Come on 2012!!!

Well, I survived the 2011 Christmas season.  I feel horribly guilty that I didn't enjoy the holiday and the time with family like I wanted.  I just didn't feel it.  I wanted to...really I did.  I watched Christmas movies, listened to Christmas music and replied with a very hearty, "Merry Christmas" to everyone who wished me a, Happy Holidays."  Yet, it never came. 

I even witnessed a Christmas miracle!  My family gathered at my brother and sister-in-law's house on Christmas Eve to be merry and exchange gifts.  For the first time, well, ever, my Dad and Step-dad were there at the same time.  Most of you won't get the significance of this but it's truly a miracle for our family.  There has been some serious animosity going on for the past 31 years!!  On a smaller scale, I was able to spend several hours in the company of my sister and we got along famously!!  No tension, no mumbling under our breath about each other, no drama.  

Santa was good to us as well.  Kids were ecstatic about their gioodies, Mr. Awesome© surprised me with a gift I've been wanting for several years.  Yet the Christmas spirit was elusive.  Maybe it was the warmer weather and lack of snow.  Maybe it was residual stress from a really crappy 2011.  Maybe my chakras were out of alignment!!  Who knows?  All I can say is that I'm looking to out it behind me and embrace 2012 with open arms. 

I'm resisting the urge to make flighty resolutions that I know I won't keep past January 15th.  I know I need to lose weight and eat healthy.  I know I need to get out of debt and reduce clutter in my home.  I look at these as works in progress and have set a deadline of my 65th birthday to have them all checked off my to-do list!!  Don't want to pressure myself.  All I resolve to accomplish this year is to relax and enjoy my life, my family and to try my best to not take for granted what God has blessed me with. 


See ya next year!!!
Deborah 

That Old Time Feeling....

Anyone else having trouble finding where they packed their Christmas spirit?  I could have sworn I put it in the box next to the stockings!!  I'm kinda feeling Charlie Brownish over here.  I've lost the true meaning of Christmas somewhere along the way. 

It's been a tense couple of weeks, with not knowing if Mr. Awesome© will work the week between Christmas and New Years.   Our dilemma is that he's only a contract employee which means no benefits and no vacation or holiday pay.  If the plant shuts down, he doesn't get paid and while we have a little in savings the cost of Christmas has eaten into it a little and making that ever important mortgage payment needs to be a priority.  Thankfully, he was told they were going to work at least a couple of days that week. 

I've also been wrestling with our lack of a home church.  Littlest Oompa has been asking every Sunday to go to church and I feel awful that we haven't gone.  The church we love is such a long drive, about 50 miles away.  Neither of our two cars is all that reliable and dumping 100 extra miles on them each week was rough on the cars and our wallets for gas.  I've "shopped around" a few other churches but haven't quite found the right fit.  We are Charismatic Christians and want to find a church with a Holy Spirit invoking praise and worship team, a pastor who teaches and makes you think and a congregation that is open and welcoming.  Throw in an active youth group and I'll be on cloud nine.

I think what this icky feeling really boils down to is that I need to feel connected, in some small way to making the next few weeks a little better for someone...anyone.  I feel this overwhelming need to do something, but I don't know what.  I read a blog post by a woman who made soup and bread to pass out from her car to the homeless.  I've read stories about individuals and groups taking up collections of food to give to families in need.  I guess, I want to find a family who is in the same position we were in last year and give them a glimmer of hope.  Hope.  I know I can't fix what ails them but hope is what got us through last winter and hope is something I can give.

Now I just need to figure out how.....Deborah

   

Giving Thanks....

I forget sometimes that I have it good.  It's easily done these days.  We all get so wrapped up in the day-to-day, mundane aspects of life that we don't take the time to reflect on where we are and what it took to get there.  The journey is often a front runner in our minds when we're struggling uphill but once we hit that plateau it slips to the back, out of out the line of sight.  As you well know...out of sight, out of mind.

My journey was brought to mind today when I learned that my brother-in-law (Mr. Awesome's youngest brother) was facing a tough time in his marriage.  His wife of 7 years has asked for a divorce.  It breaks my heart to see them both suffering.  We're not as close with them as I would have hoped or liked us to be.  There were and are several differences between us and them that have gotten in the way of a really close relationship.  We're considerably older than they are, have a much different interpretation of God's word, and we live an entirely foreign lifestyle to what they know and are comfortable with.  These past few, heart-wrenching weeks have brought us closer to his brother and we were able to enjoy some time with their children too.

It's also reminded me that while I don't have all of the "stuff" I want, I don't take exciting vacations, I can't fit into a size 4 and I'll never make it on American Idol.....I am blessed.  My cupboards are full, I have a house that's warm and bright, my children are healthy and when  life gets scary, I have someone's hand to hold while we walk thru the valley.

Gratefully Yours........Deborah 

The Things we do for Love...

Today is Mr. Awesome and my 12th wedding anniversary.  Google tells me that a traditional 12th anniversary gift is one made of either silk or linen.  Thankfully, I'm not a traditional kinda girl!!  I have been thinking back lately over the past 12 years....well really 15 years, that I've known Mr. Awesome.  Some of those years have been rough, of those rough ones a few were nasty but on the whole....we've been lucky. 

We've been fortunate to raise 3 healthy, loving, non-psychopathic children.  We've been able to purchase a house and even save it from foreclosure.  We've loved, laughed, yelled and cried.  We've flung insults, pillows and the occasional piece of food.  Kinda makes it sound like a frat party!! 

I couldn't ask for a better husband and father to the Oompas.  I have made it my mission to fulfill one of his biggest dreams this year.  To join a band.  Mr. Awesome's brother is in a band and they want him to join.  Problem is, he doesn't have a guitar of his own.  He's been playing our 8 year old's mini-Strat guitar!!  I've decided to make that my mission.  I'm taking inventory of all unnecessary things in my house that have any value and putting them up for sale.  I've even reached out to perfect strangers via Ebay in an attempt to raise money for this venture!! 

This past year was one of those nasty, rough ones I mentioned.  We did a lot of things we wished we hadn't had to do just to keep the family afloat.  We sacrificed, scrimped and humbled ourselves more than I thought possible.  It's time to show Mr. Awesome that it was appreciated!!  

Oh, the things we do for Love!!!!
Deborah

Therapy...Redneck Style

Feeling tense, keyed up and stressed??  Take a cue from me and my all natural, medication-free stress relieving therapy methods.  Whooo boy...I sure do feel better!!!!!





While your kids might not appreciate the destruction therapeutic effects, you'll instantly feel like your old self again!!


Peacefully yours.........Deborah

Society Needs a Wake-Up Call.....

I recently saw a front page, headline stunner..............Kim K was filing for divorce.  Really?  Really?? 

How, or should I say WHY, is this news??  The economy is in great despair, we still have troops deployed in foreign countries where they have no business being,  joblessness and homelessness are on the steady rise, we're headed into an election with candidates who have nothing but their agendas on the brain, protesters are voicing their disgust on Wall Street, chemicals are being sprayed overhead creating toxic soil and our country is being sold out from under us. Despite all of these news worthy headlines,  folks are gloaming on to this half-wit socialite who's only "somebody" because her daddy was rich, momma married an Olympic star, and she made one hell of a sex tape.

I can hear the argument now....."we need something to take our minds off the bleakness of our current situation."  I wholeheartedly agree. However, there are thousands of other, heartwarming, mood-lifting stories taking place around the country to be reported on.  Stories of people doing good and making the lives of those around them better.  People acting like decent, moral, giving, upstanding human beings. I for one, don't find solace in watching uber rich people who lack the common sense God gave a squirrel, blowing millions of dollars on a spectacle of a wedding for the sole purpose of showing off how much money they have to spend and how important they think they are to the world.  Throw in marrying a person you hardly know and you get one, or in this case, a whole family of truly ignorant, vapid souls.



I pulled out my trusty abacus and did a little ciphering.....for 10 Million dollars:

• you could feed 1538 families for 1 year
• you could save 80 homes in foreclosure
• you could run 20 homeless shelters for 1 year
• you could run 35 animal shelters for 1 year
• you could invest in several small businesses which would hire jobless folks and stimulate the economy 
• you could pay for 120 children to receive 30 days outpatient treatment at St. Jude Research Hospital

 I'm sure there are thousands of other worthy causes who would have benefited from a 10 million dollar donation and I know there are thousands of people in the world who would have benefited from never hearing about Kim K and her her useless clan. 


Disgusted at society.....Deborah

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.....