Black Friday

Did you go shopping ? I didn't. Well actually we decided to get our outdoor decorations put up . I know that i said it was on the to do list last week but we didn't get very far so today, even though it was the coldest day this season, we decorated. At one point I realized that even though I had new bows for our window wreaths, I had forgotten the matching hanging ribbon. I went to Michael's craft store to buy said ribbon and then I stopped at Dollar General to buy a couple extension cords, but this is all of the shopping I did. I did however order from three different online stores yesterday. I know that I shouldn't shop online as I should support my local economy by shopping locally but honestly, I guess I am getting old because standing in the cold waiting for stores to open than running in with hundreds of others to find and fight over a couple sale items, just didn't have the same appeal as it has in the past. I am thinking about maybe going out to maybe Wal Mart tonight but am not quite sure. I wonder if I can order the chocolate chips I need to make cookies, online and have them delivered by tomorrow ? I didn't think so !

Happy Thanksgiving !

The turkey has been on slow roast in the roaster all night. The ham just went into the oven about an hour ago. All of the side dishes are prepped and waiting their turn in the oven(A second stove/oven would be so nice this time of year. If only I had more room in the kitchen !)except for the potatoes which are on the stove waiting to be cooked and mashed once everything else catches up. I even did some online shopping, well tried to anyway. Fashionbug.com was so busy that before I could check out, things were selling out and disappearing from my cart. I finally phoned in my order( feeling bad that because people like me were doing this, some poor operator had to work today ) though out of I think seventeen items, only five were still available :-( Then I checked my E confirmation and I was double charged ( not given the Thanksgiving day special)for two coats that I ordered !Oh well since it is on my Fashion Bug charge, I will let it slide until tomorrow when I will call and have an adjustment made. No sense in ruining some poor operator's Thanksgiving .
As for now I am headed to put a load of clothes in the washer and am happy to do so as my old washer died a couple days ago and even though we bought a new one, delivery would not have been possible until next week. Thankfully I have a wonderful Father who took my wonderful husband ( who turned down an overtime shift to do this) and my wonderful son ,in his wonderful truck( OK OK the truck is an S-10 and really not worthy of wonderful but it's Thanksgiving so lets go with it )to pick it up. They then all three hooked it up and took the old one out for me ! Yes it is indeed a day to be Thankful !
May all of you have a blessed Thanksgiving !!!

Just us !

When Mike and I first got married we were never at home for holidays, as a matter of fact it was exhausting how we had so many invitations .We then had the season where We hosted many holiday meals.I enjoyed this season though have many memories of being overwhelmed and more exhausted than the previous season. Fast forward twenty years and the invitations ( both to us and from us)have dwindled to the point where we are celebrating Thanksgiving alone this year.In all fairness, it was not planned this way but in the past since my older brother and his wife got tired of trying to please everyone( run from place to place and not eat more here than there and so on), they did what I could have never done and decided to decline all invitations .At this point My Mom and I decided that she would cook Thanksgiving dinner and I would cook Christmas. My little brother was unmarried when this started so he was included in both,however he has recently missed dinners here and there in favor of his wife's wishes to attend her families functions out of town. Don't get me wrong, I understand but it is what it is. Either way, Mom and I always stuck with the system and it worked. Fast forward to last month when Mom nervously requested to talk to me. It seems that my Paternal Grandmother, who has recently been moved to Georgia to live with Dad's sister but ended up in a nursing home there, is coming to Ohio with my aunt for Thanksgiving . My Dad hasn't seen her since his trip to Georgia in August and My Mom hasn't seen her in even longer. Because of this and the fact that Grandma will get in late Wednesday be at Dad's other sister's for Thanksgiving, and then leave Friday, Mom respectfully asked if I would excuse them. She insisted that she would cook Christmas dinner. Of course this is understandable and I would do the same if in her place, so I cheerfully said" no problem" which it isn't,it's just weird to be cooking for just my family. I usually cook a complete turkey dinner ( turkey, stuffing( two types as one is a family recipe but not liked by Mike ), mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, home made bread)and a complete ham dinner ( ham, cheesy potato hash brown casserole, corn, more home made bread) as well as usually four or five desert choices (pecan pie, pumpkin pie (I don't eat it but other's do), cheesecake, pumpkin roll ( which I do eat), cookies, and usually another couple kinds of pie. Though I am cutting down on the deserts for just us, I am thinking of keeping everything else the same. It will be an astronomical amount of food but Mike is off so far on Friday and Sunday and the boys are off all weekend so leftovers will be a blessing.In the end,I am kind of looking forward to just us !

A new washer is coming !

Two days ago as we tackled two weeks worth of dirty laundry, my washer started making a thumping sound. At first I thought it was an unbalanced load but soon realized that since it is a front loader, this was probably not the cause.In hopes that things would "fix themselves" ( hey can't a girl dream?) we shut it down and gave it a break. After all I personally growl less when I just come off of a break. Alas, the washer is not human and the break did nothing. Mike came home that night after only working twelve hours ( as opposed to the sixteen to twenty hours that has become his norm) and took a look. As always, Mike had the problem diagnosed within minutes and we needed a new thingy that looks like a steering wheel. Mike went online to price this part( which we thought I would pick up at the parts store the next day and he would fix it when he got home) but the site stated that this part cost about half of the price of a new washer and this didn't include any seals not to mention Mike's precious time or the fact that the machine is six years old and what will go next ? We quickly concluded that a new washer was needed. The boys were at karate so we hurried to Sheeley's ( a hometown family owned furniture/ appliance store) The first machine that I seen was a Bosh which is ranked so much higher than our old Frigidaire, and this was reduced because it was last years design. It was reduced so much that it was cheaper than many inferior brands. (Of course the Frigidaire were the cheapest but not by a whole lot.) Anyway, we bought the washer but due to Thanksgiving, it could not be delivered until next week which would mean three weeks of dirty laundry or a trip to the Laundromat. Thankfully my Dad has offered to let us use his truck to get it tonight( Thanks Dad!) so tomorrow as I cook turkey and ham dinner , I can also work on catching up on laundry.Just another thing I am thankful for !

Random thought while watching the officials process into the 2009 ISKF National tournament

......where else can men and women dress in gray dress pants, pressed white dress shirts, with maroon ties, and navy blue sports coats / blazers with flip flops on their feet and not be out of style ?

2009 ISKF National tournament

Opening ceremonies


Michael ( on right) during kata elimination round


Michael's kata points round


Michael's kata points round




Michael's kumite round


Michael with metal


Robby's kata points round


Robby's kata points round


Robby's kumite round


Robby's kumite round


Robby gets his metals

Welcome Isabella Claire

A new puppy

Before Mike even left work yesterday he has called the local Cocker spaniel breeder (who was advertising puppies)and found out that there were predominantly solid colored females available. AS soon as he got home we were off. Though I was not at all impressed by how the breeder had all of the dogs outside nor the conditions of this breeders land, or anything else for that matter, I did feel so sorry for these little puppies who needed good homes. One in particular caught my eye as she looked a lot like one of the male puppies that we sold a couple years back. We went to another caged area to see the Mother who's personality reminded us so much of Clarissa, so we decided to take this little black bundle, who we have named Isabella Claire, home. Since she was an outside dog( even though she was in a cage off the ground) she got a bath as soon as she got home. After her bath Cindy and I took her to be fitted for a collar as well as buy puppy food,( we feed all of our dogs Nutro brand which is so much better for her than the Puppy chow that she had been being fed)a tiny puppy leash , an all important ID tag, and a few other puppy essentials. We then returned home where the kids took care of her until Michael took her to his room for the night. She slept well except for whining at 1:30 when I got Mike up for work and Michael left the room for a few seconds.After his return she slept until 5:30 and then whined until 5:50 when we got up for school.She did well this morning other than wanting to play with Clancy who had no desire to be bothered and crying as each of the boys left for school. As for now she has settled down and is chewing on a bone while Cindy holds it for her. Soon she will be put down for a nap as Cindy gets some sleep ( she worked midnight last night) So far so good !

Double Stuff Theology How an Oreo Cookie Mirrors the Trinity

Origionally posted by Robyn Lee at Faith & Family.com on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 7:00 PM

With Permission, I had to pass this on !

Opening up the package of double stuffed Oreos I pulled out a cookie. “There are three parts to this Oreo, but it is still one cookie. The two chocolate wafers are identical. Just as when the Father speaks his Word it generates a perfect Image of him, which is the Son and the love between the Father and the Son spirates another: the Holy Spirit. The sweet filling between the two chocolate wafers is just like the love between the Father and the Son.”

confused !

Three months ago my sweet female cocker spaniel died tragically. For many reasons, which I will not go into now, I have had a harder time losing her than I ever had losing any of the many other dogs that I had since I was a child,( two of which I have had since I have been married)
Since the day of her death Mike has pretty much let it be known that he liked the idea of having two dogs( a male and a female, companions to each other and that he very much enjoyed having puppies when they breed) and that he ,in time ,was interested in getting another female. The kids have all come to feel just as he does and now that it has been three months and Christmas puppies are becoming available, I am starting to feel the pressure. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing more heartwarming than a cocker spaniel puppy all snuggled in ones arms but that little ball of sweetness, would need shots and expensive vet visits.OK honestly the money isn't the problem(sigh) as yes it is a big initial investment but we paid two sets of vet bills before. Perhaps the problem is that the little bundle would need housebroken. Yes taken outside every couple of hours and watched to make sure that it doesn't eat electric cords( Clarissa was famous for this when she first came) and then there is the Clancy issue. Clancy got pretty protective of Clarissa at certain times and that was chaotic, especially when he growled and snapped at our kids. Oh is it all worth it ? I have been pondering this for a few days now. There is only one breeder in the area with pups available right now( I have no idea if there are any females even available, let alone what colors are available) and no one or two year olds, which is really what I would like. Perhaps Mike will call this breeder tonight and see what is available. If there are no females, I definitely don't need another male to fight with Clancy and I also insist on a predominantly solid color as if we do decide to breed, we want to avoid too many colors and markings from the gene pool. This is quite an order I guess ,so perhaps I should find out what is available and if it even matches what I am looking( or not looking) for and go from there.In the end ,I guess if it is meant to be, it will be ,if not it simply will not.

We're back !

Thankfully our trip to Cherry Hill NJ went very well. Getting there took a couple hours more than anticipated and even though we would have been on time( barely ) for the boys to practice with our region in a night before practice, we got a call an hour early asking where we were. Here I guess that someone changed the time without giving any thought or notification to us. Anyway, it was disheartening to have literally ran into rest stop bathrooms, rushing to get done and run back in order stay on time,and eating taco bell( in the car) for dinner to receive a call an hour early telling us not to hurry because the training was starting and we were not there. WE did arrive at about five minutes until eight( right on schedule) which was good . The tournament itself went well. Michael took third place in Kumite(fighting) after having a wrongful disqualification overturned. If the disqualification had not been wrongfully called, he probably would have taken the Gold or silver ( the disqualification took him out of a round of fighting that he should have been in ) but sometimes things happen that way and there are judges who simply make mistakes and that is just how it goes ! As for Robby, though he woke congested and adding that to his anxiety had him pretty high strung, he took a musinex , spent some solo practice time before his event and ended up with third place in kata( form) and second place in Kumite( fighting) which was wonderful ! Since they boys' events were done by noon, we had the rest of Saturday and Sunday to relax and watch the rest of the tournament. Though I seen a couple glitches in sportsmanship ( another post for another day) Overall, the tournament was good. As always, Mike took thousands (literally)of pictures , which I haven't even looked at yet so I will be posting as soon as I get through them.
For now though please join me in saying Congratulations to my boys ! Michael and Robby, you guys did great and I am so proud! Michael is scheduled for his second degree(Nidan)black belt test in a couple weeks when the head of the ISKF himself will be in Ohio. Best of luck Michael !

What ??????

We leave tomorrow for The ISKF Nationals ? Good thing that I made a list of what I still need to do. Bad thing that I only slept two hours last night and have decided to sleep for at least two more before I even look at the list. Oh well, as long as I manage to pack a change of clothes. Anything else is just extra anyway.If all else fails, we can stop on the way to buy Gatorade and Diet coke and have pizza delivered to the hotel.
Setting the bar low enough ... The ultimate key to happiness !

Shurely I heard wrong.... Didn't I ?

For many of my forty years, I have supported the Salvation Army's red kettle campaign. This morning however, I came across some knowledge that has totally shocked me and I think my support will be being pulled.
This morning as I was in Big Lots,in walked two men one carrying the red kettle. As the cashier( whom I know by name as I am there so much)was trying to ring me out, the rude kettle holder demanded that she stop what she was doing and take the kettle immediately, causing quite a scene. After a minute the lady turned to reach past a line of customers to take the kettle as the man blurted out.... "They don't start paying me for fifteen minutes....I aint starting until then " My jaw dropped as I looked at the cashier . She explained that the night before another bell ringer was telling her that last year, the Salvation Army made people who received Christmas presents and food assistance ring for so many hours in return for the assistance but that a group of these people forced to ring, sued the charity .So now the charity, who can not find enough volunteers, has resorted to hiring those who they help . Yep... you read right. Now people who get free food and Christmas presents for their children( from the money that we "Joe Public" donate) are being paid to collect the money that they benefit from ! I thought I heard wrong but the second guy who was with the rude one( I assume a supervisor who was passing the kettle to the first) admitted that due to lack of volunteers and an inability to make their recipients work, that the Salvation army has resorted to paying bell ringers. Now I do not know if this is everywhere( or just in my area)how much these ringers get paid, nor anything more as I was too shocked to ask questions but I know that I am seriously not happy about giving money to pay the wage of someone whom I am giving money to help in the first place. Perhaps I will donate to a cause that I deem truly worthy this year instead. After all I figure if I drop a dollar into 1/2 of the kettles that I pass between now and Christmas the sum could get to a decent amount. As for anyone else, who you do or don't help is your decision and that is none of my business,however,I just think everyone should know what certain Charity's really do with the money raised.

Score !

Last night as Mike and I were on our way home from dinner, We were at a stop light in front of Shoe Carnival when I realized that we are at the beginning of Basketball season so that it would be the best time of the year to find Nike size 15 high tops , which Mike wears all year long but are really tough to find anywhere when we need them most. This prompted me to ask Mike to stop and see if we had any luck. Once there we found out that they were having a buy one get one 1/2 off sale which was great but surely if they had one pair they certainly wouldn't have two. As we made our way to the huge feet section, I spotted a pair. I was thrilled ! I continued to look for a second pair with no luck and headed to the counter , happy to have one pair. The manager happened to be at the counter and reminded me of their sale to which I replied, if you can get me a second pair of these in this size I would love to buy them too. Turned out that the Boardman store did not have any more ( big surprise!) but the Niles store did.Wow two pair within a 1/2 an hour radius cool ! Niles said they would hold them for us and we were on our way. Now , for the first time in our married lives, Mike has two new pair of shoes and his old ones are still in good shape. ( we bought them while on vacation in July but he just took them out of the box in late August) This is definetly one for the plus column !

A must sound off !

Nothing makes me angrier than people who waste food. Last night Mike and I had dinner at our local Golden Corral, we sat across from a young couple with a son of about four or five and a daughter of about two or three in a high chair. As we were seated the little girl greeted us, of course we returned the greeting. This couple had obviously taken their obligation to teach their children manners seriously as the kids were well behaved. What got me was that in front of the little girl was a plate with more food on it than I could have eaten, if I had not eaten all day.As each family member went for another plate of food,they inevitably brought more food for the little girl, a few green beans here, some mac and cheese there.The Mother once commented that with all of the food that they were feeding her, she wouldn't have to eat for a week( I hope she was kidding and didn't actually think that this could work. At one point this little girl , with two full plates in front of her was obviously full and said no more loudly and clearly. The family repeated No More !The server came by and removed the two plates of untouched food. Then three minutes later the Mother goes and gets a plate full( I mean heaping) of fruit, a bowl of ice cream, and a piece of cake and proceeded to put it in front of this little girl. The Mother than went back for her own dessert. The little girl took a bite of ice cream and the Mother forced an orange section into her before the girl refused to eat any more.At this point the family grabbed their coats and left. I was sick to my stomach as there was of course 99% of the desert that the girl left , plus a couple other full plates that the rest of the family wasted left on the table.
What is wrong with people who purposely waste food ? Do they not realize that it drives up costs for these buffet restaurants and the cost is always passed on to you and I ? Obviously they don't care !I am saddened by the amount of food that Americans waste on a daily basis. Last summer I went to a family reunion where a cousin of mine's kids were piling their plates past capacity when I told them to go and eat what they had and then come back if they still wanted more. Though this did not upset my cousin, she commented," They do waste so much food, but what can you do ?" Uhhhhhhh stop them !!!!!!!!!! Come on people..... We are parents, we do not tolerate other bad behaviors do we ? Why would we tolerate total wastefulness ? If these were my kids, they would be forced to finish what they put on their plate ( within reason sometimes things simply don't taste good but that is why we teach to take a small amount and come back ( duh !))if it took them three days of being given nothing else , Once and they would learn. Obviously this is not on most parents lists of disciplinary actions , just go to your local Buffet and it is clear !

Is next weekend really the ISKF national tournament ?

I am sure that it is a vicious lie that the ISKF has come up with to stress this already stressed Karate Mom out !

At least I have already sent in the boys registration, booked our room,ordered and received new gi(s) and new regulation fist protectors. Now all I have to do is pack, shop for hotel room friendly foods, and we will be on our way !

Best of Luck to Michael and Robby !

Three out of five is great !

Today was the day that Michael's school( career & tech center) was having their H1N1 flu clinic. Since Robby's school was not having their own but were supposed to go to the high school's tomorrow evening ( the same high school clinic that expected thousands of children in the district plus any younger children over six months and not in school plus any pregnant woman in the area) we chose to take Robby to this one. Since Cindy was off work, she also went along hoping that since the health department recommends the vaccine for anyone from 6 months to 24 years, that she could get one. Thankfully she did qualify, as did Michael for a nasal vaccine and Robby, due to his history of respiratory illness,qualified for one of the coveted injections( the injection is more potent and reserved for high risk).
We arrived at 8:00 , half an hour before the clinic started. The Principal asked us to leave and come back at 9:30 ( he assumed that the health department would not want anyone but students at first)but as we were doing so we ran into some people that Cindy knew who told us to go ahead to the room that was being used for the clinic. There Robby was immediately accepted and Cindy was also deemed approved. We filled out paperwork and had a five to ten minute wait and Robby was injected and Cindy was inhaling. We were on our way at 9:00. This whole thing has me breathing a sigh of relief as Our Family Doctor told Mike and I ( Monday) that she doubted that her practice would get any H1N1 vaccines and that even she wasn't able to get one as the health department in our area was very picky about who qualified. It would be nice for Mike and I to be protected too and maybe in time we will be but for now our kids are protected and that is good enough for me !