Help! I think I might be getting Crunchy!

At the very least, I'm gritty.

Yes. that's right. In an effort to FURTHER alienate myself at otherwise great parties, I am now firmly seated on the "Crunchy" bandwagon. Actually, they probably wouldn't let me on the wagon due to some of my other silly ideas, but I'd probably be running along side it.
Sometimes I scare me.


I mean, I won't be stopping my monthly salon visits for fresh hair dye anytime soon, and I haven't actually been able to make myself care too much about how or where or by whom my favorite skinny jeans were made.

But for the life of me, I can't figure out why the hell I've been smearing toxins on all of my eating surfaces for years!!!! Why I have been eating vegetables grown in human sledge.(Thanks for looking out for me Big Brother, it turns out that eating your own crap won't kill you.....right away.)

And why on earth I have been drinking milk and eating meat that is chock full of hormones and medications!! Why?!

So that's it.

Without even thinking about it, I have been making changes.

I have found myself increasingly aware of my own environment, and what we are putting into our bodies.

Plastic containers? gone. I switched back to old fashioned glass.

grocery store meat? No way. Can't do it anymore. We have found local sources where we can actually SEE how our food is being raised.

Vegetables? Gardening along with the Farmers Market.

Milk? ONLY organic.

Cleaners? I switched to vinegar and hydrogen peroxide.(2 spray bottles) Cheap, effective, and it actually dissenfects!

So that's it. I'm on a mission to erradicate as much of the foreign crap that we put in and around our bodies, as possible. To begin to "eat out of our own yard" more .

It's just logic that I cannot argue with. Put food into your body that it recognizes and can use.


But where does this leave me? Where's my "group"? My "gang" My 'club"??


The "Greenies" won't have me because I'm too conservative,
The Conservative homeschoolers eye me warily, because they know that I've been known to have a drink from time to time.
The Liberal homeschoolers, while they WILL kick back a beer with ya, also know that I go to a PCA church.
The "Crunchies" won't have me because I heart JCrew and Nordstrom and despise the whole rubber-shoe-croc thing .
And, of course, I could never really get along with the Fashionistas because eventually they'd spy my fake True Religion jeans, and they's know I wasn't a believer. It'd be ugly.



But maybe this.
Yes.....yes.. ...
This is where I belong. What's HER club?



Cheers!
Melissa

Keepin' it rural........

Race has gone back to work, and so have we. The slave labor force was immediately called into action to help get things back into maintainable state, here on our 13 acre bit o' earth.

I am currently super-jazzed about the still small, grass roots trend across this country toward sustainable agriculture. So, in between baseball or music, or theater, the kids have been forced into supporting my move to become more self sustaining, here on the hard, rocky, unforgiving mountainous land that we have. (Of course they are also directly FED by this as well, so there is SOME motivation. ;-) )


Here you will see part of the unskilled labor force painting our newly resurrected chicken house.(Thank-you G.W) It has a simple, but very sturdy construction: chicken wire floor, plywood walls, and a metal roof with a sky light.

The next day we built the run. Austin and Jackson dug all the postholes and set the posts in a bit of quickcrete, and Savannah and I were in charge of the poultry wire and the staple gun and the Lowe's runs.
I used the Big Saw for the first time and I am no longer afraid to do so. Raw power, man....Raw Power!
When I took this picture, we hadn't hung the door on it's hinges yet. (Because SOMEONE forgot to get them on her 2nd trip to Lowe's that day!)
The girls will stay in their run all summer until my gardening is done , and then they will be able to forage to their hearts content.

Here are the girls in their new home. They are quite happy little pullets, and had already scratched in a bunch of leaves from outside the door. The girls are fed a diet that consists largely of vegetable scraps. The idea is this: The wire floor is covered with about 4-6 inches of wood shavings. the girls constantly scratch and turn these shavings under. CONSTANTLY.The wood shavings and chicken manure make awesome compost. After the summer, we will shovel this all out onto the compost heap, which will go onto the garden. And then we will replace the floor with fresh shavings. No waste! And we replenish the soil for the next season.

This is our other project. I expanded our garden this year, and this is the newest part. You are looking at broccoli, peppers, and potatoes. (Even though you can't really see the potatoes!)

This is one of the raised beds that we built this year right beside the house. We have already eaten alot of the lettuce out of this, but you get the idea. And I planted broccoli here as well. I really like the raised beds, because as long as you pay attention to the soil, you can really grow a lot in a very small space.

And this is the rest of the garden. The brown container is planted with carrots. The other things in the picture are strawberries,blueberries, cabbage,peppers, tomatoes, squash, green beans, and cucumbers.

I also planted tomatoes and squash up near the house, just outside the kitchen.

I love this stuff, and I am thinking hard about the whole concept of sustainable agriculture,which is nothing new, but was actually quite commonplace before Big Brother got involved in our food supply.

So that's what we've been up to! I already wish that I had tilled up an even bigger garden, and I am wondering how well crops would grow on a mountainside.

Cheers!

melissa

tap...tap....tap....

Anyone out there? It has been so long since I've blogged that I think that I've forgotten how.

No point in trying to re-cap,.. so I'll just jump on in.

I've been doing a lot of gardening this year, and so far things are looking pretty good. I am fairly certain that the only thing that makes a good gardener is experience(and the friendly advice one gets from other successful gardeners). In the beginning, you end up with so many things that DON'T work-out, but the measly harvest that you DO get makes you jump for joy and you begin to think excitedly about what you'll differently next year.

So I am excited about this year. I've added some raised beds and containers, and I expanded the whole original garden by about 1/3. All this has led me to think more seriously about food storage, and the different options available to us there. I have a closet full of junk that I could possibly use for food storage......but then where would we put the junk?

*I feel that I should stress,here, the importance of a "junk spot" to my over-all house cleaning strategy. Every room in my house has one and it's where all the "uncategorizables" ? go. So...seriously...where WOULD the junk go?*

Also, in the name of food storage and growing your own fresh food, we are working on a chicken coop! Actually thomasina's boyfriend G.W got it done yesterday, and the kids will be nailing chicken wire, painting, and digging post holes for the "run" this week. Now.....just gotta get some pullets to put IN it. This sort of thing totally excites me. I swear I think it's in my blood.

But just so you know that this is the same girl that you've come to know and wonder about I want you to know that on Monday, I bought the most amazing patent leather, peep-toe heels.They are from banana republic, and they are espresso colored with a creamy colored swath across the toe. Yes, that's right.. Timeless. and they were originally $120, marked down to $33.99. ...AND IN MY SIZE! no brainer. they shall be mine forever.

Now......let's talk about the pros and cons of chicken shit in the home garden, shall we?

Cheers!
Melissa

Reluctant runner

We had a great Sunday today. Over lunch Race and I discussed going for a run this afternoon. Since we spend so much time apart, we both tend to get a little rusty on reading each others ques when we get back together.

You know…those little unspoken matrimonial nudges that one develops after being married for some time. So I didn’t pick it up. It slipped right past me.

I really didn’t think that a run today was very likely, since our Sundays are usually sort of lazy days spent at church and then tying up loose ends of the prior week and preparing things for the one to come. But as I said….we’re a little rusty . So I quickly quipped that I would love to run with him, but I didn’t know if he would be able handle the embarrassment when I left him in the dust.

He smiled.

I think that he secretly thinks that this is cute. As in…..”Awwww….isn’t that cute? Look at her try.”

So you can imagine my surprise when, just as I was settling in with a cup of coffee and my laptop, Race says, ‘So, when do you want to go for a run?” (gulp)

I tried the usual stall and run around tactics. But he was changing his clothes and grabbing his shoes. There was no avoiding it.

There is a fundamental difference between my husband and myself when it comes to running. For me, it’s simple: I eat. Therefore I run. That is all. If running 30 min. 3 times a week, will allow me to eat a normal diet without the worry of ballooning up, unexpectedly to sumo-wrestler size…so be it. 30 minutes it is.

But with JBA there is a complexity that I simply cannot comprehend. He runs with drive and ambition. He runs against himself. He is always looking for something more challenging, a way to beat his own personal time, etc.

This is like speaking Chinese to me. I mean…you know….I like where his heads’ at……but….my thought process just doesn’t GO that way. ;-)

So we had to run through the logging trail near our house that I have nicknamed “Hell”.(Not very original, I know) Oh. My. Gosh. Why would anyone CHOOSE to run this thing???? I took pictures so that you could see what it looks like. I was determined to keep up, and I did a pretty good job. Did you see the creek at the bottom of the first hill?

Well, our deal is this: If I keep up, and we get to the creek, I hop on his back and he carries me across. If I fall behind, I have to slush through the icy creek on my own. I’m happy to say that my shoes are dry.

So we were finished and I was feeling pretty darn good about my performance today. I tried not to think about the fact that I was carried across the creek twice or that I felt like I was coughing up a lung, and just focused on the fact that I had really kept up on the hills. JBA was standing at the end of our run telling me what a good job I had done, and pulling off his running shoes and ringing the creek water out of his socks. I was having trouble walking and gasping for air, but feeling very accomplished. It was right about this point that he put his shoes back on and said, “O.K. I’m gonna go again. I’m gonna try and beat my time.” And off he went. And of course, he did.

您贵姓大名？

Cheers!

Melissa

Yoga

So. As I said before, I took my first yoga class the other night.

It was....

well.............

It was...............

weird.

Weird but wonderful. And strangely enough I have a strong desire to go back!!

The instructor was a tall, strong, lithe woman whom I felt quite certain, just by looking at her, could bend over backward and continue to just roll slowly around the room like a fluid wheel.

As soon as we came in, we took our shoes off: bare feet only. I breathed a sigh of relief that I had painted my toenails.

We opened class with the traditional yoga pose, prayer hands in front.....and then.....ahem..the first sound in the universe: "ooooooommmmmmmmmm...". I was hoping that everyone'e eyes were closed because I had the BIGGEST dumb grin on my face as I supressed my laughter.

One of the first things we did was to sit on a folded blanket, and "pull up our sit-bones". I've thought about this alot since then, and I am still not sure that I actually WANT my "sit-bones" up. In fact I am pretty sure that I DON'T want my "sit-bones" up.

But after we really got into the class, I really learned A LOT.

(I learned almost immediately that "childs pose" is my favorite. ;-)).

It was so different than any other sort of excercising I've ever done.I've thought about my posture all week, and have really worked on finding that perfect balance. And I FELT so much better AFTER the class.The last 5 minutes of relaxation were incredible,and I actually slept sounder that night than I have in months, and yoga was the only thing that I could attribute it to.

So. I am excited to go back and really get into it. I've already caught myself using the phrase "downward dog" in a regular conversation. So.....ya know...I'm practically a yogini.

Of course, I will probably still immaturely laugh when we "oooooooooommmmmmmmmm", and I may be walking around with my "sit-bones" all up, but I think that I'll actually be standing up straighter, and feeling better than I did before.

Cheers!

Melissa

Maybe I'm just easily distracted.

SO. Can you believe it??? My husband is STILL gone?? How long has he been gone now.....? About 5 years I think.

No. But it really DOES seem like a long time.

The kids seem to be doing really well, but it is wearing on us all and it will be like party central around here when Race gets home!!

Schooling has been keeping me busy, but I can't say I have been extremely "passionate" about it lately.
To help me stay "in sound mind and body" I have been trying to branch out a bit more and try some new things.
Savannah and I are taking a rock climbing class next week, and that's a little terrifying. Not because of the actual climbing, but because of the fundamentals that we will be tested on.
Let's not forget that I was the girl who had faithfully practiced her knot-tying for DAYS before going out on her very first rock climb. And there, standing in front of my husband, my children, and our guide, I readied myself for my first climb. I tied my knot perfectly, and double checked it. I held it up to our guide and said, "Is this O.K.?" The look on his face said, "You've GOT to be kidding". And he said, "Yep, that's right. But you MIGHT want to actually pass it through your harness." OMGosh!! I hadn't tied myself in!!! (The sheepish grin and giggle)
So, yeah....I'm a little nervous.

I went to my first yoga class the other night, (which I loved). I found out that my many years of ballet left me completely ill-prepared for yoga. They are like polar opposites. Who knew??
But once again, I was the girl to whom the instructor had to say, "No.... no..your OTHER left". (Again with the sheepish grin and giggle. Which, for the record is only gonna get you so far at my age).
But let's not forget, that although I have to spend Race's hard earned money, these days to remain blonde, I WAS born a tow head. So...maybe there's something to all that.(shrug)

Cheers!!
Melissa

A glimpse..

As you may have guessed, the various responsibilites that fall to me in this life, have been collectively kicking my butt.

Every time I get up and running.....I slip and fall on my face, due to various unforseen curves, pot holes, and stumbling blocks that inevitably come into everyones daily experience. And it's not that I don't heed the old addage of "get back up and dust yourself off". I do. It's just that here lately, theres been A LOT of slipping and falling, and that in turn has caused me to just want to lie and wallow a bit, before the aforementioned "getting and the dusting".

I don't advise this.
Because I've noticed that after you wallow, there's more than just "dusting" that needs to be done. At that point it's more like dried mud that has to be removed, so you've really done yourself a disservice.

During my blogging hiatus, however, I have seen glimpses of a close family now and again. I think far too often I am focused on the little "fixes", and I forget to really LOOK at the little things that happen each day that ARE what we strive for.

The day that Savannah got her braces off, we came home and the boys couldn't stop talking about how awesome her "new smile" looked. She was absolutely beaming. Brothers usually don't take much notice of the personal appearance of their sister. At least THESE brothers don't. I'm pretty sure that she could shave her head bald and it would be days before one of them said something like, "Hey...has your hair always been like that?"

The day that we were going to leave for a road trip to my mom and dads, I had a ton of errands to run that morning, and this was going to set us back even further from leaving. I don't like to come home to a dirty house, and since ours looked like some nasty dwarves from middle earth had taken up residence in it, I knew it would be awhile before we could shove off. When I walked in the door, the kitchen was SPOTLESS. In fact, the whole main floor of the house was clean and swept. ANd I mean really clean. Jackson had gotten up and cleaned the whole thing that morning while I was gone! Once the smelling salts were administered we left for mom and dads.

Savannah had her birthday party at mom and dads skating center. Having grandparents that own a skating center to which you get private, VIP party rights, is one sweet deal for my kids. Just think of it: not only do you get the WHOLE skating rink to yourself, you get your own tunes, you can eat all the junk food you want....self-serve, you can play all the games FOR FREE, and what kid wouldn't LOVE to stand behind the snack bar and serve up drinks from the drink fountain??? They had been looking forward to this for-ev-er. After we arrived there was a glitch in the music. Austin saved the day, and spent the entire party up in the DJ booth blasting all of his sisters favorite music for everyone to skate to. It really did save the party. ANd while this probably WAS his dream job......he also enjoys being in the middle of everything skating, so I thought that it was really great.

Savannah is a very thoughtful and sweet girl each and every day. (No, she is not adopted).SHe really is a sweet girl, by nature. Just the other day, she spent a good part of her day helping Jackson understand and organize his ipod. She downloaded new music for him, (which she is careful to screen and be sure that he doesn't listen to anything "unsavory"), and helped him figure the whole thing out. And trust me when I tell you that Jackson is NOT the most patient student.
And then on Valentines Day, Savannah made valentines for each of us, and bought me a box of chocolates because she knew that dad wouldn't be able to send anything.

SO there you have it! Glimpses that we MIGHT actually come out on the other side of all this with something that resembles our goal. Of course all the other animal-like behaviour still happens around here too, but I will save those for another post. Sometimes I need a little reminder!

Cheers!
Melissa

Happy Birthday Savannah

Today is Savannah's 15th Birthday. And as has been the custom for the last 15 years, it is icing outside. Every year during the week of Savannah's birthday, we usually have some of the worst winter weather for our area. This birthday was no different, so the "going out" plans that we had, had to be moved until tomorrow. She didn' bat an eyelash, though. Not a hint of discouragement. Just, "That's O.K., mom. Today will still be fun. And now we have something to look forward to tomorrow!" Sweet, sweet girl.

I woke up this morning wanting to see everything layered with a blanket of snow, and instead saw that everything was encased in ice, and it was still coming down. So, I got out of bed, headed for the coffee machine, and then went around doing all the winter-check-list things that you have to do when you could be without power. Then I fed the birds, read my Bible, and hit the treadmill.
*Before I typed that sentence, we had not actually lost power, but I kid you not, just as I typed that...the power went out enough to reset everything, so we may not be out of the woods yet!!*

I made Savannah pancakes for her breakfast, and before I could get my one bite of my OWN breakfast eaten, Jackson bounded into the room to cheerily tell us all that he had discovered that he had 3 actual armpit hairs.

The day hasn't really gotten a lot better.

These are my happy place right now. I got them a few weeks ago at the JCrew outlet store for practically nothing. I Love them. And everytime I have to have a congratulatory discussion with Jack about his armpit hairs, I sneak into my room and pull these beauties out of their box and smile at them. (It's all I got right now, people.)

Cheers!

Melissa

Profane R Us

So, I have been working my fingers to the bone in this house rearranging, cleaning, sorting,etc. And for the past few weeks, there has been stuff all over the dining room table, so we have been forced to eat in front of the TV. Which I HATE. So, today, one of my goals was to get all the stacks of books and things cleared off the table so that we could have a nice family dinner this evening. I planned ahead and put chicken in the crockpot this morning, freeing up my afternoon to clean, sort and organize.

I was feeling prrretty good about myself come dinner time, as I served up lovely platefuls of chicken caciatori over rice, side salad, and lightly toasted garlic bread. Little did I know what was in store for me as I sat down to partake of this lovely meal with my three children.

Let me just add right here: I am SO, SO, SO, sorry Mom. Yes , you DID raise me better. And I am SO, SO, So sorry Grandmama (Race's mom). No I will NOT be the ruin of Race's offspring.

At the dinner table, as I have mentioned on here before, we play a little game called "high-low". We have done this ever since the kids were little. After we ask the blessing, each person says the very best thing about their day(their high), and the very worst thing about their day,(their low).

We went around the table as usual and finally came to Jackson. Now, let me stop here and quote him directly:
"My high was being able to play "line rider" today on the computer. My low..(and here he paused for emphasis, and spoke in a deeply, overexaggerated, dissapointed tone)"My low....was finding out.....that....my mother curses."

Of course the other 2 went absolutely wild with gut-splitting laughter while I tried to figure out from whence this ambush came.

Apparently my youngest son had been listening in on a phone conversation that I had earlier in the day with Race. I was lamenting the pathetic fact that we have no back-up heating system in place and I was forced to go out and pick up a kerosene heater....just.in.case.

This was all fine and good, except that I am an idiot, and I seriously had NO IDEA that you actually have to PUMP kerosene into your OWN little blue can. OR that you would have to ASSEMBLE the kerosene heater yourself.(All the while reading about the dangers of explosion or carbon monoxide poisoning if you should screw it up!) OR that you would have to let the wick SOAK for an hour BEFORE you ever light it!!!(Shyeah...imagine reading THAT by the light of your headlamp in 8 degrees) All of these revelations today, had combined to create quite the difficult and humbling day for me.

The man at Lowes actually laughed right in my face when I asked him so innocently, if they sold kerosene. He laughed right.in.my.face. I wanted to scream, "I DON'T LIVE IN A TRAILER PARK, O.K.??!! I SHOULDN'T EVEN HAVE TO USE THIS!!(and then in a smaller voice),"we're gettin' a woodstove next year."

So anyway, Race called right about the time that I had locked myself in the bathroom reading about the whole "wick-soaking" thing.

In the course of explaining to him the whole ordeal, I said, "And...THEN....I mean...who KNEW you were gonna have to ASSEMBLE the damn thing!"

So, Jackson chose the dinner table tonight, to tighten the old screws on his mom, in a somewhat humorous manner. He had me. He KNEW he had me and he was enjoying it.

I started back-pedaling.

"O.K, O.K, you're right. *I* shouldn't talk like that. But sometimes, when I am under a lot of stress--"

And Jack in total sarcasm interrupted-"No, noooooo mom. It's perfectly O.K. for YOU to talk like that. I get it.Or- hey- maybe you have tourettes"
(thank-you "What About Bob").

Me: "O.K-NO. I do NOT have tourettes. And I shouldn't talk that way, but keep in mind kids, I grew up in a house with PAP-PAW as my dad."

They all nodded knowingly, as they had all heard the expertise with which Pap-paw sprinkled profanity in his speech, that made it sound as natural as a babies cry.

But then one of them interjected, "But Mam-maw was your MOM!"

They had me once again. My mother has never uttered a curse word. EVER. She once said "dang it!" and it was as if you could FEEL the arctic blast from hell freezing over.

So. I accepted defeat.

My children have a mother who uses profanity.(Even though I *try* not to).

A swearing, cursing, card-carrying member of the Profanity Club.

But you know the thing that really struck me??

I can't believe the little guy is just now hearing this.

I mean he is ELEVEN and he has never heard me swear before??

Damn. I'm a better mom than I thought!

Cheers!
Melissa

What do I win??

I remembered how to log in!! It's a start.

I've gotten lazy on Facebook. It's just SO EASY, ya know? Just pop in, type a few lines, talk to a couple of friends. (sigh)
I gotta admit it has been so much fun to catch up with old friends and see how everyone is doing.

I have been thinking about Race lately and so concerned for his well-being. I know that it is all in the Lord's hands, but it occupies a lot of my thoughts these days.

So I look around for things that I CAN control, and I do stupid things like ripping the kitchen cabinets off the wall, spackling, sanding, painting, installing new shelves, a new range hood, etc. I rearrange rooms, closets, and furniture like it was rearanging a knick-knack shelf.
The kids have learned to try to be quiet and just stay out of the way, but it doesn't really work. And any of the three of them could get an honest-to-goodness job as a furniture mover as we speak. So....ya know...a fall back, just in case the whole homeschool experiment doesn't pan out.
Well, Savannah and I went jeans shopping tonight. It was quite successful. In fact...we were both surprised to learn that we now wear the same size. Doesn't that sound great? I mean I'll be the number that shall not be named this year, and I can wear the same size as my soon to be 15 year old?! Yep...it's all good. Except for the fact that we can never actually swap clothes because she has an actual "girl shape". Me and my stupid Asian butt(Yes, somehow I was cursed with a super-flat ASIAN ass. I continue to believe that there is some Korean gal wandering around somewhere with an absolutely, traffic-stopping butt) will never fit into her clothes. (sigh)But, it's the little things at this point, right?

In other news around here, Jackson has taken up cursing. Yes, that's right...cursing. (sorry Grandmama...I try)
O.K., i's not EXACTLY cursing, but he has definitely developed an interest in the subject. SO we talked about it and discussed that you really don't need to be AFRAID of words, but cursing certainly wasn't very uplifting, and it usually just showed a lack of vocabulary for the person who was trying to explain themselves.
Now, lets keep in mind that Jackson's mother, yours truly, has been known....on stressed -out occasions to let the occasional "damn" or "hell" fly. (Sorry again, Grandmama) And Jack's Pap-Paw wouldn't even be understood if his speech were not punctuated with the gentle, southern, curse word here and there.
Anyway, he has taken to making up his OWN curse words. He dropped something the other day and exclaimed "DAMSEL!". (You can imagine the shock and awe that followed.) He continues to make up curse words and we continue to snicker quietly as he uses them.
Keep in mind that this was the same kid who 2 years ago, upon returning from a trip to Israel kept shrieking EVERY time we passed the field on the way to our house, "LOOK AT AT THAT ASS OUT THERE!!" "YEP! JUST LOOK AT THAT ASS JUST STANDING THERE!"

Cheers!
Melissa

I am sorry......

But dear blog readers..........I am swamped.
I am currently sitting in a pile of my own worn t shirts, feverishly bedazzling the initials of those whom I haven't bought gifts for, on them.

O.K. Not really.
But that's funny, isn't it? I crack me up.

Anyway, go and read what my sister wrote. It is so funny. And don't forget to read mine and Em's two cents in the comments section.

Cheers!
Melissa

So.....Deck them Halls an all that jazz....

It's December 11th. Right? Or is it the 12th? Ah- no matter. I'll know when I hit "post".

Christmas is coming.

And yet, I'm pretty much just sitting around, scratching.

At least that's what it feels like. Race is gone and the proverbial rug pulling that ensued has left me flat on my arse and feeling alot like the cat to your left.

I guess I'm getting some stuff done, but it just doesn't FEEL like Christmas yet. Race is just missed TOO much right now.

Christmas tree- check
Christmas cards-well...they are being created....so.....half-check
candles in windows-check
wreaths on windows/doors-check, check
Christmas lights on the house- damn-gotta do that
Christmas shopping- um...about half way. Let's just say that the UPS guy's gonna be seeing alot of us this week.
But no gingerbread house, no baking, no hot cocoa.....

I'm just having a hard time feeling "merry" with Race leaving so close to the holidays.It's hard to get my heart to focus. gah. (shaking it off)
But the sun is out today, so maybe we'll get out there and put up those lights!

Cheers!
Melissa

weird week

Yes. It has been a strange week.

Our heat pump tried to give up the ghost on December 1st.

DECEMBER 1ST , PEOPLE!!

We refused to let it die, and kept it on life support. One morning we woke up and it was 49 degrees INSIDE the house.

Since Christmas is upon us, we really chaffed at the $5000 + price tag for a new heat pump.

I began to invision the wailing children on Christmas morning as they woke to the realization that santa had come, but only left them a new heat pump. No cheerful Tiny Tim's here, I'm afraid.

So, with only the Christian charity of others left to depend upon, we called a dear friend to come out and have a look and tell us if we were just being taken for a ride here, or if, indeed this whole thing needed replacing.

Long Story-short: Our dear friend,(to whom I will forever after refer to as "Super-Engineer-Man", got us warm again for a part that cost less than $50. !!
Well....MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

DO you have any idea what a luxury it is to have heat, after you've been without it?
I feel like Paris Hilton.

In other weirdness this week, my oven door exploded, showering small glass shards in an amazing display all over the kitchen.

No, we don't know why.

I wasn't cooking in it. No one had touched it. Granted, the thing is 14 yrs old. But does that warrant a fireworks display of glass??? I think not. I contacted G.E. but they're not liable. But they WILL send out a replacement glass for $123 that they assure me I can replace myself.

Oh- and we think that our dog tried to die.

Yep. All this week.

But, having inherited healing powers from my mom, (which I use MUCH more selectivly), I was able to nurse the old guy back.

He is remarkably better today!

So. While I am glad that the weird week is over, I am also aware that this puts us so much closer to Race leaving again.
Tomorrow, all the guys are going caving with the scouts.
And after the week that we've had, I'm looking forward to some girl time with Savannah. Shopping therapy. That's what I need.
It's my curse.
I'll go trying to find gifts for everyone, and will only find the most AMAZING items.....................for ME! For ME!

It's a viscious circle. It's my cross to bear......and I accept it. (sigh)

Oh- and don't tell Savannah- I am taking her to see Twilight.
ahhhhhhh.........the obsessive teen love movie. (With the vampire twist??)

Cheers!
Melissa

Thankful

ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you most humble and hearty thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all people;
We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your inestimable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ,
for the means of grace,
and for the hope of glory.
And we beseech you, give us that due sense of all your mercies,
that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful,
and that we show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives;
by giving up ourselves to your service,
and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom with you and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory,
world without end. Amen.

I am so blessed with a wonderful family. My parents are the best people that I know. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at their house, where they served 25 family and friends an amazing dinner. All the buying, preparation, cooking, and cleaning, is done by Mom and Dad with the help my sisters,myself, and our husbands and kids.
My parents are a constant reminder of true Christian charity. They always give selflessly, never expecting anything in return. They have always shown what it means to do "unto the least of these". Their example is humbling and challenging to me, and this one example of God's grace toward me is an overwhelming blessing.

Cheers!
Melissa

Funny. REALLY funny.

I am sitting here with Race, watching football.

But that's not the funny part.

The kids are all 3 at youth group this afternoon doing Rake'nRun. Where they go and rake the yards of some of the folks at the church for them. That's fun. But not funny.

Remember when I unashamedly told you about that little impromptu, and HIGHLY unusual, Girls Night a few weeks ago? It's always nice to hear the same event from another perspective, don't you think?

So I will risk more utter humiliation and judgement(and of course, the utter disdain of my stalker- commenter ,the "Observer" who makes it a rule to despise all things even remotely happy). But with that said, I refer you to my Sisters Blog. My sister. Whom it should be noted has the soul and rhythm of a young Aretha Franklin. She always has.

But in my defense, I feel that I need to stress that it's the hair moves that really do MAKE my dancing. It gives a sort of mesmerizing effect. Think-Julianne Hough, on dancing With The Stars.

Yeah....it's a lot like that. yep.

"You're Welcome", for the laugh.

Cheers!

Melissa

Grocery day

I always go to the same grocery store. It's close, it's supposed to be cheap, and typically I can find whatever I need. Everyone knows me there. I live out in the country so going somewhere that people actually know my family and carry on a conversation with me is just as important as being able to find organic canned tomatoes, ya know? It's where I hang.

But today....I went to Wal Mart.

Race and I used to HAVE to shop at Wal mart. During the...shall we say..the lean years(to be kind)? I was so happy when my grocery shopping could branch out a little bit. I could then peruse specialty and gourmet sections, and see foods from European countries. And my produce no longer all came from Argentina. And why is it that Wal Mart is so full of booger pickers?? You know what I'm talking about. You've seen it. ANd since when did the door "greeter" become a bitter, angry(ANGRY!), middle aged woman?

But today I went to Wal mart. And I saved money. Like....a considerable amount of money. Like a manicure's worth of money. Or an expensive shampoo's worth of money. This could be serious.

Whatever you spend the $$ on....dough is dough.

So...Welcome to Wal Mart, shoppers!

Have you started doing anything differently to save money recently?

Cheers!
Melissa

A Little Weekend Round up

It was good.

Race and the boys went camping with the Boy Scouts. It's an awesome thing to behold, these Boy Scout trips. The gear, the meticulous packing, the FOOD, the gear........the way that they can cram EVERYTHING they need into neat little bundles, while simulataneously leaving our household looking like Fred Sanford's front yard. Yes, it's quite a sight.

We have been incredibly blessed by this particular Troop. The Scoutmaster is the kind of man that you really WANT teaching your boys to become good leaders. He has an amazing amount of patience. He can fix or build anything, and he takes the time to share that knowledge in teaching these boys. He, along with the other dads that we've had the pleasure to get to know, are men of character. They know about hard work and responsibility, and we have just been so blessed to be a part of it all.

Savannah and I had a good weekend hanging out and watching movies, playing on the computer and organizing photos and things. It rained all weekend so we stayed in, made good things to eat and watched movies. We watched the old version of Little Women and the newer version of Pride and Predjudice, (even though we all know that the BBC version is the only REAL P&P). We watched some other stuff too, but these were by far the best. It was fun and relaxing and we needed it.

Savannah and I went to church this morning and then stopped by Starbucks on the way home for a latte.

The boys got home, emptied the car, emptied their packs and hit the bed exhausted. The only things that I have been able to ascertain about their weekend was that there was a killer Capture the Flag game and it was a long drive. Race is currently collapsed on the sofa watching football, Jackson is sound asleep, and Austin and Savannah have left for youth group.

It was the kind of weekend that left me thankful for God's grace. I have so many wonderful people in my life. It humbles me and makes me want to be better than I am.

Cheers!
Melissa

Peace and Quiet is tough to come by.

Race and I have been fighting for time together recently. These KIDS. These teens and tweens are like vultures. They're ALWAYS HERE. I mentioned before that we are taking a short hiatus from most of their activities, to sort of unwid a bit. But I think we have to start things back up sooner than planned.
They have begun to catch on to the fact that we enjoy being alone occasionally, so they try to swarm around us annoyingly, hoping that we will give in and send them off to do something that we had previously ruled against them doing.
We only allow X Box playing Saturday through Sunday after chores. TV is only after dinner and clean-up.

Stupid rules.

Anyway, we've gotten desperate for a little peace and quiet together, so we've begun to do the unthinkable.

We're RUNNING together.
Regularly.

Now normally, you couldn't make me run with ANYONE. Not even Jack Bauer.
Well, O.k., yeah, Jack Bauer. But as a general rule I HATE running.

Now, recently a few things have caused significant changes to this rule:

1. The aforementioned desperate need to spend a little one on one time with the Ultimate Alpha Male that *is* Race.

2. I'm gettin' close to 40 and let's just say.............. it ain't all stayin' where it used to stay. There seems to be....a SLIDING effect, if you will.

3. I would like to have a butt that is still recognizable as such.

and

4. I would like to be able to eat. (see #3)

So we are running together.

Here is where the vast and undeniable differences between Race and myself come though loud and clear.

I'm good with 2 miles. A two mile run is GREAT.
If 2 miles will enable me to accomplish #'s 3 and 4 on my list then I'm good with that. And my current pace is fine too. I see no need to go further or faster if #'s 3 and 4 are being accomplished.

But, not Race.

My lovely 2 mile run on the road has turned into a gruelling cross country race through the backwoods of this county. Up the steepest hills, down the deepest ravines, across creeks, over logs, through mud. The first day he suggested this I almost hurled just at the thought of it. Terrifying. And he times it.

Crazy thing is, I've come to actually look forward to it. When we first began this crazyness, I wouldn't whine simply because I couldn't spare the oxygen to do so. Now, I don't even think about whining. I kinda like it.

I run a little behind Race. And I'm not gonna lie to ya. I like the view. (And I find it hard to concentrate if someone could be looking at my butt while I run, so this is better. I have issues. See #3)

When we come to the big, freezing cold, creek, Race lets me hop on his back to get across. (Less because he cares about me getting wet, and more because he's the only one with Gore-Tex running shoes and he knows I'd never go the rest of the way with cold, wet, feet.)

And on a really good day, when the planets are all correctly alligned, and I'm well hydrated, and he's a little tired.... we will be running up the gigantic, killer hill that is our finish, and I'll find that extra push and go neck-in-neck with Race to the finish.

And then it happens.

My very toughest audience in the world will hit me on the butt and say, "You're a beast!" Which, in Race speak means, "Good job hon, I'm so proud of you."

And there are no noisy teens and tweens around to laugh hysterically or imitate me running up the hill over and over.

And that makes me want to give it a try again tomorrow.

Cheers!
Melissa

Melissa is............

I think that Facebook is ruining my life. And my blogging ability. And my self esteem.

I can only think in simple sentences and want to start every thought with "Melissa Is...."

I need to take a break.

I started my Facebook page because Austin had asked to start one. I agreed, but felt that I needed to be able to keep a check on what was going on. (i.e., invade his privacy.)

And then I started being "found". And I got drug into the whole, big, time suck.

It's like this unbelievably random set up with all these applications that I don't even understand.There's stuff all over the page. And don't even get me started on the whole "Add friends" business. Did you know that when you first get started it says," Melissa has no friends".

I'm serious! It really says that.

For Cryin' out LOUD, people! Is it helping ANYONE to see that on their computer screen??? "Melissa has no friends." Crap, man. That's harsh.

Anyway, I've been on Facebook "finding" old friends. Race thinks it's funny to watch me sweat it out on Facebook. He muttered, "Good grief, Melissa there was a REASON you quit keeping up with all those people!" BWAHAHAHA!!!

I find myself making these "friend requests". And then putting stupid stuff on my "Status" like: "Melissa is: making bread." Why would I even feel the need to even type that?? I mean seriously.........who the hell CARES??? But then that begs the question; "What ARE you supposed to put in that "Status" box?"

So I'm takin' a break from the old "Crackbook". I'm coming back over here before I find myself talking in the third person on a regular basis, ya know?

But feel free to add me as your "friend", ' kay?

Cheers!
Melissa

Girls Night

O.K., I have joked a lot on this blog about drinking. And as most of you know, I am rarely ever SERIOUS about anything I say here. (Well...I DID think pretty hard about getting slammed and calling the 1-888-DEMS............but I didn't do it.)

But what I am about to tell you really DID happen.


I was fortunate enough to get to attend an impromptu Girls Night last night.



I will refrain from mentioning the names of the attendants here, in order to protect their idenity. But they are regular readers, so if anyone wishes to out themselves.........ya know........feel free.



We met at my parents Beach House. And as I think back over the years, it's a damned good thing for a lot of us, that those walls can't talk. Can I get an "Amen", sistas?



The choice from the bar ....(The beachhouse kitchen) was the martini. The menu was light hor'd'oeuvres.



Now, here's where the details get a bit sketchy, but this is some of what I recall.



Dancing.



There was LOTS of dancing.

Dances were mocked.

Dances were created. (I have a particular fond memory of........um......someone... imitating how all of our Uncles dance. There was just something about that era. ALL those men do some sort of diluted, Chubby Checkers dance. BWAHAHA! You have Uncles.......you know they do that dance!)



My dancing was described as much more aerobic in nature and likened to watching "Friday Fitness". Ahem..............................What. Ever.

The point being the groove was gotten on, people.

At one point in the night there was a heated argument over the lyrics to an old Cher song. The words "Half Breed!" were yelled. A lot.



We laughed so hard that my stomach was actually SORE the next day!

It was such a fun time.
The rest of the stuff that I remember just wouldn't translate in my blog. But I am so thankful for such great friends.....and great spouses to let us grab a night away.Never underestimate the power of laughter.

We were gone from our respective homes less than 24 hours. But it was just absolutely GOLDEN!

Any takers for next year????

Cheers!
Melissa