Table Top Dill Pickles...just like Klausen

The ingredients:  

2 c. cider vinegar

6 c. water

6 heads of dill

6 cloves of garlic

1/3 c of minced onion (dried)

1/2 c. canning salt

1/3 T mustard seeds

5-8 pickling cucumbers depending on the size

First, cut the cucumbers into spears.  I cut them in half, then in half, and then in half.  :-)

 Then dice 6 garlic cloves into small pieces.  

Then pack all of the cucumbers and dill into the jar.  Boil the liquid (vinegar and water) and spices and the pour over the cucumbers and dill.  If the cucumbers aren't covered, pull a couple of spears out.  Put the lid on the jar and let sit out on the counter for 3 days.  During this time, turn it over occasionally to keep the liquid and spices mixed and equally covering the spears.  Once they're ready, refrigerate and ENJOY!!

FYI..this recipe used 6 of my 8 cucumbers.

Variations:  Next time I think I will add some red pepper flakes and hot peppers for a spicier/zestier version!

Credits:  I found the original recipe here:  

http://athomemyway.blogspot.com/2011/07/best-dill-pickles-ever-just-like.html

Spring Break Project

Today, Audrey and I embarked on a little project.  We headed to Hobby Lobby armed with a 40% off coupon.  We bought 1 foam ring, 1 roll of light green faux fur yarn, 1 pink ribbon (50% off), and some flower embellishments.  We walked out of the store with less than $10 invested and created this for the front door.  It was fairly easy (until the yarn knotted up).  I did find that there is a balance to wrapping the yarn...if you wrap it too tight, the fur won't poof out enough, but if you wrap too loose then you get lots of gaps where the foam shows through.  Play with it a few minutes to get the right tension.  Finally, we added the flowers with straight pins.  I want to add a "Think Spring" sign, but need to the get the Cricut out for that.  Until them, it hangs on the door welcoming all the visitors.

(I did see this originally on Pinterest...Lord knows I can't come up with these creative ideas on my own :-)

Pinterest Inspired...YouTube Taught

So, as I mention in my previous post, I have found Pinterest very inspiring. One hobby that I decided to teach myself was knitting. After Christmas, I forced my family into a Hobby Lobby shopping spree where I bought my first set of knitting needles and several balls of yarn. I had no clue what I was doing or how to do it, but I was ready to learn.

That night went to youtube and learned how to cast on and do a knit and purl stitch. I stitched and stitched and stitched that night. Not long after, I began my first scarf. It was a good learning experience, but it is NOTHING that I would like to show here, but I did learn a lot about knitting.

For my second effort, I was inspired by this scarf: http://www.purlbee.com/easy-hand-knit-scarf/

I used 2 balls of Vanna's Choice yarn by Lion in Linen and 11 sized needles following this pattern:
Cast on 39 stitches.
K2, p2, repeat to last 3 stitches, k2, p1.
Repeat this row.

It turned out pretty good, for a second scarf. The first 20 rows are a little wonky as I was getting my gauge right and then a few rows after that I I had a major screw up (still not sure what) and it is visible. Overall though, I think it turned out great.

Audrey has been really excited about my knitting. She understands the difference between a knit and a purl and likes to sit and help me knit. When we were at Wal-mart, she found an eyelash yarn called Boa by Bernat and she wanted a scarf made from it. So, I made her one. I casted on 23 stitches and did a straight knit stitch all the way around.

I used just one ball of yarn (keep it mind it was for a child, an adult one would have needed 1 1/5-2). Overall, it hides a lot of flaws and is fairly easy to work with once you get the hang of it. It is so soft and I like it so much, I will be starting mine in a next few minutes.

Overall, this knitting thing is kind of fun and I am getting better each day. Can't wait to keep trying new and challenging patterns, stitches, and techniques. And to think...it all started with pinterest and a few youtube videos..oh and the desire for a challenge!

Pinterest Inspired....

So, the newest wave to sweep the nation (well, at least my little corner of the state) seems to be Pinterest, a virtual pinboard for all of your cool web-finds.  I joined after Christmas and got inspired by all the cool stuff and ideas.  So far, thanks to Pinterest, I have taught myself to knit and today I completed my first project. If you know me very well, you know I am not a crafty girl.  Crafts are always a challenge for me, especially coming up with ideas.  That is why Pinterest  is so useful for me.   My first project is a DIY project:  Make your Own Coasters.


What you need:
-ceramic tiles like you would find at Lowes/Home Depot (about .20 a tile)
-modge podge
-scrapbook paper
-water based polyurethane


Next, choose your  favorite scrapbook paper and cut squares to fit on your tile.  You may want to leave enough room for an 1/8" border.  This will help with sizing. Use a scrapbooking paper cutter for easiest and most consistent cutting.  Obviously, you should cut all your squares ahead of time because there will be no time once you start gluing.


Then, wipe all of your tiles down.  If there is gunk on them, wipe with alcohol.  With a cheap chip brush or foam brush, brush modge podge on the tile completely covering the whole tile.  Be sure not to have any glops.  Place the tile on the tile, smoothing it down on all edges and in the middle.  Be careful to work quickly because modge podge dries quickly.  Afterwards, put 2-3 coats on the top of the tiles.  Make sure brush strokes are in the same direction each coat and be sure to use even coats.

After the modge podge has thoroughly dried.  Coat with water based polyurethane.  After an appropriate drying time, you can add bases so they don't scratch up tables.  You can either cut felt or buy those stick on felt feet or rubber bumpers.   Then you're done.  They make great gifts and I plan to make a little store to give away throughout the year and at the holidays!!  

 Before top coat of modge podge:

 Completion!!

Christmas Card Complete

Seasonal Chic Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly for beautiful photo Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Homeade Salsa

Today was  my dadvand I's annual salsa canning marathon.  Normally we do 2-3 batches and yield 12-18 quarts of salsa.  Today, however, we did 4 batches and ended up with 31 quarts!!  No batch is exactly the same and I will go through our process so you can get an idea of the "how-tos".  
Over the years we have experimented with this recipe from using fresh tomatoes to freezing them, but we have finally settled on using canned tomatoes and fresh garden peppers.  Fresh tomatoes slow down the cooking process because you have to spend an hour or more cooking them down and there is a likelihood of burning due to heat and sugars in tomatoes.  We have decided speed is necessary to get the quantity we want.

First, start with your ingredients.  Each batch will require,
*2 large cans (gallon) of crushed tomatoes (for a chunkier consistency consider using diced tomatoes, but stay away from using whole tomatoes b/c you will lose a lot of quantity in juice and it will be more work breaking them down).
*fresh hot peppers - quantity dependent on spiciness you desire (jalepeno, garden salsa, hot banana, habenero)
*2-3 fresh onions
*spices:  granulated garlic (NOT garlic salt), cayenne pepper, chili power -- again this is to taste
*salt and pepper
*Variations:  use fresh garlic, cilantro, cumin, or to keep pepper flavor without the heat de-seed and de-vein the peppers

That's as specific as I can get because truthfully each batch is an experiment in developing flavors and playing with ingredients until we get the desired flavor.  There is a lot of taste testing along the way :-)

So we start by emptying the tomatoes into the stock pot and bring it to a simmer.  As we wait for that, we get our pepper ready by cutting the tops off.  Many times, we use frozen peppers because pepper won't stay fresh long.  If they are frozen, we let them sit in the sink with warm water.  Once the peppers are ready, we put them in the food processor and chop them up.  Do be careful that you don't chop them too fine that they cook down to mush.  You want to had a little thicker consistency to the tomatoes.  I would say we add 4-6 cups of peppers per batch.  Again, depending on the heat and consistency you want the amount will vary.

After you add the peppers, it is time to add the spices.  We start slow and work our way up to a flavor we're happy with.  I would say we use anywhere from 1/8-1/4 of a cup of each of the spices.  The salt and pepper are to taste.  If you want to add fresh garlic this the time to do it.  You will want to let it cook a little to infuse the flavor.  If you want to add cilantro wait until the very last minute or it will cook down to nothing and look kind of nasty in the final product.  After the peppers and spices have cooked, it is time to add the onions.  You don't want to add these until you are about to can because they will cook down to much.  If you add them at the end, they will add not only flavor but crunch and texture.

After the onions have cooked for just a bit (less then 5 minutes), it is time to can.  Be sure to have the jars and lids in the roasting pan (yes I figured out the name to it) and boiling by this point.  Again, this recipe has enough acid in it that additional processing is unnecessary.  We've been canning exactly this way for over 20 years and we've never had a problem.    We're really careful about contamination, and my dad is the "canner".  He is very diligent about having less than 1/4" of head room and wiping the lip of the jar clean.  As you can see from the picture, it is a messy process--but the final product is worth it!

Today's marathon yielded a monster 31 quarts!!! Batch 1 (7 quarts) and 2 (8 quarts) are pretty similar in flavor.  I would call them medium-hot.  Batch 3 (7 quarts) I would consider super spicy due to the habenero peppers we added.  Batch 4 (9 quarts) will give Batch 3 a run for its money in spiciness because we had so many left over peppers that we couldn't re-freeze so we just added them.  I don't think it will ultimately be as spicy, but it is going to be hot.    We also did that batch with 1 can of crushed and 1 can of diced tomatoes.  I think it definitely be chunkier consistency and thicker also due to the peppers.  The salsa making took about 4 hours from start to finish (including clean up) and this a short break to get more tomatoes and jars and have lunch.   My dad and I split up the the final product and it should last us until this time next summer :-).

Hot Pepper Dill Pickle Relish

So I am trying my hand at more canning.  I have had an abundance of hot peppers and pickling cucumbers, and I looked and looked for a recipe for a dill relish.  All I could find was a dill pickle relish, so I just started experimenting.  Here is what I came up with:

Food Process the following:
8-10 c of cucumbers (cut the ends off and cut into smaller slices for easy food processing)
3 c of onions
4 cloves of garlic
4 c of assorted hot peppers (I used a combo of:  hot banana, jalapeno, garden salsa, and a red and milder version of a habenero called a zavory.  Be sure to remove the stems).

Put in a large bowl and cover with a 3/4 a cup of pickling salt and water.  Top with some ice cubes for crispness.  Let sit for 3-4 hours.  Rinse thoroughly.

In a large pot combine and bring to a boil:
6 c of cider vinegar
1/2-3/4 c of sugar (depending on your taste...I started with 1/2 but sprinkled in a little more to combat tartness)
3 T of mustard seed
1 T of celery seed
1T of dill seed
2 T of dill weed (dried spice version)
1 T of red pepper flakes

Add vegetable mixture.  Bring back to a boil for 15-30 minutes (depending on desired consistency).  I got 7.5 pints out of this recipe.  It seems good on first try.  In hindsight, I would definitely try to add more red peppers just for color.  I wonder what the difference would be if I used regular vinegar and not cider vinegar?  Overall, this is good relish with a kick.  I like the flavor and consistency.  I think if I make sweet pickle relish I will use this recipe and just add sugar and less dill b/c my other relish had too much turmeric.

Sorry no pictures this time.  My darling photographer assistant is busy redoing our 1/2 bath.

Canning Sweet Pickle Relish

So the pickling cucumbers in my garden are keeping me on my toes.  So far this year I have canned 2 batches of dill spears, 1 batch of bread and butter, and now a batch of dill pickle relish.  This was a first for me, so there will be some things I do differently next time, but overall I think it turned out good.

The ingredients were pretty simply:
1/2 c canning salt
2 c. vinegar
1 T cornstarch
about 10-12 cucumbers
2 red peppers
2-3 onions
5 c sugar
1 t tumeric
1 t celery seed
1 t of mustard seed

First, don't peel the pickles.  I used my mandolin and my 3.5 mm julienne blade to slice them into strips.  Then I diced the strips up into fairly small pieces.  I did the same with the onions and red peppers.  I mixed all of that into a large bowl and tossed in the canning salt and then added 8 c of boiling water and let it set for 1 hour.  As it sat and cured I mixed the vinegar, sugar, tumeric, cornstarch, celery seed, and mustard seed in a large pot.  After the hour was up, it was time to drain the water from the relish mix.  I used my strainer for this process.

After that I mixed the relish into the liquid mixture that was waiting in the pot.  I brought it all to a boil then continued boiling for another 35-49 minutes.  If the mixture is a little liquidy keep going to get it to firm up.  As this was boiling, I got my roasting pan going with the jars and lids so they would be sterilized.  If you time it right, your jars are ready about the same time as your relish is.  I put 6 pints in the roasting pan, but I was skeptical I would get 6 and I was right.

I got 5 pints out of this.  I think if I do it again I will change a few things.  First, I will use more cucumbers.  I got too few pints and I think it was a bit watery for me.  Second, I will tame down the turmeric.  It is a little overpowering.  Third, I might try cider vinegar and see if that improves the tartness.

I should get a few more rounds of pickling cucumbers from the garden.  I think I would like to try another bread and butter batch and then I will try my hand at a pickle and hot pepper dill relish.  That one will be for my dad :-)

Bread and Butter, Baby!

Second harvest of pickling cucumbers and today it was time to try the bread and butter pickle.  I had a great recipe I used with my sister a few years ago and decided to get it out of the recipe holder.  So, here is how it goes.  First, wash the cucumber and cut the top and bottom off.  The, cut in even pieces. I like mine to be a little thicker because I prefer them to be a bit crunchier.  The recipe calls for 28 cups of sliced cucumbers; however, my harvest only yielded 14, so I just halved the recipe.

After you cut all the cucumbers, you then need 8 cups (of for 4 cups for 1/2 recipe) of yellow onions.  I like to cut the onion in half and then cut the them in slices. Again, I like them a little thicker to keep their crunch.  After you cut these, put them in a large bowl and cover with 1/2 c of canning salt (different from table salt, it will leave sediment at the bottom of your jar--oh, and I used 1/4 c).  Mix it around with your hands or a spatula.  Afterwards, cover liberally with ice cubes, then tin foil, and finally a towel.  Let sit for 4 hours.

I started prepping for the canning after about 3 1/2 hours.  For this I use my largest pot (I need a larger one--hint, hint hubby, it would be a great xmas present) and my dutch oven (I don't think it is actually a dutch oven, but I have no other name for it.  The large pot is for boiling the syrup and spices and the dutch oven is for sterilizing the cans.  I started by getting the water going for sterilizing.  I placed both the jar and the lid in the pan.  I left the ring out because if it is hot, it is too difficult to twist on.  Then the recipe called for 7 1/2 cups of white vinegar (I used 3 3/4 c) and 7 1/2 c of sugar (again, 3 3/4).  To that I added 3 T mustard seeds (1 T), 1 1/2 T celery seed (3/4 T), and 1 T of tumeric (1/2 T).  I poured it all in the large pot and started them to boiling.  While this was coming to a boil, I uncovered my cucumbers, removed the ice, and rinsed them off lightly with cool water.  Once the mix was boiling, I threw them in and got them submersed in the liquid.  I waited and let it come to a boil again.

Once it came to a boil I started canning, by using a ladle and funnel to get the pickles in the jar.  They slid in easily and barely needed any coaxing, but if they did I just used a spoon to help.  I made sure there was plenty of liquid in each and I tried to make sure the was enough head room, but not too much to keep it from sealing.  Once they were filled, I got a lid and placed it on with my tongs and then sealed it with a lid.  I put it to the side to sit until it popped.  For this batch I got 4 pints and 2 quarts.  One jar doesn't have quite enough liquid, so we will put that in the fridge and eat.  The longer they sit the better, but they should be ready to eat in 2 weeks.  I don't process these in a boil bath.  I suppose you could with the a 10 min bath for a quart and 5 min for a pint.  I have been making salsa like this with my dad for ages and we've never had a problem.  As long as you keep your jars sterilized and hot right up to the point you're filling the jars you should be fine.  Since I started typing this about 30 minutes ago, all of my jars have popped and are sealed, even the one with less liquid.
Happy canning!

I'm in a Pickle...

First significant harvest from the garden and it looks like I am going to have to pickle tomorrow.  From the looks of it, I should get a few quarts of dill pickle spears.  It has been a while since I pickled....the last time I helped my sister and took some spoils.  This time I will do it solo and see what I get.  I am rather excited.  I am a little disappointed though because my squash and zucchini are not doing well.  Most of them have died on the vine. I think the heat has been too much for them.  However, we are looking at some cool weather and maybe the ones that are on the vine and doing well will grow enough.  I love to have some fried zucchini and use squash in a saute.

My herbs are also doing extremely well.  The mint (julep and  chocolate) is thriving and I am having ice tea with it daily (seriously--who needs soda?!?).  My basils (thai, boxwood, spicy, and regular) are doing better than I have ever seeen basil do.  Finally, my oregano (spicy and greek) and rosemary are thriving in their container.  I need to figure out more recipes to use with herbs because at the rate they are growing I am going to have a lot to go to waste.  Normally, in my old yard, my herbs barely grew and I used them sparingly.  Now they are multiplying by leaps and bounds.

Finally, my flower gardens are coming along.  They have a long ways to come, but I am slowly but surely getting them under control.  The thistles in the front yard are almost defeated and I am moving to back to fight the good fight.  I have some beautiful flowers and I have been enjoying seeing what pops out.  After I learn what I have I will begin to add my own favorites...luckily I don't dislike any plants but the yucca (can you say yuck?).  I just need to do some thinning and repositioning.  I am most in love with a hydrangea called Glowing Embers.  It is a gorgeous pink and I think it fits in great in the bare back garden patch.  There is still a lot of work to do, but I think it will be easier next year after I get all the gardens edged, weeded, and mulched.  I will post more after my pickling exploits!  Wish me luck.

Kids Say the Darnest things...

So, Christmas break was too long for miss A to be idle and without constant focus and input. After Christmas her behavior went downhill. She was kicking, hitting, screaming, and pretty much making every day with her a nightmare. I thought, for a moment, I might be raising a sociopath because of her hateful behavior. I was worried.
Luckily, her dear dad has a degree in psychology and a book called "Raising the Strong-Willed Child" which helped us correct some of our behaviors and mixed messages which were causing some of the issues. We quickly changed and started taking every toy of hers away whenever she misbehaved. After a few more unbearable days, she started getting the message; however, she started getting hopeless at ever earning her toys back.

We implemented Audrey-bucks. She could earn one whenever she followed the rules for a bit and when she did something more than was asked of her. That was really the moment she gained control back. She is now at a 5:1 earned to loss ration. We can now reason with her and help her learn and make better choices.

So, the other day when she slammed a door in anger, I calmly walked upstairs to talk to her. Here is the conversation:
"Audrey, what did you do wrong?"
"I slammed the door."
"Why don't we do that?"
"We might break the door."

"Yes. What might have been a better way to deal with your anger?"

Pause to think.

"Uhhh...I don't know, walk away and hate you quietly?"

Mom's heart on the floor.

"Wow. I wish you wouldn't hate me, but I can't help how feel Audrey. As long as you don't slam doors or break any rules, you can feel however you need to."
"Ok, I won't slam the doors."

I walked out of the room and part of me wanted to cry and the wanted to burst out laughing. While part of me was a little disappointed, the other was pretty impressed at her mature thought.

While she will take great effort to corral and mold; the rewards will be great with this one. She is a wild one with a heart of gold!

Summer Recap -- July

July started out with a bang. We celebrated the 4th by also celebrating Brian's graduation and Audrey's b-day. It was a rainy day, but the weather cleared for the party (a cookout) and fireworks. It was a nice day with family and friends! It will be the last year that we were able to sit on our front porch and watch all the lemmings try to drive home in dead-stop traffic.
After that, it was time for my NYC trip. I did this trip last year and had a blast with my girls, so we decided to do it again. I got to see 6 plays: Wicked, Jersey Boys, West Side Story, Shrek, Billy Elliot, & Lion King. I truly enjoyed JB and WSS. Shrek was plain fun w/ great effects & costumes, but it wasn't anything special. Wicked was good, but I think it was better last year. Billy Elliot was amazing, although it had a very slow start. Lion King was just plain tired and lacked anything beyond with opening wow with with animal costumes. The weather was beyond amaing with nary a drop of rain and sunny skies in the upper 70's.
The ladies I was with decided not to be tourists. We did the subway the whole time and were all over the city. We traveled all the way up to the Upper West Side (near St John the Divine) and Harlem (for the city's best red velvet cupcake). We found Serendipity which elluded us last year and we indulged in their famous frozen hot chocolat. We biked through Central Park and went to the Top of the Rock. We also went down to Wall Street (I bought something at Tiffany's) & Chinatown. We did the purse buying craziness by travelling into an office building, up an elevator, down a hall, in a storeroom, and inside a secret room behind a hidden door. We were laughing the whole way, feeling like we were part of some clandenstine and dangerous activity. I wasn't going to buy a purse, but after risking my life there was no way I was going to walk

out of that without one. It was hot, in more ways than one. :-) Then we headed over to Little Italy for lunch at an amazing little restruant Il Cortino. They used to shoot scenes from The Sopranos (I never watched, so I was clueless). We had the best food and downed a bottle of Pinot Grigio. We also got acquainted w/ Tiffany's cousin and bought a bunch of fakes. We wanted more, so on the last day, we got up early and made our way down to LI to get more. There were no stores open at that early of a time, so we got some Italian pastries and coffee. After we killed some time and a few shops opened. We bought a little more and then headed back for lunch at our favorite Chelsea Grille. We also got our Stella's at Broome St. tavern before we headed to Washington Square Park. It was a wonderful trip. Full of fun and silliness. We laughed our way through the trip and had a great time.
After we got back from NYC, Brian was in full on NCLEX study mode although he didn't get his date to test (known as ATT) until a week or two later. We also worked on the house more and go serious about looking for a house. Actually, we decided to halt the looking b/c the house we wanted was out of our range, so we were just gonna stay here another year. That was until a friend from school clued me into a house that was going on the market near her. So, we were the first to see it and b/c the price was incredible, we put in an offer that day. Thus, we will own two homes (for a short time I hope). We put our house on the market 2.5 weeks ago and have had a lot of activity but no offers. I hope we get one soon because I really don't want to have to carry 2 house payments for long. I also need to buy a car.
Not much else happened this month. It was a whirlwind with house buying/selling preparation.
July quickly folded into August, but that is another post.

Summer Recap -- June

June was a good month. Audrey finished up kindergarten with a bang and Nathan completed his tenure at LT BAll (5th grade). Brian finished up school and graduated, and we went on a trip with Brian's parents down to Old Man's Cave area in southeastern Ohio. Brian wanted to take Nathan backpacking with his dad, but Nathan wasn't trail hardened yet, and Brian's dad wasn't sure he was physically up to anything too demanding. They settled on the Hocking County area, and I must admit that it was really nice down there. Of course, there was no cell phone service, but the view and nature was enouch to make it all better.

The rain was a bit of a bummer and sleeping in a tent really sucked, but the trip was a nice start to the summer. Nathan, Brian, and Bill went on a good 5+mile hike through some amazing areas (Ash Rock, Cedar Falls, Old Man's Cave). Nathan really like hiking and got into it in the end. He also started his first fire with only one match. I think he really liked camping.

Audrey enjoyed her first camping trip (grandpa don took nathan last year). She enjoyed playing with all the little girls camped near us. She will never be at a loss for friends. She is a like my sister who always made friends with people wherever we camped. She got swim twice, and the two of us went on a rather disappointing hike. We thought we were going to see Rose Lake, but apparantly you can't see Rose Lake from the trail we were on. We finally gave up and headed back.

June also saw the end of Brian's schooling. He found out he got a job at the OR at MVH. At first we thought he didn't get it b/c his website status changed to "declined". We sat there a little sad (I think Brian was a lot more bummed than me). About 2 minutes later the phone rang and something in the back of my head was telling me that it was MVH offering him something else. Sure enough it was MVH, but they offered him the intern position in the OR. He got just what he wanted through some divine intervention. It doesn't feel real, but he will start on Monday and start beinging in the $$$$.

June also brought a lot around the house work as we set off to comeplete all the little tasks we had neglected since school started. Here is the list of stuff we accomplished in June:

painted bathroom

painted upstairs hallway

painted outside window trim

There was still a ton of fun to come in July and August!!!!

Selling a house is an intense experience

Well, the house is on the market and has been for about 15 days. In that space of time, we have scheduled 13 showings (or viewings as my vocabulary challenged mother says) and declined one. I have sold one other house in my lifetime and I don't remember it being this "intense". We have had a lot of traffic, but on top of that, we've had some crazy experiences.
The first was a night that the kids had soccer. Brian comes home with a pizza in hand and says, "there is a woman on the phone and a gaggle of people outside looking at the house." I reply that we'll probably get a call for a showing, and before I know it the phone rings and the agent on the other end says, "if you look out your window, you will see the agent and people who would like to see your house right now." We were not in a position to show at that moment, plus we had a dinner to eat and kids to get to soccer. I was able to get them to hold off on the showing by an hour, but it was really difficult.
Then today we had a showing scheduled from 2:15-3:15. We had the house cleaned and ready to go, but we still had the cats to gather and kids to collect (they were playing at friends' houses). We always leave the house about 15-20 minutes early, so we thought we were in good shape when at 1:27 someone starts to come in my house. I go to the door and sure enough it was a realtor. I introduced myself and she was little flustered as she said "oh, we're a little early." A litter early is right. Geesh. I told her we coudn't get out at the moment, but we'd be out w/in 10 minutes. She said they would just come by closer to the scheduled time. We left early, and came home and there was NO evidence that anyone had been in the house to view it. That is really frustrating. Brian says there is no way he will accept a showing from her ever again.
I know it is a "buyer's market" but COME ON. There has to be some respect to the life the homeowner leads. I can't wait until we move out and are in our new place and don't have to uproot ourselves for some showing.
I know it is the game we have to play, so I am trying to grin and bear it, but it is unbearable at times. I hope we get a contract soon, but I know it took our first house over a month before we had a contract. We've only been at this 2 weeks and 2 days. At this point the old cliche patience is a virtue holds true.

Recycle: Freecycle!!! One man's junk is another's treasure!

About a year ago, I came across a new concept in recycling: Freecycle. Freecycle it a movement that encourages people to give the stuff they would toss to people who want to take it off their hands. There is no exchange of money and most of them time you don't even meet the people taking your stuff. It is done through a listserv at yahoo groups, and the most annoying thing is all of the emails. But the delete key takes care of that. Mostly, I have been a "giver", but recently I was in need of a cat carrier. I posted a "Wanted" post, and low and behold someone in the neighboring city. All it cost me was the gas for the trip. It couldn't have been more perfect. If you want more info visit the Freecycle site.
It amazes me what people will take and use. While I could give my stuff away at Goodwill (and I still do at times), I like to offer to Freecycle so I can hopefully reep the benefits if/when I need something. I am sure that there are some people who take it and sell it somewhere, but as long as someone takes it off my hands what they do with it is their business. What warms my heart the most is that people will take a lot of stuff that may have made its way to a landfill. Now it will continue to be used and have a life well after us.
You should try it!

More Video

Road Trip: INDY and INDIGO GIRLS

So last Friday (April 24th), I took a road trip sans husband and children. I bolted with some friends to Indianapolis for the Indigo Girls Concert. We left town right after work, headed down I-70 and made it to the city in 1 1/2 hours with NO rush hour traffic. We got off on Michigan Ave which took us RIGHT to the Murat Theater where the concert was. We parked in the Murat's lot and went to imbibe in beer and food at The Rathskeller where I had the most AMAZING rueben and Warsteiner Isenbeck (From Germany's premiere brewery, a dark beer with a light character and a smooth, crisp finish.). It was a little slice of heaven I tell you! The only low light of the meal was a phone call from my mother who proceeded to tell me that she and the kids were locked out of the house and they all had to pee (they finally went to a neighbors) & my aunt had unexpectedly passed away (but that is for another blog). The girls and I then went shopping in this cute little street right by.

We headed over to the venue, which was beautiful. We were in the Egyptian Room, a smaller and more intimate SRO venue. It was lovey decorated in heiroglypics and mummy caskets and large, looming pillars. The opening act was OK, but she had NO stage presence and she had a hard time singing and playing at the same time. I always enjoying hearing opening bands b/c I get to learn about new musicians and get on the cutting edge. But I was not impressed..in fact can't even remember her name (jennifer mcconner, mcconnell). I think she has talent, but she'll be an opener for a long time to come.

The Indigo Girls proved to be worth the $30. They were amazing. It was just them and Julie Wolf on keyboard/electro drums/acordian. It was really wonderful. The crowd was chill and totally into every song. There were tons of sing alongs and when "Shame on You" came on the crowd WENT WILD. I even left loving a song I have always not enoyed ("Chickenman"). I realized that Emily Saliers can rock a guitar and Amy Ray has gotten a lot better at songwriting over the years. I can't say there was a favorite song, as every single song was lovely and sounded as good or better than the albums.

After it was all done, we piled back in the car and headed back to DAY. I landed with my head on the pillow about 2:30. It was an amazing night that I need to have lots more of!

The Curse of the Mommy

Let me preface this this saying: I love my kids and I love being a mom. But in our house there is something I have dubbed the "curse of the mommy". Brian was the stay at home dad for the last 10 years. After Nathan was born early, I had the insurance and he was just getting out of grad school. It was just logical that he be the primary caregiver. Because of that, each of our children had a pretty serious "daddy attachment". When they would get hurt, they would go to dad first and me if he wasn't there. It was a bit of a blow to the ego at first, but I got used to it and carved out my mommy niche in different ways.
So, the curse of the mommy is this: Even though 90% of the time they are hurt or want love they go to Brian, it seems whenever they are sick or have a bad dream in the middle of the night, they come to me. Now the way our room is set up, it is much harder and longer to get to my side of the bed, so it is obvious it isn't a path of least resistance kind of decision. I think it is also a mommy curse that we have radar hearing. As soon as one of them is wining, crying, or moaning our mommy-radar wakes us up. There are times that I will be up 3-4 times a night and when I get up in the morning Brian never was even aware there was a issue.
Most mommy time I love, but I have to admit, I don't think I was made for the middle of night care. The nice thing is that with the youngest at 5, I do see those years coming to an end. But that means other things I love will be gone too. *sniff* *sniff*

Who are the people in your neighborhood? In your neighborhood...

Remember that Sesame Street song? Last night at dinner Miss Audrey asked what a neighborhood was. We tried to explain that it is a group of houses that are on the same street/area. We told her where our neighborhood was, where g-ma and g-pa M's neighborhood was, and where g-ma and g-pa W's neighborhood was. Just to trick her, I asked her who do we know who DOESN'T live in a neighborhood (I was thinking Adam and Karen who live in the country). She thinks about it for a minute, looks up to the sky, and says, "God. He lives above us." We just about lost it in O'Charley's. After composing ourselves, we asked her if there is anyone on Earth she could think of that doesn't live near other houses. She got it right, "cause Karen and Adam live by no one."
I am just glad she is asking questions like "what is a neighborhood"? I have also noticed her using much larger vocabulary and sentence construction (can we get some refreshments? or my mom's viscous!). We're still trying to decide if we repeat kindgergarten, but I am not stressing about it.

Stove 2.0

So I got my new stove today. It came and as soon as the delivery men left, I started cooking. The good news was I noticed a slight dent on the back corner and got $150 MORE off. So a $1500 stove ended up costing me about $1000 after all my discounts and rebates!!
It is a Kenmore Elite, double oven with turbo boil and 5 burners. I really liked it cooking on it. I made sweet and sour chicken and rice and then muffins in the upper oven. It will take some getting used to all the cool functions.