What A Week It Was!

The ending of this week has been somewhat (actually quite a bit) of a challenge for me. After our awesome afternoon in the snow Wednesday - my emotional roller coaster ride began.

That evening after just finishing up our school day, I was headed back downstairs for the rest of the night, when just as I stepped off of the last stair - it happened. I still don't know exactly what it was - but something went wrong in my foot right below the ankle. I didn't think it was broken but if I tried to apply any pressure to it at all - it sent me through the roof! I was literally crawling through the house. Not so good on the knees. I couldn't even fix Isaac dinner and Chris was having another one of his later nights. Poor kid had to scramble his own eggs and make himself some toast for dinner. Thank God he's big enough to do that, but it still makes ya feel like a Loser for a mother.

Thursday, Chris brought an office chair down for me so I wouldn't have to crawl everywhere. I'm REALLY thankful for wood floors at this point - and for a husband who has the brain enough to come up with these knee appreciating ideas! Yesterday, I was finally able to put some pressure on the ball of my foot and limp around a little bit. Today, I am happy to report that I haven't used my make-shift wheel chair at all. I can cautiously bear weight on my entire foot. Whoo hoo! I think we may even venture out for a bit.

It was a really emotional time, silly as that may sound. But especially on Thursday when the only mode of transportation I had was by my "wheel chair" - I was really bummin'. I had to rely on my kid for just about everything. Me - the one who is SUPPOSED to be the care taker. Instead, my eight year old was taking care of me. I got tired of saying, "Isaac, can you give Layla some food and water? Isaac, can you let the dog out? Isaac, can you bring me a bottle of water?....." Of course, I had my pity party. Kissed my wounds. Cried. Pouted. Cried some more. You know...real mature stuff. Not a shining moment for me.

Then...God rang my bell. Instead of wallering in my misery, I should probably try to find a bright spot - something to be thankful for. Then I started thinking about all of the people out there who have actually lost an arm or leg or something that completely alters their life forever. My injury was just temporary and it completely threw me out of sorts. So, I began to thank God for two hands, two feet, two eyes, two ears... I thanked him that he never ceases to bless me. I thanked him for being my healer. And I started to get better.

I have seen where studies have been done on the power of gratitude in our lives and how it not only affects our mental state, but our physical state as well. I'm a believer. I think that when we begin to quit focusing on the problem and thanking the one who is the solution - then we position ourselves for God to work. I don't have all of the answers or theology to how this works. I don't really think that I need it. I don't really care how throwing a switch causes a light to come on. I just need to know that when I throw it, it will. I really don't even care to know how it works. I'm just thankful that it does. And today, I'm thankful that my God is a faithful God, even when I throw my temper tantrums and act really mature. And today, I'm thankful that I can cautiously bear weight on my entire foot. I have faith that tomorrow will be even better. There is a silver lining in every cloud.

Clearing Out The Coffee Pot

This week's tip is on keeping the ol' coffee pot running freely. The tips I post every week may be common knowledge for most - so forgive me the redundancy if you fall into this category.

We have this really cool coffee machine made by Capresso. It grinds the beans as well as brews a great cup of Joe. We normally program it at night to grind and brew the java for us in the mornings before we wake up. So, we have no idea how long it takes to actually brew a pot of coffee.

I've mentioned before that we've been in this house for nearly a year. We have found that it has REALLY hard water. Well, shortly after we moved in we had some guests over for dinner and dessert. I asked everyone if they would like some coffee with their cake. Of course. So, I get the pot going as any good hostess would do. An hour and a half later...the coffee is finally ready. How embarrassing! We didn't have this problem at the other house. That's when we received the 'hard water is screwin' up the coffee pot lines' revelation.

The fix is extremely simple. Once a week I simply run a water and vinegar solution through the machine. I usually use one part vinegar to 3 parts water. You can use more vinegar if you feel it's necessary. If you want you can also run a pot of plain water through afterwards as a rinse. I find this step really not necessary, though. We have never had a pot taste like vinegar.

This vinegar solution has completely resolved our problem and costs MUCH less than the coffee pot cleaning solutions that are sold in the supermarket. I really don't want chemicals in my machine anyhow.

Hope this has been helpful. Have a great day!

Snow Much Fun!

Well, two days ago it started snowing. And snowing. And snowing. And snowing some more. It finally stopped yesterday afternoon. The winter storm left us looking like a cotton factory exploded all over everything. Chris plowed the top of the snow with the bottom of his car all the way to his work. Thank God for front wheel drive! It is gorgeous out. However, I don’t think that I’ll be in a position to be leaving the house (once again) for quite a few days.

After lunch we decided to take a break and enjoy some of the pleasures of this temporary delight. I have taken pictures to document our escapades.

Making snow ice cream.

Using some of the snow for frozen Coke slushies.

Outside to play.

This is how deep the snow is in the back yard.

Can’t have all play with no work.

After quite a while outside, I sent Isaac inside to put on some warm, dry clothes while I finished shoveling the drive. I told him that I had about ten minutes left and then I would come inside and make us both a nice, steamy cup of hot chocolate. To my delighted surprise, when I came inside Isaac had made the hot chocolate for us. What a sweet boy! So, we took a few minutes to sip our warming drink, then headed back upstairs to get back to work. We were warmed, pleasantly tired and completely satisfied. What a good afternoon!

I hope you enjoyed sharing our afternoon in the snow!

Introducing.... "Dolly Jean"!

*Sorry about the paragraphs here. I've tried like 8 times to fix it, but it's not cooperating.

I ran across this old picture of myself this morning. I had to scan it to the computer because I felt a blog coming on. I think it is hilarious! This was my alter ego, "Dolly Jean". She is a singer - complete with red wig and all. Hannah Montana wasn't the first Diva to don a wig for her double life! "Dolly Jean" was evidently my stage name. No one knows where it came from. But somewhere deep in my toddling mind, she was born.

Singing is probably my oldest passion. The story goes that even as an infant I would hum along when I was being rocked and Mom was singing to me. As a little girl when me and Samantha, my best friend from across the street, were playing the pretend game that we were grown-ups - my career was always "singer". I find this all pretty amusing now since I was the kid who was so painfully shy it was embarrassing. When I was in fourth grade I wanted to have a small part in the school musical. You would not believe my horror when the music teacher required that ALL auditions must include a solo. I was so scared that when I opened my mouth to sing - nothing came out! No sound AT ALL. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Passion prevailed, however. I continued to be in the elementary school choir. Then in seventh grade I tried out for the school show choir. Every year from then on I was in the regular school choir plus the show choir. Except for eighth grade because the show choir wasn't an option. My high school music teacher was THE BEST. I'm not joking. John Tyner. That name is legendary back home. My senior year of high school he took a bunch of lazy misfits all the way to the National Finals and brought back the Grand Champions. He lost his mustache over that - but that's probably another blog session. All that time in choir taught me how to hide my nervousness, for the most part. I eventually got where I could actually sing a solo. I sang at church and even made it to State Honor's Choir twice. OOOh, aren't you impressed? (I'm being sarcastic here.)

After high school I went on to enroll in another school to be a part of their music program. Unfortunately, I didn't learn any more about the technical stuff there than I did in high school. Remember, Tyner was the best. What they did teach me was about performance. Performance; stage presence, how to hold your head, move your hands, NEVER close your eyes...

What I've found out since those days long, long ago is this: I'm just not cut from that same school of thoughts cloth. I think that life should be more about passion than performance. Whether it's singing, playing an instrument, speaking, painting, or whatever creative outlet there may be - just a performance is "flat". Anyone can perform. Some better than others. Not everyone is passionate, though. I don't have to agree with you or particularly like you. BUT - make me believe that YOU believe. If that means that you close your eyes, then, so be it. I like to hear music that is just an extension of who the person is inside. Not that they're trying to impress me, but rather that they HAVE to do it. It's who they are inside. And if you don't like it - tough. It's not about you anyway. I like passionate people. I think it makes the world much more interesting. Performers are pretty much all the same, with maybe just a few varied twists. How boring is that? A passionate person says, "I don't care whether you like it or not. This is who I am. I can't be anything other than who I am." Take Bob Dylan, for instance. As far as vocal ability goes - well, I don't think I need to say any more than that. But the guy has made a life long career in the music business because it's just who he is. He's passionate about music. And you know what? I really like him. I have two of his Cd's. What would the world be like without all of the Bob Dylan's?

I don't do a whole lot of singing anymore. My "Dolly Jean" days are far behind me. Oh, sure, I still croon to my dishes and shampoo bottles! But I don't do much in the way of public performance. I still love music, though. I have tons of Cd's. But I find that the ones I listen to the most are the ones where the singers have made me believe that they believe what they're singing about. They're passionate. That's how I want to live my life. It may make me a little odd. But at least I'll be interesting!

Company's Coming!

My sister e-mailed me yesterday letting me know that her, my mom and the kids are coming for a short visit next month. I actually knew they were coming, just not the date until yesterday. It's so nice now that we live closer because we get to see a lot more of each other. It's been awhile since they've been my way, though. Last time they were here we lived in a transitional rental house.

Just about a year ago we found the house we wanted to settle down in and now here we are. I must say that we fell in love with this house - after looking at literally hundreds. It's old like I like, yet not so old that my hubby doesn't like it. It has character. It feels like home. However, it was a repo. It has great bones but needed a lot of cosmetics. We have done a ton of work on it but there are many, many more projects we want to work on.

The guest room is one of those projects. It had a wall paper border that was all around the center of the room, but was coming down in places. And it doesn't look like a paint brush has touched it in ages. It's been on my "I really must get to that" list. So, now that I know that we are actually going to have guests in the guest room (how novel!) I think I finally have the motivation I need to tackle it. I also had just bought the fabric to make curtains for "Little Britches'" room. And I have all of the equipment to make the throw pillows for the sofa that match the curtains I did manage to get done in the living room and kitchen. If I allowed myself to dream big I would also make the shower curtain and Roman shade for the bathroom while I was at it. That might be an awfully big elephant to swallow, though, since we still have to do school every day. So, I'm probably going to be a little less frequent on my blog for the next few weeks. Though, I'm sure I'll be popping in now and again. I'll be sure and post some pictures as I finish each project.

Wish me luck!
Pam

Super Bowl Fare

As probably just about everyone in America knows - Sunday is not just you're typical Sunday. It is a very special Sunday. A Sunday that gaggles of people look forward to in great anticipation, for it only comes around one time a year. This Sunday is Superbowl Sunday. All across the U.S. people will be planning parties, making menus, and making special shopping trips just to celebrate the big game.

In honor of game day (even though my Colts won't be playing) this week's recipe is a kick butt winner for wings, hot dipping sauce and blue cheese dressing. It's so easy, yet, oh so good! Let me just add here that I never was a huge fan of Blue Cheese dressing until I tasted this version. I do hope you'll go out on a limb and give it a try. The hot sauce recipe comes right off the Louisiana Hot Sauce bottle.

Wings:
Wash wings , dry and bake in 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes until crispy. Drain well.

Hot Wing Sauce:
Melt 1/2 cup butter in sauce pan on stove top. Add 10 TBSP. Louisiana Hot Sauce. Stir well. Use as a dip for wings.

Blue Cheese Dressing:
In a blender or food processor:
2 cups mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 TBSP. apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 package of Blue Cheese, crumbled
1-2 scallions, chopped

Refrigerate when done. This makes a great dip for wings, salad dressing, or sandwich spread.

100 Things I've Done

As you may have read yesterday - I am a list junkie. So, when I saw this on Katy Lin's blog at The Great Adventure I was all over it. The bold type are the things from the list I've personally done. If you're up for some fun - come and play along. Read ahead for the instructions.

100 things I've done
Megan was doing this and I thought it looked like fun. (just copy and paste) If you play along, leave me a comment so I can see your list. Bold whatever you have done. (or italics if your font is bold)

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen and Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.