My Birth List

If you are unsure what I mean by "Birth List" imagine the opposite of a bucket list.  Instead of concentrating on all the "want tos" today we will be looking at all the "thankful I dids."  I hope you enjoy, I know I did.

1. Had my poetry published 3 times
2. Have written for the local news paper many times
3. Been a flower girl
4. Been a brides maid twice
5. Been a matron of honor
6. Been a bride
7. Had 3 wonderful children
8. Become a Christian
9. Climbed 2 14ers
10. Seen the Space Needle
11. Been up the Sears Tower
12. Seen the Monalisa
13. Been to Ephesus
14. Fallen off a Double Decker Bus in London
15. Slept in a hostel
16. Fell in love with my favorite city-Madrid
17. Ridden a train from Madrid to Paris
18. Gotten my degree in Veterinary Technology
19. Came within a year of a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry
20. Stuck my finger in a dogs hip socket during surgery
21. Seen a bird revived by CPR on the OR table
22. Ridden a horse
23. Been to a black sad beach
24. Swam in the ocean
25. Seen an erupting volcano
26. Gone backpacking
27. Skied
28. Jet Skied
29. Snowshoed
30. Been on a motorcycle
31. Put together a year book
32. Been room mom
33. Been play doh mom
34. Taught Sunday School
35. Taught VBS
36. Gone on a mission trip
37. Bought a house
38. Been a girl scout leader
39. Ran Track & Field
40. Skipped school
41. Got to see the World Trade Center
42. Tried Maple Syrup in VT
43. Survived the Warrior Dash
44. Gone off the diving board
45. Learned to play piano

Summer Goals for 2012

• Bowling
• Sleep in fort
• Eat from the garden
• Bellview Park
• Cornerstone Park
• Hike
• Water Fight
• Camping
• Book Club
• Weaver Hollow
• Warrior Dash
• Picnic
• Movie Day
• VBS
• Outside Movie
• Bike Ride
• Concert at the park
• Swimming Lessons
• Ballet
• Baseball
• Play with baby Kaeden
• Wash car
• Make Popcicles

Irish Nachos

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After hearing about my friend Megan's Irish Nachos, I finally got to try making them myself.

Garden Day 2

Tiller day! I have added the manure and compost. I need to get it spread before Scott gets back with the tiller.

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Garden Fail!

Yesterday I tested the soil in an area of the garden that gave me trouble last year. It initially failed on 3 of 4. I ended up giving it a 50% instead of 25%, because after sitting awhile longer phospherous decided to get its act together. So after some research I found some organic solutions. I have used blood meal to up my nitrogen levels which BTW were about zero. I might add bone meal to up the phopherous if it isn't behaving itself when I retest in a couple weeks. I was also able to find an organic pH lowerer. I need to add both of the two I added today again tomorrow, because of the slope in the garden I have decided to add half today and let it soak in before adding the other half tomorrow. I was able to disolve what I added today with no run off. Woo hoo! I am trusting that compost will be enough for the new garden this year. If production proves me wrong I will do something more next year. I am hoping by the end of the week I will have the soil fixed and all seeds in the ground. Plants will have to wait, they are not going out until I am sure we have had our last frost. Just because it is 85 degrees out now means nothing to me. Well, the soil was a failure at the beginning of the year, but I am hoping this cramming before the real test will prove an awsome crop is possible!

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Boulder Locavore - Local. Seasonal. Food. Drink.: Denver Zoo's 'School Garden to Zoo' Program: Garde...

So excited about this I had to share!!

Boulder Locavore - Local. Seasonal. Food. Drink.: Denver Zoo's 'School Garden to Zoo' Program: Garde...: I have been a gardener all my life.  Regular readers will have heard my tale of sneaking out of bed as an elementary school child to steal...

Spring has sprung

What a fabulous spring day. After watching Captian America with lunch (gotta prepare for the Avengers movie) I spent most of the afternoon in the new garden area removing tree roots, rocks and weeds. I was able to get my potatoes planted and the kids planted their sunflowers. In the big garden I accomplished planting 3 rows of corn and beans. After this bbq chicken with bbq pineapple I hope to repot some seedlings while the kids are at the park with Daddy. The best part is the kids jumping on the tramp while I make dinner outside. So precious.

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Chicken Matzoball soup

Ok, I made this yesterday and it disappeared in a FLASH of kid slurping frenzy!!  It was amazing.  The kids really don't like soup so I must have done something right.  As usual I didn't follow a recipe, because rules aren't my thing, BUT I have been asked to post the recipe so here it goes to the best of my recollection:

Chicken Matzo ball Soup
4 chicken thighs
1 spring rosemary
poultry seasoning
chicken broth

carrots
onion
celery
water

Matzo ball Soup Mix

Combine first 5 ingredients in crock pot for 4-6 hours.  After this has cooked remove rosemary and bones and shred chicken meat.  The add diced carrots, celery, and onion to broth.  Add enough water to cover completely.  When you are about an hour from serving, make your Matzo balls according to the box and add to the broth.

That is it.  Easy as pie.  Hope you try it.  Let me know how you varied the ingredients as we know I never make anything by the book.  So this will never happen again, at least not like this.  Sorry there are no pictures.  There was nothing left to photograph! :-)

The new pumpkin area

Finally expanding, we knew it would happen eventually.

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Lilacs

Lilacs are the key to my happy place. I love this time of year.

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Granola Bars

So today I tried something different. Because my granola tends to crumble when I cut them into bars I thought I would try out a small batch in my silicon muffin tin. Looks like they works like a charm. This time I did cherry almond and butterscotch. They smell good, let's see how they taste.

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Garden 2012 day 1

Starting seeds about a month later this year so, we will see how it goes. Doing herbs in old coffee cans this year in hopes of detering that D@mn squirrel. I am going to be screwing them to the fence so hopefully he won't be able to get to them. So far we have started flowers for the kids, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cabbage, brocholi, & cauliflower. They seems to do better with a good head start. Going to til in an few weeks and hope for no late frosts, but so far looks like it is going to be a warm one. 80 degrees on March 30!?!?

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Leaking Roof

The sound of dripping water at 4am, not usually a good thing.  In fact, I can not think of a time it is EVER a good thing.  Well, all the snow has been melting in the warm day time sun and freezing in the single digit nights.  This caused a good 6 inches of ice built up in our gutter causing ice to seep in under the roof where it then melted and started leaking through the ceiling of the bay window.  Scott got up at 4am when the dripping began and tore off the framing around the window and then climbed up in the atic to mop up the water, then got on the roof and chipped away at the ice.  Hopefully everything will be ok tonight.  Only time will tell as the temperature begins to plumet again.

Blogging Spurts

So I was just perusing some blogs reading about everything from crafts, to being and Army wife, to loosing a first tooth.  Exciting stuff, but what I noticed over and over were the words"I haven't stopped blogging"  "I haven't falling of the face of the Earth" and simply "I'm back".  Now as you may I know I myself keep my blog up to date.  If by up to date you mean at least a post a year.  What is it about blogging that makes it so touch and go?  Is it Facebook, because let me tell you that baby gets updated every week.  Even if I am in the hospital, oh who am I kidding, ESPECIALLY if I am in the hospital.  I find my blog to be more of a personal journal more than a public "Hey everyone, TJ just learned to ride his bike without training wheels!!!!"  Now I know there are a few close friends and family that are subscribed and do keep up with my blog, but I still find it to be a more personal outlet for my frustrations or compltely random thoughts.
  Do we blog less often, because we think our entried need to be profound?  Maybe beacause they should be longer than a one sentence status update.  I don't know.  If I only blog once a year it is still a snap shot back into that year.  I love looking back at old blogs.  I especially enjoy the ones that may mention one of the dogs or the cat as I miss them all so much.  Maybe one reminds me of something quirky my kids did as children.  I just like to relive those moments.  So, even if I seem to have fallen off the face of the Earth, I will be back...

It almost did me in

I am slowly coming out of a week with a terrible cold.  Sat/Sun of last week I started off with a cough.  Nothing a tough guy like me couldn't handle.  So I spent Saturday flinging and counting cases upon cases of Girl Scout cookies.  Then I spent Sunday teaching Sunday School to a class of out of control 2nd grade boys then drove to the Springs, well, I didn't acctually make it before my truck decided not to go another inch as I was barreling down I25 at 75 miles and hour.  Thankfully I was close enough to call my dad and he came to my rescue jumped the truck bought me a new battery and I was back on my way to spending and hour going door to door in the wind selling cookies with Katie.  This may have been part of the reason I spent Monday on the couch sleeping in between starting new cartoons for Delilah.  Tuesday was slightly better as I sent Delilah off to school and went back to bed.  By Wednesday I got the call everyone dreads from the school.  "What were you thinking sending your sick kid to school?  We don't want them here, come get them."  Sigh, this call comes an hour before I am taking my Scouts to JumpStreet.  Calling all Moms, calling all moms.  I NEED BACKUP!!!  This was followed by 3 days of taking kids temps, drugging children, getting puked on and napping on the living room floor.  Good times.  I am happy to report I sent 2 kids back to school today and ran a few erronds, but I am exahusted already and want to go back to bed.  But, on the bright side, my pants are a LOT looser.  I guess not eating for a week is one diet plan that works, although I don't recomend it.

4

Ok, this week I came up with a list of 4 names of people I strive to imulate for different reasons.  I know one wasn't a wonderful person and one is fictional, but that isn't the point.  The point is to have a goal, a mind set per say.
1.  Porverbs 31- the perfect wife
2. Mother Theresa- the perfect missionary
3. Mathra Stewart- able to make the most beautiful creative things
4. June Cleaver- the perfect mother with the perfect string of pearls

It is all about goals, no matter how lofty.

Over Acheiver

I am beat.  Beat down, face in the dirt, BEAT.  And it is only October (school calander mind you).  I have been saying no and yet things keep coming at me.  Ok, there are the occations where I was not given the oppertunity to say no and hence have been burried deeper, but come on!!!  Where is this all coming from?  I did get roped into the Clothing Sale, and although that is over things keep trickling in.  Then there is what was supposed to be the simple thing of Boy Scouts of which I wanted nothing to do with it.   Girl Scouts where the events just keep coming in one of which I am hosting.  Parent teacher confrences, easy?  No, we have to supply dinner for the teachers.  Making playdoh (which I love to do) & make colored pasta (which I don't remember how to do) for preschool.  Then there are sick kids!!  No free time in 2 weeks.  And this "free time" I was expecting... I am running to Boy/Girl Scout Council, grocery shopping, or other such nonsense.  I have this lovely gift certificate for a massage waiting for me.  I saved it to use after the Warrior Dash...  that was in August... and I am still sore.  Now, I would love/need a hair cut, but some how can not fit either of these 2 simple things into my 6 child free hours a week.  The hair cut was going to happen today, but alas, I had a sick kid home from school.  I shouldn't complain.  It is an honnor to be able to do these things right?  This is why we SAHM do just that...stay at home.  We want an active part in the raising of our children right?  Right???  RIGHT?????  But we are cranky and exhausted, because 10% of the people do 90% of the work.  And I am starting to see that within that 10% is a smaller community of over acheivers we will call them the 1% that do 50% of the 90%.  That has to be gramatically incorrect, but you get the idea.  Don't get me wrong, I love doing things like the yearbook, but the dang website is so slow I could race it against a snail and I dare not leave the computer while I am trying to upload pictures, because if the computer goes to sleep I have to start all over.  Sigh.  Ok, tomorrow an upbeat post.  Promise.

Blogging

I was just looking back on my blogs.  In early years, I had 100 plus blogs, but in recent years, with the help of Facebook I am sure, I am down to just a hand full in the last few years.  I wouldl ike to see this number go up again.  There is so much more you can say in a blog.  Much more than just a status.  A status is more what are you doing at this very minute.  Blogging is about recording your life, your thoughts, your dreams.  Now, don't think I am giving up Facebook,  not yet anyway.  Where else can you conect with gradeschool friends, co workers and family with a single click?  There are events here in my blog that I hold dear, but wouldn't even reember if I hadn't writen them down years ago.  I was just looking back over the past years since I began blogging.  I have lead a somewhat interesting life.  I think my next blog will be my birth list.  The oppisite of my bucket list hat I posted the other night.  My birth list will include all the awsome things I have done since birth.  And there have been a few.  Some I must say I might not be so proud of, but others are stinking awsome.

My Bucket list

My Bucket List in no particular order:

1. Go to Italy
2. Run the Bolder Boulder
3. Learn to swing dance
4. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
5. Finish my Degree
6. Learn to play the flute
7. Learn how to use a sewing machine
8. Make a standing rib roast
9. See the monuments in DC
10. See a whale
11. Work in a zoo
12. Forgive someone
13. Read the bible in 90 days
14. Sell a photograph
15. Grow an apple tree
16. Go Christmas caroling
17. Build a dollhouse
18. Support a missionary on 6 different continnents
19. Write a book
20. Ski black powder
21. Photograph an endangered species in the wild
22. See the Red Woods
23. Go to Las Vegas
24. Rappel
25. Visit all 50 states- 20 down 30 to go
26. Donate blood
27. Sleep under the stars
28. See the Northern Lights
29. Ride in a hotair balloon
30. Do 100 push ups
31. Go white water rafting
32. Go on a home building mission
33. Go on a spay/neuter mission
34. See the pryamids
35. See Machu Picchu
36. Do a multi pitch climb
37. Use a pottery wheel
38. Walk the Great Wall of China
39. Meet the President (or a previous president)
40. Meet the Pope
41. Restore a ragtop '57 Chevy Belair
42. Help Night Lights open 10 sites
43. Have a chemical free home
44. Help a Girl Scout get her Gold Award
45. Call into a radio station
46. Get on a jumbotron
47. Get a part in Fiddler on the Roof (even if it has to be Yente)
48. Volunteer 500+ hours at the Denver Zoo
49. Get a hot stone massage
50. Develope a Sunday School Curriculum VBS counts, right?

CrossConnect Bible

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