Christmas!

HERE is a great segment from Issues, Etc. this week. Dr. Norman Nagel is the guest and he speaks on Christ birth. I hope everyone has had a great Christmas so far.

A New Year's Resolution

I really need to learn how to set this thing to post automatically. I've read on others' blogs how they know they'll be out of town or busy so they type up posts, save them, and then they post on certain days. I've known about Baba's arrival for months now. I knew that we'd be busy with Christmas and various projects that need doing while he's here. I spent a full week off the computer. It was actually kind of nice, that last part, but it also meant my blog was collecting dust. Can anyone tell me how to do that stuff?

Anyway the holiday has been wonderful so far. We had a nice Christmas, the kids have loved having Baba home, Baba has enjoyed playing with the horses, and I've enjoyed cooking for him. Today I surprised him with potato kibbe, one of his favorites. Aunt used to make it for us frequently.

I also have a pot of milk cooling on the stove, waiting for the right temperature for me to add the yogurt starter. I still have a while yet. We've taken the old cushions off the living room furniture to make room for the cushions that have arrived from q8. I'm going to use some of them to make beds for the puppies. I need to take up the Boss's taekwondo pants. I can finally get to my sewing machine now that the Christmas presents are no longer stored in tubs around the thing. Got to get sewing.

So, in other words, this blog is going to get a bit dusty again. Sorry about that. However, I did listen to a wonderful Issues, Etc. episode the other day that I'll have to share with you. I hope you enjoy it.

Happy New Year!

Sugarland - Oh Come Emmanuel - CMA Country Christmas

Sugarland - Oh Come Emmanuel - CMA Country Christmas

What if...?

"Birth control itself, often denounced as a violation of natural law, is nothing more or less than the facilitation of the process of weeding out the unfit, of preventing the birth of defectives or of those who will become defectives."
-Margaret Sanger (Founder of Planned Parenthood)

This is so neat! Enjoy!

Happy St. Andrew's Day!

St. Andrew was the brother of St. Peter and the first disciple called by Christ. He was the first home missionary as well as the first foreign missionary. His day determines the beginning of the Western Church Year, since the First Sunday of Advent is always the Sunday nearest his day. From the writing of Valerius Herberger:

Reverent hearts, we hold the feast of the apostle Andrew in Christendom as the first in the [Church] Year not only because it falls near the season of Advent but also because Andrew was called first, before the other apostles, by the Lord Jesus. Even Durandus, the bishop of Mende, says, "The saints are to be honored by imitation, not adored, as if to honor them as gods. They are to be honored with love, not adored with servitude."
Now history tells us how St. Andrew together with his fellows conducted their new office. Right away they left their nets and followed the Lord Jesus. And again, right away they left the ship and their father and followed Him. To them, Jesus is now the most precious one on earth-according to His mind they learn, according to His words they teach, according to His will they live, according to His decree they suffer and die. When St. Andrew was threatened with the cross, he said joyfully, "If I feared the punishment of the cross, I would never have preached the mystery of the cross." Then when he saw the cross, he spoke, "Hail, precious cross, you who were dedicated by the body of Christ; may He receive me through you, who redeemed me through you." And when he was living after three days on the cross, his hearers wanted to take him down by force, but he said, "Ah, let God take care of it! Do not make the peace of the Gospel suspect by your unnecessary revolt against the government." That was apostolic constancy and long suffering! This is what it means to "leave everything and follow Christ," all the way to the last catch of fish!

Today's quote is from The Treasury of Daily Prayer, available HERE.

Check this out!

THIS is a wonderful manifesto on parenting. When I have more time I'll print it up but for now it's waiting in my documents.

Today is a busy one. The junior high youth from church are coming out for a bit this afternoon to give the horses some much needed attention. They'll be spoiled rotten and they deserve it. Trip to the library also on the agenda and hopefully some time to relax with the kids and work on knitting. I'm making myself a pair of socks (free pattern at Michael's) and it's a pretty easy pattern. The first sock took forever so hopefully they're much faster as a rule. I'd like to make some as Christmas presents this year. Also began a really good book that I want to make time for today.

Thanksgiving will be out this year. I had invited people here but I'm happy to go out instead. Baba took the fabric off the living room furniture this summer so our friend in q8 could make the covers for it. So while I have sheets on the bare foam, it still doesn't look so good. When he's home for the holidays we'll have *new* furniture to enjoy. So just food and fun and no work for the upcoming holiday.

We've been enjoying our wood stove this week. I've let the coals just die down for the next few days since the days are so mild. It's too warm to keep coals going so we're just using the furnace at night. But this next week I'll be firing it up again! It is so easy to maintain. I just build it up before bed, close it almost tight, and then I just have to open the vents and damper in the morning and throw on a couple of logs. Before long I have another fire blazing and I can adjust the damper and vents where I want them to keep it going. It's in the family room, in the center of the house, and that's where we spend most of our time. So the short sleeves won't be packed away for the winter. The farther ends of the house are much cooler but still comfortable. I love heating with wood.

Soaking has been going well. I love the recipe for soaked bread machine bread. I love waking up in the morning to the smell of fresh baked bread. Ready to slice and make sandwiches for lunch too if there are no leftovers from the night before. I'm hoping to expand my repertoire over the next few weeks. Depends up on how many of us catch the next bug to go around.

Well, I'm off to finish getting ready for the kids. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Baking Bug Bit Me on the...

Backside. {Now what did you think I was going to say? LOL}

Several years ago, Grandma gave me her recipes for some favorites. She had them memorized anyway and she was legally blind due to macular degeneration. She had developed a system for keeping track of items she'd used (using light surfaces for dark items, dark surfaces for light items) after finding the lid to the vanilla bottle in a bite of meringue. She was just glad she was the one who found it and not company. Anyway I had a hankering for the last week or so for some of her cinnamon rolls. They turned out wonderful! Although I could have taken them out a bit sooner, they were just fine after all. Unfortunately I don't have any powdered sugar in the house so I couldn't make a glaze for them, but the Little Prince put peanut butter and jelly on his this morning. I guess it tasted OK...he didn't go around asking if anyone else wanted them.

I've been reading up lately on traditional cooking. I don't know if I'm quite ready to jump on the band wagon yet. With the emphasis on grass-fed/free-range, raw milk, etc. it's a very expensive endeavor. I just can't justify $6 a gallon for milk, no matter how much better it is. Same for the outrageous prices for the meats and eggs. So for now I'm sticking to supermarket products, but being picky about which eggs I buy, etc. Perhaps not as good as going whole hog, pardon the pun, but still better than how we were eating before.

So, we're using real butter, I'm saving my bacon grease (would be filling up faster if the Peanuts hadn't spent so much time in a pork-free country that they haven't developed a taste for bacon), and use coconut oil. Already have olive oil on hand so that one was easy. Actually the butter was easy since butter was easier to find and I was unsure of margarine overseas that had no list of fats telling me if there were trans fats involved.

Last night I made my first loaf of soaked bread. I found Katie's recipe for this bread for the bread machine and set it up before heading to bed last night. The house smelled wonderful this morning and turned out great. At least it looks great. It's also higher than the regular loaf I made a few days ago. I haven't tasted it yet since we finished off the pan of cinnamon rolls (there are still 2 more in the freezer) for breakfast so I'm thinking sandwiches are in order for lunch.

She also has recipes and instructions for many of the things I want to try...including oatmeal, pancakes, etc. Plus a page on basic rules for soaking other recipes you may have. The only trouble is that I'm horrible at planning ahead. Oh, I can do the planning, but remembering to do something the night before for the next day isn't my strong suit. My follow-through also leaves a bit to be desired.

Well, off to see if the pumpkin I stuck in the frig last week is still good enough to make cookies with today. (See? Follow-through.)

Toby Keith - American Soldier

Mother's Milk

Students in an advanced Biology class were taking their mid-term exam.
The last question was, 'Name seven advantages of Mother's Milk,' worth 70 points or none at all.
One student, in particular, was hard put to think of seven advantages. He wrote:

1.) It is perfect formula for the child.
2.) It provides immunity against several diseases.
3.) It is always the right temperature.
4.) It is inexpensive.
5.) It bonds the child to mother, and vice versa.
6.) It is always available as needed.
And then, the student was stuck. Finally, in desperation, just before the bell indicating the end of the test rang, he wrote...

7.) It comes in 2 cute containers.

He got an A+

Bill Cosby, understanding Southern.

Opera Company of Philadelphia "Hallelujah!" Random Act of Culture

Sola Scriptura?

HERE is a wonderful blog post from Lutherans for Life. I've included an excerpt but I highly recommend following the link and reading the whole thing yourself.

Some Christians take the idea of "Scripture Alone" for granted. They assume that all people claiming to be Christians will want to put God's word above everything else. But this is not the case. Many professing Christians elevate self above God's Word. Some elevate personal experience above God's Word. Others elevate loved ones above God's Word.

Consider how people choose which church they will belong to. Do people choose a church based on how faithful it is to God's Word, or for some other reason? Perhaps it's close to where they live, has a preschool program or their family has always gone there.

Since Scripture alone is the only reliable way to find out what God says, your church ought to be the one that teaches what the Scripture plainly says.

OK, have to get this one in here

In honor of Martin Luther

It is not we who call ourselves Lutherans. Rather, our adversaries call us that. We allow this to the extent that this title is an indication of the consensus that our churches have with the orthodox and catholic doctrine that Luther set forth from Holy Writ. Therefore we allow ourselves to be named after Luther, not as the inventor of a new faith but as the asserter of the old faith and the cleanser of the church from the stains of Papist dogmas. Consequently, we also do not reject the names “Christian” and “catholic,” nor do we render ourselves unworthy of them by the approval of any heretical dogma, as did the Arians, Nestorians, Eutychians, etc. Rather, we are called “Christians” from Christ as the only Author and Teacher of our faith. We are called “catholics” from our consensus with the catholic faith. We are called “Lutherans” from Luther as the asserter and defender of that faith, but especially as the reformer whom God raised up.

—Johann Gerhard, On the Church (Theological Commonplace XXV), § 156.

Cyberbrethren

To trick or treat or not to trick or treat...that is the question...

...and he answers it.

Those of you who've read this blog for a while know I enjoy listening to the The God Whisperers. HERE'S a blog post by Pr. Cwirla on whether or not it is appropriate for Christians to observe the holiday.

Below is an excerpt. Only an excerpt. Please click on the link above and read the whole post.

The Middle of the Road

Jesus didn’t hang on a cross so that His Christians could go around with a dour look on their faces judging everyone around them. When Christians become overly critical of Halloween, they may create the false impression that Jesus does not reign now over all things, including the devil, that He has not conquered death by His dying and rising, or that the devil is to be feared more than God.

Sour pietism on the part of Christians confirms the world’s mistaken notion that Christianity is nothing more than a religion of rules ruled by moral nannies who want to suck the fun out of everything. Martin Luther reminded us that we need to spite the devil every chance we get. Luther sure did, often in rather colorful ways. Halloween certainly affords the opportunity to sass the “old, evil foe.”

Having defined the ditches, let’s get back to the question that started this whole discussion. Ought Christians participate in Halloween? It all depends. Of course, I don’t expect baptized believers in Jesus Christ to be dancing in the woods around bonfires while chanting pagan prayers to the mother goddess or sacrificing black cats, ecumenical liberalism notwithstanding. On the other hand, the devil’s chief work is to draw us away from Christ’s death and resurrection and have us focus on our works, prayers, and piety. He seems to be doing a pretty decent job of that in mega-Christianity. Generally speaking, the cultural silliness associated with Halloween has about as much to do with the devil as Christmas has to do with the incarnation of the Son of God.

The shock!

This week the kids and I started taekwondo. The Boss has done it since he was about 7. He had a 2 year gap the first 2 years overseas but has kept at it since then. The Peanuts would participate a bit in the class in Kuwait, more as mascots for the class, but they still learned a bit. They tried it in Lebanon but they just weren't ready for it. This year the 4 of us are participating. I'm amazed by what I still remember since I took it for a few months about 20 years ago. I gave it up due to a retail work schedule that made my attendance erratic and my progress...well, erratic too.

This week I started up again and the Peanuts LOVE having me in class with them. We even got to "spar" a bit together last night. Thursdays the Boss is in the same class with us since it's the mixed belt class.

After class was over we did about 5 minutes of crunches. Man, that was good! I hope we do them pretty frequently. Then it was time to put on our shoes and socks and coats and run to the nice, cold truck. The Little Prince and the Diva were running around in circles on the mat and had to be told a couple of times to come and put their shoes on. Well, make that the Little Prince had to be told a couple of times before he came to put on his shoes and socks. The Diva was still running around in circles. The instructor overheard her and and said, "{Diva}, I want you to come and give me 15 push ups. You're not listening to your mother and that's unacceptable."

You could have knocked down that little girl with a feather! At first she just stood there because she wasn't sure the instructor was serious. When the Diva realized that she was, the look on her face was PRICELESS! And she did the push ups.

Tonight the other instructor, last night's husband, will be teaching the classes. He's a very nice, quiet gentleman who happens to be very tall. I'm curious to see if the Diva will be a bit quicker to mind tonight.

Ahmadi Nejad Radical Dancing أحمدي نجاد و الرقص الراديكلي

Let's hope this works...

or I'm stuck washing dishes by hand a few more days. And forking over money for a new dishwasher. Not that I'd mind having a new one. Preferably one under 50 decibels. It's right next to the door leading to the family room where we watch TV and there's no way to close it off. However, with a wonderful thing known as closed captioning I can watch TV without having it turned so loud the kids are kept awake. So in a couple of hours the repair guy is supposed to be here to fix it...again. He fixed it back in June and according to the receipt it seems that it's the same problem.

Last night we finally got our storms. Of course it was in the middle of the night. The wind blew all day and on the way home from Bible study/grocery shopping I was shimmying along I-44. On the 10:00 news last night the meteorologist warned people to be careful if driving there since they could get blown into the other lanes. No kidding! I could only imagine how much worse it was by that time. A couple of hours after going to sleep I was awakened by the storm. I now have my grandfathers old radio alarm clock (works much better than the new one I bought a few weeks ago-go figure) so I turned it on for the report. Our storm warning was set to expire in 15 minutes and before that it quieted down. I also figured since Mom hadn't called (they have a weather radio) we were fine. I really do need to check into one of those since we're out of ear shot for sirens.

I've also found some recipes for muffins that look like great options for school lunches. One is for Corn Dog Muffins. I haven't tried them yet, so please don't get mad if they flop for you.

2 (8.5 oz.) packages cornbread mix
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
4 hot dogs, chopped into pieces

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease muffin tins.

Stir together the cornbread mix and the brown sugar in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs and milk in a small bowl until smooth. Fold the eggs and cheese into the dry mixture until moistened. Spoon the mixture into muffin tins until 2/3 full. Add 1 hot dog half to each muffin.

Bake in a preheated oven 14 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown.

I don't normally buy the mix so I don't have any. I'm going to try this by adding brown sugar to a regular corn bread recipe. I'm wondering, though, since it calls for two boxes of mix, if I should double my recipe?

The other recipe is for Mystery Chef Muffins. I have no idea where this recipe came from...it was entered into my recipe program before I noticed that I could include a source for it.

The basic recipe is this:

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. shortening
2/3 cups cold water

Mix together dry ingredients. Add in shortening with fingers until crumbly, add water - it will be wet and sticky. Drop by BIG spoonfuls into a muffin pan. Fill the sections about 3/4 full. Bake at 450 F for 15 minutes and golden brown on top. Top is crunchy.

Alternative 1:
Add 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, and 1 tsp. basil. Drop in mountains on cookie sheet.

Alternative 2:
Add 1 tsp. baking soda and replace water with milk. Pat out on floured surface and cut with water glass to make biscuits.

Alternative 3:
Add 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda, replace 1/3 cup of water with milk, and drop onto boiling chicken and veggies for dumplings.

Alternative 4: Add 1 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp. yeast dissolved in the 1/3 cup warm water, and add 1/2 cup flour. Roll out for pizza dough.

I like alternative 1 as an option for school. The the 3rd option looks good as well. For pizza dough and biscuits I have other recipes that I like better. But they look like good ideas to have on hand for school lunches.

Off to tidy up so the repair guy doesn't think my house always looks this way.

I already regret this...but it was worth it.

Baba has been helping me find things online to buy...such as new horses and fire wood. I have to say that I prefer buying horses. Bringing our new lady home last week only involved asking a neighbor's help and watching the battle of wills in getting her in the trailer. Bringing the fire wood home this week involved the kids and me loading and unloading it ourselves...all 5 truck loads. BTW, be sure to wear long sleeves when loading and unloading firewood. No matter if it is a nice warm day. You want long sleeves if you don't want little red welts all over the inside of your forearms mixed with cute little bruises. Does nothing to prevent the necessity of naproxen sodium, but you got to have something to show for your hard work, right?

One good thing to be said about today's forecast for severe storms with the possibility of tornadoes? Excellent reason to stay inside and relax in front of the DVD player. Or better yet...making sure the Boss does his confirmation homework. Yes, much better. No outside work for us today!

Is it over yet?

This morning on the news I heard wonderful news...only 12 more days until the election. Whoohoo! Only 12 more days until all these insipid commercials are over...for a while anyway.

I'm sure there are some good candidates out there somewhere. I'm sure there are even some I'd want to vote for. Unfortunately it's so hard to tell. Both sides complain about the mud-slinging and the name-calling...and then start right in with it themselves. They point out that their opponents aren't addressing the issues, but by the time they finish complaining...Oops! Times up. Got to tell you I approve a message I just gave MYSELF! See, I'm in Missouri and if the candidate doesn't tell me s/he approves the message, I might think that a PAC used some kind of giant, life-like puppet. I must be told that the person talking, the candidate, approves his/her own message. {sigh}

In other news, a journalist that I used to enjoy listening to on Fox (back when I was throwing away money on satellite TV) has been fired from his job at a government funded radio station. I enjoy listening to that station sometimes. It didn't really matter if I agreed with what he was saying or not. He was someone you didn't have to agree to appreciate his insight. You learned a lot from listening to him.

I have to say that I'm not uncomfortable on a plane with Muslim passengers. I've spent the last several years living in the Middle East. Most of the time, when I was flying somewhere, a large portion of the trip was with a plane full of Muslims and my family and I were more often than not, the only ones who weren't. However, we can not lose our common sense and forget that that the murderers of 9/11 were Muslim. Granted they were radical. They were not in step with what probably most Muslims (and certainly the more moderate ones) believe. However, they were still Muslims. The screwball pastor in Florida who wanted to burn a Quran on the anniversary of 9/11 is a hideous example of a Christian, but he's still a Christian.

Do we have reason to fear Muslims? Unfortunately, due to the acts of some, we do. It's a shame really. I made wonderful friends over the last few years who are Muslim. When I hear of someone feeling nervous when he sees people who are obviously Muslim on an airplane, I completely understand. He has every right to feel nervous. We all do. The terrorists on 9/11 weren't Moonies, people!

Compare it to a woman whose raped by a man of a different ethnicity. For years she feels fear when she encounters other men of his ethnicity. But whose at fault? The woman who had the audacity to be a rape victim? The man who had the audacity to behave like an animal? Unfortunately there are idiots out there who would point at her and shame her for feeling that way. How dare she be so prejudiced?! While she knows that there is nothing inherent in that man's ethnic group for her to fear all of them, thanks to that ONE man, she now has to deal with the fear plus the guilt for feeling that way. Thanks to him. We now have a reason to fear Muslims...thanks to the idiots of 9/11.

I have a dear friend who has recently moved to the west and she's stopped wearing hijab due to the reactions she gets with it on. It's unfair that what should be a great time for her is shadowed by the fear and suspicion of people who haven't even bothered to get to know her. She's a wonderful lady and an excellent teacher and anyone who can count her as a friend is lucky indeed. But people saw her in hijab and avoided her. Now they talk to her and sometimes misunderstand her name and they think she's a westerner herself...until they hear her Arabic last name. Then the wall comes down and she's avoided again.

Our president would have us think that Muslims are the most enlightened people in the world. That the rest of us pale in comparison to them. Others would have us think that Muslims are evil incarnate and we should never trust them and allowing them a room to pray while at work or at school is just the beginning of a slippery slope into you-know-where. Both are wrong. Muslims are people. They have families, jobs, tuition to pay, homes to pay for, cars to fill with gas, and legitimate reasons for being on a plane. Some dress, speak, and act just like any other westerner on the street. Others maintain their more traditional dress and have a more noticeable accent. Whose the terrorist? Whose the Christian?

Yes, whose the Christian? Did you know that there are MILLIONS of Arabic-speaking Christians in the world? Did you know that the majority of Muslims aren't even of Arabic origin and don't even speak Arabic? Did you know that Christian Kuwaitis (and others parts of the region) dress just like their Muslim counterparts? So how do you tell them apart?

You can't. You can't tell by looking. You tell by listening. By paying attention. You do THAT by talking to them and getting to know them. You don't do it by staring rudely and avoiding them. You welcome the newcomers to your neighborhood, regardless of where they're from, and get to know them. In other words, treat them the way you'd want to be treated if you packed up and moved to their country...which I've done before.

I've sat on the floor of my Bedouin neighbor's apartment, drinking tea, and watching my little ones run around and my little girl having make-up applied by some young ladies who treated her like a giant walking, talking doll. I've gone to parties, women-only, where I've partied harder than I've ever partied here and there was NO alcohol in sight. I've been to a farm where we cooked out, sat in a tent in the back yard (complete with big screen and other amenities-though not used that night), and laughed and talked for hours. How did that happen? They invited me. They didn't avoid me because I was different. It was because I was different that I was invited and welcomed and they wanted to show me hospitality. They always asked me, over and over, how did I like their country? They wanted me to like it. They wanted me to be happy there.

OK, somehow I started a post about stupid campaign commercials and ended up ranting and raving about...something different. It's just been one of those days, I guess. Actually what I've posted about has been churning around in my head for a while now. Just kind of let it all hang out today. For anyone who can't decide if I'm conservative or liberal, I'm definitely conservative. However, let no one think that means there's never a place for political correctness. Lack of political correctness, by today's standard, lost an excellent journalist his job. However while what he said wasn't politically correct, it was correct. Avoiding a young woman, new to your country, because she's wearing hijab or has an Arabic name, isn't only politically incorrect...it's just plain wrong. There's a huge difference.

I've been bit!

The other day Baba forwarded an e-mail to me for a The Grocery Game. I checked it out and thought it looked neat and saved it. I'm a big believer in buying store brands and in the past have found them to be a better deal than coupons so I've rarely used them. Yesterday I was watching a show where a woman was talking about how to cut your grocery spending. She mentioned two websites, the one I mentioned above and A Full Cup. I checked them both out. The first one has 4 weeks free but after that you have to pay. The second one was free so I joined immediately. It has tons of valuable information and a forum where you can ask questions and get tips. You can trade coupons as well.

One thing I like is the shopping lists available for various stores. They have a list of all sale items and the products they list all, if any, coupons that apply. Many are from snail mail or newspaper inserts, but quite a few are printable. (Good motivation for getting new ink for my printer.) In the forum there are "rooms" for stores where people post about the stores, deals they've found there, tips for getting deals, etc.

Bad news is that I found this the day after my big shopping for the week. The good news is that I have a week to get an ink cartridge and grab a Wednesday paper (usually a good source for coupons besides the Sunday paper) and start looking for bargains.

I will still prefer store brands, but at least I'll have other options. If the coupon has to stand alone and won't save me as much money as the store brand, I can just share it with someone else. But, if I find a good sale with coupons (preferably more than one) where I can save money and/or stock up for later use, I've got that option. It'll take a bit more work from me, but a penny saved is a penny earned. And if you're not working, you're not earning.

Wish me luck!

Lebanese are Lebanese

Got this e-mail this week. I think I've posted it before but it's worth repeating... (Makes me miss the place.)

The angel Gabriel came to the Lord and said "I have to talk to you.
We have some Lebanese up here in heaven that are causing problems.

They're swinging on the pearly gates, my horn is missing, they are wearing Dolce and Gabbana instead of their white robes, they’re riding BMWs instead of the chariots, and they're selling their halos to people for discount prices.

They refuse to keep the stairway to Heaven clear, since they keep crouching down midway eating sunflower and watermelon seeds and smoking arghili.

Some of them are walking around with just one wing!"

The Lord said, "Lebanese are Lebanese. Heaven is home to all my children.
If you want to know about real problems, call the devil."

The Devil answered the phone, "Hello? Damn, hold on a minute." The Devil returned to the phone, "OK I'm back. What can I do for you?"

Gabriel replied, "I just wanted to know what kind of problems you're having down there."

The Devil said, "Hold on again. I need to check on something." After about 5 minutes the Devil returned to the phone and said, "I'm back. Now what was the question?" Gabriel said, "What kind of problems are you having down there?" The Devil said, "Man I don't believe
this.......Hold on."

This time the Devil was gone 15 minutes. The Devil returned and said, "I'm sorry Gabriel, I can't talk right now. Those damn Lebanese have put out the fire and are trying to install air conditioning!!!

Lebanese by Nature, Proud by Choice

Nice little break

This week I haven't been on the computer much. In fact, until last night, I wasn't on at all for two days. Last night I was online because the Boss needed some help with a project but otherwise I've been computer-free since Tuesday. I was online however. My iPod has WiFi and so I was able to check mail and listen to Issues, Etc. while working around the house. I managed to finish up the Peanuts' room. I've been itching to put it to rights since the cousins were here. But I couldn't really do that until they went home. They needed drawer space and M needed a place to hang a couple of things. The first week I was back I was sick, then the kids took their turns, and it's been crazy around here trying to figure out what my routine will be and getting my substitute teaching certificate done. But this week things started to click. The twins' room looks good, the Boss's room is getting there, and I got to have lunch with a friend yesterday before she stuck me with my flu shot. The Peanuts are happy to know that they can get the FluMist at school though with the Boss's asthma he's stuck with the shot. The school is giving them for free this month. Yeah!

This week at our Bible study I was given a rather thick, compared to last week's, homework assignment. Have I started it yet? Nope. That means I'm trying to work on it this weekend with kids around. That should work well. Last Sunday it did but it was just the Peanuts playing without the Boss around to yell at them. This weekend the weather should be lovely so maybe I can kick them out of the house, I mean, send them out to play.

I also want to pick up some cheese pumpkins this year. I love homemade pumpkin pie and who can beat pumpkin puree from your own freezer? Yum!

Last weekend the Boss was helping with a sister congregation's Hispanic Heritage Festival. He worked hard and the pastor brought him up front to tell everyone how much his help was appreciated. The couple he was with told me to ask if he remembered what the sermon was about. He said, "No." Of course, it was in Spanish. He has trouble following sermons in Arabic. He barely pays attention when they're in English, come to think of it. LOL

Well, I'm off to make pizza for the kids (we're heading out to look at a pretty little Arabian mare) and I think I'll get to work on my homework assignment. Isn't it nice that my *holiness* isn't bound up in whether or not I spend the right amount of time in the Bible? Granted, the more time the better. But isn't it nice that no one's up there keeping score?

Is he serious? Unfortunately, he is.

Egyptian Cleric Sa'd Arafat: Islam Permits Wife Beating Only When She Refuses to Have Sex with Her Husband

Interviewer: "Would you believe that the European women in our times yearns for a husband who would be like a guardian to her. I would like to provide the viewers with some statistics. 90% of British women do not want to marry a weak man, who sits down and cries the moment there is a problem. They say: No, such a man looks more like a woman. We want a manly man. [...]

"Wife beating is a serious accusation [leveled against Islam]. Let us examine this matter bit by bit."

Sa'd Arafat: "Allah honored wives by instating the punishment of beatings."

Interviewer: "Honored them with beatings? How is this possible?!"

Sa'd Arafat: "The prophet Muhammad said: 'Don't beat her in the face, and do not make her ugly.' See how she is honored. If the husband beats his wife, he must not beat her in the face. Even when he beats her, he must not curse her. This is incredible! He beats her in order to discipline her.

"In addition, there must not be more than ten beatings, and he must not break her bones, injure her, break her teeth, or poke her in the eye. There is a beating etiquette. If he beats to discipline her, he must not raise his hand high. He must beat her from chest level. All these things honor the woman.

"She is in need of discipline. How should the husband discipline her? Through admonishment. If she is not deterred, he should refuse to share the bed with her. If she is not repentant, he should beat her, but there are rules to the beating. It is forbidden to beat her in the face or make her ugly. When you beat her, you must not curse her. Islam forbids this."

Interviewer: "With what should be beat her? With his bare hand? With a rod?"

Sa'd Arafat: "If he beats her, the beatings should not be hard, so that they do not leave a mark. He can beat her with a short rod. He must avoid beating her in the face or in places in the head where it hurts. The beatings should be on the body and should not come one right after the other. These are all choices made during the process, but beatings are allowed only as a last resort. [...]

"The honoring of the wife in Islam is also evident in the fact that the punishment of beating is permissible in one case only: when she refuses to sleep with him."

Interviewer: "When she refuses to sleep with him?"

Sa'd Arafat: "Yes, because where else could the husband go? He wants her, but she refuses. He should begin with admonishment and threats..."

Interviewer: "Allow me to repeat this. A man cannot beat his wife..."

Interviewer: "...over food or drink. Beatings are permitted only in this case, which the husband cannot do without." [...]

Let's see...what's the Christian view of how a husband should treat his wife?

"Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers." 1 Peter 3:7

"Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them." Colossians 3:19

Someone should tell THEM!

Last Thursday the cats went to the vet for their surgery. I love cats, but we only want these two. According to the after care instructions, they're to avoid activity for the first several days and after that they should still avoid jumping. Someone really should have explained that to Muffin in feline. From the day we brought her home from the vet she was jumping up and down to the bathroom sink. She's been jumping into the cabinet where we keep the clean towels. This morning she was jumping on the dryer to watch me putting laundry in the washer, jumping on the sink to watch me get out the dirty laundry, on the dryer to watch me put it in the washer, back on the sink to watch me get it out of the hamper, then on my back for a closer look at what was in the hamper... You get the idea.

I let them out for a bit this morning. Pancake is a little lady. Muffin is a Little Prince. Into everything! Barely caught her before she stuck her head in the crockpot that I was preparing with Chicken in a Pot. The chicken was already in, sitting on the veggies, when I caught her. So they're back in the laundry room until the kids are home to chase, I mean, keep a close eye on them.

If this is what Muffin's like after surgery, what's she going to be like when she's recovered?!

An Obituary Printed in the London Times

Or so I've been told...

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain
-- Why the early bird gets the worm
-- Life isn't always fair
-- and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly
student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
-- I Want It Now
-- Someone Else Is To Blame
-- I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Suicide Bombers Strike!

Muslim suicide bombers in Britain are set to begin a three-day strike on Monday in a dispute over the number of virgins they are entitled to in the afterlife. Emergency talks with Al Qaeda have so far failed to produce an agreement.

The unrest began last Tuesday when Al Qaeda announced that the number of virgins a suicide bomber would receive after his death will be cut by 25% this April, from 72 to 54. The rationale for the cut was the increase in recent years of the number of suicide bombings and a subsequent shortage of virgins in the afterlife.

The suicide bombers' union, the British Organization of Occupational Martyrs (or B.O.O.M.) responded with a statement that this was unacceptable to its members and immediately balloted for strike action.

General Secretary Abdullah Amir told the press, "Our members are literally working themselves to death in the cause of Jihad. We don't ask for much in return but to be treated like this is like a kick in the teeth."

Speaking from his shed in Tipton in the West Midlands in which he currently resides, Al Qaeda chief executive Osama bin Laden explained, "We sympathize with our workers' concerns but Al Qaeda is not in a position to meet their demands. They are not accepting the realities of modern-day Jihad in a competitive marketplace. "

"Thanks to Western depravity, there is now a chronic shortage of virgins in the afterlife. It's a straight choice between reducing expenditure and laying people off. I don't like cutting wages but I'd hate to have to tell 3000 of my staff that they won't be able to blow themselves up."

Spokespersons for the union in the Northeast of England, Ireland, Wales and the entire Australian continent stated that the strike would not affect their operations as "There are no virgins in our areas anyway".

Apparently the drop in the number of suicide bombings has been put down to the emergence of the Scottish singing star, Susan Boyle - now that Muslims know what a virgin looks like, they are not so keen on going to paradise.

It's over...thank heavens!

Yesterday's colonoscopy went well. I was out by noon and we went out for lunch. I preferred a nap but by the time I was halfway through the nice big burger I was wider awake. The fries could have been crisper but who cares? It was food!

Dad ended up in the ER with an irregular heartbeat. They kept him overnight for tests and released him this afternoon. I went this morning for a visit and had lunch with Mom in the cafeteria where we ran into an old friend.

I'm reading Nourishing Traditions and did a little price checking while I was out and about. I was happy to find that wally world now carries a couple of things that would be useful with that kind of cooking. Good to know after seeing the prices at a couple of health food stores in town.

Well, off to make sure the Boss is doing his chores properly and then fix supper.

Air - Sing Sang Sung

My day

Pretty much sums up my day. (Well, my jug says N instead of C, but you get the idea.) Never again will I schedule a colonoscopy for a Monday. Not only does it mean no Bible study tomorrow but I missed out on eating out with the kids. Something I really enjoy. It would have been much better to do this on a school day when I'm home alone, plenty of work to do, and only one meal time with the kids home. Today was spent really wishing for a Sunday dinner and then avoiding the kids while they watch movies since I enjoy munching while watching.

Now I've started drinking that nasty stuff you see up there. I have to drink 6-8 ounces every 15 minutes until it's half gone. Then get up an hour earlier than usual in the morning so I have time to follow the same procedures and finish 2 hours before my procedure. I can't wait for this to be over! Although I'll settle for the jug of nasty being over. Blech!

More trouble in Lebanon

HERE is one more reason to be here than there this year. I just wish they would hurry up and do something about Hezbollah. I know there will be great bloodshed in the process, but that's because Hezbollah is like an oil spill. You have to clean it up early or it just gets bigger and bigger, messier and messier. But just like an oil spill it has to be cleaned up or it poisons everything.

Shiny Suds Commercial

This video is SO funny! Good food for thought too. Now that I'm home and the ingredients for various homemade cleaners and detergents are more readily available, I need to be more careful what I use. Although I do love the big bottle of lavender-scented Pine-Sol I bought a couple of weeks ago. {sigh}

Why I'm moving to Missouri

ELCA Receives 3 Lesbian Ministers

All my life I've been a Lutheran. I'm the granddaughter of a Lutheran pastor. Grandpa was ordained in the Augustana synod. When he retired he was with the ALC. (For you non-Lutheran's out there, I won't try to explain all the different synods and their histories. It's a bit confusing for me too. My home congregation was LCA. When I was in college there was a merger of 3 synods, the LCA, the ALC, and one other that I had never heard of at the time and still can't remember. If anyone reading this is a former member of this synod, mea culpa.

When Grandpa passed away, he was serving an LCMS congregation in a small town not too far from here. That's is very unusual. The LCMS is very particular with whom it will have table fellowship. Even though I'm a Lutheran and agree with the doctrine surrounding Communion, I can not take Communion in the church we're attending. But this little church was too small to afford a full-time pastor but too stubborn to give up trying to get one. The pastors in the circuit had known my grandfather for many, many years and knew him well enough to know that this little congregation would be in good hands.

I love being a Lutheran.

But I can no longer be a member of the ELCA. It no longer holds to the Truth. It picks and chooses which parts of Scripture are to be trusted and which ones weren't really intended for this day and age. How arrogant! Do you really want to be the one to decide which parts of God's Word are intended for us and which aren't? Do you really want to be the one who has to stand before God someday and account for this extreme arrogance? I certainly do not.

The Scripture is very clear on the qualifications for leaders in the church. Due to the choices made by people living the homosexual lifestyle, they can not meet those qualifications. There are many heterosexuals who also fail to meet those qualifications, so there is NO discrimination against homosexuals.

In the day of discrimination lawsuits and quotas, it's often too easy to forget that the job of pastor isn't one that you can choose for yourself. You do not look at the list of jobs out there and decide that you want to apply for that one. It's not even a matter of completing the coursework for graduation. As far as I know just about anyone can take the courses required, calling or not. However, you must be called into this job. I don't just mean the congregation issuing a call for a pastor...GOD must call you. If He doesn't, then it doesn't matter what minority you belong to or if you're the biggest contributor the ACLU has ever seen. You're not qualified to be a pastor.

In my pre-marriage and pre-children days I was on a change team for racism. I learned a lot and I formed lots of opinions. Most of them are unchanged. I absolutely believe that in the world, everyone has the right to train and apply for any job they want. Gender, color, religion, sexual orientation don't matter. I personally don't care if there are gays and lesbians in the military or not. As long as everyone is held to the same standard of performance and behavior as everyone else, they should be able to have whatever job they want. Just as it is wrong to withhold a job from someone for any of the above reasons, it's just as wrong to give someone a job for the same reasons.

But in the church there's a higher standard involved than some equal rights amendment. The amendment does NOT apply here. Gay and lesbian rights do not apply here. Women's rights do not apply here. No one's rights apply here. God is the only One who is Right. Get it?

At last!

The church we've been attending since August is wonderful! The Divine Service has no contemporary music, the preaching is Christ-centered, and the kids are loving Sunday school. Even though the Boss is only 13 and not a member, the head usher lets him help hand out bulletins before church. The Peanuts ran off to Sunday school this week with hardly a glance in my direction, other than to wave "bye"! The adult class I'm attending is studying the Gospel of Luke.

Last week I was encouraged to come to the Faith Foundations class that meets on Monday mornings. It's the women's group. There's another group that meets on Wednesday evenings for men and women who work during the day. I wanted to go last week but the Boss was home sick. Yesterday all 3 kids were healthy and at school and I went. I loved it! The pastor lead the whole class (usually we will break into groups to discuss the "homework" and then end with him) and he's so good. He's got a great sense of humor and while being serious and respectful he had us laughing as well. I'm going to love this Bible study!

The class for members starts Sunday during Sunday school. While I'm eager to begin and join the congregation, since Baba will be joining us in December I want to wait and do it with him. Luckily the next class starts after the first of the year. Just.have.to.be.patient.

Neat e-mail

Like most of the e-mails that are forwarded to all our inboxes, who knows if there's any truth to the supposed source. But regardless if the author is a 15 yo or a 100 yo, it's a good one. Just had to share it.

BY A 15 yr. Old SCHOOL KID IN ARIZONA


New Pledge of Allegiance (TOTALLY AWESOME)!


Since the Pledge of Al legiance
And
The Lord's Prayer
Are not allowed in most
Public schools anymore
Because the word 'God' is mentioned.....
A kid in Arizona wrote the attached


NEW School prayer:

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.


If scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.


Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene..
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.


For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all..
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.


We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks...
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong..


We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles..
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.


It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen

A liberal Saudi

This is a very interesting video. Unfortunately it cut off a bit too soon. I'm heading back now to find more. Please give it a listen.

Whew!

We had quite a storm last night. I'm guessing it knocked off the power for at least a few seconds since my ceiling fan was off when I woke up the this morning. But the clocks in the kitchen were still saying the correct time. Luckily I have a battery back-up for my clock in the bedroom. Unluckily I use my cell phone as an alarm and it had the incorrect time. I can't figure out how that happened, unless power was lost to the tower and it's clock is messed up? Is that even possible? It still says it's on central time but it was about half an hour behind my clocks.

Needless to say we didn't have time to get the Peanuts on the bus so I drove them to school. It so different from last year. They just run off and up the steps to the school. The Little Prince turned to blow me a kiss and kept on going. Last year, while the Diva was happy to run off and forget a kiss half the time, the Little Prince had a special routine we had to go through. He loves school so much that mornings are very good. Thank you, dear Lord!

The Boss is still sick. He's been out all week. He's feeling fine most of the time. Just can't get over the gastrointestinal bug he's got. When I called the doctor for some advice on how to speed up the recovery the nurse recommended a probiotic. Hopefully that will help things progress a bit faster. He's getting bored and is ready to head back.

I've been baking Swope bread lately. It's a wonderful whole wheat bread (not entirely whole wheat, a bit of unbleached white) and no yeast. It's more of a batter you pour into your pans than a dough you place in, but that just means it's so much easier. It mixes up while the oven is preheating and tastes wonderful! We all really like it.

The puppies are still trying to herd the horses. The horses just stare at them like, "You know this is futile, right?" Although they do a good job of keeping the 3 of them together. Amir even has tried to herd the dogs right back and does a decent job of it. LOL The other two just stand there and occasionally kick out but haven't tried to hurt the dogs yet. They don't act like that when I'm out there alone with them but only when one or more of the kids are.

It's finished raining, according to the TV, but it's still cloudy and I love the view from the windows with dark skies. I'm thinking it would be a good day to head out to find some new sandals while they're most likely to be on clearance. Just hope I haven't waited too long to find my size. Hopefully there aren't too many of us size 9's wanting Earth Shoes.

Good-bye...we'll miss you so much

Aunt is at peace now. The cancer can't hurt her any more. We'll miss her. She was such a big part of our lives. But it's hard to be sad for her. Just for ourselves and our loss.

Hero

Yesterday after school the Little Prince wasn't feeling well. Soon, he asked for a pan. Uh oh. Yep. He did. After that his tummy felt better but I still made plans for him to stay with our neighbor while the Boss, Diva, and I went to Open House. He was sick again right before we left so I knew it could be a long night for us. I enjoyed talking to the teachers last night. They love my kids!

The Little Prince's teacher said that he's so creative that he sometimes has her almost on the floor. Yep, that's my boy! The Diva has a classmate that doesn't like her. She's never encountered that before. She's always polite and nice even to the kids she doesn't like so this is a new experience for her. I noticed last night that they sit right next to each other. This could be an interesting lesson learned.

The Boss has had a good start to the year. Still needs to work on organization but has found stuff to be involved in. Go, Boss!

When we picked up the Little Prince he had been sick again about half an hour before and was running a fever. Uh oh. But he'd still felt well enough to regale S with his ideas while taking his bath. That's my boy! He crashed as soon as we got home and slept through til around 7:30.

However, around 2:30 the Diva woke me with a stomachache and clean up in the bathroom. Didn't quite make it and we didn't grab the Little Prince's pan. My bad. After another sick about an hour later she was asleep. I was really hoping the Boss would be next so I could turn off my alarm but no such luck. Got him off to school and then went back to bed. About the time I was drifting off to sleep the Peanuts woke up, glad to find out they were staying home, and were ready to play. We spent the day in front of the TV watching PBS Kids after the Diva started feeling bad again. She's not rebounding quite as quickly.

While I'm disappointed for her that she misses the chance to do a dance and some cheers at the high school football game tonight (she spent time after school doing Jr. Cheerleading), I was starting to look forward to being lazy with the kids tonight. However, it turns out I have a parent meeting for soccer tonight.

It's OK. I don't need sleep. I'm a mom. zzzzzzzz

Gene Simmons Military Tribute

Burn the Qur’an? No, absolutely not!

I have no love for Islam. None at all. I can also say that for various sects of Christianity. Especially the brand that's rearing its ugly head in Florida lately. While I have no love for Islam, I do have many Muslim friends and acquaintances that I do love. It upsets me greatly that they have to be insulted and hurt by some egomaniac with a "church". While I have no love for that pastor and his teaching, I do pity the members of his congregation who are being fed his vile filth week after week.

I hope and pray that our military personnel and innocent civilians around the world don't have to pay the ultimate price for this man's stupidity. Seeing as how he's a religious extremist...perhaps a stint in Gitmo would be in order?

Meanwhile, here's an excellent blog post on the subject.

Burn the Qur’an? No, absolutely not!

GET OFF THE LADDER!

Yucky!

One of the things I was looking forward to after my return from Lebanon was the chance to dive into all the clutter and mess in my house. Moving back from overseas meant there was lots to do as we merged stuff brought back with us with the stuff already here. Add to that 2 extra kids and lots of fun activities and you just don't have much time to get it all done. Beyond keeping things around generally clean and healthy for us, not much cleaning up was going on.

Now I'm back and ready to dig in. Only one problem. I've picked up some kind of bug and feel yucky. Argh! NOT what I needed. I'm alone today. No one to entertain or get in the way. I can just work to my little heart's delight. I felt worse yesterday. I'm feeling a bit better today and did get laundry done and clean out the dog's pen. That alone could make a person sick. I'm not feeling as dizzy or queasy so maybe I can still salvage part of the day and tackle one of the smaller jobs waiting for me.

Maybe after I fold my laundry and I'm waiting for something to simmer on the stove for the kids I can read some of my housekeeping/decluttering books for some inspiration and start writing out a plan. If I don't I'll just end up wasting more time than I actually use effectively.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel up to tuning my iPod to Issues, Etc. (gotta love Wi-Fi) and digging in.

Well, that was entertaining!

I'm home again after a quick trip to Lebanon to take the cousins back. It was a good time, thought stressful. We left Tuesday afternoon after a morning that went smoothly according to plan. My parents arrived to load us up and get the timers set on the lights. Cousin E helped Dad do that and I got a call from the website where I bought my tickets for the return flight. Turns out Royal Jordanian had canceled my flight due to not having my passport number, nationality, and DOB. I gave it to the lady who reissued the tickets for me. Good thing we were running a bit late to the airport. But we made it in good time since it wasn't busy. That's the nice thing about doing your check-in at a regional airport. Shorter lines.

We arrived in Chicago and got to our next flight in plenty of time. We sat and sat and sat on the plan thought and finally got word from the flight attendant that we were waiting for delayed flights to take off. There was bad weather not too far away that was delaying other flights and we had to wait our turn. We started to taxi and turned around and came back to the gate. There was a technical problem that needed fixing so we were sent back inside where we were given chips and drinks and A/C. After maybe half an hour we boarded again and got to take off.

While at the gate I asked about our connecting flight to Beirut. We were leaving 3 hours late and only had 2 hours between flights anyway. She said as soon as we took off the airline would know our arrival time and they would take care of it for us. Sure enough, by the time we got there we were booked on the next flight to Beirut. The flights were relaxing and uneventful. Unfortunately when we got to Beirut only one of the 4 suitcases had made it there with us. I guess the other 3 wanted to see the Eiffel Tower? We retrieved them Friday night and I slept over at my SIL's to pack (I'd kept our clothes there to keep the mildew out) and spend time with her.

Aunt is not doing well. She's so thin and has to go in to the hospital every couple of weeks for more blood. It was so sad to know that I was saying "good-bye" for the last time. I don't know what I ever would have done without her the first year we lived there.

Yesterday's trip home went very smoothly. Another passenger complained about the airline and their reputation. He normally tries to avoid it. I have no complaints though. We only had 45 minutes between arrival in Amman and departure for Chicago. They divided up the passengers according to connecting flights and escorted us to the proper gate and got us through security quickly. We got on the plane and took off on time. With less time to transfer the bags than they had in Paris, they managed to get both of mine to Chicago with me.

There were two men near me who were very nice and good company. The man across the aisle to my right works for a private security company in Iraq. He was headed home for vacation. I was in a row of 4 seats and only one other person was seated there with me. A very nice Jordanian man on his way home to Texas. While people who are traveling are allowed not to fast, he had decided he would anyway. He would be going 22 hours. I hope he made it with no ill effects. I felt bad for him being surrounded by food but he slept most of the time and wasn't bothered by it.

There was also the woman who decided that she would really enjoy the free alcohol. And enjoy it she did. Unfortunately the other passengers didn't particularly enjoy her enjoyment. Twice she tried to sit next to my Jordanian friend. The second time he looked at me like, "What the hell?!" I don't know what he said but he managed to get her to move without offending her. She did manage to get into a shouting match with some passengers and her language wasn't particularly lovely. My security friend slept through it (I wish I could have). I told him about it later and he said if she headed toward the cockpit to wake him up and he'd tackle her. I told him I doubted she could have found the cockpit.

That leg of the journey was over 13 hours and I nodded off sometime during the last hour or so. I was just wide awake so I read a book (the whole book) and watched a couple of movies.

After the typical long wait at customs I got my luggage and headed to my last flight. It was nice to have such a short flight. Mom and Dad picked me up and I went home to watch a movie with the kids and head to bed. I'm tired now, but since it's a holiday tomorrow we can sleep in. Today was church and it was nice to be home. We're being lazy and playing. Tomorrow will be work. And less laundry than there was this summer. Yeah!

I did it!

I finally got the pantry cleaned out and organized. Thanks to the Boss for some help with pulling everything out and helping to clean the shelves. I think I'm done. I won't know for certain until I start to pull things out to use them and then put them back after cleaning.That's when you know how good a job you've done.

I've found a great blog, The Healthy Home Economist, and am getting some good tips for cooking healthy. I don't know that I'll use all organic like she does due to budget constraints, or that I'll be able to incorporate as much as I'd like into our routine, for the same reasons, but she's got me all excited about changing our eating habits. Of course, this is just in time for me to leave the country for a few days. But when I get back I'll be alone during the day, have two less picky eaters, and a real need to recover from the expenses of this past summer with some good, made-at-home, healthy food and school lunches for the family.

Off to watch a video on healthy french fries. Yum!

Today I didn't do any of the cleaning/organizing that I had planned. I was going to clean out and organize the pantry with cousin's help. She loves to do that kind of thing and I was looking forward to it. But I got sidetracked by other stuff that needed to be taken care of before our trip (ever pack a saddle to ship?) so it didn't happen. Could still happen this evening...we'll see.

But I did manage to find something to clean out. My inbox. Granted it still has way too much mail to sort, but I did make the decision to unsubscribe to most of my e-mails. I will keep the one from Hillbilly Housewife and Knitting Daily, Lion Brand Yarn and JoAnn's. JoAnn's I should probably stop, but now that I'm back where I can get to one, I'll wait and see what kinds of deals I can find as I get my sewing machine up and running again.

I also unsubscribed from several feeds from blogs. I have them bookmarked so I'm not sure why I'm getting their e-mails. I mean, I know why. I just can't figure out why I thought it was a good idea.

The feeling of not having to delete most of my mail every time I get online is really nice. I can open my mail and not find a mess needing to be tossed out. Now to get my house in that good a condition.

Victory is the Only Option

What is the Bible Basically About?

It's gone...

...and I don't even miss it.

Before the big move home Baba and I were talking about what we'd need to get set up once we were back here. We knew that in order to get internet worth having we'd have to pay through the nose. That had me thinking that we could just cancel the dish service that our friends had set up here for their son. I'm a big believer in the kids not watching much, if any, TV during the week when they have their homework to do. Even on the weekends it's not that important. There are too many chores to do and animals to play with at our place now to keep them outside and happy. Even in winter there's still stuff to do and homework, etc. Plus we were finding a lot of enjoyment in watching whatever DVD we were in the mood for.

We've also gotten started watching favorite series on DVD. Overseas the shows were often a few seasons behind anyway and it's so much more fun to sit and watch as many episodes at a time as you wish. No commercials and you can pause whenever you feel the call of nature.

So when Baba said he didn't want us to have dish I was all over it. Yes! Great minds think alike. All we needed to keep TV here was the converter box since none of our TVs are HD. We get a great picture and there's plenty of programming to find SOMETHING on and if there's nothing, it's no great loss. Really.

One of the channels I'm thrilled to have is PBS. With all the expensive cable/dish channels for kids out there, the best one of all is still free. {sigh} We haven't had Disney Channel or Nick for weeks now and no one's complained. OK, maybe the first day or two until they realized those channels are GONE, but once they found PBS (and we have 3 of them!) they've been perfectly content.

Life in the country is good.

I dared!

Several years ago I bought a book called Dare to Repair: A Do-It-Herself Guide to Fixing (Almost) Anything in the Home by Julie Sussman and Stephanie Glakas-Tenet. That second woman's name should look a bit familiar. Remember George Tenet? As wives to men in the CIA they could either wait (forever) for their husbands to come home and start on the Honey-do list, pay outrageous sums to repairmen for simple repairs, or learn how to do it themselves. They not only did it themselves, they wrote the book on it...literally.

This is the book I probably missed the most while living in Lebanon. In q8 I had Baba there to fix things. If he couldn't then the concierge called in someone (and repairs cost less over there and were usually covered by the landlord). But in Lebanon I was on my own. Baba's best friend, who I called for most things, was busy working and taking care of his own place so there was usually quite a wait involved unless it was truly urgent. If I'd had this guide with me I'd have been in much better shape.

Today I pulled it out again to take care of a situation (you do NOT want the details) and it walked me through it like a breeze. If your handyman isn't too handy much of the time (or just not that handy in general), this is the book for you.

Rummaging

That's what I'm supposed to be doing right now. My plan for today was to de-clutter my bedroom. I do NOT want to do it while at the same time I really want to dig in. It was bad enough before Baba arrived. Then I worked on organizing into piles. Piles that I knew needed to be filed, piles that I was sure needed to be tossed, and those that I needed Baba to sort through because it was mostly his stuff.

Well, the piles are still there and there's even more stuff. I feel like I'm channeling the spirit of George Carlin. What I really need is for the FlyLady to move in with me for a few days. I do use her resources but I just can't see how only spending 15 minutes a day in that room will help. So I'm going to spend an hour in there today. If I can make more time and I'm not feeling overwhelmed, then I'll spend more time. I'm charging my iPod or I'd use The God Whisperers as my egg timer. So today I'm just going to have to keep an eye on my watch.

Last night I did pick up my Luther book. That was as far as I got. I held it in my hand for a bit. Maybe tonight I'll find time to actually open it and, gasp, READ it!

How long does it take anyway?

Today I thought I'd try making yogurt using my crock pot. My good one is an odd shape and could give me trouble when trying to get all the yogurt out so I used the one I inherited from Grandma, which is 70s green. After about 45 minutes of sitting on LOW it wasn't even warm at all and I figured it should be at least starting to warm up on the sides or bottom...somewhere. So I've switched to the stove since I don't have time to switch if I want to get to bed at a decent hour.
I don't know if I want to throw away the old crock pot yet though. Did I even give it enough time? My crock pot in Lebanon didn't take as long to start warming up but it also tends to run hotter than I'm used to. Still, you'd think that after 45 minutes, even on low, that it would start to do something I could feel with my hands. So it'll probably end up in the trash.
I'll keep an eye out for one at Goodwill or Big Lots, I guess.

Right now I'm enjoying the peace and quiet at home. The kids are at the neighbor's enjoying the pool and I'm making yogurt (on the stove now) and waiting for the No-Bake cookies I started hours ago to harden. We went to an LCMS church for the 3rd week in a row and I love it so far. Good Sunday school on Luke for the adults and the kids' SS has been good. The regular SS year starts next week. Feels like home.

9/11 Bud Commercial - AIRED ONLY ONCE

So much to do

I'm so lazy lately. I have so much to do to get the house in shape so I'm spending time online. Makes sense, doesn't it? There's so much waiting for me. Now, to be honest, some of it needs to wait until the kids start school. The Boss is big enough to help, but the Peanuts need more watching and interrupt more, so it only makes sense to wait on some stuff. For the first week and a couple of days of school I'll have a 12 yo and 10 yo still around so less supervision required on my part and I can get some help too. The 12 yo is a big helper and wants to have stuff to do to help. The 10 yo is a helper too and they will help me get stuff done. We can tackle 3 things at once or work together to knock out something that needs more than 2 hands.

Today we have nothing on the schedule except Meet the Teachers tonight at the Peanuts' school and I need to work with the puppies again. Last night was their first "class" with me (one at a time, of course) and they didn't do too bad. Sister is obviously the dominant one and wanted me to know it, but she'll come around. She also wants to please and loves attention. Brother tried to convince me I was torturing him (actually Sister did too) but he did so very well. They're sweethearts.

Well, off to eat breakfast and start my day properly. Let's see how much I can get done today!

I survived...

two whole days at an amusement park. Even during an extreme heat warning it's possible to have a good time if you have plenty of attractions designed to get you nice and wet. Which one of them definitely did. When you're on a boat with giant water guns and the people on shore have the same guns, there's lots of water flying. Today we even got wet while in line! It felt really good, let me tell you.

The last ride got us good and wet, which was not probably our best idea since we headed straight to the car after that. We drove back to town and met my brother, SIL, and their two girls for some Chinese food. The Boss had been dying for it since we got back and mentioned it Sunday. My brother remembered that he'd been asking for it and suggested it for tonight. Good uncle!

Now I'm going to go crash and enjoy no alarm going off. If Baba calls in the morning before I'm ready to wake up he will NOT find someone happy to talk to him. Just sayin'.

Best laid plans

Yesterday we were going to head down to a local amusement park (located in the other country music capital) for an afternoon/evening of fun. If you arrive after 3 p.m. you have the next day free. We took our time, thinking we'd enjoy the evening and then spend the full day there today. Turns out last week was the last week for the later hours. Starting this week they close at 6. So, the place where I'd stopped for tickets saved us some hassle. AND were selling 2-day passes for the price of 1-day passes. So we're heading down there today and tomorrow for 2 full days of fun. Whoohoo!

Gotta love the little guy

Last night the Little Prince disappeared into the kitchen a bit. I didn't think much of it at first and he did come back. We were watching "Born Free" and had the lights low so I didn't notice anything unusual. Until I went to the kitchen...

On the floor next to my trash can was something that looked like hair. You know, like the hair on the floor at a salon after you've had a trim? I thought, who did this? Then it dawned on me. The Little Prince! At least it was his own hair this time instead of his sister's. Luckily our neighbor and good friend owns a salon so I called her to see if she could squeeze him in this morning. I'm letting him sleep in so when he wakes up I'll call her to get a fix. He took chunks out of the front, the crown, and the very back/bottom. Ugh! Luckily he likes it short. Cuz it's gonna be really short for a while. {sigh}

I have my flight for my trip home! I'm taking the cousins home at the end of the month and needed a way back here. For once I'll have an international flight by myself. No one asking me to take them to the bathroom. No one giving me their leftover food (though if I'm hungry enough I might miss that-LOL). All the time to read, sleep, whatever with no interruptions. I'll miss my kids but the time cleaning/packing and then flying alone will give me a bit of a break after 2 months of 5 kids. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have 5 kids of my own, but when 2 belong to someone else and are homesick or in a bad mood, or the other 3 are feeling jealous, etc. it can be a bit much. I'm really looking forward to that flight back.

Well, I'm off to grab some breakfast and then do some tidying up before the kids are all up and messing it up again. Wonder how long it'll take them today.

I'm a lump of potatoes

I got up this morning with the intention of getting dressed and heading to the school to apply as a sub. Actually I was sleeping in with that intention. Then Baba called and reminded me that I need to check on what we can do with the kids' tickets and to check into flights for me to get back home after taking the cousins home. So I got up, started the coffee, and made my first phone call.

After a couple of hours of surfing online while waiting on hold (and a short stint of reading while waiting on hold after the cordless phone's battery gave out and I was stuck in the bedroom) I was too attached to my FB account and messing around online. I think I may be an internet bulimic. Is there such a thing? I'm so gorged right now with internet "stuff" that I just want to get offline and do something, anything, else but I can't make myself stop typing and clicking. It's disgusting. You'd think this laptop was made of a certain Italian restaurant chain's breadsticks or something. At least there I can eat them with a nice salad, but nothing salad-like with this internet thing.

On the good side I've checked out a few blogs that I've missed the last couple of months and a few I'd added to my bookmarks before leaving and had forgotten about. That's been nice. Also found an author's website and blog that I'd missed reading. Another nice thing.

I did manage to make a nice, healthy lunch today and wash a load of laundry (still needs to go in the dryer) and do a load of dishes. So I'm not totally mush today. To get us out of the house today we'll go get some pizza and I'll pick up a few things at the supermarket. Or maybe just go to the market alone and do something cheaper. Or maybe go knock a couple of heads into unconsciousness and save even more. ;)