Spreading the Word....

Every great once in a while, a product or service comes along that really gets my attention.  I'm kinda picky, so it's rare that I get super excited over ideas.  I like things to be useful, attractive and quirky.  I love the quirky!!  So when I saw this, I knew it was something I wanted and in this case, wanted to be promote.



I, like many, am a avid user of Mason jars.  They have umpteen million uses and no nasty chemicals to leech into your food.  They hold pens, flowers, soup, beans, chicken, tea, beer...you name it.  I am excited to invest a little seed money into this product, this idea, this woman.  It brightens and lifts my spirit to see good ol' American ingenuity at it's finest.  It's a beautiful thing to see the Made in America sticker on a product. 

Kickstarter is a wonderful idea as well. For any small start up business it's a novel way to reach investors and spread the word about your idea.  I had fun perusing the interesting and sometimes odd products and services out there.  Many are not for me but at least the creative juices of the American public are flowing and we have a glimmer of hope in restoring our once prosperous and productive nation.

I encourage all 3 of you readers to look over the reCap proposal and if it speaks to you...invest and spread the word.

Entrepreneurialy yours.......Deborah


Disclaimer: reCap and Kickstarter have never heard of me and my endorsement gets me a big ol' heap of nothing, except the knowledge I did good for today!!

New Kids on the Block....

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. The right stuff."  While back in 1987 my pre-teen heart would have flipped at the mere mention of the New Kids.....I'm not referring to those boy band, pelvic thrusting, ballad crooning New Kids.  I would like to introduce my new kids............

World, meet Lucy and Ethel, the hens, who have already lived up to their names with bizarre antics (top) and the male, Mosher (bottom) named after our neighbor who used to raise guineas and inspired us to get a few.  Their job here on the farmstead is to warn us, the hens and anyone within a quarter mile radius of impending doom.  They are also kind enough to alert us, loudly I might add, when an airplane flies overhead, or when a truck is coming down the road or when the winds blows.  They're helpful like that. 

On alert....Deborah

Fun was Number One on my List...

I've put all that nasty list making behind me, at least publicly.  I'm chalking it up to stage fright that I wasn't able to complete most of my lists last week.  You see, I'm very shy.  I get nervous performing in front of crowds.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

This weekend was a nice change from our ordinary routine of the ordinary.  The Oompas and I took a road trip with my brother and dad to the Ohio Renaissance Festival.  My brother's girlfriend, who will be here after referred to as "the other sister", is a belly dancer at the festival.  This was my first chance to see her dance live and wow, wow, wow...she's amazing.  It's such a powerful, fluid, graceful style of dancing.  The woman she dances with was phenomenal as well. 

"Arianna" aka the other sister

"Layla"

Despite the weather being a nasty cold, windy and at times a little rainy, we had a blast.  I picked up several nice loose tea blends, way too many incense sticks and a couple drams of essential oils. Oldest Oompa has already decided she's going again next year....in costume!!  

Off with his head!!!

I'll clean my room....promise!!!

Good Morrow to You All.....Lady Deborah of the Awesome Clan

To Quote Mr. Brown, "AARRGGHH"....

When I tried this list experiment over on the SufficientSelf.com forum it worked like a charm.  Not so much now.  Despite my best planning and intentions it's been falling apart lately (and yes I know all about intentions and their pet mice and how they work on a paving crew building a road).  It's all good though...I'm going with the flow.  See how flowy I am? Like liquid butter.

Here's a recap of yesterday:

• Paperwork not faxed...despite my repeated reminders, Mr. Awesome neglected to sign them!!  Got it done late last night after work but missed the deadline.  Hopefully it won't cause any problems.
• No grocery list made however I did peruse the ads so it should come together fairly quickly.
• I did call the music store to decline the $200 in clarinet repairs.  Middle Oompa chose to rent a trombone from the school instead.  Oh joy, can't wait to hear her practicing!!!
• Here's where my careful planning would have paid off beautifully...I had all the necessary components for Baked Chicken Nachos.  There was seasoned pre-cooked meat, chips, beans and a plethora of cheese all waiting for Mr. Awesome to assemble for dinner when he got home from work since I was working the dinner shift at the camp.  Now throw in a few hours of unexpected overtime for him and you get three hungry kids calling me at 7pm wondering where the heck dear ol' dad was and can they just have cereal for dinner!! 
• So glad I left number 5 blank.  Makes me feel better that there is one less task I wasn't able to accomplish.

Not that I'm keeping score but here's today's hit list...

• Boy Oompa's online conference with his charter school at 10am
• Grocery shopping
• At least a partial day of school lessons with boy Oompa
• Have oldest girl Oompa at the high school at the correct time(she's supposed to let me know this afternoon).  The 7th grade band will be marching in the halftime parade with the alumni band.  Mr. Awesome told her we'd all be there in the stands, in the cold watching. Of course his plans change at the last minute and he'll be here in our cozy home with a friend who's coming to stay for the weekend.  Nice...real nice!!
• Go to bed early!  This should be by far the easiest.  I need my rest to Saturday's excursion with the Oompas and my brother to the Ohio Renaissance Festival.  His gal, my "other" sister is in a belly dancing troupe that performs daily at the fair.  I've never seen her dance live and the ren fair is a perfect place to start my holiday shopping!!!

I'm considering this experiment completed...and sadly failed.  The concept was interesting but factoring in our ever changing world, it's set me up for frustration.  I can flow with the changes much better without a list.
Flowingly yours....Deborah  

5 Things for Thursday...

In the spirit of, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again", I'm back at it with my list!  Tuesday and Wednesday were not as I had planned but then again, when does life ever go as we plan?  As a self-proclaimed control freak that's a hard lesson for me to learn.  I'm not all that good at just going with the flow.  I don't flow well.  However, I've heard that practice makes perfect so again, I make a list in a hopeful kinda way and vow to just see where the day takes me!


5 Things for Thursday:

• Fax paperwork to Mr. Awesome's employer.  He was supposed to do it last night but forgot and of course it's needed today.
• Write up my grocery list for tomorrow's shopping trip.
• Return call to Sweetman Music regarding middle Oompa's clarinet.  Their repair estimate is $207....we found a complete set of replacement pads for $13.20.  Mr. Awesome is gonna take care of the repair himself!!
• Have dinner made or at least mostly assembled before I leave for work at 2:30pm.   As much as I would like to leave dinner plans up to Mr. Awesome I am a realist.  He doesn't cook nor has any desire to learn to cook.  On those rare occasions when he's called upon to provide a meal we end up eating take-out or chili or worst of all....take-out chili.
• My number 5 has stumped me.  Having to go to work this afternoon leaves me with a shortened day here at home.  I really don't know if I can commit to a 5th task on top of homeschooling the boy Oompa, laundry and those already on my list.  Thinking I'll leave this one blank for today!!

Productively Yours,
Deborah

She shoots and scores...not!!

Sigh, yesterday was not my most productive day.  I had to make a few last minute revisions to my list and while I did accomplish a few things, there were not those on my list.  Here's how it went...

• Layout pattern and get material cut to make girl Oompas' jammies I looked at the wrong material yardage when I was at the store and didn't have enough material to make the jammies...like not even close!!  I'll be stopping by the fabric store this weekend and as long as they still have the print in stock I'll get the extra I need.
• Make up and mail a care package to my wonderful in-laws who ran away to Florida I got out all the things I wanted to send to them but failed to find a box.  I'll rummage thru the recycle bin a t work to find a box and will ship it later this week. 
• Post a large bag of clothes and shoes I never wear to Freecycle-if you've never heard of it, check it out.  It's an amazing resource to receive and get rid of items that you are done with but not quite ready for the landfill. This was by far the easiest task on my list.  I posted the ad early in the day, had a response by noon and the bag was picked up around 7pm!!
• Research (that's what I'm calling net surfing) podcasts on iTunes.  A friend keeps raving about them and I really need to get with the times!!  Learned I can only search for podcasts thru iTunes which is installed on Mr. Awesome's computer.  I would have just jumped over 3 feet and booted his up except it's slower than molasses on a cold day so it seemed a huge waste of time.  I'll need a few hours dedicated to my search and therefore will postpone to a rainy, cold weekend. 
• Tear my computer room apart in search of the CD-ROM with the driver for our webcam.  It's a Microsoft product which means I can't download the driver from their website.  I'd like to take this moment to say I want an iMac.  I can't explain, well at least in words that are appropriate for public use, how much I dislike most Microsoft products.  The suck....I'll leave it at that.  I think the scary hairball monster stole the disc.  I'm gonna get ahold of a few techie friends to see if they can help me as a last resort.  Otherwise I'm putting the webcam on the shooting wall and working on my target shooting!!

Today hasn't fared very well either.  Wednesday mornings are dedicated for work at the camp.  I have the order I placed earlier in the week arriving and I have to meet with my favorite food rep to place an order from her company.  Not to mention the weekly staff meeting.   Normally, I'm in and out in a few hours but with the upcoming festival and subsequent HUGE order to deal with I ended up putting in a 6 hour day.  No school work was done, no laundry washed, no chore lists wonderfully checked off.  Nothing. 

I'm taking an hour to unwind mentally then will try and do something productive around here. A list would just be a waste of time today so I'm skipping it.  Maybe I'll make up for it by creating a longer list for tomorrow.  Or not!!!


totally unproductive......Deborah

5 things...

As promised, here's an update to my 5 Things post.  I know you all were waiting with bated breath to see if I was able to accomplish it all.  So here goes...
 
My 5 things for Monday, in no particular order:

• Work with Littlest Oompa on finishing his writing sample for school -We didn't just knock this out we tackled an entire day of school work.
• Make a batch of crock pot apple butter- This is still cooking away in the crock pot, it may not actually be done till tomorrow.  
• Wash and dry 1 load of laundry and fold the load that's sitting in a basket on the kitchen table-Didn't get to the folding part till late this afternoon, but it's all ready for the Oopmas and Mr. Awesome to put away!!
• Run into work to inventory and place this week's food order (1 hour maximum)- Unfortunately, this took more like 2 hours.  We are getting ready for one of our huge fundraising festivals and planning food for 800 or so is a little daunting.  I spent a little more time double checking than usual, but it got done.
• Sweep and vacuum floors...there is a serious hairball growing in the bathroom that looking like at any moment it's gonna spring up and attack someone....seriously.  It's totally grody. -I banished the hairball monster!!

I think my little experiment of broadcasting my to-do list to the world make me a little more accountable and less likely to dork off completely.  I have been know to dork off...I majored in dorking off in school.  I have a gift. 

My quandary (noun-state of perplexity or doubt and totally cool word) is this: Laundry is an everyday, never ending, life sucking, mind-numbing, face melting, dream haunting chore around these here parts.  Since running a load of laundry is a given during the course of my day should it take up valuable space on my daily list?   For the rest of the week I will not include laundry on my list and see how it goes. 

Let's see if I can keep it rolling!!  
My 5 things I really, really, really, really want to accomplish on Tuesday:

• Layout pattern and get material cut to make girl Oompas' jammies
• Make up and mail a care package to my wonderful in-laws who ran away to Florida
• Post a large bag of clothes and shoes I never wear to Freecycle-if you've never heard of it, check it out.  It's an amazing resource to receive and get rid of items that you are done with but not quite ready for the landfill.
• Research (that's what I'm calling net surfing) podcasts on iTunes.  A friend keeps raving about them and I really need to get with the times!!
• Tear my computer room apart in search of the CD-ROM with the driver for our webcam.  It's a Microsoft product which means I can't download the driver from their website.  I'd like to take this moment to say I want an iMac.  I can't explain, well at least in words that are appropriate for public use, how much I dislike most Microsoft products.  The suck....I'll leave it at that.

Well, wish me luck!!  I'd love to hear what's on your daily list!!

~Deborah

 

5 things...

I am a serial lurker over on Sufficientself.com and recently read and actually participated in a post titled "5 things". 

The idea was that if you posted, for the world to see, a 5 item long to-do list, you'd be more inclined to accomplish it.  It works, at least for me.  I didn't want to post a follow-up announcing my failure to the world.  I'm vain like that! 
I'll be the first to own up to my Super Woman complex and have at time set ridiculously high standards for myself.  I want to be a mix of Martha Stewart, P. Allen Smith, Rachel Ray, Dr. Oz and that freaky witch of a trainer from the Biggest Loser.  Um, can we say deluded??  I'm working on it.....really.  The biggest problem, for me at least, is when I fail at being all these amazing people wrapped into one, I get frustrated and shut down.  Thereby accomplishing nothing.  This would qualify as not a Good Thing.


That's kinda why the 5 things list appealed to me.  Accomplishing 5 things over the course of one day is easy.  
I'm gonna give it a try for the next week to see if I can actually be productive.

So...drum roll please....

My 5 things for Monday, in no particular order:

• Work with Littlest Oompa on finishing his writing sample for school
• Make a batch of crock pot apple butter
• Wash and dry 1 load of laundry and fold the load that's sitting in a basket on the kitchen table
• Run into work to inventory and place this week's food order (1 hour maximum)
• Sweep and vacuum floors...there is a serious hairball growing in the bathroom that looking like at any moment it's gonna spring up and attack someone....seriously.  It's totally grody.  

I'll post an update tomorrow night...once I've kicked this list's hiney!!

Happy 5ing...Deborah

90 days...11 hours...7 minutes and counting....

What am I counting down to??  Christmas, of course!!  The first day of fall came and went, the weather has cooled off, the ground is lightly littered with yellow and orange leaves and I'm in the Christmas mood!!  Does this mean I've decked my halls or strung festive lights off my gutters??  Uh, no.  I'm not that crazy.  I am however, rediscovering my love of sewing.  I enjoy making gifts for family at Christmas.  Now, don't get me wrong....a nice store bought gift that fulfills someone's wish list is usually what goes around here.  I just like to supplement with unexpected, homemade, love-filled gifts.

Problem is, I rarely can restrain myself into holding on to those early works until the special day.  Case and point: 

These flannel jammies were intended to be a nice extra under the tree.  You can see how easily I caved and gave them to littlest Oompa early!!!  "Uh, happy..um...um...Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, gah!!  Happy first day of fall...yeah, yeah that's it!! Happy first day of fall!"  Littlest Oompa just looked at me like I had suddenly sprouted horns.  Then he obligingly modeled them for this photo.  Isn't he cute???

The material is a amazingly soft flannel I picked up on sale for $2.99 a yard.  These snazzy, rocker jammies cost a total of $5.25 which includes the elastic for the waist.  Not a bad price even if you include my two hours of labor.  I used this Simplicity pattern which is great because it includes several sizes in one.

I will be able to use this pattern for many more years to come.  It's simple and the only modification I'll need to make in the future is a slightly larger neck opening.  Unfortunately, Little Oompa inherited my "big fat round Irish head".  Poor kid....if he ever goes bald he'll look like Charlie Brown!!!

I have several more pieces of flannel that I will use to make the girl Oompas some much needed jammies too. Do I have the will power to hold out till Chirstmas??  Probably not.  That just means I'll have to make several pair...one for now...one for later!!

Happy  uh, first day of fall??
Deborah

For Posterity's Sake...

My baby girl's first television appearance!!!



from stage left.....Deborah

I didn't feel the Earth move under my feet....

In case you've missed the news lately, there was an earthquake registering 5.9 in Virginia this afternoon.  Shock waves were felt all the way over here in Ohio.  Apparently by everyone but me!!  I recounted my whereabouts at the time everyone was freaking out and was outside, on my deck, teaching the littlest Oompa about the Beaufort scale for wind speed.  To quote Morales from A Chorus Line, "Nothing, I'm feeling nothing". 

I was totally bummed too!!  It's not like California where earthquakes are a common occurrence.  It would be an experience to be able to say I felt the Earth move.  Really move!!  When you think about what has to happen to create those tremors, large or small, it's really something amazing.  The tectonic plates have been a source of wonder and awe for me since grade school.  The crust of Earth is like one giant, shifting puzzle.  Yea, I'm a geek like that.

Now to make a left at Albuquerque....2 more of my precious hens are laying!!  I collected a grand total of 4 eggs from my coop today!!  I know the 2 Barred Rocks are laying and based on egg color I am certain that 2 of the Buff Orpingtons are now laying too!!  That leaves 1 Buff Orp and the 5 Americanas to get their acts together!! 

 

 

 

 

 

Ella-3 year old Barred Rock

Tiffany and Heather-2 Buff Orps

Amber-the 3rd Buff Orp

Americanas-Selma, Cylence and Victoria (not pictured is Cylence's twin-Noise)

Patti

Samantha-young Barred Rock

Victoria-the prettiest..in my opinion

On solid ground....Deborah

Melancholy and other fancy feelings....

Today is the last day of our "Week of Relaxation".  Yes, I named a week...I'm a little odd like that.  Summer camp was finally over which left me with one full week with no responsibilities outside our house before the Oompas re-started school.  One full week to sleep in and dork around...which I'm an expert at!!

We spent the week being lazy.  The kids played, we read and even spent an entire day swimming at the beach.  It was glorious.  But, sadly,  it has come to an end.  Today we are ending our fun week on a high!!  A shopping high!!  We'll be heading to the fabric store to buy materials to make new, insulated lunch bags.  We'll be clothes shopping for a few accessories and new bling, bling to start of the school year right.  We'll all be getting haircuts...I for one and am looking forward to this as I have come to resemble Cousin It lately.  Littlest boy Oompa's outlook on this task is bleak...he hates getting his hair cut!

We'll end out evening with a night out on the town, eating at a new Mexican food restaurant and watching movies.  Tomorrow we head to my brother's house for a mass August birthday party.  Seems December was a busy month for all our parents to "get busy"!!  We will be celebrating 5 August birthdays!!  I can hear the music now...bow chicka wow wow.  

After that party we head north to one of Mr. Awesome's friends house for another party.  Yea...we're just cool like that!!  Hopefully, I won't be too partied out to enjoy.  Not sure how the kids will do at this one....they will be the only kids in attendance save another couple's baby.  Note to self....pack a bag with toys and books!!  Sunday will be spent...hopefully, working around the house.  Thus ending my week of relaxation and fun. 

It seems that summer came and went so fast!  I have enjoyed having more time with my girls and seeing them off to school is bittersweet.  They are looking forward to seeing their friends again and getting back in the swing of sports and band but I'm gonna miss them!!   Maybe I should record one of their fights...that way when I get all misty-eyed about them being gone I'll have a reminder of how nice the quiet is!!!


~Deborah

Made in America Challenge

I'll openly admit I'm a little behind the times and news...I just heard about an ABC News special from February titled, "Made in America".  Over the course of 2 shows Diane Sawyer and a crew eradicate a family's home of all items not made in America.  The result?  They have NOTHING left!!  Crazy!!

The second part of the show revolves around the replacement or attempt to replace the items tossed out.  It was shocking how much of our daily goods are not produced stateside.  We wonder why America is in a recession/depression and our economy is tanking!!  We make nothing.  Mr. Awesome and I try to live my the creed that you can't consume more than you produce....if only the spendaholic powers that be would follow suit.

I have been watching videos submitted by like-minded individuals across out great but floundering nation in which they showcase items and brands still made in America.   While we don't have the money to throw out all our non-American made goods, I will shop more conscientiously.  Mr. Awesome and I have begun window shopping for a new living room suite and my eyes are peeled for that glorious Made in America sticker!

We the people made America what it was and I believe we the people can restore it!

Patriotically Yours, 
Deborah (Made in America)

A Good Day...

Life has been a bit of a struggle around these here parts lately.  I've been over-worked, tired, grumpy, had a stint with a stomach virus from hell and all while enduring  90+ degree days.  But today my friends is a good day!!  The weather has mellowed out a bit and my skin doesn't melt off after a few mere seconds outside.  In fact, we turned off our air conditioners a few days ago...crazy huh? 

Work is settling into a nice, even pace for me.  My newest cook is back after a death in the family had her on leave for a week.  We are half-way thru with the second to last week of summer camp.  I have everyone fully trained or at least close enough and will be enjoying a few more days off in the near future.

Tomorrow is a BIG day for our family.  The biggest Oompa will be competing at the state fair for her clothing project.  She's very excited and I couldn't be more proud of her.  Tomorrow is also my 35th birthday!!  My history with my birthday is a bit rocky.  It all started with my 17th....my Mom forgot!   That was a bad year for her and looking back I can understand how life's little distractions got in the way.  They did pull a last minute dinner out of thin air...complete with an over-the-hill cake that was special ordered but not picked up at the local grocery store.  Nothing says happy 17th like black and gray icing.  Other memorable birthdays have included attending a funeral, having my car break down and being stranded and having it COMPLETELY forgotten by Mr. Awesome!!

This year, my expectations are low...really low.  As much as I'd love the treatment April over on Coal Creek Farms got....a day of meals, shopping and long lost friends just isn't in Mr. Awesome's repertoire.  Due to us having to be at the fair all day, we will be celebrating the blessed day I arrived in this world over the weekend.  I just want the kids to get along, the lawn mowed and my chicken coop finished.  Of course, presents, cake, a massage, flowers, and all kinds of loving adoration would be appreciated too.  Snort...ha, ha, ha, ha....whew!  It's good to laugh!!

Peace and good tidings.....

One down....4 to go!

For my family, mid-summer marks the end of the 4-H season.  The kids have attended meetings all year, diligently worked on projects and this weekend will finish their club's float and booth presentation design.  Our fair is over labor day weekend but in order to know who goes to state fair we have to have everything wrapped up before then. 

This afternoon was our first of 5 projects to be judged.  Biggest Oompa took the Clothing for Middle School project.  She was required to make a top with sleeves or pants and a top with/without sleeves.  She opted for a really cute peasant blouse/tunic.  It is a stretch outside her normal, overly casual t-shirt and ragged cutoffs but really does suit her personality.  I allowed her to raid my jewelry box and I have to say she did an amazing job accessorizing!!  Better than I would have done!!

I can't get over how grown up she is!!  I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I am the mother to a teenager!!  I don't like teenagers...they're surly, smelly, lazy and always broke.  I wish there was a pause button on kids. 

 At any rate...we'll know tonight at the style review if she'll go to state fair.  Her second project , Creative Writing, isn't state fair eligible.  She would have smoked the other kids on that one!!  Middle Oompa will be showing her dog project tomorrow and the boy Oompa is still a Clubberbud (Cloverbud) so they have special judging.  Lastly, their entire club took on the project of Life Skills.  It taught many thing we take for granted like how to write a check, properly answer a phone, introducing a new person to others and so on. Very interesting and eyeopening on where the kids lack manners and sometimes common sense!!  Fingers crossed they all do well!!

My name is Deborah and I'm a 2nd year member of the Buckeye Brigade 4-H Club and I thank you for reading my blog!!

Time Flies.....

I would have finished that with, "when you're having fun",  but it hasn't exactly been all fun lately.  I preface this whining with the admission that I was warned.  K, my former boss, warned me that taking over as manager would come with headaches, frustration, a ton more hours and lots, I mean lots of phone calls and texts.  I heard her but it really didn't sink in.  You see, I have this deluded notion that I am Super Woman.   I get wild ideas that I can perfectly juggle as many roles as I want and it'll never come crashing down on my head!  I can be a dedicated homeschooling teacher, a gardener extraordinaire, an immaculate housekeeper, a devoted wife and mother and the most efficient food service manager.  To quote Dr. Phil, "How's that workin' for ya?".

Well Dr. Phil....it's not.  You see I learned this week that I don't have super powers.  Shocking right!!  Maybe if I get me a pair of them snazzy gold boots everything will work itself out.  No?  Oh, you think I shouldn't bite off more than I can chew.  What about a cape?  Capes ooze super powers.  No? Really?  You think I need to relax.  Well, well, well...you're a dumbass. 

I just completed my first full week as the manager and have never been so exhausted or frustrated.  Making the transition has been a little lot harder than I anticipated.  I'm a whiz at planning a menu and chopping for food for my family but making sure I don't run out of food for 100 ravenous campers is daunting.  I know that aspect will come in time but I've already had to make 2 runs to the local market to get extra items we've run out of.

The worst part for me is the actual manager role.  I am responsible for what comes out of the kitchen even when I'm not there.  I have 4 employees that I have to lead and encourage and at time correct.  Being a bit on the callous side I have caught myself several times from making harsh (yet correct) comments on their behavior and work ethics.  For those of you who ever watched That 70's Show,  I'm channeling Red Foreman.  Everyone's a "dumbass".  I know I lack a sensitivity in that department and am making it my goal to be more sensitive to my staff when they need help or have questions. 

It's all so exhausting.  I can't just leave after my shift...there's administrative work to be done.  I have gone in early almost every day to work on menus or ordering.  The only thing that's getting me thru is the knowledge that we only have 4 more weeks of camp left!!  It should slow down a little in September and October which will give me time to settle in properly.  Until then, I'll be curbing the urge to call everyone a dumbass and praying for happy hour!!

Because it's 5 o'clock somewhere....Super Woman

It's Official...

Today it was officially announced that I am,  or will be on July 1st, the new Food Service Manager at work.  This new position means I get to do things my way...mwhahahaha!!!  Okay, so I will get to change things up but not in an evil overlord kinda way.  After lengthy talks with the camp director we both are looking at taking the food quality in a better direction.  While it is camp, we shouldn't be limited to camp food.  We both want people to walk away saying, "Wow, that was a great meal" instead of , "Wow, that was great.....for camp food."

 I will slowly be incorporating fresher, less processed foods into the menu and am really excited about adding new foods to the repertoire. I've been paying attention to the types of foods and particular dished that are hits and misses.  I have a ton of notes and ideas that I can't wait to implement.  There are a few dishes in particular that I'm looking forward to "taking to the next level".

I haven't had a challenge like this in a long time and cooking and organization is one area where I can shine.  Fingers crossed the "management" aspect doesn't outweigh the creative outlet of the position!!

Bon Appetit....Deborah

Bureaucracy at it's finest

The events of today's travels tested my patience to their limits and I'm proud to day  I held it together!  In the words of Inigo Montoya, "Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up."  Mr Awesome and I were in need of a car.  Not a new car, just a beater that can better handle his new commute of 80 miles daily. His current car or as I call it, "his mid-life crisis car" was never meant to be driven on gravel roads or to have the wear and tear that those 80 miles daily can cause.  Our good friends Terri and Larry P. run a towing company and impound lost out near our in-laws place and happen to have a decent 95 Honda Accord for $350.  Um...hells yeah!!

Fast forward to today's hair pulling events which entail getting a salvage title and inspection.  Never again!!  We started off at the BMV over near the in-laws house to secure the permit to have the car inspected.  The permit, which allowed me to drive the car without tags for the day cost $53.50.  We then had to drive 75 miles north, past my home to the only inspection site with appointments open.  The site that was closest couldn't get me in until end of July!! 

I then had to get the old salvage title transferred into my name, an additional $29.50.  Back to the inspection office, car was approved, back to the title agency to have a "clean" title issues for another $16.  Then on to the BMV to get license plates costing $57.75.  Since my birthday is in August I was able to get 14 month tags and am good till 2012.

Throw in $20 in gas and our cheap little beater cost a whopping $510.75!!  Not too shabby for a solid, well running little car.  However, I will never, never, never go through that again.  The running back and forth between offices, the sitting and waiting....argh!!!  The BMV needs to take lessons from Walmart and offer one-stop shopping!!!

 greeting from the line @ the BMV....Deborah

What I learned from my Dads....

Yes, I intentionality wrote Dads...plural.  You see, I am blessed to have not only a biological dad, but the most amazing and loving step-dad, plus the sweetest and most fun father-in-law.  I drew the long straw in this scenario!!

The three men couldn't be more different.  We'll start with Ken, my biological dad.  I don't have any memories of him and my mom together as they divorced when I was 4 years old but my memories of our weekend visits will stay with me forever.  He used to sing silly songs to me all the time.  I was the only kid who knew the lyrics to the Pabst Blue Ribbon song and my favorite was this poem:

One dark day, in the middle of the night

Two dead boys began to fight.

Back to back they faced each other, 

drew their swords and shot each other.

Now a deaf policeman heard this noise, 

and came and killed those two dead boys.

If you don't believe my words are true, 

ask the blind man, he saw it too!!

Pops, as we have grown to call him, is a crotchety old man in every sense of the word. He's gruff, has little to say that is nice about the world and generally thinks everyone is a dumbass....but I love him.  Thanks Pops for teaching me tolerance by watching your actions and for giving me a love of silly songs!!

Jim, my beloved step-dad is a saint.  He married my mom and took on 3 more kids all under the age of 12.  At the time they married, he already had raised a family and his 5 kids were adults with kids of their own!!  Throw into the mix my sister, who challenged authority and was a parent's worst nightmare, and the man has earned his sainthood!!  Jim was a hardworking man and continued to work even after heart surgery and retirement.  He didn't want to sit still.  Up until a fall that left him with a fractured hip at the rip old age of 79, we worked full time at a local department store.  He was supposed to work in housewares but he ended up the official baby greeter.  Kids and babies love him and he loves them!!  From him, I gained my atrocious work ethic, my love of the University of Michigan (Go BLUE), the ability to use a jig saw and most importantly, a feeling of security and unconditional love. 

Lastly, but not at all least in importance is my amazing father-in-law, Chuck.  Or Ralphie, as I call him when I want to ruffle feathers!!  Chuck is another stand up man who married a woman with kids from a previous relationship.  Chuck jumped in to parenthood with both feet and an enthusiasm to be the best Dad he could.  Chuck is boisterous and animated and full of love.  I don't think he's ever met a stranger.  Chuck is able to converse with anyone and instantly make them feel comfortable and welcomed.  I think I love that the most about him.  I thank him for opening the doors for my relationship with God and for always being positive no matter how dark the situation.  He is most certainly a beacon of hope in my world.

 

 

On this Father's Day, I wanted to salute the Dad's in my life and I couldn't sign off before thanking Mr. Awesome too.  He's a wonderful dad and husband too.  I thank him for being active and engaged in the lives of the Oompas.  He's a teacher, disciplinarian, cheerleader, chauffeur, and someone who will love and accept them no matter what.  Thank you Mr. Awesome!!!

Off to hug a Dad.....Deborah

Whooo-Hooo...I get to pay the bills again!!!

Yes, I am excited about paying the bills and NO, I'm not crazy.  Well, actually I am a little crazy but it's not because I am looking forward to cutting checks to pay off debt!!

Yesterday marked the end of an era full of frustration and doubt.  Yesterday, Mr. Awesome received his first paycheck after a little over 8 months of unemployment!!  During that time we put all the medical bills and non-essential debt on "hold".  We were able to keep the utilities and house current but had to let our credit scores take a little hit by stopping payments to the various and numerous medical institutions we've graced with our presence.  I hated doing it but knowing I could put food on the table and keep the kids warm over this long and cold winter was more important.

Thanks to the miracle that is direct deposit, Mr. Awesome's first check arrived in our checking account before I even awoke yesterday.  What a great way to wake up!!  On my agenda today is writing up a budget and breaking back out our trusty envelope system.  Thank you Dave Ramsey!!  If you haven't heard of him...take a moment to check out his message and debt reduction system. 

For the first time in my life I am looking forward to writing checks and paying bills.  I quickly ran numbers in my head , which was a huge feat since I suck at math, and if my calculations are correct we're looking at making our debt free (except for the mortgage) yell in about 18 months.  It'll be sooner than that if I get the promotion to Food Service Manager at work. 

I know budgeting and money management are of great interest to a lot of folks right now so once I'm finished with my budget I'll post it up here for show and tell.  I will also be making frequent updates on how I do sticking to the new schedule.  Publicizing it will hopefully keep me on track and one or two steps closer to being debt free!!