New Spring

Spring has finally found her way to our neck of the woods, she had gotten herself lost and I didn't think she was EVER going to get here.  Now that she has arrived, she has brought with her all the joy and beauty she has.  Flowers are in bloom, grass is green, leaves are starting to open.  The birds and squirrels I have fed all winter are busy making new homes for their little families.  If we take the time to sit outside and do nothing but enjoy the goodness of Spring, we  find ourselves renewed with energy and newness.  In the midst of busyness by our animal and bird friends, we find  peace and calmness all around.  By the simple act of sitting outside, I am able to soak up the suns goodness, watch the creatures prepare for new families, witness the new growth of vegetation and empty my mind of old stuffy, musty, useless thoughts that have accumulated there over the long winter months.

Another event that comes each year with Spring is the annual spring cleaning of 'stuff'.  Yards are being raked and mowed.  Gardens are tilled and planted.  Cars are being cleaned inside and out.  Windows are opened to let the winter stink out.  Bedding is on the line, homes are given a top to bottom scrubbing and the purging of unwanted stuff is in full swing. 

What types of unwanted items do you purge?  Clothes, shoes, purses?  Items from the back of the closet you haven't seen since last years cleaning?  Toys the children no longer use or have broken?  This year I am purging something else...my Facebook page.  It's going to take me a bit of time to achieve my goal, but I am set on getting it done.  I was reminded recently of something I myself have said several times: "If all a person knew of Christianity was what they learned by watching you, what would they learn?".   If all someone knew about me was what they read on my FB wall, what kind of person would they think me to be?  My goal is to remove unwanted posts all the way back to the beginning of my FB birth.  Once this undertaking is complete, I think my new clean page will bring me joy and peace.  Peace of knowing those who look at it will not be led astray.

Happy Spring to you all.  My hope for you is finding your own joy and peace in purging what is no longer needed or wanted in your life.

Rainy Day Happenings

Before going to bed, I set my alarm with plenty of time to get up and walk a 5K this morning.  Morning and late evening walks rank among my favorite things to do as the world is quiet, allowing thoughts to flow easily.  Many of life's kinks have been straightened out on these walks.  Unfortunately, it was rainy when I woke, dashing all hopes of my enlightening stroll.  

Rainy days like today bring about two very different thoughts for me.  Yesterdays rainy day brought  the desire to sit in a chair with a good book and spend the day enveloped in a great story.  Once the children were schooled, fed and down for naps, that is precisely what I did.  Today, however, the rainy day has brought about the desire to  put on my apron and do some organizing.  I look around and see the bathroom cabinets could use a tidy, the little freezer could do with a swish of my cleaning wand and the linen closet, well, it just plain needs an overhaul.  I won't even scare you with the details of the shoe explosion in my bedroom. 

I firmly believe it is never too early for children to learn life skills.  The girls in my daycare are the caretakers of their playroom.  They are learning to 'keep house' and it is their responsibility to keep their 'house' clean and organized.  I think they would have lots of fun putting their own aprons on and helping me with today's rainy day cleaning.  Little girls in a shoe explosion, I can see the smiling faces now!  (I don't think I will let them know it is also educational as they sort and match the shoes).

I know there are some who complain about rainy days, but I do love them.  I love the quiet reflection days, and I love the get up and get something done days.   What type of rainy day person are you?

Season's change...and so do I

Days are getting longer, nights are getting cooler, children are back in school. This all leads to the coming of autumn. With the changing of the season, I'm finding myself going through my own personal change. No, I'm not talking about 'the change of life'. The change I'm referring to has been coming on slowly, yet steadily. I'm finding myself wanting to slow down a bit, take time for myself and Papa Bear, not wanting to be gone from my home three to four nights a week. I thoroughly enjoy all the volunteer work I do and don't want to give up any of the organizations I am a part of. That being said, I don't think I need to be quite as involved in each one as I have been for so many years.

Along with slowing my pace, I'm feeling the desire to change myself. I know, I know, I've talked for a long time about doing this exercise or that, making healthy meals, trying to get more sleep...etc. Now is the time. I have always in the past done (or at least started to do) healthy stuff because it was the right thing to do. Now I actually WANT to do it.

Who knows, maybe I'm coming into my Mid-Life Crisis. Whatever it is, I'm hoping to embrace it and make some much needed changes around here. After spending two whole days with Papa Bear just riding the bikes and seeing the sights, I realize I want much more time like that.

Simplicity. I do believe simplicity in my life is what I will be striving for.

Gift of fresh produce

If you are a regular reader of Bear Necessities, you know how much I love living in my little town. This was once again reinforced last week for me. A friend of mine had posted on facebook about spending the day making spaghetti sauce and canning it. I asked for her recipe as this is something I have not yet done. Not only did she send me the recipe, but when I came home from church, there was a big bucket (27 pounds) of tomatoes on my porch!

The process of making spaghetti sauce is a long one. It took me about eight hours from start to finish, but Mm-Mm-Mm it is so worth every minute of it! Now that I have eaten really good sauce, the store bought stuff will never again be good enough. From this 27 pound gift, I was able to can 11 quarts and have enough left over for a meal.

If this wasn't enough, this same friend brought over a bag of green beans which I prepared and was able to can 10 pints! This friend doesn't know it, but come apple time, she is getting a HUGE box of apples left on her porch!

Fair Food!!

It has once again been one of the most magical times of the year..County Fair time!

It's hard to beat a small county fair. The building showcasing local talent with displays of garden goodies, photography, sewing...etc. Also the building with booth after booth of local business owners showing their wares, political parties wanting to impress you with their candidates, and the Sheriff's Department giving out free popcorn.

Then there is the actually fair with all its stimulation of the senses. The sights, the sounds, the smells, and my favorite...the tastes! Bureau County Fair food is something I look forward to all year long. Last year I was experiencing some health issues and was not able to take part in this annual ritual of feeding my face. It was a very sad time for me *sigh*

This year though I was able to enjoy! (insert Hallelujah Chorus)

Papa Bear and I made our way to the fair on Saturday evening to watch the Draft horse show (and to eat). My first stop was to my favorite vendor who has THE BEST cherry limeade and corn dogs. The rest of the evening consisted of watching the horses, eating, walking through the buildings, eating, walking around, eating, and then a little more eating.

Two large cherry limeades
1/2 large lemon shake-up
Corn dog
Chocolate peanut butter fudge
Fried zucchini (veggies..good for me, right?)
Fried Twinkie
Popcorn
Pixie Stick
Nacho w/cheese
Cotton Candy

Papa Bear and I decided we had enough Fair and walked to the car where Papa had the wonderful idea of running through Dairy Queen for a shake. Hey, he was driving, I was kind of forced into it. (grin)

The local volunteer ambulance services provide coverage at the fair, Sunday was our turn...I HAD to go again, darn the luck. It was raining when we got there and proceeded to rain the almost five hours were were there. Well gosh, what is a person to do when it is raining and nothing going on? Yep, eat. I took it easy this time though.
Cherry limeade (only one)
Corn dog
Fried green tomatoes, onion rings, mushrooms and cauliflower (more veggie goodness)
Part of a funnel cake
Iced coffee

When I got home I finished off the cotton candy from last night as I didn't want it to go to waste (at least that's what I told Papa Bear as he gave me a funny look). I still have a few pixie sticks left and a box of salt-water taffy. I'll hold these back for a rainy day when I need a little pick-me-up.

I am a happy girl.

The window from which we look

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood.
The next morning while they are eating breakfast,
The young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
"That laundry is not very clean", she said.
"She doesn't know how to wash correctly.
Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry,
The young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a
Nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:

"Look, she has learned how to wash correctly.
I wonder who taught her this."

The husband said, "I got up early this morning and
Cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others
Depends on the purity of the window through which we look!

Be The Match

Yesterday morning on Good Morning America, Robin Roberts revealed she has a rare bone disorder and will be needing to undergo a bone marrow procedure. Fortunately, her sister is as close to a perfect match as can be found.

This morning I went to www.bethematch.org to sign up to be a donor. If I am chosen as a match, I WOULD NOT have to have a huge needle stuck in my spine sucking out my bone marrow. From what was explained this morning on GMA, I would be given a medication that somehow would put what was needed into my blood stream, and then I would basically give blood for a few hours. I know I just explained it in a very simple basic way, but you get the idea of what I'm talking about.

There are so many people on waiting lists trying to find matches. If you take the four minutes needed to fill out the form, you could help save lives. What better feeling in the world is there than helping someone to live?

"Now now Johnny" doesn't work

Soap Box Alert!

I was brought up with parents who loved us enough to discipline us...regardless of where we were. I was also brought up in a time when it was socially acceptable to discipline your children and make them behave. Because of that, my parents were able to take us children into public to grown up places and not for one second worry if we would act inappropriately. And if we had a brief moment when we started to get a bit naughty, off to the bathroom we were marched and got a spanking right there. It's how all the children I knew were raised and we all seemed to grow up without any major defects because of it.

Unfortunately, that is not the case anymore. When Johnny is in a restaurant and throwing his food and banging his fork on the table and yelling and running around, mom and dad only say, "Now now Johnny, we don't act like that. Now now Johnny, let's not throw our food at the nice lady. Now now Johnny, if you quit running around and yelling I'll take you for ice cream".

SERIOUSLY??

What happened to the good old days of actions and consequences? When children were taught from a young age what is and is not allowed? When going for ice cream was a treat, not a bribe to stop bad behavior. I am a firm believer that bad behavior should never be rewarded.

I may sound like an old fuddy-duddy here, but what are these children being taught? How are they going to grow up to function in society if they have no concept of right and wrong? If children are not taught young, how will they ever make good choices when they are older? If they have a sense of entitlement, how will they ever understand when things don't go their way~and know how to deal with it?

There seems to be so much anger in younger people. Could it be they were given life on a platter when they were children, and now as they get older, not have a clue how to deal with being told no and not having it all their way?

I'm happy to say not all parents raise up their children this way. My foster daughter is tough on her children..and we can go out in public with no worries. They understand what 'no' means, and the fact that disobeying it comes with consequences. I applaud all parents who still take a firm stance on child rearing.

Another thing that seems to have gone by the wayside is a good old fashioned spanking. Believe me, I had my fair share of them growing up and I am very thankful to my parents for it. Well, I'm thankful now, wasn't so thankful then. We knew if we got too out of line, off to the bathroom we went. My mom only used her hand, never a spoon or belt or switch or any other object. We were never beat, we were never abused. We received spankings and learned right and wrong.

You may be wondering why I am on my soap box today. Well, I can't really say. I don't have any certain event setting me off. I guess it's just a concern for our young people and the effect 'Now Now Johnny' parenting is having on them. How they are not being taught life has boundaries and just because you want something doesn't mean you are going to get it. They are not learning how to cope with rejection.

Please, please, please, if you are the parent of underage children, it's not too late. Please love your children enough to discipline them. This doesn't meant as your children grow into adults, they are going to be perfect people. Nope, not at all. What it does mean is they will have the knowledge in them of right and wrong. They will make choices, not all of them good, but they WILL have knowledge inside of them that can help in those choices. Without this knowledge, they will make choices only on knowing they should always get what they want and there are no consequences for bad behavior.

Soap box talk is over, thank you for listening. (Smile)

Drinking and Driving

Back in February I shared with all of you when my son was in an accident. This accident was due to drinking and driving. By the Grace of God, both he and his passenger lived. This event drastically changed my sons life.

Sunday, there were three young people in an accident. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene. A girl passed away that evening while the other girl has been released from the hospital. These young people were 20 and 21 years old. It has not been released to the media, but friends of these young people tell me there was alcohol involved. I have no doubt this event will forever change the life of the young girl who lived.

When I was younger, I did my share of drinking and getting behind the wheel. In fact, I did it for many many years. I guess this makes me the proverbial pot calling the kettle black because I want to just kick people square in the seat of their pants when they perform such a dangerous and stupid act.

My heart is breaking for the parents who have just lost children. My heart aches for the girl who will carry this with her the rest of her life.

If there is any good to be found here it's maybe friends of these young people will think twice before drinking and getting into a vehicle.

MmMmMm...yummy banana bread

My kitchen is smelling all kinds of scrumptious this morning. As I sit here and type, there are exactly 34 minutes left on the timer until the yummy banana bread can be taken out of the convection oven. After that, I will force myself to wait the required 5 minutes for the bread to start cooling.

Watch out though, once that time is done, the bread will be sliced and butter slathered on it. I will then sit down with said buttery bread and a nice hot cup of my fake coffee and enjoy a little bit of me time.



*Sigh*

How can 34 minutes move so slow??

Betty Crocker's Banana Bread

1 C. sugar
1/3 C. margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 C. mashed bananas
1/3 C. water
1 2/3 C flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
I do not add nuts but I do add 1 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 350*. Grease bottom only of loaf pan.
Mix sugar and margarine in 2 1/2 quart bowl.
Stir in eggs until blended.
Add bananas and water (beat 30 seconds)
Stir in remaining ingredients just until moistened.
Pour into pan.
Bake 55-60 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool 5 minutes (this is SO hard for me!)
Remove from pan and cool completely before slicing (as you read above, I skip this part).

Couch to 5K

Today I am starting on a nine week journey. Don't know how much fun this journey is going to be in the beginning, I'm sure though I will be loving it by the end. You see, today I start the Couch to 5K program. The idea is to take me from a couch potato to running a 5K in just eight weeks.

Even though the program is for eight weeks, I'm starting it by first doing a week of conditioning my body. Drinking lots of water, eating pretty healthy, and doing some basic exercising so my body doesn't go into shock.

I'll be keeping a journal during this journey. Tracking my eating, my sleeping, my water and my program progress.

I tried to do this about a year ago and failed miserably at it. I don't think my heart was in the right place. I think I might be ready now...uummmm...I HOPE I am ready this time.

If all goes well, I will be able to run in my little towns 5K race during the summer festival~that is my goal.

Well dear reader, that's what I have going on, feel free to keep me accountable!

NASCAR!

My friends Joe and Alicia have created a monster! Yep, it's all their fault. I am completely blaming them for my being tired today due to staying up to watch the Daytona 500 last night.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't give two hoots for NASCAR. I found it to be a waste of time. I would liken it to watching paint dry. I even took my Boy Scouts to a race at Chicago Speedway and found myself so very bored. I said I would never again do that...EVER!

My, my, my how things have changed. I am addicted to it now! It all started a couple of weeks ago when Papa Bear was gone and I was lonely. I took my crochet and went to my friends house to hang out with them and play with the kids. This is a huge NASCAR family. While there, they turned on the Budweiser Shoot-out, did a bit of explaining to me, and I was hooked. Who knew picking someone to follow would make such a difference?

This weekend, I made my plans around the races. Last night, I changed plans so I wouldn't miss the race which had been rained out on Sunday. My friends got me in on Fantasy Racing. *SIGH* I'm hooked. I sure hope the Chicago Speedway offers special discounted tickets for the Boy Scouts in the fall again!

Lesson here...never say never!

A bad kind of dry

In some instances, dry is a good thing:

* A dry spot in a rain storm
* Dry grass to sit on
* Dry sheets when it's time to go to bed (as opposed to still being wet in the washer because I forgot about them)

One thing definitely not good dry is a bloggers brain. Unfortunately, that is exactly what has been going on here. My brain has been dry dry dry. Think desert dry. Think left extra long in the dryer dry. Think so dry I could not squeeze out a single drop of creative juices dry. Yep, it's been a very dry couple of weeks.

I'm happy to report the dryness is lifting. I'm feeling a bit of wetness in my brain again (hoping it doesn't mean my brain has a leak!) I'm looking forward to once again posting, and I want to thank all of you for hanging in there with me during this dry spell.

Thankful Thursday

If you are my friend on FaceBook, you already know the excitement we had over the weekend. If not, you will soon understand why I am so very thankful.

I was woken Saturday morning with a phone call by my 20 year old son, who lives 13 hours away from his mom, saying he had been in an accident and was in the hospital. He and a friend had been out drinking and were stupid enough to get into a vehicle. They both fell a sleep. The truck went off the road, hit a field turnout and went air born. My son (who was not seat belted) was thrown from the truck. His friend (who was seat belted) was pinned inside and had to be cut out.

Both are out of the hospital and healing. It is only by the grace of God these boys are alive. I have told God thank you about a cagillion times already, and will continue to do so.

There is a silver lining here, my son is taking this all very seriously. He is publicly telling everyone about the drinking and his stupid actions. He wanted to see if the truck could be parked near the high school as there is a real problem with teenage drinking in the town he lives. He realizes he was given something his brother wasn't...a second chance at life. He wants to see why God has kept him here and what is in store for his life. He understands there will be huge consequences to his actions and is ready to accept them.



My son and his friend lived through this and I am so very thankful they did. Thank you Lord for your shield of protection!

I like football??

I think I might like football {audible gasp}. I know, right? Who would ever think I would be a football fan? Oh sure, I don't mind half-way watching a game when it's on, but I wanted to watch the Super Bowl, and not just for the commercials either. In fact, I found myself in quite the predicament during last nights game--I didn't want to miss any of the game and I didn't want to miss any of the commercials...when was I supposed to get up and get my football game munchies?

Of course, I decide to get into football when it's over for the season. I couldn't get excited about it when it was on every week. {rolls eyes at myself} Oh well, better late than never I guess.

Go Bears!

Burnt Bacon

Mmmmm...I just love the smell of burnt bacon as it seeps into every single nook and cranny of my home, leaving it's lingering scent in any fabric it come in contact with.

I do hope you noted the sarcasm dripping from that last sentence.

I started bacon and walked away to check on the children, ending up sitting on the floor singing songs with them. As I saw smoke coming from the kitchen, I realized what I had done. I ran in there and took the skillet right outside, it was too late, the smoke was already running rampant. Of course, it's cold out so I can't open windows with the children here. I can't even turn on the vents because the wood burner is going and it will draw in the smoke from that. *sigh*

I guess I could always burn a maple candle and it could smell like breakfast in here. *sigh*

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Frugal Friday Series

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With the beginning of a new year, often people decide to make a fresh start on their finances; cutting back, paying off, saving. As with any type of clutter, our finances didn't get where they are overnight, don't put unreasonable expectations on yourself of them changing overnight either.

I'm thinking about having a Frugal Friday series of posts. Each Friday I will post about ways to cut down expenses, pay off debt and save for the proverbial rainy day. I want you to know I am not an expert in any way, shape or form, and the tips I give are just that, tips. Most will be tried and true tips I have used myself, since I am a self-proclaimed Frugalista. I like to be able to spend my money in the ways I want, not to always be a slave to bills and such.

The first step to getting a handle on your finances, is to know where your finances are going. For one week, keep track of how your money is spent. Do you buy a paper, a coffee, a donut, a pack of gum each day? How often do you eat outside the home? Gas, bills, kids lunch money, toll booths, groceries? Trust me, this step and the budget step are the most difficult things I will be talking about. Once these two steps are out of the way, the fun begins...honest!

So friends, grab a notebook and track your daily moves for a week. Come on, don't give me that look, it's only a week. After that, I will reward you with a frugal way to make fancy coffee to treat yourself with.

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No resolution

I am queen of procrastinators. Look up the word in the dictionary and you will see my picture.

Last year I made my New Years Resolution to not procrastinate...but I never really got around to getting around to it! After a few weeks, I just got so frustrated with myself, I basically gave up on it. Then of course, I felt bad for being a quitter.

This year, there will be no New Years Resolution.

Instead, I'm going to work on something I blogged about a couple of weeks ago, challenging myself. Setting goals and challenging myself a minimum of a week at a time on each goal. Bad habits don't just come out of nowhere, they start and are continued. I'm thinking good habits can be started and continued also.

Some of my goals are:

To start cooking homemade meals more often.

Finish listening to the Bible on tape.

Finish Biblical Counseling class.

One year from today I will look back at this blog post and see how my goals have come along.

So, dear reader, what are your goals for the new year?

Wanna Kwanzaa?

I've been doing some reading on Kwanzaa, the celebration of the seven days between Christmas and New Years by many African Americans. The more I look into this, the more I think it is something to be celebrated by ALL people, regardless of whether you are black, white, yellow, green or purple. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, atheist or (insert the belief of your choice).

The Seven Principles are as follows:

Day 1. Umoja means unity.
Day 2. Kujichagulia means self-determination.
Day 3. Ujima means working together.
Day 4. Ujamaa means supporting each other.
Day 5. Nia means purpose.
Day 6. Kuumba means creativity.
Day 7. Imani means faith, especially faith in ourselves.

See what I mean, these Seven Principles can be applied to all our lives. Here is a better breakdown of each:


Umoja (oo-MO-jah) Unity stresses the importance of togetherness for the family and the community, which is reflected in the African saying, "I am We," or "I am because We are."

Kujichagulia (koo-gee-cha-goo-LEE-yah) Self-Determination requires that we define our common interests and make decisions that are in the best interest of our family and community.

Ujima (oo-GEE-mah) Collective Work and Responsibility reminds us of our obligation to the past, present and future, and that we have a role to play in the community, society, and world.

Ujamaa (oo-JAH-mah) Cooperative economics emphasizes our collective economic strength and encourages us to meet common needs through mutual support.

Nia (NEE-yah) Purpose encourages us to look within ourselves and to set personal goals that are beneficial to the community.

Kuumba (koo-OOM-bah) Creativity makes use of our creative energies to build and maintain a strong and vibrant community.

Imani (ee-MAH-nee) Faith focuses on honoring the best of our traditions, draws upon the best in ourselves, and helps us strive for a higher level of life for humankind, by affirming our self-worth and confidence in our ability to
succeed and triumph in righteous struggle.

So, dear friend, I wish you a Happy Kwanzaa this week!

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Family dinner, skate key and 3 TV stations

I would like to share an e-mail with all of you. Some if it was a bit before my time, much of it though I remember well.

'Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?'
'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him.
'All the food was slow.'
'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'
'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained.
'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.
But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it :

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, never wore Levis, never set foot on a golf course, never traveled out of the country or had a credit card. In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card. The card was good only at Sears Roebuck . Or maybe it was Sears & Roebuck. Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.


My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we never had heard of soccer.

I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow).

We didn't have a television in our house until I was 9.
It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at midnight, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God; it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. And there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people.


I was 11 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called 'pizza pie.'
When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still the best pizza I ever had.


I never had a telephone in my room.
The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home, but milk was.

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers including me, six days a week It cost 7 cents a paper, of which I got to keep 2 cents + tips. I had to get up at 4am every morning. On Saturday, I had to collect the 42 cents from my customers. My favorite customers were the ones who gave him 50 cents and told him to keep the change. My least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing.