Bullying.........Recognizing the Agony

I have been posting some photos I have taken and projects I have worked on personally. Today I am posting a series of posters that I created for use with a presentation on bullying. Kevin Honeycutt, a specialist here at ESSDACK, travels around the country doing presentations about bullying, his presentations are customized to his audience, he has presented to elementary kids, secondary students, parents, community members and educators on all aspects of bullying. Bullying does not just happen in the neighborhood or on the playground it, like our society, has moved into the technology realm and cyber-bullying is running rampant not only among kids but even to adults. Sometimes kids, as well as the adults that are there to protect them just need a view visual reminders of what to do or how to recognize bullying behavior. So, with camera in hand we took some photos and came up with a series of classroom posters. These posters in the can ordered in the size of 24 x 36. The price is 15.00 each or 4 for $50.00.

I was noticing that even Dr. Phil had a show on the topic of bullying. Oprah did a show as well. It just seems extremely sad to me that we as humans choose to be so cruel to one another that it pushes some people to drastic measures just to escape the torment. If we could just learn to not take our insecurities and low self-image and rise above it instead of trying to pull others down by inflicting those ideas on others. When will we all learn to just play nice with one another?

Chronicles of Brine-ia -Day 2 of the Sea Monkey Birthing Process

 

 The eggs have been added, WOO HOO, baby on Board! The hatching process can take up to 7 days, but I feel like my bundles of joy are going to arrive earlier.

 

I should start thinking of names. Probably pretty much any name I can think of because there are going to be quite a few crumb crunchers to name. Move over octo-mom.........you don't got nothin' on me.

Just for kicks, here are the top 50 baby names of the decade:

	Girls' Names	Boys' Names
1	Emma	Aiden
2	Emily	Jacob
3	Madison	Ethan
4	Isabella	Matthew
5	Ava	Nicholas
6	Sophia	Jack
7	Kaitlyn	Joshua
8	Hannah	Michael
9	Hailey	Ryan
10	Olivia	Andrew
11	Sarah	Caden
12	Abigail	Tyler
13	Madeline	Dylan
14	Lily	Jaden
15	Kaylee	Zachary
16	Ella	Connor
17	Riley	Logan
18	Brianna	Caleb
19	Alyssa	Noah
20	Samantha	Alexander
21	Lauren	Jackson
22	Mia	Brayden
23	Alexis	Lucas
24	Chloe	William
25	Ashley	Nathan
26	Grace	Joseph
27	Jessica	Justin
28	Elizabeth	Daniel
29	Taylor	Benjamin
30	Makayla	Christopher
31	Makenzie	James
32	Anna	Gavin
33	Zoe	Evan
34	Kayla	Austin
35	Sydney	Cameron
36	Megan	Brandon
37	Natalie	Mason
38	Kylie	Luke
39	Rachel	Anthony
40	Avery	Christian
41	Katherine	Gabriel
42	Isabel	Owen
43	Victoria	David
44	Morgan	John
45	Kyra	Jonathan
46	Jasmine	Samuel
47	Allison	Sean
48	Savannah	Hunter
49	Julia	Elijah
50	Jordan	Thomas

A cure for the empty nest- Day 1

Well, I think I may have found a cure for the empty nest....... A dog? you say? NOOO, those need supervision and close care,  - a cat? nooooo, although indifferent and somewhat maintenance free still not the perfect option.......the answer is.......SEA MONKEYS! No dirty diapers, no waking in the middle of the night, SRS nor PETA care if you leave them alone for days on end - it's parenting utopia!

Now if you were raised by wolves, or just not of a privileged background, you may have been deprived of the experience and may be asking just what exactly IS a sea monkey? Never fear, I am going to enlighten you. They are a variant of brine shrimp or Artemia salina, a species which enters cryptobiosis, a natural state of suspended animation, allowing their cysts (dormant saclike embryos) to be sold as a dry powder. When the powder is poured into water, live shrimp appear within hours, and can grow up to an adult length of 2 centimeters within one year.

So, to help me battle the depression of my little birds leaving my nest, I am going to become a surrogate mother to a tribe of little sea monkeys. And of course you can accompany me on this magnificent journey into parenthood! So today - day 1 - I am preparing the crib, the home for my little offspring. I have filled the plastic birthing center with purified water and tomorrow will add the eggs to the watery incubator. Stay tuned!

Snow.

 

Snow. The very word evokes a plethora of emotions, sometimes the emotion varies by the person, sometimes the emotion varies within a single person. Much of time the emotion is dependent on the activities at hand. I know for me, if I don't have anything planned and can just stay at home and snuggle beneath a blanket, curled up with a good book, periodically looking out the window  and watching the big, white, fluffy snow falling is a peaceful feeling. However, if I know my kids have to travel it brings out fear and uneasiness. 

Now ask a school age child what he thinks of when he hears the word, snow, and I'm sure you will be rewarded with a big smile and perhaps one simple word -FUN! Last year when we had snow around Christmas time, my boys were playing out in the snow with their young cousins. I am not sure who was having the most fun but it was obvious they were enjoying themselves. 

I decided I wanted to make a collage of a few of my favorite pics from that day and embellished with some of the phrases from some of my favorite "snowy" songs. I have this picture at my desk and it makes me smile every time I see it. I mean who wouldn't smile when they see the pure joy and simple smile on a child's face? Even the coldest day can't keep you from feeling warm inside.

Mind Shift

The quote on the picture:
If we cannot fix the animal mind inside of ourselves,
then how can we expect to achieve world peace,
how can we expect to make the whole world a single flower?

I made this picture from one of my sunflower photos I took. It was shortly after 9-11 and I had been thinking alot about why we as humans want to destroy one another. I cannot remember where the quote came from and I think it must have been anonymous. After watching the events in Haiti it reminded me again of how the world can come together to help a nation with such an outpouring after a tragedy such as the earthquake, but we cannot live in harmony because we want to fight over our differences in our spiritual beliefs. I also have to wonder about where was all this aid before the earthquake.  Haiti had problems before the earthquake hit and not many seemed to care. It just seems so sad that it takes a catastrophe such as this to make us take note of the daily suffering and devastation that surrounds us. We continue to live our comfortable lives not caring for others until the shifting of the ground causes a shifting in our thinking.

Maybe today should be the day that we all find one thing we can do to make our world a better place, not just for ourselves but for those in our neighborhood, our country or our world.

You blink and they're gone..........

My picture for this week is a graphic I made to use on the swim schedule for last year. Like many sports teams they make a poster to post in businesses around town. The high school is large enough that it generally doesn't make sense to try and have all the team members, so the seniors receive a little special attention and recognition by being featured. The picture on the surface probably isn't that impressive, however let me share some background. The boys wanted the white t's and jeans, so I thought maybe we could grunge it up a bit with being in front of an old building where I love to take pictures. I also used one of my very favorite products, a filter for photoshop called, Topaz. LOVE IT! Well, the picture itself should have been fairly straight forward except for the day of the pictures, not everyone was available. Not giving up, we shot without them...... Now some would have said too bad, so sad, you just won't be in the picture, but not me, the mother in me wanted all of them in it.

We set up with the five that showed up and did what we could. I took two more the following week at the school and then the other two separately when we could. It was kind of a challenge but I think we managed to pull it off and no one knew they weren't all there at once. The boys were even amazed and it gave me the opportunity to remind them not to believe everything they see in print.

The seniors from last year were very special to me, considering one of them was my own baby. When I first saw this picture again it made me think how quickly it all passed. From a sputtering little toddler in the bath tub to a gigantic fish in the pool. And at 6'4" when he wore his full body suit, he was quite intimidating, like a big shark. It still makes me smile when I think of the first time I saw him with that on......... oh my. He even had a little speech he made at the end of the year about his "magic suit." I remember once the paper was interviewing after a meet where he had done particularly well and he was quoted as saying, "it was the new suit, I just felt faster" or something like that, he took a lot of ribbing about that for a while. At the end of the year I made books for the coaches and each kid had a page and was encouraged to write a personal note to the coach and we typed it and included it in the book. I used the poster picture for the cover and another picture of many of the medals for the back. It turned out really well. And in Brett's graduation book, I included a page about the "magic suit".



Looking back it is hard to believe that one minute they are needing a bandaid because they fell and skinned their knees and are sure they are going to bleed to death  and the next they have blood running down their legs from trying to shave their sasquatch-like legs with a disposable razor. (swim parents will get that...)

I know the phrase- you blink and they are gone - is so cliché, but it is so true. And now I've blinked.

Tranquil Dawn with the Manatees

This is a picture taken at Three Sisters Spring in Crystal River, Florida. We were there to swim with the manatees. Manatees are a funny creature - as ugly as a mud fence but as sweet like a big, dumb puppy. They love to follow you around and are curious little creatures. Did I say little? - they are huge, like a cow with flippers instead of legs. Matter of fact they are sometimes referred to as sea cows. They like to be scratched on their mossy covered skin. Their curiosity has lead to very sad endings for many of them because they get cut by boat propellers and tangled in fishing line. If you ever have the opportunity to swim with these ugly, yet adorable creatures....... DO IT!

 

I was reading through the list of facts about the manatees and was struck by the similarites and also the differences between them and the male of the human species, we'll call them MENatees........ read for yourself........

Similar = Green

Differences = Red

Manatee (and Menatee) Comparison Facts

• Average Manatee 10ft long weighing 800-1200 pounds.
  OK, maybe not the male himself, but I would say most men have some hunk of metal or fiberglass in their garage that fits this description.
  
• They have been known to reach 13 ft and 3500 pounds.
  Like I said above.........
  
• When born they are 3-4 ft long and 60-70 pounds.
  Can you say NFL player?
  
• Manatees are herbivores meaning plant eating animals.
  omgosh, feed a man salad only and he will be certain his demise is readily at hand
  
• Manatees replace worn teeth throughout their lifetime.
  RIIIGHHTTT, ever try to get a man to go to the dentist......ain't happenin'
  
• Manatees have fairly good vision and can distinguish between colors.
  As long as what they are looking at a blonde in a bikini....... socks on the floor? What socks on the floor?
  
• Manatees cannot survive in temperatures below 68 degrees (20 Celsius).
  Men? Ice capades show? NO........Duck blind or Deer Stand........ heck yah!
  
• Manatees spend 6-8 hours a day feeding.
  No expounding necessary.
  
• Manatees surface for air every 3-5 minutes.
  During football season....... men surface for ..........beverages.
  
• Manatees do not form permanent bonds when breeding.
  What is it Beyonce says? If ya liked then you shoulda put a ring on it......
  
• Manatees can stay submerged up to 20 minutes.
  This does not work for men - I tried, he started to turn blue after 10.
  
• Females mature for breeding at about 5 years old and 8 years old for males.
  Females always mature faster........ wait a minute.........that would imply that men eventually do mature.......
  
• On average one calf is born every 5 years.
  That is about how often men notice something needs to be done around the house without being told. And by golly you better notice because he is going to keep bringing it up for the NEXT 5 years!
  
• Gestation period is about 1 year long.
  The same amount of time it takes a man to digest a stadium hot dog.
  
• Mothers nurse young for up to 2 years.
  We're just going to leave this one alone.
  
• Manatees may live as long as 60 years.
  As long as they learn to at least pretend to listen to their mate.
  
• Manatees do not have eyelashes.
  One word......guyliner.
  
• Manatees prefer water 3-7 feet deep.
  Much higher than that and the water starts to run into the hip waders.
  
• Manatees eat 10% to 15% of their body weight each day.
  Don't deny it men ......you would if you could.........
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Since I didn't end up with any good digital pics of the manatees, I borrowed the one. Listed is also his blog, which you should check out:
  http://alanrider.wordpress.com/2009/01/
  
  
  
  
  

Porcelain Hearts

Some hearts can be likened to Grandma’s fine china. Passed down from generation to generation, kept under the protection of display case, where all can view it but are not to touch. Only being taken out on special occasions, for all to admire and very cautious when using so as not to damage it. Only those who are aware of it’s fragile state are allowed to handle it and then replacing it carefully back in it’s case. It becomes a part of only the utmost important occasions but never day to day use. But why? Why even keep something if you are too afraid to use it? We should want to use and share our hearts everyday, like using the fine china to eat grilled cheese sandwiches, the crystal goblets to drink lemonade. We should respect it and be gentle with it but want to make memories with it, take it out of the display case and give all a chance to experience it’s beauty. Every chip, a story, every broken plate, a lesson - never to be perfect again, only hope that for each piece lost, a replacement can be found. And maybe, just maybe when the time has come for it to be passed along, the memories created by using our heart will have provided all those around us with a generous and satisfying helping of life served with a beautiful presentation.

sunflower

I have decided if nothing else, I am going to try to post a picture of the week. I will tell a bit about the picture and what if any changes have been made.

I took this picture as I was on my way home from work one day. It was growing beside a fence and I jumped out and snapped the picture. I needed a background picture for a poem. I cropped out the sunflower, off centered it and enhanced the color. I created a background and then used a photoshop filter to create the watercolor look.

Where has the time gone?

Well, 2009 is heading out the door with 2010 nipping at it's heels. Where has the time gone? I guess the major event would have to be that my baby graduated from high school and left us with an empty nest. I can't say I'm sad about that - I mean it's kind of the goal in raising kids, to actually make them functioning adults. Both boys seem to be happy and well-adjusted so I am comfortable with the success of my parenting skills.

What to look forward to in 2010? HMMMM, when one reaches this age I suppose health would be a good wish. You look around and start to really take notice of others who are battling with health issues. We have been fortunate and feel thankful we have not had to stand toe-to-toe with any of those tough issues.

I wish for you all to have a healthy and happy New Year!

ARUBA, Jamaica, ooo I wanna take ya.........

Once again Aruba....... I love that place. It is so sad that it has gotten a bad rap since the Natalie Holloway thing. I am sorry that happened - I'm sorry when a crime like that takes place anywhere - but Aruba is not to blame. Sure, things might have been handled differently but unfortunately that kinda of stuff happens even in the US.

Aruba is hands-down my favorite place to vacation. But my idea of a perfect vacation is probably different than other peoples. I've been there and done all the touristy things (of which there really aren't that many) and so now when I go, it all about relaxing. Laying on the beach, whether in the sun or under an umbrella, and doing nothing. Reading books, reapplying sunscreen and worrying about where to go to dinner, now that's a vacation. My schedule consisted of go find a beach chair, lay in the sun, read a little, sleep, read, eat, lay in the sun, move to the shade, read, go get ready for dinner - and maybe somewhere in there have a drink with a little umbrella in it. FAN-FRICKIN-TASTIC.

We did go snorkeling one day, I absolutely love doing that also. I love being in the water with the fish and visiting their world. I fed the fish and that was fun, I had a wadded up piece of bread in my hand and the colorful fish were swarming around me, it was wild. If I held my hand right above the water a few of those little rascals would jump out of the water toward my hand.

Didn't take too many pictures - most of the time was spent laying in beach chairs with drool running out of our mouths so really not picture worthy............but I have a couple of pictures that I really loved.

AESA- Austin

OH MY GOSH! Where does the time go? My last post was in September.....tsk, tsk, I'd say I'm going to do better but .......... I won't. I decided to write a bit about AESA - Association of Educational Service Agencies - Conference in Austin. I was there December 1 - 5 and it was a great experience. I had an official duty of conference photographer and also to help with the slides of aforementioned photos during lunch and before and after keynotes. I learned so much! Being backstage was a total trip, in the dark with monitors everywhere. I even got my own headphones and mic....... woo woo........... cue camera one, cue slides and GO! I was amazed at how syncronized and organized it all is. We had rehearsals and everything. Long and exhausting days but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My job as photographer required me to take photos during the vendor reception and in the halls and rooms before, during and after the sessions. Now it always amazes me how I can be scared to death of being in front of people and put a camera in my hand or some sort of service assignment and I blossom....... ok, maybe blossom is really not the right word, but I do ok, i seem to be able to bury that shyness and fear.

I was also thrilled because in making the templates for the photo slides I wanted to use a cowboy theme, I mean, Duh, Austin...... anyway I found some really nice cowboy art by a man - Nelson Boren from .... I believe.... Idaho..... www.nelsonborenart.com I contacted him and he was very gracious and gave me permission to use any of his art as backgrounds and watermarks for my slides. woo hoo squared, I was SOO excited. So I have included a copy of the Friday slides so you could get an idea what I did.


Next year the conference is in Savannah, I hope I am chosen to work that one. I want to go visit Paula Deen!

Bierocks..... Yummy!

Tonight I wanted to make bierocks. It is said to be a german food, however the origin is somewhat sketchy. I am not going to tell you specific amounts because I didn't measure anything. For me, cooking is creating, not science so if you are a recipe kinda person, sorry.

I used Frozen bread dough because I am too lazy to wait on my own. I just thawed it in the refrigerator for about 2 days beforehand.

For the filling: Onions sauteed in butter, Hamburger, Cabbage, garlic seasoning, course ground black pepper, cumin and a little cheese. Most bierocks do not have cheese, but I am a firm believer that just about everything is better with cheese. : )

I cooked all my ingredients until the cabbage was tender. I made little mini pizza type dough crusts and put the ingredients inside. I pulled up the edges to cover all the filling and placed them seam side down on a cookie sheet. Baked at 350 until golden brown.



Mighty tasty.
sehr schmackhaft

Tat2

About 10-12 years ago I got a tattoo, now at the time (like most people at first, I suppose) I really liked it. Then slowly the color faded and the lines started running together and I noticed that since it was small the details were lost and it just started to look really crummy. I had always thought it was too round, aesthetically it just was not pleasing to me.

I decided it needed sprucing up, and thought about what to do. I thought maybe if I went in the tattoo guy could brighten it up and maybe add something else to it. My friend Julie suggested a guy named Matt at Red Seas in Wichita. Julie and I along with my friend, Kim, drove over to see what he could do. He said he would not recommend just adding to it. I would just be adding a new pretty one to a mess. He also said "brightening" it was not really an option either. Although not really what I was hoping to hear, I was very thankful for his upfront honesty. He suggested either completely covering the old with something new or placing a new one somewhere else.

Well, I had the advantage of the old one being quite small so to get a new one to cover it up wasn't really an issue for me. I told him I had been thinking of a blue bird and we came up with a design. We a few adjustments here and there to the drawing we were ready to roll.

Although it looks like Matt was doing a mad scientist approach, he was very professional and gentle.....- well as gentle as one can be while scratching ink beneath their skin, over and over and over and over... well, you get the point.


About an hour later I had a brand new tattoo and the old one had disappeared. Although I must admit I wasn't anticipating leaving with that big of a piece of art on my shoulder, I am pleased with the result.

After - no visible remains of the old one!

Super Freak

This week the state fair is in town. Usually visit at least several times. Tonight we went after the gate was free and just walked around. Now people are talking about the side show, freak show, whatever you want to call it. Word on the street that it is so cheesy and far fetched it's funny. Now I am the type that doesn't want to support the exploitation of someone's deficiencies so that kind of thing does not appeal to me. However, we ponied up our 3 dollars a person or whatever and under the big top we went. All around the inside of the tent were displays of different oddities, more like a Ripley's Believe it or not than a freak show. Now since I use Photoshop everyday I have become very cynical and don't believe anything I see and this was not exception. Although disbelief was not a difficult concept. In one case was the "snake man" it was a poorly simulated python with an even more poorly simulated man's head attached. It screamed of hokiness. Then there were the little viewings of people. One was spider woman - a woman's head poked through the curtain with spider legs attached. One was gorilla woman. A woman in a box, lots of smoke, voila, a gorilla suited person jumps out. Lame. What made all of this even worse is they kept using the same girls in each stunt. The only thing that was even somewhat amazing was the sword swallower guy, he was kind of cool. But everything else was kind of stupid, only not as stupid as us for wasting hard earned cash to see it.

Fame and Fortune

From my posts you would think I have chinese food all the time, but that isn't true, really, it isn't. But today I did and this is what my fortune cookie said - "Now is the time to try something new." HMMMM, what do you suppose that means? I have a hair appointment today, should I do something totally radical? I am learning a new computer program at work, does this mean I will be successful? Maybe I should take up skydiving or square dancing. I have been talking about learning Spanish, maybe now is the time, maybe my old brain is ready to absorb some new knowledge. I wonder what is the time frame for this cookie? Was it too soon yesterday? Will it be too late tomorrow? Is there an expiration date on fortune cookie advice? I also wonder, should I only try one new thing? or is this offer good on all new things I try. Who knew a fortune cookie could bring about this many questions. Maybe they should have the rules and restrictions listed inside also............

Fête du Raclette

Do you ever do something and then just have to laugh because it seems so stupid? Of course you do, we all do. Well, here's my stupid thing for the week. And yes, I do only allow myself one stupid thing a week. Because it's all about portion control.........

Anyway, a few months ago I had a garage sale. My mother-in-law brought over a few items and after it was over said to send it to the GoodWill store. She had this thing, she called it a grilling stone, I didn't think much about it but when I was packing stuff to take it away, I thought maybe one of the boys might like that at college. Anyway, I packed it away and shortly thereafter was discussing it with a friend who mentioned it was called a raclette. I came home, pulled out the instructions and sure enough, it was called a raclette. Other than most of the instructions and paperwork were written in German and some other language, I didn't think much about it. Well, being the geeky person I am, I eventually looked it up on the computer, and read about how in other countries, this is very popular. You grill stuff like meat and vegetables on the top and it has these little paddle things that you melt cheese on while they heat underneath. I liken it to fondue of sorts. A whole lot of work, that's probably why it isn't popular here in the US. we are lazy and want things easy.

Well, my sister was here this weekend and we were discussing HGTV and cooking and the raclette came up in conversation. So we pulled it out and made plans, we were going to this, we were going to have a raclette party for two! So after a very busy day of going to the fair, going to Wichita shopping and general running around, we went to the store and purchased what we wanted for our raclette party. We got 2 filets, an onion, some mushrooms, asiago bread and cheese. The cheese ending up being the most confusing because neither of us had any idea of what kind to get. We opted for a melting cheese like you would find in a mexican restaurant. At least that sounded good to us. There was a lady standing and staring at the cheeses just like us and we decided to ask her opinion. After she moved closer and started talking it was readily apparent she was in no condition to help us. Let's just say that if we had administered the field sobriety test right there in aisle 4, she would have flunked. So we thanked her for her slurred advice and moved on.

We took all our goods and came home, ready to get going. First we made Caramel Rice Krispie Treats for dessert - I know - very weird choice. We got all of our supplies out and chopped and cleaned, I had some polish sausage and potatoes we had cooked on the outside grill left over from the other night thought that sounded good to add also.

After all the prep, I went to plug in the raclette grill to start heating and much to my surprise there is a problem, a MAJOR problem. Now it is very obvious that when one has an appliance made for another country, one should check the plug in. They are not universal, no ma'm they are not. Well after rolling on the floor laughing hysterically at the whole situation - it was very reminiscent of Ethel and Lucy if you can picture that- we put all the supplies in ziploc bags and went out for chinese food.

Caramel Rice Krispie Treats, YUM!

Today Kelly and I went to the Kansas State Fair. We went through the buildings, saw some exhibits, checked out the photos and ate a corn dog. We saw lots of good food but just weren't in the mood to eat our way through it. Tonight we went to the store to buy supplies for our big "raclette party" (more on that later, and decided to make something that is extremely yummy. It's a rice krispie treat to the next level.

Some of the things we bought were kettle corn, and cinnamon rolls.

Then we made the caramel rice krispie treats.




















UMMMMM> YUM!

OH, do you know the muffin man.........

I love to bake. I love to cook in general, but it seems I don't really have the time. Today I decided to bake something to send back to school with Brett. Something he could

just pop in his mouth quickly and not have to have a plate or silverware . It needed to be somewhat nutritious so I opted for banana muffins.Now, for any of you that know me, it would not surprise you that I simply could not make a plain old banana muffin nor could I go by someone else's recipe. Following someone else's rules, I just don't have it in me. I went on line and found one that sounded good. Call me adventurous or crazy, (both are applicable), I've made a version of banana muffins at least 50 times and I don't think I've ever done it the same way twice. I added a few ingredients necessary according to my palate and this is the result. Pretty? maybe not so much. Yummy? most definitely.

Banana Sour Cream Muffins

For muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2- 1 cup mashed bananas
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg


For topping:
1/4 cup softened butter

1/2 cup (or so) brown sugar
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
few dashes of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 4 minimuffin tins or line it with paper baking cups.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix egg and add sugar. Add the melted butter in two or three additions. Mix in the sour cream in two additions, followed by the mashed banana. Add the vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients; gently fold with a spatula, being careful not to overmix.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean and the tops are lightly golden.

Makes 48 mini muffins.

New Furniture!

Do you suppose it is strange to love the smell of leather in the morning? Well after a month of looking and fretting over what to get we finally decided on a leather sofa and loveseat in the color called "spice" - let's be honest - it's brown. We ended up finding it in Tulsa, Oklahoma at a store called Mathis Brothers. Loved that store, reminded me of Nebraska furniture mart with tons of choices. We had a very knowlegable salesman named Charles that was wonderful. The boys were with us and were more than happy to "try out" all the furniture. As a matter of fact they both fell asleep on the set we ended up buying so that was a selling point for me.

Well, it seems picking it out was the easy part. We agreed to have it delivered and were promised it on the next Wednesday. That morning the store called and there was not room on the truck, look for it the following Monday. I stayed home from work on Monday - ALL DAY! and finally it was discovered, oops, not today either. They apologized and refunded the entire delivery charge. Ok, that helps. Then told me it would be here on Wednesday. Wednesday comes, no furniture - alright, enough is enough already, give me the furniture or not but quite yanking my chain. "Well, Mr. Fast, we are very sorry it was a computer error, would it be acceptable to deduct another $180.00 from the price". Well heck yes it would be acceptable. What's another day? Maybe before long we will end up getting it free, we already have had a total of $400.00 deducted!

Thursday comes and the furniture does manage to get here, YEAH! I love it. The dogs hate it, double YEAH! I got material that day and made curtains and throw pillows. It looks great.

I am the new Marlin Perkins

You know if I keep having these animal rescues, I might just very well get my own tv show. I mean Marlin Perkins (come on you old people, you remember - Mutual of Omahas, Wild Kingdom, it came on tv right before Walt Disney?)

I had not been asleep long, before that I was playing several rounds of Bejeweled Blitz via my Facebook page. That has become a favorite pastime of mine. Not because it's stellar intellectual stimulation, not because it hones my lightning quick visual skills but because I have the need to be at the top of my friend list in the score total. Don't lie, that is the only goal of this game, beat your friends -a virtual nod to the challenge. I had just achieved an ok score, at least enough to put me above my friend, Michelle, so I could rest peacefully. I was somewhere deep in REM sleep when Murphy, who is kenneled in the kitchen area started barking (which is highly unusual) and then woke up and started Austi (who was sleeping in our room) barking. Well after this 21 kinds of H*^% broke loose, someone needed to get up and check what was going on.

Greg kindly let me check on it, so after donning my pink robe and taking my scared -of-everything dog as protection, I set out to find the cause of this disruption. I went from room to room turning on every light in the house warning the intruder I was on my way and it would be best if he just left before facing me. Of course, any self-respecting robber would have run away screaming after coming face-to-face with me and my scary out of control hair. They would swear they faced Medusa herself.

Well, not seeing anything or anyone, the dogs were jumping to go outside, I flipped on the patio light, bracing to see the cause, but there was nothing. I opened the doors and the dogs flew out with a plan in mind. I heard one yelp and went out the door and saw (with my limited middle of the night sight and no contacts in) they had something, a bunny? no, didn't look like that, a cat? perhaps but I heard no yowling, a possum? it really didn't look that creepy. I went out and yelled at them, I was afraid to out to the yard where they were but I got their attention and they let go of it. I got them to come in the house and then had to decide what to do.

I went and put on shoes because I need to see what this beast is, it could be a rabid animal that would sit and wait until morning and attack again, it could be a wounded animal that might die and stinketh out back, or it could be some sort of animal that is wounded and needs my assistance. When I returned and went out back it was very apparent what the animal was, a really cute older calico kitten. A very slobbered on, quite stunned and frightened kitten. I went out and with a towel picked it up, and other than mental trauma, it seemed fine.

I put it out front under the bushes along with a dish containing a torn up hamburger patty soaking in milk. Mother Nature - do your thing.

Well, in doing this I notice Brett was not home yet and it was well after his curfew time. I called him and he informs me there is a meteor shower and he and some friends are at the park watching it. Part of the conversation went like this:

Me: Where are you?
B: At the park with friends watching the meteor shower.
Me: Oh, which way do I look?
B: lol, mom, look up silly.
Me: Oh, yes, I see one, cool.
B: Yes, it is.

OK, I know it was a dumb conversation but it was 2 freakin o'clock in the morning!

SO, I didn't want to get up, I didn't want to deal with the cat, but I ended up getting to see a light show from God himself. Cool. Unintended consequences, sometimes a beautiful thing.

WOO HOO KU

Well, I have recovered from my black eye and are now on to the bruised heart. No, no accident, it's just both boys will be leaving to go off to school. Empty nest. My feelings flucuate between pride, sadness, and pure joy. I mean, I am happy they have progressed to almost adulthood and moving on to the next phase of their lives, but they do keep life interesting. I am also happy to have moved to a new level or phase in my own life. One back to just the two of us at home, not worrying about cooking a square meal to keep SRS away. Maybe having time to take a few classes or start a new hobby. Maybe even leaving in the morning with a clean house and returning in the evening and it be as I left it. Maybe cooking with icky green peppers and onions. I don't know exciting? yes - scary? a little - an new adventure on the horizon? - most definitely.

First up on the agenda, clean house.

Rock Chalk.

Red, White, Black and Blue

I know, I know, it is not right to have 2 posts in one day but I have another story to tell. And I DO love to tell stories. Yesterday, my husband was trying to do the husbandly thing and help out around the house a little. (I think it was just guilt for him going to be gone to Waynoka riding all day today) He knows I struggle to get the slip covers back on the sofa cushions because it fits so tightly and was trying to of help when calamity struck. I use safety pins all along the zipper because the fabric pulls and I don't want the zipper to break or come apart. He was putting a safety pin and I pulled on the fabric but when I did it yanked his hand and he sliced himself with the safety pin.

Now at this point you are probably thinking, "what a big baby, getting sliced by a safety pin, get over it". Well that is not the point (ha ha) of the story. He reacted by yanking his arm back in full force and unfortunately my face was in his direct flight path. He cold cocked me square in the eye socket with the back of his hand and his wedding ring making complete contact. I managed to stay on my feet but was reeling somewhat. We both must have had complete stunned looks on our faces. He tried to blame the whole thing on me until the black and purple set on then he kind of started saying he was sorry and it was an accident, no ones fault.

Anyway, staying close to home today to avoid the stares and people thinking I'm some sort of gang banger or something. You know, there is never a dull moment here......

Oh yes, I did go give a little attention to the old eyebrows after viewing these pics.

His Eye is on the Sparrow......

OK, does anyone else think it's weird that dumb wildlife crisis happen to me all the time? This time a sparrow was in my house. He wanted as desperately to escape as I wanted him out. Murphy, the blonde greyhound was trying her dead level best to assist but only achieved scaring the poop out of the little bird. The black greyhound watched all the hubbub from her Egyptian Lion pose as if to be nothing more than amused by our scramblings. The bird flew right by her head and she looked at me as if to indicate, "I am retired, I will not chase the bird for you, and I am getting annoyed".

Finally, armed with a mixing bowl and a straw basket, I managed to corral the frightened bird and set him free into the wild of the back yard.