The Versatile Blogger Award

I signed on today to find that I had been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award! Thanks to Theresa at Our Life In Words! She has a lovely (and versatile) blog about her daily life with her two home-schooled daughters. Her husband is working on a project that will provide all the trees surrounding the new World Trade Center Memorial Project. Her posts are very interesting and well written. She and her husband are also phenomenal photographers! I recommend that you check out her blog some time. And thanks again, Theresa, for this award!

As part of the Versatile Blogger Award, I must share 7 things about myself. So here goes:

1. I am a mother of four children - two boys aged 11 and 9 and two girls aged 6 and 2. Life is busy!


2. I dabble in many different things; my hobbies include photography, photo editing, baking, cake decorating, sign language, Spanish, and being outdoors. My most recent hobby is running. I just took part in a 5-person marathon last week. It was exhilarating!


3. I am very religious. I attend church three times a week; it is my top priority in life.


4. I have green eyes, millions of freckles, and slightly crooked teeth. I've always wished I'd had braces.


5. I enjoy the performance arts. I've seen a few off-Broadway shows including Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, and Mama Mia and I will soon be seeing Blue Man Group. I can't wait!


6. I tend to be very wordy when I start writing. I limit myself when it comes to blogging or I could sit here and type all day! I would love to author a book (or a few dozen) some day. The hardest part is getting started.


7. I enjoy childish things and I don't plan on ever fully growing up. Dr. Seuss is one of my heroes. I love reading children's literature and playing with toys. I still color and I love making paper snowflakes in the winter. Perhaps that's why I have a degree in Early Childhood Education.

There's a Lizard on my Keyboard

Hubby and I recently started noticing these colorful, plastic lizards throughout the house. At first, we thought the kids were being careless, leaving their toys out. So I picked them up and put them in the "Go Upstairs" pile. But then I started noticing them in unusual places that had to be planted on purpose. For example, this lizard was on my keyboard one evening after the kids were in bed. I remembered that Big Sis picked a package of these lizards from the treasure chest at the dentist's office the week before. Putting that information together with the knowledge of her sense of humor made me realize that she's playing a game with us. So Daddy put the lizard in her shoe the next morning. That just made her day! She now has a partner in the game. I love when the kids do silly things that make me realize they all got their dad's corny sense of humor. I love it...that's why I picked him in the first place. (On an unrelated note, today marks 18 years that I have been enjoying his corny sense of humor. We started dating on September 30, 1992!)

First Pin Curls

Big Sis and I had a girls night recently when Baby Girl was sleeping and The Brothers were watching a game with Daddy. She wasn't happy that she wasn't included with the big kids. So she took a nice warm bath, washed her hair, and we put it up in pin curls just like Great-Grandma still does every night. Big Sis has tons of hair so I had a hard time getting the curls tight enough. Next, we wrapped it up in a head scarf and I teased her that she looked like a little, old lady. She slept in the pins all night and woke up with beautiful curls in the morning. They were spoiled by lunchtime but it was fun anyway.

Candied Walnuts

A perfect Fall treat!

Candied Walnuts
1 pound walnut halves
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Spread nuts in a single layer over a baking sheet. Roast for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until the nuts start to turn brown and the smell of roasting nuts fills the kitchen. Stir together sugar, cinnamon, salt, and milk in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, or until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla immediately. Add walnuts to sugar syrup, and stir to coat well. Spoon nuts onto waxed paper and immediately separate nuts with a fork. Cool, and store in airtight containers.

I did it!

I successfully completed my leg in the marathon today! I feel such a sense of accomplishment and plan on doing it again next year! 3.5 miles in 40 minutes...not bad for a first try!

Run, Forrest, Run!

Tomorrow is the big day...My Marathon Day. (Please insert Chariots of Fire theme song here.) I am nervous and excited. I have been so busy these last few weeks that my training didn't progress as far as I had hoped. I never ran the full length of my leg. Hopefully I'll be OK...if I have to walk intermittently, the world will not end. So send me happy thoughts tomorrow morning....never mind, you will probably still be in your comfy bed snoozing happily. I have the first leg, which starts at the butt-crack of dawn. Well, pleasant dreams to all of you.

Just Another Candle on the Cake

When I was growing up, my 18th birthday was no different than any other birthday. My parents did not buy into the school of thought that a person magically turns into an adult the day they turn eighteen. I am thankful for that.

An acquaintance of mine is at her wit's end right now because her recently turned eighteen-year-old son has disappeared. Her Facebook posts plead for any information about her son. "If he would just contact me..." she says. My heart sunk at the thought of what she's going through. But then, she posted that she heard he was staying with a friend, even though he didn't bother to mention it. I was angered at him for putting his mother through this but then I read her response: "He's 18, there's really nothing I can do." Ugh! Why is it that teens are no longer responsible to their parents when they turn 18? I'm 34 and married with 4 kids. I still answer to my parents. Yes, I make my own decisions. But when my parents think I'm making the wrong ones, they let me know. And I appreciate it.

Maybe I'm just old school. Does anyone else agree with me that the only thing different about turning 18 is another candle on the cake?

My Screensaver

I take a lot of pictures. If you read my blog, you probably noticed that already. I have so many pictures stored and I love to occasionally view them. One way I accomplished this is that I set my computer's screen saver as a slide show of all the photos in my picture file. I will catch each member of my family just sitting viewing the photos from time to time. The big kids laugh at how little and funny they once were. Sometimes Baby Girl even sits on the desk chair and watches the slide show like other kids watch TV. Occasionally the slide show runs during dinner. As we sit around the dining room table, we discuss the pictures, places we've been, things we've done, and cute stories about the kids. Many interesting conversations have developed because of the slide show and I plan on keeping it set up that way for years to come....our family's digital photo album.

A Stitch in Time Does Not Save Nine

It has to be said, Scouting and sewing-challenged people do not mix. I have had scouts in my home for the past five years. That's a lot of patches, people. So far, my mother has been the one to stitch all those numbers and symbols on the boys' uniforms. But we are horrible procrastinators and don't think of sewing on patches until right before meeting time. So I have reluctantly taken over.

On the left, you see an incomplete Cub Scout uniform. The orange patch is on it's last leg, literally hanging on by a thread. There is no red patch on the left side of the diamond, but we won't go into that story. And on the right of the picture, you see a Boy Scout sash, a tabula rasa. This is Big Brother's first year of Boy Scouts. Looking at this empty sash, I envision the multitude of merit badges that will someday be displayed in uneven lines. It makes me want to cry. I think I need a sewing tutor.

National Punch Day

Today is National Punch Day. I'm sure you already have your parties and celebrations planned. But if not, here are two of my favorite punch recipes. They both are fantastic and beautiful in a at parties. But if you don't feel like preparing punch today, maybe you should just punch someone in the nose instead. (Just kidding!)

She's Sparkling Cranberry Punch
1 can frozen concentrate cranberry juice
1 can frozen concentrate white grape juice
1 2-liter Sprite

Keep juices frozen and Sprite refrigerated until ready to use. To prepare, dump all ingredients into a punch bowl and stir until juice is melted.

Strawberry Slushy Punch
2 1/2 C sugar
6 C water
2 small packages strawberry Jello
2/3 C lemon juice
1 quart orange juice
1/2 can frozen pineapple juice
2 2-liters Sprite

Combine sugar, water, and Jello in a saucepan. Boil 3 minutes. Add lemon juice, orange juice, and pineapple juice. Freeze overnight. (Pitchers work well.)
The next day, scoop mixture into a punch bowl and add Sprite. The punch keeps its slushy consistency for quite a while.