Toto this is not Hawaii!

If you have a hard time reading this click and drag your mouse over the text to highlight and then you can read much better.

Just about now I'm really missing those Green and Bright Christmases were the sun shines by day and the stars glow at night. Now my friends and family in Oregon and Washington have been bombarded with snow and ice this last week or so, but wow! They have what we normally get and we have a small blizzard! For example ( now keep in mind I'm no Pioneer Woman) this is just the "Winter Storm Warning" on Monday. There was a thin layer of snow when we went to bed. Nothing coming out of the sky either. We just figured OK the normal stuff. We get this warning every winter since we've been up here. Quick put out the salad bowl so we can make some Snow Ice Cream. Who knows where the bowl went to in the morning! So this is a picture of what we woke up to Monday morning.
Next on Christmas Eve we took the kids out ice skating at the ice rink that the hockey association build. Outdoors so it's really freezing. By 8pm the wind was starting to blow. Really Blow! Bryce and I froze out and came home around 7:30pm Phil and Francis stayed, and played some more. I'll post some pictures later today. (since I have nothing better to do until the snow stops blowing around!) I guess Phil and Ken Davis went and added more water to the rink to make sure the ice is nice and thick for when it warms up next week for a few days. That way we don't lose our ice. Phil and Francis made it home by 9:30pm. By then the weather wasn't just talking winter warning anymore they were talking blizzard. Blowing snow, and white out! Here I thought white out was that stuff in a bottle that you used to correct typing mistakes. NOT!
This morning we awoke to a new blanket of snow. Just check out the pictures. Also that black pipe sticking out above the garden hose storage is for our furnace. Had to go and take a shovel out there after this picture was taken so that it wouldn't get buried. LOL! Like my apple tree in the background? Purdy with all that snow on it isn't it?

Sorry this picture isn't the best. I had to take it from the bedroom window. I couldn't get to a good enough spot to take this picture because of how deep the snow is. Oh and I did remove that glass salad bowl and we did make snow ice cream. YUM!


I had to get this picture in because the trash didn't have any snow on it last night. Trash pickup was yesterday, and Phil got the tractor out with the snow blower and cleared the drive way up to the fence. Matter of fact he made himself this little trench like path from the workshop to the drive way. Well that trench/path GONE! Totally under snow, almost flat across.
Can you tell the Hawaiian part of me is just fascinated by this weather phenomenon. Now my friends in Canada, Illinois, Missouri, and places like that are going "Oh that's nothing you should see what it's like here". Still for me this is AMAZING! Hope everyone has a great Christmas day. Stay in stay warm. Unlike us who have kids that want to go out to Bartz Field and sled!!!

BLIZZARD WARNING!

Forget the warning it's a BLIZZARD! I guess we got a real "White Christmas" this year. I'm glad we took the boys to the skating rink last night. Again Bryce says "This is the best Christmas EVER!" I just hope he keeps on saying that. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Is Christmas Over Yet???

I know I haven't even found the perfect gift for Francis yet, but I just finished 49 Christmas cards after losing the mailing list to vista. I did find my back up at the end but even then a good part of the addresses weren't even correct. Tomorrow those things get put in the mail box, and that nightmare is over! Hey! Don't laugh I actually did it before Christmas. I'm getting better. Now I just have to find a gift for Francis. Wish me luck!

I finally finished The Testament by John Grisham

The Testament by John Grisham

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finally finished this after starting it 2 years ago when I moved to Idaho. First I had to find me another copy of the book. I really didn't expect to like this book and yet I just had to finish it! The ending could have been better, but it was good.


View all my reviews.

How do you like my picture?

Well I thought I would post some pictures of one of my elves that took those pictures.

Isn't he just cute? Now what would life be like with out that character?

COOKIES

The boys and I made some cookies for a cookie exchange so you might want to check out the Christmas recipes on my cooking blog.

From a Max Lucado Tweet

Joseph and Mary's crisis, a surprise pregnancy, resulted in the coming of Christ. Hmmm. Christ comes through crisis. Timely reminder.

How to Help the Camps

This last few weeks I've been getting to know quite a few new people on twitter. One of them being tadahmom. I made a discovery after a few days of chatting and laughing with her, that she is Terri Camp! The Terri Camp that wrote If It Weren't for Eve I'd be a Perfect Wife, and I'm going to be the Best Mom Ever. Well I'm not totally clear on what's what, but she is now selling houses in the Dallas Fort Worth area. That being said we all know what happened a few months ago right??? Like houses stopped selling! This has left her in dire straits. With 7 kids to raise and school. If anyone can please check out her blog, and if your in her area and looking for a home please please please use her as your agent.

Nativity UP!

Francis was very pleased with his work. Took a picture with his cell phone when he was done and sent it to me.

I didn't redecorate I KNOW!

The blog any way. I confess I've been playing on twitter too much. I did get the house rearranged and the tree up. The kids decorated last night, and I'll get my nativity up tonight.

Just a Large Coffee and Mocha Today.

WOW!

Terri Camp had this posted on her blog so I snagged it to show you. It's unbelievable!

I'll redecorate for Christmas

I promise! First the house so we can get the tree up then the blog. REALLY!

Fan and Feather Blanket

I wrote this down from the DIY show "Knit One Purl Two". Since the show no longer is listed on their site I figure I better write the directions down somewhere where I won't lose it. I have this knack for losing the directions out of my knitting bag all the time.

Fan and Feather Blanket

Cast on 106 stitches

K2 mark, K17 stitches mark to the end

K across and P back 3 times

Slip first stitch, K1, *K2 together 3 times, YO K1 5x, YO K2 together, K2 together 2x*
*repeat to end of row, K2

Purl back

12 rows of 2 strands the same color, 4 rows of 1 strand each color for the color change. Repeat.

Emergency Sale!

If your into digi scrapping you might want to know about this. I never thought I would know someone that this is happening to. You've probably heard about the people that are being forced out of their homes because the landlord is having the house or apartment foreclosed on. Well this is happening to Royanna Fritschmann. So if you want to give her a helping hand she is having a fire sale to get the funds to move in 3 days.

"We found out that the house we rented was just foreclosed on, so we have to unexpectedly move to a new home within the next 3 DAYS! We weren't prepared....and with things so financially tight we REALLY weren't prepared for this! So my husband pleaded with me to run a "Buy MY ENTIRE STORE SALE" for $29!

The $29 will give you access to my entire personal boutique for STUDIO RA DESIGNS. You can grab personal or commercial products and includes licensing on commercial and professional use designated products. You will have a shopping code to purchase all the items and then 7 full days to download them! ALL for the small price of ONLY $29.00! Over 400+ Products valued at well over $2000!

We have 3 days to leave this rental home - which means we have to find a new home, figure out how to pay for it, pack it all up and then move in 3 days! So ALL proceeds from this sale are going to pay for all the moving expenses and the deposit on the new house! So we are asking for your help and prayers as we go through this turmoil! THANK YOU from the FRITSCHMANN FAMILY!"

Who will you vote for?

Candidate Match Game II - USATODAY.com Another one of those tests. In just a few hours the first voting polls will open. Make sure you vote. Just to be sure you really are voting for who will work for you best and not just listening to the latest media take the test. Who is your Presidential Match? Remember we make the decision not the press. It seems to me that the press is trying to influence the votes. Well don't just look at logic and not the press polls.

The next site hint from DigiScrapStation!

Before I go I'm posting what took me all day to do.

SORRY! No Halloween Pictures

Can you believe I took no pictures last night. I had a migraine come on so bad the kids were lucky I could answer the door and pass out candy without puking. First chance I got the light went off and I passed out after taking my medication. Today the medication seems to be doing it's job but just barely. I can feel that migraine just tingling in the background.

Boy Scout Coffee Anyone???

Yeah that's right Boy Scout Coffee. Francis came home with 36 bags of coffee at $10 a bag. There's Sumatra, Sumatra Decaf, Chocolate, Amaretto, Hawaiian Hazelnut, Irish Cream, and French Vanilla. Now for my dear friends and FAMILY email me if you want some. Yes that is a big hint Aunty Terry, Grandma Cherie.

Hi There!

Here I am again the worlds worst blogger. Why is it when I think I'll actually have a Saturday to get things done suddenly it's like filled to the max? So turns out Francis had his Scouting for Food Day today. That's where all the Boy Scouts collect food for the local food bank, which happens to have had some pretty barren shelves up until today, then they box it up for them too. Load it up into some big, huge army trucks and haul it down to the food bank. There I sat going I'll stay home with Bryce. NOT! I completely forgot about the Family Connection Day at church! So at noon we headed over and had some fun. I took some great pictures too. Which reminds me I need to get those burned onto a disk for Pastor Josh tonight. So now I have not 2 boys in the house but 4! Yep they have two friends spending the night. Then tomorrow they will go to church with us. Yeah, that was supposed to be my quiet Saturday. LOL!

Costco is HERE!

Finally at long last today was the grand opening of the Costco here in town. The kids and I spent the afternoon checking it out, and tasting all the food samples. There were so many samples the bottomless pit actually got full! I know I wasn't going to buy anything but I caved when I saw bathroom globe light bulbs for $3.49. It was a special deal with the power company that gave you an instant $7.00 off at the register. Then there was real, I mean REAL Parmesan cheese! Also there's the price of gas at the Costco pump! So I dished out the $50.00 for the renewal fee. Now I have to go back, and get socks for Francis. So that when he goes snow camping with scouts he has the right socks. I also have to take one of my empty containers of flax sprout powder, and ask them to get. That way my mom doesn't have to ship it to me from Hawaii all the time. Yippeee! Costco is Here!!!

Vegan Lasagna

I know I may have used regular cheese, but it was good. To tell you the truth I think I would have done better to just leave the cheese out. Only I just have to have cheese! Check out the blog The Thrifty Soaper and her thrifty ideas.

PMS, PMS, and PMS

Did the title tell it all? I have been in so much pain today. I just hope I get Bryce's reading lesson done. It's days like this that I feel like I'm lacking as a homeschool mom. I think I'm going to have them watch the history series that I have been recording by David Barton. If you ever get a chance you need to watch this series on TBN, on Wednesdays. Yes TBN actually has something other than preachers preaching. They even have some really good movies that I've watched on there. So don't let your pre-conceived ideas get in the way. Ugh! Yep American Heritage it is.

Were'd Fall Go???

I tell you we had one week that really seemed like fall and now the weather man says SNOW!!! Geez, guess I better go pick the rest of those green tomatoes and get them pickled. Phil and I don't care for fried green tomatoes so that's out. But pickled they are to die for! Those and maybe I'll make a relish out of those zucchini I found as big as my thigh. UGH! Tonight I'm making a vegan or vegetarian at least lasagna. I just haven't found a decent cheese replacement in this town so I will stick to just regular cheese for that part. Though I did make the tofu recotta myself.
Any ways I'm going to leave the acorn squash and the butternut squash just a little longer on the vine. So long as it doesn't snow till Saturday afternoon they should be fine. Then I'll have to bring them inside to finish ripening on the counter. Next year we are going to have a waaaay bigger garden though. So much for summer and fall, I guess winter is here!

It's a Giveaway!

The Values Driven Family Site it doing a giveaway. They are getting their home ready for sale and are de-cluttering. So they have some great homeschool, and values driven items that their giving away if you comment on their blog today or Friday! If your a homeschooler visiting then head on over and check it out.

Is it Just ME?!

Or is the world full of flakes? This is the second time I have put this stupid Omnichord up for auction and then in big letters I say "I SHIP ONLY TO THE U.S., MILITARY, AND TERRITORIES!" I don't know what the deal is maybe some people can't read well enough to have an ebay account. They bid and win the stupid thing and they're in Australia!!! I emailed them told them ok if you want it it's going to cost like a total of $60.00USD to ship it too you. That's like $250.00 AUS. So do you really want it? Do they respond? Can they have the decency to say oops sorry my mistake. NO! They just don't answer, don't respond. Just pretend you never got those emails and the seller will go away. Give me a break!!! Just tell me so I can give the next person who bid a second chance offer, before they buy a different one. NOOO, the just let it sit for a week till I fill a non paying bidder claim, then I'm stuck waiting another week before I can relist. Way too late for a second chance offer. Man this guy better not flake. I will scream!!!

Rice Milk Test 2

Ok, I admit I was too tired to comeback and tell you how my little test turned out. I got this great idea that converted rice tends to be harder and less starchy soooo... I got the idea that maybe that would make a better rice milk. Well this time the Soy Quick didn't boil over right away, but it still ended up boiling over. The end result was still the same goopy gloppy mess. I know it says in the book to use the multi grain button, but I'm thinking it is taking a lot more time heating the slurry than it does soy. Maybe next time I will use the soy button. It just seems like the rice milk is being over heated and cooked too long. I'll report after that test.

Shoe String Budget

With the ever increasing prices in addition to the fact I have less and less money to buy groceries with this economy is going to kill me. Remember I said that so that my family can sue Wall Street for being the cause of my death OK.
Any way I managed to get almost everything I need for meals this week on just over $13.00. Yep you heard me right. With Phil now driving all the way up to Idaho Falls it is costing more than we have. Actually the real killer was the first month that was costing a fortune that put us in a pretty deep hole. Now he's part of a different carpool and it's costing us considerably less so we're now clawing our way out of that hole. If we can just pull off another 2 to 4 weeks we should be out of it. Just pray, pray real hard that nothing goes haywire. In the mean time I plan on digging up a lot of dollar friendly meals to serve up. Hey, I may not be Ree the Pioneer Woman, but I'll at least post the recipes on the cooking blog. Then those who need that type of recipes can find them, and hopefully give their budget the much needed boost.

A Day in the 'Tater Patch

Yep, you read that right. Today was Potato Gleaning Day! At least for this bunch of homeschoolers. This time we got to see the machinery that turns the rows up pretty close. Then I got some pictures of the harvester dumping the 'tater's into the truck.

Sorry for the fuzzy picture but it was through the dust windshield of my friends van.

I'll post them in a few here. I just hope the aren't blurry. I couldn't stop sneezing. Any whoo, we got us 3 big burlap sacks of potatoes and another half that will go to another family in the church. They both lost their jobs and are out of work so it will help out some. This year we found some HUGE ones too.

One of Those Days

I guess it was bound to happen sometime soon. I think I just have to let Bryce take a little break. I've been pushing him and pushing him now that he's been doing so good on his reading. Today we've just been butting heads over his lesson. I think it's been working up to this for the last week the way he's been goofing off more, and more while we do his lessons. Today was just in the works I guess. So now I have him laying down for a nap and maybe tomorrow we will do better. Well that's been my day so far how has yours been?

Latte Yum!

So this morning I used my new Soy Quick soymilk maker to make some lattes for us. Can I say YUMMM! Just a few coffee beans and 2 measures of soybeans. 15 minutes later we just added a little simple syrup to sweeten it up a little. My new favorite drink. Matter of fact I need to soak waaay more soybeans since I think I'll be making this tomorrow morning too. Did I mention I'm really loving this new soymilk maker? Because I am.

New Soy Milk Maker!

Today I got my new soy milk maker. I waited all day and it would figure that I was the last delivery today for the UPS driver. Isn't that always the case! I know, I know I'm really poor right now, but it was a gift.

First I tried making some rice milk, and the texture was much better than the SDZ5 which is my old one. I'm still not big on the end product, but it does make me wonder what the big manufactures do to make is seem less glutinous. Kinda of suspicious isn't it? Now that I know what the real deal is like compared to the secret processed milk.
So next I jumped into making a batch of soy milk. Just so happens I like to keep a supply of soaked re-hydrated beans in the fridge ready for the next batch of milk. All you need to do is give them a good rinse, and toss them into the pitcher with the water. Put the top on and push the button for soy milk. 15 minutes later I had soy milk. I just poured the milk through a hand strainer (which comes with the maker) and the milk was done. First thing I noticed is the color and texture of the soy milk was really milky. I love the milk that my SDZ5 made, but WOW! Silk Soy eat your heart out. Add some chopped dates and even more WOW! Well I'm going to be making soy milk more often. Like almost every night now compared to 2 or 3 times a week. I really want to try the Soy Latte. Just add some coffee beans to the mix it says. Well I'm all for trying that. Think I'll do that tomorrow morning for my coffee. Oh and also on my list of too try is making some milk from oats.
Oh, did I mention that this machine is filterless. Really nice, makes for a faster easier clean up. The top starts out looking the same but it has a blender guard that has big holes in it and no bottom. The guard just slips right off everything scrubs up really easy and fast. It was all cleaned up in a matter of minutes. No filter to scrub and make sure it was cleaned good. Just run the milk through the hand strainer that's provided with the machine. You don't even have to worry about another pitcher or container to strain the milk into. It comes with that too! I thought my SDZ5 was the greatest, it figures the only thing that could do better is also made by Soy Quick. I highly recommend you give the NEW 2009 Soymilk Maker 930P by SoyQuick a try you'll be hooked for sure.

The News Coverage

Channel 6 news


Channel 8 news

Ice Comes to Chubbuck!

More to come after the press conference.
Well I guess football is more important than our kids. I mean pigskin football not soccer. (for my foreign friends) Any way channel 8 and 6 did come down and shoot some footage. We had the Mayor there and Senator's Diane Bilyue, and James Ruchetti.(sorry James I really bad at spelling your last name) They got to ride the Zamboni's around a bit too.
Come this winter we will have an outdoor ice rink! Hopefully this will bring in more attention and some major donations. The Zamboni's were purchased with funding from the Charlotte Mason Foundation, and hopefully other foundations out there will feel encouraged to help fund an ice rink with a compressor, and boards next. The end goal is to one day have an enclosed ice rink where the kids can play ice hockey year round. Wouldn't that be awesome. So I guess we are taking a break from baseball for a bit. After all Phil is now on the Chubbuck Hockey Association Board, and he found the Zamboni's in Canada for the Association. I'll post some pictures later and the video of the news coverage.

Is Just Wishful Thinking? Or Have I Changed Some?

I've noticed so far this school year that Bryce, and I are interacting very differently. Is it just my imagination? I feel like I've been more patient with him and he seems to be more patient with me. I mean today was one of those not so good days, and yet??? I think I handled the problem a lot more different than I would have a year ago. Matter of fact different than I would have a few months ago. Could I have finally had that break through I keep praying for? Will I be laughing at the whole idea of having gained some patients by next month. I sure hope not!!! I've been kind of liking this so far. Now if I can just get control of the laundry and my desk I'll be just where I need to be.

Ever Have One of THOSE Days?

Not one of those bad days. I just know that's what you were thinking when you saw that header. I meant one of those days when you feel like you got nothing done. Bryce woke up sick, I woke up with a throat that was a little sore, and now it I just feel like I shouldn't have taken that Thera-flu. It knocks me out every time, and I mean every time! So here I sit going now what? It's too late to start some chicken soup, I have to take Francis to a Boy Scout function in about an hour. So what do I do now? I guess I'll sit down with some photos and get them edited so I can do a layout or two I guess.

Who Am I

Coolest video. A friend emailed this to me awhile back.

Casseroles

The request came up last night on Fluther so I thought I would post some recipes. Not the thing to do before laying down. Let me tell you! Now I'm starving!!! Thought I would give a heads up on new recipes posted before I went to bed though.

My Baby's In The Newspaper!

Go through the gallery at the Idaho State Journal and look for the Boy Scouts. My oldest is right smack dab in the middle! He's the one with the big smile and wearing the hat. It was so hot it's a good thing he remembered his hat too. OK, done with the brag fest.

Inquiring Minds Want To Know.

So I've started the cooking blog. Now I would love to hear from everyone what type of recipes would you like me to post. Go ahead and ask, I would bet I have a recipe for it. If not on my recipe program, then among my 4000+ recipe books that sit in boxes still. It will give me an excuse to go through them and thin them down to a reasonable 500 or so. Check out the site and tell me what you think.

Somen Salad

I have been carting this recipe around since High School. It was something I got from my Japanese class in oh 12th grade I believe. It is so simple and easy to make. Great for lunch on a summer afternoon.

Scout Mountain

Today my friend Kathy took us up to Scout Mountain to show us where it is, and find a cooler place to go with all the heat down it Pocatello today. It was just beautiful up there. With camping spots hidden all over the place. Now Bryce wants to go camping sometime soon. Haha! I took upteen million pictures. Well maybe not that much since my card only holds 317 raw photos. LOL!
Annnyhoo, Not only did I take a bunch of pictures of flower, but landscape pictures too. I kept trying to take a picture of one of the bees on a sunflower, but everytime I tried to they took off. I almost caught this one on film but he took off on me too!


Background paper is from the mini kit "Old Surf" by Christina Sturmaggio at Sophia Sarducci's. Frame on picture is from her kit "Ol' Frames", and the flourishes are from her kit "Felt Flourishes". Burnt paper that journaling is done on is from her kit "Journaling Bits"Black Rub-On Alpha is by Christy Sturm at Butternug Squash Designs. Arrow doodle is a Freebie from Weeds and WildFlowers. Font is Pea Happy Girl.

Broccoli Salad

New recipe posted on the cooking page check it out!

Don't mind me just trying to kill myself AGAIN!

I know my mug not what you want to see. I just had to show the rash left all over my face from my allergic reaction to the Neutrogena (I know I spelled it wrong) sun screen. You would think by now I would have learned that I break out with this stuff everytime! This time my face swelled and my throat swelled up too! Yeah, call me totally dense. What do I do? I still walk up to the shelf and start to reach for you guessed it Neutrogena. I guess that tells you that their packaging is working just not the product it's self. This is the third time I've reacted to their product and this time almost had me break out the epi pen. Next time someone slap me. QUICK!!!

Hello Again

Well I'm sure everyone now knows that "Hello" will be gone come June 11th. If you haven't heard about it there is a new program in the works called Hello Again that is now taking sign ups for the beta version to come out hopefully in the next week, just in time too. So if your wondering what now? What next? Got to the Hello Again sign up page and sign up!

Poor Bear

I couldn't resist. I think poor guy every time I see this.

New Computer

Well I guess we reached the point that we had to shell out the $$ for a new one. Phil's work finally got around to downloading one last delayed bonus to his AMX. Just enough for us to get a new computer. I mean I was on the verge of tossing my old one across the room or out a window. Now if only we could get the tax stimulus check. But that's another story. I'll do that one up and post it later.
Anyway I have layouts to do. Then to top it off my MIL sent me a huge box of slides that I have to run through the slide and negative scanner. It took like 20 minutes to run the scanner and like 4 hours just to do a few minor adjustments per slide! So like 2 slides and 2 days into the project I canned it till we got a new computer. Then I go to work on some pictures to scrap and I'm up to like 3am! I haven't even got a chance to scrap them yet! So when Phil got the download it was off to get the computer. Happy Mother's Day he says. I'm happy with that Mother's day gift. LOL!
Now I'm doing a file transfer from the old computer to the new one. I started last night around 11pm, and it's still going! Well wait I did have to update my Bit Defender first since that wasn't compatible with Vista. I just hope I don't have too many Vista problems. Wish me luck!

Another Day Another Computer Problem

Good grief I have spent the last 30 hours trying to get my desktop working again. Phil said it wouldn't take long for him to install a new hard drive and get it going as my new main drive. HAH! Fat chance we are talking about my computer so of course anything that can go wrong has gone wrong.
First I was up till 4am trying to get my sound card driver. What a pain that was. Then I got up this morning and proceeded to waste pretty much my whole day trying to get my wireless to work. No it still isn't working I just found my extra, extra, extra long ethernet cord and am working on a direct connection. Wait I'm posting this from my laptop since I'm still trying to get my Photoshop and ACDSee to work on the desktop. Come tomorrow I better have that Stimulus check! Because Phil said no matter what Sunday I can get a new Computer. I know then I have to start all over. Don't laugh!!!
So far I do have a new Video card out of all this. Phil said it might get the desktop moving faster, and when I get the new computer I'll use it in that too. I sure hope it works since tomorrow morning I have 2 co-op classes to teach.

Recipe Page

I finally got to making my recipe page. Now Melly I need advice on how to customize this recipe site. Blogger doesn't seem to like anything I do to it and just wants me to use the templates. So if you can help? Please?
Check out the site and let me know if your looking for anything in particular. I have not only a large computer data base of recipes, but cookbooks up the gazoo. Some where in the count of 4 or 5 thousand books. Of course I'll have to unpack them one day and get some book shelfs up but I'm working on it.

Road Trip!

Hey! I almost forgot to fill you in. So anyway we took a trip up to IF to see where Phil's work work was moving to. Then we cruised around trying to find a Subway for lunch. Turns out the Subway was in the parking for the Batteries Plus, another place we were wanting to stop in and check out. Phil's van was giving us problems so he didn't want to turn it off while we ran into the Batteries Plus to check it out. Great call! While we were in there one of the water hoses decided to burst! Imagine if we had been on the freeway. What a mess that would have been. So the owners dad who was up visiting and helping her start her business took Phil to the Auto Zone for some parts, and helped us get the hose fixed. I am so thankful that he was there to help us. So if you in the Idaho Falls area and need a battery and no one seems to have what you need go by the Batteries Plus the owner is a really nice, and give 110%. So anywho the drive to Idaho Falls isn't so bad but I don't think his van will be making the trip. So now we'll be looking for a really gas efficient car for his commute.

Qwest Closes Pocatello Call Center | KIDK CBS 3 - News, Weather and Sports - Idaho Falls - Pocatello - Blackfoot, ID - Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Blackfo

Qwest Closes Pocatello Call Center
I don't know if this is me whining or just plain old upset. Last month they had a meeting and told the employees that the call center was staying and that they were hiring more people. Now this! I had to hear it on the afternoon news too! They didn't even give the employees notice first. We moved across 2 states for Phil to keep this job and now he's going to have to drive all the way to Idaho Falls now! I need some time to go cry and be upset.

Thief deposits loot with victim | Oddly Enough | Reuters

Thief deposits loot with victim | Oddly Enough | Reuters
What a hoot. I wish something like this had happened when we were robbed in California. I would have loved the thief coming in and trying to return some of the electronics to my work.

EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed

EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed
I won't deny it. I won't hide it. I believe that God created the heavens, and the earth, man, woman, all the creatures that inhabit this world of ours. The government, and our schools though are on a mission to ban this belief, and any scientific proof of it. Telling our children in the public schools that WE their parents are wrong and ignorant for believing this. I don't consider myself ignorant do you? Do you believe that you're ignorant? I don't think you are (unless your a spammer). Expelled is a movie showing how the government has created their own inquisition of the modern age, and expelled one "theory" or "opinion" out of the schools in favor of only one. This is so contradictory to what America is about. We are a country that allows free thinking, right? Free speech, right? Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm going to go burn some bucks to go see this movie.

Well I've been SPAMMED!

Sorry but I guess I need to put on the verification, and confirmation so I don't get spammed any more. What's so bad is that they can't even pull it off in decent English. "This post is likeable." What The _ _ _ _ is that? Much less the Congratulations bit. Good Grief not to mention why? would I? want wireless from Brazil? Go figure! Anyway seems to me like they should at least make the comments match the post. OKAY! Rant over going to bed now.

SNOW?!?!?!

Where in the world did all this snow come from? I thought the weather man said this stuff was going south of us! It's still snowing too! I guess after yesterday I can believe it. Man was yesterday one loooongg day of not so good things. The co op classes did go very well though.

Well I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I guess it's bad in the sense I have been sick. Correction I went down hill fast on Saturday afternoon. Hit the bottom that night. Spent the day on Sunday in bed, and Monday for that matter. I did try to drag myself out of bed and do some school then gave up and went back to bed when the kids were correcting me! Tuesday I went to the Doctors to make sure it wasn't Strep. Since Wednesday Francis had the first of 3 ITBS tests to do, and it couldn't be missed. Not strep thank the Lord! So OK I was sick 3 days and spent the rest of the week with a frog in my throat and a cough. The good part is that it was only a WEEK! this time of year it always seems to be a 2 month long thing. You know like all Spring! So I knew I had to be feeling better when I felt the need to scrap something. So This is what I made.

Christy has a new mini kit out called The Art of A Child, and it was just so perfect for doing this card that Chris, Terry, and Phil made for their mom when they were kids. It's going to go in the Memorial book for Chris. I just couldn't find the right papers for the job and Voila! Christy does it again with the perfect kit. If you like it as much as I do you can pick it up at Butternug Squash Designs, or NDISB

My baby is 8!

Yep yesterday was Bryces 8th birthday. We took the day off from homeschool, and Phil took the day off from work. We always do for Birthdays. First we took Bryce for Breakfast at IHOP. Then we took them sledding. I'm going to download the photos to post. (I also have to get a desktop made for Phil's mom.) Any way Phil won this Flip recorder from work and he and Francis had fun with it.
Now this is the good part! Courtesy of Francis my budding videographer, I received this lovely thank you. I hope the link works. YES, that is the birthday boy singing to himself. LOL! Yep "What a Ham!"

Take the Test!

Take the test and see who really has the same opinions as you! Don't listen to the press take the vote and see where the candidates really stand on your personal issues. I know you can stop laughing at me now. I really did take the test and surprise, surprise! You want to know who was highest score? Ron Paul!!! and second was Fred Thompson!!! I would never have dreamed that those two would really think like me. So before you make a mistake see where they stand on the issues. Don't peek while taking the test just wait till the end and see what happens. I was really surprised that Huckabee wasn't as high as I thought he would be. (no pun intended) Though Mitt Romney was as low as I thought. Actually I was surprised that somewhere on some issue he had one thing that matched. Yep Mitt Romney is not a good choice. So go ahead take the test and don't forget to let me know how you did. I told you how mine turned out.

One Day Down Four to Go!

Well it's been one whole day since Francis got on the plane to visit his friend in Vancouver. I miss my baby SOOOOO MUCH! I was worried that he was having so much fun he would forget to call and say goodnight. He didn't though. When did he grow up? Did 11 years go by that fast? Another 7 and he'll be an adult! I just can't seem to wrap my mind around that right now. I have a feeling that the next 4 days are going to be looooonnnnngggg ones too. I miss you Francis.