And Robby was..........

The kid on a Milk carton !


Notice Michael on the deck passing out candy too !



And here is Cindy in Robby's carton and Mike's T shirt which she glittered.She better hope that glitter comes out as it isn't really Mike's style.

Does anyone know...........

What a Mother is to do when she is headed out the door to replenish the Halloween treats that her sixteen year old son is handing out only to realize that he is not alone but is being visited by a very pretty girl who happens to be a visiting Granddaughter of a neighbor ?
Well of course I said Hi , but then made my way back into the house....... I'm sure they will yell if they need me !

Happy Halloween all !

Though this morning and early afternoon it looked as though we would never be ready for tonight's trick or treat, we actually were with a few minutes to spare. Since the ISKF nationals are only two weeks away, Michael left to go train in Columbus , so we figured that this would take him out of the position to pass out candy however, he arrived back at his Sensei's house just as I had dinner going on the table so Dinner went back on the stove in the warm position . This was a relief for Cindy who worked last night and again tonight but would have had to get out of bed to pass out candy as Mike took Robby Trick or Treating and I picked Michael up. So as it worked out Mike picked Michael up, I kept dinner warm,Robby sat the table and Cindy went back to dreamland. Once home, everyone ( but Cindy who has a plate in the fridge) ate and we got the table cleared. Mike then took Robby out to Trick or Treat, Michael grabbed a box of freezer pops , a couple boxes of gummies and took his position on the front deck. That has left me here with nothing earth shattering to do except for to keep an eye on Michael's supplies and replenish if necessary. So here I am Checking E mails and updating you, my dear readers on Halloween 2009 here at 5:30 PM in beautiful Boardman Ohio. So far there are quite a few little ghosts and Goblins out as it is a not too cold 51 degrees under overcast skies. Stay tuned for a look at Robby's very simplistic, but cool costume, that we decided on last weekend while at Cedar Point. If I am still up when Cindy leaves for work tonight, I will try to get a photo of her wearing the same for Dress up at work tonight. Now I know your puzzled..... A costume that fits Cindy and Robby too ???? You'll just have to wait and see !
Happy Halloween all !

Oh he of little faith !

Yesterday as we walked through Giant Eagle

Him...... Diane, Honey, did you get any Halloween candy yet ?

Me....... Got it covered, Dear

Him.... I should have known . You always have everything under control !


Now if I was to go into honest detail I would have said" Well I did buy five bags of candy a month ago but then I ate three( now come on.... I shared with the kids) and knowing that replacement bags could be polished off just as easily,I bought freezer pops and gummies, which I know I wouldn't eat."

Either way, I got it covered, right ???????

Sounded good at the time !

A few weeks back was Michael's school picture day. While picking our package I realized that for a mere ten dollars more, I could have Michael's picture airbrushed removing all blemishes to give a perfect picture. Because Michael has days that his face breaks out in addition to a couple scars which includes one big one resulting from when he tried to share a bone with an evidently stingy dog, this option sounded wonderful so I added it without further thought.
Michael received these pictures today and text me to let me know he would bring them home with him,which had me excited , after all I never had an airbrushed picture of me nor my kids. ( well except for Cindy's senior pictures which I guess were airbrushed too but anyway !) As Michael came in and handed me his pictures, my heart was racing with anticipation. I then looked at them and well.... they were good . As I looked for a couple seconds, I teetered on regretting the choice of the airbrush option.Without his scars and even a few zits, yes Michael was very handsome ( after all he is Mike's and my son) but he wasn't Michael ! I struggled with this thought ( that I dare not say) and showed Mike the pictures when he came home. Amazingly Mike had the words that I couldn't find. Wow you take away all of the imperfections and you loose all of the character ! Wow, Mike( who never has the right words) was so right.In an attempt to make our son more beautiful, we detracted from the vary things that makes him the boy who we love ! Will I ever have a picture airbrushed again? Probably at least the boys senior pictures but probably never a school picture again !

Cleaning the car

The other day was such a productive day here. It was one of those days where it just worked out to get the dog bathed and brushed out,get the latest blanket of leaves off the lawn,and so many other things that we always seem to let go for lack of time.Unfortunately, there are not many of these days in my life so there is always much to be done when one shows up.
Thankfully one had shown and we were in the thick of business when Mike pulled out one of his computer bags and started rummaging through it. He seemed a little irritated when he put the bag down so I asked what was going on. Here he was looking for the power( charging) cord for his GPS. He had mentioned that we needed to find it on our last trip to Cedar Point,but I had put it in the back of my mind and forgot. My first thought was that we had it last in my car so that must be where it was. Since I was in the middle of something, I asked Michael to go look. Joining him as soon as I had a chance, I realized that the car was such a mess that we better clean it or we would never find anything.One would not believe the garbage in the car( from pop cans, snack wrappers,products recently purchased but never brought in the house, to some unidentifiable stuff, that we will not describe)but we brought a trash can, recycle bin and a box to bring things into the house and within a half an hour, we had found not only the GPS cord but also a lens that had been taken out of Mike's glasses after his surgery ( he had been looking for it for some reason) a ton of hair ties who's supply I was just about to replenish,and tons of other things.My biggest surprise though was a bank envelope ( from July) containing $100.It is a good thing that I always check these envelopes before discarding them( of course this one was heavy so that would have been a clue)but I was psyched. It was like a little bonus for doing what I should have done a long time ago. I am wondering though, will this find motivate me to keep a cleaner car or will I give up when the next cleaning doesn't produce more than a couple quarters ? The latter is probably true as I can't fathom, not missing a lost $100 even this once, let alone again, but who knows. As for now Mike is happy to have his cord and my budget just got a little looser.
Tonight, maybe we will clean the living room !( I sort of remember having a wii in there someplace)

Seriously ????????

Due to a huge ugly tree in my front yard, we are experiencing a constant leaf covered lawn, which seems to resent our feeble attempts to clear it as within minutes it looks as though we never touched it.This is why I was not too happy the other day when I realized that Michael has lent my new rakes to the neighbor kids who seem to have no respect for anything they own, let alone my belongings. Like the thought of having to replace rakes that I just bought didn't upset me enough it further looked like these kids were planning on using my rakes to make money raking lawns. Did I mention that i found this out when they "offered" to rake my lawn ? Anyway,later in the day while Michael was using our bagger mower to do a quick removal job, these same kids approached him ( after all he had handed them the rakes before) and told him that they had one neighbor who would pay them to do their yard but they needed our rakes again ( did you hear "they needed" and not "please could we" )and this time, they also needed bags to put the leaves in so could they have a few with the rakes ???? Michael being a pretty smart boy( who has seen steam come out of my ears way too many times for comfort) told them that he would be needing the rakes and that he only had enough bags for our lawn so not to count on using our stuff to make money ! Now honestly, are most kids really like this?( they are aged between Robby and Michael 13-16) I would personally be mortified to find out that my kids were involved in such a scam ! Am I an oddball ? Seriously !!!!!!!!!

They're here They're here !

Months ago our family was promised H1N1 vaccines from various places. First Cindy's place of employment ordered them for the families of their employees. These should have been in but supposedly now the risk to old people( at the nursing home) has been deemed slim so our vaccines are being shipped elsewhere. Our Doctor was also supposed to get the vaccine in but nobody seems to know when if they will show at all. The boy's school, however has secured vaccines for all students whose parents wish to have their kids vaccinated and as of this evening, they have arrived ! Unfortunately, Mike, Cindy, and I will probably not be able to secure a vaccine from the school(Unless many parents refuse consent for their children) but at least the boys will get theirs . Honestly, if one of our family members is higher risk than others it is Robby anyway so at least he and Michael will be protected .

60 days left until Christmas......

but instead of planning a shopping trip next weekend, I am planning one last seasonal trip to Cedar Point. We did go on Saturday but the crowd was so large that we had a two hour wait for most rides and attractions which severely limited our experience.
In my defense though, their one gift shop had an awesome sale and even though I didn't get any gifts for our family and friends I did pick up some great gifts ( a couple charlie brown kick balls,a couple marionette puppets, stuffed bears and Snoopy s, and quite a bit more) to donate to our local Toys for Tots.

And I was so happy

Yesterday's mail brought the Photo Christmas Cards that I had ordered. Being busy at the time, I laid them on the table and forgot about them until last night.Once I did open them, my heart sank a bit. The way that the card was designed there was a picture of the kids in the back and then there was a circular "frame" at the bottom of their picture where Mike and my picture was. The problem was that Mike and my picture over extended the frame and one could see it was a square picture. Luckily, it didn't cover any of the kids faces or anything but it just didn't look as nice as it could have. I immediately wrote an E mail to the company who did the pictures , asking for a redo but this morning's E mail brought me a reply that they were taking this design off of their web site due to this little glitch and were refunding my money. They invited me to pick another design.
Now I can't complain too much as they have refunded my money and I still have the cards but my dilemma is..... Do I use these (substandard)cards or reorder? If I reorder, what do I do with these ones? Should I just suck it up or will that action have Our families cards being critiqued by everyone we send it to ? The frugal housewife in me says , "just use them" My pride says, they were free, reorder....Oh what to do........

Small success day

My small successes today include

1) writing out twenty four checks for medical bills that the insurance company just sent me a check to cover. This also included sorting through multiple copies of the same bill( the insurance company isn't as fast as we would like so some offices billed us a couple times.) I then decided to write out the families bills while I was at it and take them all to the post office after ballancing the checkbook.

2) folded the three plus baskets of laundry that I have just not been able to get to.

3) took a garbage bag of clothes to Good will

4)Finally ( with Michael's help) planted crocus bulbs that I bought five or six years ago but never planted

5) washed and filled the squirrel feeder.

Why should your Wedding band be worn on the ring finger ?

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/why-wedding-ring-on-4th-finger/968791153?flv=1

Copy and paste this link to a YouTube site that explains.

Sweetest day Flowers

My Fire and Ice roses get more spectacular looking as they open

Now that's more like it !

As of right now at 1:20 PM here in NE Ohio, it is 70 glorious degrees and sunny ! I could set here thinking of something to post but I think I will procrastinate and soak up some vitamin D

Praying for results !

As most know, I am not into vitamin supplements nor other OTC remedies but believe that a good diet is the best bet for staying healthy. However a good diet will not necessarily help with injuries, which has been a problem for Mike for a few years now. This is why I am so excited about Move Free® Advanced .
We heard about this product a few days ago at a karate advanced training where Michael's knee was really bothering him. It seems that eleven years of intense karate training and some bad kicking habits have taken it's toll on Michael's knee joint and he was feeling the effects when an older student ( my age) approached to ask what was the matter. Michael told him and he strongly recommended Move Free® Advanced, telling Michael that his doctor recommended it and how it changed his life. My first thought was amazingly.... I have heard of these supplements and I wonder if they could help Mike as well as Michael. After the event, I headed to Giant Eagle who had a buy one get one sale going on. I paid the $22 and prayed for a couple miracles. The box said that they would take a week to start working but Mike noticed a slight improvement within a day.( Michael hasn't seemed to notice a difference yet) I am very hopeful and of course prayerful . could these pills really help ? We'll see !

Happy Sweetest Day !

Mike surprised me with this dozen roses. He chose these over plain red( or other colors) due to the color combination catching his eye. The sales lady informed him that they were a hybrid rose named fire and ice.Honestly now, isn't that appropriate for a couple married twenty years ?

Here is the write up I found about these roses:
Passion runs like these roses, sometimes cold and sometimes oh-so-very hot. Hybrid Fire and Ice roses not only have beautiful form, but extraordinary petals that are red on the inside and white on the outside. This bouquet is absolutely dazzling, and makes a wonderful romantic gift

One in the plus column

Though I am still far behind where I usually am with my Christmas shopping, I am making progress. This year seems to have flopped with those in the past as I have most everyone finished except for my kids and the combined gift for my Mother. ( I am responsible for picking out a Christmas gift for my Mother from my Brothers and me and they pick out my father's)
One thing that I am very proud of though is the fact that Yesterday as I was waiting for dinner to cook, I decided to create and order our 2009 photo Christmas cards . I have always hated to spend money on cutsie Christmas cards that people just toss in the trash so a couple years ago I started sending photo post cards. Of course some probably still hit the trash can but hey one does what they need to to keep the rodents out, right ? See, only one in the plus column and am already starting to get back my sense of humor. Imagine how funny I will be when I get caught up !Hey one can dream right ??????

Cold weather creeping in ?

Check out Hanes.com for sweat shirts, sweat pants, hoodies and more starting at $3.99. Even better they go from children's XS to adult XXXL and even offer free shipping ! Since the kids and I live in hoodies during the colder months and the price of these sweat pants blow away traditional pajamas, I have already received one shipment,am expecting a second, and am considering ordering a third, so get yours before supplies get depleted.

PS If you prefer fancier sweats, these( the lighter colored ones) are great for airbrushing as well as iron ons! After all, don't we all long to wear our favorite photograph or a drawing created by our children? Transfer paper can be pretty cheap at the local craft store when compared to the price that many photo places charge.

I lost :-(

The Tastefully simple recipe contest. In my defense it had nothing to do with my black bean and rice recipe but was decided by random drawing of all recipes shared. Though I am saddened, perhaps a batch of black bean and rice within the next couple days will bring a smile.

Cherry pie weather

The weather here in Ohio is getting quite chilly, which is having an impact on our eating habits. Though I traditionally still grill meat outside on the gas grill a couple times a week year round, I have been looking for excuses to stay inside to prepare dinner. Last week I even cooked a ham dinner on a Wednesday. Last night though I had planned on grilled chicken with roasted red potatoes, which , though appetizing was just not sounding as good as it should. This is when I remembered the sour cherries that I bought when they were in season back in the first week of August. Due to a busy schedule, I froze these cherries and forgot about them. Well since the oven was already hot I decided that warm cherry pie ala mode was in order.Though the pie was baking while we ate dinner and cooling while Mike and Michael ran some errands after, it was a wonderful warm before bedtime snack. I just hope that nobody gets used to such deliciousness being served every night like this.

Words to live by.........

Whether in Martial Arts or in life..... One can never exhibit perfect ( or correct) form ( nor attitude) when their head is up their butt !

A new kind of shopping experience

Yesterday, Mike and I found ourselves at the mall. Now even though we live about two blocks from the mall, it is not a place that we normally find ourselves, unless we specifically need something then we go to the entrance closest to that store, get what we need and get out. Yesterday was petty much the same deal as I was headed to American greetings to buy a new calendar. Since we are into October, we are starting to make appointments for the new year and wanted to get them on a calendar where we could have a chance at remembering them. Unfortunately American Greetings did not have any Precious Moments calendars since they were recalled for a printing error, so we are still calendarless.However we did get our rings cleaned and even found another gem. Since we went in through the food court, we noticed a new place called Fair time. This place sells fair foods that one usually only sees at fairs. They had steak hoagies and french fries,of course but also had fried candy bars ( snickers, Reese's PB cups, Milky way,Twix) fried veggies, fried pickles, fried Twinkies and oreos , cotton candy, and so much more. Since it was past dinner, Mike and I split some fried veggies and of course I wanted for us to try a fried Milky way. Though it was not exactly as I thought it was pretty good. The place was a bit pricey so Mike and I discussed how we could make anything ( well except for cotton candy)at home a lot cheaper. I already know how to make an awesome beer batter for fried veggies and such so this morning I searched for a recipe for batter for candy bars and other sweets( for some reason beer batter might not be the best choice I think)What I found is that they use simple funnel cake mix for this.One can even buy the mix at the store if you wish. wow am I excited. I think I just may deep fry some candy someday soon.Don't that make all of you want to come visit ?

Tastefully Simple Giveaway

Over at Faith and Family (http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/tastefully_simple_giveaway/#blogComments)
there is a contest going on for tasteful fall recipes. My entry is going to be my Black bean and rice dish. Here is the recipe.

Black bean and rice

*Two days before the dish is to be served, soak two pounds of dry black beans in warm water for twelve hours.( in a hurry ? use canned black beans but you will need extra spices and less stock if you go this way)

*drain beans and replace water with beef stock (flavor cubes and water will work fine if no stock is available)Dump into crock pot or put on stove with low heat

* cook on low until the beans start to soften.
* Add
2lb smoked sausage cut into tiny chunks
1lb hot chirito sausage
3T chili powder
* Let cook on low until meat is done
* Add two cups uncooked rice and enough stock or water to reconstitute rice
* let cook on low until rice is fluffy ( there should be a small amount of broth but not be soupy
* let simmer until time to serve( add stock or water as needed)
Serve in bread bowl or regular bowl with cheesy garlic or any hearty bread

So far behind I feel like I'm ahead !

Here we are pushing Mid-October. The leaves are changing, the temperatures are failing and there is no doubt that we are into Fall. My problem isn't with the leaves or even the temperatures but somewhere along the line I have fallen behind. Specifically I am used to having my Christmas shopping 90% done by Mid-September and I have barely started this year. This is not the problem that it would have been a couple years back as we used to give our children several smaller gifts. This looked marvelous around the tree but we found that there were some gifts that were not as popular as others and were still unopened well into the new year. We also found that our kids had all that they wanted in that price range but really wanted things in a higher price range. The massive clutter around here , though was the final decision maker. Two years ago we decided to only buy each kid one or two gifts but to keep our price range the same.This has worked out well, so now instead of having to shop for several gifts I simply have to buy a couple per child. This could realistically be accomplished in a day or two , so why don't I just go out and do it ? Hmmmm that is a good question. Perhaps I am so far behind that I feel like I'm ahead. Yes I will stick with that !

Feminine or Fussy ?

The other day my Mother derogatorily mentioned how "fussy" of a little girl I was. Not that I cried , whined or "fussed" a lot but how I was always wanting what I wanted and was stubborn about it. One classic example has come to be known as the "white boots story" I was about four at the time and Mom and Dad had taken my older brother and I for snow boots.Mom, at that time was , probably for good reason, very frugal, so it was no surprise that the "cheapest" pair of girl's boots on the rack were the pair that she thought were the best choice. They were probably made as equals to the others for what counted but drab brown and plain. My eyes were on the shiny white boots with faux fur around the tops. You know the ones that a princess would be happy to wear. Well Mom picked up the brown boots and I refused to try them on. I then picked up the white boots and she said no. I was not going to be happy with boring brown and she was not going to pay the $10 extra that the White ones cost( $10 in the early 1970's was a big deal to our family). The tension was building as My Dad and brother walked our way with boots in hand. Ready ? Dad asked as Mom went in to a loud whisper on how impossible I was and how I thought we were made of money. Dad shook his head in acknowledgment. I didn't care. I was a girl and I wanted feminine clothing. Brown was for boys ! I had previously negotiated and agreed to wear hand me down toughskin jeans if Mom ironed on flower shaped iron on patches to them but I was not budging on this one. Dad, understood and gently started to work on Mom's views. " I think that the white ones look more feminine too" he said. Perhaps we could go ahead and get them since her brother's are on sale. Mom was steaming but reluctantly agreed. This was the start of "my fussiness" being thrown in my face, though it didn't stop me. I also remember refusing an androgynous ski jacket and many other things that seemed too masculine . Though I don't wear make up, am not very fond of dresses,and have not worn a pair of high heels in years, I do still enjoy pretty clothing, bubble baths and would never dream of cutting my hair too short. Obviously my life as Mom and wife does not accommodate tea( OK diet coke )parties and tiaras but I am still that sweet little girl with a need to somehow hold on to a little femininity.If that makes me fussy..... well then I guess I am !

On my soap Box

Over at Faith and Family today there is a discussion going on about when "good" parents should allow their children to date. This discussion is near and dear to me as I have a nineteen year old daughter who started attending school dances her Freshman year in High school and a sixteen year old son who is now doing the same.
What is amazing is that there seems to be no middle ground. There are people over there who do not believe that anyone should allow their children to even attend a school dance( unless with a group of friends. Never one on one)
I think that perhaps many get their thoughts from their bad experiences as dating teens.I guess that if I think about it, I do understand how my generation has messed up and paid the price for casual dating( as well as other things) and wants to spare their children the same drama. Statistically speaking , I come from a generation where many were not taught much in the way of morals. No surprise this generation has had amazingly high numbers of sex partners as well as high rates of sexually transmitted disease, teen pregnancies, and so on. This saddens me as it only seems to be getting worse. Yes I can see where many parents are now looking around and realizing that something has got to be done before their child becomes a statistic. But forbidding dating, is this really a good answer ? I personally don't think so. I believe that the answer lies in teaching our children morals, simple right from wrong. However, the snag is, how can we teach our sons to respect the girls that they date or our daughters to respect the boys they date if all they are taught is get what you want from the relationship and forget about the other person's feelings. After all this is all they see . How about teaching respect for wedding vows when they are surrounded by infidelity and divorce? How can we teach abstinence until marriage when society actually glorifies unwed pregnancy ? How about the fact that many have made their own mistakes and would be a hypocrite for preaching abstinence when they lived together and had many children out of wedlock ? Yes I think that we parents have our work cut out for us but what do we do ? Should we just set back and watch our kids mess up like we may have ? I don't think this is wise. How about starting with a "I love you and don't want you to make the same mistakes that I have" Then go on to teach right from wrong. Teach morality. Don't restrict our children and make dating taboo, but teach them that one can spend time with one of the opposite sex without doing immoral things. Gee people the future is in our hands, don't drop the ball or hide your head in the sand, this is too important.If you have any , admit your failings and teach your children.We can be the start of change. Our children are worth it !

Which is worse ?

The feeling that I got when the ticket number drawn for a Precious
moments figurine, that I do not yet have, was drawn and it wasn't mine....

or

The feeling that I got when the lady, setting behind me, who won said Precious moments figurine accidentally dropped it breaking the head off ?

Two silent auctions That I'm glad we went to

This weekend was filled with Mike and I attending two silent auctions. Saturday's was in conjunction with a spaghetti dinner / bake sale which was held as a benefit for my Mother's cousin who has terminal cancer. Though I do not eat spaghetti, we bought two dinners for Mike and I spent the time while he was eating,buying buckeyes and chocolate fudge as well as purchasing and placing tickets in the containers for various auction prizes.In the end, I didn't win anything but a warmed heart for being a part of this worthy fundraiser.
This afternoon, Mike and I attended our Church's Chinese auction. This event has been a big fundraiser for many years now and is always a good time. Though I didn't do as well as I would have wished here, the fifty dollars that we spent on tickets(not to mention the several baskets that our family donated ) did win us a gift certificate for two foot long peperoni rolls ( from the place that makes the best(even better than my homemade)pepperoni rolls that I have ever tasted) as well as a hand made afghan. More than the prizes though was the great time that were had at both events. Sure I could have just sent a check to both worthy causes and called it a day ( which I considered as our lives have been so busy lately )but we had so much fun in actually going and participating. This has me thinking. when our lives are their busiest, is when I seem to feel my most depressed.Perhaps I should remember this and re energize in the fun things instead of eliminating them, Just something to think about