Menu Monday

Monday: Garlic chicken with veggies over pasta, green salad (showing camper)

Tuesday: Teriyaki steak, Natalie potatoes, stewed tomatoes

Wednesday: HM fresh veggie soup, HM bread (church meeting)

Thursday: Crockpot layered dinner (EMT class)

Friday: Going camping!!!

Honeyed Beets

Oh my goodness, I got out my Betty Crocker cookbook to figure out what to do with the beets that I've grown in my garden and the following recipe is what I found...MmMmMmmmmm these are so good!

5 fresh medium beets (or 2 16 oz cans)
1 medium onion chopped
2 T. butter
2 T. honey
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1 T. snipped parsley

To prepare fresh beets
Cut all but 2 inches of tops off. Boil enough water to cover beets. Add beats and simmer 50 minutes. run under cold water. Cut off tops and roots and remove skin.

Prepare beets (or open cans). Cut into shoestrings. Cook onion in butter until tender. Add remaining ingredients--stir occsionally until heated. Sprinkle with parsley.

Fair time

It's County Fair time here in Podunkland. Papa Bear and I joined friends (and their little ones) last night to take in the festivities. These little ones are enrolled in my daycare, but they are also like grandchildren to Papa and I...we just love them to bits. The Fair should always be enjoyed with children. They have a way of making you see the sights, smell the smells, hear the sounds and feel the electricity in the air.
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Wednesday's Word

Wednesdays will be a day that I will share scripture with you. Unless otherwise stated, all scripture will be from the Good News Bible, Today's English Version (TEV). This is my favorite Bible to read when I just want to sit and read...very easy to understand.

"If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from death, you will be saved". Romans 10:9

Declutter challenge

Mel, from Prairie Homemaker, has challenged us to a declutter. If you all don't mind, I'll bring that same challenge to my little blog. Each week we will have a different area to work on.

This week our challenge is to get rid of at least one thing each day. Either throw it away, give it away, freecycle or thrift store it.

Each Tuesday for a while I will be listing the new challenge. Let's all work together and little by little we will declutter our homes.

Menu Monday

Here are before/after shots of the freezer above my fridge. It's all too easy to just open that little door and stuff things in there...even when that's not where they belong. In my cleaning, I found all sorts of things that need to be used up, so that is how we are eating this week.

Before giving my menu, I want you to notice the box in the bottom picture..the one on the top left of the freezer. That is where I will be putting my supper items for the week after I make up my menu. That way everything is right there and ready to be made.

Monday: Venison Steak, baked potato, peas

Tuesday: Venison brats, fried potatoes, sliced tomatoes

Wednesday: Turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes, greenbeans, HM applesauce

Thursday: Spaghetti and meatballs, lettuce salad, garlic bread

Friday: Going to the fair and making myself sick on fair food!!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for grapes. Red or green, doesn't matter. I've been in a frozen grape kick for awhile. Everytime they come on sale, I buy about 10 pounds of them so that I can clean them and throw them in the freezer. Come winter I'm sure this little snack addiction of mine will go in a warmer direction, but for now I think I'll just enjoy eating a small bowl of them each night.

Real Friends

The Hubs got the internet going again today, so I am back and open for business again! WooHoo!

The time with limited internet has given me time to think about where my life is. Now, I will not put into writing for all the world to see all my thinkings, but I will share with you my thoughts on my friends...or lack there of.

Over the years I found that it became easier to have internet friends then in real life (irl) friends. With internet friends, if they got on my nerves, I just didn't make myself available to them for a few days until I was ready for them again. With irl friends, they are able to bring their drama into my everyday life.

I have made some wonderful 'net friends, ones that I would talk to almost everyday. Most of these friends were made on a Christian website that I am a part of. Over the last six months or so I have put that site on the back burner as I don't have the same amount of time to spend on it as I once had, and due to changes on the site, I don't find as much enjoyment as I once had. I have let my 'net friends dwindle down to three main ones. Of those three, two have gotten busy in their own lives and like myself, aren't spending as much time online. The one that I still speak with regularly only lives about 2.5 hours from here and we have actually gotten together a few times.

This brings me to my irl friends. I have only a few because of the above mentioned drama...I have neither the time or desire to bring someones elses into my life. The problem with having only a few irl friends, is that it leaves me a bit lonely at times. If I want to go for a nice evening walk and my few friends are busy, then I walk by myself.

So, do I put myself out there and go through the weeding process and find new friends? Or do I go on with life the way it is and learn to take evening walks by myself and be happy with it?

Yes dear friends, if you have been checking in here, I'm sure you've noticed that I've been missing. *Sigh* we are STILL having internet problems at our home so getting on here is not so easy. Still been crazy busy in my life, so getting on here is not so easy.

The Hubs has been on the internet problem so hoping it won't be much longer until that is fixed. School starts next week so that will free up some time during the day for me. The past two weeks I've had 9 children ages 5 and under to take care of.

Soon...honest...soon I will be back on and try to follow some kind of schedule on here (Menu Monday, Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday...).

I want to thank you all for being so patient.

Until next time, May God be with you in all that you do.

I'm Back!!

I'm finally back...well, kind of. We still don't have internet at home (Thanks Comcast), so I'm still visiting my parents to get online. Thus the reason I have been gone so much. I don't have the time to go into detail about what's been going on, but here is a quick view of July for me:

*week long Boy Scout camp

*Wyanet festival and co-chair of food stand

*Vacation Bible School

*Family in from west coast

*daughter got married

*son went on week long mission trip

And today I spent 8 hours sitting outside with others from my town as we watched the start of the demolition of our high school.

I have yet to get to 'Alice' (see earlier post about organizing, but she is on the top of the 'to-do' list. I start 3 new children in my daycare Monday, have lots to do before then, but also want to watch more of the school demo tomorrow. I'm thinking I'll watch a bit of the school but then will have to get to work. Of course they are working on the back side of the school, not the front side which faces my house so that I could work and watch at the same time.

May be a few days before I am able to get on again, hang in there dear friends, I WILL have internet again and I WILL be organized enough to be able to be on here everyday with little tid bits of nothingness.

no internet

I may be MIA for a few days. My internet is down at home so I'm having to go to my parents to get online.

I know that I've said that I spend too much time on here...but I didn't realize how much I'm addicted to the 'net. Sigh....not getting my fix whenever I feel the need is not making me a happy girl. Grrrrr.

Papa Bear gets home Wednesday so I'm sure he will be able to fix it...he's my big strong hero.

Sad day

4 years ago today I became a member of a club that I do not want to be in. I didn't volunteer for it. I didn't ask to be voted in. I was given no choice. 4 years ago today I joined the other parents who have lost a child.

Aaron was just 19 when he drowned. My first born.

I understand that Aaron leaving earth so soon is part of God's plan. I'm not angry about, but I am sad. I rejoice knowing that he is in a far better place, but selfishly I want him to still be here with me. I miss him always, but certain days are just a bit more sad then others. Today would be one of those days.

Je t'aime dear Aaron.

Reorgannizing

I get on my own nerves sometimes. I become a not very happy homemaker, and I don't like it. Seems life gets so busy (I know, it's of my own making) that being a homemaker is something I just go through because I have to. When this happens, I definately DON'T have the heart of a homemaker, and my home shows it. Sure, the toilets clean, the laundry is done and the floors are swept, but none of the little extra touches are there. No pretty candles burning. Supper is something quick and thrown together. There just isn't a song in my heart and a smile on my face.

Once again, time to get my priorities straight. Seems I have to do this several times a year. Reading my friend Karyns blog today got me in the mood to do this. She is re-vamping her household notebook...something I need to do too. I even went so far as to name mine. Her name is Alice. I picked this name because on the show "Brady Bunch", Alice is the one who kept everything running smooth.

Over the next few days I will be going through Alice to reorganize and update her. Once I'm done, I'll take some pictures so you can all see her...she really is what keeps me running smoothly.

Once she is all done, I plan to follow her daily. This way I'll be back on schedule, which makes me a happy homemaker. I've got 3 new children starting in my daycare in 2 weeks and I would like to be back in the groove before they come.

We Live In The Land Of The Free, Because Of The Brave.

Monday Menu

Today is the time for my menu to share with you friends...but it isn't what you expect. I can tell you that I honestly don't know what I'm feeding my family. I say this knowing that each morning I am going to open the big chest freezer and pull something off the top...and that is going to be the base for our meal.

I have 3 large, 1 medium and 1 small freezer all full to exploding...it's time to start to empty them out. So...for the next few weeks it will be a suprise each and every day.

I guess I can only hope that somewhere in that big freezer lies a hug tub of ice cream that I can somehow figure out how to work into the main course of a meal. :)

Small Town Days

Thursday thru Saturday was the big Wyanet Festival. Now, for those of you friends who do not live in a small town, the concept of small town days may be lost on you. However, when you are raised up in a town of 1100 people, it's quite a big deal.

Thursday night kicks things off with the Little Miss, Little Mister and Queen contest. The Food Stand, rides and beer garden begin also.

Friday brings the Taco stand every other year...woohoo...love those tacos!

Saturday is the big day with the Memorial run in the morning, followed by the parade, and then all the fun at the park:

rides
kiddie tractor pull
kid and adult ice cream eating contest
adult big wheel race (yep, I was in it and came in second!)

Saturday night is the big dance night under the bandstand with big band music.

Of course, the Festival wouldn't be complete without the Fireman's pancake and sausage breakfast at the VFW on Sunday morning.

It's a great time that I look forward to every year. It's when class reunions happen. It's when friends come home to visit. It's big excitement when you live in small town USA.

Sesame Street

Oh, to live in such a place. Problems are small and easily fixed. There is always someone around to play with. Oscar is the only cranky person in the whole place.

Rash

I will spare you a picture, but I picked up a rash! I know it wasn't on my leg Sunday morning when I lotioned up before church, but it was there later in the day when the itching began. I was in the woods last week but I would have thought if I had walked in something, it would have shown up earlier. Papa Bear and I went out on a 2.5 hour ride on the motorcycle Sunday, but I wasn't in any weeds. Hmmmm....I just don't know when or where I got this.

Did I mention the itch factor here...this is sooo itchy! I've been keeping calmine lotion on it, but it just doesn't seem to be helping. I feel like a kid with the chicken pox!

Well friends, that was my whine for today. Now it's time to pull up my big girl panties and just deal with it!

Boy Scout camp 2009

I'm home from Boy Scout camp and it was a blast!! Have to do a quick little brag on the boys as they were the only Troop (out of about 200 people) to receive a perfect score on their daily inspection!!!

The weather turned out to be just about perfect. No humidity, no real heat and no rain until our camp was all packed up and we were heading to bed on Friday night.

Below are a few pictures from our week:

The boys made an oven out of a cardboard box using tin foil and wire hangers. Brownies were a wonderful treat for us during the week.





Home sweet home for me. The boys laughed at the way I add embelishments to my tent to make it more comfy...like the table, throw rugs, flowers and fence. But...I had a nice comfortable (well, as comfortable as you can be with spiders crawling on you) week.




Welcome to our kitchen and our dining room. We are a 'jambo' troop, which means we cook all our own meals. We were the only jambo troop there this week. All the other troops go up top to the dining hall for their meals...Tsk...that's not real camping! Might as well have the maid come in too!



Here's my guys!! The man on the left is grandpa to two of the boys. He stayed part of the week and then their uncle came down for the remainder of the time. I'm so thankful that even though we are a very small troop right now, there is the support there so that the boys can continue to enjoy things like this camp.




This would be me going up the rope side of the 40' tall climbing tower! After climbing, I actually went down the other side of it on the zip line!! WOW!!! That was so much fun!

Leaving for camp

Well my dear friends, this will be my last post for a week. Sunday morning I will be taking my Boy Scouts on a week long campout. It's an awesome time that I look forward to all year long. When I get back, I'll post pictures so that you can all see the beautiful timber that will be our home while there. Been watching the weather and it looks like this heat is going to break which will give us beautiful mid 80's or so for the days....aahhhhh, I'm getting so excited!!!

2 days of fun

Well Dear Friends, let me tell you about my fun day yesterday..and the day before that.

The fun started on Tuesday morning when I got to drink this yummy cherry flavored drink. The fun was put on hold for just a little while, but then WHAM! The fun began!! A few hours later I got to drink another yummy cherry flavored drink and the fun just seemed to continue on and on and on.

Skip to Wednesday morning...and I was so hungry I thought my belly button was gonna start eating on my backbone! You see, on Tuesday while I was enjoying the fun of those cherry flavored drinks, I wasn't allowed to eat anything.

So, Papa Bear takes me to the hospital for both an upper and lower GI...oh yeah, I'm so excited! I've had the lower before, but this was a first time for the upper...and oh my goodness that stuff they gave me to gargle with is awful!!! But then the drugs kicked in and I was out.

There is a pain medication that makes me sick but I couldn't remember which one it was...yep, it's the one they gave me. I woke up getting sick..that was a joy. So then I got more meds to counter the pain meds. THEN I cramped so bad I thought my insides were trying to get on the outside! 2 hours later things are fine and Papa Bear is bringing me home. On the way I talked him into stopping to get me a chocolate shake...MmMmMMMmmmm it tasted so good!

At home I went back to bed, only to get up and get rid of that yummy chocolate shake..sigh.

Today though I am back to me again. A little tired and a touch of a tummy ache, but nothing I can't live with. Now all I have to do is wait for test results to come back. I'm thinking I don't want to have that fun again for awhile!

Mmmmm...Brother Bear has been doing a lot of fishing since coming home. Of course, this fish fried up in butter is totally healthy!

Poor Kitty

My poor poor kitty had to have surgery on Saturday.

He has a tube inbetween the front and back skin of his ear to drain it.

Darn neighborhood cats beat up on my cat...darn cats. Bait is mainly an indoor kitty, but longs to be outside. He has no front claws so we try to keep him in. But..with having a daycare, my door is opened several times a day, which gives Bait several chances to run for freedom. He snuck out Tuesday and we didn't see him again until Friday afternoon..with a tore up ear, a terrible infection and a fever. Not to mention he had lost weight and I could feel his butt bones.

Our neighbor has a cat that will actually come through the slats on our fenced in yard and beat my cat up in our own yard! Darn cat.

Bait is doing well, eating and drinking. He has to go back in 2 weeks to have the tube removed. Poor poor kitty.

Another busy week in the old Bear den...I'm beginning to wonder if there will ever be any non-busy weeks around here! Graduation and all that surrounded it is behind us, now on to Boy Scout Camp. My Scouts and I leave for a week long summer camp 1 week from today. We spend a week in the timber at Ingersoll Scout Reservation in London Mills Illinois. This reservation is about 1200 acres...and I think over the years I have hiked every stinking one of them!

It is such a wonderful time every year. The boys go to merit badge class during the day, and we enjoy troop activities the rest of the time. This year our outposts will be tubing the Cedar Dell Creek, Crawdad-which is basically an awesome waterslide...in the mud!, and Paul Bunyon-which is early early morning and we get to throw tomahauks, climb a spar pole, use cross cut saws and all that type of lumberjack stuff. Not to mention with Paul Bunyon we get to eat pancakes that are HUGE!

In preporation for camp though, I will be a busy bee. This week finds me cleaning out the scout trailer that we store all our camping gear in and restocking it. Gathering all my personal gear that has been scattered due to water in the basement. Writing a short sermon for the Sunday night service at camp and a regular sermon to give at church the day after I get back from camp.

Also....I want my home to be in tip-top shape before I leave so that the Hubs will have a nice home to come to at the end of the day. If possible, I'd also like to have meals made up and in the freezer for him.

I'm beginning to think that if I didn't stay so busy all the time, I probably wouldn't know what to do with myself!

Father's Day

For my dad...I love you