Food Storage Roll Call

So...how did you do? Did you use any of your tax money to reach your Provident Living goals? We got all of our long term storage (except rice and I still have to put the wheat in buckets) but I haven't updated out 72-hour kits.

Let me know what you did. I am ready to start making rewards! Check out my original challenge what you can win here.

Fair Time!

This dress I made for Emily won Grand Prize

in the Children's Dresses Tippecanoe County Fair

July 2008

It is that time again! I LOVE going to The Fair and it is even funner if you have something entered in the fair. There are sooo many categories - I know you can enter something. Cakes, cookies, canned items, photographs, drawings, all manner of sewing and needlework, flower arranging and vegetables are only a few of the options - really, the categories are endless. There are even "under 16 years-old" categories so you can get your kids involved even if they are not in 4-H. A great way to keep them busy making stuff and doing extra chores to earn "fair money."

"But my stuff isn't good enough," I can hear you say. Who cares! You should see some of the stuff that is there - some is good and some is...well...let's just say The Fair needs a shot of young trendy creative exhibitors. The whole point of The Fair is to go and look at stuff, get ideas and have fun. It won't be as much fun if your stuff isn't there. The Local County Fairs don't get many entries and need your help or else they will be totally LAME. In all honesty, there were only four entries in the dress competition that I won.

Go! Search for your Local County Fair and Enter something! Our deadline is July 1st so hurry up! Let me know what you submit!

Spring Recap

This spring I have been working on a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. It is getting amazingly big but my goal is to get it to queen sized.

We gave our Chevy Caprice away. We got Jimmy when we got married and he has served us well, but it was time to move on. On the way over to drop him off at his new home I tried to make a mental list of all the quirks I needed to tell his new owners:

1. The passenger door doesn't open from the outside
2. The middle front middle seat belt latch has a pull tab stuck inside it and will seem like it is latched but then come unlatched minutes later
3. The oil gauge doesn't work so they won't change the oil at Walmart - real places will though
4. The fabric lining on the roof is loose and needs to be re-stapled
5. The starter has been having problems off and on - just bang on it and it is fine
6. One of the windshield wiper blades needs to be replaced
7. Keep the car in the garage if you can because the trunk leaks and will get standing water and smelly
8. You have to really slam the trunk to get it to latch
9. You sometimes have to really play with the key to unlock the trunk once it is latched
10. Whatever you do, DO NOT ROLL DOWN THE DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW! It will fall out/not go back up again
11. You have to stick your fingers down into this hole to reach the window controls
12. The back passenger side seat belt is jammed and won't pull out

But I forgot to tell them the most important thing:

The gas gauge is off by a quarter tank - you had better stop when you reach a quarter tank because if it starts to hit empty you have one block of fumes left. I hope they don't curse us for our lousy car as they are walking down the side of the road looking for a gas station...

There are some good things about Jimmy though:

1. The a/c still works great
2. The heating works
3. He has real get up and go and can haul anything
4. The radio works (although it is hard to hear over all the other noises Jimmy makes at high speeds)
5. He still drives which at 216,000 miles, two accidents and major amounts of graham cracker crumbs is saying something.

We hope someone will still drive him - cosmetically he is shot but his engine is still going strong.

We bought a Honda Odyssey, 2003, 101,000 miles, leather seats and those fancy power doors. Love them! I feel all ostentatious and puffed up with pride driving something so nice - well, nice for me. I keep reminding myself that nobody is going to think I am flaunting my tax return wealth with a 7 year old 100,000 mile minivan. :)

Brian finished the chicken coop, sold our extra chicks to people from work and now they are out in the yard enjoying the fresh air. We move the coop everyday - we left it in one spot for two days and it just got a little to worn down. I need to reseed where they have eaten out all of the clover - it looks patchy. The sides lift off and there is a roosting area up there where they sleep. I cleaned it out today. It wan't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It stays dry so I just swept up the droppings and put them in the compost bin. I thought they would be really stuck on but they weren't. We have had TONS of rain recently and it stays nice and dry up there.

Brian in his safety glasses after he lost his real ones in Hawaii.

For the first week or so I would turn around, catch a glimpse of him and laugh because the sight of him in those safety glasses would catch me off guard. By the end of his three week adventure getting glasses I didn't even notice them.

The real reason for the picture is to write about Kate. While Brian was in Hawaii she finally started scooting. She now:

1. Scoots everywhere - she did a lap of the house this morning - very impressive
2. Will get up on her hands and knees but doesn't know what to do after that
3. Wants to eat by herself - cheese, canned carrots, crackers, cottage cheese, beans and sips of water and milk are her favorites
4. Can sip from a cup pretty well - not holding it herself
5. Sleeps in her own room - still wakes up during the night half of the time
6. Can say "hi," "hi, dada," "dada" and "kit-y

Famous or Infamous?

The Tri-County Times front page article: Huxley becomes six hen town. Yep, that's us. Take a look. I'll write more on it later.

Can I Just Say...

...that Colleen is cute as a button? She came up to me in the yard, did this punch thing with her arms, said, "two...three...running..." and took off. Also, anything to do with time (tomorrow, yesterday, this morning etc) is "two clock." For example: "Daddy back? Two clock?" It cracks me up.

...that Brian is spoiled? He hasn't had to mow the lawn yet this year.

...that I am spoiled? Brian carries around Kate all evening (she still really likes him) and plays with the kids - I would much rather he do that than mow the yard.

...that I want this pattern for chickens? You MUST check out all of her pictures of the chickens and chicks here. The hen lays eggs too! She made cardboard nesting boxes. I'm in love.

She also has a pig pattern. The snouts of the piglets are Velcro and attach onto Momma Pig's tummy. Plus Momma Pig has a zippered tummy that you can store the piglets in or pretend they are being born! I Love this girl. She also loves making crafts for her kids out of cardboard and teaches you how to draft your own patterns. Check LiEr out!

...that Kate has another - well, probably the same - ear infection? Number 3. Poor kid. At this rate she is going to get tubes too.

...that I am excited for the city wide garage sale tomorrow? The thrill of the hunt!

...that it looks like Huxley is getting a grocery store! Read the story here at myhuxley.com.

...that I could spend a lot of money on fabric? Unfortunately/Fortunately, I don't...sigh...

...that I hope you have a good day.

Date Night Challenge

I joined the Project 52: Date Nights. Meaning a date night a week. Every week you post what your date night was and link up to the main site so everyone can share date ideas. Stay-at-home-date-nights are the norm for many of these in college couples. I had never thought of stay-at-home-dates until our Indiana bishop told us that was what he and his wife did every Friday after the kids were in bed.

This week we started off with a bang and went out to dinner - Indian - I could eat there Every Day.

Will you join? One hour a week spending some quality time with your mate. I bet you'll like it.

Last Night...

after a board game that ended in screaming,

Emily cried, "I want normal siblings!"

Brian asked, "What are normal siblings?"

"You know...ones my own age."