Food makes me happy. Easy Shepherd's Pie.

I wrote a long rant about the rampant abuse of the English language today and the apathy toward its preservation, then came back an hour later and deleted it. I didn't think all two of you should be subjected to my frustrations.

So I walked away and made some homemade rolls, oatmeal raisin cookies, and tortellini carbonara for supper, went for a walk, and I'm feeling better. Cooking is therapeutic. Walking just makes the dog tired.

I think I can manage something slightly positive now.

And since we're on such a good cooking roll, I'm going to share my recipe for Easy Shepherd's Pie, as written to my dear daughter Deb this morning. If I were a good blogger I would have pictures, but I don't, so come to your own conclusion.

Easy Shepherd’s Pie

2 lbs ground beef (or lamb or venison or a mixture. Sometimes I even used ground
chicken when Abbie is here.)
A couple of carrots, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 can beef broth
2 tbs flour
2 tbs butter
Worcestershire sauce
Frozen peas
Frozen corn

Potatoes plus seasonings to make mashed potatoes

In large skillet, brown beef, and season with salt and pepper. When it’s almost done, throw in onions and carrots. Continue to cook until crisp-tender.

In a small saucepan, melt 2 tbs butter, stir in 2 tbs flour. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until thickened. Pour in skillet with meat mixture, and stir in peas and corn. Let it all get hot.

Dump filling in 13x9 pan and top with lots of mashed potatoes (I think I used 9 or 10 good-sized potatoes. I use butter, salt and pepper, and onion powder in them.).

Bake at 375 until hot and bubbly.

And since the oatmeal cookies were so spectacular, I'll share the recipe. It's here.

So now you have no excuse not to make a yummy dinner.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Health care is not health care for some of us.

I read this great article this morning by Mike Adams at Townhall.com, which listed some great questions for President Obama regarding abortion. Please go read it. Americans need to understand exactly what the "health care" debate includes.

Be thankful ~

Karen

My loyalty is divided.

I went to college many moons ago (I won't tell you how many, but let's just say it's more than our wolf brothers see) at a women's college in Pennsylvania with about 1200 students. I completely missed out on the college football aspect of my experience. So I'm trying to make up for it by supporting my kids' college teams.

So far, two kids have graduated from James Madison University, where the first thing they teach new parents is not where the business office is, but the JMU cheer (J! M! U! J! M! U! J! M! U! Duuuuuuuuuuuuuukes!). They are serious about their football. Not serious enough to actually win a bunch of championships, or even contend most years, but they do have some crazy fans and an occasional televised game.

Now, Abbie is at Liberty U, just down the road a few hours from JMU. And today is the day the two meet. The trash talking is burning up some serious text message counters around here. Before Abbie was even an actual student there, she was wearing an LU T-shirt out in town one day, and some kid asked her if she went there. She said yes, and he told her he went to JMU and that they would play each other in football. Abbie leaned in, pointed her finger at his chest, and growled in her best intimidating voice, "You're goin' down!" What is it about college that brings out the competitor in them?

Anyway, last week I was in the kitchen with Leah and Mike (the JMU grads) before they left for work one day, and we were discussing the impending match-up. Leah said, "JMU better win or we'll never hear the end of it."

Then this morning, Abbie called and said the JMU fans had been emailing LU fans all week talking smack and telling them they were going to storm the stadium and take up all the LU seats. They even had a contingent camping outside the stadium last night. But Abbie's not worried. At Friday's convocation, the song leader announced that LU security was going to secretly open the back gates of the stadium two hours early so LU fans could fill ALL the seats. How awesome is that? I don't know how they're going to sneak 12,000 students in the back gate, but college students can get pretty creative.

I was still chuckling about it when Mike walked in the kitchen, so I told him the story. He immediately got that look . . . the look that says, "Hey, if I call my friends (JMU fans) right
now . . ."

So I said, "DO NOT under any circumstances call even ONE of your friends."

I'm secretly pulling for LU, even though, at this point, JMU has a significant portion of my retirement fund. LU is definitely the underdog here. Let's hope the Flames don't get rained out.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Edited Sunday morning: The Flames got rained out. They put up a good fight until the second half, when they gave up two TDs. Of course, in their defense we should add that the two teams are in different conferences, so technically, they're not supposed to play each other, but they did OK.

Saturday's Week in Review.

Well, it's the end of another week. I've run out of projects at work, and when that happens, I spend my remaining hours updating product descriptions in the store. It definitely needs to be done, but it's the most mind-numbing work on the planet. I can only do this for about an hour before I need to get up and use my brain for something. So on days like today, I spend a lot of time getting up and down, looking for little things to do.

Nevertheless, it's been a good week. Here are the highlights:

1. My mommy had successful knee-replacement surgery on Monday. She is already home from the hospital, walking around the house (a little) with a walker, and she sounds very good, very upbeat. I'm thankful.

2. Ben and I have agreed that we need a weekend away. He wants to take me to Charleston, which sounds perfect. Good food and a beach. What else do we need?

3. I finished the modesty panel for the piano at church. I volunteered to make it and then someone else redesigned it for me, so I was kind of nervous about how it would come out. It's not how I would have made it, but I think everyone will be happy with it, and it's done.

4. An article I wrote for The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is going to be reprinted by Family Learning Organization. That's always exciting. To think that someone actually enjoys what I write is really amazing.

5. We have finally been given permission to get the Acura fixed. Leah was hit in it three weeks ago, and the other guy's insurance company (which is paying for it) has dragged their feet like they were going to an execution. It will be nice to be able to open the door all the way again.

6. We don't have the plague yet. Every day we don't get it is a day to be thankful. We are like a bunch of germophobic hand-washing Nazis. Every time I see a kid at church come out of a restroom, I ask, "Did you wash your hands? With soap?" Sometimes I think I should ask the adults too.

7. I can sit at my computer in the evening with the window open and listen to the owls hooting right outside my bedroom. I love the sound of owls at night almost as much as the sound of the ocean. Almost.

It's been a good week. How was yours?

Be thankful ~

Karen

And to think I almost missed it!

Yesterday was National Punctuation Day! And you thought there was no such thing.

I realized I'd missed this blessed holiday late last night, and then our internet went out, so I guess I really did miss it. But in honor of the day, Leah shared the link to this blog, The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks.

I kid you not. It's a blog that features nothing but signs that have "unnecessary" quotation marks. Go read. You'll either love it or hide your face when "your" sign shows up there.

Be thankful ~

Karen

It lives among us.

We've been hit by the plague. Not we, as in my family, but we, as in the folks at my church and its K-12 school.

Most Wednesdays, one other lady and I cook dinner for 30 or so teenagers who get together after school to work around the building, go on visitation, or whatever else the youth pastor comes up with for them to do. Yesterday, she called to tell me she wouldn't be there because her 15-year-old son has swine flu, and she didn't think it would be a good idea for her to be handling food. I thanked her profusely for staying home and said we'd get a few teens to help with dinner.

Then I talked to the lady who buys the food and she said we were canceling dinner because the youth pastor and his wife were in the ER. YP's wife is about 3-4 months pregnant and was having severe pain in her right side. They thought appendicitis.

Then I talked to the lady who always makes dessert for us (Every church has one of these. She makes the most incredible cakes, mouth-watering cookies, even apple pie for 50 people—like it's just another day at the office. On top of running the preschool.), and she said seven teachers had gone home that day—three with the pukey virus, four with the flu—and a lot of kids were out too.

Elijah was considering staying home. But I armed us each with a bottle of hand sanitizer and may have beleaguered the point that you have to keep your hands away from your face.

Did you know that 98% of the germs that cause influenza get inside your body through your face (eyes, nose, mouth) via your hands? Have you ever seen kids rub their eyes? Chew their fingernails? Scratch their noses? Put their pencils in their mouths? It makes my skin crawl.

And did you know that you have to wash your hands for a full 20 seconds with soap? Sing the Happy Birthday song. Or the ABC song. Or you could even sing Pop! Goes the Weasel four times in a row. Just sing. And stay healthy.

Be thankful ~

Karen

PS. YP's wife did not have appendicitis. She had ligaments stretching. If you've ever had a baby, you know what this feels like. This is her first, so she didn't know what it was.

Random Dozen Meme

This, from Lid at 2nd Cup of Coffee (only with my answers):

1. Please share one middle school memory. It can be good, bad, ugly, funny. Pictures or words, I don't care, just share.

I would not dare to share pictures. How horrifying. I hated middle school. I was the most peer-dependent girl I knew. Absolutely no self-confidence. It was awful. I had friends, liked my teachers well enough, just hated the awkwardness of my self. I have no specific memories because I've blocked them all out. Give me middle age any day.

2. What's your favorite Beatles song?

I was never a Beatles fan.

3. If I asked you to describe your most comfortable outfit, what would it be?

My smiley-monkey pajama pants and the T-shirt that advertises the triathlon I did not participate in at our local Y. And flip-flops.

4. Would you rather host a party or be a guest?

Definitely, be a guest. I love to help; hate to be in charge.

5. Do you think we will move completely from traditional books to digital ones, and if we do, are you OK with that?

I hope not, and no I wouldn't be ok with it. There's something comforting about holding a book—the feel and smell of it—that I wouldn't want to give up. And really, don't you learn a lot about people by going into their homes and looking at their books? It would be awkward to browse through their Kindle.

6. Do you learn best by reading, listening or experiencing?

Reading. If you tell me directions, I will get lost. I must see them written down. But experiencing too. If I go there once, I can almost always get there again. Same with recipes—write it down or let me watch you make it.

7. If you are (or when you were) single, what is the kiss of death for you concerning the opposite sex? (That is, what is one trait or behavior or habit or anything at all that immediately turns you off from considering that person a potential match for you?)

Unbrushed teeth. I just couldn't stand it.

8. Snacks. Salty or sweet?

Seriously, are we ever just one all the time? One of my favorites though is chocolate-covered pretzels—I love the mix of salty and sweet. But also salty cashews. And ice cream. With salty cashews on it. I think I'm seeing a pattern.

9. Look around you in a four foot radius. What object is around you that you didn't realize was there or forgot was there? How long has it been there?

The cork board that I bought to hang next to my desk. It's sitting on the floor behind the desk, unused, because I can't nail the hangers into it to put it on the wall. Really, the wood frame is hard as granite. Been there about four-five months.

10. What is your favorite Tom Cruise movie?

I haven't seen many, so I guess The Firm. I love John Grisham's lawyer stories, and this one made a great movie. Plus, we used to live just outside of Memphis, so I know the area. The part at the end where they take the train thing over to Mud Island is cool. We've been there.

11. You buy a bottle of shampoo and discover that you don't like what it does to your hair at all. What do you do with that full bottle?

Give it to the boys. They don't care, so long as it doesn't make their hair "poofy."

12. Your favorite Fall comfort food? (Last week it was beverage.)

Pumpkin bread with chocolate chips.

If you haven't watched our 25th anniversary slide show below, please go do it!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Finally.

I am hoping above all hope that this video will finally work. I've been trying since June to get it uploaded to vimeo, and for whatever random reason, today it worked.

This is the slide show our children made for us for our 25th anniversary in June. If you don't know us well, you may not get some of the jokes. The twilight zone was the house in Tennessee we bought. Actually, it was a bomb shelter set into the side of a hill on six acres. We bought it, dug it out, and converted it to a house. Six months of living in our friends' basement (with their five kids and our five kids--seriously, at least 14 people for every meal), and we finally moved into it. One year later we moved back to civilization.

The photos from DC were taken the first year we lived in Northern Virginia. 23 friends came from Tennessee to spend Thanksgiving with us, and we took them all to DC on Black Friday, which it turns out, is a very good day to go sightseeing.

Please don't notice the hideous parade of glasses we wore over the years. What were we thinking??

I still cry every time I watch this. The first picture of the grandbaby gets me every time. And sometimes the one of the daughter getting married. If you're sappy like me, get a tissue.

Here it is.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Friday's Fave Five, on Tuesday.

Why is everything in my life off-schedule?

Some people post their five favorite things about the previous week on Friday or Saturday, which makes sense. I think about that on Tuesday.

Jenni at One Thing has Metaphor Monday. I come up with mine on Saturday.

Last night Leah asked me, "Mom, why do you always make blueberry muffins at dinnertime?"

Isn't that normal?

So here, just because I can, are my five favorite things from the last week, which in my brain, runs from Wednesday through Tuesday (at least this week it does):

1. I got a new bed. Our old (10 years) Kingsdown was the pits. Literally. I had my hole, Ben had his. We fought over the hump in the middle. I don't think either of us realized how bad the holes were until we got this new mattress. Ben kept saying, "I feel like I'm falling off the side." That's because he wasn't firmly encased in his hole.

2. Blueberry muffins for dinner. I have a great recipe and I could eat twelve of them myself. In case you're wondering, I found the recipe here, but I don't sprinkle sugar on the top.

3. Cool nights. We had a few that were in the 50s. Perfect sleeping weather.

4. Two dreams that, thankfully, were only dreams. In one, Leah cut her hair to a chin-length bob with bangs. It was awful. I was very happy to see her long, blonde hair the next morning. In the other dream, my friend Cindy and I both found out we were pregnant. Let's just say we're way past that.

5. Successful knee surgery for my mom. Her knee-replacement was yesterday, and it went just fine. When I talked to my dad last night, he was complaining about having to schlep (a Yiddish word--picture someone dragging around a bunch of heavy stuff) all her stuff that she brought to the hospital. She was proud of herself because she didn't even bring a curling iron—like she would be doing her hair the day after having a new major joint installed.

6. I know I said five, but I thought of another one. Mike took his Air Force test and qualified to be a linguist, which is exactly what he wanted. He is sworn in and ready to go whenever they have an opening. He's excited and I'm excited for him.

Definitely a good week.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Things my kids lived without.

A few days ago, I went to the second baby shower in two weeks at my church. I certainly hope it's not in the water, because my baby days are long gone and I'm just fine with that. But I was struck today by the gadgets and doo-dads that seem to be a necessary part of parenting in the twenty-first century. Somehow, my kids survived without them.

1. A sleep positioner. More like a soft, foam, oversized taco holder. You know the things that you stand the taco shells up in to keep them from falling over? That's exactly what this looks like, only apparently you stick the baby in it to keep him/her on his/her side or back while sleeping.

2. A pacifier pod. This is a little pouch that looks like a cell phone case. It velcros onto the outside strap of the diaper bag, so you never have to go digging through the diaper bag looking for the pacifier. I personally think we're turning mothers into weenies nowadays. I believe searching through sticky, juice-soaked, stale animal cracker crumbs for a lint-covered pacifier that you suck the fuzz off of before you stick it in the kid's mouth builds character. And also helps the child's immune system.

3. A matching bear-adorned bathrobe, slippers, and hooded bath towel set. I am 48 years old and I've never had slippers that matched my organic cotton bathrobe or little bear ears on my bath towel.

4. A pregnancy belly cast kit. (This was not a gift today. I just happened to see it on the Web site I was looking at for gift ideas.) This is just what it sounds like—a kit to make a 3-D cast of the mom-to-be's belly. Here's what the Web site says: enables an expecting mom to create a lasting memory of her pregnancy in minutes that will be treasured for a lifetime and large fold-out color sheet with hundreds of decorating ideas. For real? Every woman I've ever known couldn't wait to get her old shape back. And do they mean decorating the belly cast or decorating the house with the belly cast? Either way, I can't imagine. And what if you had a lot of kids? Does Michelle Duggar have 18 (and counting) of these things? Do you display them like in an art gallery?

No wonder the cost of having children keeps going up. They have more "essentials."

Be thankful ~

Karen

Things I'm scratching my head about.

1. Why would the University of Maryland football team choose to call themselves the Terrapins? Hello? Turtles?

2. Why do typing programs teach people to use two spaces after end punctuation, and then style guides require editors to delete one? Do you have any idea how sick I am of writing "delete extra space"?

3. I won't get started on the jeans that have a big space for five pounds of fat on your lower back. But how hard is it to figure out that people just are not shaped like that?

4. Why a dog would chase squirrels for three years, never catch one, and still think he can.

5. How I can function (rather well) on as little sleep as I get.

Coffee is my friend. Happy Friday!

Be thankful~

Karen

Krista, don't read this.

Sticky Bean is now just a few days short of four months old. I always tried to wait until six months to feed my kids any solid food—you know, risk of allergies and all that. But this child is a special case and his mama was losing her mind.

So she fed him an egg:

She said he was thrilled! He lunged at the spoon and grabbed the bowl. Got it on his hands and sucked it all off. The boy wants FOOD! (Don't we all?) He can't even sit up yet and he's looking for something to CHEW.

I can't wait to see him as a teenager!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Can it PLEASE be wordless Wednesday now?

Finally. A day I don't have to think much about.

I can always come up with pictures, and they're usually of Sticky Bean (what else is there?).

I love when they discover they have feet and try to grab them:


Be thankful ~

Karen

PS. This makes 6 (SIX!) days in a row I've posted something!

I should have written a title first. My brain has shut down.

Every once in a while I get ahead on posts and have a few lined up and scheduled to auto-post. This is not one of those times. Most of the time I am severely behind and even my own husband gives up checking to see if I've written anything new. So in my quest to actually post new reading material three days in a row, I'm determined to write something tonight, even though it's 9:17 and I drove five and a half hours today, did some editing, washed and dried a load of laundry, made dinner, paid bills, and tried on fifteen skirts at the mall.

And no, none of them fit. The latest trend in fashion is the back gap. First we saw it in jeans, and now it's in skirts as well. Are there really women in the world who have more fat on their lower backs than on their stomachs? Should I just wear them backwards? But I digress.

We of the marathon house-improving began yet another project last weekend. Remember the year and a half without a floor? Well we finally put the flooring in last summer. However, when we approached the edge of the sunroom (a small room on the back of the house which had sliding glass doors on all three sides. Very leaky, old, ugly, non-slidey, 1980s sliding glass doors.), we found that the leaky doors had been, well, leaking. We had some rotten wood that would need replacing before the flooring could be put down. That necessitated ordering six windows and a door, tearing out all three walls full of nasty, and installing said windows and doors. That was Saturday's project.

And when I say we, I mean the male we's in the family.

The female we's spend their time cleaning, grocery shopping, doing laundry, and cooking, and the male we's are pretty satisfied with that.

But one of the things I try to do during these big projects is take pictures. I have to use one of the kids' cameras, because I don't own one. Abbie happened to leave her nice camera in my car last weekend, so I used it. I got great shots of the incredible mess, the couch on the deck, the huge holes in the walls, and the new windows going in. I put them all on the other computer (don't ask why), emailed them to myself, and when I opened them on my computer, they were blurry and grainy. So I did the one thing I am sure I know how to do—I took pictures with my phone. But by that time, the mess was gone, the couch was back inside, the holes were closed up, and the windows were all in. Use your imagination.



Mostly I post these pictures to encourage my parents that we really are making progress on our house. I know it doesn't seem like it, but we're getting there. See?

Be thankful ~

Karen

Scientific research backs me up, and I'm not even kidding.

I am an academic type. I love to learn about new things and enjoy keeping myself healthy. So purely in the interest of scientific research, I did a taste test today of two different brands of dark chocolate. I keep a fancy-schmancy box of dark chocolates on my desk. (for health reasons, of course, and to hide them from the man-boy, although we have had a bag of dark-chocolate-covered raisins in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator for two weeks, and I'm still the only one who knows they're there. But now I've blown my cover.)

Anyway, last time I filled the box, I got a bag of Hershey's Special Dark Kisses. They were good, and I can tell by how vibrant and vigorous I feel that they've done me a world of good.

But Abbie is a chocolate snob, and she insists that Dove Dark Chocolate Promises are superior. So I thought, who am I to stunt scientific growth? The world needs an answer, right? In the name of antioxidants and lowering blood pressure and all.

So while I was at the commissary this morning filling our pantry with staples like Bertolli Creamy Garlic Alfredo sauce and a five-pound container of roasted cashews, I bought two bags of Dove Promises, because if dark chocolate is good for you, we might as well get the full benefit, right?

When I got home, Leah and I were putting the groceries away, and she held up the two bags and asked, "Where do these go?"

I told her, "On my desk."

Her reply was, "Of course! Stress relief!"

*rolling eyes* Some people have no appreciation for research methods.

I just happened to have a few Hershey Kisses left, so I set up a non-blind taste test.

It's no contest. Dove wins a million times over. Hershey is OK, but that's it. Just OK. Promises are incredible. Smooth and much more intense than Kisses. And they have more Epicatechin than the other brands. I read that on WebMD right here, and you know the Internet is where you should go to get the truth about your health.

So in addition to your balanced diet, get a daily fix, er, recommended allowance of antioxidants and plant flavonoids by eating Dove Dark Chocolate Promises. It will help your blood vessels dilate and relax just like a teenager's. WebMD says so.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Revenge of the laying hens.

My mother grew up on a farm in New Jersey. You're probably thinking, "New Jersey?? They have farms in New Jersey? I thought it was just a giant suburb of New York City!" But yes, they have farms still. Years ago, New Jersey was mostly farmland. Heck, even their license plates are the color of straw.

Her dad, my granddaddy, had dairy cows and chickens. Mom tells stories of riding atop one of the cows when they were moving them between pastures, poking other cows with a stick to make them go faster. When Mom grew up and was being courted by my dad, he would come visit occasionally, and my grandfather would put him to work.

One day, he gave my dad the task of collecting eggs in the henhouse. Daddy didn't like that job much, because when you reached under a hen to get her eggs, she would peck your hand. On this particular day, I guess Daddy wasn't in the mood for any chicken guff, and when the first hen pecked at him, he slapped her in the head. He reached in again, and she retaliated with another painful peck. This time, he grabbed her by the neck and flung her out of the box. She repaid him by laying an egg in midair.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother suggested once that I take the basket and go collect the eggs. She assured me all the chickens would be outside and wouldn't bother me. As I walked across the barnyard, I saw a group of hens pecking away at the dirt, so when I got to the henhouse, I walked right in. There I was met by an ancestor of the chicken my daddy had flung from her roost many years before. Apparently, the legend had been handed down for generations, and the hens were out for revenge. She came charging at me, squawking and flapping and scarring my psyche for life. Someone else collected the eggs that day.

Then just a few years ago, our neighbors in Tennessee asked us to care for their chickens while they were away for a few days. They told us we could have the eggs while we were caring for them. I remembered with some apprehension the aggression shown by that hen those many years ago, but agreed to the task.

The first day I went down to take care of them, I realized I could give them water and feed before I opened the coop, and therefore wouldn't have to be so close to them. I did that, then flung open the coop door and ran. Everything went according to plan and I was satisfied with myself. I was hosing off the back patio (where the chickens liked to leave, uh, deposits), when one curious hen came toward me. I told her to back off, even waved my arms and yelled a little. When she kept coming toward me with that look in her eye, I turned the hose on her full force. She was blown over, rolling like a tumbleweed across the yard. I'm sure the chickens are still telling that story around the roost of an evening.

But don't get me wrong. I love chickens. In a roasting pan.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Lisa Thompson lives somewhere.

When the phone rang the other morning, I answered it. (I know that's profound—bear with me. I really do have a point.)

It was a woman from Dr. Umptysquat's office, calling to remind Mrs. Thompson of her appointment the next day.

Now I know you're thinking, "Big deal. It was a wrong number." Right?

But it IS a big deal. You see, Mrs. Thompson (Lisa, wife of John) has been using our phone number for five years, since the day we moved here and got this number. For a long time, we thought these people had probably had our number before we did (the phone company recycles numbers), but then more recently we began to notice a pattern.

The calls were almost always from either a doctor's office, a hospital, an insurance company, or a collection agency. There were never any personal calls for them.

It occurred to me for the very first time the other day that Mr. and Mrs. Thompson may be involved in insurance fraud. They sure have a lot of doctor's appointments.

So the next time we get a call for one of them, I'm going to get as much information as I can. (I feel like Sherlock Holmes!) An address, description, anything I can get to help me track these people down. I used to get sick of all the calls. Now I can't wait for the next one. Wouldn't it be fun to catch a criminal in the act?

Or maybe I need to get a life.

Either way, I'm going to play sleuth.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Look! A meme!

I found this meme at Lid's blog. And I have no idea why the text in this first part is underlined, but I can't get rid of it. Blogspot may be temporarily possessed. Or I may be technically illiterate. You decide.




1. What is something that you have changed your mind about either recently or over a number of years?

Brussels sprouts, steamed and then sauteed in olive oil with a little prosciutto, salt and pepper, and some toasted pignoli, are incredible.

2. Choose either subject, but does your a) church b) job feel more like a dental chair experience or an easy chair (recliner) experience?

It depends on what I'm editing, but there are days when my job is definitely like a dental-chair experience, complete with the sound of the drill and the smell of grinding tooth decay. On the other hand, some days it's a piece of cake. All in all, I'm not complaining.

3. Kisses or hugs? I actually typed "huts," which might have been a more interesting question.

Hugs, definitely. I am needy in the endorphin department.

4. What do you think is the biggest threat to families today?

School. How can you grow together when you spend most of your time apart?

5. A day after you grocery shop, you open a perishable item that is horribly spoiled. Do you take your receipt back to the store to be reimbursed or just throw it away and forget about it?

If I got it locally, I definitely take it back. If it came from the commissary (30 miles away), not a chance.

6. What personality trait (feel free to address good or bad or both) do you notice yourself adopting from your parents?

I've learned to enjoy the history behind little things. I have a crock that was made in Strasburg, Virginia, and I've been reading the history behind the all the stoneware that was made there. I have a rug beater that belonged to my great aunt. I have a sugar bowl that belonged to my grandmother, and a huge bread bowl that was my other grandmother's. Those things are becoming more important to me.

7. How many slices of bread do you leave in the bottom of the bag when you throw it away? Two? Three? Just the heel? None? (I really want to know if you eat the heel.)

The heel. I eat the first one, but by the time you get to the last one, it's dry and nasty.

8. What mispronunciation or usage error really irritates you?

I could write a book. 10 items or less, should of, and just today at Walmart, I saw a sign that said, "Watermelons: was $4.98, now $4." Really? Watermelons WAS? Somebody had to type that sign. Don't get me started.

9. In honor of the uniqueness of today's date, what does the numeral 9 mean to you? (Any special life moments attached to the 9th? Are you the 9th kid in your family? Can you count by 9s really fast? etc.)

The ninth of May was the day my youngest son was born. He was due on April 17th. Yes, that's three weeks and one day late. Be horrified.

10. Does the general color palette in your closet match the colors you chose to decorate your home with?

I don't choose home colors. The only time I did, we had a pukey-peachy colored bathroom. It was awful. I'm smart enough to know when to quit.

11. When you're hanging out with friends in the kitchen, do you automatically ask to help, or do you sit there and chat until the host asks if you'd like to help? I'm not implying that the 2nd choice stems from rudeness or laziness, just not a first-response like it is for some people.

I ask. I grew up in a kitchen full of women working together. Those were some of the most fun and memorable times of my life.

12. Let's end on a pleasant note: What do you enjoy about September the most?

Getting to sleep with the windows open.

So go visit Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee.

Be thankful ~

Karen

A medical marvel I can relate to.

It is 10 a.m. on a school day. Elijah has been up for an hour and a half. He has taken care of the dog, checked email and facebook, helped me look for an important piece of paper, and made a pot of coffee. He is now in his room. I thought he was probably starting his schoolwork, but I heard the radio, so I wanted to check.

I knocked, and when he answered, I inquired as to the status of his work for the day. This was his answer:

I'm cleaning my room, and after I have some blood in my coffeestream, I'll start my schoolwork.



My kinda guy.

Be thankful ~

Karen

And daddies love to be heros.

The phone rings.

Elijah answers it.

It is invariably a sister (he has three) who says, "Can I talk to Mom?"

It happens ALL the time, and everybody has a limit, right?

So just a few minutes ago, I was folding laundry on my bed and Elijah was sitting at my desk talking to me. The phone rang. Elijah answered it. It was Lovely, who said, "Can I talk to Mom?"

And he went darkside.

I heard this side of the conversation:

"Oh my goodness. Nobody ever wants to talk to me! You call, you want to talk to Mom. Abbie calls, she wants to talk to Mom. Deb . . ."

Suddenly, his face became serious and I knew.

He handed me the phone and the first words she said were, "Hi, Mom. I've been in an accident and I'm fine. It wasn't my fault and the car is driveable."

Well, then. Nothing like getting the data dump in 1.2 seconds flat.

By this time, Ben was standing next to me holding his hand out for the phone. She told him that the guy changed lanes without looking and hit the front left side of the car. It's driveable, the headlight isn't broken (she's pedantic about driving with her headlights on), she's fine, the other guy has insurance, and the police have been called.

Then Ben asked if she needed him to come there, (Keep in mind it is Friday afternoon in a DC suburb. It may take him an hour to drive that 12 miles.) and she told him, "Very honestly, it would make me feel better."

Girls always need their daddies. Just the thought that they can call at any time and Daddy will jump in the car and come to their rescue—how comforting! Just like God.

"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5)

Be thankful~

Karen

The latest installment of Sticky Bean.

Wouldn't you love to wake up to this in the morning?

Or play with this in the afternoon?

How can they be so precious and not even know it?

Be thankful ~

Karen

Cesar, I want my money back.

I like to walk for exercise. Well, I don't exactly like it, but that would be my preferred exercise, if I had to choose one. And I do. At 48, it becomes a medical necessity.

So after dinner last night, Ben said he would clean up so I could go for my walk. I took Stupid (aka Pete) and went on my merry way. Now, way back when we first got Pete (an American bulldog mix) and I realized he was going to be bigger and stronger than my 11-pound Yorkie, I decided I'd better teach him to walk nicely on a leash without all the pulling and yanking and frothing at the mouth you see some dogs do. So I got what's called a pinch collar. It's a metal choke thing that has spikes turned in toward the dog's neck, so that when you yank on the leash, it feels like the mommy dog is biting the puppy (that's really how mommy dogs teach their puppies not to do certain things--they bite them), and the puppy stops whatever he's doing when he's been "bitten." At least that's the theory. I also read all of Cesar Milan's books and watched every episode of The Dog Whisperer I could find. So naturally, I'm a dog expert now. The leader of my pack. Just ask Pete.

Now that Pete is three years old (and 70 pounds of lean, mean muscle, except for the wad of fat that jiggles under his neck and the empty space between his ears), he's a good walker. He still wears the pinch collar, I hold the leash with about a foot of slack, and he walks very nicely right there at my left side. My neighbors all remark at what an obedient dog he is.

That's his superego. Then there's his id. Somehow, his id is unaware of the choke collar. So last night we're having this lovely walk in the cool, fall weather when we come upon a family out for an evening stroll with the dog and children. The first thing that happens is the fur on Pete's neck (actually, all the way down to his tail) stands up straight and he sticks his chest out past the fat under his neck. Then there's a bit of tension on the leash. I can sense that he is nervous, so I heed Cesar's advice and keep moving forward, speeding my pace a bit to force Pete to follow. Every time Pete looks at the dog, I give a little yank on the chain, "biting" his neck to redirect his attention.

Then the other dog lunges.

At this point, I should tell you that Pete is a chicken. He gets his hackles up and barks, but he is scared to death. He once avoided our back yard for days because there was a log out there he didn't recognize (I'm not kidding).

Does Pete lunge back? Yes! But not in the right direction. He jumps three feet sideways, throwing himself into the side of my left leg, knocking me off balance and then rushes toward the other dog barking and yelping as far as his one foot of slack will let him go. Except that I'm off balance now, what with the 70-pounds of quivering nervousness acting like a pinball in the middle of our quiet, suburban street. Somehow I keep Pete from dragging me over to the other dog, and we manage to keep moving forward, whining and barking and pulling back and forth all the way. Where are Cesar and his dumb theories now?

The family watches all this in amazement, and seems to be unaware that their 10-year-old boy is making a bee-line to pet the "nice doggie" and I am in fear for the child. Pete is now foaming, yelping, and gasping for air. Suddenly the father sees his son 6 feet from my crazed animal and screams, "Russell!!" and that sends Pete into further maniacal contortions. I start running just to get us out of there, wondering if I'll be able to drag my dog away from the scene. I shouldn't have worried. Pete realizes I'm moving quickly now and, glad to be getting away, he takes off like he's been shot out of a cannon. That one foot of slack is not nearly enough. He yanks me almost off my feet and I struggle to keep up with him until we get around the corner where he instantly morphs into the docile, well-trained dog he was just three minutes previous.

There's no cure for stupid.

Be thankful ~

Karen