute timer and got to this point. But, a friend stopped by when I was only 5 minutes into the timer, and I was very distracted, at this point I was just putting things where they went.

There are still Ebay items in this room and some packing materials for them. I really have to make some decisions over where they will be stored in the future. But, that’s not today, don’t get weighed down with doing everything perfectly. Something is better than nothing.





Have a great week, and start it out with a great Monday!

I want to go to bed on time for a week.

I know I need sleep, and yet here I am typing away. I am going to forego FlyLady’s drinking water habit for June and substitute my own of going to bed on time. My new bed time is 11:30, I’ll keep you posted on how that’s going.

See more progress on: go to bed on time for a week

I really miss ASL

I tried to learn sign language in high school, but I couldn’t get past English word order. I fingerspelled everything. It must have been grueling to try to communicate with me.
But, a couple years ago, I had an opportunity to be involved in a group that included some deaf people. I thought I would never get it, until I went to a Silent Weekend (no English or voicing, only sign for 2 days), and it clicked.
Circustances being what they are with family responsibilities and such, I had to quit the group. I really miss it, and hope when my kids are older that I can be involved again.
If you’re trying to learn ASL, go to as many deaf functions as you can. If there are silent events near you, do what ever it takes to go. They are well worth it.

See more progress on: learn sign language

OK, so you want pics.

I haven't really been wanting to share pictures of me. So, how's this?



I love silly things like this. I found it on the PhotoBucket page where I store my pics. It's on the tab on the top of the screen that says, "Create and Avatar". If you make one, send me a link, so I can see yours.

I like making miis on the wii too. I accidentally made one of Michael Jackson. I have to figure out how to hook it up to the internet, so I can share miis.

One thing at a time, get the blogging down first.

What did you buy on Ebay this week?

It’s Sunday, Ebay day, I only got a couple things listed today. It’s been pretty hectic around here, so I didn’t get as much done as I wanted.
I started making the cutest doll dress I’ve made in a long time. I was really happy with the way it was turning out, and then I went to get the elastic to put in the matching panties. I have turned my sewing room upside down, and I cannot for the life of me find the box with elastic. It’s a shoebox sized red box. There are two other boxes the same size and style with it. I can see it in my head, but I cannot put my hand on it, so it will have to wait till next week.
I did list one reborn. I have a few here that I made for a doll show. As it turns out, there were only 20 people at the show, and no one sold much. I don’t know if I’ll make more, it’s a pretty competitive market. I really like making bears more, anyway.
I won two auctions this week, but I haven’t gotten the items yet. I’ll share pics next Sunday. I’d love to know what you bought this week.

Wow, do I have a lot to learn!

I think Ebay spoiled me. I had some dolls I wanted to sell. I went there, used keywords, clear pictures, good descriptions, and the bidders found my items. Easy, well, there was a learning curve, but they did most of the work.
Blogging is way different. There's a whole world that I hadn't even heard of until I started looking. I can see that my next week is going to be filled with research. - until tonight, I thought Ping was a panda.
I only listed three items this week, because of blogging. I wonder how badly I'll do next week?
I guess it will be OK, because my kids are going to stay with friend's for the week.
If you've bookmarked me, hang in there, it can only get better from here.

20 Year High School Reunion - Vanguard High, Ocala, FL 1987

My 20 year reunion is coming up. I won’t be attending. I would like to, but it is $90/per person. My husband and I could go to Disney for that much. It’s not that there aren’t people there I would like to see, it’s that I can’t see paying that much to see them.

I really didn’t want to give out my real name here, but I was the only Beverly in that class. They got my last name wrong on the paperwork that was sent out by the reunion committee, if you drop the “ry” at the end of the name they have for me, you’ll get my real last name. If you see this, and you’re from the class of 1987, leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.

Actually, I don’t live that far from Ocala now, I moved back almost 5 years ago. I’m about 30 miles north, in the middle of nowhere on a lake. I have three acres, and I really like the slower pace. But, I also go shopping in Ocala every other week, because I take my mom to the store. My parents now live in my grandmother’s old house, and my sister lives in their house. She still has my old phone number, if you can believe that.

My daughter said we should just go to town and sit outside the place where the dinner is and say hi to the people going in. Wouldn’t that be a statement? What do you wear for such an occasion? Do you dress up so they know you can, or do you wear shopping clothes so they think it is a coincidence? Although, if you want them to think it’s a coincidence, you probably shouldn’t blog about it.

A special “Hi” to all the people I’m thinking about from school:

Adam Firrone
Steven Ruisi
Alan Smith
Robert Branch
Laurie Hannan
Jane Demarest
Lisa Mulkey
Stephanie (Bauer) Mosier
Debbie Pitman
Geoff Mossberg (even though he moved away before graduation)
Ryan Remencus (who was a year younger, and too smart for his own good)

Unfortunately, I don’t know the girl’s married names except for Stephanie, and I probably spelled that wrong. I figure it doesn’t really matter since no one is reading this anyway.

Well wishes to all who graduated this year (wink to Josh and Bekah), and to those oldie but goodies from VHS c/o ’87. Go Knights!

Well, we already have a tropical storm, welcome Barry

Normally, I would be all excited about anything in the hurricane family. I check every two hours on the computer, and set a timer for updates. But, this one is different. We need the rain so badly, and this will give us a lot at one time. We're inland here, so we won't even get any more wind than we do during summer storms. Rain without damage, isn't that nice? Hurray for Barry!
However, it is a good reminder that anyone that might be affected by these storms should plan ahead. To help a little, hurricane supplies are tax free in Florida this week.
Please take the time to make a disaster plan. If you need help, FlyLady covers it on page 19 of the control journal.
Weather Underground has great hurricane coverage, their site is www.wunderground.com.
Please do not take this to mean that I like real hurricanes. We are still trying to pay for the damages from the 2004 storms. I know that these things are not to be trifled with. That's why you should do everything you can to prepare now.



As a side thought, I thought it was funny that Barak Obama originally went by Barry. No relevance, just a silly thought.

Is "focus" overrated?

The title of this started out as "I've got to be more focused". But, as I thought about it (while I was doing laundry, teaching the kids, and planning dinner) I realized that I might not be able to accomplish all I do if I only did one thing at a time.
FlyLady described us as butterflies. She said that one of the things butterflies are known for is flitting from flower to flower, never staying in one place very long. So, that's how I'm picturing myself today.
My lack of focus is only a problem when I interact with others. Can you imagine following a butterfly for a day? Infact, now that I think about it, the butterflies in my garden are usually alone. Sometimes I feel that no one will read my blog, because... well, besides the fact that I haven't tried hard enough to get it into search engines, because I flit from subject to subject. If someone wants housekeeping tips, or recipes, or gardening tips, they may find me in a search engine. But, they won't stay, because I won't have tips the next day.
The only time butterflies are in groups is when they migrate. A butterfly migration is amazing to watch. The sky fills with fluttering wings, a mass of undulating color. And, they all accomplish their goal together. So, even butterflies can cooperate. They just have to have a common goal.
FlyLady says to break big jobs into little pieces. She divides the house into "zones". I think I'm going to divide the week into zones. One day will be for crafts, one for recipes, etc.
Well, guess what? I have to flit to my next project already. I have friends in college that want a little algebra help, I have to drive my daughter to a party, and I have to make dinner. I'll work on this later tonight.
For now, be patient with me, I'm not as focused on this as I'd like to be. But, butterflies seldom are.