Hello dear Readers! It has been so long since I have posted. I have been in a slump and have just started to emerge from it. I have been so busy chrocheting Christmas gifts for my family. Money is very tight this year. Or should I say lack of money is a problem this year. I have been making a lot of my gifts. Because I am a nightowl and do not go to bed until two or three a.m. I have plenty of time to crochet. Besides I cannot watch TV unless I am crocheting because I would be sound asleep in 15 minutes!! Boy, this is not an advantage of getting older. I hate to fall asleep watching TV. I am so cranky when I wake up and then I can't fall asleep for hours. Do you know what I mean? Am I the only one who has this problem? Tell me I'm not, PLEASE!!
One of the greatest inventions of the decade is the DVR. Or as known as the digital video recorder. Or some people know it as TIVO. This is such a wonderful device. Once you learn how to use it correctly. Now I can record all my wonderful TV shows, watch them without viewing the commercials and always have something good to watch. I just love, love, love it!
Now this week I have started baking my Christmas Cookies. Tonight hubby and I made cutout
butter sugar cookies in assorted holiday shapes and colored sprinkles. These are time consuming but not difficult. The secret to rolling out great cookies is to use a pastry cloth and a stocking on the rolling pin. And keep both well floured. Sugar cookies must be rolled out very very thin. When I roll out the dough, I gently pat it with my fingertips. It should barely leave an impression in the dough. Then I know it is thin enough. This year I used parchment paper on my cookie sheets. What a wonderful time-saving thing. The cookie sheets stay clean, you don't have to grease them and the cookies just slide right off the paper. My husband in charge of decorating and baking the cookies. He is in love with parchment paper. We also make Moravian ginger cookies. These must be rolled out paper thin or they will not taste right. I think these are my favorite cookies. So good with a cup of tea!!! The spicy molasses rich dough is so good. I had to stop eating the raw dough it was so good. The cookies bake up very thin and crunchy. I like them better than regular gingerbread cookies. We always make the cutout cookies first because they are so labor intensive. If we didn't make them first they would not get made. Laziness sets in - LOL. The next type we make are the thumbprint cookies with raspberry jam and pecans and the Butterballs. The thumbprints are messy to make because you have to dip them in egg whites and roll them in finely chopped nuts. But they are soooooooo good. We make about 25 different kinds of cookies and they are all doubled or tripled to make 5 - 10 dozen each. That's a whole lotta cookies! Yes indeed.
And I only use butter - real butter in my cookies. The only cookies I use shortening in is my ginger cookies because you cannot taste the butter with the molasses and spices. We give cookies as Christmas gifts to family and friends and Randy brings a giant tray to work on Christmas eve. They last about 2 hours there and then they are history. I love nuts too. And I use pecans, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pineoli nuts by the ton. But it only happens once a year and some of the recipes are not made any other time of the year. One of these days I am going to write a cookie cookbook with all my favorites. If you would like any recipes just leave me a comment and I will get it to you.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
. SHABBILY EVER AFTER .: Please help me
My dear lovely readers,
While searching for beautiful blogs I came across the blog "SHABBILY EVER AFTER". This dear sweet woman has a request for her beautiful friend who is blessed with a baby growing under her heart. This lovely mom to be has had problems in the past. We have been requested to pray for this dear lady who is carrying this miracle child and surround her with our prayers and love to keep them safe until the babe is born. So beautifully written......it will tear at the ribbons of your mother hearts. So please take a minute to send love and blessings to them. After all, LOVE is all powerful and no prayer ever goes unanswered. Just think what our love sent to this mother and child will do for their lives! Please be part of this miracle. I send love to them and to all of you. Wishing you peace, love and joy.
. SHABBILY EVER AFTER .: Please help me
While searching for beautiful blogs I came across the blog "SHABBILY EVER AFTER". This dear sweet woman has a request for her beautiful friend who is blessed with a baby growing under her heart. This lovely mom to be has had problems in the past. We have been requested to pray for this dear lady who is carrying this miracle child and surround her with our prayers and love to keep them safe until the babe is born. So beautifully written......it will tear at the ribbons of your mother hearts. So please take a minute to send love and blessings to them. After all, LOVE is all powerful and no prayer ever goes unanswered. Just think what our love sent to this mother and child will do for their lives! Please be part of this miracle. I send love to them and to all of you. Wishing you peace, love and joy.
. SHABBILY EVER AFTER .: Please help me
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
I JUST DISCOVERED SOMETHING NEW!!!
Hello to all my dear readers!
I just love love love to read other people's crafty blogs. I literally spend hours just going from one blog to another. I always click on a blogs favorite blog and always find a wealth of new blogs to visit. But I just discovered a new resource. Now don't go saying DUH! when you hear about it.
I don't profess to being a computer expert - just moderately computer savvy. And there is always something new to learn. So when I realized this new source I was soooooo excited! (it doesn't take much). OK OK get with the program!
Well - you know the little box where the photos of followers are? And guess what? I have 10 followers now! I am honored that 10 wonderful people think I have something interesting to say and they actually want to read about it! I just so happened to see a pic of a gal that looked just like my friend. So I clicked on her photo and it took me to a box with info about her (the follower). Now it wasn't my old friend but when her pic came up there were also links to other blogs that she follows! How cool is that? Now here's where you say DUH! for all of you that already knew this. Well I had no clue. Of course my daughter tells me all the time that I have no clue but what does she know anyways.....I'm much smarter than her. After all, I am 38 years older than her and I have done and lived a lot in this ole lifetime. OK, there I go off on a tangent again.....pay attention Annette! Oh yes, now where was I? Having a menopause moment again....... ah! the new resource! Of course! (Now you can say DUH!) And its not nice to laugh at me! Focus now on what I'm saying.....So there you have it. A great new source of inspirations. I just love to see other gals take on life and crafts. So many creative minds sharing so much joy. How lucky can we get? What ever did we do without blogs? I swear, this alone will keep my brain from being old and stagnant. Anything to keep dementia away right? I think that is a really big dread for anyone who is facing the reality of getting older. Just don't want to lose all the gray matter. Now if my mother was talking she would say "They say..." and then proceed with the thing that They said. Now I ask you - Who in the Hell are "they" and what makes them the expert in this matter? All my life I have heard what they said but never have been told just who the hell they are and how did they get so smart? Now if that is not maddening then I just don't know what is! Why don't you go ask them???? So I will say.......... Scientists tell us( at least I know what and who scientists are) that our brain is like a muscle and needs constant exercise to keep it strong. So the more we stimulate our minds the better off we are. Keep those old neurons healthy guys! Sort of like push-ups for the brain. And I am all for exercising my brain. Lord knows that this is the ONLY exercise I was ever Gung-ho for!!!!! If I was interested in the physical type of exercise then I would be thin and strong and looking like Raquel Welch instead of good ole chubby me. Now I use Raquel as an example cause I am closer to her age than I am to any young beautiful movie star that I could name. And you have to admit the old girl sure is a beauty. And at her age! What exactly is here age, you ask? I did see her on Martha Stewart show promoting her new book (YES! I do watch Martha!!!!!) Well, I think its close to 70. Ohhhhhhhhhhh the big 70! I only have 9 1/2
years to go before the big 7-0! I am still trying to accept the big 6-0. Damn! I can't be 60 years old. Old people are 60 years old and I am not AN OLD PERSON!!!!!! And if you think that I am an old fart then you can just stop reading this blog and go away! No way! No sir! I am not an old person. I will never be an old lady. My mother allowed herself to become an old lady and I have not forgiven her for that but that's another post! I really am only 39. And in October I will be celebrating the 22nd anniversary of my 39th birthday! So there, you see? So much better than being an old 60. Whew! Now I feel better. OK, now what was I saying? Oh yeah................
So when I get to all these great blogs I get so energized. I want to make and do soooo many things. I print hundreds and hundreds of pages of good ideas and cool things that I want to do.
tinesy whittle nap! See you all in a few.......... and in my next post I think I will tell you all how to make really good and authentic Italian tomato sauce. Step by step and with all the little bits of knowledge about why you need to do it this way and what type of canned tomatoes to use etc. etc. etc. So you will then be an expert in the art of authentic Italian sauce and understand what makes good and bad sauce. And believe me.....there is more bad sauce than there is good sauce. So get ready! And remember - No self-respecting Italian cook ever ever adds oregano to their pasta sauce! Yuck! Oregano is for pizza! Never, never in spaghetti sauce. So If I were you - I would just toss that jar of oregano or put it under lock and key and forget about ever using it in tomato sauce.............. Wishing you all peace, love and joy!
I just love love love to read other people's crafty blogs. I literally spend hours just going from one blog to another. I always click on a blogs favorite blog and always find a wealth of new blogs to visit. But I just discovered a new resource. Now don't go saying DUH! when you hear about it.
I don't profess to being a computer expert - just moderately computer savvy. And there is always something new to learn. So when I realized this new source I was soooooo excited! (it doesn't take much). OK OK get with the program!
Well - you know the little box where the photos of followers are? And guess what? I have 10 followers now! I am honored that 10 wonderful people think I have something interesting to say and they actually want to read about it! I just so happened to see a pic of a gal that looked just like my friend. So I clicked on her photo and it took me to a box with info about her (the follower). Now it wasn't my old friend but when her pic came up there were also links to other blogs that she follows! How cool is that? Now here's where you say DUH! for all of you that already knew this. Well I had no clue. Of course my daughter tells me all the time that I have no clue but what does she know anyways.....I'm much smarter than her. After all, I am 38 years older than her and I have done and lived a lot in this ole lifetime. OK, there I go off on a tangent again.....pay attention Annette! Oh yes, now where was I? Having a menopause moment again....... ah! the new resource! Of course! (Now you can say DUH!) And its not nice to laugh at me! Focus now on what I'm saying.....So there you have it. A great new source of inspirations. I just love to see other gals take on life and crafts. So many creative minds sharing so much joy. How lucky can we get? What ever did we do without blogs? I swear, this alone will keep my brain from being old and stagnant. Anything to keep dementia away right? I think that is a really big dread for anyone who is facing the reality of getting older. Just don't want to lose all the gray matter. Now if my mother was talking she would say "They say..." and then proceed with the thing that They said. Now I ask you - Who in the Hell are "they" and what makes them the expert in this matter? All my life I have heard what they said but never have been told just who the hell they are and how did they get so smart? Now if that is not maddening then I just don't know what is! Why don't you go ask them???? So I will say.......... Scientists tell us( at least I know what and who scientists are) that our brain is like a muscle and needs constant exercise to keep it strong. So the more we stimulate our minds the better off we are. Keep those old neurons healthy guys! Sort of like push-ups for the brain. And I am all for exercising my brain. Lord knows that this is the ONLY exercise I was ever Gung-ho for!!!!! If I was interested in the physical type of exercise then I would be thin and strong and looking like Raquel Welch instead of good ole chubby me. Now I use Raquel as an example cause I am closer to her age than I am to any young beautiful movie star that I could name. And you have to admit the old girl sure is a beauty. And at her age! What exactly is here age, you ask? I did see her on Martha Stewart show promoting her new book (YES! I do watch Martha!!!!!) Well, I think its close to 70. Ohhhhhhhhhhh the big 70! I only have 9 1/2
years to go before the big 7-0! I am still trying to accept the big 6-0. Damn! I can't be 60 years old. Old people are 60 years old and I am not AN OLD PERSON!!!!!! And if you think that I am an old fart then you can just stop reading this blog and go away! No way! No sir! I am not an old person. I will never be an old lady. My mother allowed herself to become an old lady and I have not forgiven her for that but that's another post! I really am only 39. And in October I will be celebrating the 22nd anniversary of my 39th birthday! So there, you see? So much better than being an old 60. Whew! Now I feel better. OK, now what was I saying? Oh yeah................
So when I get to all these great blogs I get so energized. I want to make and do soooo many things. I print hundreds and hundreds of pages of good ideas and cool things that I want to do.
tinesy whittle nap! See you all in a few.......... and in my next post I think I will tell you all how to make really good and authentic Italian tomato sauce. Step by step and with all the little bits of knowledge about why you need to do it this way and what type of canned tomatoes to use etc. etc. etc. So you will then be an expert in the art of authentic Italian sauce and understand what makes good and bad sauce. And believe me.....there is more bad sauce than there is good sauce. So get ready! And remember - No self-respecting Italian cook ever ever adds oregano to their pasta sauce! Yuck! Oregano is for pizza! Never, never in spaghetti sauce. So If I were you - I would just toss that jar of oregano or put it under lock and key and forget about ever using it in tomato sauce.............. Wishing you all peace, love and joy!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
WELL I DID IT - I FINALLY DID IT!!!
Well I did it! I confess! I have become a garbage monger. Last night the condo complex that I live in had a bulk pick up. I forgot about it until my husband came home from work at 9:30 p.m.Told me you wouldn't believe all the stuff at the curb across the street.........OMG! He should have never told me. Here I was in my Jammie's, watching Dancing with the Stars and I had to.......I just had to run upstairs (now if you know me - running is impossible for me to do with my arthritis) OK, I hobbled up the stairs about as fast as a turtle running a race and threw on my clothes.
Of course sans bra! Hobbled down the stairs, grabbed the emergency flashlight off the outlet and my cane and out the door I went. WOW!!! Randy was right....holy crap! Let me at it!!! I found an entire miniature Christmas village still in their boxes, bag of VHS tapes for the kids, Black and Decker scum buster scrubber still in the box, several other nice nearly new Christmas ornaments and wreaths, a Yankee candle - the big size one hardly used, wrought iron candle holder - the kind you put in your fireplace still in the box and a whole bunch of other stuff I can't seem to remember now. There were kitchen chairs, various TVs, electronics, computer components etc. etc. etc. Well you get the picture. I didn't even open any of the trash bags either. Of course the weekly trash pick up was put out too but you can tell the difference. What I just can't get over is the blatant waste of usable items that could have been freecycled or given to one of the local thrift shops. How sad that people are either too selfish or just don't think to donate. So many usable things just going to a landfill. Many people in this country are in need of these items and they just go to waste. Think about it my friends. If you have items that you no longer need no matter how old they are, if they are in good condition please think about donating or join your local freecycle group and give them away. I belong to Freecycle New Haven and have given and received many useful items. I just gave away one of our old cell phones to a lady who's phone was 8 years old. This phone was only 2 year old. We belong to a plan that gives us new phones every two years. She was sooooo happy to get it. And
I just gave a bag of clothing away to another freecycler. They were the items that just didn't fit me right but all new or gently used. You would not believe how many requests I received for these clothes! I finally just put everyones names into a hat and pulled out a name.
After I went through the items across the street from me, I decided to drive through the rest of the complex. Boy did I feel like a thief in the night!!!! But......I found a nearly new Fisher Price trike for my Chessie and an adorable child's picnic table. The table was round with four little round stools attached. Perfect condition. I had to go back home and get Randy to help get that one. I again saw so many usable things. A Hitchcock twin bed, a white metal bakers rack, TVs, etc. What a waste! My niece would like so many things for Chessie but lives on an almost nonexistent budget. So she was so thrilled about the picnic table and trike. I will divide the Christmas decor between her and Danielle. The kids will also get the VHS tapes as they still enjoy the old technology and do not care what the venue is as long as they get to enjoy the tapes.
My niece Diana and I have a laughing competition about who finds the most "great stuff" at yard sales. Here in southern New England we call them "tag" sales but also use the terms garage sales and yard sales. I honestly believe that I am the queen of the tag sale's! I cannot even begin to list what I have gotten at tag sales. I think that half of my house has been furnished from them. And I think my home is very classy and elegant. People never believe me when I tell them that. They think that I had a decorator help in designing my rooms. Nope! Just me and the Randy. But I admit I do not buy junk. It has to be nice or pretty or I need to have a use for it. Some of the items that I got this month are:
A Kitchenaid Juicer in the original box for 5.00. Sold for over 100.00!
Yards and yards of new fabric for sewing and craft projects. At least 200.00 worth of fabric for 20.00 at our local thrift store.
A set of Syracuse bone china - service for 12 - very beautiful - Governor Clinton pattern which included 8 Lenox cups and saucers and 4 dinner plates in the Eternal pattern, all for 30.00!
My china set is Lenox which was discontinues but the eternal pattern is the same dishes color and shape - just minus the flowers on it so I can use it with my wedding china to fill in what I don't have. Each cup and saucer is more than 30.00 each!
DVDs for 1.00 each.
Various crafting supplies for just pennies.
Yarn for my crochet projects for just a few dollars for a trash bag full!
The list goes on and on. People give me lists of items that they need so I can find them at tag sales. I am always happy to shop for them.
Soooo expensive! I love old things. China and glassware with flowers, old linens that are hand made, etc. My husband and I love to browse antique shops to see how much things are prices and then we laugh cause we bought the same item at a yard sale! But we paid only fifty cents or a dollar for them. My daughter went to her first yard sale when she was 4 weeks old. I would put her in her infant carrier and park her under a shady spot and browse the wares. There was nothing she wanted for when she was little. She had the best clothes, the best toys, the most books of any child in her school. The only difference was that her Mom got them for next to nothing and their Moms had to pay full price. No one ever knew. They just thought we were rich! They will never know how rich we really are! One of my best buys was a real genuine Louis Vouton purse. It had a broken zipper so I took it to the shoe repair shop and it cost me 5.00 for a new zipper. He was impressed with my purse. Said it was really nice. I paid one dollar for it. It originally cost about 1400.00 new. 18 years later I still have it and use it. My daughter went nuts when I told her I had it. It was put away in my closet and I even forgot it was there. You would have thought that I just produced the Holy Grail!! She was that excited and or course used it for 3 months before returning it to me. Gotta love it! Its in my blood.
I will always salivate at the sight of a tag sale sign.
Hope you enjoyed this posting. Don't forget you can drop me a line at Jiggsiemamma@sbcglobal.net anytime. Peace, Joy and Love.
Of course sans bra! Hobbled down the stairs, grabbed the emergency flashlight off the outlet and my cane and out the door I went. WOW!!! Randy was right....holy crap! Let me at it!!! I found an entire miniature Christmas village still in their boxes, bag of VHS tapes for the kids, Black and Decker scum buster scrubber still in the box, several other nice nearly new Christmas ornaments and wreaths, a Yankee candle - the big size one hardly used, wrought iron candle holder - the kind you put in your fireplace still in the box and a whole bunch of other stuff I can't seem to remember now. There were kitchen chairs, various TVs, electronics, computer components etc. etc. etc. Well you get the picture. I didn't even open any of the trash bags either. Of course the weekly trash pick up was put out too but you can tell the difference. What I just can't get over is the blatant waste of usable items that could have been freecycled or given to one of the local thrift shops. How sad that people are either too selfish or just don't think to donate. So many usable things just going to a landfill. Many people in this country are in need of these items and they just go to waste. Think about it my friends. If you have items that you no longer need no matter how old they are, if they are in good condition please think about donating or join your local freecycle group and give them away. I belong to Freecycle New Haven and have given and received many useful items. I just gave away one of our old cell phones to a lady who's phone was 8 years old. This phone was only 2 year old. We belong to a plan that gives us new phones every two years. She was sooooo happy to get it. And
I just gave a bag of clothing away to another freecycler. They were the items that just didn't fit me right but all new or gently used. You would not believe how many requests I received for these clothes! I finally just put everyones names into a hat and pulled out a name.
After I went through the items across the street from me, I decided to drive through the rest of the complex. Boy did I feel like a thief in the night!!!! But......I found a nearly new Fisher Price trike for my Chessie and an adorable child's picnic table. The table was round with four little round stools attached. Perfect condition. I had to go back home and get Randy to help get that one. I again saw so many usable things. A Hitchcock twin bed, a white metal bakers rack, TVs, etc. What a waste! My niece would like so many things for Chessie but lives on an almost nonexistent budget. So she was so thrilled about the picnic table and trike. I will divide the Christmas decor between her and Danielle. The kids will also get the VHS tapes as they still enjoy the old technology and do not care what the venue is as long as they get to enjoy the tapes.
My niece Diana and I have a laughing competition about who finds the most "great stuff" at yard sales. Here in southern New England we call them "tag" sales but also use the terms garage sales and yard sales. I honestly believe that I am the queen of the tag sale's! I cannot even begin to list what I have gotten at tag sales. I think that half of my house has been furnished from them. And I think my home is very classy and elegant. People never believe me when I tell them that. They think that I had a decorator help in designing my rooms. Nope! Just me and the Randy. But I admit I do not buy junk. It has to be nice or pretty or I need to have a use for it. Some of the items that I got this month are:
A Kitchenaid Juicer in the original box for 5.00. Sold for over 100.00!
Yards and yards of new fabric for sewing and craft projects. At least 200.00 worth of fabric for 20.00 at our local thrift store.
A set of Syracuse bone china - service for 12 - very beautiful - Governor Clinton pattern which included 8 Lenox cups and saucers and 4 dinner plates in the Eternal pattern, all for 30.00!
My china set is Lenox which was discontinues but the eternal pattern is the same dishes color and shape - just minus the flowers on it so I can use it with my wedding china to fill in what I don't have. Each cup and saucer is more than 30.00 each!
DVDs for 1.00 each.
Various crafting supplies for just pennies.
Yarn for my crochet projects for just a few dollars for a trash bag full!
The list goes on and on. People give me lists of items that they need so I can find them at tag sales. I am always happy to shop for them.
Soooo expensive! I love old things. China and glassware with flowers, old linens that are hand made, etc. My husband and I love to browse antique shops to see how much things are prices and then we laugh cause we bought the same item at a yard sale! But we paid only fifty cents or a dollar for them. My daughter went to her first yard sale when she was 4 weeks old. I would put her in her infant carrier and park her under a shady spot and browse the wares. There was nothing she wanted for when she was little. She had the best clothes, the best toys, the most books of any child in her school. The only difference was that her Mom got them for next to nothing and their Moms had to pay full price. No one ever knew. They just thought we were rich! They will never know how rich we really are! One of my best buys was a real genuine Louis Vouton purse. It had a broken zipper so I took it to the shoe repair shop and it cost me 5.00 for a new zipper. He was impressed with my purse. Said it was really nice. I paid one dollar for it. It originally cost about 1400.00 new. 18 years later I still have it and use it. My daughter went nuts when I told her I had it. It was put away in my closet and I even forgot it was there. You would have thought that I just produced the Holy Grail!! She was that excited and or course used it for 3 months before returning it to me. Gotta love it! Its in my blood.
I will always salivate at the sight of a tag sale sign.
Hope you enjoyed this posting. Don't forget you can drop me a line at Jiggsiemamma@sbcglobal.net anytime. Peace, Joy and Love.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Never say Never - You will always end up eating crow!!
If there is anything that I have learned in my 60 years it is never to say never about anything.
One of my earliest lessons was when I was visiting with my sister-in-law Kathy. She had two little boys just 11 months apart. I was pregnant with my daughter. We were chatting about babies and baby food and I remember telling her that my kid was never going to eat babyfood from a jar! I was going to make all her food fresh from what we were eating for dinner. I had already bought a little babyfood processor and was ready to go. Yep, I was going to be Little Mommy Perfect! Never buy any babyfood in jars. Give my child only the freshest and best!. Yea - right!!
Then came the birth of my daughter. No babyfood worries for the first few months. I went back to work at 7 weeks. Worked full time and came home with baby. Exhausted! Frazzled! Disoriented!
Didn't know my butt from my elbow! Reality Mommy 101. Anything that is easy, causes less work and gives you more time to do important things. Like cook supper, wash clothes, wash dishes, etc. etc. etc. You get the picture right? All you moms out there - laughing your asses off at my foolishness! Babyfood in jars was the newest marvel of the 21st century. A mothers
dream come true. The greatest time saver ever. And as I think back on it (hindsight is 20/20)
I don't think my kid ever ate homemade babyfood. Ever! Boy did that crow stick in my throat.
These sentences also go along with the babyfood line.............My kid will never do that........
I will not ever do that to my kid............Any mother that does that to their kid should be...........
OK OK OK. You get the picture right?? All you guilty mothers out there - wipe that grin off you face! Stop calling me those names. After all, I am admitting to my transgressions! One example was picking up a thrown or dropped object off the floor and washing it before returning it to the little darling! How could any self respecting mother pick something up off a filthy floor and give it back to their child without washing it first? This lasted for several months. Until the day I was grocery shopping with my little darling. My child would never ever take a pacifier. If the nipple did not have liquid coming out of it she was not having any part of it. I remember it was a particular tiring day at work and I had to go shopping on the way home. My daughter had a bottle with her in the carriage. She was content to just drink her bottle while I shopped. Heavenly!!!! Until she dropped it. On the floor. In the grocery store..
Where there were billions and billions of deadly bacteria all over the floor. I bent down and picked it up. Put it in my purse. Then the screams started. Louder and louder they became.
Mommy explained to baby that the bottle was now dirty! She could not have it until it was cleaned. Screams louder and louder. Ugly looks from other shoppers. Thought I was killing my kid. (I wanted to smack her but that would just make her scream louder) You know how it is. You have been there and done that. Right? Well I then did the right thing.......I picked up the bottle.......stuck the nipple in MY mouth to wash it..........and handed it back to the kid who promptly stopped screaming bloody murder and contentedly drank her bottle like nothing had ever happened. When my daughter wanted to eat nothing or no one was going to get in her way of satisfaction or all hell would break loose. Boy that crow got harder and harder to swallow. And till this very day she will pitch a hissy fit if she dosen't get something to eat when she is hungry........no patience at all. Wants demand feeding or else. Now I can just call her a crabby bitch and thats that! Ahhhhhhhh.......soome lessions are easy to learn!
CROCHET NEWS
My latest crochet frenzie is making little blankets to go with my cabbage patch babies. I have decided that each doll needs their own layette to go with them. I belong to a monthly dishcloth exchange and need to make new dishcloths for my partner every month. I belong to many different crochet groups. They all have exchanges but some want a JIC (just in case) puffy sent to the group leader so if you become an exchange deadbeat they will send the JIC to your intended partner. The only problem is that some groups expect the JIC to be this monumentally large package with about 50.00 worth of stuff in it. I am exagerating just a tad bit but I still think that this is too much to ask for a JIC. I think that a monetary amount that would equal the project cost of yarn would be better. Or how about just going on faith that you will come through if you sign up? If you join a shawl exchange why do you have to send another shawl as a JIC?? I think that is a bit too much. I have never not sent my exchange allbeit I have been late due to keeping track of time. But I have always fullfilled my obligation.
So much for this gripe. Any comments?? Would love to hear from you. So far, I have not had any comments from anyone on any subject. I guess people are just nervous about writing.
Come on guys!! I need feedback!! I want to know what you think of my writing? Do I stink?
Do you like me? Should I hang it up? I love to hear from you all good or bad.
I wish you peace, joy and love always. Like the TV show V on abc.....we come in peace always!
God, I love that show. So scary that it could really happen.
Hugs to you all.
Annette
One of my earliest lessons was when I was visiting with my sister-in-law Kathy. She had two little boys just 11 months apart. I was pregnant with my daughter. We were chatting about babies and baby food and I remember telling her that my kid was never going to eat babyfood from a jar! I was going to make all her food fresh from what we were eating for dinner. I had already bought a little babyfood processor and was ready to go. Yep, I was going to be Little Mommy Perfect! Never buy any babyfood in jars. Give my child only the freshest and best!. Yea - right!!
Then came the birth of my daughter. No babyfood worries for the first few months. I went back to work at 7 weeks. Worked full time and came home with baby. Exhausted! Frazzled! Disoriented!
Didn't know my butt from my elbow! Reality Mommy 101. Anything that is easy, causes less work and gives you more time to do important things. Like cook supper, wash clothes, wash dishes, etc. etc. etc. You get the picture right? All you moms out there - laughing your asses off at my foolishness! Babyfood in jars was the newest marvel of the 21st century. A mothers
dream come true. The greatest time saver ever. And as I think back on it (hindsight is 20/20)
I don't think my kid ever ate homemade babyfood. Ever! Boy did that crow stick in my throat.
These sentences also go along with the babyfood line.............My kid will never do that........
I will not ever do that to my kid............Any mother that does that to their kid should be...........
OK OK OK. You get the picture right?? All you guilty mothers out there - wipe that grin off you face! Stop calling me those names. After all, I am admitting to my transgressions! One example was picking up a thrown or dropped object off the floor and washing it before returning it to the little darling! How could any self respecting mother pick something up off a filthy floor and give it back to their child without washing it first? This lasted for several months. Until the day I was grocery shopping with my little darling. My child would never ever take a pacifier. If the nipple did not have liquid coming out of it she was not having any part of it. I remember it was a particular tiring day at work and I had to go shopping on the way home. My daughter had a bottle with her in the carriage. She was content to just drink her bottle while I shopped. Heavenly!!!! Until she dropped it. On the floor. In the grocery store..
Where there were billions and billions of deadly bacteria all over the floor. I bent down and picked it up. Put it in my purse. Then the screams started. Louder and louder they became.
Mommy explained to baby that the bottle was now dirty! She could not have it until it was cleaned. Screams louder and louder. Ugly looks from other shoppers. Thought I was killing my kid. (I wanted to smack her but that would just make her scream louder) You know how it is. You have been there and done that. Right? Well I then did the right thing.......I picked up the bottle.......stuck the nipple in MY mouth to wash it..........and handed it back to the kid who promptly stopped screaming bloody murder and contentedly drank her bottle like nothing had ever happened. When my daughter wanted to eat nothing or no one was going to get in her way of satisfaction or all hell would break loose. Boy that crow got harder and harder to swallow. And till this very day she will pitch a hissy fit if she dosen't get something to eat when she is hungry........no patience at all. Wants demand feeding or else. Now I can just call her a crabby bitch and thats that! Ahhhhhhhh.......soome lessions are easy to learn!
CROCHET NEWS
My latest crochet frenzie is making little blankets to go with my cabbage patch babies. I have decided that each doll needs their own layette to go with them. I belong to a monthly dishcloth exchange and need to make new dishcloths for my partner every month. I belong to many different crochet groups. They all have exchanges but some want a JIC (just in case) puffy sent to the group leader so if you become an exchange deadbeat they will send the JIC to your intended partner. The only problem is that some groups expect the JIC to be this monumentally large package with about 50.00 worth of stuff in it. I am exagerating just a tad bit but I still think that this is too much to ask for a JIC. I think that a monetary amount that would equal the project cost of yarn would be better. Or how about just going on faith that you will come through if you sign up? If you join a shawl exchange why do you have to send another shawl as a JIC?? I think that is a bit too much. I have never not sent my exchange allbeit I have been late due to keeping track of time. But I have always fullfilled my obligation.
So much for this gripe. Any comments?? Would love to hear from you. So far, I have not had any comments from anyone on any subject. I guess people are just nervous about writing.
Come on guys!! I need feedback!! I want to know what you think of my writing? Do I stink?
Do you like me? Should I hang it up? I love to hear from you all good or bad.
I wish you peace, joy and love always. Like the TV show V on abc.....we come in peace always!
God, I love that show. So scary that it could really happen.
Hugs to you all.
Annette
Sunday, February 28, 2010
MY CABBAGE PATCH BABIES!!
I must appologize to my dear readers! It has been a while since I last posted. I have been occupied with family medical issues. My daughter Danielle had surgery on Feburary 19 for removal of her gallbladder.
She has been having severe pain for several months and it got stronger and stronger. She had an ultrasound of her abdomen but it did not reveal anything wrong. She then had to have a nuclear scan of her gallbladder and it revealed a severely diseased organ. She had laparascopic surgery to remove it at one day surgery clinic at Hospital of St. Raphael in New Haven. The surgeon was Dr. McLoughlin who removed my gallbladder in June of 2009. She came through the surgery with flying colors but she had severe pain in her chest and shoulders from the CO2 gas they use during the surgery. It can migrate to areas of the body and cause terrible pain. This I did not expect! It was awful to see my baby in such pain and I was helpless to do anything about it. We had wonderful nurses in the recovery room that did everything they could for her.
I had lap surgery twice and never developed pain from the CO2. I guess I was just lucky. She is continuing to do well and went back to school on thursday. She had enough of her mother hovering over her and waiting on her every little whim.
The good part of this month is that I have dressed 5 cabbage patch dolls for my charity project.! I have finally photographed them and I must say that they are adorable. I cannot wait until they are given to a sweet little child! I hope that they bring comfort and joy to the reciever! There are full sized CP dolls, premies and a super small premis in the light pink outfit. There is also a very small CP in the yellow and white dress with brown silky hair. The green and white outfit with the bonnet is the one I finished today.
I am working on a green and white varegated yarn dress with a very rufflie skirt. The skirt is so ruffled that it is taking forever to finish and there are more than 300 stitches in the skirt. I am going to put this dress on a full size CPK with bright orange yarn hair. She will look just darling in the green. The other CPK's are dressed in original CPK clothing. They all have diapers and undershirts and socks on! Just like a real baby. The newborn size diapers fit them just right. I have made a crochet sleeper for one doll and all it needs is to have the zipper sewn into it. I bought all the crochet patterns for CPK I could find on ebay. Crochetville had a whole bunch of patterns by "Darskie" I believe her name is Darleen Carlson who is a very talented designer. She also has a lot of designs for Dora dolls and the American Girl dolls. You just know that I printed every one of them. The Dora outfits only fit the dress me Dora doll - the one with the pink underwear painted on her. Evidently there are several different Dora dolls and the clothing does not fit the other sized dolls. Our Chessie loves the Dora DVD's and I am looking for the Dora doll to get for her. I plan on making all the outfits for her and giving them to her for Christmas. She will be five years old and I think she will enjoy them. As it is now, she likes her babies naked. The same way that she likes to be!
I remember so well when Danielle was three and four. After her bath she would jump up on my bed and dance naked in front of the mirror. She thought it was hilarious and loved to watch herself!! Her father and I would cringe every time she did this and would joke that our kid was going to be a stripper when she grew up. THANK GOD! she is not!!!! She cannot even believe that she did this. Of course it is one of those stories that parents can use to blackmail their kid with - LOL!
I am 60 years young and I want to play with them. Hugs to you all!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I NEVER STOPPED PLAYING WITH DOLLS AND OTHER STUFF!
Hello Dear Readers! I hope that you are well and having a great week. I wish you joy and peace of mind and no stress....I wish you all to have all of your needs met and enough money to pay your bills and feed your families. I wish you happiness and laughter and sunshine in your life. I hope you remember to count your blessings every day for I know they are many. Don't forget to give thanks to the Universe and God for them all. The world loves a grateful heart.
Practice random acts of kindness. They will bring you joy! I have been in the drive thru line for many fast food restaurants. The best times are when I get to the window to pay for my order. I ask the person if the car in back of me has placed their order. If they have, I will pay for it. I tell the cashier to tell them it was from a friend. And then I drive off. I feel so wonderful all day long. Just thinking about their surprise and I hope delight when they find out that their order has been paid for makes me smile for a week! What a wonderful gift I have given myself!
I go through my day with a smile on my face. It makes people crazy when they ask what I am smiling at and I say "Oh Nothing!" hehehehehe! You should try it. I love to do it at Dunkin Donuts! It does not cost much for coffee and a donut and it brings such joy to the giver and the receiver. I don't do it all the time. I could not afford to. We all know how tight money is right now. But the rewards are great. I also like to pay it forward. If someone does something selfless and nice to me I will pay it forward by doing something nice to someone else. Imagine how happy and delighted you would be if you were in the car behind me and you found out that your order was payed for by a stranger?? It would not only make my day but make my week, month and year as well. I don't think I would ever forget it. Give it a try - you won't be sorry.
Now I have always had this giant attraction to Cabbage Patch Kids. I just love their little round, chubby, happy faces. When Danielle was little, she would go to yard sales with me every week. I would buy all the CPK dolls I found. The only ones I stayed away from were the ones that had ink on their faces. That almost never comes out. I didn't care if they were soiled or needed a stitch or two. I would throw them in the washer with a load of towels and bleach. Then I would air dry them. They came out like new. I have kept all Dani's dolls and she must have at least 12 CPK dolls. Lots of clothing and shoes. We also have a highchair, crib, carrier, diaper bag, and a few other items. Now that we have Francesca, I have another adorable little munchkin to buy dolls for! I have already gotten her 4 of them. Last week I went to our local Goodwill outlet store. I found 4 CPK there. They were each a different size from the largest to the small beanbag doll. Again I washed them in the washer and air dryed them. I got to thinking about how I could bring more dolls into my house without my husband going crazy. So........ I came up with this idea. I would collect the dolls all year long and crochet the clothes for them. Then next Christmas I would donate the dolls to the toy closet at Yale New Haven Hospital's Childrens Hospital. I would get to buy all the dolls I wanted, crochet their clothes and then make other little girls happy by giving them away! Chessie has been in Yale Childrens Hospital more times than any child should. I have been with them when they were being discharged and got to go to the toy closet. They always need more items for the kids and for all ages. I am thrilled with my decision! In the past two days I have already dressed one little girl doll and am working on a little boy premie beanbag doll (with a pacifier in his mouth)! The girl doll came out absolutely beautiful and the boy is adorable! My husband went crazy over them! He is actually excited about my project! Hooray!!!!! I am even going to make a pacifier holder for his outfit so it does not get lost! If any of you dear readers have any CPK dolls that you don't want let me know. I would be happy to pay you for them and for the shipping. There is a website that I found that has all info about CPK restoration. They even have instructions on how to restring their yarn hair. I can't remember which website it was but I did print out all the info so I would have it. If I can find where it is I will be happy to share the link with you.
Well dear readers, thats all I have to talk about today. I will photo the dolls and post the photos so you can admire my babies! I hope you might even like the idea and want to do a project of your own for the childrens hospital in your area! And don't forget those random acts of kindness!
Hugs to you all!
Practice random acts of kindness. They will bring you joy! I have been in the drive thru line for many fast food restaurants. The best times are when I get to the window to pay for my order. I ask the person if the car in back of me has placed their order. If they have, I will pay for it. I tell the cashier to tell them it was from a friend. And then I drive off. I feel so wonderful all day long. Just thinking about their surprise and I hope delight when they find out that their order has been paid for makes me smile for a week! What a wonderful gift I have given myself!
I go through my day with a smile on my face. It makes people crazy when they ask what I am smiling at and I say "Oh Nothing!" hehehehehe! You should try it. I love to do it at Dunkin Donuts! It does not cost much for coffee and a donut and it brings such joy to the giver and the receiver. I don't do it all the time. I could not afford to. We all know how tight money is right now. But the rewards are great. I also like to pay it forward. If someone does something selfless and nice to me I will pay it forward by doing something nice to someone else. Imagine how happy and delighted you would be if you were in the car behind me and you found out that your order was payed for by a stranger?? It would not only make my day but make my week, month and year as well. I don't think I would ever forget it. Give it a try - you won't be sorry.
Now I have always had this giant attraction to Cabbage Patch Kids. I just love their little round, chubby, happy faces. When Danielle was little, she would go to yard sales with me every week. I would buy all the CPK dolls I found. The only ones I stayed away from were the ones that had ink on their faces. That almost never comes out. I didn't care if they were soiled or needed a stitch or two. I would throw them in the washer with a load of towels and bleach. Then I would air dry them. They came out like new. I have kept all Dani's dolls and she must have at least 12 CPK dolls. Lots of clothing and shoes. We also have a highchair, crib, carrier, diaper bag, and a few other items. Now that we have Francesca, I have another adorable little munchkin to buy dolls for! I have already gotten her 4 of them. Last week I went to our local Goodwill outlet store. I found 4 CPK there. They were each a different size from the largest to the small beanbag doll. Again I washed them in the washer and air dryed them. I got to thinking about how I could bring more dolls into my house without my husband going crazy. So........ I came up with this idea. I would collect the dolls all year long and crochet the clothes for them. Then next Christmas I would donate the dolls to the toy closet at Yale New Haven Hospital's Childrens Hospital. I would get to buy all the dolls I wanted, crochet their clothes and then make other little girls happy by giving them away! Chessie has been in Yale Childrens Hospital more times than any child should. I have been with them when they were being discharged and got to go to the toy closet. They always need more items for the kids and for all ages. I am thrilled with my decision! In the past two days I have already dressed one little girl doll and am working on a little boy premie beanbag doll (with a pacifier in his mouth)! The girl doll came out absolutely beautiful and the boy is adorable! My husband went crazy over them! He is actually excited about my project! Hooray!!!!! I am even going to make a pacifier holder for his outfit so it does not get lost! If any of you dear readers have any CPK dolls that you don't want let me know. I would be happy to pay you for them and for the shipping. There is a website that I found that has all info about CPK restoration. They even have instructions on how to restring their yarn hair. I can't remember which website it was but I did print out all the info so I would have it. If I can find where it is I will be happy to share the link with you.
Well dear readers, thats all I have to talk about today. I will photo the dolls and post the photos so you can admire my babies! I hope you might even like the idea and want to do a project of your own for the childrens hospital in your area! And don't forget those random acts of kindness!
Hugs to you all!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
RAMBLINGS OF A CRAZY WOMAN!
Hello dear readers! Its been a while since my last post. Hope you are all well and enjoying the new year. It seems that this winter will be a record breaker for cold and snow. Living in New England is a challenge with weather. One minute its freezing cold. the next its in the 40's. We get a foot of snow and in a week it's gone. Its enough to make a crazy person sane!
I have been in a kind of a slump lately. Not sure why but I seem to be having trouble finding a crochet project that I want to make and a subject I want to write about. What I have been doing is reading the Twilight sagas. There are four books and I had heard so much about them that I asked for them for Christmas. My dear daughter bought me all four books and the first dvd called Twilight. For those of you who do not know what the series is about I will briefly fill you in. It is about a high school girl named Bella who moves in with her father in a small town in Washington state. She meets a boy named Edward who she falls hard for. She is to find out that he is an immortal - a vampire. Except these vampires do not hunt humans, they hunt animals instead for their blood. Now I don't usually like books of this nature but this book is not a horror story with blood and gore and scaring the dickens out of you! It is a romance and a very exciting one at that. Oh and I forgot - there are also shape-shifting werewolves (not the type that are venemous and kill humans). They are from an indian tribe that can change into giant wolves to protect their people and who also hate vampires. To complicate the plot, one of Bella's best friends is a family friend named Jacob who becomes a werewolf. I never read scary books or watch horror movies because I am too much of a whimp. Do not enjoy them. But I had heard so much about this book that I wanted to see what they were about. I figured that if I didn't like it then I could just stop reading it and return the others that had not been read.
Well - OMG!!! I was hooked! Totally in love with them. They are fabulous and I was not able to put them down. I read one after the other and each one was wonderful. You get so caught up in their story that its almost like you were part of them. And the first DVD Twilight was awesome. Very true to the book. I always like to read the book first and then see the movie.
This did not disapoint me! I actually read all four novels within four weeks and they are books with many pages. At least 400 pages each. The only problem now is that I am finished with them and have no more of the story to read. What a bummer. I just hope and pray that there will be another book. Just like the Harry Potter series - which were my all time faves - there is so much excitement within the books that you never want them to end. My daughter never likes this type of book and refused to read the Harry Potter books. But she heard me rant so much about the Twilight book that she wanted to give it a try. She was hooked. She is currently on book two and is taking the other two books and the DVD back to school with her.
Speaking of my daughter - today she is moving back to school! Yea! Hooray! What? You are happy to see her go??? You bet I am! Thrilled as a matter of fact. She has been home since before Christmas when her semester was over. I loved having her home. Such a delight!
Right? Well some of the times. But, dear readers, she is, at best, a princess Bitch! I forgot about the PMS mood swings. A regular Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. One minute she is a sweet girls and the next she is the shrew! The shrew who could not be tamed! One habit of hers that drives me crazy is when she is hungry. She does this to me at home and in restaurants. Will not decide what to eat on her own. She will ask me what is there to eat......then I have to give her all the options she can choose from.....then she will tell me that she does not want any of them and what else can she eat? So I get pissy and tell her that if she wants anything else she can just go make it herself. Then SHE gets pissy and storms off to her room cursing under her breath along the way. If I do come up with a suggestion when she is in her room she then yells that she is not hungry! UGGGGGHHHHHHHH! I could just scream!! Now I know she has limited choices due to her gluten allergy. BUT....... And when we go to a restaurant it is the same thing. Can't make up her mind what to order so here we go again. God give me strength!!! Get the picture?? Have you ever???? I try very hard not to end up screaming at her but alas! I am only human. Sometimes the screams just come out no matter how hard I try to contain them. Not good when in a restaurant! At home nobody hears but us. But in public who's the bitch now?? You guessed it......ME. Then she gets this stony face and tells me she is embarrassed and to stop it. And I appologize. I hang my head and look remorseful. And so it goes. Now when she is at school, I don't have to hear it. She does call me every day and sometimes multiple times. Or texts me. I have to be ready to do her bidding. Drop everything and run to her. She only lives 10 miles away. Just MY luck!!! So I drop everything and run to her right? WRONG!! Only if I am not busy and was going out anyways. And I do cook things she can eat and will deliver food to her. For which she is very grateful. She has these other quirks too. She will see nothing wrong with spending $100.00 on a purse but she hates - absolutely resents - having to spend money on groceries, or shampoo, or deodorant. She expects me to provide these things for her. She has serious messed up priorities. But I must confess that although she has these quirks that are so annoying - she is a really good kid.
Very responsible. Works full time since highschool and pays her own way. Bought her car and makes her payments, has her own cell phone bill, her own insurance for the car and never asks for a penny for any oth them. She also pays for her own schooling and we help her whenever we can. It is hard for us with me not working due to my arthritis and now her Dad is losing his job. The electronics and appliance company he has worked for for 25 years has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will be closing all 15 of their stores by the end of February.
He is depressed to say the least. We are hopeful that he will be hired quickly. He is an excellant manager and is well liked by all. Several other companies are interested in him and he has 3 interviews tomorrow. We are holding our breaths over this. We are in the same boat as so many of Americans. We are praying that we will not lose our home. I would appreciate all your prayers too. Prayers work miracles. But regardless of the outcome - it is in God's hands. We are still so very blessed. I am grateful for all my blessings large and small.
And we have faith. God will provide. So dear readers, that is all for today. May you all be richly blessed with peace, joy, good health and happiness. Y'all come back now, hear??
I have been in a kind of a slump lately. Not sure why but I seem to be having trouble finding a crochet project that I want to make and a subject I want to write about. What I have been doing is reading the Twilight sagas. There are four books and I had heard so much about them that I asked for them for Christmas. My dear daughter bought me all four books and the first dvd called Twilight. For those of you who do not know what the series is about I will briefly fill you in. It is about a high school girl named Bella who moves in with her father in a small town in Washington state. She meets a boy named Edward who she falls hard for. She is to find out that he is an immortal - a vampire. Except these vampires do not hunt humans, they hunt animals instead for their blood. Now I don't usually like books of this nature but this book is not a horror story with blood and gore and scaring the dickens out of you! It is a romance and a very exciting one at that. Oh and I forgot - there are also shape-shifting werewolves (not the type that are venemous and kill humans). They are from an indian tribe that can change into giant wolves to protect their people and who also hate vampires. To complicate the plot, one of Bella's best friends is a family friend named Jacob who becomes a werewolf. I never read scary books or watch horror movies because I am too much of a whimp. Do not enjoy them. But I had heard so much about this book that I wanted to see what they were about. I figured that if I didn't like it then I could just stop reading it and return the others that had not been read.
Well - OMG!!! I was hooked! Totally in love with them. They are fabulous and I was not able to put them down. I read one after the other and each one was wonderful. You get so caught up in their story that its almost like you were part of them. And the first DVD Twilight was awesome. Very true to the book. I always like to read the book first and then see the movie.
This did not disapoint me! I actually read all four novels within four weeks and they are books with many pages. At least 400 pages each. The only problem now is that I am finished with them and have no more of the story to read. What a bummer. I just hope and pray that there will be another book. Just like the Harry Potter series - which were my all time faves - there is so much excitement within the books that you never want them to end. My daughter never likes this type of book and refused to read the Harry Potter books. But she heard me rant so much about the Twilight book that she wanted to give it a try. She was hooked. She is currently on book two and is taking the other two books and the DVD back to school with her.
Speaking of my daughter - today she is moving back to school! Yea! Hooray! What? You are happy to see her go??? You bet I am! Thrilled as a matter of fact. She has been home since before Christmas when her semester was over. I loved having her home. Such a delight!
Right? Well some of the times. But, dear readers, she is, at best, a princess Bitch! I forgot about the PMS mood swings. A regular Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. One minute she is a sweet girls and the next she is the shrew! The shrew who could not be tamed! One habit of hers that drives me crazy is when she is hungry. She does this to me at home and in restaurants. Will not decide what to eat on her own. She will ask me what is there to eat......then I have to give her all the options she can choose from.....then she will tell me that she does not want any of them and what else can she eat? So I get pissy and tell her that if she wants anything else she can just go make it herself. Then SHE gets pissy and storms off to her room cursing under her breath along the way. If I do come up with a suggestion when she is in her room she then yells that she is not hungry! UGGGGGHHHHHHHH! I could just scream!! Now I know she has limited choices due to her gluten allergy. BUT....... And when we go to a restaurant it is the same thing. Can't make up her mind what to order so here we go again. God give me strength!!! Get the picture?? Have you ever???? I try very hard not to end up screaming at her but alas! I am only human. Sometimes the screams just come out no matter how hard I try to contain them. Not good when in a restaurant! At home nobody hears but us. But in public who's the bitch now?? You guessed it......ME. Then she gets this stony face and tells me she is embarrassed and to stop it. And I appologize. I hang my head and look remorseful. And so it goes. Now when she is at school, I don't have to hear it. She does call me every day and sometimes multiple times. Or texts me. I have to be ready to do her bidding. Drop everything and run to her. She only lives 10 miles away. Just MY luck!!! So I drop everything and run to her right? WRONG!! Only if I am not busy and was going out anyways. And I do cook things she can eat and will deliver food to her. For which she is very grateful. She has these other quirks too. She will see nothing wrong with spending $100.00 on a purse but she hates - absolutely resents - having to spend money on groceries, or shampoo, or deodorant. She expects me to provide these things for her. She has serious messed up priorities. But I must confess that although she has these quirks that are so annoying - she is a really good kid.
Very responsible. Works full time since highschool and pays her own way. Bought her car and makes her payments, has her own cell phone bill, her own insurance for the car and never asks for a penny for any oth them. She also pays for her own schooling and we help her whenever we can. It is hard for us with me not working due to my arthritis and now her Dad is losing his job. The electronics and appliance company he has worked for for 25 years has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will be closing all 15 of their stores by the end of February.
He is depressed to say the least. We are hopeful that he will be hired quickly. He is an excellant manager and is well liked by all. Several other companies are interested in him and he has 3 interviews tomorrow. We are holding our breaths over this. We are in the same boat as so many of Americans. We are praying that we will not lose our home. I would appreciate all your prayers too. Prayers work miracles. But regardless of the outcome - it is in God's hands. We are still so very blessed. I am grateful for all my blessings large and small.
And we have faith. God will provide. So dear readers, that is all for today. May you all be richly blessed with peace, joy, good health and happiness. Y'all come back now, hear??
Sunday, December 27, 2009
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEW YEAR!!
GOOD MORNING DEAR READERS!
I hope your Christmas holiday was wonderful. I hope Santa brought you lots of nice presents. I hope you had peace and joy and love during your holiday. And now I hope you are on the road to recovery from the stress of your holiday. I know I am. We had a wonderful day with my family. Just the six of us. My husband Randy, daughter Danielle, niece Diana, nephew Brandon and niece Francesca. And of course the 5 little furry children. Who, by the way, became totally stoned on their Christmas present of catnip. They were so funny! Francesca aka Chessie was so enthralled with presents! She is an absolute angel. For those of you who do not know, Chessie was born with Trisomy 21 aka Down's syndrome. She is an adorable child and so bright and smart. But the trisomy has its physical problems which keep these kids a bit behind "normal" kids. They have physical developmental delays. She is a tiny child, about the size of a two year old. She was 4 on December 15. She weighs 30 pounds and is 36 inches tall. She does have issues with eating and drinking which can be a challenge to her Mom. She will not drink fluids from a glass and will only drink water in sips or her prescription formula from a bottle. She is still our baby! She is also not potty trained in spite of numerous attempts to do so. Chessie is very strong willed and will only do what she wants to do. And that does not include going potty on the big girl potty! Her speech is delayed and she tends to use only the first syllable of words. So it is pretty much her own language but we do understand her and she has no problems with understanding what we say to her. And she has a terrific memory. She just loves opening presents. She would sit in her little Elmo armchair and say "More!" When the presents were all opened she proceeded to help open any other persons presents
and would oooh and aaahhhh over each gift. She was just too precious. She loves to be at our home because she pretty much can do anything she wants to do without restrictions. Of course she is spoiled. Spoiled with love!!! She is our gift from heaven above. God blessed all our lives with wonder when he sent us this child. No other child could be more loved. She just loves when I crochet things for her. And she will get up into my chair and take a crochet hook and yarn and try to crochet. She is still too young to learn yet but I have tried and will keep on trying to teach her until I succeed. It is such a joy to teach her. She is very bright and catches on quickly.
Brandon Michael, her big brother is also mentally challenged. He has moderate mental impairment, Autism, Tourette's syndrome, multiple food allergies and ADHD.
He can have behavioral issues at times. Medications do not work for him. We are able to diffuse a difficult behavior situation when it begins. He is a very very loving sweet boy. He will be 24 on January 26 but his mental age is about 6. He adores his sister and is very gentle with her. He lives at a group home during the week and has a job (with one on one supervision only) and comes home on Friday afternoon and returns on Monday morning. We call it school. He loves all things that are boy like monster trucks, guns (Nerf), tools etc. He is also very attached to any type of keyring, old keys, flashlights, and walkie-talkies. Or anything small and electronic whether or not he can work it. He also loves Cd's and dvd's.
He carries around a stack of dvds everywhere he goes sort of like a security blanket for him. He loves to listen to his music on a portable cd player. He likes just about any kind of music and can tell you the name of the song and the artist at any time. If any of you dear readers have any old keys or keyrings and would like to give them to him I will be happy to pay for postage so email me if you do.
I always look for these items at yard sales and thrift shops. He is very attached to me and I am his Godmother. He calls me "Auntie". He has a great sense of humor and loves to laugh. We have a great time together. I have a special ability to "defuse" him when he gets upset. I think one of the best presents I gave him was a keyring that burps. It burps in 2 or 3 modes and burps the alphabet! He just loves it. He is such a goof!! He does not have contact with his bio-dad. He calls my Husband "Daddy" because he is like a father to him. He does understand that Randy is really his uncle but likes to call him Dad. Also, the baby calls him Daddy. She has never known the bio-dad because he wanted nothing to do with the child since she was born. So Randy is the only daddy she has known and does he adore her! He loves her as much as he loves our daughter. He is truly a wonderful man, kind and loving. I am a blessed woman! Well, dear readers, you have now learned a lot more about my family. I would love to learn about you and your family so if you have a blog please send me a line or just send me an email about yourself. There are no such things as strangers, just friends you have not met yet.
God bless and have a wonderful day!
Hugs,
Annette
Thursday, December 24, 2009
COUNTING DOWN THE HOURS UNTIL CHRISTMAS
HELLO TO ALL MY DEAR READERS! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Now that said, just give me a bed and let me die in peace! I am exhausted! I get this way every year. Why? you ask? Because I am a nut case! I HAVE to do this and I HAVE to do that. It must be done today or it cannot wait until tomorrow. I HAVE to find that last little gift. I CAN'T SAY NO! I have nophobia. I am unable to say no to anything when it comes to my family. I can do it. It won't take long. Are these words familiar to you? Do you suffer from the same disease? Are you overcome with feelings of guilt if you don't do it? Will the world come to a flaming end if it doesn't get done? Will hell freeze over. Does a chicken have lips? Was the pope polish? Does a bear poop in the woods? The answer is YES YES YES YES YES AND YES!!!!
I can't stop. I must do it. It has to get done! I am crazy, just all out blooming crazy! You think I would learn my lesson. But NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Not me. Every year it is the same thing. Total exhaustion and it's my own fault!
Now take today for example. My daughter wants a leopard or zebra snuggie. You know those things they advertise on tv - the blanket with arms. Cute little idea.
Last week I saw a bajillion of them in every store I went to. Did I buy it???
Nooooooooooo, of course not! Oh, they will have them everywhere. Well guess what?
Those stupid little blanket things that are destined to make their creator a bloody
millionaire are completely sold out! Just like the Cabbage Patch dolls of the 70's and 80's. My husband and I went to 8 different stores today. Yep, that's right.
This idiot went to 8 different stores in search of the elusive snuggie. One store had 5 kids sizes and one had 3 dog snuggies (how the hell do you put a snuggie on a dog?). But not one stinking snuggie for adults. Not a one. Everywhere you go the damn things are sold out. There is going to be a whole bunch of people with snuggies whether or not they wanted one. They are definitely going to be gifted with a snuggie. But guess what? MY DAUGHTER IS NOT GOING TO BE ONE OF THEM CAUSE I CAN'T FIND A SNUGGIE ANYWHERE!!! Am I having a nervous breakdown over it??? You betcha I am. In the words of Fred Sanford - "get ready Elizabeth - I'm coming - this is the big one). Will she get over this? Of course not. She wanted a snuggie for Christmas and the princess of more than enough will not be getting a snuggie this year! Will she pout for the rest of the day? You betcha she will!
And I guarantee you that she will never let me forget it either! Here comes another 3 years of therapy for me! I can hear it now. We will be gathered together in the future with my 6 grand-kids (that's how many she says she wants)
and she will be telling her kids - "Did I ever tell you of the Christmas that I wanted a snuggie and never got one???"...........
Now I also had to go to the grocery store to pick up the seafood for tonight's dinner. We are having the usual fish dinner for Christmas eve. Baked stuffed shrimp with seafood stuffing, Scrod, Scallops wrapped in bacon and spaghetti with clam sauce. Oh and fresh green beans and tossed salad and shrimp cocktail. Then for dessert there is pumpkin pie, pecan pie and 32 different varieties of Christmas cookies all hand made by me. Thats right! You did not read it wrong. I made 32 different cookies for Christmas. 28 regular varieties and 4 gluten free kinds for my daughter and nephew. Oh and 2 pies are regular and 2 are gluten- fee. Do you know how many different cookies there are in 32 varieties???? Too damn many. We give cookies to everyone! No one is spared! People line up at my door with their hands out begging for a cookie, just one little cookie. I am famous. So why aren't I rich????? My daughter says the gluten free ones I made are so delicious that I should set up a web site and start selling them. The cost of gluten free baked good are astronomical! Just the mixes alone are 5 to 8 dollars a box. I have come up with my own personal gluten free baking mix and it works well. She thinks that I will be the next Martha Stewart??? Oh and did I mention that I only use 100%
pure butter in all my baking? Anything less than real butter should be outlawed when it comes to cookie baking. There are just no substitutes for real butter!
Ok dairy men - where is my kickback for that?? And did I mention the nuts? Pecans, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts! They cost more than 14K gold! And I use tons of them.
Pounds and pounds and pounds. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of nuts then I use 2 cups. I like to taste the nuts in my cookies. Yesterday my husband and I were shopping for gifts in our local Kohls. We were in the housewares dept. and there was this cute young man shopping for his wife. He seemed to be in a quandry so I asked him if he needed help. He showed me a list as long as his arm and said "she wants cookie sheets" Sooooooo........I proceeded to educate him on the virtues of cookie sheets and showed him examples of good ones and bad ones and that price was an important factor in choosing a good cookie sheet and that double walled ones will never burn her cookies but if he bought the thin ones then I guaranteed him that his cookies would be black and he would be buying new cookie sheets next year. He responded with tears in his eyes - yea, our sheets are kind of lumpy and twisted. I proudly proclaimed that I was the QUEEN of cookie baking and just last week I made 32 different kinds for Christmas. Then he really started to cry and grabbed my arm begging me to adopt him. I hate to see a grown man cry. But I reassured him that if he bought his wife the right cookie sheets then she too could become a cookie queen or at least a cookie princess and that he would have many years of wedded bliss and eat glorious cookies to boot. He was profusely thanking me and kissing my hand as my husband was dragging me by the arm to the cash registers. He can be soooo touchy at times.
And did I tell you that on Monday evening my daughter volunteered to have their work Christmas party at our house? Yes, 25 lovely women to feed and entertain.
She told them to BYOB but failed to tell them to bring food! Oh no, not necessary - my Mom is a great cook and will make stuff! And of course, Supermom
did just that! There was enough food for 50 lovely ladies to eat and plenty of leftovers. I have to admit, the compliments were wonderful. Nothing like being told that your food is great! Makes it all worth while. I felt that I owed it to my daughter to have a great party. After all, she has not been able to entertain for the last 3 1/2 years while my niece was living in my living room with her two kids.
Last year we did'nt even have a tree cause the only place for one was to hang it from the ceiling. So this year we have 6 Christmas trees. One big one and 5 small ones of various sizes and decor. You might say that we are making up for lost time.
And I guess we are.
I even managed to get in a little crocheting during all this work. I finished a dishcloth for my January partner in a dishcloth exchange and finished a scarf for my niece Francesca. Never did finish the afghan for Danielle. She might think it was a substitute for that damn snuggie!!! Oh well, Valentine's Day is coming.
And I heard her exclaim as she drove out of sight, Merry Christmas to all and
does anyone want a cookie??? Please???
Peace and Joy to you all.
Hugs,
Annette
Thursday, December 17, 2009
POEMS THAT I HAVE WRITTEN
Good morning! I would like to share some of the poems that I have written with all of you dear readers. I hope that you enjoy them. I would love any feedback you may have about them.
My wish for you by Annette McKitrick
How sweet the song birds fill the air
How gentle the breeze that lifts your hair
How warm the sunshine on your skin
How joyfull your heart beats deep within
I wish beauty and peace to fill your days
Joy and love to send your way
Your desires and dreams may soon be fulfilled
And love keep your heart quiet and still
May your troubles be tiny, may sorrows be few
May you always have springtime inside of you
To know only kindness and love so true
These are the things I wish for you
Christmas Wishes for Our Armed Forces
by Annette McKitrick
You won't be home for Christmas
on this very special day
My heart is sad this Christmas
while you are far away
Duty to our country
took you across the seas
But in my heart this Christmas
you will be close to me
The call to protect our freedom
is your gift to the USA
So Christmas here without you
will be a lonely day
Without you here our family
is lost and incomplete
You fight to protect our country
with victory over defeat
You won't be home this Christmas
But that's OK with me
My angels are there with you
And will return you safe to me.
My wish for you by Annette McKitrick
How bright the sun up in the sky
The wispy clouds that drift on byHow sweet the song birds fill the air
How gentle the breeze that lifts your hair
How warm the sunshine on your skin
How joyfull your heart beats deep within
I wish beauty and peace to fill your days
Joy and love to send your way
Your desires and dreams may soon be fulfilled
And love keep your heart quiet and still
May your troubles be tiny, may sorrows be few
May you always have springtime inside of you
To know only kindness and love so true
These are the things I wish for you
Christmas Wishes for Our Armed Forces
by Annette McKitrick
You won't be home for Christmas
on this very special day
My heart is sad this Christmas
while you are far away
Duty to our country
took you across the seas
But in my heart this Christmas
you will be close to me
The call to protect our freedom
is your gift to the USA
So Christmas here without you
will be a lonely day
Without you here our family
is lost and incomplete
You fight to protect our country
with victory over defeat
You won't be home this Christmas
But that's OK with me
My angels are there with you
And will return you safe to me.
FRANCESCA
A baby girl was sent to us
One cold and wintry day
Her birth was a very difficult one
And her mother began to pray
She call upon her God above
To help her little one
And the angels came to comfort her
They filled her heart with love.
Rest easy sweet laboring mom
There is ought for you to fear
God’s angels have all gathered round
His love for you is near.
The babe was brought into this world
As the doctors did their part
Looks of sadness upon
their faces
Struck terror in the mothers heart
I have bad new to tell about
This sweet little babe newborn
She is not like all other babes
Said the doctor all forlorn.
What’s wrong with her please tell me now
The mother shouted out
Your baby has Down’s syndrome
The doctor’s voice rang out.
The mother took her baby home
And she began to grow
Each day that passed was special
Her mother’s heart did know.
As pretty as a sunrise
All golden, pink and light
Her auburn curls gleamed softly
To brighten up the night.
Her skin as soft as roses
Her eyes as blue as the sky
A prettier child you’ll never see
A truth you can’t deny
Each day she fills our hearts with love
She’s as smart as smart can be
And makes us laugh at her antics
She fills our lives with glee!
And the love she gives to everyone
That meets this little one
Brightens up their faces
To shine like light from the sun
Some people say she’s handicapped
They pity her family
Not one of us who love her
Would never ever agree
She’s a beautiful gift from God above
No more blessed could we be
She fills our empty hearts with love
For all the world to see.
.
Eternity by Annette McKitrick
I remember when first I saw your face
It intrigued me. Your eyes full of passion and grace
Nothing remarkable – just a spark in my soul.
Wanting to know more but wondering why?.
We did not speak each others language
But the spark gave way to flames.
Talk is not important when
speaking the words of the soul
My trembling heart remembers
From many life-times past
You were my love for eternity
No world could keep us apart.
And yet these moments of passion
Were fleeting in our lifetime
We both knew that we would have to wait
Until our souls come again..
MY
BELOVED by Annette McKitrick
M any
times you told me you love me
Y our
eyes so blue mirror the beauty of your soul
B eing
with you is all I ever wanted
E cstacy
is yours and mine alone
L oving
you more and more each day
O nly
you can play the music that I dance to
V ibrant
is how I feel when I’m with you
E very
day with you is a gift from God
D evoted
to you I shall always be
The Journey by Annette McKitrick
I chose to go on a journey
The most important one in my life
It started out in a hospital
But was not with stress and strife
I began with much thought and soul searching
It was not so easy to do
I entered into it joyfully
With positive thoughts thru and thru.
It took me down long winding pathways
Places I’ve never
been to before
But entered with great expectations
And I knew that I want to learn more.
My life had been full of trials,
Prejudices and grief
It was time to turn the tides of disapproval
And to swim towards the shores of relief.
This journey was not going to be easy,
No magic bullet that
would make everything right.
It takes a great deal of planning,
Support and positive
insight
Everything that I ever had lived with,
Would have to be changed overnight
The newness at times
overwhelmed me
But I kept my eyes on the light
The days passed by ever slowly
And I wanted results right away
But anything worth having takes time
And Rome wasn’t built in a day.
I didn’t embark on this adventure
For anyone other than me
This trip was granted by heaven
The results are for all to see.
Some days brought joy and contentment
Some days were filled with fright
When ever I consumed the right item
It filled my soul with delight
So on and on I traveled
But no road weary person was I
I adored hearing the compliments
That lifted my soul ever high
Now whatever road my life seems to travel
Where ever I choose to be
I stand tall and slender
From this gift that was granted to me.
. .
ALONE
By Annette McKitrick
Alone, why do I feel so all alone?
An island floating in a dark stormy sea
Where is the love I once knew?
Where is the caring?
Alone, why do I feel so alone?
My heart is heavy, fearing it will never
Feel the warmth of the sun again.
The cold murky waters lap at my soul.
The Darkness oppresses me
As I feel my way around this box
That has enclosed me.
Alone, why do I feel so all alone?
I long to feel joy again, I long to have
A reason to be happy.
But how can I feel these emotions
When my life has lost its purpose.
Searching for so long to feel whole again
Knowing that you have closed your heart to me
Wanting it to open up and enfold me once more
This is the wanting in my soul.
Alone, why do I feel so all alone?
And last but not least is the first poem I wrote. I should say the first serious poem.
I wrote it 3 days after 9/11 and the pain was still a raw wound in our nations hearts.
It was published by the Branford Review, our hometown newspaper. It was given a full page spread with photos of 911 surounding the poem. I was quite honored. I know that it has been emailed half way around the world. I hope that you enjoy it.
The Day America Cried
by Annette McKitrick
The sun shone brightly that morning There was not a cloud in the sky
Life went on just as always The day America cried.
We were not thinking of evil
The tragedy was not forseen
Our country changed in a heartbeat
By the sounds of thousands of screams.
Can you remember what you were doing?
The day America cried
Can you remember your shock and your sorrow?
When you learned how many had died.
Our Country so strong and so vibrant
Was quickly brought to its knees
The work of a madman's desires
Who lives far away across the seas?
An act of terror so heinous
Our minds cannot comprehend
The lives of thousands of heroes
Abruptly would come to their end.
The pain in my heart consumes me
My grief remains ever strong
I cannot forget this sorrow
It clings to me all the daylong.
Our hearts are crying for answers
We long to understand why
For families who lost loved ones
The day America cried.
Our faith and our spirits were tested
But God was guiding our land
The tide of adversity strengthens us
And together united we stand.
The many brave men and brave women
In our hearts forever will stay
By actions and deeds made immortal
Heroes were born on that day.
So what gained you out of your evil?
For you there is no place to hide
America is stronger than ever
We stand as one nation with pride
The sun shone brightly that morning There was not a cloud in the sky
Life went on just as always The day America cried.
We were not thinking of evil
The tragedy was not forseen
Our country changed in a heartbeat
By the sounds of thousands of screams.
Can you remember what you were doing?
The day America cried
Can you remember your shock and your sorrow?
When you learned how many had died.
Our Country so strong and so vibrant
Was quickly brought to its knees
The work of a madman's desires
Who lives far away across the seas?
An act of terror so heinous
Our minds cannot comprehend
The lives of thousands of heroes
Abruptly would come to their end.
The pain in my heart consumes me
My grief remains ever strong
I cannot forget this sorrow
It clings to me all the daylong.
Our hearts are crying for answers
We long to understand why
For families who lost loved ones
The day America cried.
Our faith and our spirits were tested
But God was guiding our land
The tide of adversity strengthens us
And together united we stand.
The many brave men and brave women
In our hearts forever will stay
By actions and deeds made immortal
Heroes were born on that day.
So what gained you out of your evil?
For you there is no place to hide
America is stronger than ever
We stand as one nation with pride
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