Call Me Karo

Oh, How Pinteresting! July 5, 2011

2011-07-06T00:50:00.000-04:00

Is it really Wednesday again already?? I guess it is. The summer is flying by! But since it is Wednesday, that means it's time to link up with Michelle at The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday. Before I get to the pins, though, I want to tell you about a Gussy Sews birthday bash giveaway right here. She has put together 4 very cute prize packages for the winners, so go check it out! And now, some of my favorite pins for the week:

Baked Spinach Dip Mini Bread Bowls

Smarty Pants--sew the bottoms up and fill with Smarties candy for the classroom. So cute!

Peach cake and frosting--looks so good!

DIY fire pit project for around $30! I want one of these so badly!

That's it for this week. As always, let me know if you need an invite for Pinterest. You'll love it!

Until next time,

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T02:17:00.000-04:00

Image courtesy of Chuck Felix at freedigitalphotos.net

Happy Independence Day! I am so thankful and proud to call America my home.

America by Samuel F. Smith

My country 'tis of Thee
Sweet Land of Liberty
Of Thee I sing
Land where my fathers died
Land of the pilgrims' pride
From every mountain side
Let freedom ring!

I hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday,

DaySpring Winner

2011-07-04T01:58:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to Momo! You're the winner of the $20 credit to DaySpring's online store. Contact me at karo@callmekaro.com to claim your prize!

Paying Respect

2011-07-02T13:36:00.000-04:00

Paying respect is something you just don't see as much these days, so it makes me so happy when I witness it. It's a cliche, but little things do mean so much, and I saw the neatest little thing yesterday...

My uncle Zane passed away this week (my Mom's brother) and his funeral was held yesterday. I had ridden with my Mom and Dad, and on the way back from the funeral home I was pleased to see that many people in our town still pull off the road as a show of respect for the funeral procession. However, I made the remark to Momma and Daddy that you sure don't see it as often as you used to.

Once we left city limits, we made our way to the community where we live (up on the river, as we call it). After we got a few miles in, we passed a young man who was probably in his late 20's who had been mowing his yard. He stopped working as the procession drove by. He didn't walk back up to the porch or go inside, though. Instead, he took off his ball cap, held it against his chest, and stood by his mower while watching us pass.

I'm sure he didn't have a clue who was being taken to the cemetery that day. He could have just finished up his mowing and went about his day. But this young man respected the fact that someone had passed on, leaving a family who was grieving in his absence and decided to honor them in a simple, powerful way. It certainly made an impression on my Mom, Dad, and me. I guess his gesture wasn't such a small thing after all.

What little (or not so little) ways do you show respect?

Have a wonderful weekend,

Oh, How Pinteresting! June 29, 2011

2011-06-29T21:06:00.003-04:00

First of all, I want to let you know that if any of you enjoy DaySpring products, I'm hosting a review and $20 giveaway here. Next--it's Wednesday and that means time to link up with Michelle at The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting!

If you haven't heard of Pinterest yet, well then you need to run on over and take a look. If you need an invite, just let me know! It's addictive, though. :) You can follow my boards at pinterest.com/callmekaro.

I kind of had to scramble at the last minute to update my pins this week, because I've been a little MIA due to some kind of vicious stomach bug. Anyway, here are some of my favorite things this week:

I love this wooden basket re-purposed to hold picnic items!

Source: madiganmade.blogspot.com via Karen on Pinterest

This cottage-style kitchen is dreamy.

Source: cappuccinocottage.blogspot.com via Karen on Pinterest

I've followed this Etsy shop's Twitter account for a while, and I love these Ukrainian Pysanka eggs. She also has vases made from eggs too. They're gorgeous!

Source: etsy.com via Karen on Pinterest

How pretty (and yummy-looking) are these pastel homemade peppermint patties?

Source: sweetapolita.com via Karen on Pinterest

I think I could possibly learn to love laundry chores in a laundry room like this one. Maybe.

Source: cococozy.com via Karen on Pinterest

And finally, this just made me laugh...

Source: buzzfeed.com via Karen on Pinterest

That's it for this week. I used embedded links this time to link straight back to the pin, but it's totally messed up my font. Which is making me cranky. Anyhoo, can't wait to see what everyone else has been pinning this week!

Until next time,

Encouragement & A DaySpring Giveaway!

2011-06-29T15:50:00.005-04:00

This is a review of DaySpring products for which I received their product at no cost. The opinions are entirely mine.

From www.merriam-webster.com: Encourage-"to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope;" "to spur on;" "to give help or patronage to."

Encouragement can mean everything. In the past couple of months, I've found myself feeling down and out over factors which I can't control. But just when I'm feeling the worst, my friends, family, and even online friends always come through with encouraging words, lifting me up. Really, who doesn't find themselves in need of encouragement now and then?

I also love being able to give encouragement when I can. DaySpring recently offered bloggers a chance to review one of their products for their June Inspired Deals, with the theme being encouragement. Well, needless to say, I was all in. I am a major card/letter/note writer. As much as I love being connected online, I still have a soft spot for handwritten notes and letters. I'm always picking up little packs of note cards here and there to have on hand, and love to keep a stock of greeting cards around as well. So there was no question as to which product I wanted to review.

DaySpring sent me their Hope & Encouragement Card Pack for my review.

I was immediately impressed by the quality of these cards. (I am not a photographer, however, so please forgive the photos. I tried to adjust them to show the true colors, but I didn't do such a hot job.) The detail on these cards is what strikes me most.

Those little leaves? Those are raised in a velvety texture.

Those apples are raised too, in multiple layers, and the texture is really smooth and glossy.

How do you like that "jeweled" brooch? And that glitter detail in the puddles? These cards are really lovely. They are also a nice, heavy stock. And honestly, you won't buy cards of this quality anywhere and pay less than you would at DaySpring. In fact, this particular card pack is on sale right now for $19.99. That's less than $2 per card. In this case, that's a lot of encouragement for the buck. :)

And of course, every DaySpring Hope & Encouragment Card includes inspirational quotes and scripture. The cards come 10 to a pack and include envelopes. I really couldn't be more pleased with my cards, and I love knowing I don't have to run out to the store next time I need to send an encouraging note.

ETA: I have received a $20 coupon code for one of you to spend at DaySpring's online store. All you need to do to enter is visit them at www.dayspring.com and leave a comment here telling me what item(s) you like best. I'll use random.org to choose a winner on Monday, July 4th. Shipping charges will apply to the winner's order and the code will expire on August 31, 2011. Good luck! :)

Oh, How Pinteresting!

2011-06-22T23:35:00.000-04:00

So, I know I'm super late, but I wanted to get in on Oh, How Pinteresting! Wednesdays with Michelle from The Vintage Apple.

Pinterest is highly addictive. If you aren't signed up but want to be, I can send you an invite. Just let me know! And now, to some of my favorite pins for my first link-up.

You can follow me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/callmekaro. Now I'm off to ~~stalk~~ follow some new pinners!

Till next time,

Job Woes

2011-06-18T09:37:00.000-04:00

"You'll have a job before you graduate." That's what everyone in the education department kept telling me. It's looking doubtful.

Now it's not that I went into special education with the sole purpose of job security. You don't go into special education for that reason, believe me. If you don't have a heart for the job, you won't make it through student teaching, for one thing. But still... I was really not expecting to have *this* much trouble locating a job.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've expanded my job search to include bookkeeping and office management positions as well, since I have a lot of experience in those areas. And I still love that type of work, don't get me wrong--but it's a little depressing to spend five long years in school, away from your kids for the most part, and not be able to utilize the degree you earned, particularly when you have an obscene amount of student loans to pay back.

Of course, no one expected to see so many major cuts to North Carolina's education budgets either. So many positions--teachers, assistants, support staff--have been or will be cut for the 2011-2012 school year. The same goes for mental health budgets. It's really sad that lawmakers feel that it's okay to cut funding for the populations who need it most. So many of our local schools have made such strides in the last few years, and now the state will see a turn-around for the worse. I'm predicting that within a couple of years the state will be scrambling to pull North Carolina's education system up from the bottom of the barrel. Expectations continue to increase, so why would you cut resources? It's so frustrating.

I'm sure I will find something soon and I'll be grateful for whatever type of job it is. I've been unemployed for nearly six months, so I'm ready to get back to work. My checking account is ready too. In more positive news, I'm only about 6 weeks away from the completion of that long sought-after degree!

Have a great Saturday,

Dear Nicholas

2011-06-16T22:05:00.001-04:00

NOTE: SPOILER ALERT--If you've never read Dear John, you may want to skip this little good-humored rant.

Dear Nicholas,

I am not quite sure how I feel about you right now. Over the past several years, I've depended on you to deliver beautifully crafted stories full of emotion and love affairs that leave the heart pounding and wishing for real-life fairy tales. You haven't let me down--until now.

I finished reading Dear John in the wee hours of the morning, having become so engrossed in the story of John and Savannah that I couldn't possibly sleep before seeing how it all ended. As I reached the end of the last page, I indeed felt a swell of emotion. Not that usual, stupid grin-inducing, "I don't want the book to end" emotion, mind you. Irritation bordering on anger, perhaps. I promptly flung the paperback across the living room and thought some not-so-nice things about you.

I do not allow myself to get so emotionally invested in a character, only to see him drive off alone after spying on the happily married life of his one true beloved. I do not read love stories in order to see the ever-so-lovable lead character get his heart broken repeatedly. Seriously? The heroic soldier who waits patiently for his virginal love while risking life and limb for his country doesn't get the girl?

Dear Nicholas, this one sucked.

Ever yours,

Catching Up

2011-05-17T04:13:00.001-04:00

Wow, can’t believe it’s been a month since I’ve written anything. Actually, I can absolutely believe it. First of all, I have been incredibly lazy since the spring term ended. I have no job right now, since I had to quit in order to do my student teaching, so I’ve spent way too many days sitting around watching House Hunters and Property Virgins. Second of all, every time I think about writing—I think about the aggravation I get trying to format an entry on Blogger. Maybe it’s just me, but formatting just never seems to carry over from the preview window to the actual post. I’ve been thinking about going with WordPress for a while…

In other news, Easter was fun. We went to my parents’ house for dinner, like we do for every major holiday. I look forward to those get-togethers for weeks and weeks ahead. Nobody cooks like Momma cooks. ;) With the lack of homework, I also got to pull out the crochet hooks and do a little crafting. I decided to take the pattern for this little lamb egg cozy and modify it just a tad to make some little spring/Easter critters.

I made the first three and so many friends and family loved them that I ended up making a LOT of them.

I've been on a bit of a cooking kick lately. The biggest reason for that is that we spent most of a month eating canned food or take-out when our refrigerator died (but not the freezer section, go figure). Thankfully, a family member just happened to have an extra fridge that they gave us and we were able to get it last week. We had to replace everything in the refrigerator but I didn't really care--because at that point, if I had to eat another McDonald's burger or can of Chef Boyardee I would've dropped my basket. Before we went to the grocery store, I looked around online for a few new recipes to try and decided to try Pioneer Woman Ree's Sour Cream Noodle Bake and Kelly's (from Kelly's Korner) Poppyseed Chicken. Both were big hits. I would've taken photos of how they turned out, but they didn't last long enough. ;)

I am so glad that summer is nearly here! I'm so looking forward to hanging out at the river, maybe camping a bit, and surely hanging out on the Parkway. It will be busy summer with two classes but on July 31st I will be F-I-N-I-S-H-E-D. Degree earned and teaching license applied for, providing I pass my two state Praxis exams. I will know about the first one in a couple of weeks since I took it on April 30th. The second one, the BIG one, is scheduled for June 11th, meaning I should be studying for it instead of watching Property Virgins yet again. The only thing that really stinks is having to take an extra class that I don't need to graduate. However, I have to be attending half-time to qualify for a student loan--meaning if I only take the one class that I need, it will cost nearly $900 out of pocket which isn't happening right now. It's a little aggravating, but at least the end is near! I've really enjoyed the last five years and have grown so much through the experiences, but I am so ready for that part of my journey to be over.

Winding Down

2011-04-17T12:50:00.002-04:00

I wrote this on paper a few weeks ago, but hadn’t had a chance to post it. I have finished my student teaching now.

I have three weeks left of my student teaching assignment. There is so much to tell, if only I could tell it. Due to confidentiality, I can’t give too many details about the students themselves. Suffice it to say that I love every one of them.

The whole student teaching experience has been both wonderful and terrible. All the negative aspects have to do with administration stuff on the part of the college. Working with the kids, however, is everything I hoped it would be.

One little guy, a sweet and mischievous boy with Down Syndrome, greets me every day with a hug. He continues to shower me with his affection throughout the day, grabbing my hand to pop a kiss on it if he thinks he might be getting in trouble.

There are eight more kids in my class, all with various levels of ability. Some walk, some use wheel chairs, some can’t hear, and some can’t see. Every one of them, however, learns something every day. Kids like those in my room are often overlooked and underestimated—and that’s the sad part of being in special education.

I also work in some inclusion classes, which I also enjoy. My dream job would be interventions, though. Especially when it comes to math and reading, subjects build on previous knowledge. When a kid misses one or more stops in the learning process, it can be very difficult to catch back up. That’s why I want to be the one called in to help replace those missing skills—so kids don’t end up two or three grade levels behind by the time they leave elementary school. Of course, I have no idea if I’ll get to even work in an elementary school yet, but that is my preference. Needless to say, I’ll just be happy to get a job in the fall!

More later,

When Dawn has Come

2011-02-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

"Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because the Dawn has come." ~Rabindranath Tagore

Two years ago today, I had the honor of witnessing my Mammaw Gladys leave this life and enter the one where she'll never again endure the night. It was beautiful. It was heart-shattering. What I witnessed in that dimly lit hospital room eradicated any doubt I might have harbored deep in my heart about what awaits on the other side. I've never been able to write down that whole experience, and still can't to this day. Maybe some day. For now, though, I'm cheating a little and posting a poem that I wrote sometime last year.

{Playing the clothespin game at a baby shower...she was SO competitive. :) }

I Miss You

I miss you.
The way you'd get tickled, eyes sparkling and shoulders shaking
As you told a story from way-back-when.

I miss you.
Even the way you'd get so mad, bumping your head on the cabinet door,
Blaming one of us for distracting you.
We still laugh.

I miss you.
Spending the night at the old house, curled up on your couch
Watching "The Wizard of Oz" every year around Thanksgiving.

I miss you.
Watching you throw ingredients into that old Harvest Gold KitchenAid,
Perhaps making cookies to send to Paul overseas.
I still dream of owning one just because.

I miss you.
The way your cheek was always so cool when I kissed you,
Because you had been sweating over the stove as you cooked for us.
You always found something wrong with your cooking--Momma gets that from you.

I miss you.
Those many, many nights and afternoons lying in your bedroom as a child,
Ready for a nap or bedtime, singing songs together from church.
"And like an eagle I'll take to the sky..."

I miss you.
I sang that one, one of our favorites, to you in your hospital room.
We were alone for a little while, my heart breaking as I encouraged you be like that eagle.
"Mammaw, just let this old body go--go on home and rest..."

I miss you.
Sometimes so much that it literally hurts my heart.
Grief still so raw that some days I just have to block the memories out.
I don't ever want to lose them, though.
I know some day the memories will be more sweet--less bitter.
But for now, all I can say is
I miss you.

Chocolate Dumplings

2011-01-17T01:43:00.000-05:00

Last week we were being barraged by snow storms left and right, it seemed. It is, of course, so beautiful; but it can sure be a pain in the derrière when you need to get out and about.

When it gets so cold and dreary outside, I like to eat. I mean I really, really like to eat. Comfort food, of course. Something nice and rich, warm, maybe sweet even. So on one particular day last week, I decided I was going to make a pot of chocolate dumplings.

Now, my Momma has made chocolate gravy for as long as I can remember. We always ate it over a crumbled up biscuit with some butter melted in the bowl. A few years ago, though, I got a cook book from a local church youth group and found this recipe. It was like having the gravy and biscuit all in one pot, and without the pesky whisking of flour and milk to try to avoid the ever-present lumps in the gravy. By the way, my sister always wanted the gravy lumpy because of the bits of dough it made...go figure. She'd probably love these dumplings. Here's the super-easy recipe:

Chocolate Dumplings

1 cup sugar
3 rounded tsp. cocoa
2 cups water
biscuit dough
butter

Mix sugar and cocoa; add water. Bring to a boil. Drop bits of biscuit dough and let cook--don't stir (though I do run my wooden spoon real gently along the bottom from time to time to minimize sticking.) When cooked, spot with butter. Then spoon into a bowl over a little (or a lot) more butter and enjoy!

Transition II

2011-01-15T02:29:00.000-05:00

I finally managed to get out of the driveway Thursday, after 12 days stuck in the house, and just wrapped up two days of orientation and CPI training today. These were originally scheduled earlier in the week, but postponed due to the never-ending snow. It felt wonderful to be out and about, even if I did spend the days listening to lectures and learning to get myself out of grabs, bites, chokes, hair pulls, and the like. On Monday morning, barring any more snow storms, I will finally get to start my student teaching assignment, otherwise known as Transition II in my degree program.

I am extremely excited, but also a bit overwhelmed. The amount of information taken in over the past two days was unbelievable. The amount of papers, projects, paperwork, and deadlines noted were daunting, to say the least. One thing is certain--I am going to have to become more organized and disciplined than I've ever been before. Since I am not, by nature, very organized or disciplined to begin with, I have my work cut out for me.

Inspired by blogger Amy Bennett, I recently added a "The Bible in 90 Days" link at the top of my sidebar. I have never read the Bible straight through and I know there are books that I've probably never read at all. In fact, my beautiful Bible, given to me by my Momma many Christmases ago, has sat unopened for longer than I care to admit. I made a promise to myself to be positive in 2011. Part of that is trying to put my priorities back in order--keeping my attention on things that matter and passing up those that just bring out my negative side. I thought beginning the year with reading the Bible in its entirety would be a good way to start. Sadly, I've fallen woefully behind in the readings within the first week. It would help if I didn't wait until bedtime to read since I keep falling asleep in the middle of the day's reading. I'm definitely not giving up though; I'll just have to push myself to catch up. In all honesty, if I spent some of the time that I normally spend on Facebook actually reading, I wouldn't have a problem catching up. Part of that whole becoming organized and disciplined thing, you know. Yep.

Tomorrow, I'm going to post a ridiculously simple recipe that I love to pull out in cold weather. I'd do it now, but I thought I'd actually try to post a picture or two for once, so it'll have to wait till then.

Finally, let me say that I was tickled to death to see comments on my last post since I figured folks had long since given up hope that I'd ever update again. :) Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me someone to "talk to" here. I'm off to snuggle up under my heavy, super soft comforter for some sweet dreams...

It's 3 a.m., I Must be Lonely

2011-01-10T04:10:00.000-05:00

So here it is, January 10, 3:32 a.m., and I cannot sleep. I should be asleep. I should have been in bed hours and hours ago since I need to be up at 6:00 a.m. in order to make it to student teaching orientation on time. However, since there's still a half a foot of snow in my yard and it just started pouring down again, I doubt that I'll be getting there anyway. The second major snowstorm of the year is headed this way.

I haven't posted here since late October. That's no surprise to me, considering the fall semester I had. At one point I had three classes going at once--no big deal to the average college student. But when you're a 36 year-old single mom who also happens to work full-time, three classes a week can just about do you in. Of course, I took two weeks off after quitting my job (so I can do my student teaching gig) and have worked on the look of the blog, but never quite got around to writing. No time like the present.

We had a wonderful Christmas holiday, and Mother Nature's gift to us was a white Christmas. So much white that I couldn't drive to Momma and Daddy's, so Daddy had to come haul us up there for Christmas dinner. I haven't missed a Christmas day at my parents' house since leaving it 18 years ago; I didn't intend to start this year.

I was on the receiving end of some really sweet goodies this Christmas, and I don't mean fudge. My parents gave me a Kindle, AKA my "precious." I have downloaded entirely too many books, most of which were free. My sister gave me a gift card so I could buy some Kindle books, as well as some really yummy smelling goodies from Bath & Body Works. My kids surprised me with some wonderful things too. All the Underworld movies on DVD, a fragrance diffuser, and to top it all off--The Pioneer Woman's cookbook. That one was my teenage son's idea, believe it or not. He knows his Momma. And he likes when I actually cook. ;)

I have been reading some really good books during my vacation. I want to really try to feature more book reviews on my blog and two that I want to definitely feature are One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where you Are by Ann Voskamp and Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food by Lysa TerKeurst. I've made it a few chapters into each one and let me tell you--these books speak to me. Oh, yes they do. Whenever I'm not crying over my Kindle (bad idea, by the way), I'm nodding my head "yes" excitedly or thinking "I know exactly what she means!" Anyway, more on these as I finish them and, most likely, reread them.

New Year's Eve was also a blast. Every year, my sister and brother-in-law come over to have sub sandwiches and other yummies, and then we play Phase 10 all night. This year was even more special because lately my sister and I have become closer than ever. We've not always had the best of relationships, but that is changing and it's made me extremely happy.

I'm almost positive that no one happens by my pitiful little blog these days since I am so extremely bad about posting regularly. However, now that attending school is actually my full-time job, I should have some extra time to spend here and I hope to build my little journal into something more. Even if I never have more than a handful of visitors, it feels good to have a place just to put down thoughts, memories, and ideas.

It's now 4:00 a.m. and though I still feel lonely, I think I'll try to nap while the soft, white blanket outside gets fuller and thicker by the minute.

A Family of Bookworms, Part I

2010-10-20T05:33:00.001-04:00

Image courtesy of Peter Hellebrand

For as far back as I can remember, I've always loved to read. It didn't really matter what the material was. There was always something to read, even if it was only the ingredients in the loaf of bread on the kitchen table or the blurb on the back of the shampoo bottle in the bathtub. I just love words.

When I was little, my parents got me this huge, blue, hard-back volume of Aesop's fables and other fairy tales. That thing was like my personal holy grail. I remember carrying it around when it seemed it was nearly as big as me. Inside those pages I met Rumplestiltskin, the troll under the bridge, and Rapunzel. Delving into those thousands of words there were adventures to be had and I loved visiting those make-believe lands. When my sister was old enough to get to my beloved treasury of stories, she decided to add her own brand of artwork. She drew all over the pages and I have to admit that I just might still hold that against her. (Love you Mo!)

Imagine my delight when I reached Kindergarten and saw all the books there were at school! Books in the classroom, books in the library... One of the best things about my school was that in the library, there was a reading loft. There was also one in the fourth grade classroom and I absolutely loved climbing up there with a book or magazine to just hang out and relax.

Then there were the book fairs. There were the Scholastic book order forms that we got just every few weeks. There was the AG teacher who really fostered my love of books.

She had a positive reinforcement program going for the three of us in her class that allowed us to pick out a book when we met different goals. We read so many different types of books in there. She introduced us to Greek Mythology as well. We didn't just read the stories, though. We carried them over into other projects and activities. I remember that when we read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow we got to make paper mache (or is it papier mache?) puppets and had our parents come in for the puppet show. Since I was the only girl in the class, I got to play Katrina Van Tassel of course.

Elementary school also meant discovering the great Judy Blume. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Superfudge, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, and of course the one all prepubescent girls can relate to--Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

As I moved along to middle and high school, I didn't stick only to books on my own grade-level. I was reading Pet Semetary well before I knew exactly what Rachel was doing with that bath mitt. As a matter of fact, I think I fell head over heals for Mr. King. And then there was V.C. Andrews. If there has ever been a more inappropriate line of books for a teenager to be reading, I don't know what it would be. I mean come on... incest, filicide, adultery, revenge. The Dollanganger Series had it all. I'd read the series probably twice before I had an inkling about what half of it meant.

There were also a few books by Catherine Marshall that I loved--Christy, especially. I've read it at least three times that I can think of. Julie was good too.

As an adult, I really got into true crime books. Ann Rule is one of my favorite authors and I've read a few of her books more than once. I've read If You Really Loved Me several times and have been dying to see the made-for-TV movie but never seem to catch it.

Of course, my love for Stephen King has never waned over the years. His short story collections are among my favorites as well as his memoir On Writing (which I'm actually still reading.) I've read The Stand a few times (are you sensing a pattern here) as well as Misery and Dolores Claiborne. I started include the number of King books I've actually read, thinking it was a pretty big number--then I realized it's probably only a third or so of what he's actually published! I guess I have a new goal to work on, though I don't know if I can get into the more sci-fi type books. And while I've had a few of his short story collections, I'm sure there are some stories that I've skipped over. I need to remedy this as well.

Back to the subject at hand... These days I don't get to do as much reading for pleasure. I read a lot of textbooks, of course, and a lot of books on teaching and education in general. However, I haven't completely given up on my pleasure reading. I am terrible about buying books. It seems like there's always an Amazon box at the door. The last order I received (aside from the textbook that came yesterday) contained a hodgepodge: Learning Disabilities and Life Stories, The Organized Teacher, and a new copy of an old favorite (two books in one actually) Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind. The order before that had some books for my son's homeschool studies: Painless Grammar and Pre-Algebra Demystified. So as you can see, there's never a shortage of books here at our house.

Other books I've read for fun during the past year include Same Kind of Different as Me, The Help, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, and Of Mice and Men. Currently, I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love, Love on a Dime, and Strong Women, Soft Hearts. I'm so far behind that I'm ashamed to even order the newest Bloom Book Club selection yet. The stack of books I have that are just waiting to be read is embarrassingly huge as well. I think I've pretty much established that I am a hopeless bookworm. But do you know what makes me even happier than a house full of books? Knowing that my kids are bookworms too!

Are you a bookworm? What books did you grow up with? What do you enjoy reading now?

To be continued...

Peril in the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-17T06:45:00.000-04:00

My daughter and I took my client to Grandad's Apples, an orchard in Hendersonville, NC, a week or so ago. I went last year and bought some little pumpkins that my kids and I painted for Halloween. I really loved the place and since they also have a corn maze, I knew it would be fun for A.

It seemed to be a perfectly ordinary day on a perfectly ordinary apple farm. The whole place was decorated for the season. I loved this scarecrow:

This may or may not be Grandad:

I bought some apples in here:

...along with an apple corer and some delicious icy-cold cider. (The teperature was well into the 80's that day!)

A. perused the plentiful pumpkins and bought himself one to carve at home later this month.

Of course, the place was packed with folks picking out pumpkins. Some were tiny. Some were so big they had to be carted around in wagons!

We even saw some "snake gourds" which I had never seen before.

There were rows of rockers and piles of punkins'.

There were goats to feed...

...and a llama named Yodi.

I seriously love me some llamas!

There was a cute cow train for the littles...

...and an enormous corn maze set against a gorgeous mountain backdrop!

Yes, it was turning out to be a perfect little Saturday outing. Until, that is, the dinosaurs attacked. Yes, I said dinosaurs.

This baby T-Rex ate one of the cute scarecrows...

...and its mom threw a tractor up onto the silo.

The triceratops went on a violent rampage through the pumpkin patch.

He even plowed down these cute kids.

And with that, we snatched up our pumpkins and apples and rocked it right on out of there!

What fun pumpkin-pickin' trips are your family taking this fall?

If you're in the WNC area, check out Grandad's Apples here: www.grandadsapples.com or on their Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hendersonville-NC/Grandads-Apples-N-Such/335580485001

Following Orders vs. Doing What's Right

2010-10-13T02:23:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I came across a news item that really stunned me. These days, it seems harder and harder to shock folks. We're just too used to seeing all the bad things in the paper or on the news stations. However, when I read that firefighters in Tennessee stood by and watched a man's house burn to the ground because he hadn't paid a $75 fee, I was floored.

Gene Cranick said he had forgotten to pay the fee. As he pointed out, we all forget to pay things. How many times have you forgotten to mail in the cable or phone bill? Especially when it is something that you only pay once a year (like my vehicle tax) it's easy to forget. I understand that this particular fire department relies on a yearly fee rather than a fire tax to keep operations going--but really? They let a family's home, their memories, their possessions, and even their three dogs and a cat burn because of $75? Cranick even told them he'd pay any amount they asked for if they'd only put the fire out. The fire department refused.

The firefighters were "following orders" as they watched Cranicks house burn down while they sprayed the neighboring property to prevent the fire from spreading to it. I'm sorry but orders or no, there is no way I could stand by and watch a fellow human being lose everything he/she owned. I think it's a sad, sad time when we allow scenarios such as this to play out.

I have never suffered a house fire. I cannot imagine what it must be like to watch everything you've ever worked for go up in flames. Pictures of your kids. Old letters or news items lovingly tucked away in to scrapbooks or journals. Family heirlooms. Family Bibles. Pets who've given unconditional love. The only word that keeps coming to mind is "sad." I feel overwhelmingly sad not only for the Cranicks, but for the state of humanity that would call this acceptable.

What is your opinion? Do you feel that the fire department was within its rights to let the house burn? Do you think that it was morally wrong for the firefighters to follow orders in this case? Let me know here in the comments or over in the discussion on my BlogFrog community.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39516346/ns/us_news-life

It's Been A While

2010-10-12T01:19:00.001-04:00

Forgive my rambling--I feel like I'm trying to learn to ride a bike all over again.

Sooo... It has been quite a while since I've posted. I've most likely lost some of my already very few readers and that's understandable. When you don't hear from someone in months, you tend to just move on. Sometimes life just doesn't want to play along with the game already in progress. Sometimes, like a bratty little bully, it just knocks you off your swing and into the dust for a while and all you can do is let it have its way.

There is never a "convenient" time for depression to come sneaking around to the back porch. Summer began with big plans, lists of goals to check off, and lots of empty time. No classes and a short work week allowed me to be home four days a week. Four days to sit at the computer idly, play video games with the boy, or take naps late into the day and then stay awake all night. It was vacation after all, right? Inevitably, at the end of the day, I'd look back and see how little I accomplished and feel guilty. A little guilt is all it takes for that old nagging devil depression to start tap-tap-tapping at my door. "This house is still a mess and I haven't done a thing today." "How pathetic, here I sit and the sink is still full of dirty dishes." "I can't believe I've been home all day and didn't even cook." You see where I'm headed here? Those little thoughts creep into my head and soon all I can see when I walk pass the mirror is "worthless." I lose all interest in things that usually make me happy. I become withdrawn. I get mean. I'm not a nice person.

I've often described my mental state during these depressive episodes as feeling possessed. Now I am not getting into spiritual issues here; but when I am in the midst of one of these valleys, so to speak, it can honestly feel like something else is controlling my brain. Before I was ever diagnosed and treated I felt like I lived in the wrong person's life. It was only after being on medication for a while that I could even articulate what it was like to live through my particular craziness, much less comprehend the chemical processes behind it.

Once I did hit that point of clarity, I swore to myself that I would never, ever allow myself to go through it again. I even went so far as to proclaim that the angels themselves could not drag my Lexapro from my needy hands. A couple of years ago I changed my mind, however, when it became impossible for me to keep paying for the doctor visits and prescriptions. So, I weaned myself off the pills (not something I recommend you do on your own AT. ALL.) After about six months, when the racing heart and fluttery chest finally subsided, I was feeling fine.

I continued to feel fine for about a year, and then winter came along with its cold, bleak, end-of-the-world, smack-me-in-the-face-with-a-brick-type of depression all its own. I dealt. Spring made it back to town and I was feeling fine as a frog's hair once again. And so the cycle went for a while. But this year...this year was something special. Summer came along like it always does, but this time it did not bring the happy. For a while there, I thought I was going to have to start all over again with the meds because I didn't know how else I was going to get through it.

Finally, school started again and filled my hours with lesson planning for work and for the boy, school projects, class forums to keep up with, etc. Half-way into the fall term, I'm now starting to feel a little more like living. I've lurked around some other blogs, found some things to make me smile (and others to make my head spin), and received some much-needed encouragement. (Thank you.) So now I am attempting to write at least semi-regularly again. It does make me happy, but it seems that when I start pressuring myself to come up with a post I simply cause myself a case of writer's block. Thus, I am hoping to let the words come as they may. They may not always make sense (as with this post) and they certainly won't always make a point or have anything terribly important to say. For now, it is good just to see them make it back onto the screen.

Weekend Recap

2010-07-13T02:20:00.001-04:00

Yep, I know it's Tuesday already. You're talking to a girl whose computer occasionally requires 25 minutes to an hour to resize a photo, so...you know.

It was certainly an interesting weekend here at the House of Karo. I work every Saturday night but before heading out I like to sepend some time online. This Saturday, before I rushed out the door (I am perpetually late), I opened up a notepad document and filled it with a long list of button codes for all the blogs I follow with the intention of placing them on my blog. After pasting the very last one, I saved the document on my desktop for fast retrieval as "bloglistcodes.txt."

Sunday evening, after spending about five hours in the river, I came home to work on the blog a little. It's a kind of messy right now and doesn't do a great job of highlighting the blogs I love to read. So I log on and flip over to the desktop to open up the list of codes.

It wasn't there.

So I think to myself, "Self? It probably just got saved in Documents or something similar." So I go digging. Nothing. Next, I do a search through all my folders. Nada. Finally, I peek into the recycle bin. Zip. It's as if it never existed. Which means I will spend another considerable amount of time getting those codes together. It also means my laptop ate my file. Darn Dell.

Speaking of the river, I have now officially met Summer vow #2 which was to hit the river often for swimming with my kids. The latest trip was yesterday--a five-hour, non-stop, fingers-and-toes-so-wrinkled-I'm-not-sure-I-still-have-fingerprints foray into the cold, cold water. It was awesome.

I love living so close to the best swimming hole in the area. There are areas where you can just wade if you want.

Then there are the areas where it's plenty deep enough to swim, dive, flip, and belly flop.

Or you can just find a big rock to sit on and get your toes wet.

There's also a beach just right for throwing out a blanket to lay on or a chair for lounging. Some even build a fire and camp.

But we're just happy to swim.

Yep, we wear our regular old clothes in the water. We're ~~nerds~~ cool that way. We also avoid blistering sunburns that way (well, that and plenty of sunscreen.) Not to mention the fact that I'm fat and don't want to scare the wildlife by prancing around in a bathing suit. ;)

The trip to the river wasn't without its interesting moments either. Enter the lady with the German Shepherd, henceforth LWGS. Or you can just call her rude.

Yesterday the little beach was quite crowded (above photos NOT taken yesterday, obviously) and I would say there were at least 8 adults in chairs lined up along the shore so they could watch over the youngsters playing in the water. Everyone was having a grand old time and then here comes LWGS. She and her dog come down the embankment and just stroll around the beach, no big deal.

We're all talking about how pretty the dog is and then suddenly he squats at the very edge of the water (right in front of all the folks in chairs) and takes a big dump. LWGS says "Oh, that's a big one!" and then uses her Croc to kind of scoot a little sand and gravel over it. Then they proceed to climb back up to the road, presumably to finish their walk. So my mouth is just hanging open because I cannot believe that she just let her dog poop right in the midst of all these people, not to mention walking away and leaving it for them to smell in the 90 degree heat. Seriously, it couldn't have been farther than 3 feet away from them.

But that's not all of the stupidity of the day, by far. Not long after the first group had waved goodbye and headed home, another group rolled in. Unfortunately, these were not exactly the type of people you want to see hanging out near deep water.

This group was loud, obnoxious, and I think eventually drunk. While their kids played in the water, the parents started drinking. I've got nothing against anyone who wants to have a drink or a beer or whatever. But swimming with your kids? Not the best place to start getting loaded. Granted, we live in the boonies, so we're bound to run into some extreme forms of redneck-iness. (Don't get me wrong, I am as countrified as they come, but GEESH)

So the mom comes wading in with her phone to her ear. Meanwhile, dad is screaming "Get away from the water with that pho-une! That's a $300 pho-une!" She ignores him but eventually gets out of the water with her ~~pho-une~~ phone, but only long enough to grab a can of beer and head back into the river. Dad spends the whole time walking around bare (pasty white) chested in his faded out jeans, loud-mouthing about this and that. Mom continues her drink-and-squeal spiel. Uncle decides he's going to dive off one of the rocks that are just beneath the surface into about 3 feet of water (even though mom is squealing "Gene, it's not deep enough! It's not deeeeep enough Geeeeene!")

Finally, they get tired and decided to ~~stagger~~ go home. However, not before they smash some of their beer bottles against a big rock on the way up the trail. Thanks, Idiots of Blue Rock, for scattering shards of glass all over the rocks and sand where little kids play. You give us country folk a good name. Too bad the druggie trash patrol wasn't around to chastise them--but that's another story entirely.

I hope your weekend was fabulous!

Stop and Smell the--Memories?

2010-07-10T06:48:00.001-04:00

"For the sense of smell, almost more than any other, has the power to recall memories and it is a pity that we use it so little." --Rachel Carson

We know that certain scents can trigger memories; but what about the other way around? ~~Maybe~~ I'm weird but sometimes when I'm off in my own little world just reliving a particularly nice moment in time, they will hit me. The smells that my brain have associated with the event just come flooding back all at once.

For instance, not so long ago I was making my 1.5 hour trip to work and had the ocean on my mind. Next to my mountains, there is nowhere else I'd rather be. I'm not into the big crowds and amusement park-filled beaches, mind you. I prefer the more peaceful islands where you can just sit out on the sand and quietly listen to the waves lapping along the shore. Or on a busier day, listen to some kids squealing as they try to outrun the tide.

As I was thinking about the coast, I remembered driving from Savannah over to Tybee Island. The way I rolled down my window to feel the hot air on my face as we drove under a canopy of trees covered in Spanish moss. Then my mind turned to crossing the Cooper River Bridge to enter Charleston and there it was. As I was crossing a mountain here in Western North Carolina, I began to smell the salty air of the coast. If I had closed my eyes I feel sure I could have easily believed I was standing on the edge of the big blue with warm, white foam rolling over my toes.

What about you? Do you smell cotton candy and funnel cakes when you remember a trip to the carnival? Can you smell shampoo and cologne when you think about your first kiss?

Oh, Happy Friday!

2010-07-09T01:18:00.001-04:00

Oh, happy Friday! That means I have the day off and can wallow in the cold river all day if I want. ;) It also means that it's time for Five Question Friday AND Follow Me, Chickadee Friday! What's Follow Me, Chickadee Friday you ask? It's a new link up that allows you to hook up with some new blogger friends. It's co-hosted by The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom, Mannland5, and The Adventures of Goober Grape and Monkey Man. All lovely gals and darn well friendly at that. :)

1. What is one food you could eat everyday?
Meatloaf. Yes, seriously.

2. Are you working in the career you thought you would be when you were 18?
Almost! When I was 18 I wanted to teach high school English. Well I'll be 36 this month and I'm set to graduate with my Special Ed. teaching degree in May.

3. What is something that you wish you would have done when you were younger and you didn't?
Went straight on to college! But then, I'm not sure how well that would've worked with my infant daughter tagging along. :)

4. What color are your kitchen walls?
Well, they're wallpapered with a burgandy stripe and probably something else that I haven't stopped to notice.

5. Do you remember what your very first favorite song was?
"Oh Mickey, you're so fine you're so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey! Hey Mickey!" I probably thought I was singing to the mouse at the time. LOL

I hope you have an absolutely beautiful Friday!

Today...

2010-07-06T06:36:00.001-04:00

Today I choose to be calm.
I choose to smile.
I choose to be thankful.
I choose to be happy.

Today I will not give up or give in.
I will not let worry interfere with living.
I will not let my examples be bad ones.

Today I will accept who I am.
I will accept my circumstances.
I will accept the Grace I am afforded.

Today I will improve my attitude.
I will improve someone else's day.
I will improve my relationship with the One who matters.

What will you do today?

Update: 30 Summer Vows

2010-07-01T02:12:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned previously, I've been b-u-s-y. But I thought I'd do a little "30 Summer Vows" update. A few weeks ago Mama Kat posted this prompt on her Writer's Workshop and I've been taking my vows seriously. Now that I have some extra days off for the summer, I might actually accomplish them. Here's what I have done so far:

1. Get an "A" in my Assistive Technology and Signed Exact English class. Well I did better than I thought--I got an A+!

Our final "exam" was to meet in Asheville for dinner and communicate totally without speaking. I was dreading it so badly because I just knew I'd screw up; however, I can honestly say it was the most fun I've ever had taking a test! We went to Cheddar's and they have these unusually high tables in their booths. Well, I'm not exactly an average-sized person. I'll just say that once I squeezed into the booth, my "girls" were set up for display. The table was tall enough so that I could have put my dishes on top of them and just raked in my salad and soup. I was only half-joking when I pointed out that I might need a crowbar to unwedge myself and the "ladies." We had an absolute blast, though, and I just have to tell you that I love learning sign. I plan to continue learning it on my own as well.

2. Hit the river often for swimming with my kids. So I haven't been able to go "often" just yet, but the boy and I did go one evening last week when the air was unbelievably hot and heavy. It was bliss. We've had a few evening thunderstorms this week, but we will be headed back very soon.

4. Build a walkway from my porch to the rock steps that lead to the parking spot. It certainly won't win any design awards, but it sure is an improvement. All I did was line up some old concrete blocks that were lying around and then fill in the muddy areas with some white gravel. All that rock and concrete looked a little harsh, though, so I planted some pretty flowers in containers that I placed alongside the walk. Simple, but kind of cute!

6. Make time for picnics on the Parkway. Well, I tried! Really I did. Jo and I picked up my client on Sunday afternoon for some respite time. We hopped onto the Parkway for a 2.5 hour drive from Asheville to Spruce Pine. We stopped at several overlooks and at Mt. Mitchell State Park.

Our original plan was to visit the N.C. Mineral Museum in Spruce Pine and then pick up some Subway to take back on the Parkway so we could picnic on the way back to Asheville. Some serious thunderstorms put a kink in those plans--seems that every time we stopped, we had to rush back to the car to try to outrun the storms. Eventually they caught up! A. (my client) got his Subway dinner inside that day, but we'll make up for it soon I'm sure.

24. Make pillowcase dresses for Kristen's DIFO project. I'm excited about this one. I have all my supplies ready and just need to sew them up! I love the blues in these pillowcases and I think they will be really pretty when finished. I'll post more about them as soon as they're done.

So, I've gotten a pretty decent start on my summer vows so far. I hope to be taking care of many more of them in the weeks to come. I'm really thankful Mama Kat posted the prompt--it's given me a push to take care of some things that I've needed to do for a while!

Way Back Wednesday--Honeymoon Edition

2010-06-30T02:34:00.001-04:00

I recently started following Steph's blog and I love it. She has such a way with telling a story--makes me laugh out loud all the time. Last week she started co-hosting Way Back Wednesday. The first topic was weddings. Let's just say that I opted out of that one since my 1992 wedding and marriage was nothing to write home about. This week they decided to write about honeymoons. "What the heck," I thought, "I might as well join in anyway."

I seriously can't remember too many good things about my honeymoon. I admit that the last 13 years or so (we separated for good in 2000) have tainted those memories. But honestly? I should have seen the signs...

First of all, I got married at the magistrate's office in a hot pink knit pantsuit and the ex was proudly sporting his greasy mullet. Yes, we were a stunning couple. Don't be jealous.

Second, I had my period. Hello.

Third, I got a raging stomach virus upon arriving at the "Inn." (Okay, so I loved the place we stayed--that's one good memory.)

Fourth, hubby left me puking in the room while he went down to the sports lounge for dinner and drinks. What a prince.

I am sure there were some good moments during our short honeymoon. Truthfully, though, I can't imagine what they were. The years of ~~wedded bliss~~ bitter resentment and ~~longing glances~~ evil stink-eye have effectively wiped out those memories.

Boy, I wish I had a wedding photo scanned in for you all... on second thought, I think that's better kept hidden from the blogosphere!

A Hiatus--and Writer's Workshop!

2010-06-25T00:22:00.003-04:00

So I've been on a bit of a hiatus, what with a full-term class being covered in 5 weeks. I have been super busy! By the way, is it just me or does the word "hiatus" sound like you're greeting a cousin from back in the boonies? "Hi, Atus!" Anyway...

I've missed the last (couple?) weeks of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop so I was excited to get to join in again this week--even if it's technically Friday as I finish up this post. This week, I chose prompt #2--write a poem about a picture. The picture I've posted is one from long ago when I was just a little girl in pink puppy pj's (say that 5 times fast) trying to get Mammaw Gladys's attention away from the party line. Boy, "party line" had a whole different connotation back then, huh?

I Miss You
I miss you.
The way you'd get tickled, eyes sparkling and shoulders shaking
As you told a story from way-back-when.

I miss you.
Even the way you'd get so mad, bumping your head on the cabinet door,
Blaming one of us for distracting you.
We still laugh.

I miss you.
Spending the night at the old house, curled up on your couch
Watching "The Wizard of Oz" every year around Thanksgiving.

I miss you.
Watching you throw ingredients into that old Harvest Gold KitchenAid,
Perhaps making cookies to send to Paul overseas.
I still dream of owning one just because.

I miss you.
The way your cheek was always so cool when I kissed you,
Because you had been sweating over the stove as you cooked for us.
You always found something wrong with your cooking--Momma gets that from you.

I miss you.
Those many, many nights and afternoons lying in your bedroom as a child,
Ready for a nap or bedtime, singing songs together from church.
"And like an eagle I'll take to the sky..."

I miss you.
I sang that one, one of our favorites, to you in your hospital room.
We were alone for a little while, my heart breaking as I encouraged you be like that eagle.
"Mammaw, just let this old body go--go on home and rest..."

I miss you.
Sometimes so much that it literally hurts my heart.
Grief still so raw that some days I just have to block the memories out.
I don't ever want to lose them, though.
I know some day the memories will be more sweet--less bitter.
But for now, all I can say is
I miss you.

Top 2 Tuesday--Guilty Pleasures

2010-06-15T04:51:00.001-04:00

Well, yesterday was my day off so today naturally feels like Monday. Yesterday was great though. I slept late, made chicken and cheddar quesadillas, visited with my sweet Momma, and then started building my walkway (#4 on my list of 30 vows for summer.) It's looking pretty good so far, but more on that project later.

For now, it's time to join in with The Undomestic Momma for Top 2 Tuesday. Today's question is: What's your top 2 guilty pleasures? Just hop right on over to link up your post.

#1- A few months ago I would have said my top guilty pleasure was a super-long, hot bath. I love to light some candles and climb in with whatever good book I'm reading at the time and ignore the rest of the world. However, since I'm dealing with a faulty, failing faucet (say that 5 times fast), I'm not able to indulge.

#2- Popcorn! I know I mentioned it in another post, but I love popcorn before bed. I could eat it anytime, really. I love it so much that my sister bought me this sweet old-fashioned popper for Christmas.

Needless to say, it's gotten a lot of use. ;)

Getting to Know You Sunday

2010-06-13T18:21:00.001-04:00

Wow! Did this week fly by or what? Seems like each time I look up another day has passed. So here it is, Sunday again, and time for another round of Getting to Know You hosted by Keely at MannLand5.

1. If you could have one of Superman's, powers which one would you want?
I would want to fly! Folks, I drive and hour and a half for work each way. Most days I go through no less than 3 stretches of one-lane traffic on the highway due to road construction. Then I finally reach the interstate which at one point is down to one lane until June 21. Yep, I'd love to fly. :)

2. The best thing I ever won is....?
I bought a ticket in a raffle once at WalMart for Children's Miracle Network. I could not have been more stunned when they called me at work to tell me I had won a new desktop computer! That was about 12 years or so ago.

3. Have you ever skyped with a bloggy friend?
Nope! I'm not much of a phone-talker. I prefer letters, email or face-to-face contact and only rarely call anyone other than my Momma or my best friend. So I doubt I'll be using a Skype account in the near future.

4. What is your favorite Summer month?
July is my favorite month. I love the Fourth of July, though I almost always end up working or something. My birthday is on the 22nd as well. And...well, it's July! What's not to love? :)

5. Pool, Lake, or Ocean?
River! Now, I love spending hours in a nice clean pool and if I had one of my own you'd have to force me out of it. However, you won't catch this big mama in a bathing suit in public. We're lucky to have one of the best swimming holes ever just down the road from our house though, so we love to jump in the river on hot days. Okay, so the kids jump and I ease myself in like a weenie, squawking the whole time. South Toe River is icy even in the July and August heat!

6. One of my favorite Summer memories is.....?
Camping by the river with my parents, my sister, and some other family. We camped down in what was called "The Jig" by everyone I knew. I'm guessing it was called that in reference to a jig that operated there at one point, since it was basically a mine hole on South Toe River. (By the way, I had no idea what a jig was until I just googled "mining jig" to figure out the name of the place.) As best as I can remember, mica was mined there years and years ago.

I don't remember there being much sand there, just enormous banks of rock that tapered off into semi-flat rock and then gravely areas. We had tents pitched on the rock, campfires going, the whole nine yards so-to-speak. What I really remember best was that my cousin brought along a little toy snorkel set that we took turns using. We never saw anything more than some trout and minnows swim by, but we sure felt like we were on an adventure!

7. What's your favorite secret bargain?
Purplus for software. I pay $14.95 plus shipping (less than $20 total) for my Trend Micro Internet Security software for THREE users and have bought lots of other low-cost software as well. I have never had a problem with any software from Purplus. They sell software that might not be packaged in a box, but rather in a sleeve, jewel case, card pack or as OEM software. I've always received great service from Purplus and always recommend them to my friends and family.

8. Do you plan on or have you been watching the World Cup?
I have never watched soccer!

Well, that's it for this week's GTKY. I'm off to take a look at some other bloggers' answers! :)

Totally Random Post

2010-06-12T17:05:00.001-04:00

I just had a few random bits to throw out there today.

First, I wanted to tell you about an awesome project being hosted by another blogger. Dysfunctional Mom has started a new Snail Mail Project for those of us who miss good old-fashioned card and letter writing. You can join up by clicking on her button:

Next, I wanted to highlight something that's really cool and family-friendly. Regal Entertainment Group offers a Free Family Film Festival all summer long. They show free G- and PG-rated movies every Tuesday and Wednesday this summer. You can click on the picture to go find a theater in your area.

Finally, I wanted to show off the wedding afghan I finally finished for my niece and her new hubby. The pattern is called "Loving Hearts" and it's crocheted using Caron Simply Soft. I love it so much more than I thought I would when I got it started. Big projects like this often look a little wonky until you've put the finish on them.

Five Question Friday

2010-06-11T01:46:00.001-04:00

While visiting Steph's blog, I saw that she participates in Five Question Friday. I decided I'd join in as well. It's hosted by Mama M. so why don't you scoot over and join in too?

1. What do you think makes a good friend, or friendship?

A good friendship, a true friendship, doesn't wither under rough conditions. It grows stronger instead.
A true friend doesn't turn away when your world falls apart, but steps in to help pick up the pieces.
Secrets left in the care of a true friend remain unspoken.
A good friend tells you when you're being bitchy, but loves you anyway.
A real friend knows when to say "Everything will be okay," but also knows that sometimes you just need her to quietly listen.
Real friends will tell you when they think you deserve better--but respect the fact that you have to make your own choices.

I am so blessed to have such a friend--my best friend Andrea. Even though we can make each other completely crazy, I cannot imagine my life without her. She brings laughter and love into my life. She guards the secrets of my heart and loves me in spite of my many faults.

2. What is the last thing you bought & later regretted?
A bacon cheeseburger! I made that whole "lose 20 pounds" vow you know...Burgers are the enemy.

3. Have you ever had a prank played on you?
Oh yeah, I'm sure I have though I can't think of any right now. But I've also played quite a few myself!

4. What is your favorite theme park?
I don't ride rides. I am terrified of rides. However, I do love to take my kids to Tweetsie Railroad in Boone, NC. We usually go on July 4th if we get to go at all. We arrive around noon, spend the evening letting them ride what they want, watch the shows, and ride the train. There are also lots of shops and such to visit, in addition to a petting zoo and their famous Fudge Works.

Afterward, we head to the parking lot to set up our chairs and have a late picnic while we wait for the fireworks to start. I've been the the 4th of July celebration at Tweetsie several times and I have to say they put on a great fireworks show.

5. Have you ever seen someone else give birth?
No, but I would love to catch a baby! :) Seriously, I think it would be one of the most amazing experiences ever.

Writer's Workshop--30 Summer Vows

2010-06-10T04:43:00.001-04:00

Well, it's that time of the week again--Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. This week I chose prompt #4: 30 things you vow to do this summer.

1.   Get an "A" in my Assistive Technology and Signed Exact English class.
2.   Hit the river often for swimming with my kids.
3.   Go camping at least once.
4.   Build a walkway from my porch to my rock steps that lead to the parking spot. Right now it's a big, muddy foot path.
5.   Spiff up my yard and porch so we can enjoy it on warm, breezy summer evenings.
6.   Make time for picnics on the Parkway.
7.   Make at least one trip to a drive-in movie. Most likely either the State Line, the Sunset, or the Eden.
8.   Lose at least 20 pounds. Yeah, this one's gonna be a doozy.
9.   Set up my office space. Neatly. Yeah that last part was said with sarcasm.
10. De-clutter my house.
11. Shampoo my carpets.
12. Finish my "to be read" stack before buying another single book. I mean it.
13. Finish the two baby afghans I've started. One for a girl, one for a boy. So cute!
14. Start saving up for a Kindle. Or a laptop. Or both.
15. Watch the Dexter seasons that I haven't seen yet.
16. Have a movie night with my lovely nieces.
17. Have another movie night for my best buds (most of which involve family.)
18. Drive to Elizabethton, TN to the family cemetery and the old "home place."
19. Schedule my days and stick to it. I am a procrastinator. If I say to myself "Oh, I have time. I'll do it later," then it won't get done. I'm not good with time on my hands.
20. Find a used weed whacker.
21. Learn to use the darn weed whacker because my yard is scraggly.
22. Do some fix-up jobs around the house. No hubby=no honey-do list so I have a ton of things that are needing attention.
23. Finish putting Jun's quilt top together (that I started before last winter.) Did I mention I'm a procrastinator?
24. Make pillowcase dresses for Kristen's DIFO project.
25. Plan and maybe start an apron quilt (similar to this one, but smaller *this is just a picture I found online NOT my quilt*) with Momma using some fabrics from my Mammaw's gowns and housecoats. Mammaw passed away last year.
26. Make an apple stack cake like Momma makes.

27. Organize my ridiculous yarn and fabric stashes.
28. Finish and submit my student teaching application packet.
29. Schedule a time to take the 0511 part of the Praxis exam and study for the 0542 Praxis II.
30. Try to learn to use an analog stick on the PS3 controller because Jun said so.

I am either ambitious or crazy.

Top 2 Tuesday--Favorite Books

2010-06-08T03:29:00.001-04:00

I decided to join in with Tay over at The Undomestic Momma for her weekly Top 2 Tuesday. If you want to join in, just head on over to her blog and link up your post.

Top 2 Books

Asking me to choose my top 2 books is kind of like asking me to choose my 2 favorite foods--way too many to pick from. So I thought back to the books that I have returned to over and over.

#1 The Stand

I really can't say for sure how many times I've read this one so far. I absolutely love Stephen King and have read many, many of his books, some of them many times. The only ones I haven't even bothered to start are the more sci-fi types such as The Dark Tower series. I've recently been reading his memoir On Writing and I'm loving it as well.

#2 Savannah Breeze

Mary Kay Andrews is another author whose books I like to read more than once. Her books are easy, quick reads that are great for relaxing over the weekend or on vacation. I also love the Southern coastal setting in this one and in Savannah Blues as well. Ah, to run a quaint seaside motel...I'd be in Heaven. ;)

So what are your top 2 books?

Book Review: How to Reach Your Full Potential for God by Charles Stanley

2010-06-07T06:29:00.002-04:00

Today I am reviewing How to Reach Your Full Potential for God by Charles Stanley. In this book, Stanley encourages his readers not to settle for mediocrity in their lives. Instead, he outlines seven essentials necessary to fully realize the abilities and gifts God has placed in each of them.

To be honest, I had a hard time reading this book. As much as I wanted to glean something useful and relevant to my life from the pages, I struggled to do so. There were plenty of words, but not much substance--surprising since I almost always learn something new or find new perspective when listening to his sermons.

Stanley does indeed make some good points about areas that need to be in order before one can reach his/her full potential; however, it's nothing that: a) isn't plain common knowledge or b) hasn't been covered numerous times in numerous ways by other authors. As a matter of fact, anyone who has spent some time in the Bible already understands the importance of Stanley's seven essentials. That being said, while I found the book a little too basic it may be a great help to a new(er) believer.

Of course, this is just my own opinion of the book. I'm giving my copy away here today. If you think you might like to read it and form your own opinion, leave me a comment on this post. If more than one person comments (I don't have many readers yet ;) ) then I'll do a random drawing to see who I mail the book to. Be sure to leave a way to contact you!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Getting to Know You Sunday

2010-06-06T19:07:00.002-04:00

So as I'm trying to blog more on a regular basis, I've been looking out for blog hops, link-ups, and the like so I can get to know other bloggers. How fitting that I came across the "Getting to Know You" blog carnival over at Steph's blog. It's hosted by Keely (Thanks!).

So without further ado, here's a few tidbits about me:

1. If a person has a booger in their nose, and you see it, do you tell them?
Well it kind of depends. If it's someone I don't know, I might just say "Oh, you have a little something on your nose." If it's someone I do know, I'll just tell them. Unless it's one of my friends. Then I'm just going to laugh.

2. What are you passionate about?
Learning and reading! I love to learn something new every day, even if it's just some trivia. I've learned SO many things from books--even without taking a formal class, we can learn so much if we seek out the information.
Oh, and yarn. Lots and lots of yarn.

3. How long have you been blogging?
Well, I've been attempting to blog for around a year now. I gave up on the first try and then had this one designed and decided to try again. I'm getting better at keeping it up, slowly but surely.

4. What is your favorite "summer" drink?
Without a doubt, sweet iced tea!

5. What is your favorite type of music?
I love just about any music. I guess I'd have to say my favorite is classic rock though. It's a hard choice because my music tastes are all over the place.

6. Something I do before I go to bed is....?
I eat popcorn nearly every night. It gives me crazy dreams to eat before bed, but it's really become a habit!

7. My summer vacation plans are...?
Vacation? What's that? Actually, my kids and I will probably jump in the river as often as possible and hopefully camp a little with family and friends. That's about it!

8. My favorite must have, can't live without, beauty product is...?
John Frieda Frizz-Ease Daily Nourishment Leave-In Conditioning Spray. My hair is naturally ~~curly~~ frizzy and I call this stuff my "hair magic."

There you have it! Now I'm off to get to know some other bloggers. :)

Blogging Against Bullying

2010-06-06T18:11:00.003-04:00

As part of A Yummy Mommy on a Pink Park Bench's blog party, I am blogging against bullying today. You can join in by clicking on this button:

"Don't be so sensitive." That's what the elementary school principal said to my 10 year-old daughter when we went to him for help with a bully.

Beej spent the first couple of years at elementary school as a pretty sick little girl. She had recurrent ear, sinus, and throat infections. Up until the time she had tubes placed in her ears and had her tonsils and adenoids removed, she resembled a blond, curly-haired bean pole. As a matter of fact, we used to call her skinny Minnie.

Well, finally she got the procedures done in 2nd grade and for the first time she had an appetite. Needless to say she gained some weight. She wasn't fat, but she was bigger than she had been previously. By the time she reached 5th grade, she had already begun developing curves and a more "womanly" figure. Add to that a thicker body than other girls her age and she became a target.

One boy in particular took every opportunity to call her "fat." He and some of his friends also liked to corner Beej and another little girl on the playground and call them nasty names. After several days had gone by with her coming home crying over it, I took her with me to see the principal. And his answer was "Don't be so sensitive." Thanks pal.

Thankfully, as we were leaving the principal's office, we ran into her 5th grade teacher who asked if she was okay (she was crying.) We explained what had been going on and he was furious. Long story short, he had a pow-wow with the boys and told Beej to come straight to him if anything like it happened again.

That's where the bullying started for her. It followed her through 8th grade at the local middle school and it changed how she looked at life. By the time she reached 7th grade, I couldn't keep her in school. She'd roll up in the covers and pretend to stay asleep while I yelled, ranted, and raved about needing to get to work on time. I can't tell you how many days that happened and most of them ended with me having to leave for work with her still in bed.

Needless to say, it was a big issue. And it all stemmed, once again, from being tormented at school. One boy, in particular, liked to follow her around and "moo" behind her. Teachers ignored what was going on and the school counselor's only idea was to bring all the instigators into a room WITH Beej so they could talk about it. Beej wasn't having any of that because she knew the harassment would increase because she told.

I managed to persuade the principal to promote her on to 8th grade (even though she missed so many days that it meant she would fail) because her grades were still good, she was in counseling and taking medication for depression, and her counselor agreed with me that holding her back would only lower her self-esteem more and worsen her depression. Over the summer, things calmed down without the constant taunting and harassment from certain classmates.

Eighth grade began and the whole mess started up once more. This time I made the decision to take her out of school and begin homeschooling. I realized that I'd rather have her learn at home than to force her into the school each day and end up having her commit suicide. Yes, it was that serious.

That is what bullying does to a child. It makes them fearful, anxious, and depressed. It causes them to lose sight of who they are and what they can become. It makes them doubt their abilities and their worth. It too many cases, it takes a beautiful life and destroys it.

As ironic as it is, the school system she attended has a "Zero Tolerance" policy regarding bullying, yet in all the time I spent at her school those years I never saw one thing being done about it. No programs to combat it, no punishment for those who bullied, nothing. My daughter is a very bright girl, was an A & B student, has a beautiful singing voice (that got her an audition with the state honors chorus), and is a very talented writer and amateur graphic artist. Nowadays, she realizes that bullies are the people with problems, not the victims. However, when you're 12 or 13 years-old, all you know is the pain you feel when you are being beaten down (whether physically, verbally, or emotionally) on a daily basis.

Bullying is a huge problem today. I was bullied myself growing up, but I can honestly say it was never to the extent that I see it happening now. Kids are literally dying because of it.

There are lots of reasons that a kid might become a bully. It may be because of his/her own low self-esteem or it might be that it's all they've witnessed in their own lives. Regardless of the reason, as parents, educators, and role models we have to be the ones to put a stop to it.

Strong Women, Soft Hearts

2010-05-28T01:30:00.004-04:00

So I joined in with the folks over at The Bloom Book Club a while back in reading Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. Oh my goodness, did I love that book! I so enjoyed the conversations over at the Bloom community as well--not to mention the videos that Angie and Jessica posted. It was just an all-around great experience. I mean, I got to read a great book (I'm a book worm to the nth degree) and I got to share it with a ton of other interested readers.

At the end of March, Angie and Jessica announced the Spring 2010 book club selection: Strong Women, Soft Hearts: A Woman's Guide to Cultivating a Wise Heart and a Passionate Life by Paula Rinehart.

Now I have to admit, in the beginning I wasn't interested in reading this book. I'm more of a novel-type girl and I love a good story. I took this book to be just another Christian self-help kind of book (not that there's anything wrong with that kind of book, it's just not my type.) I recently read a post that changed my mind about reading this book.

I don't remember where I saw the link, maybe on Twitter, but I saw that it was a post over at (in)courage written by Angie. Well, I love to read her essays and posts so I clicked on over. I won't go into detail about what she wrote (you can click right on over there and read for yourself), but I will tell you that it quickly convinced me that I need this book.

I'll be getting a late start but that won't matter. I am so looking forward to digging into it. I think I'll cheat a little and go watch some of the videos at Bloom now. ;)

Writer's Workshop--Failure to Communicate

2010-05-27T06:54:00.006-04:00

Well, I'm finally getting around to participating in Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop for the first time. She had some interesting prompts posted for this week and I chose:

Describe a time when you had difficulty communicating with someone who speaks a different language than you.

"Failure to Communicate"

There are all sorts of ways to communicate. There are spoken languages such as English, German, and Spanish; then there are unspoken forms of communication such as sign language, the written word, and good old body language. As we all know, a nod of the head, roll of the eyes, or a frown can speak volumes.

I worked in the kitchen of a nursing home once for about three years. I'm here to tell you that the elderly can sometimes have languages that are all their own. At times, communicating with them can be funny or heartwarming; other times it can be heartbreaking.

I was awfully partial to one little lady who we'll call Rose. Little Rose spent her days in a wheelchair using her tiny feet to scoot herself around the facility. she also had a terrible habit of grinding her teeth.

Every day, without fail, Rose would scoot her way through the dining room to the kitchen door, rock-rock-rocking in her chair. Every day I would hurry over to the door to keep her from getting in the kitchen where she might get hurt. Rose would grab my bigger hands in her little ones and say "Your hands are sooo warm!" And all the while, she would be grinding her teeth through her smile.

I don't think she said more than a few different words to me the entire time I was there; but every day she marveled over my warm hands. I always felt it was her way of saying she enjoyed visiting me. Lord knows I enjoyed her visits to the kitchen. She always brightened my day! I believe we understood each other.

Then there was Esther. Esther no longer spoke actual words; she preferred to speak in a more physical way. Some days I'd stop in the hallway to speak to her and get a big hug. Other days she might grin like a possum while pinching the life out of me. That was, of course, her way of saying "Well howdy!" or "Get thee behind me!"

Another little lady used to visit the kitchen a lot too. We'll call her Nell. Nell had suffered a stroke or some other even that had left her unable to form words, though she still had her voice and her mouth moved just fine. She could hear perfectly as well. I always assumed it must have been like being in a foreign country--seems like everyone speaks the language but you.

Now when Nell came to the kitchen in the early afternoons, it was usually for some sugar-free ice cream or cranberry juice. That was her routine and it only took us a couple of questions to figure out what she wanted--she would just nod "yes" or "no."

One day, Nell made her usual trip to the kitchen and I met her at the door to ask her the normal questions. "How are you today Ms. Nell?" She smiled and nodded, which I took to mean something along the lines of "Just fine, thank you."

"Do you want your cranberry juice?" She shook her head "no." "So it's ice cream today?" She shook her head "no" again.

I went through a mental list of things she might be wanting: another type of juice, graham crackers, a yogurt? So I named them off and she gestured "no" each time. "How about a banana, Ms. Nell? Is that what you're wanting?" This time she was noticeably frustrated, her little lips moving as fast as they could, spouting out garbled noises in place of words. I continued naming every imaginable item we carried in the kitchen. She continued to gesture "no."

"What about a diet cola?" This time her eyes teared up as she shook her head. I was near tears as well seeing her wanting to communicate something so simple, yet being unable to do so. Finally, it struck me to offer her some coffee. Yes! Nell, visibly relieved, grinned and nodded. All I could think was, "Thank the Lord!"

I grabbed a plastic mug and filled it, making sure to put a pack of sweetener on the lid. "Here you go Ms. Nell, you have a good evening!" I gave her a quick hug. Smiling and nodding, Nell took her coffee and placed it on the little shelf of her walker. With one last sweet and grateful grin, she maneuvered her walker around and made her way back through the dining room.

Conscious Effort

2010-05-24T04:07:00.001-04:00

*A big thanks to Sadie for encouraging me to attend to my woefully neglected blog ;) *

Boy, I stink at this blogging thing so far. Either I get caught up in work and school and it just slips my mind, or I remember that I need to get in the swing of things only to realize that I don't know what to write. Other times, it occurs to me that I just don't have pictures and such prepared to help tell a story. I think what it boils down to is that I just need to put forth a conscious effort. If I want to be a blogger, even if it's just for myself, I need to make it a priority of sorts--put myself in the right mindset.

There are plenty of interesting, fun, or just outright strange things that happen as I live, work and play. If I were a good writer, those events could fill this blog. Perhaps I just don't have the skill or insight to use them for meaningful blog entries. Maybe I just need to try harder. Again, a conscious effort.

Another problem is that I don't usually remember to grab my camera bag on the way out the door. I guess I could become someone who keeps my camera around my neck, shooting all day and hoping for some good shots. I probably would have several to use here, but I don't really want to go that far. Maybe I just don't have the blogger attitude yet.

I started this blog because I enjoy writing--usually essays. A couple of former college professors gave me quite a bit of encouragement about my writing. I thought blogging might be the perfect outlet for practice, for honing whatever skill I might have. It would also serve as a sort of portfolio over time. For one reason or another I just haven't been able to come up with anything in the way of essays that I felt was worth posting. So I've typed a few chit-chatty entries here and there and experienced quite a feeling of inadequacy.

That needs to end now, though. I set this blog up for a reason and I'm going to try to fulfill it. Starting now, I am going to make that conscious effort--I'm going to pay attention, be aware, seek out stories, and try to capture meaningful moments--even if they're only meaningful to me.

Providence

2010-02-16T00:10:00.002-05:00

Have you ever had one of those days when you just felt good about your life? Like at this very moment you are exactly where God meant for you to be? Today was one of those days.

I went to class at 6 p.m. as usual for a Monday evening and it was great. It's a behavior management class for my Special Education program. My boss came to speak to the class and answer questions about her experiences raising a child with behavioral problems since her son (the young boy I work with) has autism. It was a really good experience for all of us soon-to-be teachers to hear the parent point of view of how the current educational system works (or doesn't work) for kids with disabilities.

During her visit I saw videos for the first time of how severe A.'s issues were at the age of 4 when his parents first discovered Applied Behavior Analysis and began implementing 40 hours per week of intensive intervention. I watched as it took three grown adults to hold his squirming, screaming body in a tiny chair for what seemed like an hour before his bottom would make contact with the seat for a couple of seconds. At that point everyone involved would start yelling "good sitting Andrew!" I sat in my darkened classroom while all this played out on the screen and I choked back tears, but not for the screaming little boy.

The tears tried to come as I reflected on the extraordinary 15 year-old boy that A. has become since then. A nearly 6-feet tall, lanky, sensitive boy on the verge of young adulthood who only wants to be a 9 year-old little kid again. The screaming, wild, animal-like boy who once shattered his mother's pelvis while head-butting her now frets over each gray hair he finds in her head fearing that she is aging. The child who had no concept of language or communication other than biting, screaming, tantrums now attends eighth grade and talks incessantly about movies, actors, directors, and opening dates. The wild boy who doctors wanted to institutionalize now spells long, complex words and does multiplication with the aid of a number line. That kid who kicked the ABA consultant in the face and yanked his tutor's hair recently smiled and tapped me on the forehead, then said "nice brain" when I called the video game store about a certain game he was interested in. He also told me yesterday that he'd be my valentine when he wanted a splash of real coke in his glass of diet coke. It worked. :)

My point is that when I saw those videos of him at age 4, I realized how much work he's done to become who he is now as well as how much his parents have went through to get the help he deserved. I realized that there are tons of kids out there whose parents don't have the resources or don't know to fight for what these kids need. I realized that A. could just have easily been left in the condition he was in and would never have become who he is today. I thought of a world without his own personal light shining in it and that's what brought the tears.

I have admired A.'s parents since I first met them and heard a little of their story. After tonight's visit with his mom, though, I am in awe of their determination and advocacy. And as I talked with her during a quick phone call after class I realized once again how fortunate, how blessed I am to be invited into A.'s life.

That's when it happened. That overwhelming feeling that I am just exactly where I am meant to be at this moment in time. The fact that I decided to take my friend's suggestion and job search on Craigslist the very same day that A.'s mom posted an ad looking for a tutor with special education knowledge could be viewed by some as coincidence. The fact that she took a chance on a 35 year-old college student who'd have to drive an hour and half each way to come work with A. in their house could be viewed as luck. Me? I know that things came together just as God intended. And I am so very thankful.

Unrequited Love Letter

2010-02-02T17:35:00.006-05:00

My dearest Empire Red, tilt-head, Artisan Series, KitchenAid stand mixer,

I love you. I want you. I need you.

I need your super-revved up speed and your fancy attachments. I need your stainless steel bowl and easy-clean finish. I need to know you'll be there when I get an opportunity to really cook.

I know there are other mixers out there who are pretty and cheap. They might do in a rush but you're the one I want to come home to... I mean, you can whip 7 pounds of potatoes! Or 9 dozen cookies! Or 4 loaves of bread! And you can do it effortlessly.

Oh I know all about you my pet. I met you in my grandmother's kitchen when I was but a little girl. I was fascinated by your then-yellow color. And oh the attachments! "What's this one for Mammaw?" "What does this one do?" Oh yes, my pretty, I have dreamed about you for years.

What's that you say? My tastes are too expensive for my wallet? That may be. But just you wait and see Red--I will have you some day. Some day you will see that you really do belong in my kitchen and you'll be begging to knead my dough.

All my love,
Karo

Photo and specs are from www.kitchenaid.com a.k.a. the place I go to lust after Red.

Southern-fried Heart-attack

2010-01-25T23:35:00.003-05:00

Water! It came yesterday in a glorious flood. Not the "Let's build an ark" type flood (which we nearly got as well), but a "The water thawed out and blew the pipes apart" type of flood. I washed pretty much every plate, bowl, fork, spoon, pot, and pan yesterday. It was great!

Momma covered dinner yesterday evening (the first actually cooked meal we'd had in about 3 weeks!) with a chicken pie, baked beans, and biscuit. Not biscuits, mind you, just biscuit. A great big one. Ha! So this evening, I celebrated by cooking one of our favorite things--crispy breaded pork tenderloin. Added to that was good old macaroni and cheese and Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes. I left off the rosemary and added some grated Parmesan. I also substituted the Kosher salt for sea salt just because it makes my soul smile. It was so good! If only I'd had the gumption to make a pot of iced tea and PW's Tres Leches Cake. I will bake one of those eventually...and the angels will sing.

I just thought to myself that I should have taken a photo of my tenderloin to post with the recipe, a la Pioneer Woman, but I don't really think about food except in the context of eating it. Photo-schmoto, I wanna bite into it! Anyway, it's the simplest thing ever. Sliced pork tenderloin breaded with a mixture of corn meal, flour (more corn meal than flour), Lawry's seasoning salt, and a lot of pepper. I heat up a pan with some vegetable oil and a little butter (real butter) and then add the breaded pork. Fry it up till it's nice and brown on both sides. Pork doesn't take very long too cook, but you can use a meat thermometer to check if you're as obsessed as I am with getting meat well-done. And voila! Southern-fried, heart-attack inducing goodness!

Note to self: this pork and these potatoes would go great with a pot of pintos. Great for my next movie night with the nieces--Gone With the Wind is on the agenda. ;)

True Reality--Katie Plus 14

2010-01-09T01:38:00.004-05:00

Now don't run when you see the name Kate Gosselin because I PROMISE she is not the real subject of this blog. That being said, what on earth is the fascination with this woman? Does she really deserve the attention she gets? Yeah, yeah, I get it--she has eight kids, six of which came at the same time. And if she (or she and her husband) were raising those kids all on their own, you can bet I'd be the first to holler "You go, Kate!" However, can we honestly call the Gosselin's show reality?

Let me tell you about reality. Reality can be found in fourteen beautiful little faces living in Uganda with one young, compassionate Mommy named Katie. Katie flew to Uganda as an 18 year-old girl from America and now at the ripe old age of 20 is raising fourteen daughters on top of feeding, cleaning, tending, and otherwise ministering to street children, orphans, and those whose families can not even feed them. She is 20 years old, folks, and she has stepped out in faith to face a reality we can't even imagine.

My puny description cannot give even a little glimpse into what you will find as you read about Katie's life. So without further rambling from me, let me introduce you to Katie and Amazima Ministries International. Please, please, take your time while you explore these links. I hope that you will read well beyond the first post or two. The first time I heard about her I read for hours and couldn't stop. Dig deep and discover Katie and her wonderful ministry. Read the stories under the Amazima links about how her daughters came to her, how she ended up where she is, and about the Truth. Watch a video clip of little Patricia making friends with the Thanksgiving turkey. Listen as Katie tells about how God has worked in the lives of her and her daughters. You might cry a little. I cried a lot. But you will not regret meeting this beautiful young woman. May we all be as faithful...

My New Year's Resolutions Hopes

2010-01-05T23:44:00.002-05:00

I have tried my best to avoid all the talk of New Year's resolutions and I'll tell you why. I have learned to never say that I am going to do something. It doesn't matter what it is. If I, with good intentions, say that I'm going to do something, you can bet that 99% of the time it won't get accomplished. "I'm going to get caught up on laundry tomorrow" = frozen water pipes and two extra loads of laundry. "I'm going to do my homework early this week" = scrambling to finish it up at the last minute before class. See a pattern here? This is why I hesitate to make any resolutions just to see them broken into a thousand tiny shards of failure.

So, this year I have decided to make a list of things I would like to accomplish. I make no claims as to whether or not I will see them to fruition, but here are a few of them nonetheless.

Talk to God more often. I used to talk to Him for hours, using long commutes to work and back for deep, meaningful time with Him. I have failed at this for some time.
Read the Bible daily. I am ashamed to say that I can't remember the last time I actually picked up my Bible to read. Really want to change this.
Become more organized. (Did you notice I didn't say become organized? I'm so far away from organization that a small step is really all I can expect in one year.)
Become less of a procrastinator. Oh my word, you have no idea what a problem this is. Even if I know I'm going to be late, I will still wait till the last minute to get ready. The voices in my head are constantly telling me that I can wait and that I still have time. It's too bad that I listen to them more often than not.
Learn to use my time more wisely. (I suppose this could be seen as the same thing as the last item, but I see different aspects as well.)
Finish my first quilt. I started it for my son around this time last year. It's about half pieced together.
Make a couple of new afghans. It's hard to fit this type of stuff in with school and work; however if I could just get that whole "using time wisely" thing down...
Order Becky Higgins' Project Life kit and complete it. This looks so fun! I saw another Bloom blogger mention it and it got my wheels turning.
Read and review lots of new books for Thomas Nelson Publishers!
Take the Praxis II and get all my paperwork in to student teach in the spring 2011 semester.
Exercise daily in some way, shape, or form, however small.
Eat more nutritious foods. Less greasy and more natural.
And in conjunction with the previous two items, kick my health up a notch or five.
Focus on the positives in my life, for there are many, far outweighing the negatives.
Finally, I hope to take full advantage of summer this year. I have not been able to do so for the last couple of years, so here's to wishing for a summer full of lazy days at the river with my kiddos, lots of iced tea and lemonade, and tons of reading.

So there you have it. My list of hopes for the year. As for those of you who can make and keep resolutions, (I think I'll henceforth call you Resolutionaries, ha!) I salute you.

Rambling About the Snowpocolypse

2010-01-02T20:02:00.010-05:00

The called it the storm of the decade. The blizzard of '09. Snowpocolypse. From all the buzz and the media hype, you would think that 2009's big winter storm had ended life as we know it. Granted, we were snowed in here at my house for five days, but this was because we live in a rural area on a gravel road and we don't have a four-wheel drive. But come on--snowtastrophe? Snowmageddon? Those are a couple of the Twitter search tags I found during the storm. Don't like those? How about this one: #snomg. Asheville even had it's own twitter version of this one. You know, as in "OMG, like, there's some sort of fluffy white stuff falling from the sky!"

In reality, it was a pretty rough storm for us here in WNC, as it was for pretty much the whole eastern coast. Like I said, I was stuck here for five days but was so very blessed that I didn't lose power or water. Many, many others in WNC were not so lucky. On December 19, WLOS reported over 101,000 customers in the dark. Many were still without power on Christmas Eve when an ice storm moved through the area shutting down the power lines of even more people.

That wasn't the only story being told on television. One big news item from the week of the storm was the disastrous effect it was expected to have on the last big shopping weekend of the Christmas season. Another was the waylaid travel plans of many families for the week. Drivers who thought they could beat the storm or who may have just underestimated the road conditions were interviewed after finding themselves stuck on interstates, some forced to sleep in their cars or abandon them altogether. It was, to say the least, a big, fat mess. But snowmaggedon it surely was not.

Out in my front yard there was around 16-18 inches on the ground. A lot of it is still there, frozen over and making the walk down hill from the parking spot quite interesting. Some places got as few as 6 inches while others got up to 2 feet. But really, in the grand winter scheme of things, is that really so much? Consider the snowfalls that places such as Colorado, Minnesota, or New York see every year. Big snows are so commonplace in winters there that for the most part, life pretty much goes on as usual when they hit. We (WNC) rarely see more than a few inches at a time here any more, so really it shouldn't be such a big deal. Or maybe that's why it has become such a big deal. Two feet of snow has become an anomaly capable of shutting down entire cities.

We used to see a lot more of this type of snow storm around here. I mean, l the last time I remember getting this much snow as an adult probably was a blizzard--the one in 1993. But this? This was no blizzard. I'd just call it an old-timey snow. When I was a little girl, living not five minutes from where I live now, I remember lots of these snows. The big question I recall my parents asking was not "What are we going to do without bread and milk?" or "How are we going to get to the store for soda and chips? The question on everyone's mind seemed to be "Is it a good, wet snow?" Snow that will pack down and be suitable for sledding or tubing, in other words.

Snow was for playing in, climbing a huge hill over and over in the snow up to my knees just for the trill of riding back down on an old inner tube with Daddy or Momma. It was awesome. Except for the one trip that landed us in the brier patch, that is. Other than that, there were no injuries, no life-threatening head wounds or broken bones. Just a lot of fun. A lot of activity. Outside. Many kids today find that to be an alien concept but believe me, children, it was fun! We actually played out in the open air and we did not die! So the next time you see two feet of snow in your yard, don't rejoice in the fact that school is canceled and then run for the PlayStation or X-Box. Go roll in the snow!

Despite the inconveniences it caused and the fact that it was unusual, the "big" storm of '09 wasn't so bad. For me, it offered a very rare chance to spend five entire days with my kids. No three hour round-trip commute to and from work, no sending the youngest off to school, no asking the oldest to run errands...just actual quiet family time together. OK, so not all of it was quiet--I mean there was the occasional wrestling match or giggle-fest along with the movies and snow fights--but you get the picture. I have to admit that I was grateful for the coming of the Snowpocolypse.

Bloom with Me!

2009-12-15T22:52:00.006-05:00

So about that book club I mentioned... I've joined The Bloom Book Club which was started by Angie Smith and Jessica Turner. Bloom has a community on Ning where we can all converse and discuss.

I didn't join in the fun in time to read Bloom's first selection Crazy Love but I am excited to be joining in for the newest selection. Same Kind of Different as Me, written by Ron Hall and Denver Moore, is a true story. You can read more about it and about them here.

I ordered my copy today and can't wait to get started. Would you like to join in? Thanks to Angie's and Jessica's partnership with Christianbook.com, you can buy a copy of the book from now until midnight December 17 for only $7.99. That's $7 off the normal price. Furthermore, if you want to join in but cannot afford the book, you can fill out a form here to receive one from 100 copies donated by Thomas Nelson publishers or from someone who has volunteered to provide a copy for someone who can't afford it. There's also a form here if you can provide a copy for someone else.

So, if you love to read and love to talk and discuss books with other folks, join in!

A Moment's Peace

2009-12-15T13:53:00.005-05:00

Ah yes, finally a moment's peace. This blog was so sweetly designed by Tricia weeks and weeks ago; yet it has only been floating empty out in cyberspace, waiting for words to fill it up. Now, with school out for Christmas break and 3 days a week off to write, maybe I can do just that.

I have some good post ideas swarming around in my head. Hopefully I will be able to put them on paper--or rather on the screen. I also have something exciting to write about (well, it's exciting to me...): a new book club I've joined. I just ordered my copy of the book today and I'll write more about it all soon.

In the mean time, I'm going to clean house! Yes, I am excited about doing the very thing I hate, simply because it has been let go for so long that it is scary to walk through the front door. Maybe I'll even get around to putting up some Christmas decorations. Anyway, I'm glad to have the time to clean and write while it lasts.

Who Am I?

2009-11-13T00:59:00.004-05:00

I am:

a mother
a student
goofy
tender-hearted
an avid reader
an avid crocheter
a future special education teacher
a nerd
a lover of nerds
a lot of other things

And oh yeah...I'm Karo. :)