Yah! It's About Time I Did Something...

I find it slightly baffling and very disconcerting that certain individuals actually think I DON'T DO ANYTHING around here. How do I give this impression? How do they come up with their perception of me? And Yes. You could say I've been a little annoyed and bothered since yesterday based on the comment I received from my firstborn, which connected in my mind with another comment I had received from a friend a few weeks ago and also one from a few months ago. My brain has a habit of connecting dots, even when the separate things shouldn't be connected. And sometimes those connections work together to bring me down... to convict me of "a crime".

A few weeks ago we had friends over for dinner. One of the friends had his mouth watering over a meal we were eating when he popped in to drop off a kid for youth group. We invited them to join us to eat but they had food waiting at home. So we had them come another time for that particular meal, since it seemed especially delectable. Terry made the meal when they came to eat (because he usually cooks on the weekends). Come to find out, this particular friend was under some false impression that Terry does ALL the cooking and I never do it. I, in fact, had made the meal the first time when he walked in and was drooling. I understand and have joked many times about the fact that Terry gets all the credit for the delicious food that we make for parties, even though we are equal in our cooking expertise. We both can make all the same food, but because he cooks on the weekends and that usually when we have parties, everyone thinks I don't know how to cook. I HAVE A FREAKIN ARMY TO COOK FOR EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!! Do they REALLY think I never cook??

Fine. Whatever. I doesn't matter if people realize that I cook, too... but it was the one little line of judgment that got me. "I was askin' my wife, 'How can she make Terry cook like that after working all day. Dang. That don't seem right.'" Yah. I sit around all day doing nothing and then I make my husband cook and clean and do all the work around the house and yard. I just blog and FB all day and sleep in late. It was a few months earlier that I had probably made a comment on FB that I had some much to do that I didn't know where to start and that I was off to work. The question came back, "You work?"

Grrrrrr. I DO in fact work!!! Sometimes I am actually juggling several jobs at once, plus I'm cooking and cleaning and driving kids everywhere and taking care of the bills and dentist visits and doctor visits and vet visits and DMV visits and picking up the mail and planning graduation parties and company coming and taking pictures both for pay and for free, and, and... Maybe I'm just so efficient at what I do that I have the extra time to also blog and FB.

Yesterday, I was looking for ways to lighten the extensive list of projects all needing attention this month. I had made a long list of things and posted it on the frig so that all able bodies could understand that a lot of work needs to be done and it would be nice to have everyone's help. The ten trees Terry ordered arrived two daze ago and needed to be planted. So I planted them yesterday. Nate and Sammy were both home, not really doing anything but maybe sleeping. And then they were coming and going (mainly for breakfast or lunch or a trip to the beach or golfing). At one point Sammy came out to see what I was doing, Nate watched from the driveway, but neither of them offered to help. They just went on their way. LOSERS!!! I didn't ask for their help either. It was fine. I was handling it fine on my own. When Luke got home from work, I told him I planted 10 trees today by myself. He said, "Well, its good you did something around here." WHA????!!!! He could have gotten a fine b-slap for that comment. But I let it go. He's fresh sometimes when he's tired, and I really didn't feel like getting into a knock down drag out over it. He always wins those anyway.

It just hurts me to constantly do stuff that goes so completely unnoticed by the people close to me. And then to be judged as if I don't do ANYTHING! Just drive in the knife and then twist it a little to the right and then to the left. I don't do things to be noticed, but I do want the things I do not to go unnoticed and unappreciated either. I especially don't want others to get the credit for something I've done if I'm going to be criticized in the back of a persons mind unfairly. But alas, life's not fair. These things happen. And sometimes people are going to hurt my feelings even if they don't mean to. But one thing I'm not going to do is become driven in order to gain another person's approval. They don't have to approve and they don't have to admire me or my labor if they choose not to. Even though its unfair, one day all will be revealed and my efforts in this life are already recognized by the one who really matters in the end. He loves me no matter what. He loves me even when I fail. He sees all that I do and nothing goes unnoticed by Him.

Warning About Bacon Grease

Some of you have seen or heard about this health hazard already, but I've been doing a lot of cooking lately and I thought I would re-circulate some important health information. The question is: Do you use bacon grease? I cannot say that my family ever used bacon grease (lard) for cooking, but my husband's did. I've used it plenty of times in my dishes. We will never use it again! Seriously. I hope, whenever you fry bacon from now on, you will throw yours away rather than use it for another dish. It seems as though nothing is safe to eat anymore.

COOKING WITH BACON GREASE
This is what happens when you keep cooking with bacon grease:

Bacon grease will make your feet small!! Warn everyone!!

Since So Many Are Wondering...

(I say that with tongue and cheek)

This is the new program that Terry and I are doing.

This is my personal coach, Robert Ferguson. He sounds like he's from Indiana or somewhere in the middle states.

And this is a general idea of the program and its cost.

I'm on my 8th day and its going well. I'm totally into this whole thing. BJ purchased the program LAST YEAR. He told me about it when it arrived, with the hope that I would join him. FAT CHANCE!!! I don't think I was very interested at the time... because NOBODY's gonna tell me when I should consider shedding a few pounds!! Not even Especially not my husband. LOL. (sorry Hon, but its a touchy subject). Anyway, the program sat untouched in a box for AN ENTIRE YEAR!!!!

But congratulations to BJ. He made a decision to make a change for himself, around Thanksgiving. He went on a version of a Daniel fast where you cut out most everything but the fruit and veggies. I went along with it, but didn't follow it wholeheartedly... or even halfheartedly. Maybe a quarter-heartedly. At Christmastime he decided he would start this Food Lovers program at the beginning of the year. As he was getting into it and telling me what he liked about it and changing the food items he was purchasing (which was a big part of it for me) I was suddenly ready to participate.

I am happy to be doing it. It's the 21 day challenge to kick start a whole new way of living. I can't tell you that so far I've felt GREAT and SUPER ENERGETIC, yada yada... because little by little I've been cutting out much of my coffee consumption, which still gives me a slight headache... and I've had other emotional ups and downs that I don't think have to do with my eating habits, but I feel very good about sparking my metabolism back into fat burning mode, through the way I eat during the day.

Each day, many times a day, I see the photos of myself in a bathing suit from DAY 1 and folks... IT AIN'T PRETTY!!! Its actually very motivating for me to keep going, though.

I listen to Robert each day and he is very encouraging and keeps it simple and doable.

In a nutshell:

Day 1 was to start snacking between meals! Every 2-3 hours between each meal and one hour before bed. I have NOT been a snacker, so this was a bit of a forced thing... but starving myself everyday was only keeping my metabolism in fat storing mode. So every cup of coffee with the half-n-half and sugar was being stored as fat rather than burned. Booo! So for the first few days of the challenge, coffee became my snack between breakfast and lunch, along with some nuts, rather than being my breakfast and lunch.

Day 2 was learning to make a fat loss plate for a meal. A protein, a slow carb and a fat carb. That's my favorite kind of plate to make. Easy!

Day 3 was eat breakfast as soon as I woke up. Huh?! I don't like to eat breakfast because normally I would drink coffee and not be hungry... but, I went for it and have been consistent.

Day 4 was to eat more healthy breads & sweets which was easy because I like healthy grain breads and granola type sweets. I like those healthy cereals and whatnot.

Day 5--drink more water. DONE! This is when I began to not need coffee so much. Choose only non-alcoholic beverages--just for the 21 day challenge. Umm... ok. DONE! (Terry tried to warn me that this was coming. I knew it was, but my 1 or 2 glasses a wine each evening has totally been a fat storing issue for me anyway). DONE! Congratulate me for giving up the 1/2 n 1/2 and sugar in my coffee and the wine!!

Day 6 was to eat more healthy fat, and yes our body does need healthy fat but there's the good, the bad and the ugly to keep in mind. BTW... avocados are a very healthy fat and can be a great substitute for certain less healthy condiments. (Someone was quick to tell me on FB that an avocado has as many calories in it as a snickers bar--that's not the point and I'm not going around eating a bunch of avocados everyday--nor was I ever eating a bunch of snickers bars).

Day 7 was about getting 7-8 hours sleep each night. I got 10 hours two nights ago. Love the snow day.

So there ya go. I need the day 8 audio from BJ's truck. I think the talk is about the "exercise routine". I'll do that now because the DVDs are here. Twelve minutes. That's easy. I can do 12 minutes. Of course, that's just the starting point.

Almost Laughable...

Yesterday was like Grand Central Station at my house.

A cousin I hadn't seen since I was 10 years old was coming with her husband for a visit. They weren't sure when they'd arrive after the 6-hour drive. You never know what the traffic will offer. I figured it would be closer to dinnertime.

A friend of Caleigh's had slept over. They used the pullout couch because it seemed fun. That needed to get picked up.

It was Anika's birthday. She had slept over her friend's house and was being treated to the "birthday princess" breakfast over there. I needed to make a cake. Meanwhile, we were trying to clean up the house.

Jennah was vacuuming the downstairs when the vacuum hose completely broke. We may try to repair it with super glue and duct tape... at least until we figure something out... (something like a CENTRAL VACUUM).

Early in the day, I had gotten a jump on things by peeling way too many potatoes, marinating way too much chicken for the grill, and shucking an awful lot of corn. I wasn't sure how many people would actually be eating with us for Anika's birthday dinner. (She's 16!!!)

Anika finally came home around 2:00 with 3 friends in tow. The grabbed Jolene and headed off to the store for a few things I needed, yet, for dinner. Nate had run off with my car, taking care of some errands i.e. a money-making job. He came home and decided to try straightening his hair just for fun. My cousins Ann and Jay arrived before Anika returned, but they came in shortly after--the whole gang. I introduced five of them. Then Nate was heading off to work, so I introduced him. Elizabeth, Caleigh, the neighbor Michael and the friend Rebecca all came up from the basement in costumes. I introduced them. After about 10 minutes, my friends, Mitch along with Kim and her two boys stopped over to say hello. I introduced all of them and we adults chatted for a bit. About 15 minutes later, Elizabeth's friend was being dropped off and I needed to introduce myself to the mom because we hadn't met yet. Immediately behind my new acquaintance, standing outside the door was a woman waiting to return keys to me (a work related thing). Then, of course, the phone was ringing... It was a circus, a little embarrassing even.

Things quieted down a little and it was time to start cooking. Ann and Jay helped me out in the kitchen. We would be setting the table for 9... no 13... wait, Nate's at work, but Rebecca and Michael are staying... umm... "Hey Anika, are your friends going to eat with us?" I had to call up the stairs. She didn't know for sure, because they went to the store. That's probably 3 more. Terry called to announce that had an emergency situation with one of his jobs. He'd be late for dinner. AYI!

Anyway, the food was good. We ate in two shifts because of how the people kept filing in, but there was plenty of food--thankfully. There were A LOT of dishes. In the end we fed 15. It was almost 17 because Rebecca's mom and sister came to pick her up in the middle of the meal and I invited them sit grab a plate.

I'm sure Ann and Jay were amused. I'm glad my "moody hormones" didn't kick in until today (wishing they didn't kick in at all).

Oh, and I found out that I am a DAR from two of my family lines. Don't ask me to recount all the names--my brain is full.

Don't talk to me about "bored"

It's amazing how quickly we can all go in and out of boredom. I love it when they (the children) figure out ways of entertaining themselves. They totally crack me up with their random creativity.

Caleigh was off fishing last night with her friend. It started out as "going out on the boat" and then I got a slightly panic stricken call, telling me that they were going to be fishing. He friend warned her that there would be a lot of blood. "NO THERE IS NOT!!!" I countered. I told her that she was going to LOVE it and I was absolutely right. That's her above, proudly catching porgies. This morning she was right onto the next event--a birthday party. After that it was out to dinner, and then sleeping over. (Tomorrow is going to be a total bummer for her).

Elizabeth had a friend sleep over last night after marimba practice. They played in the pool all day, making up songs about unusual animals, and ran off to see a movie about a half hour ago. She gets bored SO easily!!!

Jennah was at the tennis club all day. She came home looking hot and bothered. I think she's presently in her favorite place--the couch--watching tv. She and her friend spend a lot of time making THE goofiest videos and putting them on youtube. Maybe they will become a youtube hit some day soon. "The A & J show". Jennah keeps herself busy and doesn't mind, sometimes, doing nothing at all).

Anika has a nice job hostessing at a restaurant in town. She had today off after jet skiing during the day, yesterday and then working the night shift. She slept until 11 today and lounged around on her computer until heading to a friend's house to help the mom throw a reunion party for the dad's high school class. They'll be prepping, serving, and cleaning up (supposedly) because they may get a bonus ($) out of it. She's staying over night.

Nate worked some of the day until there wasn't anything left to do, then hit the beach for a bit, came home long enough to change and catch the blue bus to his friend's house the next town over. He's staying over night. (It's nice not having to be the taxi driver--benefits of a broken down vehicle).

Luke came through in a brief flash from work, told me he was catching the jitney to the city to catch a ride back to college (8 hours away) with his friends. The purpose of going this weekend is so that they could get their choice of living quarters in the frat house this coming semester. He said he'd be back on Sunday. Oh and could he have some money?

It's 6:15 and Terry hasn't made it home from work yet. I'm thinking, if he's not riding in one of those 25 learjets overhead coming into the private airport a few miles from here, he'll be stuck in the weekend traffic for a little while. So... I have beer butt chicken slow cooking on the grill and it won't be done for another hour anyway. I've never tried it before and it's my own rendition of the recipe... but I was feeling a little bit bored with all the kids off running their own directions, so I searched on line for an interesting way to prepare chicken on the grill. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Cheers to a lazy but chore-filled day.

Some of My Kool Happenings...

Last night was our PTO shoebox packing event for Operation Christmas Child. It's a great night.


Lillian put the whole thing together this year. YAY Lillian.


The kids were so excited (and weird--haha)!


Melanie is wrapping the shoebox while Justin plays with the toys he's packing up. hee.

We packed over 100 boxes!! WOOT WOOT.

On another note...

The girls all carved pumpkins for a contest back in October. (Time is flying by--sheesh)
There is obviously a smudge on the camera lens so... yeaa.

I think one of them came in 3rd. Don't really remember nor do I care. Did I ever say that I hate Halloween?!!


We had another Clique gathering at the Hochstedlers after my Friday night show. I even baked a pie because I am ROCKIN IT!!! haha

Mother and daughter are enjoying our whacked out activities for the night. It was a good stress reliever for Cristina who was taking her 12 yr old daughter in for back surgery two daze later. (Samara is doing well, btw).

This was one thing we did... THE SPANKING MACHINE!!!! Nice photo Nicki. hahaha

Well, Larry, who is pictured below on the far right turned 50 at midnight, so we made him go through the paddywhacker! He FLEW through our legs so fast that almost no one had a chance to lay a single spank on him. We think he secretly has super powers. He cracked us up so much that I think Minerva is choking just a little bit.

In the picture below Darryl was... um... imitating someone. hahaha I won't give any further details, but he made our sides hurt from laughing so hard. He needed some stress relief too after a renovation project gone awry--the one and only bathroom in the house, no less. But the fishing trip was also happening after the party, so happy was he.

Mitch was visiting this past weekend too. YAY!!!! I think he was a bit overwhelmed by the volume of noise aka screaming laughter and taunting, that the Clique produced in one evening. I would caption this photo: Oh my God get me out of here!!!

A few days later Darryl returned from his fishing extravaganza with a big catch. I was so excited to be on the receiving end of some of the goods. I LOVE BLACK FISH.

Guess what I did. I blackened it!!! Yesssss. Cajun style baby. Blackened black fish! Always my favorite. This was the first time I ever made it though.

It was delish!!! with a nice lemon and wine sauce drizzled. Yummy!!! I also made some baked acorn squash with brown sugar, rice pilaf, brocolli and cauliflower. I am definitely not the "presenter" when it comes to fine food, but it's usually tastey.

So that's about it for now. How about you?

Anything Will Do

I made lasagna last night. Terry's menu for the week said chili, but I didn't want chili so I decided to make spaghetti. The only problem with changing the menu is the fact that the ingredients may not be available. (Terry does the shopping which is why he makes the menu for the week. It helps me to know what items may or may not be in the cabinets, frig, and freezer).

So as I browned the beef and got a pot of water boiling, I went for the spaghetti noodles and [gasp] there weren't any! So I figured, no problem. I saw the fixin's in the frig for ziti. Aghh--strike two! No ziti, penne, bow ties or other pasta substitution available!!! You must understand how unusual this is for our household. But I guess it happens even to the best of us.

The only thing that as available along the lines of pasta was 1.5 boxes of no-bake lasagna noodles. I've never even tried them before (that I remember) and they probably were in the cabinet for longer than what I'd like to admit. (And NO, Melanie, I did NOT check the expiration dates either). I just went for it. It was going to be a LASAGNA NIGHT!

Things went well for a little while. I used some fresh basil from the plant growing on my kitchen window sill, threw in a bit of garlic, etc. But then, as I went to grate the mozzarella--I discovered... that there was none. DANG IT!! There's fresh parmesian and fresh basil and garlic... but NO MOZZARELLA?????

I'm not the type to EVER run to the store for a one-item, last-minute purchase for dinner, much less anything. I just won't do it. I'll call Terry to see if he will stop in for something on his way home from work... but I won't do it. And Terry was at the dentist anyway. So... what did I do? I used what I had--sharp cheddar cheese. This is actually the second time I've made this substitution for an Italian dish and no one has ever noticed. They've actually liked it.

Shows you how Italian we are. It was good!!!!

Snowy Weather...

Makes Apple Dumplings a little more enticing to whip up.You may notice that one is already missing... alright, one and a half because they were that good!Can you guess what might be happening here tomorrow?It's good to get some scrumptious dumplings made, and the kitchen cleaned up before... before...

hint #1: the box below contains a beautiful new faucet...
hint #2: all the drawers have been pulled out below the counter.
hint #3: countertops have been temporarily cleared.

Did you guess yet?

A: The green countertops are going the way of all other countertops... ones that are being replaced with granite! YEAH BABY!!! I can't wait to see how my kitchen is going to look after tomorrow! WOOHOO!!!

In other news... Friday was when the snow started.

Friday was a CRAZY day.

Elizabeth had her heritage report for Social Studies at 12 noon as the flurries heavy snow began. I was scrambling between some other projects and making potato soup that I needed to bring in for this event. Thank God for Nicki, who brought me some potatoes!!

Elizabeth did a great job!The report was on Germany. (And yes, our 5th graders use smart boards in their classrooms because Bridgehampton ROCKS!)Ok, I made enough soup to feed the students, parents and teachers, as well as having an even bigger pot remaining at home, which provided our family of 8 and a Nicki's family of 6 dinner Friday evening. It was really delish, too! I'm not just braggin'.

Everyone brought in their favorite ethnic foods to share for heritage day. I love this day. I love ethnic foods--but my tummy was not very happy with the challenges I provided it... coupled with the major amount of stress I felt all Friday long! Reilly made some appetizer below that was REA-HEE-HEE-LLY GOOD!And if you were curious, my kids have German, British, Swiss, American Indian, and who knows what else in their mixed heritage... my forefathers and Terry's have been here for a long, long time.

At home I fly the American flag... because I'm a great American. ;-) Don't be a hater!This pics shown below are what the kids came home to on Friday when they were released early at 2 pm. The sloppy, wet snow meant that the basketball game was cancelled as well as the Christmas play at Church! They will both be rescheduled for Monday.

Sooo... that just means I get to experience that same stress I had on Friday all over again on Monday! Oh JOY!!! But maybe this time there will be some satisfaction at the end of the day.Anyhoo--Caleigh and Noah headed right out to play on Friday. Well... as soon as I went into the attic, retrieved all the snow paraphenilia and equipment, and dressed the girl up in her boots and snow digs. What a frikkin nusance!!!
But she loved her new coat and snowpants, given to her by India. (Me too!)

Eating snow is ok... as long as it's not yellow!

But it will make your face and hair wet and cold! And you'll want to come in...And the floors will become wet from all the kids traipsing in and out and in and out! AYI!!!

SIDE NOTE: The Clique had a stroke of spontaneity and went bowling on Saturday night. What a HOOT! I don't have any pictures--just a report that Terry bowled a 181! and yours truly bowled a 125. Our two best scores so far. YAY! (But I also bowled a 70--pathetic).

Thought For The Day!! and more...

Handle every situation like a dog .

If you can't Eat it or Chew it,

Pee on it and Walk Away.

My internet and phone have been out periodically all this last week. So, next time I see the Cablevision guy, can you guess what I'll be thinking? Noah can do my dirty work for me. I have this strangely rushed feeling--like I have to hurry up and post something before the internet goes out again. It's really putting a kabosh on my creativity!! Oh well.

Here are some updates:

One of Caleigh's top front teeth is loose. We know that's a big deal and will be talked about over and over and over and over again until it comes out!!! Don't you wish you were me?

I think I'm going to start participating in the worship music arena again. (I never did tell the story about the conference I went to three weeks ago). I'm finally ready to get my feet wet... I think.

Nate's playing on the basketball team. I can't wait to see how this season will go... and how it affects him on a personal level--to be on a team and all. It's the first time he's gotten back with a team sport since football two years ago. I'm so glad to see that wall come down--cuz the boy's got talent. He's also making his own "homeboy" music due to a tech and recording class he's been taking at school. Go Natedog!! Go Natedog!! I have no solid report to give you concerning other things. I'm hopeful that change is happening.

Luke gets his back brace tomorrow. He has to wear it for two months and then have physical therapy for another month. After waiting for them to examine his cat scan for 3 whole weeks... ay yi yi... the doctors called to inform me that he had a complete fracture through the left L5 and a stress fracture though part of the right one. How? Who even knows! Probably from popping a wheelie on his bike this summer and landing wrong. Or maybe from one of his Jack Bauer adventures chasing down the terrorists.

Jennah got elected vice-president for the elementary student council. She along with the other officers are planning all kinds of things for this year. I guess it's a little "like mother like daughter" happening. So, there is a sock hop dance being planned for February. That should be fun. If anyone has some historical pieces about the origins and all send me an email. They will be researching everything and trying to make it as authentic as possible--it must be educational, you know. I wonder how they'll make the snowboarding trip educational.

Elizabeth got elected as class rep (whatever that means in 4th grade). She's doing afterschool activities i.e. swimming, and running and anything else that presents itself.

Anika is my most active child. She's playing volleyball, taking advanced classes in three subjects, participating in youth court which is a program that teaches the kids all about the judicial court system and actually allows them to try real cases. She's also going to start in a drama club which is in conjuction with the youth court. They will learn skits and short plays and then travel to schools, giving assembly-performances to teach lessons about character and stuff like that. She's also playing her clarinet at the school Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Cream of the crop, that girl is!! And quite a beauty too.

BJ is getting things ready for the Thanksgiving meal. He loves cooking the big stuff. I think he likes the glory of it all, orchestrating the symphany of dishes. Of course, I don't know if anyone else is coming over... maybe my nephew and oldest brother. I love parties and lots of people, but it seems this is the holiday that my family goes to their other side of the family for celebrations and leaves us ALL ALONE!!!! They do come to our house for Christmas, so it makes sense for them to do what they do. But for my kids Thanksgiving seems like nothing special. We eat our meals together every night... so Thanksgiving, in all it's glory and large amounts of food doesn't really amount to much more than large amounts of food for just the regular few of us. Does anyone want to join us for Thanksgiving? Dinner will be around 1:30 PM.