Valley View

Back on Schedule

2011-01-19T15:10:00.000-05:00

The past few weeks here have been torture with all the sickness going on! About 10 days ago, Alex got to not feeling to well- he started with a stuffed nose and dry throat and it moved on to a runny nose, fever, major deep cough and a hard time of breathing- three antibiotics and an inhaler later- not to mention the past 7 days off from school- and I think he's finally on the mend though! He could have went to school today, but I kept him home one more day just to be sure. He still has a cough, although not as bad as what it was, and I'm told that can last a long time still. He's down to using the inhaler only a couple of times a day and this last antibiotic seems to have done the job! So back to school tomorrow for him and hopefully all will go well!

On another note, Meg decided a few days ago she was going to get the flu out of the blue- we really don't know why- she hadn't really been around anyone to get it even- but she had a really rough 24 hours or so- went to the doctor's and got medicine and rebounded pretty fast, only to develop a cough and temp! Nothing to serious though and hopefully she will be completely better by next week when her college classes start back up!

Speaking of college - she starts Monday and work starts that week as well- she is looking forward to going back for the most part, but will be much happier if she can get into this one art class she needs to take before she can take any other studio art classes. She is currently wait listed for the class, but has talked to the professor and she has told Megan to come to class the first day- so hopefully that is a good sign that she will be able to get into it.

My classes have started this week - thankfully it's just a preview week though and they actually don't start until next Monday because the books I ordered on the 10th still haven't gotten here! I called about them Tuesday morning and they were going to ship them out, so I'm hoping UPS is going to show up with them yet today!

So, hopefully the sickness is gone from the house and everyone will be back on a schedule within the next week!

Dad's New Blog

2011-01-09T07:58:00.003-05:00

For those of you who might have noticed- my father's blog is gone that he has been writing on the past few years. However, he has a new blog and the link to the new one is on the right hand side of this page.

Time to Wrap up the Year

2010-12-20T10:24:00.000-05:00

Keeda being innocent under the tree!

She is now almost 8 months old and we've had her nearly 6 months!

As this blog sits here waiting for me each day, life seems to be passing by before I get a chance to update this as often as I would like to - so I thought I'd do another recap of what's been going on the past few months and sign out for another year!

Megan has made it through her first semester of college at St. Lawrence University. I believe it was a wake up call for her in the fact it wasn't everything she had been dreaming it would be- she didn't like the dorm life at all and was very thankful for living just 15 or so minutes away from home so she had to spend very little time in the dorm sleeping and while she had some challenges with her classes not being what she wanted, she made it through those as well and got a lot of requirements out of the way for graduation- paving the way to a happier future there (hopefully)! Just waiting on her final grades to be released in January and enjoying her break- she doesn't return to studies until near the end of January.

Alex is doing much better in school this year and although we have our challenging days it's better than it was last year. My goal is to still get him through this year ( 10th grade ) and then into BOCES where I think he will be much happier for half of the day. His grades are better, he's doing his homework and at least trying this year, so I can't complain to much about that. A few weeks ago he started playing indoor soccer at the Boys & Girls club again- he used to play sports there all the time, but had given it up- I'm glad to see him out and about doing something again! He also still enjoys playing Dart Baseball on Friday nights with his great-uncle and cousins team. He is on vacation until January 3rd and glad of it! He technically has school today and tomorrow but I told him he could take the two days off- it's hard enough to get him to go on regular days, let alone when they are watching movies and having xbox tournaments and such in school- I mean seriously- why bother having school- oh, I know why- that little thing called State Aid the school needs!

As for myself, I have also finished up another semester of college- I won't have a 4.0 average like last time, but still did well considering everything. I know I will get an A in English Lit 102- I have a B+ in Accounting ( not bad considering I honestly learned nothing in that class! ), and B+'s or A's in my business classes- final grades haven't come out for those yet and still missing to many assignment grades to know for sure yet. Over all, I'm just glad to have this semester done with- hopefully Meg will be more settled with school in the Spring, therefore allowing me to be more settled as well with my own studies. I am enjoying the classes though and it keeps the mind working and that is a good thing.

On Thursday the 9th, I started having terrible ear pain in my left ear. Now mind you I have chronic ENT problems, so I really didn't think much of it. I started taking my Cipro that I have several refills on and figured it would go away. However, by early Sunday evening, I was in such pain I could no longer take it anymore- the pain was not only in my ear, but the back of my head and the bone area around my skull- truly one of the most painful things I've experienced- I went to the ER room and they guessed I had a middle ear infection although they couldn't see anything. They gave me drops to instill in my ear for the pain, a percoset for the pain ( which did nothing ) and told me to switch to the Amoxicillian that I had and to follow up with the ENT if it didn't improve in a few days. All sounded well, although I was still in a lot of pain, I continued to just figure it would get better- after all I've been going through this for at least the past 16 years. Tuesday morning, I woke up at 6:15 to get Alex up for school- had a bowl of cereal and was able to eat just fine- an hour later, I went to brush my teeth and when I went to spit, I couldn't spit- it just went everyplace and I felt like my mouth was frozen on the left side like I'd been to the dentist and had it numbed. After getting the toothpaste out of my mouth, I made some facial expressions in the mirror that completely alarmed me and made me think I was having a stroke- it really was what it looked like. I started going through my "ABC's" and "123's", names of family, etc. and the "brain" seemed to be functioning fine- so I was just unsure what was going on. I went ahead and showered and got dressed, and then woke up Ben and told him I thought I'd had a small stroke or was having a bad reaction to the medicine I had been given. We went to the ER and after doing a CT scan, they determined I did not have a stroke and everything looked great on the CT scan. Apparently the inflammation in my cheek and around my ear had gotten so bad that it was pinching on the facial nerves and muscles causing Bell's Palsy to happen- this was very frightening, but looking back at it and I've said it daily since- it could have been a LOT worse even for Bell's Palsy. Most people who develop Bell's don't have any control of their nerves/muscles and it looks just like they have had a stroke- some - most are not even able to close their eye, blink or anything else. I was mostly affected around the mouth area- I'm assuming because it was brought on my the otic nerves / ear problems. I was given Predisone to reduce the inflammation and told to follow up with the ENT. I spent the next couple of days researching everything I could about my new condition and each time I read about it and saw photos, continued to say this is bad, but I could have it a lot worse- thankfully I don't- even if it never improved, It wasn't very disfiguring or confining and I could live with it certainly. Thursday the 16th I went to see my ENT and he put me on Valtrex as well as the prednisone. Valtex is an Anti-Viral medication used to treat viral infections- which they think I have, which caused the inflammation to flair up, etc. - since starting to take that, I have terrible hot flashes/fevers, but I'm going to assume it's working in fighting the infection. The Bell's continues to improve a little each day- as silly as it sounds, I have much more control over "spitting" than I did that first day and while It's not 100%, I'm still seeing improvements each day, so I'm still hopeful for a full recovery. My smile is almost back to normal, I have pretty much the full tastes of foods back and no more pain on the left side at all. Now, I've developed pressure/fluid build up in my right ear though and it hurts to move my jaw - and waiting to talk with the ENT after he is out of surgery to see what to do about that. My right ear has been very sensitive since all of this has happened- noises seem ten times louder to me in the right ear and there has been a lot of popping- it may just be the imbalance between the ears causing the pain- but I'm not going to take a chance and let it go! I don't want Bell's happening on the right side!

With all of this going on, it's hard to believe Christmas is in just a few more days- I've been enjoying the decorations of the season for the past month and will be sad to see them packed away for another year! Christmas day itself is not celebrated out of religious views for my family and I- but it's a time of celebration and giving to those you love- a day set aside to let people know you care- but I have to admit, it was a lot more fun when the kids were little and believed in Santa and Rudolph and we would track the slay and such- although I enjoy the seasonal decorations- December 25th is just another day to me anymore- then again, the older I get, most holidays are like that- I suppose they will be until I have some grandkids to share them with and witness the innocent magic of the holidays with!

I'm thankful for all of my family each and everyday and I believe they know that and that is the most important thing. To everyone in the blogging world- I wish you health and happiness and hope you have a wonderful 2011!!

Cutting Board For Grandma

2010-10-17T12:54:00.000-04:00

In school this year, Alex is taking a woodworking class- it's one of the classes he enjoys a lot. His first project of the year was to make a cutting board as seen in this photo:

The board is made of several pieces of wood that are glued together - I don't know exactly everything he did, but it started out as just raw pieces of wood and he had to cut, sand, plain, shape stain, etc. - I do know he got to use several tools and enjoyed the project a lot. He was pretty proud of his work on this and he should be as it turned out terrific!

The cutting board he gave to his grandma Lawton as a gift!

2010-10-04T06:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Ben and I went for a drive to view the beauty of the season- it was a mostly sunny day and we had a terrific drive up through Colton, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, St. Regis ~~Falls~~ and then back home again.

St. Regis Falls has terrific memories for me as we did a lot of camping there when I was growing up and made a lot of good memories with great friends. One of my favorite sounds in the entire world is to listen to the falls. I remember growing up, laying in the top bunk of the camper going to sleep and just listening to them and enjoying the sound- when we'd leave- I'd truely miss them - today sitting beside them brought back all of those memories. I could have stayed there for hours just listening and looking at the falls. Now, 25 years later, my father takes my son there fishing- hopefully one day, my son will take his kids there as well.

I have to admit though, the campground certainly has changed since we used to go there in a lot of ways- a new bridge has been installed across the water and there seems to be a lot of seasonal campers set up there- as there were satelites attached to trees to receive cable service and the campers had mini decks with lawn furniture on them and lots of yard decorations- certainly not what we saw when camping there lol -

Here are a few photos that we took while at the campground and in the village of St. Regis -

Here are a few taken along the route in Colton NY :

And a Few in Tupper Lake NY- we had fun feeding the 4 mallards and even the seagulls -

Catching up on life!

2010-08-06T20:57:00.000-04:00

Wow-- this summer is really cruising by- I never meant to go this long without updating this blog, but somehow, I find it easier to send a quick message every so often on Facebook than to sit and write about things!

Since Megan graduated the end of June, she has been enjoying her summer with her friends and busily getting ready for college. I can't believe it's just a few short weeks now and she will over to SLU in the dorm room and not at home all the time anymore! We are really excited for her though and looking forward to this next chapter in her life!

Speaking of chapter's in her life- Meg is now an AVON representative- http://mroyce.avonrepresentative.com/ - that is her AVON website- you can order right offline from her and orders of $30 or more gets FREE Shipping! She thought this would be a fun new way to meet people over at college and I agree. It' only cost her $20 to join and will be a good source of some extra income hopefully too!

On top of that, she also got a job working in the Government section of the ODY library on campus - she starts work Monday for some paid training and works everyday except for Tuesday- then I don't think she knows anything after that yet.

SO-- lots of things happening with Meg!

Here are a few photos of her summer!

and a few of the artwork pieces she's drawn this summer:

Alex has been enjoying his summer as well - it was a BIG relief that he ended up passing every one of his classes at school and he will be entering into the 10th grade the beginning of September. I think ( I hope ) he's learned his lesson in the fact that he needs to do homework next year!

For a few years, Alex has been wanting and wanting a puppy - but I kept saying NO because he never wants to do anything except what he wants when he wants- which doesn't work well with a puppy- well, I was so happy he passed all his classes, I have into him and we drove to Booneville back on July 2nd and picked up a 8 week old Beagle puppy we've named Keeda. She is ADORABLE- and I have to say I've fallen in love with her just as much as everyone else- she's sweet and for the most part a really good puppy- she of course likes to chew, but if she has toys out or a rawhide bone - she's pretty good about not messing with anything else. She loves to play, and is pretty much potty trained- she hasn't had an accident in the house in days now, but you have to be attentive to her and take her out all the time- she occasionally goes to the door and sits to go out, but not often. She whines still when things don't go her way- and only barks at the cats when they won't play with her- then she looks around and wonders where the barking noise is coming from-- it's very cute! Alex is just in love with her and is taking good care of her and being attentive to taking her out- even at 2 in the morning! Here are some photos:

I love this above photo - we put a gate in the hallway to keep her from going places we don't want her too and she doesn't think this is fair at all! LOL

and this is a pic of her today ( the others were right after we got her at 8 weeks old) - she is 12 weeks here- she's about 9 pounds and growing- but not to fast and hopefully she won't get to big either- I'd rather she stay as small as possible!

Next are a couple of photos with Alex holding a baby for the first time- he even asked to hold her- he wasn't prompted at all- he was so cute with her-- the baby is my husband's niece's daughter Lillian born early June.

We've just been enjoying the summer- it's been a really hot one as some of you know, so haven't been out as much as I'd have liked to have been. My father and I made a couple of trips to the Watertown area doing genealogy research, but not as many as I'd hoped for- it's just been to hot to be outside walking much. Hopefully we will get in a few more trips before the weather turns cold though.

This time of year is my favorite time- from now until the end of October- there is a cooler, crispness to the air at night ( it's only 59 degrees right now) and I have the windows open- during the day, it just is beautiful weather- just needs to get a little cooler. I love the change of the leaves and noticed yesterday on the way home from shopping with mom that some of the trees in a field of Burt Carr's were already turning colors- to which I was surprised at!

Megan has graduated!

2010-06-26T19:17:00.000-04:00

I still don't really have words for the graduation experience at this point- other than to say it was wonderful - but will share some photos of her for now --

Happy Father's Day to my Dad

2010-06-20T09:34:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, I honestly didn't realize Father's Day was even today until I read a bunch of posts on Facebook where people were saying Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. When I was a child, these little "holidays" always seemed like such a big day to me- WOW a day just for Dads, Moms, and so on- how neat and I'd go out of my way to create something for the day or whatever. As I grew older, I would have a special meal - then as I've grown even older, had my own kids and so on, I tend to think these "holidays" are just a way to get people to spend money on senseless things- do I really need to buy a plaque that says You're the BEST dad, or a $5 paper card that will be tossed in a drawer to tell him I love him? I used to think so, but not anymore. To me, it's just another day whether it's Mother's Day, Father's Day, President's day, Easter, or whatever. I'm not a big holiday person.

My dad and I have always been close - when I was little I would sit on his lap and count his "boo boos" on his hands- my father worked hard every day to provide for us and would come home with numerous little cuts and scrapes- I don't know why I like to count them all, but I did. I also was fascinated with combing his hair- again, I would do this over and over- comb it, mess it up, and comb it again- and he let me.

I remember once or twice a week we would go to my Uncle Burt's Farm to get milk fresh out of the tank at his farm. We had 4 big gallon ( or bigger?) glass containers that fit into a wooden crate and we'd go over, visit for a bit and then gather the milk up in these jars and bring them home. We did this until Dad had his heart attack and they said he should be healthier in his eating- I think this is when we switched and started buying 2% from the store - I believe the milk from the farm would have an inch or two if cream on the top you'd have to skim off from it.

My dad took the family camping every summer and I have many found memories of camping with family and friends growing up. We took Motorcycle trips - whether it be for the day or him picking me up from my sister's in Virginia and bringing me home on the motorcycle.

My dad bought me cars to drive, didn't kill me when I got into accidents - just replaced the windshield, headlights, or whatever and took it all in stride.

We used to go get he newspaper at Fay's Drug store just about every night during the week for a long period of time. Dad was always doing something crazy like walking around the entry way bushes in circles just to embarrass me- I remember one time in the store, he looked in his wallet and told me he had $5 - it was all he had until the end of the week, but if I wanted something, I could get it- I told him no, I didn't want anything- and it's not like the only time he'd ever asked me if I wanted something I'm sure- I was always getting little trinkets- but that one time has stuck in my mind for many many years.

In the summer my dad would sometimes come pick me up when he was working if he had to go a long distance for the day and take me with him- I used to feel so special getting to go in his work truck and be with him for the day- it was always so much fun- and I'd tag along at night sometimes helping him fix someones furnace that had called- let me tell you- girl or not- I bet if I had to, I could bleed a furnace line, adjust the height of the flame and change a nossil- I'm sure I was more of a pain to him at times that helpful, but never the less, along I went.

I was a pain in the butt growing up and probably sometimes as an adult as well, but I never once felt as if I didn't have this unconditional love from my dad. I'm so very thankful that my kids have grown up knowing him and felt this love as well. My kids adore my father and their entire life is filled with wonderful memories of him just like mine.

I could keep going on and on and on about my dad- as you can see, I have many many fond memories of my dad- I truly love my dad and appreciate everything he's always done and continues to do for me. I don't think he needs a "special day" for me to tell him I love him- because I know he knows how special he is to me each and everyday.

Dad- Happy Father's Day- not just today, but everyday- I love you and am so very thankful to have you in my life, living right next door, sharing the joys of the kids with me and continuing to make wonderful memories.

Megan's Class Ring

2010-06-16T10:07:00.001-04:00

Yesterday the UPS truck stopped here and Meg grabbed the package and brought it in to me- it had an address on Minn. on it, but no company name or anything. I had no idea what it was, so I opened the package with her standing about two feet from me. Upon opening it, I still didn't know what it was- it appeared to be a little black box with a cardboard/paper thing over it- I was reading that as I was pulling the black box out from inside of it- I said " OH!! It's your class ring" before I could even stop myself. I had ordered in on May 24th, but did not receive notice that it had shipped yet, so I had no idea. It was a surprise that the package was the ring- well of course there was no turning back as to what it was- so no special moment so to speak to present her with the ring- but she loves it and that is all the really matters.

Class rings have come a long was since I got mine 20 years ago, and they carry a pretty price tag as well. Here are a few photos of it- she of course designed it herself and I wasn't to keen on it when she designed it, but now that it's here- I adore it and it fits her personality perfectly- it's hard to tell, but there are two diamond accent stones on each side of the bigger stone.

Random thoughts and happenings

2010-06-15T08:36:00.000-04:00

It's been a while again since I've posted anything here- during the day, I can never seem to think of anything to post- then at night while laying in bed trying to fall asleep, I think of lots of things, but always forget by the morning! I think I need a notepad to write things down on! Anyway- I thought I'd just do a random post of things that have been happening here as well as random thoughts on things-

Finally got the house sided completely- I had to hire someone else to do it that cost me $650 - I'm still frustrated about the whole ordeal- but got tired of waiting over 3 years for what took the new people less than 8 hours to complete- which honestly made me even more upset that it took such little time, yet the original person hired to do the job couldn't take time and come back to finish it. My mother gets upset with me that I don't just forget about it - and I've really tried, but it's a matter of principle- not to mention the fact if it wasn't family I paid to do the job, it never would have dragged on this long. Most people would have taken the issue to court to get the money back, and had it not been family I might have, but as annoyed as I am, I'd never go down that route with family.

It's getting closer and closer to Meg's graduation- only 10 more days- I can't wait for her to be done with high school, but I think it's going to be a LONG summer for her. She is really anxious to get to SLU and is already bored with nothing to do. I've been encouraging her to get a job- not for the money of it really, but for something to do and it will do her good to get out of the house and around people. I think she's going to have a big awakening when she goes to college with all the different people around her!

Alex has just two more regents to take this week and he will be done with everything for the school year- still on pins and needles to see which classes he will end up passing. I know these two regents he must pass in order to get credit for the course- so I'm crossing fingers that he does. He thinks he did really well on his social and English finals and he probably did- but I'm not sure it will be enough to carry him into a passing overall average. I think- I hope he's finally learned his lesson though that he can't expect to breeze through the classes anymore without doing homework. I'm hoping for a better school year in the fall, but I don't know... time will tell. It's frustrating because he's so smart- but just doesn't want to apply himself. He dislikes school SO much.

My niece Katie came for a visit for a few days- it was great to see her- she's now back in Texas living with her mom again - I hope that it goes well- I hope she doesn't fall back into the same pattern as she was in a year ago. She has goals to get a job and go to college- so I hope she goes through with it and keeps that attitude up.

I've been really extremely bored without my college classes- I ended the semester on the Dean's list, which was pretty nice- that 4.0 really boosted my confidence - and made me think- wow, if only I'd cared back 20 years ago, how things might be different today- but we can't live in the what ifs and in reality- I wouldn't change anything, because I love my kids immensely and wouldn't ever want life without them.

Although I'm bored- I can't seem to motivate myself to do anything- I should be working on my websites, I should be adding photos to my dad's website, I should be going researching with him, I should be doing lots of things- or could be doing lots of things- put it that way- but I just have no motivation. The last few weeks with Alex and school have been emotionally draining though, and I think it's just all catching up with me- where I just don't want to do anything.

Well, that's some of what's been going on here- it will be another day of doing laundry, dishes, floors, etc. - nothing to exciting- but I'm glad to see that the sun is out today even if it is only 57 degrees!

A Beautiful Day - so much going on!

2010-05-27T17:38:00.000-04:00

This has been a busy week! I have been finishing up items for my niece Natosha's baby shower on Saturday- I will take some photos and post them in another post - I've finally gotten most of that done and just waiting for her dad to come and pick it all up tomorrow.

I got a call from school on Tuesday telling me that Alex had been in an altercation with another student and was getting 5 days out of school suspension- lets just say I was NOT happy about this at all- and I hope he grows and matures soon!

Then I found out my niece Katie who has been staying with her sister Amber down in the Albany area is leaving the beginning of June to go back with her mother in Texas, so I paid for a ticket to fly her up here for the next several day to visit with all of us before she leaves. She's 17 now- and I think was only 11 or 12 the last time she was up here. I booked her flight I "thought" for today- when Amber and her arrived at the airport and gave them the printed e-ticket- the agent looked at then and said -- "your flight was yesterday" -- they were like WHAT?!!?- Neither of them caught that I'd made the mistake when booking it and I of course didn't either. Thankfully- we live in a very little town and the flight coming here was actually empty so they told her it was ok they would just switch the date. So, she was the only one on the little 8 seater plane coming here - besides the pilot of course- she was a little nervous- she's flown a lot, but I "forgot" to mention to her how small the plane was lol - I think she thought she was going to antartica or something- maybe flying around the mountains of Alaska- thankfully the flight was only about an hour long! All is well- she got her safe and it's good to see her!

Megan was supposed to go on her senior trip to NYC this weekend, but has decided not to go- she's got a really sore back for the past few days again, which I think is starting to feel a little better, but she didn't think it would be much fun to go walking around a ton- plus, she doesn't really like to be with people for long periods of time - so in the end, it probably worked out for the best that she didn't go.

The fishing trip that wasn't

2010-05-23T16:37:00.000-04:00

Last week sometime, my father told Alex that they, along with my Uncle Ron ( my mom's brother in law) would go fishing today. Alex loves to do anything with his grandfather so he was pretty excited about it the past few days. During the night last night, I woke up a few times and noticed Alex was still up playing games on the computer- I woke up at 4:30 AM and he was still awake- I mentioned the fishing trip and asked him if he didn't think he should get to bed? I never really got an answer, but I think he went shortly there after.

At 7AM the alarm went off to get Alex up to go fishing- because he takes about an hour at least to get ready and my dad had said somewhere arounf 8 or 9 they would leave. Well, after trying for about 30-35 minutes of getting him up and him not budging, I got tired of it and told him either he gets up, or I'm not coming back into his room again - he just wouldn't go. (you have to take into consideration it's a constant battle every weekday to get this kid out the door to school and by the end of the week, I'm wiped out from it). Well he didn't get up, so I called my mother, told her I was giving up on him and going back to bed myself. It would be a lesson learned for him. If he wanted to go - he should get up.

Well, my father left to go fishing and Alex finally got up about 30 minutes or so after he left- if that- it wasn't very long- and of course was incredibly mad at me that "I" didn't get him up to go fishing- well, one, he is 15 years old- he should be getting himself up to go fishing AND to school- but I DID try to get him up- he's been angry with me all day because he didn't get to go fishing with his grandpa and now I feel guilty for that because it's a day for the two of them they won't ever get back together and had I tried harder, I could have gotten him up. Worse part is, I don't think he's learned a thing from today other than mom is mean and didn't get him up to go fishing!!

PS- HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT ROSIE!

4.0 - not to shabby

2010-05-21T12:27:00.000-04:00

FINALLY got my final grades for my first semester back at school in 20 years- 4.0 it is! Couldn't ask for anything better- other than that fact I LOVED each of my classes and completely enjoyed the learning experience. I can't wait for next semester to begin- thinking I should have taken a summer class- but time will fly by this summer with getting Megan ready for college as well.

I haven't received anything official in the mail yet- only what's been posted online- but I got an A in each class- I don't know if I will get something that tells me the actual number grade to the class or not. I know I had a 98 in Business Math- and the rest weren't far behind- everything was over a 95 I believe.

Yupp- I'm grinning from ear to ear- so happy!

How to follow other blogs- for Aunt Lori

2010-05-19T10:25:00.001-04:00

Log into your blog

you should be on your dashboard

instead of clicking on new post to write on the blog, click on layout

once on the layout page, you will see add a gadget- click on that

a pop up window will open up
scroll down until you see where it says blog list - it's about the 8-10th item down the list I'd say- click it

this will bring up another window that says configure your blog list

click on add a blog to your list

type in the URL- for instance the URL to my blog is

http://www.lifewithavalleyview.blogspot.com/

click add

then to add another listing such as dad's blog-

click on add to list and add in the URL to dads blog which is

http://the-old-curmudgeon.blogspot.com/

and keep repeating until you are done.

The URL to Rosie's blog is

http://beenthinkinboutthings.blogspot.com/

and Joanna's is

http://billyjo971.blogspot.com/

when done, click on save

You now should have the list of blogs saved.

go to your blog page and view it- and you should now see the list of blogs on the right hand side of the page that you just added- when the people update the blogs, you will be able to see they have been updated right from your own page- it will say something like updated 6 hours ago or something like that.

Let me know if you get it to work!

The day has come and gone!

2010-05-15T19:31:00.000-04:00

Today went by really fast- I woke up around 7 AM and enjoyed the morning playing my games on Facebook and not so patiently stalking my online class area looking for my grades - which of course I still don't have!
Alex was supposed to go get his hair cut and portrait taken today- but typical Alex - " I don't want to today" - I didn't feel like arguing with him- it wasn't worth it- he'll get it done when he feels like it.

Meg was filling out paper work for college yesterday and you have to submit a photo to be used on the college ID- whatever happened to them taking a photo once on campus, I have no idea- but this lead to Megan needing to have her hair cut- which she's been wanting to do anyways. After her hair cut, instead of just using the digital camera to take a photo, Meg thought we should get a portrait taken- well- it's only $9 at WalMart- so who cares- if that makes her happy- so be it- (even though we just had senior portraits in the fall) - so off to Walmart we went to have it done- quick, easy and we were out in about 10 minutes- couldn't have been any faster.

Next stop was the vision center right in WalMart. Megan has been seeing the same eye doctor there for a few years now. She has perfect 20/20 vision, but the muscles in her eyes don't work correctly- he refers to her as having a eighty year old persons eyes - basically when she watches to much TV, reads to long, computer, and so on, everything goes out of focus for her and it's blurry- so, things don't work exactly as they should. She had a pair of glasses that had a "crutch" in them as the eye doctor called it to help with this, but after several months, it was no longer working. For the past few months, he's had her trying to do eye exercises to strengthen the muscles, but they give her terrible headaches and make her eyes twitch terribly at times. On the visit today, he fitted her for another pair of glasses with another "crutch" in them- but basically told her, there really isn't a lot to be done for her unfortunately- there is no operation to fix the muscles and she doesn't require glasses for vision- her eyes are almost a mystery as to why they are the way they are. We will wait a few months and see how she does with these glasses and until after she goes to see the neurologist in June and go from there to a specialist if we need to.

After this, we came home and I supervised hubby planting the rest of the flowers in the new flower bed in front of our deck. We need to get about 5 or 6 more to finish it up- hopefully I'll do that in the next day or two. Ben has worked really hard at the flower bed and it looks great.

Been doing laundry and picking up the house because Meg has a friend coming home with her tonight after bowling to spend the night. They are supposed to work on their senior scrapbook- but I don't know how much she will get done!

This day has just flown by and I'm headed to bed really soon!

The Missing WalMart Bag

2010-05-12T05:22:00.000-04:00

When Ben went to town yesterday, I asked him to stop at WalMart and pick up a cord that Alex needed to allow him to use his TV as a monitor to his computer, instead of the monitor. He came home with the cord, but when Alex hooked it up after school, he had picture only and no sound. I called WalMArt and asked them if we needed a different cord or what? They said, we needed an additional cord and it was $6 ( we already spent $20 on the first one). I told the guy working that my daughter was coming in to town and asked if he'd hold the cord at the counter so she could just pick it up. He agreed.

Megan was going out with her friends to the bowling alley, so I asked her to stop by WalMart and get it which she happily did. She then continued on to JoAnn Fabrics across the streeet and got herself a tote to put scrapbooking things in and then to the movie rental place. She placed all these items into the trunk when she went to the bowling alley.

Once again, Ben had to go to town to get some things to finish planting flowers around the deck tomorrow. I asked him to take my set of keys and stop by the bowling alley and grab Alex's cord-then he wouldn't have to wait for Meg to get home to hook things up. He agreed, so he comes back home with the cord about 8:00 PM.

About 9:30 PM Megan calls me on her cell phone and says almost in hysterics- "MOM!!! MOM!! Someone stole the cord- someone stole the WALMART BAG!!!!!" - I played it up a little bit asking her what she was talking about- and she reminded me how she went to WalMart, got the cord and so on- and now it was JUST GONE!!! But everything else was there and she had Dustin and Nick searching the car- under the seats everything and couldn't find it- by this time, I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my cheeks- she didn't quite get it and kept saying NO MOM you don't understand it's GONE_ someone broke into the car! I finally got out that it was ok that I had it- the only part she heard was "it's ok" - and she was still in hysterics saying NO MOM, it's NOT OK.. they STOLE IT!!! -I said MEG- I HAVE IT IT'S OK!!! - Then she real calmly says- what?? you HAVE it? How'd you get it? and in the same breath she says DAD CAME TO TOWN DIDN'T HE?!!?!? - I started laughing again and said yes and she turns to the guys and tells them and they start laughing as well- somehow poor Meg didn't find the humor in this AT ALL.
Never did I think she would do anything with the items until getting home - and I even wondered if she would remember that she had gotten the cord. Well, she figured she'd take the stuff out of the trunk there at the Bowling Alley instead of at home in the dark. I did feel badly for her but in the end, it was still REALLY funy and she laughed about it once she got home too.I don't think this is one we will forget for a while.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T06:01:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's day to my mom Nora Lawton- as I've gotten older, these "holidays" seem more like a great way to sucker people into paying for over priced greeting cards and candy- which I refuse to do anymore. When I was younger- up until a few years ago even, I always bought a gift for every holiday imaginable- sent flowers, bought cards, or something- but now, I hope that my mother ( and others in my life ) know that I love them 365 days of the year- it doesn't take a holiday to have to tell me that I love someone.

As I tell my kids, everyday is Mother's Day, and Father's Day and so on- I don't expect or want a gift- having them as my children 365 days a year is gift enough. I don't need a national day to be recognized. Trust me, I'm recognized quite enough- hundreds of times a day I hear the word mom from my kids- that's all I need. I'm thankful to have them- lucky to be their mom and although we have our ups and downs and disagreements like any other family, I wouldn't trade them for the world. They make everyday worth it.

Just as I know I was a pain in the butt growing up sometimes to my mother- things have changed since I became a mom and grew up some I guess. My mom and I enjoy each other's company going shopping and doing things that women do and we talk everyday on the phone. Living across the driveway from them, we are able to sit on the deck and talk with each other and watch nature at it's finest. Life is good, I love my mom and have learned to appreciate my mom as times gone on.

Be sure to tell your parental figure how much you love them while you can- not just today on Mother's Day, but everyday.

Made it through another year

2010-05-03T00:33:00.000-04:00

Yesterday ( since it's after midnight now ) was my wedding anniversary- I'm happy to say we've made it through some really rough times - although it's not always easy, we both hang in there. Today we decided to go for a drive and ended up going to the Casino up on the reservation in Hogansburg. Neither of us had ever been and it's only about a 45 minute drive. We spent about 2 1/2 hours there and that was enough for both of us- we didn't win anything- well, what little we did win at one point or another we lost again. We spent about $40 between the two of us and had a really good time. We only played the penny and nickel machines- but there were quite a few to choose from. I wouldn't want to be addicted to this- you could drop some serious cash in a matter of moments- they have $1, $5, $10 and so on machines- just before we walked out the door hubby had one $1 bill left in his pocket and dropped it in the machine and pulled the handle- nothing- zilch- nadda- but the $1 gone in a pull of the handle lol- all in all it was a really fun day though- something out of the ordinary we don't normally do.

On Saturday ( May 1st), Ben and Alex went to Gouverneur to his nephew Roger's wedding. He married Brandy finally. They had a really great time up there- it's been about 3 years since Alex has seen some of the relatives up that way, so he was really happy to have everyone in one place. I didn't go because I've been battling throat issues all week and didn't feel up to it. Thankfully the antibiotics are kicking in though and starting to feel a lot better.

On Saturday Megan took her grandma( my mom) to see Little Shop of Horrors at the school- both said it was an amazing play put on by the kids at school and they really enjoyed themselves.

So, we had a pretty busy weekend - but one enjoyed by all it seems- hope you all had a great one too- this is my last 10 days or so of college- hard to believe the semester is winding down already- but will be nice to enjoy the summer- I'm looking forward to getting out and doing some geneology work with my father and hopefully finding my long lost great Aunt's Burial place!!

Glad to be among the living

2010-04-12T19:05:00.000-04:00

On April 6th, my Aunt Rhoda passed away. Rhoda was married to my father's brother Dell ( who passed away in 1974). I honestly don't know if I ever met Dell- I will have to ask my father that one. I do remember taking a trip to Maine to see that family when I was very young- maybe 3 years old- I asked my mother about it today, but she couldn't recall if Dell was alive or if he had passed away when we made the trip. All I remember about it was there was a BIG hill in the road and Aunt Rhoda and her sister taking us to a ceramic shop. I don't have a lot of early memories of my childhood- but every now and then something triggers a memory like this one. I wouldn't say I was close to Rhoda, in fact, I honestly barely knew her, but always grew up knowing she was my Aunt, even though I was only 2 or 3 when Uncle Dell died (depending on just when he dies in the year). Whenever I was around Rhoda, she always seemed like a very nice woman and my parents always spoke highly of her and was always considered part of the family.

Of course, I've already mentioned Kelly's little boy Ethan passed away as well. My hear breaks still for that family, although I'm sure glad little Ethan is not in pain anymore.

Today, heard Mr. Larry Andrews passed away. He started teaching at my high school when I was in 8th or 9th grade- can't recall just which one -but I had him for 9th grade social and he was a 'new' teacher. That was back in 85-86. He was still teaching at the school until earlier this year. The brief obit stated he was 63, so he must have been about 35 when he started teaching at school. He was a man of very dry humor in my book, and honestly reminded me of Hitler with his mustache the way it was. I never overly liked him, but didn't dislike him either. He has meant a lot to many kids over the course of his career though and coordinated many over seas trips for the kids from school as well.

Then of course we can't forget John Forsythe and Dixie Carter passed away last week.

It always seems to happen all at once doesn't it- you can go months without anyone passing away that you know or have heard f and then it seems to all hit at once.

I for one am so thankful to be among the living, and for the health of my parents. I am blessed to have both of my parents living still and I get to enjoy their company, humor, wisdom, laughter, and everything else. Although I don't visit their house everyday, living across the driveway has it's advantages as we get to exchange waves, call the other and say - hey there is a deer across the road in the field, or has the mailman come yet - all things I cherish- it's the littlest things in life that sometimes mean the most.

Life is short, and each day I realize that more and more.

Ethan has passed away

2010-04-09T23:27:00.000-04:00

This morning at 6:30 AM little Ethan passed away at home being held by his mom. My heart breaks for this family, and I hope they are able to find peace soon. I am so very sad Ethan's life has ended at just 2 years old and he will never get to experience life as he should have. Last August he was a happy go lucky little boy and in 8 short months, this familys life has changed forever do to childhood Neroblastoma cancer.

You are in my thoughts Kelly, Ken and Sarah.

Cancer - Enough Said

2010-03-17T05:20:00.000-04:00

I have a lady (Kelly) that I have known online for a few years now- truth be told, I know her friend Danielle a lot better, but none the less- know Kelly as well. Last August her healthy 2 year old boy was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma Cancer- this was a shock- he was out playing in mud puddles one day and a few days later, their world changed forever. Ethan has been a fighter these past several months enduring rounds of Chemo and surgery- but, 6 weeks ago, they took out the remaining tumor in his abdoman and when they did scans this week, found it was back and bigger. Kelly was told today that they will do one more round of Chemo for 5 days, an intense treatment by the sounds of it- wait a few weeks and if the tumor has shrunk, they will go to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh for radiation. If it has not, they told her this was it, they can't do anything more.

I can't imagine being this family or any family dealing with something like this- my stomach is literally sick feeling over it. My heart breaks for kelly and her family- and it certainly puts into perspective life in general.

I certainly am thankful for the many good things in my life- especially my kids- and especially thankful that the health issues we deal with are certainly minor compared to what they could be. I'm thankful they are happy, healthy teens.

Kelly is a strong woman- I honestly don't know how I could breathe, let alone go on day to day facing the challenges she is with a child of mine. I hope I never ever have to find out.

Wrestling Recap

2010-02-21T16:51:00.002-05:00

Chris, Jon, and Alex with Jeff Jarrett.

Alex was able to meet and get his TNA Program book signed by "The Monster" Abyss, "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero, Hernandez, "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan, Angelina Love, and Jeremy Borash ( the announcer).

All of the above had matches during the show as well as "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles, Beer Money, Desmond Wolfe, Doug Williams and others. All in all he had a really great time and it was a pretty good event for coming to the rural town Of Massena.

I have uploaded a ton of photos to http://royce13669.shutterfly.com/ if anyone is interested in looking at them.

Wrestling Day Is Finally Here

2010-02-20T12:16:00.000-05:00

A week or so before Christmas, I purchased 4 TNA Wrestling tickets for a live show in Massena. As most of you know who follow this blog, I live in a VERY rural area of upstate NY and events like this come around about once a year if that.

Alex enjoys Wrestling and although TNA is not his favorite out of them, he's still excited to go and bring his friends along - it's been a long two months waiting for the event to get here- so I hope they have a great time tonight!

Jennifer King

2010-02-11T09:09:00.000-05:00

Jen- if you happen to see this-- contact me! I got your friend request on facebook last night, and accepted it, then as I was looking at your profile, FB crashed and you were gone- I tried to use the link to add you again, but it won't allow me to even view your page! Did a friend search, and can't find you- so if you happen to see this- contact me- it's been so long!

Sunny Day Update

2010-02-05T10:04:00.000-05:00

This morning I awoke to a bright beautiful sunny day- I do wish it was a little warmer than the 17 degrees- but I'll take the sun for sure! Sitting here at my table with the sun coming in thru my big window is wonderful.

Both kids are home from school today- They had a play at school all morning that neither really wanted to see -Megan has a doctor's appointment later on - and I'm waiting to hear back from Alex's doctor to see if I can get him back in there or to refer me to another doctor.

Alex has always drank a lot of liquids his entire life- I think it was a habit formed very young for the most part- as when he was little, he couldn't eat much because of the size of his tonsils- he eventually had those and his adnoids removed- however, he drank a lot of liquids- I think it became a habit he has just continued over his life- another thing he does is as soon as his head hits the pillow, he falls asleep- within seconds- put him in a car, and he falls asleep most of the time on trips that are more than a few minutes long. Now though on top of the normal sleep he's always done, he is falling asleep while watching TV, after eating, at school, etc. - I did take him to the doctor a few weeks ago and had his glucose tested and it came back negative- and I've had it tested in the past and it's always negative- but something is wrong- he shouldn't be sleeping as much as he is- so, I'm going to press the issue a little more and see what we come up with- I hope there isn't anything wrong with him, but certainly don't want to miss it if there is.

College is going GREAT so far- I'm loving my classes and feel I could have signed up for a couple of more, but I didn't want to many to begin with. I'm taking 4 classes/12 credits which makes me a full time student and that's what I wanted. The average load seems to be 16-18 credits a semester though- but, I'm in no big hurry- it will probably take me 2 1/2 years to complete an associates degree- but that's ok. I am currently taking Freshman English, Interpersonal Communications, Business Organization, and Business Math. My major was going to be ecommerce, but it seems to focus on a lot of the coding of websites in depth a lot more than I want to get- so I think I will be changing it to Business instead. I guess I will be one of those statstistics of people who change their major once in college! I'm managing to hold an A average in all of the classes- out of all of them, I've only gotten one thing that was less than perfect- I know it's only a few weeks into the courses and things will get harder- but, I'm still happy with myself. Especially since I hated high school!

I guess that is the latest updates with me- now I need to get the laundry started, dishes done and check in with my classes- have a great weekend everyone!

Back to school for me!

2010-01-24T17:03:00.000-05:00

Well, I am officially a college student- I am excited and scared at the same time! This past week we were given a preview week of the courses and I'm really thankful for it. All of my courses I'm taking online- I love the convienence of it! I mean, if I want to log on at 3AM and work, I can- who could ask for something better than that! This preview week has gotten me used to using the SUNY ANGEL online network and a chance to 'meet' my instructors and fellow 'classmates'. It also gave me the chance to see one course I had chosen was not something I was going to enjoy, so I switched it out for something different.

All in all, I am looking forward to the next 15 weeks and I could only hope that it stays as easy as this past week has been. By far, my most challenging class will be English. I don't claim to be a writer - I write like I talk, and I don't usually care about using all of the correct grammer rules that I should- so, it will really be hard for me to adjust to doing so.

Who would have thought you could completely go to school online now- grant it, they are trusting you to learn and not fake it, etc.- then again, you are paying for it so if you want to waste your money- what do they care? It's funny, that I'm eager to learn now and truthfully, could have cared less about it when it high school- how times change and how you do get a little wiser with age!

Project 365 - Day ??

2010-01-12T03:36:00.000-05:00

Well, I have fully come to the understanding that taking a photo a day is not always as easy as it seems - I lead a boring life- I'm not sure what to take a photo of everyday- besides just everyday random things - which seems a little pointless now that I think about it - so, I think that my project 365 might turn into a project 200 instead LOL - quality- not quantity right?!?!

On a sadder note- as many of you know- I live in a very rural area and today my neighbor was robbed- pretty sure it was an inside job- however, makes one wonder what society is coming to- it seems more and more crimes are peeking into out little neck of the woods that you normally wouldn't think of happening here.

I remember growing up, my father and mother both saying time and time again- it's just not as safe as it was when we were kids- it's terrible to think that I'm now saying that to my children and really meaning it!

Project 365 - Day 10

2010-01-11T07:59:00.000-05:00

Posted a day late- hubby went to Gouverneur to visit his family yesterday and took my camera before I had a chance to get this photo off from it- this is my daughter's kitty Luna- we've had her a little over 3 years now and she is strictly an indoor cat.

She knows she's not supposed to be up on the washer, but she decided laying down on Alex's shorts was a good thing to do- so before I booted her down - I took this photo.

Project 365 - Day 9

2010-01-09T13:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I have posted a photo of my dad and brother plowing the snow away, so it only seems fitting that I capture my son Alex doing it as well. This is one of his- I don't want my picture taken looks :O) - gotta love teens!

Today he is out helping my father get some of the excess snow plowed away- during the winter with the snow- our lawns and anything else site become places to plow the snow to- this is because the more you can get back away from the driveway and parking areas before the next storm- the better off you are, because you can only push the snow so far.

It sure is cold oustside today- only 7 degrees out- I took mom to Walmart and P&C today- she called and asked me if I wanted to go, and I said no at first, but then decided I'd hibernated long enough and it would do me some good to get out as well - so I called her back and told her I'd take her in my car. I am glad to be back in the nice warmth of my home though!

The rest of the day is going to be spent doing laundry, making brownies and I'm cooking a chicken in the oven for dinner.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday!

Project365- Day 8

2010-01-08T19:12:00.000-05:00

Just after I decided to take on this challenge- Megan arrived back home from Tru North with one of Alex's favorite things in this world to eat-- PIZZA- so it seemed like a good thing to write about- but I didn't know all the details I wanted- so I had to email my father for help! (He’s a walking genius I tell you- even in what he calls his senile state- he knows more facts about everything than most people in their prime!) - Anyways-- a little background on the Pizza place-

In the small hamlet of Flackville, NY located on the corner of St Lawrence County Route 10 and New York State Route 68, a few miles from Ogdensburg toward Canton, there is a business establishment named Tru-North Pizza. Prior to it’s use for that purpose it was long a combination garage, gas station, and country store owned by Paul and Esther McKeever. The McKeever family bought the store from Harry Cross in the 1960s. Harry and his wife had run the establishment for twenty to thirty years before selling it to the McKeever family. Esther McKeever was the former Esther Cox, whose parents ran a greenhouse a half mile from Flackville on the road to Lisbon. (Thanks dad for this info)

As a child growing up about 1 1/2 miles from Mckeevers it was a place I visited often- I have to say I absolutely ADORED Esther - as I got older and started to drive I'd stop in there for gas, a candy bar-- whatever and Esther was always so so nice and chatty-- asking about my parents, how everything was going - just general conversations I'm sure she had with nearly everyone who went into there- but she always made you feel right at home. When I was growing up, you'd walk in the door and to the right used to be the checkout counter and you could count on her to be there everyday.

Sometime after I graduated from high school - which was 1989- their son took over the business and renamed it Tru North- he established it as a well-known deli/pizza place in the area and it complimented the deli/pizza place he already owned in nearby Heuvelton. Scott ran it for many years until selling it to Shelly Jock Bebee a few years ago who continues to run it to this day.

Shelly has continued on with the Pizza/Deli items and expanded it to include Friday fish fry’s and other items - and the outside gas pumps that are most likely original to the store still pump the gas for all the locals. Shelly has become a HUGE supporter at the local school my kids attend - she provides HUGE goodie bags for monthly FROG club recognitions, donates pizza's for dances, sells pizza's below costs to groups so they can make money for trips and the list goes on. The community is very lucky to have someone like her not only sharing/giving all she can, but also carrying on this business that was established so many years ago.

Now that you have a little history about Tru North-- don't forget to stop in and say hello to Shelly and the staff the next time you are out and about- the pizza is delicious!

I'm taking on the Project 365 challenge! - Care to join me??

2010-01-08T17:38:00.002-05:00

OK.,. so we are a week into 2010 already- but today is the day I read about doing this project on my friend HoneyB's Blog ( link to the right of this post) - so I'll be a few photos short since today is the 8th- but I do have a few photos of this past week- so it won't be a complete week without photos!

The Project 365 is basically a photo a day for the year to capture your life - you can read more about it here -- http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/ - although I'm sure this isn't the first person to come up with the idea- people have been doing this for years- it just seems like something fun to do!

To recap the beginning of my year and to get the project started on my end- here are the photos I have managed to take this year so far --

This photo was taken January 3rd - my brother plowing us out.

This one was taken January 4th- my dad plowing us out - notice it's still snowing!

Hmmmm-- that's all the photos I have so far for different days this year! LOL - I am off to take a photo of 'something'- got to figure out what- then I'll be back to post it for today's photo!

Are you ready for the challenge? I'd love to see your world in 365 (more or less) photos!

What is it worth?

2010-01-07T11:01:00.001-05:00

If you look below at the Christmas photos- you will notice my daughter is wearing a simple necklace that is made with a stone that really has no monetary value- but that might as well be gold to her.

A few years ago, the necklace was given to her by my father - one day she saw it in his desk drawer I believe and asked him about it and he gave it to her. My daughter and my father have always had a very special bond since she was born- they are as close as two people could possibly be I think. Megan loves him so much, and the feeling is very mutual- it's a very unconditional love as love should be - but I'm afraid today Meg's not feeling that and my heart is breaking for her.

See-- she wears this necklace all the time- day in-- day out- she has this necklace on- it's a necklace that my uncle (my father's brother Ron) had made for my grandmother a very long time ago. Both my uncle and grandmother have passed away now- but my uncle used to tinker about making this and that for my grandmother and others.

Well this morning not more than an hour after she left for school she called just sobbing on the phone that the stone to the necklace had fallen out and she couldn't find it- she'd only been to one class- so her steps at school for the day were limited- but still - she even went to where the car was parked at school looking for it and looking inside the car- her dad looked for it outside here and we looked inside the house-- still-- the stone is not to be found- she's heartbroken - sobbing- because of the sentimental value of this necklace - not only because it was made by her great uncle for her great-grandmother- but because it was something her "baldy" (pet nickname for her grandfather) had given to her and trusted her with. I think as much as she is upset over the stone being gone, she is as much worried her grandfather is going to be upset with her for losing it- which I know couldn't be further from the truth - and even though I just told her that when she called again- I don't think at this point it's sunk in.

So what is it worth? Money wise- nothing really- it's was just a stone on a piece of cheap metal shaped to mount and hold the stone- but sentimentally- it was/is worth everything to Meg. I truly hope by some miracle it's found at school today and returned to her.

UPDATE: Megan just called again from school and she FOUND the stone-- I'm SO SO SOooooo thrilled for her - miracles do happen :o)

Christmas Vacation Comes to an End

2010-01-04T08:11:00.000-05:00

Well, the kids are back to school today after 12 days off-- this vacation seemed to go by really fast- and neither are really ready to go back lol!

I wasn't going to let Meg drive to school today- but there were no delays anywhere and the road seemed to be fairly cleaned off-- so hopefully she makes it ok- it's only 5 miles away and she only needs to take one other road besides ours to get there - so not to big of a deal.

Christmas was good-- kids both got a lot of iems they wanted- but it's just not 'fun' anymore- not like it was when they were little anyways- it was always so much fun to have the anticipation of Santa- the baking of cookies- stringing popcorn for the tree-- yes-- we used to do all these things- but now with two teens in the house- they could care less if we even put up decorations!

I wasn't feeling well on Christmas day- and it's the first Christmas I have not had dinner with my parents in all of my 38 years- even though I live just across the driveway from them- I didn't go over this year and it's sorta bumming me out looking back on it- but at the time- I just didn't feel like moving or smelling food. The kids did go over though of course and had a terrific time as always - it's a tradition to always open presents here at home- then go to my parents and then their for Christmas dinner. Christmas dinner at my parents is the one tradition the kids look most forward to even though they could eat there everyday if they like lol.

Here are a few photos to share- hopefully I'll be updating the blog more often - although I'm starting back to college later this month and I have no idea how that's going to go- I haven't been in school in 20 years!

Notice how much shorter Megan is than Alex - and she's 2 1/2 years older- I hate to tell her, but I don't think she's going to get much taller-- and yet, Alex keeps growing!

January's Snow

2010-01-03T12:29:00.000-05:00

They were calling for up to 14 inches by tonight- if it keeps going- we might make it-- we've gotten several inches so far since Friday afternoon- here is what it looks outside my house right now-- these photos were taken this morning-

This is my brother plowing out my driveway and my parents as well- with his "bumble bee"

View From My deck towards the neighbors across the street

Looking towards my parents- my mother's car

My car next to my deck - had already been cleaned off of several inches of snow and is getting covered again!

My father's Truck

Anyways-- this is our current world in NNY!

Stay warm!!

Just A Short Note--

2009-12-14T20:12:00.000-05:00

WOW-- I just realized that it's been over a month since I've posted anything here- so thought I'd check in!

I have been busy helping my daughter with the high school yearbook ( a long story there) but the senior section is almost completed- so that will be a big relief!

The kids are doing well in school- 2nd terms report cards just came in and both did terrific- Alex could bring a couple of his grades up some- but he's passing and certainly doing a lot better than last year-- so can't complain to much! Vacation starts the 23rd for them- they can't wait!

The house is completely decorated for Christmas- I've had everything up since about a week before Thanksgiving- a little early- but it takes a few days to get everything up and I like to be able to enjoy it all.

I've also been listening to holiday music on XM 801 on Direct TV all day long-- nothing like a little holiday cheer! :O)

All of the kids presents are wrapped and under the tree except for a few last minute things- as they get older their wants become more expensive so there is less presents- yet, still things they want.

Oh well-- I've got to finish dishes and change the laundry around so I better get going for now-- hopefully I'll be posting again sooner than later!

Happy Birthday To My Son

2009-11-08T09:49:00.001-05:00

It's so hard to believe that my 'baby' Alex is 15 today- where has the time gone - it's racing by- sometimes I wish I could catch it and hold onto it a little bit longer - before I know it, he's going to be a senior in high school like his sister is this year and then off on his own in the big world.

Like most parents and teens- we have our ups and downs- but the good far out ways the bad- I'm fortunate enough to have two terrific kids!

When Alex was born, he had trouble swallowing and eating and we didn't really know why until he got dehydrated and ended up in the hospital - it was then determined that he had large tonsils and adenoids- we were sent to see a doctor in Watertown who said he didn't think they needed to come out, but would take them out if we wanted him to- and I insisted he do it- it wasn't for the fact it was going to be fun for my son to have an operation at 18 months old of course- but it was because he had numerous ear infections, couldn't lay down flat very well, couldn't eat well, etc.- once removed, the doctor came out and told us that he had never seen such large tonsils and adenoids in a child before- they were larger than most adults and we had for sure made the correct choice in having them removed.

After all of this - Alex has a slow start in learning to talk- he was very very smart, he just wasn't getting his words out like he should - so at 3, we started him with speech therapy several times a week and it's one of the best things I could ever have done for him. They thought he might possibly have a stutter his entire life and once he started talking, he talked so fast you could hardly understand him- but after several years of speech therapy all was/is well and you would never know he had any of these problems as a young child. He does not have a stutter and his speech slowed down to a 'normal' rate. I can remember telling him when he was younger - Alex slow down, I can't understand you- and they warned me not to do that for it could make him talk slow-- as a mother sometimes you just know that that's not going to be the case- I kept telling him to slow down when he'd talk fast and he would stop, think and restart and talk perfect - he's come such a long way and I am so thankful he had no lasting problems with his speech.

Alex doesn't care much for school- and it's frustrating- because on state tests he will ace them and be one of the top two or three in his class on every single one of them- yet, he will barely be passing the classes- and this is simply because he is to lazy to do the school work and doesn't want to do the school work- this year that has changed some though- he's in 9th grade now and this year is going well- he has had one report card home and got really good grades- 85's and 90's even- I was very proud of him for this and I hope it continues for the rest of the year - although I'm not sure how he does it, because he doesn't ever do home work at home - thank goodness for study halls I guess!

Alex is very independent and outgoing unlike Megan. Megan is shy and reserved around people- where as Alex will walk up - shake hands and introduce himself to anyone- he will make the best of most situations and by the end of the day, have several new friends because of this.

I am thankful that Alex isn't into smoking, drinking or anything like that- the most I ever get upset with him about is not bringing dirty clothes out of his room or soda cans, or the occasional fight about not wanting to go to school- I would gladly take these types of arguments any day over what they could be about.

Alex does enjoy going camping and hunting with his grandfather- I'm so thankful my kids have grown up right next door to my parents- both of them have loving, caring, wonderful relationships with both their grandmother and grandfather - they have been such a part of the kids lives that they will never forget and I am sure will look back on one day with very many fond memories.

Anyways- I'm grateful to be here to celebrate my sons birthday with him- I'm grateful to be watching him grown into a fine young man- I'm grateful he is my son- I love him so much.

Happy Birthday Alex- you mean the world to me- I would be lost without you- your smile is infectious- your giggly laugh has always brightened the darkest of days- and although I might not always show it- I cherish each and everyday I have with you.

I love you so much-- here's to many many more birthdays!!

Meg's Senior Pics

2009-11-01T15:14:00.000-05:00

These are 'raw' pics- we did have some enhancements added to some of them- the black is not an actual black in the photos we are getting-- more of a soft black with some grey mixed in- her name/year of graduation is on some, and I got a sepia pic as well-- these are just the basic pics before anything was done to them.

For those of you who like to read blogs---

2009-10-05T00:05:00.002-04:00

Here is a blog my father has started- unlike me he is a very good writer lol and writes about a variety of topics - so check it out-

The Old Curmudgeon

It's Been Nearly Month---

2009-10-03T16:20:00.003-04:00

It's been nearly a month since I've posted anything-- so thought I'd just do a mini update on things--

My last blog post was about my friend Kelly's son Ethan- he is still in the hospital and will be starting his second round of Chemo as soon as he is eating/drinking more- they've had a rough time this past month- but certainly are not giving up- hopefully things will start to improve more really soon.

The kids are doing ok in school- it's hard to believe it's been a month already since they went back!

The leaves are turning colors on the trees- I really enjoy this time of yea the most and the month of September we saw some of the nicest weather we've had all summer long! I have decorated inside and out for Halloween/Fall- although I didn't put up as much as I usually do- it's enough- keep thinking ahead to Christmas and wondering what to do for the holiday- it's not as much fun buying presents for the kids as it was when they were younger- plus they get so much all the time anyways- it doesn't leave much to get them.

I decided to take down my Create A Can website for now- I wasn't getting but an order here and there and it hardly seemed worth it anymore since I have to order in all the cans now instead of getting them locally like I was. In this economy, people just don't want to spend $10 to ship paint cans- and I can't blame them- I wouldn't either.

I've decided to enroll in an online degree program through SUNY (State University of NY)for ecommerce - I'm hoping to have everything in place to be enrolled and taking classes in January - I'm actually looking forward to it- not only will I learn more about website designing and running online businesses- but it will also give me something to do- I've been so bored lately!

Well, that about sums up what's going on around here -- hope everyone is well!

Suddenly BIG things in life, aren't so big anymore

2009-09-06T13:09:00.003-04:00

A couple of years ago, I 'met' online a lady named Kelly and while I've not been particularly close to her, we keep in touch- this was especially so a little over a year ago, when she had a beautiful baby girl born much to early in the pregnancy and the baby spent several months in the hospital- I was amazed- she had a 1 year old little Boy at home and was also dealing with this very premature infant- her positive attitude and outpouring love and support from her family and friends was terrific- anyways, since that time, I've enjoyed watching baby Sarah growing- and until about three weeks ago, her big brother Ethan was wonderful too- then he started to not feel so well, and after tests, they found out he has stage 4 cancer with a tumor next to his kidney- I am in shock - this little beautiful boy who was just enjoying digging worms in the mud, playing with his sister and little friends- is now fighting for his life in a blink of an eye and this family is torn apart.

I truly can't begin to imagine the heartbreak and pain this family is going thru.

I feel so badly, and wish it wasn't happening to them.

It's made me stop and think-- really- do these clothes need to be put away right now- does it matter if my kids have clothes on the floor of their room - does it matter if my floor isn't mopped yet? I know we can't stop living life - and these are ideally a part of life and growing- but I know it's making me stop and think- ok- I'd rather watch that movie with the kids- these things can wait- no one knows how much time they are given, or what obstacles are around the corner- don't wait until you are faced with a challenge like Kelly and her family before you realize what important things in life you are missing out on.

My heart is saddened that Ethan is going thru all of this. Please keep him in your thoughts.

First Day Of School!

2009-09-03T14:23:00.004-04:00

Alex is a FRESHMAN this year-- I can't believe it- it seems like just last year he was my little 4 year old who could barely get up on the steps of the bus!

AND Megan is a SENIOR- I can't believe my girl is almost grown up- next year, it will be off to college- I'm going to cherish this year with her as much as I can - thankfully the college she wants to go to is only 20 minutes away! lol

This is the first time in 17 years our school district has started school before Labor Day - seems a little silly to go two days, then have the holiday weekend off- especially when it's typically the past vacation time of summer!

45 minutes until the kids will come in the door- can't wait to hear what their first day back was like- hopefully it was a good day!

Google Ranking

2009-08-29T19:11:00.003-04:00

Every time I change something on my blog- I loose my google ranking- does anyone else have this happen? It's so frustrating!

One project turns into three-- or four-- or five :O)

2009-08-16T16:22:00.003-04:00

As some of you know, we built our house with the help of my father and have been living in it for about 3 1/2 years now- when we moved in, it was not completely finished- we still had some painting to do and a few walls to finish off, etc.- well, let me tell you- time STOPPED on the house the day we moved into it- the motivation to get hubby to do anything steadily declined- and needless to say, not much has gotten done on the house- although I've changed the color of the living room three times since we've moved in and hubby has painted it each and every time- it has been like pulling nails to get the hallway painted-- and he doesn't allow me to paint (usually) lol- so I've looked at grey wallboard forever now- BUT- it's finally painted-- yayyyyyyy- so happy about that!

In the mean time- it got me to thinking well, hey- if we've painted- we can put up the trim work around the door- we opted to purchase 1x6's and make the frames that way- staying with the country/prim style that I like- I decided to go with a True Walnut color for the painting of them- because I have a dark sage type of green on the walls- will look perfect together- this lead me to thinking- well the kitchen cupboards really look shabby lol- we stained them a light almost natural color a few years ago ( we purchased unfinished cupboards when we built the house) but I've never like it- and now, it didn't even look like they had been stained- dull and drabby-- so I thought hmmm-- this walnut color might look good on them although I SWORE I'd never paint them LOL - well, the bottom set is now done and although it's going to take some getting used to- I do like it- not in love with it yet- but I do like it- lol- ohh-- and BTW-- we also painted the doors to the bedrooms and bathroom- and I purchased stain for the deck- and how did all of this get started you ask? Because my daughter wants to have a Bon Fire with her friends Tuesday night- so hubby decided he better get some things done LOL - If I'd have known that's all it took- I'd have had her done it three years ago!!! LOL

Will post pics soon-- gotta go put all the knobs back on the cupboards and drawers now!

Easy, Yummy Chicken Stir Fry

2009-08-02T16:54:00.004-04:00

My daughter and her friend wanted to try making a stir fry-- I told them I didn't mind although I wasn't going to eat it-- I am not a veggie lover lol- she started looking online last night for a recipe and came up with tons of course- and seemed to like bits and pieces of each one- in the end, this is what they did:

Purchased a stir fry seasoning mix from the grocery store- added it to water and sugar, but did not add the soy sauce- this was just directions from the packet- then set it aside --then they used 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, a few green onions, a regular onion, cut/sliced carrots, 2 cloves of garlic, garlic powder and onion powder -- they mixed all this together - then they sliced two boneless chicken breasts into small pieces/strips and cooked them in a bit of oil until almost done- once almost done-- they added in the mixture of veggies - let them cook about 5-6 minutes and added in the stir fry seasoning mixture and cooked for a couple of more minutes until it was all blended together - they then took flour tortilla wraps and made wraps out of the stir fry-- they both agreed it was really yummmy, but they put in to many veggies for the amount of chicken- they also were going to make rice to go with it, but forgot until almost done eating LOL -- a good afternoon project for the girls though!

Niagara Falls Here We Come

2009-08-01T09:18:00.004-04:00

Tuesday can't get here fast enough! The kids and I really need a break from the house and we are on our way to Niagara Falls first thing Tuesday Morning- so excited- my mom is coming along too!

I have planned so far to leave around 6 in the morning, stopping for lunch some place and then on to the falls- I think we will go to the maid of the mist tour when we get there and then the snow park Tuesday night from 7-9 because they have discounted admission-- other attractions we are hoping to get to are the Aquarium of Niagara, The Hard Rock Cafe, the observation tower and Martins Fantasy Island- and whatever else we find - then when we leave on Friday- I'm hoping to go to the Buffalo Zoo- if it gets to late, we will stop some where along the way home for the night- most likely the Syracuse area.

Hoping the trip is relaxing and not stressful! lol
Will let you all know how it went when we get back and I'll be posting pics too!

Happy August Everyone!

Husband REFUSED to be looked at by the Doctor today!!!

2009-07-27T17:45:00.003-04:00

Saturday evening, my husband started to get really congested -- now it's Monday and he's worse - not to be gross, but he is hacking up yellow and green stuff and his nose is filled with it, etc. - obviously (to me anyways) he has an infection that's started and should be seen by doctor before it gets worse -- SO, he is a war time vet ( Desert Storm ) and goes thru the Veteran's Administration for all of his treatment- we live about 45 minutes to the closest clinic that he can use- but, the treatment is free so it's worth the gas to drive there-

So I called the clinic this morning, talked with the receptionist and then the NURSE-told the NURSE exactly what was going on and EXACTLY when it started, etc. - she first gave him an appointment for tomorrow- but then called ME back and says, we just had a cancellation, and while it's not his regular doctor, he can and SHOULD be seen - so can he come at 2:30-- SURE I said-- great-- no problem- we will be there- I also said he is also scheduled for some routine blood work-- can we get that done as well since we are going to save a trip in a few weeks-- SURE - no problem- so I get hubby up and we trek the journey to the clinic-

First thing he does is go to the window and checks in and asks for the blood work papers so he can go do that while waiting for the appointment- the receptionist looks at the clock and says -- ohhh it's 2:10 - you can't do it- blood work must be done BEFORE 2:00 PM--- BIG SIGH-- A LITTLE frustrated the nurse didn't mention this earlier when I talked with her-- but oh well- he will come back- what can you do about it now-- frustrating-- annoying-- so we were a little early for the appointment now- but no biggie- we just sat and waited-- and waited and waited-- typical clinic were you wait longer than it takes to be seen- after a LONG while, this lady comes to get us who I'm assuming is the person he's seeing- (she did not introduce herself at all)-- doesn't hold a conversation on the way to the room-- nothing-- ok-- no biggie I guess-- so we get to the room and hubby sits up on the exam table and she sits down at her desk in the chair there and says so what can I do for you- hubby STARTS to explain how he is hacking up the yellow and green stuff and can't breathe etc - she interrupts him and says when did this start - he said Saturday and she SNOTTILY says well I'm not going to do anything for you it's not been at least SEVEN days-- I said what-- she says I'm not going to even examine him because it's not been seven days - I'm like WHAT? Why aren't you going to examine him? She said well he never should have been given an appointment-- I said well he WAS and we discussed SPECIFICALLY that the nurse addressed on the phone when it started, etc. - she was like well, she didn't have the knowledge to tell you to come in, only an RN would - I said then why didn't I talk with an RN then- she is who they gave me- she said, oh we don't have one -- HELLO-- what am I missing here?!!?!? By this time, I'm livid-- and so I'm like well we are here, it's his time- can't you just look at him and see what's up-- maybe there is an ear infection-- maybe it's in his lungs-- maybe he has swine flu-- I don't know- I'm NOT the doctor, but I'm not stupid either-- but NO NO NO- she would not even take two seconds to LOOK at him- to EXAMINE him at all even though she THINKS we should not even be there? I'm beside myself-- I can not believe it-- I'm like why did they tell us to come in then!?!? More to hubby that her and she puts her fingers and thumb together and says money-- that's why!! I had to walk out at that point-- I couldn't take her anymore- so I walked out to the receptionist and asked who I would make a complaint to and she asked why-- and I told her he was being refused treatment-- by this time hubby walked out the door he was so angry and upset- so then the receptionist, the nurse I'd talked to earlier, the Doctor ( or whatever she is-- prolly a PA) and another lady were all discussing why he was there and that it wasn't seven days, etc etc and all bickering among themselves and I gave up and left!!

I told hubby I'd stop at the clinic in Lisbon on the way home and see about getting him in there-- and of course they happen to be on vacation this week - lol- so he still hasn't been seen- he's in bed, feeling terrible- and I'm going to call the Syracuse VA tomorrow (or someone) which sponsors the clinic and see about reporting what happened today-- not that he's dieing by any means- I'm just beyond disbelief in the chain of events today and feel it's completely wrong- she could have said I normally don't see people until it's at least seven days, but since you are here- lets take a look-- and then decide if he should have something- if he should wait- call back in a few days if your still not better or whatever-- but we were THERE in her office, HIS appointment time- and he was refused treatment- I can not believe it.

Chicken Wing Dip

2009-07-16T20:38:00.003-04:00

Megan and her friend have been raving about Chicken Wing Dip for a few months now- so I had her get the recipe from her friend's Mom and I just got done making it - Meg says it's AMAZINGLY good - so I must have done something right! lol

Here is the recipe:

Chicken Wing Dip:

Cook 4-5 skinless boneless chicken breasts and let cool.
Chop chicken in food processor.
Add in 8 ounces Cream Cheese
Add in 8 ounces Shredded Cheddar or Monterrey Jack Cheese I used a combo pack made by Kraft that contains both kinds)
Add in 1/2-3/4 cup Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce
Add in 1/2-3/4 Cup Ranch Dressing

Mix well in the food processor if you have one or by hand.

Place in crock pot of low for 3 hours- it will melt down - stir occasionally.

Serve with Taco Chips - we are using tostito scoop chips

YUMM-- great snack tonight!

If you try it let me know what you think!

Summer Storm

2009-06-26T18:32:00.004-04:00

This afternoon we had one of the worst storms we've had in a very long time- it only lasted about 1/2 hour or so, but boy did it do some damage- we have several BIG maple trees in our front yard and the winds took down another big branch from the tree-- this time, it was covering the road, so I called 911 to have them dispatch people to come get it out of the road as I certainly wasn't able to do it. The first big branch of the tree went down during the winter when we had a bad storm- so, we've made the decision that the rest of the tree should come down - if it were to fall, then it is risking falling on the neighbors cars or the house across the road and I'd hate to have either happen. We will have to plant another in it's place.

Below are some of the photos of the storm today- we had high winds, down pouring rain, HAIL- so much that the ground looked white- it was a crazy 1/2 hour or so-
now, it's sunny and nice out- you'd never know a thing happened- but, I'm told we are in for another shot of the storm yet tonight.

Wagonteamster.com Bob is back!

2009-06-25T14:33:00.002-04:00

A few months ago, you may have read here on the blog where I mentioned that Bob from wagonteamster.com had been hit by a tractor trailer at full speed while in his horse drawn wagon. Well, I'm happy to say Bob has made a full recovery from his many broken bones and is back on the road again!

Last summer, Bob started out from NH and had made it all the way to Mississippi over the course of several months, then just a few days before he was going to take a much needed rest and attend Mardi Gras, his wagon was hit by a loaded semi - this ended him up in the hospital for several weeks and caused the death of two of his horses. However, Bob has a new wagon, a new team of horses and is picking up where he left off-- sorta-- he has now started off in Indiana and I'm not sure where he is headed - but I certainly enjoy checking in daily with Bob and see where he's been and what he's up to. Personally, I could never (unless I had to) travel the way he is for very long - but if you get a chance, check out his website- Wagon Teamster

Are improvements always for the best?

2009-06-09T21:24:00.003-04:00

I used to love Banquet Pot Pies since I was a kid- I always picked out the veggies, but none the less, loved them- this continued into my adulthood- UNTIL they decided to make them microwaveable a few years ago- since then, I've never ever been able to get one to cook correctly in the oven NOR in the microwave- I finally gave up - and really miss them-- this is just one example - but, this leaves me to my pet peeve of today -

My son loves gum- he doesn't like the big chunky gums- but does like Wrigley's doublemeint and Juicy Fruit to name a few - I have always loved the fact that they come in a 10 pack for less than $2 for the pack- he grabs a pack in the morning before school - and sometimes comes home with a partial pack of 5 sticks and sometimes doesn't- I don't mind him sharing a piece or two either with friends- after all, it's gum and not something that's going to break the bank- UNTIL NOW - tonight when I went to pick up a few things- he asked me to grab him some gum as he was out- well I'll be- they have changed the packages to now include 3 packs of gum that contain 15 sticks each - called the "slim Pack" and of course none of the 'old' packs of 10 available at all- WHY? WHY must companies do this- new and improved is not always the best- we as moms for one, would never ever give a kid 15 sticks of gum at once - regardless of the age- no longer does it fit into a pair of jean pockets nicely- but it's bulky - who decided this was now the convenient way we should buy gum after 50 or so years of it being the same way?? I really wish companies would think sometimes before changing their products to new and improved- because like the pot pies- it's not always as grand as they think!

The ABC's Of Me

2009-06-05T07:10:00.003-04:00

A - Age: 38

B - Bed size: Queen but prefer the couch! I have always loved sleeping on the couch ever since I was a kid- I'd sneak downstairs to sleep on the couch!

C - Chore you hate: Taking clothes out of the dryer & dusting

D - Dog's name(s): None

E - Essential start your day item: alarm clock & Diet Pepsi lol

F - Favorite color: Sage Green, Burgundy - prim/country colors

G- Gold or Silver: silver

H - Height: 5'4"

I - Instruments you play(ed): clarinet

J - Job title: Mom, Wife, Multi Tasker, Jack of All Trades & Business Owner

K - Kid(s): 2 - Girl 17 and boy 14 1/2

L - Living arrangements: hubby, son, daughter, 2 cats

M - Mom's name: Nora

N - Nicknames: DJ - given to me by my dad when I was little - I always hated being called that by anyone except for him and one of my cousin's call me that too!

O - Overnight hospital stay(s): Yes a few

P - Pet Peeve: people lying

Q - Quote from a movie: Sooo many-- how about You had me at hello

R - Right or left handed: left

S - Siblings: Two brothers & A sister

T - Time you wake up: 6:45 a.m. week days

U- Underwear: yes of course!

V - Vegetable you dislike: Mostly all of them - although I do like potatoes and shredded lettuce lol

W - Ways you run late: Hardly ever unless waiting on my daughter to get ready!

X - X-rays you've had: dental, lots of body parts

Y - Yummy food you make: Right now anything grilled, Potatoes, onions & Butter, Pizza logs, panini's

Z - Zoo favorite: giraffes and zebra's

Blooming Iris'

2009-06-02T18:04:00.003-04:00

We have been having some really cold weather for the end of May/beginning of June- or at least it seems unusually cool- at night it's been going down into the 30's still and sometimes not much warmer during the day - on top of the coldness- we've been getting a LOT of rain- it's crazy- on Sunday we had wind, rain, HAIL - AND sun!

In the midst of all of this, somehow my Iris' have managed to stay alive and continue to grow and are beginning to open up - I have three clumps planted along the front of my deck- one on each end and one in the center - I really do think they are a pretty flower and the hummingbirds seem to like them as well- I only wish that they had a longer life when in bloom.

I just looked at the weather forecast for the rest of the week and it looks like we are in for some sunshine finally and 70's - I'm looking forward to getting outside and using my grill and deck furniture!

Homemade Popcorn Chicken Bowl

2009-05-29T18:35:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite things to get to go and eat in the car from KFC is their popcorn chicken bowl - since we live about 45 minutes from the closest KFC I decided to make my own homemade version and it came out pretty tasty!

Now, you have to remember-- I'm all about fast and easy cooking lol - I would love to be a REAL foodie person- but I'm just a wanna be who still has to eat lol

All I did was make a single serving of Idaho instant potatoes, enough gravy for the bowl - I used McCormick Poultry Gravy - I love how easy it is to make- just boil a bit of water, add the mix and whisk- so easy, never clumpy and always delicious! Then for the chicken part, I just used Banquet popcorn chicken - mixed all this together, topped with Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese and then I popped it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese-- terrific!!

Now, you could add corn to the bowl or anything else, but I'm not a veggie lover so it was perfect just as I did above for me- anyways- another simple, easy put together meal that even the pickiest of eaters should like!

Free Necco Candy / Name That Sweetheart

2009-05-27T06:52:00.001-04:00

For the first time in their 145-year history, Sweethearts is letting its fans tell them what they want to see on their hearts. Create your own sweet sayings before May 31, and you could win a run of customized hearts worth $8,000 or other great prizes.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE MY SWEETHEARTS WEBSITE

Ham & Cheese Biscuit Lunch

2009-05-20T12:23:00.005-04:00

I was looking for something 'different' for lunch and thought of this idea- I'm sure it is not new to the cooking world, but it's the first time I've done it, so thought I'd share it and maybe give some others a simple delicious idea for a quick lunch or dinner - these would be great as party snacks as well.

Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated Pillsbury grands flaky buttermilk biscuits
2 slices deli ham sliced into small squares
4 teaspoons of Honey Mustard sauce
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:
Open up the biscuits and flatten them out thin with your hand or a small rolling pin - place on a baking sheet ( I sprayed the sheet with a cooking spray to keep them from sticking)
top with 1/2 teaspoon honey mustard sauce and then layer on the cheeses
Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees

you could easily substitute the ham for any meat you'd like and also add things like green peppers, onions, etc. - this is just a tasty little lunch I made with what I had on hand -- enjoy!

Junior Prom Was Finally Here!

2009-05-17T08:31:00.002-04:00

Last night was finally Megan's Junior Prom- they held it at the Freight House in Ogdensburg - she spent the night at a friends house afterwards, so I haven't heard all the details yet, but from what she has told me, she had a terrific time- I'm really glad about that, but I'm also glad that it's over with lol - it turned out pretty stressful at the end- she made the comment- I can't imagine my wedding day after this LOL -- well, lets hope that one is still several years away :O)

More photos are at Meg's Prom Pics

My New Finch Feeder

2009-05-12T11:31:00.005-04:00

For Mother's Day, Hubby bought me a new Finch Feeder that holds Thistle Seeds- I have no idea why, but the little birds just go nuts for them- sometimes there are 6-8 or more birds on the feeder at once- I love to see them and have been enjoying the new feeder the past few days. What's nice about it, is it came with two replacement 'socks' in case these wear out and it's of course refillable as well- hubby said it cost about $15 in Walmart for it- so to bad even if it lasts just for the summer - Now if the birds would only stop running into my big picture window - we'd be getting someplace!!

On-Cor BBQ Boneless Shaped Pork Patties

2009-05-09T14:21:00.002-04:00

Lunch today-- was another experiment with a frozen food entree-- this time it was
On-Cor BBQ Rib Pork Patties - the claim to be the #1 Rib Sandwich for six years at Taste of Chicago. Rib-shaped pork patties char-broiled with a hickory smoked taste and then lightly marinated in a special barbecue sauce.

The smell of these cooking almost made my son sick - hehe- he came out of his room and is like what is that!!! ICCKK! - even with his stuffy nose/sinus infection he could still smell it and didn't like it - wouldn't even try it- my daughter took one look and opted for a grilled cheese sandwich LOL - I did give it a try- and although I wouldn't say it's a favorite or even something I'd probably buy again anytime soon- it wasn't THAT bad- it did have a LOT of excess BBQ sauce in it- I think to cover up the fact the patties were really so small- a lot of calories in one pattie compared to something like the Boston Market meal I had the other night - I took a piece of dry toast and placed two little ribs on that along with a little sauce and I did finish eating it- and did save the left over - I'll eat it for dinner tonight prolly just cause I don't like to be to wasteful- but again, not something I really see me buying again anytime soon.

I've decided I'm going to be the critiquer of frozen food and just live in the land of wanting to be a real foodie person LOL

Rainy Day But No Blues....

2009-05-09T10:35:00.003-04:00

This is the view outside the front of my house right now-- it's pouring down rain- but amazingly, I don't have the rainy day blues - I actually enjoy the rain at times and this is one of those times- I love hearing it beat down on the house roof- isn't it such a soothing sound sometimes? (Or maybe I'm just crazy) lol

Anyways- it's a day I'm staying home, and for some reason I'm feeling creative, so once I get the dishes and laundry done, I'm going to sit back down here and design some new printable sets- who knew the rain would get me in the right mood to design?!?!

Boston Market Frozen Dinner

2009-05-08T19:19:00.002-04:00

During the winter, I seem to cook more 'family' meals- the kids are normally hungry when they get home from school and want something hot, etc. - so it makes it much easier to have a family meal - from now until about September though, we all seem to just eat 'whenever we want' - making it really hard to cook to many bigger meals.

So, with this in mind - the last time I went to the Super Walmart, I picked up several Frozen dinners for myself- and for the kids to try as well (hubby will not eat them) - tonight, Megan wanted a fruit salad - so she fixed herself cut up strawberries, watermelon and a banana - that made her happy for her dinner - Alex has a sinus infection and didn't want to eat anything because his throat hurts, but also because he is going to an end of the year Dart Baseball Banquet here in a bit - hubby is out mowing the grass- making it the perfect time to try one of the frozen dinners.

I picked a Boston Market honey chicken with au gratin potatoes - and to my surprise - it was REALLY good - I will buy a few more of these the next time I go to the store to have on hand for occasions like this. There was enough in the package to fill me up - although I did have a slice of buttered bread with it also - and the taste was wonderful - If I hadn't of cooked it myself and it was served on a plate, I would have thought it was homemade.

In Honor Of Mother's Day Coming Up

2009-05-07T18:19:00.002-04:00

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

This is all so true-- I love my kids to the core- they make my life worth living- they mean everything to me - I love you Megan & Alex!

WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED:

2009-05-05T06:01:00.001-04:00

WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED:

Men Are Just Happier People-- What do you expect from such simple creatures?

-Your last name stays put.
-The garage is all yours.
-Wedding plans take care of themselves.
-Chocolate is just another snack.
-You can be President.
-You can never be pregnant.
-You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
-You can wear NO shirt to a water park.
-Car mechanics tell you the truth.
-The world is your urinal.
-You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.
-You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
-Same work, more pay.
-Wrinkles add character.
-Wedding dress $5000.
-Tux rental-$100.
-People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
-New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
-One mood all the time.
-Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
-You know stuff about tanks.
-A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
-You can open all your own jars.
-You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
-If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.
-Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
-Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
-You almost never have strap problems in public.
-You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
-Everything on your face stays its original color.
-The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
-You only have to shave your face and neck.
-You can play with toys all your life.
-One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons.
-You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
-You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife.
-You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
-You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

I found this on another blog that I visit and thought I'd share it with all of you as well.

Modern Day Shopping

2009-05-04T22:38:00.002-04:00

Last Friday my daughter took a school trip to Syracuse which is about 2 1/2 hours away from us - they went to watch the play Diary of Anne Frank (which she says was terrific) and then lunch and shopping at the mall there.

Well, she must have called me a dozen times asking me if she should get this or that - then I get an email from her phone- where she sent me a text message with this pic wondering if I liked it and if she should get it - I had to laugh- only in today's world can you go into the dressing room, take a camera phone pic, email it to your mom and then ask for her opinion LOL

Turkey Funny

2009-05-03T09:18:00.005-04:00

My son is gone to camp this weekend with his friend and his friend's father - while there, they are going to be turkey hunting - well, it reminded me of something REALLY funny that happened a few weeks ago.

My son was out shopping with me and one of the items he bought was a turkey call - he gets in the car and opened it up while we were waiting for my husband to come out of the store - all the sudden I hear really loud the WORDS (sounded like from a megaphone) - "who, who - who's gonna cook you" - I turned around and Alex is staring at the turkey call like what?? - so, he did it again, and again, the same thing- "who, who - who's gonna cook you" - I said ALEX-- what are you doing??!! He said, I DON'T KNOW- it's what it tells me to do - I said WHAT? He said yes it says say these words into the turkey call - who, who who's gonna cook you - I said, Alex, you can't go into the woods calling that out - not only would people laugh at you, but you'd scare everything away - by this time, I was laughing SO incredibly hard - I told him to hand me the package - and I read it and it did say to say those words -- BUT the point he was missing, was that he was to just use his breath so to speak to kinda sound out those words to make the turkey call work - at first he just couldn't stop SAYING the words out loud and I just kept laughing and then he was laughing so hard as well - he just gave up - the next day he came out of his bedroom able to do the turkey call- so hopefully, he remembered not to say the words this weekend- I can just see John rolling in laughter if Alex starts hooting out - who, who - who's gonna cook you in them middle of the woods! LOL

Spring Boredom

2009-04-30T17:09:00.003-04:00

I haven't been posting much to the blog lately-- in fact, I haven't been posting much of anything at all anywhere on the net- I am seriously going thru a big case of the boredom's! I just can't seem to get motivated to do anything - even though there are things I could certainly be doing.

A few weeks ago, we decided to switch a few rooms around and to paint- when switching my office area around to a new room- I decided to start using a laptop for most things ( basically all Internet stuff and using the desktop only for work orders needing to be done ) - I've got the laptop in the living room and while I'm enjoying being out here watching the birds outside, watching to see when the mail comes, who is coming in the driveway, etc. - I can't help but feel like a couch potato! I seem to have gotten into a routine of checking about a dozen websites a day with my butt plopped down on the couch - several times a day- eagerly awaiting for them to be updated LOL - I'm like a kid in a candy store when they are updated- I'm feeling pathetic! I REALLY REALLY need to get motivated and get some things done - how can I be feeling this way??

I will admit the economy has effected by Gift Can business tremendously- and I think that is what is throwing me all off- I am used to being busy from morning to night filling orders, answering emails, returning phone calls, working on custom designs, etc. - and now, there is sometimes days before I get an order in - I am SO not used to this- I told my mother today that if orders don't pick up, I'm going to go out and get a job outside the home just for lack of sheer boredom! Thank goodness I don't have to rely on my income for bills because I've gone from something being more than full time to something less than part time over the course of the past 6 months or so.

This boredom is leading to laziness- I COULD/SHOULD be designing new printables for the website- absolutely nothing stopping me and I do have daily orders from the website for them- so why can't I just get into gear and design? It's sorta like writer's block I guess- I just have no desire to do anything- therefore, I really am causing my own boredom I guess! I need someone to snap snap snap in front of my face and get me out of this streak I'm in!! I NEED motivation!!

With that said, I've decided that I'm giving myself the rest of the week 'off' lol and then comes Monday morning, I am forcing myself to get back into the grove of things and making myself get things done- I think once I get back into a routine of actually working again, I'll be back on track and more apt to get things done- at least I hope so-- in the meantime, I'm going to sit here and be a couch potato and watch Survivor tonight!

Free Subscription to CBS Watch Magazine

2009-04-27T12:45:00.001-04:00

Free three year subscription to CBS Watch Magazine

Free for first 50,000 people so hurry!

A Day Of Fishing

2009-04-22T07:34:00.001-04:00

My son Alex, Alex's great uncle Ron (both pictured) and Alex's grandfather Leo (not pictured) took advantage of a recent beautiful spring day to fish at St. Regis Falls. Ron was the only one lucky enough to catch any fish that day!

My Living Room Has Chicken Pox--

2009-04-20T11:21:00.003-04:00

Ok.. not really, but that is what it reminds me of with all the little specks of white on the walls covering up the nail holes hubby repaired so he can paint- he's in the middle of sanding them away right now and hopefully will have the livingroom painted by tonight-- my color of choice is River Bank- it's hard to describe it- but it's a medium in color primitive green - something along a darker sage maybe-- I'll take pics once it's done and show everyone- hubby hates the color- but doesn't care what color I want things paint thankfully LOL - I hope it will look ok once it's on the walls- we built the house 4 years ago - comes this September, it will be our 5th winter in the house - and the livingroom has been painted a light tan once- then it was to light, so the next spring we painted it a darker tan- that lasted a year and we painted it a light sage sorta color- I like it, but it's to light- hense going for the darker version - lol - I am a person who likes change that is for sure!

We also have a new Living room set coming this week- a couch and love seat- so we want to get all the painting done before that!

Yesterday we completely moved my L shaped desk, computer, all the office types of stuff, etc. to a new room as well - It's going to take some used to being in the new place- it's been in the other room ever since we moved into the house- but we finally got this rooms walls done and it was originally going to be a second living room, but it will never get used for that- so made it my new work space - it's a good thing hubby is nice to me- I wouldn't be able to do all of this without him for sure- I do appreciate him even though he doesn't always think so LOL

A funny!!

2009-04-15T17:46:00.000-04:00

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN GUILTY OF LOOKING AT OTHERS YOUR OWN AGE AND
THINKING, SURELY I CAN'T LOOK THAT OLD? WELL...YOU'LL LOVE THIS ONE.

MY NAME IS ALICE SMITH AND I WAS SITTING IN THE WAITING ROOM FOR MY
FIRST APPOINTMENT WITH A NEW DENTIST.

I NOTICED HIS DDS DIPLOMA, WHICH BORE HIS FULL NAME. SUDDENLY, I REMEMBERED A TALL, HANDSOME, DARK-HAIRED BOY WITH THE SAME NAME HAD BEEN IN MY HIGH SCHOOL CLASS SOME 30-ODD YEARS AGO. COULD HE BE THE SAME GUY THAT I HAD A SECRET CRUSH ON, WAY BACK THEN? UPON SEEING HIM, HOWEVER, I QUICKLY DISCARDED ANY SUCH THOUGHT. THIS BALDING, GREY-HAIRED MAN WITH THE DEEPLY LINED FACE WAS WAY TOO OLD TO HAVE BEEN MY CLASSMATE. AFTER HE EXAMINED MY TEETH, I ASKED HIM IF HE HAD ATTENDED MORGAN PARK HIGH SCHOOL.

'YES. YES, I DID. I'M A MUSTANG,' HE GLEA MED WITH PRIDE.

'WHEN DID YOU GRADUATE?' I ASKED.

HE ANSWERED, 'IN 1970. WHY DO YOU ASK?'

'YOU WERE IN MY CLASS!', I EXCLAIMED.

HE LOOKED AT ME CLOSELY. THEN, THAT UGLY, OLD, BALD, WRINKLED, FAT ASS, GREY-HAIRED, DECREPIT, SON-OF-A -BITCH ASKED: 'WHAT DID YOU TEACH?

Easter Ramblings

2009-04-12T09:19:00.007-04:00

Let me start off by saying, I am not a religious person- never have been and I don't think I ever will be- BUT, I do think everyone has the right to their own religious beliefs and never should be criticized because of them.

Up until the last couple of years, I never thought about WHY we celebrated holidays- we just always "did" when I was a kid so I continued to do so as an adult with my own to kids. The main holidays in my house as a kid and as an adult with my own kids are Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter - Halloween was always about Trick or Treating- getting a good costume, parties, etc. - Christmas was about family together time and love - and of course presents - Easter was filled with eggs hunts, coloring eggs, baskets, gifts, Easter ham dinner- a really FUN day - so other than Thanksgiving which was about being thankful- the holidays were/are really just commercialized for us - they are not about the true meanings behind each holiday- again, because we are not religious- but I wonder how many families celebrate 'just because' - well today is Easter, were having a family dinner-- Well, today is Christmas we have to get together- well, today is this day so we have to do that- I guess it boils down to what about the other 360 some days of the year-- do family and friends not matter on those days? Why don't we take more time out for family and friends on a regular basis?

I am fortunate enough to live across the driveway from my parents - and they live in the house I lived in from the time I was four years old. My parents have gotten to see my two kids (now 17 and 14 1/2) on every holiday of their lives- we've always celebrated together, always had meals together, everything - knowing they have got to experience that with my kids and with me, makes me happy and content to no end- they are the only two grandchildren they have in the area and they have been the joys of their lives- and I'm so happy for that.

As my kids are now older- they could care less about getting an Easter Basket- I stopped that a couple of years ago- they never have been one for the Candy- we find Halloween Candy at Christmas not ate, and we find Easter Candy in July that's not ate lol - but I do miss them being little- we would always boil and decorate the eggs with dyes, stickers, markers, etc. - we'd use the colored Easter eggs and hide them outside for an Easter Hunt ( and even inside a few times when it was bad weather) - as they got older, we'd do one color for one kid and another color for another kid- one year we made the eggs into clues - each clue taking them to another spot and when they got to the end finally they had new bikes waiting for them- we made trails out of silly string one year to all the different eggs when they were really little- such sweet wonderful memories of the holiday we celebrate for all the wrong reasons - lol - but is that completely true? Just because you may not be religious- does it mean you can't celebrate traditions that have gone on for generations? After all, millions of people celebrate in these same ways, and it truly has nothing to do with the meaning of the holiday.

This year, my mom asked me if I wanted her to cook a big meal and I said no-- I don't think you should bother ( my mom ALWAYS cooks the holiday meals- it's her tradition and not one she wants to give up yet) - as the kids are older, today is 'just another day for them' - no more Easter Hunts, no more coloring eggs, no more excited faces running around etc. - it's sleep till noon, get up and get on the computer, play their video games, play basketball, etc. lol - completely different than ten years ago - so I told mom not to bother making the meal for us- I just didn't see 'why' - well, my kids heard about it and were like-- but it's TRADITION - we ALWAYS go to Gramma's for Ham Dinner!!! So, it was funny to me, that even though they are to old to participate in the 'traditions' of all the other Easter festivities- they are NOT to old to have dinner with my parents - THAT made me very happy- that made me thankful - that made me blessed- regardless of what day it is- Easter, Christmas, a Monday or Saturday- I'm happy the kids have the love for their grandparents to want to spend the time with them for dinner- I'm happy they do have the sense of tradition to pass down to their own children someday - in the end- I'm just happy to look back at all the memories knowing my kids had wonderful times growing up and hope that they have and create many many more in the years to come.

Now--this is a really long winded post isn't it-- and I'm NOT a writer or English major so if there are mistakes in it- I don't care lol - I'm just sharing wonderful memories and thoughts today!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day- whether you do or don't celebrate Easter - and for whatever reason you do celebrate it- it's gorgeous here in upstate NY today and I'm looking forward to sunshine and 50 degree weather all week long!!

Free Printables At Karen's Party Wraps

2009-04-11T16:40:00.003-04:00

~**Here is a list of the links with the FREEBIES~**

Beauty Shop and Orthodontist Sets

Pirates

Police Police and Sheriff

Doctor and Nurses

Fireman, EMT's

Pool Table, Darts

Etch Sketch

Checkers,Chess

Cowboy

Soldiers

Skate Board

Race Car

Cars

Blue Dog

Transformers

Denim Girl Power

Flower Doll

Gable Boxes

Clock Faces

Braces

Finally Got The Prom Dress

2009-04-08T17:45:00.004-04:00

Well we finally ventured out today even though the weather wasn't the nicest and picked up a prom dress for Megan. I can't believe we found one she liked in the very first place we went! Megan is a no frills type of girl though- she doesn't like lace, she doesn't like poofy, she doesn't like netting, etc. etc. lol - so she was looking for something simple, yet elegant enough for prom - I think she found it-- I really love it on her and think she will look beautiful comes prom next month! We were even lucky enough to find a pair of earrings and necklace at the dress shop so all we need now is a pair of shoes and a clutch purse -- ohh and some of those little things to put in her hair once it's done up.

For those of you who are local in the area- I highly suggest you check out Dress For Less in Canton - it's located at 64 1/2 Minor street and it's where we got the dress from- she is EXTREMELY nice, was very helpful and even gave up 30% of her LOW LOW PRICE-- I was expecting to pay a MIN. of $200 for the dress and we got this for-- get ready-- $70!!! That's it!! I spent more for last years winter ball dress than I did for this - extremely good deal and she has a variety of prom dresses, wedding gowns, tuxes, etc. and even has a tanning bed and I did hear her telling someone that they offer a layaway plan too! I will keep this place in mind for the future- that is for sure!

Ohhh and that's her Kitty Artemus in the pic with Meg- he wasn't to sure what she was wearing and was going around and around her trying to figure it out-- it was to cute!

Free Mother's Day Greeting Card Kit

2009-04-04T16:12:00.006-04:00

In honor of Mother's Day Coming soon - I'm offering a free set of pre-designed templates for you to make your mother a Greeting Card Organizer!

These are so fast and fun to put together- and something that is unique and lasting as well- once you have it put together, head on over to the $ store and pick up several cards that are $2 for $1 or even the boxes sets that come 10 for $1 or 10 for $2 - fill up the binder with the cards and you've created a terrific Mother's Day Gift that will be used for the entire year and probably longer!

To download the free pre-designed template, just go to my website at Valley View Market and click on printables on the left side and go to Greeting Card Organizer Link - enjoy!

P.S. - The instruction for making the greeting card organizer are also there on the site - just scroll down and you will find the link in the left column as well - enjoy!

I need a better Budget!!

2009-04-02T03:56:00.004-04:00

So yesterday, hubby and I made a trip over to the SUPER Walmart which is about 35-40 minutes from me - I don't mind the drive though because the store usually has a few items I can't get at my local grocery stores/regular Walmart store- including the cooked boneless BBQ chuncks from the deli-- YUM-O - I am addicted to those things (prolly a good thing I only go to that store a few times a month LOL) - we spent a little over $200 but that included two gallons of paint for our living room and hallways, painting supplies, some chizzel tools for hubby, laundry soap, and some groceries of course - overall- NOT a bad trip. Then we stopped at another grocery store on the way home and I got bonesless chicken breasts that were on sale along with a variety of Ice cream the kids had been asking for, and a few other items- this totalled about $60 - again, not to bad since the chicken will last me the whole month and the ice cream a few weeks, etc. - not like all this stuff is going to be used up in a day!

Anyways - as every month always starts off, I say we need to budget better - my husband gets paid twice a month from two different sources, but both come within the first week of the month- now, while I like that big chunk of money at the beginning of each month, we both find it hard to balance it out to last the entire month-

The first thing I do is pay all of our bills- and we don't have anything extreme - we were lucky enough to build our own home and don't have a mortgage on it- but we have the light bill, TV bill, Phone bill, Car payment, Insurances, etc. - but with that all said and done, it takes less than half the money hubby gets in a month - and we are not mentioning how much I get from my websites as well- not even factoring that into the picture- so, when you look at it from a big picture- we have more than enough money to sustain us each month- we should be able to be saving - we should be able to take as many family vacations as we want- we should be able to do lots of things- but, I always find towards the end of the month, I'm wishing for the beginning of the month to roll around again just to start the routine all over again!!

Now, I have to say, while I don't personally by myself a lot of things like makeup, clothes, magazines, etc. - we do buy a lot for our two teens - nothing over the top, but if they want a book- or two they get it - if they want a few new shirts, they get it- a new video game, they get it - BUT- they are also given an allowance each month and when that started, they were told if they wanted any of the above things, they had to purchase it with their money- well, that's just NOT working out- they spend that money, then want me to still buy all the above stuff and I'm a sucker and give in and they know it!

AND we eat take out food WAY to much- so, I know that is the one area we could really cut back on - but it's HARD for us! They say you can buy a take out pizza from the store for $8 and save money- but we like different things - so I'd have to buy two- so that is $16 - well for a little less than $20 we can go to the local pizza place, get two pizzas and breadsticks made fresh to our liking for just a few more $$'s - to me, it's worth those few extra $'s - and the taste is better! And I always thought Beef Stew was supposed to be something 'cheap' to make- my family LOVES it- but by the time I buy the meat (and I always buy it on sale), the potatos, carrots, onions, etc. - I end up spending at least $25-$30 making the stew - grant it I make a big crock pot of it and we get a couple days out of it plus I normally give some to my parents next door as well- but for me, it's not really a 'cheap' meal lol - it makes me wonder if I'm missing the point of a stew!

So, taking all of this into consideration- I still need a better budget that I can stick to- I know a lot of it is will power- saying I'm going to do something VS actually doing it- so, this month, I'm really going to TRY to budget better - try to make less frequent trips to the stores - because going for Milk and bread always leads to a $50-$100 shopping trip instead of $10 (this goes for when hubby goes too, not just me) - so, I've paid all of our bills, got the basics for groceries, and lots of snacks- paint for our house, etc. - I'm going to try not to spend anything more until next week-- think I'll make it? LOL

I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing - wish me luck and if you have any tips, let me know!!

What a Beautiful sunrise this morning!

2009-04-01T06:52:00.002-04:00

March Give-a-way Winner

2009-04-01T06:08:00.001-04:00

Is Sarah -- thanks for following my blog- please contact me though to receive your prize- I don't see your information for me to contact you-- thanks everyone- I hope to get more followers of the blog and will be holding more contests as well - it's just something FUN to do!

Army Wives Trivia

2009-03-31T08:07:00.003-04:00

I was on Lifetime TV Network's website yesterday and there was a fun trivia game about the show Army Wives - have any of you taken it?

Do any of you watch the show? I love it- I'm hoping the 3rd season will be back on soon-- I heard several weeks ago they were filiming it - so hopefully it won't be to much longer!

Happy 17th Birthday Megan!!

2009-03-30T14:37:00.003-04:00

Today is my daughter's 17th birthday-- we are all so proud of you Megan and love you so much! I can't believe you are 17 today- time goes by so fast- it seems like only yesterday that we were bringing you home from the hospital for the first time- you mean the world to us and I am excited to see what the future brings for you-- HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGGIE MOO!!

How Well Do You Know The Location Of The States?

2009-03-29T18:34:00.002-04:00

Let me know how you do!

http://jimspages.com/States.htm

Flick your switch off for Earth Hour

2009-03-28T12:13:00.001-04:00

Do you want to show you care about energy conservation? Simply switch off your lights on March 28 from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., local time.

This is Earth Hour, and Saturday is the third annual worldwide event. Earth Hour is both a symbolic act and the start of a practical habit.

Millions of homes and businesses and hundreds of major landmarks will go dark for one hour to show that energy conservation is important.

Lighting accounts for about 11 percent of a typical American home's energy bills, while computers and electronics add another 9 percent.

Some famous buildings will be going dark today including: The Empire State Building in New York City, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the St. Louis Gateway Arch, the Sydney Opera House, the Sears Tower in Chicago, Seattle's Space Needle, the Great Pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Broadway theater marquees in New York City.

So do your little part and turn off the lights for an hour!

Simple Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

2009-03-24T07:49:00.004-04:00

So last night I had a craving for Cheddar Cheese Biscuits- I've been wanting to make them for a while, and just hadn't done it- so last night on a whim I decided to make up a batch- the recipe is from allrecipes.com and is so simple and fast and they did come out yummy if I do say so myself- my 16 year old daughter even liked them so they couldn't be to bad! lol

I was thinking afterwards, they would be really yummy with chopped bits of ham or pepperoni mixed into them as well.

Ingredients:

2 cups bisquick baking mix

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 - ( I only put mine on 375, but that could be my oven??)

Mix baking mix, milk, & cheese until a soft dough forms; beat vigorously for 30 seconds.

Drop dough by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cooking sheet.

Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix butter & garlic powder.

Brush garlic mixture over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet.

Serve warm. Makes 12.

Are you an ARMY WIFE?

2009-03-21T11:14:00.004-04:00

If so, then check out Army Wife Network on Twitter!
Army Wife Network

and their blog website http://awtr.blogspot.com

I told You So By Carrie Underwood & Randy Travis- Great Vocals!

2009-03-19T11:32:00.002-04:00

Don't forget! - Become A Follower Of My Blog For A Chance To Win --

2009-03-19T10:59:00.001-04:00

Become a follower of my blog during the month of March and be entered for a chance to win six assorted greeting cakes!! Look below for the full message post about it!

To be sure I can contact you if you are the winner, you might want to add a comment there and let me know you've signed up as a follower and leave a contact email!Keep on the look out for more prizes and giveaways on the blog as well!

Spread the word!

Fact Of The Day:

2009-03-19T10:58:00.001-04:00

If you keep a goldfish in a dark room it will eventually turn white.

Megan passed her road test!!

2009-03-17T07:08:00.003-04:00

Finally! My 16 year old Megan (17 on the 30th of the month) passed her road test- I have to admit - this was her FOURTH time taking the driving portion of the test - the first three times, she just could not pass it (of course if she kept quiet and didn't argue with the test instructor, it might have helped at least on one occasion lol) - but she is a really good, careful driver, so I could not understand why she wasn't passing - after the third test, and winter approaching, we decided to wait a few months before trying again- so she went yesterday and did great on it and now is so happy about it!

Megan really didn't want to go and take it again- I think the feeling of failing again was not settling well with her- this is a girl who is high honors at school - ranked 7th in her class and never has to crack open a book for anything (of course if she did, she'd probably be #1 in her class!) - so when she kept failing the test, she was getting quite frustrated - of course so was I considering teens we know who have their license have already gotten tickets, yet still retain their license and yet, here is a girl who normally drives 45ish lol and can't even pass the test!

I was happy that it's only going to cost about $25 a month to add her to my insurance policy - that is until we get her a car, then I don't know how much it will be- but, I can also get a transcript of her grades and get some type of discount via Geico as well, so that is nice!

Today it is suppose to be near 60 degrees out and sunny - the birds are chirping and I can feel Spring in the air - ( if that is possible )

Happy St. Patty Day!

How much is a lollipop worth?

2009-03-15T09:59:00.004-04:00

So, I have to admit- I'm a celeb gossip Junkie as you can see by some of the websites I have listed that I visit on a daily basis- since I'm a work at home mom, and live in a very rural area - there isn't a lot to do here and I am home sometimes more than I care to be -- with all that said - my 'entertainment' is checking in on the celebs and seeing what the gossip is of the day- one of the sites I visit is Kim Kardashian's blog and on there was a tidbit about her being the spokesperson for Sugar Factory-- well it lead me to check it out and while it's a cute idea- I can not imagine paying $22 for a bling lollipop stick and then $4 a piece for the lollipop that you screw onto the stick to eat- call me crazy- but in these economical times, I think there is far better things to do than have a $26 lollipop!! Then again, you could save about $20 by purchasing their value pack for $70 and get your choice of four sticks and four lollipops-

don't get my wrong- I'm NOT a penny pincher- I shop way to much and my kids have way more than they need- but a $22 lollipop?!!?

Check it out- http://www.sugarfactory.com/

Does anyone use Twittermoms.com

2009-03-14T08:51:00.002-04:00

I signed up for this as it looked like a great website, and I still think it is- however, I joined a few groups on it and there really doesn't seem to be much interaction on the groups- if you belong to twittermoms.com- let me know how you are getting the most out of the site either for business or personal reasons- what's working for you, what hasn't- how much time do you spend on it, etc.?

Fact Of The Day:

2009-03-11T06:40:00.001-04:00

11% of people in the world are left-handed - my mother and I would be among this 11%.

Don't forget! - Become A Follower Of My Blog For A Chance To Win --

2009-03-10T11:24:00.001-04:00

How do you forget a Candy Bar?!?!

2009-03-10T07:08:00.005-04:00

Last night, I had to take my mom up to the Emergency Room- thankfully she was released with some medication and all will be well- but it led me to stopping at our local Walgreen's to get a couple of prescriptions filled - while there in line for the checkout, I noticed a candy bar by Hershey's called a Thingamajig - the packaging caught my eye - and it said it was made with chocolate, cocoa crisp and peanut butter-- yum - o - so I grabbed a couple of them - once home and settled in I grabbed one to try it - after the hour I'd just had waiting for medicine in Walgreen's ( that's another post) - I needed a thingamajig!! lol - Well, as soon as I took my first bite- I was reminded of a candy bar called a whatchamacallit - this was by FAR my most favorite candy bar as a teen - I had no idea if they still made it even until I did a little google search this morning and found where you could buy it online, so I'm going to assume you can purchase it locally in stores as well-- what I can't believe is that I had forgotten all about my favorite candy bar- when did I stop eating it even?? lol - I have NO idea-- but I really like the thingamajig- maybe more than I recall liking the whatchamacallit - lol

It's funny how something can be an obsession though like the whatchamacallit was when I was a teen and yet, we completely forget about it until something triggers the memory for us!

Fact Of The Day:

2009-03-09T11:16:00.002-04:00

The state of Maine has 62 lighthouses - that's a lot of light houses for such a tiny little state!

25 cheap/free ways to advertise your business

2009-03-09T10:47:00.003-04:00

These tips were passed on to me and I thought there were some really good ideas that we all can be reminded to do, so thought I'd pass them along to you as well - do you have any tips to share for free or low cost advertising?

1) If you have a business that is not "clear cut" (maybe you sell many different types of items, or pieces that cannot simply be shown off by a small sample) how about a pocket calendar? If you have a color printer, you can make them yourself, with pictures of your different crafts. All of your business information can be included, so every time the person opens their calendar, they are reminded of you and your store.

2) Put your business card on magnetic sheeting. Remember, business cards with a magnetic back really stick in people's minds as well as on their refrigerator.

3) Have your business information printed on bookmarks and drop a hundred or more off at the local library.

4) Make a YouTube commercial.

5) Post ads on Craigslist.

6) Put magnetic signs, vinyl lettering or license plate frames on your car.

7) Set up a "home party" with several of your friends to showcase your work.

8) Jewelry designers: What about cell phone charms? Package them up with a business card and you're set.

9) Look for websites where you can advertise for free. Find free on-line classified websites for your community.

10) Write an e-Book on something that is relevant to your business and distribute it for free. By distributing a free product with your brand in it you will garner the trust of those interested in your product thus bringing you free targeted traffic to your business.

11) Offer to teach a class about your craft through the local recreation & park district.

12) Always include a business card in the envelope when you pay your bills. :)

13) Join your local area Chamber of Commerce. They are always holding business events and "get acquainted" nights.

14) Donate a piece to your local radio station. They have numerous contests and are always looking for sponsors. Your donation can be written off as a tax deduction and you will get free advertising and exposure.

15) Have cardboard beverage coasters printed and distribute them to your local bars or saloons.

16) Contact local area hotels, motels and bed & breakfast inns and ask them if you can do up a Lobby Basket and leave it in their Lobby. What is a Lobby Basket? You make up little packs of info about your business & products and put them into the Lobby Basket for their patrons to take. They usually have a pamphlet wall or area too with pamphlets from local area attractions etc. If they don't have a lobby basket area, inquire about leaving your business info in their pamphlet area.

17) Make a business name tag and wear it every time you are in public. Make sure it has a catchy phrase like "Ask Me About (your company name)" or "Earn some FREE when you party with me!"

18) Have computer mouse pads printed with your company logo, business information, picture, etc. and distribute them to local large businesses. This will keep your website and business in front of them every time they're on their computer!

19) Contact a local Assisted Living Center for Senior Citizens (different than a nursing home!) and see if you can come in & offer a shopping opportunity to their Senior Residents! Seniors can't get out like they used too so they appreciate being able to shop from home. The majority of them don't own computers and if they do, they may not be extremely computer savvy. So offer a one-on-one shopping experience with them. They also appreciate the adult company!

20) Contact Realtors and apartment buildings in your area. They usually give out new business packet info to their customers/clients to welcome them to their new home. See about adding your business information to their "Welcome Home" Packs!

21) Establish a Referral program for your business and print out referral coupons. Offer established customers a free little gift or personal discount if they refer a new customer to you. I like to give out 3 Referral Coupons to every new customer I get so that they know they will be rewarded for referring new customers to me.

22) Remember going to get your hair cut, and you get a "punch" in your card each time? By the time you had 10 (or more) haircuts (and punches) you'd get a free or a discounted haircut. Try it with your business. Print up your own punch cards and pass one out to each customer. Chances are they'll never use it -- or they lose it -- anyway.

23) Make T-Shirts or blouses for yourself, your family members and your friends to wear in public which has your business advertisement on them.

24) Set-up a "Free Giveaway" box at any store or restaurant that will give you permission. Print up registration forms to drop into the box.

25) We all get junk mail with the postage paid envelopes. Just send a flyer or your business card back to the company and use their return envelope. ;)

Public School Lunches?

2009-03-07T14:55:00.002-05:00

I'm just curious what people pay across the nation for their kids school lunches - we are paying $1.75 a day for each kids meal (7th & 11th grades) - which includes their basic meal and milk- drinks such as fruit punch cost 75 cents, waters are $1.00-$1.50 depending on if flavored or not, if you want an extra piece of pizza or something like that it's $1.50 - ice creams or other novelties are anywhere 50 cents to $1.00 - these prices just seem more like a local corner store than a school cafeteria!

The school apparently has also recently in the past month downsized portions due to the fact they are loosing money they told the kids- these prices just seem crazy to me - or maybe the worst part is, I know my kids are most likely throwing 1/2 the food away - both refuse to take a lunch from home although it would be a lot cheaper and probably better for them- when they were younger, they took their lunch all the time- but now that they are older- it's not 'cool' anymore-- anyone else facing these battles and if so, what are you doing or attempting to do about it- or do you just pay the price and not worry about it?

Become A Follower Of My Blog For A Chance To Win --

2009-03-04T06:46:00.006-05:00

Become a follower of my blog during the month of March and be entered for a chance to win six assorted greeting cakes!!

Not familiar with Greeting Cakes? They are individual little cake kits that you can mix and pop into the microwave for a quick snack- these are perfect to keep on hand at the office, at home, or to send away to college with your loved one - or instead of a greeting card for an event, you can send a greeting cake!

So to recap - all you have to do for a chance at winning the cakes is to sign up as a follower of my blog during the month of March - that will get your name into the pot one time - come back and visit thru out the month of March for more posts on how to win extra chances at winning the cakes!!

P.S.

To be sure I can contact you if you are the winner, you might want to add a comment here and let me know you've signed up as a follower and leave a contact email!

Keep on the look out for more prizes and giveaways on the blog as well!

Today Is Square Root Day -

2009-03-03T07:01:00.000-05:00

Dust off the slide rules and recharge the calculators. Square Root Day is upon us.

The math-buffs' holiday, which only occurs nine times each century, falls on Tuesday — 3/3/09 (for the mathematically challenged, three is the square root of nine).

The last such day was five years ago, Feb. 2, 2004, which coincided with Groundhog Day. The next is seven years away, on April 4, 2016.

Fact Of The Day:

2009-03-03T06:56:00.001-05:00

A ball of glass will bounce higher than a ball of rubber - useless fact of the day :O) - BUT, I bet you didn't know that!

Last of the winter blues?

2009-03-01T16:49:00.002-05:00

I think I'm feeling the last of the winter blues - at least I hope it's the last! I have so many things I want to do - especially getting more printable items up on the website for sale, but I just can't bring myself to get motivated into doing anything!

Over the course of the past couple of weeks, my son Alex has been sick twice with that darn intestinal bug that's going around, then I was sick and ended up in the hospital for a day because of being dehydrated, then Alex got and still has bronchitis and my daughter of course is going thru multiple health issues- even though she is pretty healthy overall - I think the strain off all of that has just wiped me out - and I need something to refresh me and jump start me back into gear!

We didn't make it to Burlington for Meg's neurologist appointment due to the sickness and also the weather- they have rescheduled it for JUNE 2nd - yes, can you believe it - another 3 months wait to get in to see the specialist-- however, I'm hoping that the neurologist here at home will see her - she is considered a pediatric patient because she is under 18- but since she will be 17 at the end of the month, her pediatrician is hoping the adult neurologist here will see her- I'm hoping so as well- fingers crossed about that - hopefully we will find out tomorrow on that.

My mother called me this morning and asked if my hubby and I knew his step-father has passed away on Friday-- SHOCK-- NO WE DID NOT! Hubby's mother has been in a nursing home for a few years now, and we don't really associate with his step father- they were never close and the step father basically stopped having anything to do with his mother when she entered the nursing home- so, anyways- we woke up to that news today- and hubby will be dealing with everything to do with that this week I guess- he's out of town today - his sister is supposed to come over this way tomorrow and they plan on telling their mother about his death- she doesn't even know yet!! I can't believe his daughter didn't call someone in the family and let them know - regardless of the situations, I don't think people should find these things out by reading a newspaper!

The one thing I'm happy about is the clocks get changed ahead one hour in just a week - I can't wait- warmer weather must be just around the corner-- right?!?!

Fact Of The Day:

2009-02-27T09:11:00.001-05:00

New York City is made up of 60 Islands-- huhhhh-- never knew that one!

Fact Of The Day:

2009-02-26T10:16:00.003-05:00

The first penny, had the moto "mind your own business" - maybe this is where the expression 'a penny for your thoughts' came from? At any rate-- sometimes, it would be nice for people to mind their own business! lol

Speaking of money today- for a while now, I've been collecting $1 bills that have serial numbers in succession- I probably have a few dozen of them- but to my surprise, I got a series of 10 in a row about a week ago- I was really surprised- I thought this was something that was really rare to see, but I think it's becoming more and more common- oh well, it's still neat to get them and I'm going to continue to collect them as well- do you all collect anything 'silly' like that?