The Great Debate Continues.

I have no idea who these kids look like. To me each one is his/her own person. But I don't think they look a bit like me regardless. (or irregardless as Subvet ALWAYS says)

I really see Subvet in the younger 2....Sonshine seems to be a good mix of us both, but every time he takes off his shirt and it pulls back all his hair I think I see myself.....

I started out tow headed till about 2ish, then it started darkening....now it's almost black...with a generous (???) helping of grey. All 3 kids have started out a very light brown. I've put my stepmom on the hunt and hopefully she can come up with some pics of me at the kids' ages for comparison. I'll also hunt down some of Subvet's to scan in over the weekend...just for grins. (I couldn't tell you about the color of his hair as his young pics are all in black and white........)

OK, I'm going to do something different here tonight and I want your input.

I've got 3 totally separate things to put up. Usually I just do 1 post and smash em all in there together like a good gumbo. (can you tell I'm hungry again??)

Tonight I'm going to make each theme a separate post, gonna put your po'boy in one basket and your fried onion rings in another....(I'm getting as bad as Janet Evanovich!!)

CAST YOUR VOTES which way is more readable?

Thesaurus Thursday

Well, since I'll be working tomorrow night I think I'll go ahead and put up our game tonight. I'm off Fri and Sat nights so I'll get the winners up on time Saturday.

Oh, and some of you have asked about my hands. I've been keeping them well lubed with Johnson's Betime Baby Lotion and they're all better, thanks.

Just in case this is your first time by here on a Thesaurus Thursday, the "rules" of Thesaurus Thursday are as follows:

First and foremost, leave as many funny definitions for either word (or both) as you can think up in the comments!! The ones that make me laugh the hardest will be given the Silly Goose Award.


Next, if you know (or think you know) the true definitions without looking them up then be sure and leave those in the comments too!! All definitions that are correct (or close enough for government work and Mighty Mom) will win the Smarty Pants Award!
Awards will be given out in Saturday's post, so don't forget to come and see if you won!


Our words for this week are:

oubliette
pursy

Think I'll stick to my razor thanks.

I got this in an email from my Anonymous commentor. Darn near woke the baby laughing so hard so I had to share!

Hair Removal....
All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises
of easy, painless removal - The Epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and
now...the wax. Read on.........




My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner,
play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in
my mind for the next few hours: "Maybe should pull the waxing kit out of
the medicine cabinet."

So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom. It was one of
those "cold wax" kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the
strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and
press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right
off.

No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am
mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)

So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each
other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks
in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. ("Cold
wax," yeah...right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin
around it tight and pull. It works!

OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this!
Hair removal no longer eludes me!
I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward
body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.

With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I
sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting
championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet.

Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side
of my bikini line, covering the right half of my hoo-ha and stretching
down to the inside of my butt cheek (it was a long strip)

I inhale deeply and brace myself....RRRRIIIPPP!!!!

I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!....OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!

Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the
strip. CRAP! Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and
spotted.

I think I may pass out...must stay conscious...must stay conscious Do I
hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe...OK, back to normal.

I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused
me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in
the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip!

There's no hair on it.

Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX???

Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see
the hair. The hair that should be on the strip...it's not! I touch.
I am touching wax.

I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now
covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG
mistake...remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet? I know I
need to do something. So I put my foot down.
Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Sealed shut!

I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and
think to myself "Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My head may
pop off!" What can I do to melt the wax?

Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand
into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax
should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right???

*WRONG!!!!!!!*

I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to
torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit.

Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued
together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of
the tub...in scalding hot water.
Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax.

So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cemented

myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few
months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!

I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some
secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter
"So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!"

There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal
but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly
where the wax is located, "Are we talking cheeks or hole or hoo-ha?"

She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown
and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.

YEAH!!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else's night. While we
go through various solutions. I resort to trying to scrape the wax off
with a razor . Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies
covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and
then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!! By now the brain is not working,
dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need
Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.

My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving
grace....the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax.


What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and OH MY
GOD!!!!!!! The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out
of my friend. It's sooo painful, but I really don't care. "IT WORKS!!


It works !!" I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs
up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to
my grief and despair....THE HAIR IS STILL THERE.......ALL OF IT!


So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing
hurts.

I could have amputated my own leg at this point.

Next week I'm going to try hair color......

Sarah's Simple Sewing Secrets.

Well, the last time I did a SSSS post I told you all about my most favorite sewing utensil...so tonight I'm going to tell you all about my second favorite tool.



The seam ripper!!!

applause applause applause.

The fixer of all screwups! (Mine is very well used!!)

There are two ways to use the seam ripper, the easy way and the hard way. I've taken about 30 pics of these and this is the best I can do with my crappy camera so bear with me.

We'll start with the easy way. When you have a seam that just isn't right and you've decided you're going to spend the time trying to redo it you need to pull out the old seam.


The easy way is to lay your sewn layers of material down together and use your seam ripper to break the thread of every 3-4th stitch. Then you pull the layers of material apart and pluck out all the little threads.


Now, here's the hard way. If your thread has knotted or you've resewn the same place then this will help you take it out. But use this way sparingly as it tends to damage the material a bit.




Open the two layers of material and pull apart until the thread catches. Then use the seam ripper to break several threads between the layers, pull apart again.....repeat.

I'm starting a recall!!!!!

Or at least insisting they add yet another warning label to this here Winnie the Pooh Bear Doll!!

Apparently when placed in the hands of my "darling" Gator-boy during naptime......




This is what happens....

Superdad/Subvet replaced the globe with a PLASTIC one....Smart and Wonderful, Fantastic man that he is!

because you asked.

I sent my mom searching for pics of me as a kid. Now, the colors are quite off in these because they were fused to the glass of the frame in the fire...then my mom scanned them into the comp. So you can imagine. But it's the best we've got. The first one says 1976, I was born March 2, 1975...I think this was a fall dress so puts me about 18 months old we'll say, the second I'm about 4....All that hair was what's known as "dirty blond" but it's hard to see.

WARNING:

Since this massive schedule/life change I've noticed a difference in the way I blog. I used to put up on average 1 post a day Mon-Sat. Well, I've found that I still have as much to say as before, but I'm not able to post every day as I tend to need sleep in order to be able to move all these immobile people around all night long. (quite a workout!! Yes, Pinky, I promise to use good body mechanics and not hurt my back!!)

So, it seems that I'm putting up several posts at a time...then not posting for a couple of days.

If anyone can tell me how to make a post publish on a particular day on blogger without me having to be on the computer that'd be cool, but otherwise you good folks (constant readers as Stephen King says) will need to be sure you scroll all the way down to a post you've already read...or you might miss something....

:-)

Tiny Talk Tuesday

TINY TALK TUESDAY is once again upon us. Go see Mary at Not Before 7 to see more of this fun event.


Well folks, the sad truth is that I really haven't seen much of my munchkins this week to know what they are saying. But I will tell you about this moment of amazement.

Gator's in Early Childhood Intervention (aka therapy) for his speech (etc) delay. His therapist came yesterday armed with a couple of new "games" for him to learn. One was a sheet with 6 different colored bears and 6 matching bear pieces for him to learn to match colors. The other had 4 shapes to match. She also brought an observer.

She was giving a rundown to the observer on their way to my house about how he couldn't match and hasn't been interested in playing any of the matching type games we'd tried.

So, she gets out her bear sheet and hands the bear pieces to Gator. He IMMEDIATELY sits down and puts all the pieces in the right places! Repeating the names of the colors as we say them. He did the same for the shapes. I got out another matching game we had and he sat and did it too!! Again repeating the words after us.

Welcome to my world. Just when I think my kid "can't" do something he sits and does it perfectly while I sit speechless and marvel and God's perfect plan for our lives.

if you were wondering..

I have worked 84 hours in the last 9 days. whew!

Fortunately I have tonight and tomorrow night off and then I get into a much nicer schedule. 1 week of 3 12s, then 4 12s a week for all of Feb. Much more doable fur sure! I've missed all of you and am glad to be back!

I told you that I'd keep you posted with our weight race. Thus far after 2 weeks I have lost 3lbs and Subvet has lost 3.5lbs. :-) For those who missed it, we're trying to see who can lose 50lbs first. Winner gets to pick a restaurant for a dinner out together....WITHOUT KIDS!! ;-) (Disclaimer: before you start to worry, I am a nurse...no fad diets allowed.)

This question thing has really taken off! I'm still getting questions in comments and I love that soooo much I'm gonna keep right on answering them! So, any time you have a burnin question just ask away!

Diana asked "how many words have you posted? it's a good thing for us when you have the late night hours to sit and type for our reading enjoyment. i have another question for you... why don't you sleep during those hours?"

OK, near as I can count I've put up 47 words to date....
I didn't sleep well when Subvet was at work for a couple of reasons. One is that I have insomnia, the other is that I had a hard time getting into that very big, cold bed. Now I don't sleep to make my life easier and stay on a good schedule since I'm the one working nights.

Linda asked "Do you honestly not know these words before you post them? And here all this time I thought you were showing off what a knowledgeable gal you are!"
Ayayayayay!!! NO I specifically pick words that I DON'T KNOW for every Thesaurus Thursday post. And most of the questions I put out there I don't know the answers to either. I love to learn. This is how I learn....you get to come along for the ride and maybe we'll all have fun on the way!

Mommyof5 asked "How old are your little ones now? You have 2 boys and a girl? How early were they born? Do you want anymore?"
My little ones are 4, almost 3 and almost 1. The oldest 2 are boys and littlest is a girl. Sonshine was born at 37 weeks, Gator at 35 (spent a week in NICU), and Sugars at 35 weeks, 5 days. NO, no more, I had my tubes tied after Sugars was born and will have a hysterectomy sometime soon. (Will that mean I can no longer get hysterical??)

PenofJen aka Ma Kettle said "So an award in the comment section...minus the hoopla!! Most delightful post of the Day award...just made up by aka lady!
Jen"
Thanks dearie! That means a lot.

Pinky said "First...a book meme??? I'm not what you would call a "reader". I'll give it a go.
Second, a po'boy got it's name because back in the day it was the only food poor boys could afford. (?) Right? I dunno."
Yes, a book meme. You do to read, and I can't wait to find out your answers as the type of books you read (non-fiction) are very different to what I read and I'd love to broaden my scope a bit! Good try and very close. I'll put up another post about the Po' Boys....ummm makes me HUNGRY!!!!

Stephanie said "Right back at you on the award. Don't know if that's allowable, but I couldn't list my daily favorites without yours!"
Thanks girl!

Ignorant Redneck said "I have a brain. It's in my closet, in a box. Taped shut"
This cracked me up!! I dang near peed myself laughing at that one! IR, you NEEEEED to come back by on Thursday and add your wit to the game!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!

Glenn said "Well I took the test, then when they started requiring that I fill in page after page about offer after offer, my brain finally kicked into gear, and I quite that annoying site. Would have been fun had the brain test been just that, a fun test, instead of an advertising come-on."
I agree totally, and almost didn't stay with it long enough to get my results. Can't even get my mail without having to look at a bunch of ads...and they keep moving which catches my eye and really annoys me!

Po' Boy anyone??

Shrimp po' boy from Crabby Jack's Restaurant, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Po' boy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A po' boy (also po-boy, po boy, or poor boy) is a traditional submarine sandwich from Louisiana. It consists of meat or seafood, usually fried, served on a baguette (in the US usually referred to as French bread).

A key ingredient that differentiates po' boys from subs, gyros, and grinders is the bread. Louisiana French bread is different from the traditional baguette, in that it has a flaky crust with a soft, airy center. This is generally attributed to the high ambient humidity causing the yeast to be more active. It also differs from the bread usually used for sub-style sandwiches in the rest of the country, which has a soft exterior. The crust of Louisiana French bread is very crispy--so much so that it is difficult to eat without leaving crumbs. But the interior is very light and airy, often less dense than regular white bread.

Typically, French bread comes in two foot long "sticks". Standard sandwich sizes might be a half Po' boy, about six inches long (called a "Shorty" at Uglesich's), and a full Po' boy at about a foot long. But they can be prepared in longer and shorter versions for group events.

The traditional versions are served hot and include fried shrimp, and oysters. Roast beef, soft shell crab, catfish and crawfish are other variations frequently served.

"Darlin', you want dat dressed, or what?" is still a question you can hear from a New Orleans waitress or counterperson. A "dressed" po' boy has lettuce, tomato and pickles, mayonnaise and onion optional. Non-seafood po' boys will also usually have mustard, but the customer is expected to specify whether they want "hot" or "regular"--the former being a coarse grained Creole mustard (such as produced by Zatarain's) and the latter being American yellow mustard. Mother's Restaurant, a popular lunch stop in New Orleans off Poydras St., uses shredded green cabbage rather than lettuce for its dressed sandwiches.

There are countless stories as to the origin of the term Po' Boy. One theory holds that “po' boy” was coined in a New Orleans restaurant owned by Benny and Clovis Martin, a former streetcar conductor. In 1929, during a four-month strike against the streetcar company, Martin served his former colleagues free sandwiches. Martin’s restaurant workers jokingly referred to the strikers as “poor boys”, and soon the sandwiches themselves took on the name. In Louisiana dialect, this is naturally shortened to "po' boy."

In his book The Art of the Sandwich, Jay Harlow suggests that the name "po' boy" comes from the French pour boire or "peace offering," which stems from when men would come home after a night on the town, bringing an oyster loaf as a peace offering.

Harlow's account seems to conflate two other stories about the origins of the term "poor boy". The French word pourboire literally means "for drink" and translates as the tip one leaves a serving person or a delivery boy. These tips could be used to buy a small sandwich, which became known as poor boys. A variation on this story is that the tips were "for the boy" rendered in a Franglais mixture as "pour le boy".

A Peace Maker was the name for an oyster loaf--a whole loaf of French Bread, split, hollowed out, and buttered, loaded with fried oysters and garnished with lemon juice and sliced pickles. That was the traditional peace offering upon returning home late.

One resturaunt in Bay St. Louis, MS, Trapani's, insists that the name "Po' Boy" came from a sandwich shop in New Orleans. If one was new to a bar and bought a nickel beer, then he got a free sandwich thrown in. This was sometimes called a "poor boy's lunch", which came to mean just the sandwich itself.

The New Orleans Po'Boy Shop
The national and international reputation of New Orleans cooking is largely based on its grand restaurants (see Louisiana Creole cuisine). But it is the po' boy that has had the greatest day-to-day impact on the local diet, even in the era of modern fast food. Many people still have it at least once or twice a week--it is eaten for lunch more than any other single dish. Po'boys are made at home, sold pre-packaged in convenience stores, available at the deli counter in most grocery stores, and make up a sizeable percentage of the menu options at most neighborhood restaurants.

The most basic New Orleans restaurant is the po' boy shop. In theory, it need not be much different than a sandwich shop in any other city, with little or no on-premise cooking. The debris gravy for roast beef needs to be kept hot, but that could be done in an electric warmer. Classic examples are Frank's on Decatur Street, which for many years just sold muffalettas, cold po' boys, and a hot roast beef or a hot pastrami po' boy and Mother's on Poydras Street.

But these same basic offerings were also available at most corner grocery stores. The next step up for a shop was to offer seafood po' boys and this meant having a stove (or fryer) and having someone who could fry seafood. And if you were frying fish, and shrimp, and oysters for sandwiches, it didn't take much extra to fry them for seafood plates. And if you had a stove for cooking seafood, it didn't take much extra to also offer Red beans and rice and Jambalaya. Many of the classic New Orleans neighborhood restaurants are in this mold offering po' boys, seafood platters, and a number of basic Creole dishes: Liuzza's, Domilise's, Parasol's, Frankie and Johnnies, and Cassemento's.

Two restaurants in this tradition merit special attention. The first is Dooky Chase's, which originally opened as a po' boy shop. Over the years, Miss Leah's cooking evolved and the restaurant expanded, becoming one of the most celebrated in the country. It is one of the few restaurants to span the gulf between neighborhood joint and grand dame. The second was Uglesich's, a small in a more-or-less falling down corner store in New Orleans Central City. Only ever open for lunch, it was for many years a workingman's restaurant serving po' boys and fresh shucked oysters. But the fried seafood (cooked to order in cast iron kettles on a stove) was consistently some of the best in the city. Over time Mr. Anthony began to draw on his Yugoslavian heritage combining it with inspiration from other restaurants in the city to create new dishes--Trout Muddy Waters, Shrimp Uggie, Fried Mirliton with Shrimp Remoulade--which have drawn national attention. The restaurant closed on May 6, 2005 with the retirement of Anthony and Gail Uglesich.

Variations
Authentic versions of Louisiana style po' boys can be found along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast--from Houston through the Florida panhandle. The term "po' boy" has spread further and can be found on the Southeastern seaboard and in California, but may refer to variations on the local submarine sandwich, perhaps made with fried shrimp or oysters.

Another variety of the po' boy is known as the Vietnamese Po' boy, made popular by the New Orleans Vietnamese immigrant population. It is typically made with roasted pork and hot peppers and can be found in Vietnamese groceries and restaurants.

The roast beef po' boy is generally served hot with gravy, but is known as "debris" style if it is made with pieces of meat and juice that have fallen into the roast's drip pan while cooking. At Mother's Restaurant in New Orleans, one can see the pans in which the ham and beef are roasted and from which the debris is made.

In Chicagoland a Poor Boy is ground cube steak on garlic bread. This variation was made popular by Merichka's located in Crest Hill and can now be found all over the area.

The explanation I put in bold is the one I grew up hearing. "ground cube steak on garlic bread"???? What the hell is THAT?? YIKES.

2 rules of thumb when in La and wanting to have something that's "Talk About Good!"
1) Throw away the guide book and Wickipedia info and ASK A LOCAL. Best Po' Boy I've ever had: My mom and I were traveling S La visiting several of the old plantation homes and we got hungry. Mom asked one of the in-costume tour guides where she goes for lunch. She gave us directions to a hole in the wall sandwhich place.....UMMM TALK ABOUT GOOD!!!

2) The more the restaurant looks like a "dump" the better the food will be. If you're ever in Shreveport look up Crawdaddy's and get their crawfish special. It's crawfish etoufee' served over crawfish corn bread and is TO DIE FOR! I made sure I stopped there after my Grandaddy's funeral despite the volumes of food that had been brought to the house...it's THAT goood! I almost drove right past the restaurant though cause it's such a little hole in the wall place.

If I only had a brain.....

Mightymom, you are Right-brained
Most right-brained people like you are flexible in many realms of their lives. Whether picking up on the nuances of musical concerto, appreciating the subtle details in a work of art, or seeing the world from a different perspective, right-brained people are creative, imaginative, and attuned to their surroundings.

People probably see your thinking process as boundless, and that might translate to your physical surroundings as well. Some people think of you as messier than others. It's not that you're disorganized, it's just that you might use different systems to organize (by theme, by subject, by color). Straight alphabetization and rigidly ordered folders are not typical of right-brained behavior.

You are also more intuitive than many. When it comes to reading literature, you probably prefer creative writing or fiction over nonfiction. And when it comes to doing math, you might find you enjoy geometry more than other forms like algebra.


What are you?


well, I like straight alphabetization for some things, not for others and I love algebra and calculus and almost failed geometry....but the rest seems on target.

Award....

"My Wonderful Life, MightyMom shares practical sewing tips, hosts Thesaurus Thursday, and tells us what her three babes are up to. She's wicked smart, too."

That is what my dear friend Pinky said about me. I've never been called wicked smart before and it just tickles me all the way down to my toes!!

So, while Pinky is tickling my toes, here's the scoop on the Daily Dose Award.

"Xandra started the Daily Dose to celebrate sticking to blogging. As she says,
I’m calling it The Daily Dose award, and it goes to the blogs that I must read every day without fail. Seriously, I might as well mainline new posts…it’s that addictive. I feel acute disappointment when I go to my favorite blogs and find old posts (no pressure here, girls!).
So here’s to all the blogs that you’ve discovered that you can’t possibly live without. They make you laugh, cry, think and feel connected every time you read a post. They give you a thrill as you see them loading into your browser and you get an equally satisfying thrill when you see that they have commented on your blog."

Well, every time I see that anyone has commented on my blog I am thrilled! I love comments! I really love my commentors!! I try to make a point and go by the blog of every person who's commented on my post. It isn't always easy but I really do try.

So far as blogs I read daily...I go down my blogroll almost every day and I love it when there's a new post to read (or in some cases 3 or 4...Linda....Subvet.....)

So, if your name's on this list then I give you this lovely award! And Thank you for making me spend way too much time on the computer! ;-)

you are sooooo lucky!!

You just don't know how lucky you are!!

Why??

Because it is 12:20AM and I need to stay up till 8AM to get myself ready to go to work tonight....That means that I have 7 and 1/2 hours to kill!! HEEheehee.

So, let's see if I can come up with something entertaining to share...




This came to me with a warning about the effects of swallowing chewing gum.




Now, to finish off my Q&A Meme


Stephanie said...
Me first, Me first! lol

How did you and Subvet meet?

Well, since I have some time on my hands here I thought I'd tackle this question and actually give you the in-depth version of this story. Subvet picked my URL...now you'll know why.

Back in December of 97 Subvet and I were both in the same chat room on AOL. It was for members of a certain 12 step program. He was trying to get a date with this woman and asked members for advice. I was the only one who spoke up. We started IMing and chatting in private chat rooms and hit it off. (The woman never gave him the time of day) Then we started calling each other. I lived in Texas, he in Conneticut. We fell in love over the phone and over my Spring Break (I was in nursing school) he flew to Texas to meet. We spent a week together. He had to change his flight home twice because we just couldn't get to the airport in time, we seemed to have a lot to talk about and neither was interested in shutting up long enough for him to get going. Then April first 1998 he moved to Texas because it was cheaper than paying his phone bill. He proposed Feb 14, 1999 and we were married July 17, 1999. The first 2 years were the hardest as we had a few --ahem-- differences to work through. Different generations (baby boomer, the no-name generation aka those just before the GenXers), different cultures (military vs civilian), different regions (Southern lady, Yankee stud).....to name just a few.
I suppose the rest is history.


Infantry Dad said...
Me second ooh ooh me second,
Is the hokey pokey realy what it's all about?

absolutely! That's what the song says, right??

My Dad once asked what does a 45 year old man want with a 23 year old girl anyway?? To which Subvet and I just wink and smile. I mean WHAT DO YOU THINK??



corme said...
What made you want to start blogging?

First off, corme, thanks for de-lurking!! I'm glad you came by and left this question.

Subvet had started blogging about Oct of 06. During the summer of 07 he started talking about how I should get a blog. I agreed and he set me up. At the time I was a stay at home mom with my 3rd preemie and not getting out of the house hardly at all due to the logistics of 3 babies vs 2 hands. Subvet was working nights and those nights were long and lonely for me. I told him that I felt like I had a lot to say and no one to say it to. Remember, all of my kids are delayed and none were talking at that time. Now Sonshine will talk the ears off a donkey, but not back then. When I decided to start this blog I set out with 1 particular goal in mind. I was going to keep it funny or inspirational. Everything in life can be seen as amusing if you can only find the right perspective. But it is hard for me to see that perspective. I've fought depression off and on throughout my whole life. Blogging has helped me to find the bright side of things...first just to have something to post about, but it becomes a habit. I go through my day thinking "That'll make a good post...here's how it should be written...yeah, now THAT'S FUNNY!" This post is a perfect example. When I first saw the disaster area I was upset, tired, cranky. Then I thought...this could be a post, so I went and got my camera and started taking pics and writing the post in my mind. As the events unfolded I started smiling at the absurdity of the situation. By the time I saw the moon come out I was laughing out loud. Blogging has not only given me A) something to do on those long lonely nights (like tonight), B) friends to talk to when everyone else is asleep, C) a community to belong to, D) a creative outlet for a type of art I never knew I had talent in, but also it has E) completely changed my attitude toward life. I have truly been blessed by blogging.


Diane J. said....
If expense was no object, what's your favorite meal?

Cajun.

My fav restaurant is Pappadeaux. It's about the best cajun food you can find this far north and west of New Orleans. My favorites would be gumbo with rice, Jambalaya, Crawfish Etoufee' and Boudin. Dang, now I'm HUNGRY!!!! Oh annd of course Red beans and rice!!....and of course shrimp Po' Boys.....and....well, you get the picture.

2 questions for you folks.

1) What do you put on your grits????
2) How did Po' Boys get their name??


Cookie said....

Secondly...didn't yur mother ever warn ya about Submariners?

We'd never come across such a thing before and were caught completely unawares......

Ma Kettle (who is PenofJen in disguise) said...
1) Do you really understand how much you have touched the hearts of fellow bloggers?

nope. Not a clue. Have I touched anyone? Really??

I really don't think about touching others. This blog is for me. It helps me deal with my life and teaches me how to keep smiling through all things. We are told in the Bible to praise God in ALL situations. Getting cranky isn't praising God, but how to be able praise when all you see is hardship? In writing these posts and making myself stay funny/inspirational for the posts I have learned how. Not all the time every time, but I have learned the truth of what my Grandma tried to teach me 20 years ago. "You decide what kind of day you're going to have every morning. You can get glad in the same shoes you got mad in."


2) If you could be poor(with the knowledge you have) or wealthy, which would it be and why?

Well, the honest answer to this is that I really don't care. Money is not the measure of sucess. My children's happiness is. As long as we don't want for any necessities, (which I haven't once since we got married) money is just a means to an end. And any left over at the end of the month is just icing on the cake. I'd love to travel, I'd love to go on a cruise....but if I spend the rest of my life without acheiving those but rather plugging away little by little at our debt then that's ok too. You don't need Mickey Mouse to make happy memories with your kids.

5) Did you know I just tagged you???

Well, I guess I do now huh? Let's see if I can do this meme inside a meme.....is that allowed in the rules?? Oh well, wouldn't be the first time I broke a rule or two.

The Book Meme

1)One book that changed your life: This is hard to answer. I can't honestly say that the Bible changed my life as I've read it ALL my life so nothing's changed. I would have to say Ordeal by Innocence which is the first Agatha Christie book I ever read. It introduced me to mysteries which are my favorite type of book (see the answers to #9) and it started my very first official "collection"....of which I now have several (see the answers to #9).

2) One book that you have read more than once: There are many. All of my Agatha Christie Books, All of the Harry Potter Books and I Hear Adventure Calling by Emilie Loring.

3) One book you would want on a desert island: How to get off a Desert Island for Dummies.

4) One book that made you laugh: Anything by Janet Evanovich...unfortunately they also made me EAT! So I had to stop reading them so much.

5) One book that made you cry: Where the Red Fern Grows. It's on my short list of permanently unfinished books because I end up crying so hard I can't read the words.

6) One book you wish you'd written: Simple Abundance, A daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. I'd have made it a little funnier and had Mary Englebreit illustrate it!

7) One book you wish had never been written: The Joy of Gay Sex

8) One book you're reading: Right now I'm on my 2nd or 3rd trip through the Harry Potter Series. I'm currently on Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

9) One book you're going to read: Geez, I have a whole wish list on Amazon.com...basically anything I haven't previously read by Agatha Christie, Sue Grafton (whenever they come out), Janet Evanovich (ditto), Jennifer Chiaverini, Lillian Jackson Braun, Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown, or Earlene Fowler (Benni Harper Series).


OOO OOO OOOOOOOOO
I just finished 2 Memes!! YES!

So, who's gonna tag me next?? BRING IT ON!

To tag folks. I'm going to encourage everyone to do the question meme, but I won't tag anyone as some may not want to answer just any question that comes by.

For the book meme I'm going to tag Linda, Cookie, Subvet, Pinky, and Diane J. Have fun!!

Thesaurus Thursday Winners

Well, here's the official answers.

maffick - to celebrate with extravagant public demonstrations.

prate - 1) to talk excessively and pointlessly; babble 2) to utter in empty or foolish talk 3) the act of prating 4) empty or foolish talk

Ahhh, as with jute a few months ago I seem to be the dunce surrounded by smarties this week :-)

Smarty Pants Winners are:
Diane J, Ma Kettle, Diana, Linda

Silly Geese are:
Linda for: "Only the British could come up with such a stodgy word for PARTY!!!"

Diane J. for: "Maffick: A combination of "massive" and "traffic", meaning massive traffic. Usage: Dallas is famous for its maffick jams."

MammyT for: "Diane was close, but the real meaning is this: It's about traffic, all right, but it's the muddy, mucky traffic that comes through the house. Foot traffic.
This word is also used to describe the stuff that is on the bottom of the feet - what get's tracked in. Example: "Harley, take your boots off right there! I won't have that maffick tracked all over this rug."
Quite a challenge this week, Mom.
Nancy"

GOOD JOB FOLKS!! Now scroll down and get your awards!

Thesaurus Thursday

This is what my hands look like after 48 hours on the unit. I am apparently allergic to either the soap or the alcohol foam. Lovely huh?

Yes, it hurts. Especially when I put lotion, medicine, or warm water on it.

This week has been wild. I've worked the past 5 days, I have tomorrow off and will work nights starting Saturday. During my first 2 weeks I'm scheduled for 100 hours. I tell you this so you'll know not to expect any award-winning posts. After next week my schedule settles down into the 36 hours one week 48 the next rotation.

So, here's the words for this week.

maffick

prate

Just in case this is your first time by here on a Thesaurus Thursday, the "rules" of Thesaurus Thursday are as follows:

First and foremost, leave as many funny definitions for either word (or both) as you can think up in the comments!! The ones that make me laugh the hardest will be given the Silly Goose Award.


Next, if you know (or think you know) the true definitions without looking them up then be sure and leave those in the comments too!! All definitions that are correct (or close enough for government work and Mighty Mom) will win the Smarty Pants Award!
Awards will be given out in Saturday's post, so don't forget to come and see if you won!


Let's see if I can get some of these questions answered before I fall asleep...(I'm trying to stay up as long as possible to switch over from days to nights, but I'm exhausted and hubby looks soooo comfy asleep in bed!!)

I will eventually answer them all, but I'm gonna work my way through them in not quite random order. And sorry folks but I'm just too brain dead to make all the hyperlinks. Go to the comments of the question meme post to find links to each of these folks' blogs.


diana said...
two questions...

how's the job?
and
how's subvet doing as mr. mom?

well, I just answered the first up there....I love the job. the patients are elderly, mostly women, and have diagnoses of things such as stroke, knee replacements or impaired balance for whatever reason. There's one 95 year old sweetheart that I just adore. She's a ball of fire. My coworkers are great and seem to make up a good team. I've had OTs help me clean poopy beds (with the poopy patient in it) and the CEO answered call lights when everyone else was busy. Not something you find most places. The RN Manager and I had a chat the other day telling all the miracles we've experienced. It's really cool.

Subvet is AWESOME!! I could never leave the kids if I had any doubts about how they were being cared for. I just don't let hardly anyone take care of the kids. He keeps me in the loop about what's gone on during the day and he's handled their illness fantastically. He's spent as much time cleaning up poop/puke as I have at work and never complained once. He's a real trooper. Most of you readers know what the stay-at-home parent goes through. It's not an easy job and Subvet just stepped right in acting like he'd done it all his life. I'm very lucky to have such a great man in my life!


Diane J. said...
Not counting people and pets (that's a given), if your house was on fire and you could only save one thing, what would it be?

my fat butt.

My uncle (and now his son) are firefighters. I've grown up listening to the mantra forget everything and get out. Never, never, never waste time grabbing STUFF, never go back in once you're out.

In 97 my mother lost her house to foreclosure. We moved from a 3/2/2 house to a 2/1 apartment. We got rid of absolutely everything we could bear to part with before the move. Then a week after the move while most things were still in boxes her apartment caught fire. She lost 2/3 of what remained post-move. We learned the hard way that it's all shit. Truly. You may think those pictures are irreplaceable....but who else has pics? Grandparents? Family? Friends? You can't take it with you when you're dead so don't risk dying to take it. Also, pets aren't a given. Honestly. Most animals will run from fire naturally and you'll just die hunting a dog who's waiting 2 streets over. Cats are the exception. They hide, which is worse. They're often found in a closet or under a bed. NOT the place that you need to be in a fire as you could very easily and very quickly become trapped. Now, don't get me wrong. I love my cats. I would be devastated to lose them. But if my house caught fire I'd get my kids out then myself and the rest is up to God.



Pinky said...
Have you ever farted on a plastic chair in a crowded room?
WELL!!! You said we could ask anything!!!

I'm queen of the SBDs and master of "blame the kids" I'm not giving away any trade secrets tonight!!

ma kettle said... (this is PenofJen)
3) Do ~fast~ talking people drive you crazy?

only when I don't get to talk to them for weeks on end.

4) Did you miss me?
terribly


OK, that's enough for tonight I'll get to the rest later...now you get to work on those definitions!

Ask me no questions...I'll tell you no lies.....

THIS POST WILL STAY AT THE TOP FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS SO THAT EVERYONE GETS A CHANCE TO ASK THEIR BURNING QUESTIONS.

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE RECENT ENTRIES.





Well, it sounded like a good title.

Diane J. is doing a super cool meme that I thought I'd pick up. Here's how it works. You get to ask me any questions you can think of. Then I'll answer them in upcoming posts. I'll answer just about anything, I'll even tell you the truth!

So fire away!!

I ran away.

TINY TALK TUESDAY is once again upon us. Go see Mary at Not Before 7 to see more of this fun event

Well, Gator got sick. YUK,

Then


Sonshine got sick. YUK YUK GROSS.

So............

I went to work!! yeehaw. :-)


Now Subvet's sick. Poor guy, kids puking and pooping everywhere on his first day as SuperDad. And now he's sick right along with them. I'm hoping he doesn't decide to retire from retirement.


I'm loving the questions so keep em all coming and I will answer them next week when I actually have a day off or two.


For Tiny Talk Tuesday I will tell of a little experience we had sometime last week.

Dad and I are talking in the living room one dark and dreary evening (we've had a few of those lately)

Gator turns the lights off.

Dad: "Turn those lights back on!!"

Gator turns the lights on.

Dad: "Thank you."

Gator turns the lights off.

Gator turns the lights on.

Gator says: "Thank you."

Dad and I just looked at each other. I mean really, what do ya do??

Answers and Winners

Oh my goodness!!! Y'all just cracked me up this week!!!!!!!!!!

I would like to thank each of you for my 15 comments! That just made me feel sooo good!

Be thinking of us next week as I start my new job tomorow at 6:30AM. I'll do a solid week of days then will move to my regular night position. Subvet is officially retired and is the BEST SUPERDAD EVER!

OK, real definitions are as follows.

crapulous adj. 1. characterized by gross excess in drinking or eating. 2. suffering from such excess.

lupanar n a brothel; whorehouse.

bumblevee wins the Smarty Pants Award for:
lupanar ...I know this one... it is a brothel.

and, in an unprecedented move.....
WE HAVE A TIE!!!
for the Silly Goose definition of crapulous!!

pinky said
Crapular: This is the new drug coming out next year to remedy severe constipation. Do you suffer from that "blocked up" feeling? Try crapular, just stay at home for the following three days. (You can imagine the list of side-effects!)

and

lori stilger said
Crapulous: noun, the debris in any and every "man-cave", or adjective, to describe the stories that come out of your husband's mouth when company is around.
ie: "I just swept 20 pounds of crapulous out from under your den sofa, dear."
OR
The story was obviously crapulous to the women in the group, but the men seemed to get a kick out of it.too funny ladies!

go to the Thesaurus Thursday post and pick up your awards!

Thanks everyone for a great week!!

show and tell

Hey, can you believe it?? I'm back for Show and Tell! It's been a few weeks but I thought I'd show some of the children's books I have. At least half of all the children's books in my house were from my childhood...and I'd inherited several of my Dad's books as well. These are two examples.







The Saggy Baggy Elephant has a copyright date of 1974. Here's a quick quiz for you. Kimbies Diapers are still around today...only they're known by a different name...who can guess the current name for these britches??

The Bible Stories for Little Children has a price on it of 19 cents and a copyright of MCMXLIX. It's in very good condition and I don't let the kids play with it. I have another book around here somewhere that is the 10 Commandments for Children and has my Dad's name written on the face page in my Grandma's handwriting. Very Cool Stuff! :-)

Go on over to Kelli's to see all the other Show and Tells!

Thesaurus Thursday

I think I say this every time I try to post pics, but I really want a better camera!! Maybe next year we'll have enough stuff paid off I can justify getting one. In the meantime......





Now, I've been told that all my kids look alike, usually I don't see it, but here are pics of Gator-boy and Sugars at the same age....what do you think??






You can tell the picture of Gator was NOT taken by my camera!! (and it's been scanned too)

UPDATE:
Here's a pic of Sonshine at the same age too...just to compare....


Look close and you'll see that Gator and Sonshine are wearing the same pair of pants in these pics HAHAHAHA!!



Thesaurus Thursday

Our words are

crapulous

lupanar

Awards will be given out in Saturday's post, so don't forget to come and see if you won!

Just in case this is your first time by here on a Thesaurus Thursday, the "rules" of Thesaurus Thursday are as follows:

First and foremost, leave as many funny definitions for either word (or both) as you can think up in the comments!! The ones that make me laugh the hardest will be given the Silly Goose Award.


Next, if you know (or think you know) the true definitions without looking them up then be sure and leave those in the comments too!! All definitions that are correct (or close enough for government work and Mighty Mom) will win the Smarty Pants Award!

Simple Sarah's Sewing Secrets......

I inherited all of my Grandmother's patterns. When she gave them to me she made a point of telling me that she folded each of them on the cutting line instead of cutting out the pattern. This was so that all the sizes would remain intact and you could reuse the same pattern in a bigger size by "simply" unfolding and refolding on the desired cut line.

Now, this woman had more patience than I ever will. I mean to say...HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TO FOLD TISSUE PAPER ALONG A CURVE AND HAVE IT BE EXACT?? Yeah, well, I'm not gonna try it either.


OK, so now you're wondering who I'm giving this strange gift-box to right? Well, this box and all that tissue paper in it was wrapping for a gift to my kids about a year ago.

Notice the pattern. It is for kids shirts (long or short sleeves) and pants (or shorts) and skirts and jackets. It has sizes 2-7. Now, notice the lines on the pattern itself. These are the cut lines for the different sizes. Smaller sizes are on the inside...bigger sizes on the outside. Since I do not have shrinking children I'd rather not cut out the size 3 shorts I am going to make this summer and lose the size 4 pants I'll need this winter!!


Here's what you do. Ready??

Take your tissue paper and iron it using a low setting/no steam. Then you lay it on top of your pattern pieces. If needed tape sheets of tissue paper together using clear plastic (scotch) tape. You then find the size you wish to make (size 3) and trace that cutting line on the tissue paper using a FELT TIP pen (ball points will tear your tissue paper. (Hint: Most folk say it's better to iron your patterns before pinning them to your material for cutting, likewise it's better to iron the pattern as well as the tissue paper before tracing to ensure a more exact replica.)

You might note that if you do as I did and lay your pattern out on your ironing board for tracing you will have a nice little outline of the pattern piece permanently drawn on your ironing board cover as the felt tip pen will bleed straight through the 2 layers of tissue paper. I'd recommend a section of "the local fishwrap" as Subvet says under your pattern to protect your writing surface.

Be sure you trace all markings from the pattern, include the label of the pattern piece too (1 shirt front) (8 sleeve) etc. Then use your tissue paper copy as a pattern and proceed according to the instructions.

For storage, I get a gallon sized ziplock bag and put pattern, single size copy, instructions and outer envelope in it....that way everything's together next time I go hunting for this pattern. When I made those shorts I made 3 sets of shorts off the same pattern in the same size. After making the first set I wrote down on a 3x5 index card any needed measurements such as how much to hem and how big to make the waistband elastic and stuck it in the bag too, that way when I sat down to make the next pair I had it all ready at hand. No need to wake the kid up to remeasure his waist ;-)

So, is it cold in here...or is it just me??

You Are a Blue Flower

A blue flower tends to represent peace, openness, and balance. At times, you are very delicate like a cornflower. And at other times, you are wise like an iris. And more than you wish, you're a little cold, like a blue hydrangea.

What Color Flower Are You?

Tiny Talk Tuesday

TINY TALK TUESDAY is once again upon us. Go see Mary at Not Before 7 to see more of this fun event.

Sonshine is learning to write his name. He's known how to spell it for awhile....he's also known all his letters and their sounds for awhile....so I'm not sure why this suddenly came up.

It's a O Mama, O looks like a donut! We have donuts for supper? YEEES Mama, you need to cook donuts for supper!!!!


And you know it's got to be good when your (blogger) husband calls you on the phone and says you need to read a particular post....then when you say you're not going to get on the comp tonight as you have other things going on he proceeds to read you the post.....well, it was good enough to steal!

Have you ever asked your child a question too many times? My three-year-old
son had a lot of problems with potty training and I was on him constantly.
One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch in between errands. It was
very busy, with a full dining room. While enjoying my taco, I smelled
something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, and she
was clean. Then I realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while,
so I asked him if he needed to go, and he said "No".

I kept thinking "Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don't have
any clothes with me."

Then I said, "Danny, are you SURE you didn't have an accident?" "No," he
replied. I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell
was getting worse Soooooo, I asked one more time, "Danny , did you have an
accident?" This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over and
spread his cheeks and yelled "SEE MOM, IT'S JUST FARTS!!" While 30 people
nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his
pants and sat down. An old couple made me feel better by thanking me for the
best laugh they'd ever had!

thanks Cookie

Question: When is a WalMart NOT a WalMart?

Answer. When it is located on the ritzy side of town, the writing is in green, not blue and it says "Neighborhood Market".

Well, my new job officially starts on Monday and I needed a couple more items to complete my trousseau. So I decided to stop by WalMart and pick em up. I was on the "other" side of "town" (actually in a neighboring suburb) and swung by their WalMart to get my last few items. I needed 1) a new purse as the one I've had was falling apart and about 20 years old. I'd quit carrying it and just stuck my wallet et al in the diaper bag. 2) a new watch as the one I had stopped and I never bothered to replace it.... and 3) a lock to put on my locker at work. Now, you'd think these 3 things should be easily found at WalMart right??????

NOPE. Not at our supersnotty supercilious WalMart Neighborhood Market.

Unless you're looking for things that can be found at a GROCERY STORE, don't bother. I hightailed it back to the land of the blue smocks and found everything I needed thank you very much!

In other news. I thought I'd let you watch a little show down that's taking place in our home.

Subvet and I each have 50 pounds we'd like to lose. SO, we've decided to have a contest. Yesterday was the kickoff. We will weigh in every Monday morning and I'll let you know who's ahead. Maybe I can come up with some cutesie widget thing for the sidebar....I dunno.


Speaking of sidebars, there's too much junk in my sidebar. But I can't decide what to get rid of. So, you tell me. What do you actually look at in my sidebar? anything? everything? Give me some feedback here folks.

Answers and Winners

Winners of the Silly Goose Award for this week are
Diane :
Genu - Italian contraction for "you knew." "Genu I like-a de spaghetti deedun you?"

Vee:
longanimity....being overly animated for waaayyy too long a period of time.




Winner of the Smarty Pants Award
MammyT:
Hold The Presses! I KNOW this one! "genu" - a Catholic word, meaning 'knee'. Often used in combination with another Catholic word, "flect", meaning to 'bend', to describe a particular aerobic exercise performed traditionally in Roman Catholic churches.



Official Definitions

longanimity - n. patient endurance of hardship or injuries; forbearance

genu - n (pl genua) 1) the knee 2) a kneelike part or bend

Well done ladies!

Yoooooooo Hoooooo!

Well, now, Ms Pea says that this week has been National Delurking Week......

I may be a bit slow, but I'm gonna join in. I average about 50 hits per weekday...and 5 comments per post. Always by the same folks.

There must be an awful lot of lurkers out there somewhere!!!!




So, just say hi or something....let me know who you are........scroll down a post and take a whack at Thesaurus Thursday....(I get the most hits every Thursday and Saturday).....let your inner goof-ball out to play!!!

Thesaurus Thursday

Well, obviously I should NOT try to type at 5:30 in the MORNING!! As I tend to make really silly errors in spelling.

As Ms Vee pointed out. It is indeed sErger, not sUrger as I put in the SSSS post. I must have been experiencing a sUrge of stUpidity there.........
Thank you Ms Vee!! I shall now name you my official editor in chief! :-) Keep up the good work!

So, other than spelling words I do know the meanings of, let's see what the old dictionary has in store for us tonight.

longanimity

genu

Just in case this is your first time by here on a Thesaurus Thursday, the "rules" of Thesaurus Thursday are as follows:

First and foremost, leave as many funny definitions for either word (or both) as you can think up in the comments!! The ones that make me laugh the hardest will be given the Silly Goose Award.


Next, if you know (or think you know) the true definitions without looking them up then be sure and leave those in the comments too!! All definitions that are correct (or close enough for government work and Mighty Mom) will win the Smarty Pants Award!
Awards will be given out in Saturday's post, so don't forget to come and see if you won!

Now, I would like for everyone who's reading this to please stop and say a prayer for THE CREATOR of these lovely awards. Ms Diane J. has been having some health issues and will be having testing to rule out congestive heart failure. Please join me in prayer for her doctors to find the source of her problems and be able to solve them....(oh, and God, RULING OUT heart failure would be great!) I'm also going to add her family to this prayer request as it is never easy for loved ones to watch and wait. In fact, many times it's harder for the family than the patient. As always, I know my wonderful group of blogging buddies to be powerful prayers and rest in the assurance that y'all are beating on the Big Guy's door!

Thanks guys and gals. I love each and every one of you!

Sarah.

eutopia

Sarah's Simple Sewing Secrets

Well, today I thought I'd give a basic rundown of what I consider the most important sewing tool after needle and thread





Pinking Shears.

I don't have a surger and have never needed one, because these are much cheaper and work almost as well.

See, when you cut fabric, that raw edge will come unraveled, some fabrics worse than others. This happens especially in the washing machine. You have to do something to those edges on your clothes or they will unravel all the way up to the seam and then all your seams will pull out and you'll have no fabric left to fix em with.

If you look at your store bought clothes you will notice sewing that goes over the raw edges this is called surging and is best done with a special sewing maching called a surger. However, if you noticed the price on that link, that lovely little machine's regular price is $500.00, which is not in my budget.


You can reach the same goal by buying a pair of pinking shears, which I saw at WalMart for about $30 last month. Here's how they work. Pinking shears are heavy scissors with teeth that cut in a zigzag line.








I got these at a fabric store like Hancock. I asked the people at Michael's or MJDesigns for pinking shears and they led me to the scrapbook aisle. Don't waste your time or money. The light weight scissors they have for scrapbook will do nothing to fabric. Literally, nothing. I wouldn't buy a pair of pinking shears that weighed less than 2 pounds. The weight of the shears helps them cut a clean zigzag line. Otherwise the fabric will fold between the teeth and not cut.

So, why you ask do you need a zigzag line?? This controls the unraveling issue. Even after many washings your fabric will only unravel to the inner edge of the zigzag and stop.



This dress was made 3 years ago and you can see how much has unraveled in that time.

Now, some people sew a seam then pink it. I usually don't, I wait till I have the whole garmet made, and tried on then I'll go back and pink the edges of all seams. That way if I have to redo any of the seams I still have my original cut lines and notches to go by.

We'lltalk about notches another week :-)

happy sewing this week friends!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

TINY TALK TUESDAY is once again upon us. Go see Mary at Not Before 7 to see more of this fun event.

So, I have 3.

first this video....no explanation necessary.....except that, I WON!!



So, Sonshine comes across the cat litter box this morning. I tell him that's where the kitties go poop, just like he goes poop in the potty. He tells this to Daddy who says, "That's right the when the kitty has to take a dump, he uses the litter box."

Can you see where this is going???????

From that moment on till bedtime, excepting the time he was in school, I'm listening to "YEEEES, Mama, the kitty needs to take a dump!" Which gets expanded to "Mama! I need to take a dump!!" and, of course...."Daddy taking a dump???" No, dear, Daddy's asleep....and it's A GOOD THING TOO!!

They sing songs as pre-school and I will occasionally hear snippits of songs that I don't know.....tonight I got one I was very familiar with...once I figured out what the actual words are. Care to guess anyone??

"I may never march to the apple tree.............YES SIR!"

This eventually became "Mama, I need to march to the tree! YEEESSSS Mama, want march to tree!"

I'll tell ya later what the song actually is......

my day, in a nutshell.....................

Monday.......

Here you have it.

All of my Christmas Decorations, minus the tree itself.

All packed up and ready to go back into the far corner of the garage.

Sonshine is having a hard time with this transition. He's seen Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas just a few (zillion) times and he now keeps telling me that "Sonshine needs to bring Christmas mama."

In other news, I'm unhappy with my size. (are you surprised?) However, I know that working will give me exercise as I tend to walk the halls "looking busy" during lulls. We're kinda waiting for that other shoe to drop, and things to start shifting around here. Subvet and I discussed some things I need to write down for him about the household routine, he also gave notice today. I'm a little extra clingy with the kids. I actually laid down and took a nap with the boys today. (tough job Subvet's taking on huh?) It's going to be a long two weeks!

Answers and Winners

well, I misquoted, it's actually "Praise the Lord and pass the tax rebate" and it's said by Friar Tuck in Disney's animated Robin Hood, which we are watching about twice a day now. :-)

omphalos n. 1) the navel; umbilicus 2) the central point 3) any of a number of navel-shaped stones that functioned as cult objects in ancient Greek religion esp a stone in the temple of Apollo at Delphi, thought to mark the center of the earth.

sinistral adj 1) of, pertaining to, or on the left side; left. 2) having a preference for using the left hand or side; left-handed 3) (of certain gastropod shells) coiling counterclockwise, as seen from the apex

My sinistral son doesn't like omphalos oranges. :-) (It's true!)


Linda is our Ms. Smarty Pants this week:


Omphalos - I work in a medical sort of field so I know this one. It's the navel or belly button as some might prefer.

(yeah and the 2 nurses DIDN'T get it....just the ambulance dispatcher...so much for MY confidence!!!) :-)

Stephanie is a Silly Goose with:
LOL! I was just thinking that phalos was awfully close to phallic! So, I'm thinking it's being able to point in all directions? Not sure if that is the serious answer or the goofy one, but I'm not going any further on that word!

MammyT is our other Silly Goose with:
sinistral - In the Rennaisance era, a travelling musician who sang only evil, ominous songs,
Example: Oh, no. Everybody inside. Here comes that roving sinistral.

Here you two go



I must say that competition was very tough this week.
Next week bring all your friends over to play as the more entries the more smiles!



I'm hoping to get Tiny Talk Tuesday, Sarah's Simple Sewing Secrets on Wednesday, Thesaurus Thursday (ON Thursday) and Show and Tell on Friday back up and running next week. So stay tuned. Of course chatter about and pics of my kids will run throughout the week too!

Have no fear Diane, I will be off 3 days one week and 4 days the next, alternating. And will be up all night while the rest of the house sleeps, so I doubt I will be online much less than now. I'll try to keep the blog up at any rate. I am going to be moving the sewing machine out of Sugars' bedroom so that I can sew during the night, this should help me with goal #1.

And again, I shall end with this......I just love it so!

Life is short!
Break the rules!
Forgive quickly!
Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably..
And never regret anything that made you smile