Welcome to our Kastle Kidz Space!

ONE TOUCH

PICTURES POSTED SMALL UPDATE

GREAT BOOK - LET'S TALK ABOUT MODESTY

I'M BAAACK...

ASH WEDNESDAY - LENT IS HERE!

THE BRUTALLY HONEST PERSONALITY TEST

I'm so tired of those "feel-good" personality tests... Finally, a brutally honest one that describes the complete idiot that I really am... LOL Enjoy!

Your Score: Clown- ESFP

ACTIVE ALCOHOLISM SUCKS!

GODTUBE

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN

THE QUESTION OF SIN

TAEKWONDO KIDZ

WHAT MATTERS MOST?

PROCRASTINATION & JAMES BOND

LONG TIME NO BLOG

THANKSGIVING IS COMING

THE GREAT SKUNK HUNT

HALLOWFEST

NOT MY COMPUTER!

WRITERS BLOCK

FOURTEEN YEARS

Photo Album: REUNION WEEKEND ~ 20 YEARS!

Photo Album: MAY 2008

Photo Album: BASEMENT REMODEL

Photo Album: RANDOM 2008

Photo Album: FIRST COMMUNION

60% Extraversion, 33% Intuition, 46% Thinking, 40% Judging

Ayiesha Woods - What Matters Most Lyrics

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:34:41 GMT

In my sobriety birthday month (4 years) I wanted to share a song and words of one of Nicole C. Mullen's newest. These lyrics really speak to me... The song is based on the gospels of Matthew, Mark & Luke. It's the story of the women who hemorraged for twelve years and spent all of her money and resources on trying to heal herself, to no avail. And she knows deep in her heart, if she can just touch a piece of Jesus' garment, she will be healed. Because of her affliction she would have been considered an outcast and unclean. I imagine a very lonely and despairing existence, much like an addict in the grip of his or her addiction.

In order for me to be healed, I also needed to be desperate to get out of my madness, turn it over to God and NOT take it back again. He makes all things new!

ONE TOUCH

Been ostracized for 12 years
I’m used to being alone
Spent everything I had
And now it’s gone
I’m used to being put down
My issues tell it all
My only hope is anchored
In this fall

Chorus
If I could just touch the hem of His garment
I know I’d be made whole
If I could just press my way thru this madness
His love would heal my soul
If only one touch

So many people calling
How could He ever know
That just a brush of Him
Would stop the flow
If he knew would He rebuke me
Or shame me to the crowd
Well I’m desperate ‘cause it’s never or it’s now

Chorus

Suddenly He turned around
He said somebody has unleashed my power
Well, Frightened and embarrassed I bowed
You see I told Him of my troubles
And how…

I had to touch the Hem of His garment
And I know I’ve been made whole
And how I had pressed my way thru the madness
And His love has healed my soul

Then with one word He touched the hem of my garment
And you know I’ve been made whole
And somehow He pressed His way thru my madness
And His love has healed my soul

I tell you He touched me
He reached way down and touched me
When no one else would touch me
Jesus, shol’ ‘nough He touched me…
And I know I’ve been made whole

Written by Nicole C. Mullen ©2007 NCMullen Songs (SESAC) (Adm. by Garrett Johnson) Recorded & Mixed by Roy Hendrickson / Guitars – Nick Moroch / Bass – Tony Levin / Drums and Keyboards – David Hentschel / Angeli Strings – Pauline Kim (Violin), Hoiroka Taguchi (Violin), Miranda Seilaff (Viola), Christine Kim (Cello) / Edited by Roy Hendrickson and Tony McAnany / Music Copyist – Notes-On

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:28:41 GMT

I am not doing a good job at all at keeping up with my own blog much less visiting and commenting on others spaces and I apologize! I love summer and when it is not raining (which is rarely this year) I am outside from morning until night if possible. I also have started taking an online course through a local university so I can substitute teach this fall - exciting, but more work than I expected. The remodel of our basement is finished and I've posted photos - fun! The storage room is the best!!! Our bedroom closets are finally neat and organized and all the extra "stuff" is in here organized and easily accessible. I am obsessive about being organized and "neat" so this has made my life LOL Yes, I'm a nut and easily entertained. Give me an unorganized closet and I'll go to town and enjoy doing it! Finally, my husband and I have incorporated and broken away from the "mother ship" so I have recently been "promoted" from princess to office manager-accountant-secretary-gopher-girl for our trucking company... I'm not sure it's a promotion but the pay is decent and I'll get to stay home and play princess the rest of they week so I guess I won't complain tooo much, although I may occassionally, as office work is not my first choice in careers. That's about it for me... I hope to get to the blogs I've been missing. I have skimmed several of my favorites but have just not commented - hope everyone is doing well and staying safe during this stormy summer!

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:37:30 GMT

Hey all! Just arrived home from my Godson's 1st communion and it was wonderful and my SIL threw an elegant and amazing celebration, as usual! This particular blog however, is not about 1st communion, although I will be posting pictures later this week... I have been reading a GREAT book call "Holy Sex!" and no, it's not some boring-can't-have-fun-sex-is-for-procreation-only-type book. It's an awesome book about enjoying your spouse and all that goes with that ... The part I'm going to refer to tonight is the section on "Respect" and subtitled "Modesty"; I don't think it's what most people would think modesty is, so here goes:

Modesty has MUCH (emphasis added) more to do with one's internal attitude than it does with hemlines. The great Catholic physician and philosopher Dr. Herbert Ratner once said that a nun could be forced to walk naked down the street and still find a way to carry herself modestly, while Marilyn Monroe (or, perhaps a more contemporary example would be Paris Hilton) could walk down the street in a nun's full habit and still find a way to seem immodest.

Just as many people acquaint chastity with repression, so too many people equate modesty with dumpiness. As popular Catholic speaker Mary Beth Bonnacci wrote in an issue of Envoy magazine, certain people who think they are pursuing modesty "Seem to fear all attraction to the opposite sex. Some women seem to make a test out of requiring men to look past their deliberately slovenly appearance to find the 'gold' of inner beauty disguised within."

She goes on to say, "The object of modesty is to elevate the dignity of the human person. It's to demonstrate that we respect the human body as the seat of the soul, as a gift from God. We keep the sexual function of the body private out of respect, but we also show respect for our bodies when we dress attractively."

The upshot is that if we dress in a manner that glorifies ourselves, either by saying, "Look at what hot stuff I am," or, "Look at how piously dumpy I am," then we are being immodest.

Fr. Peter Stravinkas notes that modesty is a social virtue that facilitates relationships by preventing people from either behaving (or dressing) too shockingly with each other or behaving (or dressing) too fussy with each other. In order to practice modesty, of course, you should be sensitive to the message you are sending by what you wear, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT (emphasis added) you should avoid gossiping about others to make yourself feel better, more pious, or more accomplished, and you should practice and encourage the ability to display all your gifts and talents while avoiding the temptation to say, "Hey everybody, look at me!" all of the time.

Holy Sex! By Gregory Popcak Ph.D.

WOW! Yes we need to be sensitive to not exposing too much cleavage or showing more skin than not, however, it's our behavior that dictates modesty. I have never connected the two before, although it seems to be a no-brainer once I read it! Yes, Mother Theresa, when she was alive, if forced to walk naked down the street would still be modest, because her behavior dictated modesty. And Paris Hilton, (or the "dish of the day"), no matter how much clothing she was forced to wear, could still seem immodest, because AGAIN, it's in our behavior, not our hemlines. I do think however, if someone is truly modest inside and out, has respect for herself and is comfortable with who she is, then she will display that in how much skin shows and doesn't show, but we don't need to be covered from neck to toes to appear modest, in fact that can also be immodesty because we are then saying to everyone around us, "Hey! Look at me, I'm being modest!" It's an interesting thought to ponder, which I definitely have been doing since I read it on the car ride home today. I definitely would appreciate any comments to this post!

Have a great night!

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:11:03 GMT

Hey I'm on the computer and charging up a storm (hahaha just kidding... sort of...) I'm not sure about a person fasting for Lent and then "binging" once Lent is over if the fasting really "counted" in the first place. It's like waiting out a prison sentence instead of actually learning from it and becoming better because of it. I will have to ponder that this year and work on it next year

My second child made her First Communion this last weekend. We had family from both sides and had a wonderful weekend. The prize for the longest trip goes to my niece Annie and her husband Dan who made a round trip drive of 12 hours to be with us and celebrate this very special day!!! What a way to break in a new marriage (what doesn't kill ya, will make you stronger LOL) Thanks guys! We loved having you and we miss you already!!! My mom (Nana) also was able to make it down for the weekend and we celebrated one year of smoking sobriety with her! WAY TO GO NANA!!! My husband's family, as always, made the trip from near and far to be with us as well, and we very much appreciate everyone coming to spend the day with Jessica. Next week, we get to make the trip to both of our nephews First Communions; luckily, they did not land on the same weekend - oiy, what a mess that would be! We are looking forward to spending time with my husband's family again and getting the full treatment from our sister-in-law (we know its all you and no Matt LOL)

We are currently in the midst of finishing our basement and are about two weeks away from completion. I have been taking pictures of the construction and once it's completed I'll post some before and after pics.

I hope to get to everyone's blogs this week and say Hi. I hope all is well and life is good!

Have a very blessed week!

PS - If you have 4 1/2 minutes to waste today... especially all of you "me" generation people (80's that is)) Check out the "Baby Got Book" video on my space, guaranteed to make you smile! Enjoy!

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:06:19 GMT

Hi faithful blog readers! I will be on a computer fast for the next 40 days...

due to this being my greatest weakness LOL

BUT, I will definitely be back after Easter!!!

Have a very prayerful and peaceful Lent!

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:24:47 GMT

Congratulations. You are the buffoon of society, the class clown, the general funny gal. Your purpose on earth was to serve as entertainment for the rest of us sane ones. We're laughing with you and at you. Some people would kill to be as funny as you. Other would rather just kill you.

You're spontaneous, fun-loving and optimistic. You're all in all an idiot.

You wanna know why? It's because you would rather have fun than concentrate on your duties and obligations. You act before you think. You talk before you think. All in all, you don't think that much at all.

You did terribly at school, didn't you? You were the class clown. Paid no respect to the teachers or to your fellow students. Paid no attention to your school work. And look where you are now... starting to regret your decisions?

Get down to earth. Find a real job and start taking care of your responsibilities. Sure, people love you, but they don't love you because they like you. They love you because you make them laugh. They love you because they can always look at you and say "Well, at least I did better off than her!"

...but at least you're funny, right?

If you want to learn more about this personality type in a slightly less negative way:

ESFP - THE PERFORMER

Brief Overview

The ESFP is warm, outgoing, optimistic and caring--a cheerful person who's always ready for a good time and avoids the company of dreary "doom and gloom" people who take themselves too seriously. Count on ESFPs to settle in occupations which let them be "people people"--working in sales, human services, business, nursing, crisis intervention or the performing arts. They are naturally gifted at observing human behavior and figuring out what others want. Whatever the ESFP's work choice, talking must be part of the job! To be at their best, ESFPs need to be around other people--and this type will go to great lengths to avoid solitude and isolation. ESFPs believe that life, work and relationships should be fun and rewarding. ESFPs are unlikely to stick around when clouds darken the skies for too long at a stretch. Charming, clever and open-minded, the witty ESFP is likely to be seen by others as a party person--so much so that this type may be ill-at-ease in business fields which expect seriousness, formality, logic, conceptual thinking, organization and punctuality.

Take the Brutally Honest Personality Test Here

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:06:59 GMT

Well, I spent a lot of yesterday afternoon and evening text messaging and talking to a person in AA who has had a relapse. Not to go into details due to anonymity, let's just suffice it by saying again, that active alcoholism sucks! I wonder sometimes why some of us "get it" and some of us don't. It must go back to surrender, and having reached some sort of bottom. Unfortunately, for some, bottom can be a really dark and deep place where there is no light to help them to see the way back. Having dealt with active alcoholism in my own family (although unaware of what it was until I became one...) it makes me so grateful that I obviously have a very low threshold for pain, because my "bottom" doesn't seem to be anything near what most alcoholics experience before they are willing to turn the reigns over. Some don't turn the reigns over and the options become one of two: jail or death. I'm not being dramatic; it's just where it will lead an alcoholic, if they continue to persist in their disease. Those that are not alcoholics cannot understand this concept... and they never will unless they become addicts themselves. Addiction is a crazy, incomprehensible thing to the average person. BUT, it can happen to anyone. I have heard stories of people that hated the taste of alcohol, that didn't start drinking until they were 65 and in retirement, that had the world by the tail and they lost it all. It's not a lack of will power or some weakness, it is a disease: cunning, baffling and powerful. It will take you before you even realize what has happened. The best people I know ~ spiritually, morally, physically, mentally ~ belong to AA and are in recovery. It takes a strong person to face addiction, but an even stronger one to overcome the demons behind the addiction. Only by facing those demons do we become whole. It must be the fear of facing what we have done, what the disease of alcoholism has done to us, which keeps people in active addiction. I thank God for the grace He gave me to face this, and regardless if I have become too zealous in my spiritual and Christian beliefs, it doesn't matter, because I will take this side of the coin, for the side I was on, every time. The light is incomparable to the dark. God Bless You all on your journey today!

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 05:57:36 GMT

Did you know there is a Christian version of YouTube??? Check this out... GodTube Some of it is corny and not my taste, but there are a some "diamonds in the rough" on there... I posted a video on my blog from that site called "Amazing Grace". That's it for tonight! Have a great week!

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 04:44:17 GMT

My 94 year old Granddad was baptized this weekend - Thanks for all the prayers & thanks be to God!

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:18:55 GMT

Recently there has been a discussion on one of my favorite blogs that I visit. I did not comment on the discussion because I have been busy pondering the question that was posed... "If our sins have been forgiven at Baptism, why do we still sin?" (greatly paraphrased) I am going to add my own thoughts here because I have been troubled by this question, but could not adequately form into words what my head and heart were telling me... I have done some reading and would like to share what I have come up with and what I believe. Let me start with this beautiful definition:

"Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent gift... We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and most precious gift. It is called 'gift' because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; 'grace' since it is given even to the guilty; 'Baptism' because sin is buried in the water; 'anointing' for it is priestly and royal as those who are anointed; 'enlightenment' because it radiates light; 'clothing' since it veils our shame; 'bath' because it washes; and 'seal' as it is our guard and the sign of God's Lordship." St. Gregory of Nazianzus

"When we made our first profession of faith while receiving the holy Baptism that cleansed us, the forgiveness we received then was so full and complete that there remained in us absolutely nothing left to efface, neither original sin nor offenses committed by our own will, nor was there left any penalty to suffer in order to expiate them... Yet, the grace of Baptism delivers no one from all the weakness of nature. On the contrary, we must still combat the movements of concupiscence that never cease leading us into evil. Certain temporal consequences of sin remain in the baptized, such as suffering, illness, death, and such frailties inherent in life as weaknesses of character, and so on, as well as an inclination to sin called concupiscence (we are inclined to sin due to the deprivation of original holiness and justice). It is left for us to wrestle with, it cannot harm those who do not consent but resist it by the grace of Jesus Christ. Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ's grace, erases original sin and turns man back toward God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle. Due to original sin, the devil has acquired certain domination over man, even though man remains free. Original sin entails, 'Captivity under the power of him who thenceforth had the power of death, that is, the devil.'" (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

"Christ's inexpressible grace gave us blessings better than those the demon's envy had taken away." St Leo the Great

"There is nothing to prevent human's nature's being raised up to something greater, even after sin; God permits evil in order to draw forth some greater good." St Thomas Aquinas

After reflecting on all of these different sources, I have come to the conclusion that in order to love God, we must be tempted. That is the only way our nature will know and understand the love of God for us. We must feel the pain of sin and separation from the love of God to fully appreciate and freely accept the amazing and unbelievable gift of his love and forgiveness for us. Because we are human in nature and not divine, we will still wrestle with sin and occasionally lose because our human nature is frail and easily tempted. We cannot always remain with our "eyes on the prize" and live in this world. I believe there are people who, through a life of deep prayer and fasting, can attain a life without sin, but they are the exception, not the rule. The great saints that have attained that type of union have usually felt that they are the greatest of sinners because they know, to a greater extent, the manifestation of God and understand even the slightest sin on our part is of great disgrace in the presence of purity and perfection. Our freedom to choose is what consistently brings us closer to the love and forgiveness of Christ. We must know separation to continue to desire unity and wholeness in Christ. For what it's worth, my struggle with the question has been resolved. My belief is that sometimes we will not fully comprehend all things, all our questions will not be answered to our satisfaction, that sometimes we must just have faith and wait to understand...

I'm reading a great book right now, "I Believe in Love ~ A Personal Retreat Based on the Teaching of St. Therese of Lisieux". I highly recommend it! God Bless!

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:16:19 GMT

My kids just earned their next rank in Taekwondo... I now have two brown belts and three purple belts I'm so excited because I found this great belt holder on eBay. I've just been tossing the belts into a bag and throwing them into the closet. But I started thinking this is too bad, they have worked really hard to get where they are (at least three of them have anyway LOL) There MUST be some type of display for these - and waa-laa - eBay to the rescue... Here is the link Taekwondo Belt Displays These are custom made and she is a great gal to work with - I'm really pumped to surprise everyone with them! Anyway, just wanted to share my great find and post a picture or two

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 17:40:08 GMT

So begins a New Year and quickly approaching is my 20 year High School Reunion So for the last week, I've been working hard at eating right and getting my steps in to lose these 15 pounds that I found three years ago. I'll only be up 5 pounds from my high school weight IF I can manage to do this... NOW, I made cinnamon rolls this morning (to take to the neighbors who are building a house for another neighbor that has been paralyzed from the chest down from a fall, not because I'm a masochist LOL). I allotted myself one roll for today, lo and behold, I've eaten three I was berating myself and getting down on what lack of will power I have... And this song occurred to me... What matters most? That I have a perfect body? That I’m wearing the same size jeans that I did in high school? That I'm obsessing over my looks? Or is it in doing the Father's will? I think that God probably does not want us to be obese and hurting our health, but does he want us preoccupied on our looks, or anything for that matter, in place of Him? We are just following a false God in replacing Him with anything that takes away from our time with HIM. I'm guilty of that on so many levels... my health, our finances, the computer, reading, watching an entire disc of '24' non-stop LOL

But does any of that matter? Am I spending as much time with God as I'm spending on working out, reading, watching movies/TV, cruising around on the internet, blogging, worrying...? Is He a part of my every decision, my every action? No, I don't have to live as a monk, in a constant state of prayer, but when something has become compulsive in my thoughts and replaces thinking of what His will is for my life, it's time to re-evaluate where I am. I don't think I have gone that far with dieting and exercising yet, but with my addictive personality, it could happen. It's something all of us need to be on guard for. "The devil doesn't make us bad, he makes us busy." God bless everyone!

You ask me where does my joy lie
I tell you in all that I do for Christ
You want to know how I am fulfilled
I tell you in doing my Father's will
You think it strange when I tell you
That it's what I live for and die if I have to
There's nothing more satisfying than knowing I'm pleasing
The one who matters most

So if I make you smile
And the words that I sing make you feel better
Then I know that it's all worth while
'Cause nothing completes me more than doing what matters most

Your will is planned ‘til the end of time
How I fit in only you define
The meaning for my existence
I can't deny you - no room for resistance, no
The only one who makes sense of it all
Still trying to understand why my name you've called
But I'm created to praise you
It's what I'm made for and it's what I'll do

So if I make you smile
And the words that I sing make you feel better
Then I know that it's all worth while
'Cause nothing completes me more than doing what matters most

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 04:08:15 GMT

It's that time of month where I should be opening up MS Money and working on bills and balancing those 7 accounts we have... <big sigh> Ever have one of those days where procrastination is an enjoyable task? I seem to have one of those lives. I kinda hang out and get by with the bare minimum during the week and then about now (Thursday night) into Friday afternoon, I'm am running around this house like a crazy woman trying to make it look like I have actually done something all week. NOW... If I would just do an efficient job EVERY day (wow what a concept) and make good use of my time, then the last 18 hours of the week wouldn't be spent with me running around a manic mad woman... You know, I've always done my life this way though... Sailed through high school and really kicked it up a notch my senior year to end up with a 3.8 GPA... Didn't open a book at all in college, even took several of my finals with a "not so clear head" and graduated with a Bachelors in Psychology and Criminal Justice, the grade point wasn't great but it was fair, 2.9 - The last two years of college I forgo buying books to use the money for "recreational" purposes! (Sorry mom! ) Unfortunately, to get into grad school I will need to be on probationary status, but you know... I really don't know what I would go back for; I'm not really interested in anything but staying home and being a mom and housewife... Isn't that sad and pitiful LOL I would go back just to prove to myself that I am actually smart enough to get a Master's degree and maintain a 4.0... I just need to "apply" myself... Now is that really worth a loan of $20,000 or more ??? I think not... SO now I'm back where I started from, this application thing. It's just not in my personality make-up, I don't think. I like to sit around and discuss ideas and events and "what if's" and peoples emotions; tree-hugger stuff, but to be entrepreneurial and business-minded- No thank you... I'll leave that Glory Road to my hubby. Opposites do attract, let me tell you Anyway, I'm rambling... procrastinating, whatever works... Take care, peace, love, and all the other laissez-fair clichéd type sentiments (ROFL ~ A degree in CJ and Psych with a minor in French... What was I thinking??? The next James (Jane) Bond? ) Good night all!

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:59:37 GMT

It has been awhile since I have blogged. Between the flu that has attacked our house and holiday preparations, it's been crazy! We did manage however to have lots of fun during Thanksgving. My husbands parents rented a city transit bus to haul the family to a nearby town (if one can call a place with a population of 5, a town, LOL) to sing Christmas carols in an old fashioned, nostalgic-type of enviroment. With 12 adults and 14 kids (all 10 and under) the transit bus was a nice idea. We were all able to ride together and no one had to drive; we just sat back, talked, and had fun! We took the kids out for pizza, and following caroling, ice cream. My sister-in-law and myself, as former McDonald's employees eons ago, got a chuckle out of what the employees at the Burger King were saying and doing as we pulled up 1/2 hour before closing time in a transit bus... LOL "Drop those fries, more burgers on the grill, hustle, hustle, hustle" And then we all just order ice cream

We are very much looking forward to the celebration of Christ's birth. Our oldest will be serving Mass for the first time at Midnight Mass. She is very excited and it will add the special-ness of the night. Midnight Mass in the Catholic Church is incredible... The reverance and beauty of the celebration is beyond compare. We haven't been able to attend midnight Mass in many years due to the ages of our kids, but with afternoon naps this year, I think we will make it through. However, it will make a very late night for "Santa"

I wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a blessed New Year - He IS the reason for the season!

P.S. Be sure to watch the Charlie Brown YouTube Video

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:06:01 GMT

Thanksgiving is coming and there is so much to be thankful for, I don't even know where to begin. Sobriety, Faith, and Family, have to be the top three, followed closely by friends, freedom, and health. For what it is worth, despite the shortcomings of our country, we do live in the best country there is. Where else can we practice the religion of our choice or speak out against injustices in our country without "disappearing" in the night? I enjoy friendly debate with those of different viewpoints and ideas to get a more clear handle on my own thoughts and beliefs. It is what makes us whole and complete; to understand the journey that others are on and to more strongly solidify our own journey. My faith would not be as fervent as it is if it wasn't for all the well-meaning, well-intentioned people around me that were bold enough to question my values. Without them, I would have been too lazy to research and understand what it is that I believe and most importantly WHY I believe it. It used to make me so angry when my family or friends challenged me, assuming I had switched religions and political beliefs because of whom I married. But without those challenges, my faith would still be "lukewarm"... and as it says in the bible, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. " Revelations 3:15-16 So "thank you" to everyone for helping me to become "hot" about my faith!

I have sitting here 20 pounds of potatoes, yes you read that correctly, 20 POUNDS of potatoes, the size of a toddler, that need to be peeled, boiled, and mashed by Thursday for my husband's family. And I guarantee they will be gone by Thursday night! LOL I am including, on this blog only, my secret recipe for the best mashed potatoes EVER... Please use with discretion, as it is guaranteed to clog your arteries and add 10 pounds to your butt

MY SUPER AWESOME MASHED POTATO RECIPE

5# Potatoes - Peeled, boiled, and mashed with,

1/2 Cup Butter - softened

8 oz Cream Cheese - softened

Sour Cream added until desired consistency is reached

1/2 t. Salt

1 T. Onion Powder (give or take)

Can be made up to one week ahead of time and reheated in 300 degree oven prior to serving! Yummmmmmm

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 02:21:55 GMT

Well, let's start by saying having skunks and other wild life near and around our house is not unusual, however, this is the "closest call" we have had yet. Shane went out to the garage the other night to get something out of the car. Luckily the kids had left the lights on out there, otherwise Shane would still be soaking in tomato juice. He walked down the steps and started to move left when he looked up, saw the skunk in our closed garage, the skunk backed up, Shane backed up, the skunk raised its tail and Shane zipped into the house...

Slamming the door while baracading it with his body, shouting "There is a skunk in our garage!" Upstairs Shane sprints to grab his rifle or .22 or whatever its called and out the front door. Shane takes his position and opens the first garage door. Shane is ready for the skunk to come waltzing out... no skunk. We open the second garage door, get ready to shoot, no skunk...

Now what??? We call our brother-in-law (mind you, it is 11 PM). Eric is an avid hunter so we call to ask his advice. He replies, "I will be right over!" According to his wife, he begins packing his "hunting gear" - spotlights, guns, ammo, camo clothes, deer stand, camo makeup, he's the "Rambo Hunter", LOL...you get the picture.

Meanwhile, my husband is here getting the vehicles set up with their lights on the garage, the walkie talkies off their chargers, snacks in case of hunger (I'm embellishing A LOT as you can tell...) Anyway, here comes Eric and he and Shane are off on the garage-skunk-hunt. They discover the skunk under our steps next to the house and apparently he has been there for a while because he seems to have left a lot of skunk feces under there. Shane and Eric set up a little obstacle course for the skunk to follow out of the garage into the back yard. They use a broom handle to coax the skunk out from under the steps. The skunk isn't falling for that old trick. So they just decide to rip the steps off the side of the house. No using a drill, just tear the steps away from the house like the "real men" they are. The skunk then hides behind the coolers, oops they didn't see that coming (so far skunk 2, guys 0) Next they get out a fishing rod to lure the skunk into his "green mile" and the skunk must have finally realized it was over with because he lumbered out into the back yard. Eric was ready and waiting - bang - dead skunk. However, as the skunk is taking its last breath, it raises a back leg and sprays... LOL must have figured, "If I'm going out, you're getting it too!"

I would like to mention the infamous "Skunk Hunt" lasted 3 hours from beginning to end

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:32:56 GMT

We are back from a wet and rainy Hallowfest and in the swing of things again (well I'm playing on the computer and not doing laundry, so I guess that qualifies) If you remember from last year's blog, our hayrack ride was a horrorfest... so I commented to the Park Service people last year as we left, again when we camped there this summer, as I was making reservations for the hayrack ride this year, and finally when we checked in... Could you just tone it down for the earlier rides? I wasn't nasty about it, just a little suggestion, over and over and over... I just wasn't sure that they were hearing me So we go on an earlier ride this year and it was very toned down, much to my surprise and shock. I'm not sure WHY, maybe the earlier rides are just less scary (we did a late ride last year), or maybe a lot of people had issues last year, or maybe I've been flagged as the "problem parent", whatever, it worked! However, when we finished the hayrack ride, my son and his two boy cousins were disappointed that "it wasn't THAT scary" and one of them even commented, "this WAS going to be my favorite part but now it's NOT!" You win some you lose some... We had a great weekend, made T-Shirts, saw a snake show, did the pumpkin roll, hiked, roasted marshmallows and played an awesome game called "Ticket To Ride". If you haven't played this game you must try it! It's a low-key strategy game, very addicting! It's not like RISK where your brain is wiped out at the end of the night or MONOPOLY where half the players leave crying (at least in this cut-throat family they do) LOL It's enough of a chance game where a person doesn't get frustrated with being unlucky yet enough of a strategy game where you've got to think your moves out several turns in advance... Check it out (and there are expansion packs which are always a plus) http://www.daysofwonder.com/tickettoride/en/

Have a wonderful, wet, and rainy Monday!

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 03:54:30 GMT

Well, I will not be available online in any way, shape, or form until after Monday, October 8th... My computer is acting up something goofy and the computer tech guy (at the pawn shop - that's crazy) says that either my computer is bogged down with updates and useless information (go figure) or I have a ton of spyware, or a virus. In any case, his suggestion: "Wipe the hard drive!" So, against my better judgement, and after backing up everything I can find on here, that is what will be happening to my poor little computer tomorrow. He promises me it will run like new Do you know how incredibly scary this is for me? What if I didn't get everything backed up? What if the computer crashes? What if I can't get my files back on my computer? I will be in deep poo-poo if I lose our financial information doing this... I can't even imagine the headache that would be!!! So why am I doing this you ask??? Well, for starters, I have 2GB of memory on this thing and it takes for EVER to open programs. I have to constantly reload pages on the internet to get them to load correctly, even with a 1.5MB internet connection. It's almost as bad when we were at 28K in the country (not QUITE that bad...) Even now, as I'm typing my blog, the tower is making "running" noises even though I have no programs running and my typing is dragging about two beats behind what I'm doing. SO... Wish me luck and send me some good sensations for fixing this thing up! It's only 4 years old (and yes, I know, that is old in computer geek world, but not for me dang it!) So hopefully I will be up and running on Tuesday and speedier than ever Until then... Goodnight Sweetheart, it's time to go... See you soon!

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 15:47:44 GMT

Hi All!

It was a very emotional and trying day and evening yesterday, due to another's disease of alcoholism, and because of the anonymity of the program, I won't go into any type of detail, but please keep all involved in your prayers. They are desperately needed at this time.

So here I am this morning, after an evening of working with a very broken marriage of one of our closest friends, trying to find the words to speak at my beautiful neices wedding this week. What an ironic situation...

I want the toast at her weddding to be poignant, funny, full of wisdom and most importantly, brief. No one is interested in a long-winded-all-about-me-type of speech. We've all been at weddings where the Maid of Honor or Bestman goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on... Sometimes you can't hear the excruciating speech (blessing in disguise), or he or she is not prepared, or worse than that, he or she believes one is more charming and captivating when drunk! When Shane and I were married, his best man was his younger brother (17 years old) and his wedding "toast" has been the best I have ever heard prior to, and since, our wedding! I hope to emulate his delivery and give the honor to Annie & Dan alone. (Forgive me Dan & Annie if I fail LOL)

We are very much looking forward to this weekend, not only for the wedding, but to be with our family, especially those that we don't see very often; that we love and miss! I will be posting pictures when we get back and writing of the marvelous time we had! See you all soon!

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:19:35 GMT

It is amazing that we are at 14 years of marriage! I never thought that I would be MORE in love with my husband than I was on the day of our wedding, but I am. The first 10 years were tough and a struggle. I won't let you all assume it has been happily-married-wedded-bliss from "I do", because that would not be rigorous honesty, which is what I'm all about I think it is good for the newly married, not-so-newly- married, and the about-to-be-married couples to know that marriage is hard work, it's not a cake walk. However, there are some essential things to keep in mind to make it easier:

Top 5 Things Women Need:

1. Affection (not the same as sex)

2. Conversation

3. Honesty & Openness

4. To feel financially secure

5. Commitment to the Family

Top 5 Things Men Need:

1. Sexual Fulfillment (of course LOL)

2. A Recreational Companion (other than sex LOL)

3. An Attractive Spouse ~ One that takes care of herself; Not necessarily a size 5, just healthy

4. Domestic Support

5. Admiration & Respect

(Taken from the book His Needs, Her Needs, by Willard Harley ~ HIGHLY RECOMMEND!)

And ALWAYS, communication, communication, communication... However, the most essential thing in every marriage, if you want it to last and be happy, is to put God in the middle. Without our faith, we would never have made it this far. Both of us agree, we would have called it quits a long time ago. There is something to that old saying, "Somedays a couple will only be commited to the commitment." You will not like your spouse every day, and he will not like you either. Both of you are human, you will make mistakes, you will be selfish, and you will both get angry, its inevitable. When people say marriage is 50/50 that is a crock. Sometimes its 40/60, 20/70 or 5/95... Marriage is MAJOR give and take. It is not, and cannot, be equal all the time. That's just human nature. But if a couple believes in the sanctity of the marriage vows and the commitment they are making, they will remove the idea of divorce, it cannot be an option! (Except in cases of abuse) But a couple cannot view divorce as a "get out of jail free card". IF we leave the possibility open, it will become a reality. I firmly believe this. Shane and I have waded (sometimes up to our necks LOL) in some serious self-induced crap, more than most people will ever know, but we've come out on the other side, stronger than ever. We both were committed to the commitment and when things got BAD, our faith pulled us through. I love Shane more than I thought I could possibly love another human being. He is my best friend. I cannot imagine life without him. That is the pay-off. That is being committed to the commitment and putting in the hard work, not just putting in time.

God Bless all of you & your marriages!

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:35:26 GMT

REUNION WEEKEND ~ 20 YEARS!

WSHS Tent

Hubbies hanging out

Ang & Me

We've gotten older...

Not too bad for 38...

Best Buds

Husbands in waiting...

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Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:08:36 GMT

MAY 2008

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Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:12:41 GMT

BASEMENT REMODEL

Basement 1

Basement 2

Basement 5

Basement 6

Basement 1A

Basement 5A

Basement 4

Basement 6B

Basement 4B

Basement 2B

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Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:59:08 GMT

RANDOM 2008

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Weekend Away

Girls Weekend Away

Maxin' the Credit Cards

Sami Pre Locks of Love

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:55:12 GMT

FIRST COMMUNION

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First Communion 2008 Annie Dan

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