Outside

Another warm and sunny day in middle TN. After I did home school with the twins in the a.m., I spent the rest of the morning gardening while hubby fixed the washing machine (drat). Here are some pic's to share with you:

This is the outdoor candle/wind chime thingy hubby bought me. I think I am going to buy some of those flame less tea candles to use in them so they won't be a fire hazard to our home : )

Here is one of the two apple trees I splurged on this year, already flowering!

I got my seed starters going today: first off are all my squash and gourds. Next batch will be pumpkins.

One of my few remaining azaleas, in bloom.

This lilac bush is in front of my living room window. I planted it 5 years ago when it was a small stick. I love watching things grow . . . must be why I have so many children : )

Here is one of the two cherry tree's we had planted about 3 years ago, to replace some dead maples in our front yard. This is the first year they have flowered.

Here is a long shot of the azalea bush. Those plants behind it are more lilac bushes we planted two years ago, they were a gift from a friend.

One more look at my largest lilac bush and my front porch : )

Blessings, Beth Ann

MeMe Monday

Monday, April 12, 2010

MeMe Monday - Movies

Name a film that you have seen more than 10 times. While you were sleeping. I used to watch it every Christmas eve with my oldest dd while we wrapped gifts. Now I watch it every year with middle dd : )

Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the cinema. E.T. I loved that movie!

Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a film. Nicoles Cage, I really enjoyed both his National Treasure movies. Oh, and Family Man, Knowledge, Rumble Fish . . . LOL

Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a film. Brad Pitt, he has the talent of a pineapple. I can't think of one single movie of his I liked and don't even get me started on the fiasco of Meet Joe Black; a remake of Death takes a Holiday - yuck!

Name a film that you can and do quote from. ELF, "Son of a nutcracker!"

Name a film musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs. Do Disney movies for the kids count? I can sing Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid; front words and back! Oh, here's and adult one, Mama Mia! I use to have all those old ABBA songs on cassette : )

Name a film that you would recommend everyone see. Fast Food, INC. You'll never look at what you eat the same way again!

Ever walked out of a film? Not that I recall, but I did only watch about 5 minutes of one I rented a couple months ago and turned it off in disgust. I believe it was called, "Year One", or something like that. It stared Jack Black and lets just say . . . Blasphemy and . . . well that is the best I can say.

Name a film that made you cry in the cinema. E.T. I really thought he was going to die. Hey, I was only 13 when that hit the theater.

Popcorn? Not anymore. If I'm home I just try to keep my hands busy knitting : )

How often do you go to the cinema (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)? Never? I think the last time was like 3 years ago as guests of friends. We mostly just rent from Netflix. We do go to the drive in that we have here in town, maybe twice a year. Just to expensive.

What’s the last film you saw in the cinema? Saw "Fireproof" with a group of friends. But we did go to the drive-in last week with the kids and caught "How to train your dragon" and "Percy Jackson: lightening thief".

What’s your favorite/preferred genre of film? Comedy or Christian. Life is just to depressing to wast it on anything else.

What’s the first film you remember seeing in the cinema? My mom took me and my sister to see Cinderella. I remember that we sat in front of the crying booth (old theater) and all I heard was the babies crying.

What film do you wish you had never seen? Yentel, that is 3 hours of my life I will never get back.

What is the scariest film you’ve seen? I am legend. I couldn't even watch the end. Anything like that, where it could actually happen, is creepy bad. Husband tells me though that it was a remake of the movie Omega man, and like most things, the original was better.

If you could be any character portrayed in a movie, who would it be? Wow, that is hard. I'm having enough trouble with my own life! Hmmmmmm . . . Lucile Ball in the Long, Long, Trailer. Those were good times : )

Total number of films you own on DVD and video. Again, do Disney films count or are we talking me personally? I have an impressive start to a Christmas movie collection, then there are the movies that my older children jacked from me to factor in . . . I guess a ball park number would be . . . 3 dozen?

Last film you bought. I know this is repetitive but for me or the kids? LOL For me, The Outsiders. What can I say, a trip down memory lane. My middle dd loved it and ended up reading all of S. E. Hinton's books! Oh, but she jacked that movie from me : (

Last film you watched. Rumble Fish with middle dd, now you understand?

Five films that mean a lot to you. 1 ~ ELF, I even have the sound track. Guaranteed to put a smile on my face and Christmas spirit in my heart.

2 ~ Even Almighty, love the biblical accuracy through the movie and who can forget the acronym: ARK - changing the world starts with one Act of Random Kindness.

3 ~ Steel Magnolias, the very epitome of southern culture and what true female friendship is all about.

4 ~ Yours, Mine and Ours (the original with Henry Fonda and Lucile Ball). The first blended family and they also took a stand and made it OK for couples to have large families. They show how a marriage should work.

5 ~Any animated Scooby -Doo cartoon! Need I say more? If you know me at all, well then you know - LOL

What are your favorite movies?

Blessings, Beth Ann

School and stuff

Wow, it's been a bright and beautiful week-end here in middle TN. Getting yard work done, little by little. Yesterday morning however was given up to running big son into the 'city' so he could take his ACT's. Man that makes me feel old. It is also why he needed to hurry up and get this . . .

You need a photo I.D. to take the test, and our satalite school doesn't issue picture school I.D.'s. Well big son walked out of those tests a bit more unsure than he went in : ) He was pretty cocky, so I am thinking this is a good thing. Truthfuly, Z's poorest effort is still probably better than my best ever was. The kid is bright.

Here is another random pet pic to distract you . . .

Here are two of our cats sharing a patch of sunlight yesterday. Tina, the white cat, and Bubbles (the paralyzed cat) in a rare moment of unity.

And last but not least, here is Z's best friend already for prom. Cannon County Junior/Senior Prom was last night. Z couldn't go since he is techniclay registard in Hedersonville (that is where our satalite school is). I think N looks swell though. This kid has had a rough home life and spends more time at our home than his, he has his own bunk : ) I am so proud of how he is maturing (sometimes against his will).

Is pink back in? LOL

Blessings, Beth Ann

Look out on the roads!

Well big son is feeling a bit better today and went bright and early down to get his driver permit. I am so excited and proud. Trust me, he was smiling too, but stopped when the camera came out. Guess he didn't want to look like a goober out in cyber space - LOL



Not to change the subject, but it will. Here is a pic of a baby blanket I just finished knitting. Not sure for who yet, as dd has no idea what the baby is yet and that is fine. Maybe I will make one in pinks too and send both? Not sure this is my favorite pattern, so next one will more than likely by slightly different.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Stuff

Just a middle of the week check in. Z is having a bad day today. Poor kid. He only works 3 1/2 days a week, but that is all he can handle. He spends all his time home recovering from working, it's a vicious circle. Twin dd isn't feeling well either, cold I think. Hard to tell with everything blooming and all the vehicles covered in yellow pollen.

Well we went to put a bid on the farm, and someone already beat us to it. Now we are waiting to see if their contract is accepted or not, could be a few days. Will keep you posted.

Not much else happening. DH had to replace my starter last night, in my Durango. So that is delaying our starter plants one more day, but I did remember to pick up the potting soil! Now if I could remember to mix the mulch up . . . I am going with dried coconut shell this year, and has to be moistened in a 5 gallon (comes in compressed bricks) bucket and then spread. I also picked up some seaweed fertilizer as well. So hoping for good things this year. Now wondering if I have room to add some butter lettuce and sweet potatoes?

Here is a random pet pic to keep you entertained:

This is Zoey, she is Z's dog and this is how she sleeps all the time, well maybe not with twin ds blanket, but you get the idea. She snoars like a bulldozer too!

See, even Howard (mini doxin) can't believe how she is sleeping!

Blessings, Beth Ann

Monday after

Happy day after Easter, hope all is well. We had a great Resurrection Sunday here in middle TN. It was sunny and in the 80's, might be time to get the air conditioners out : ) We went to church up in Triune (up by Nashville) to hear our friend preach the sermon and stayed for the fellowship lunch afterwords. On our way home we got off the expressway and headed south to take the kids to look at a property that DH and I had found. We have been looking for some acerage off and on for the past couple years, and this one might be it. It's a five acre farm with a big house built in 1920 (I LOVE older houses), two fenced in pastures, chicken house and large animal stalls, and a small pond in one of the pastures. There is a garage, Florida room and huge machine shop on the property as well as an almost new mobile home. I will see if I can get a link downloaded here soon. We need to sell this place in order to buy that one, so keep us in your prayers. Any way, we came home and spent the early evening pulling weeds in the flower beds (expecting my starter plants delivered today)and mowing the grass with our rotary mower (the kids aren't feeling it yet). Then I got some calls from family, my mom and oldest dd (who is feeling very pregnant). We topped it off with watching the movie 'Astroboy'. Was even able to sleep with windows open last night. What more could one ask for?

Last Friday (DH had a 3 day week-end) we took our four kids and two of their friends to the drive-in for their opening night. It was sooooo packed, line out to the street and past the Sheriff Dept. Saw many folks we knew and the food was good. We stayed for the double feature (get out 50 bucks worth) and didn't get home to almost midnight. Both movies were based on books, blessedly I had read neither : ) "How to train your dragon" was an animated film and very good. The twins loved it and can't stop talking about it (either can DH). The second feature, "Percy Jackson and the lightening thief" was a typical teen movie where they save the day. Oldest son had read that book and couldn't stop talking about it, to tell me all the major differences - LOL Anyway, I would recommend both movies and the drive - in as well, great way to spend some family time : )

Blessings, Beth Ann

Spring

Spring has sprung and I just wanted to share these pic's of our 'little' magnolia tree. We planted it 3 years ago after having some dead maples cut out of our front yard. This is the first year we have seen such a profusion of blossoms.

Please ignore the neighbors truck and my twin dd bike, just notice the mighty magnolia : )

Please ignore the fact that I didn't rote this pic when downloading. Just gaze at the up-close beauty of sunset on flower petals...

Here is a great progression shot of full bloom on down to bud waiting to unfurl, all on the same branch.

I call this "Twilight on the trees of Mason Street". LOL

Blessings, Beth Ann

Pears, pears and more pears

A little over a week ago I was gifted with a case of organic pears! Wow, that's alot of pears : ) Then I got sick and didn't get right to them. Oh the kids were eating them in their lunch's and such. Well they weren't 100% ripe, so this was a good thing. So now I am back in the saddle so to speak and looking at a mega lot of ripe pears. First on the list is my world famous crock pot applesauce ~ uh, I mean pear sauce. That's right, many of the same recipes you can use for apples you can also use for pears. I love my crock pot and this is the perfect use for it. It won't heat up the house, but it still smells devine!

Crock Pot Applesauce (or pears)

8 cooking apples, quartered, pared, cored and chopped

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 c. water

1. Combine all ingredients in cooker.

2. Cook on low 5-6 hours.

Yield: 6 servings

Note: You may want to chop the apples coarsely before cooking them, then mash them after they're cooked; it's easier that way.

Not sure what else I may do with these, may make several batches of pear sauce and freeze. Please share any pear ideas you may have.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Menu Plan Monday

I am still battling the crud, but am up a moving (somewhat). I haven't done a menu plan recently and felt the need as we are still buckling down on our food. We are still following the leptin diet and after reading just about every chronic illness dietary book out there, it seems to follow similar guidelines. We will make some small modifications for my big sons food allergies. It seems to be working well for us, even middle dd has lost about 30 pounds.

We watched this movie from Netflix, over this past week-end and had the older children watch it as well. It is based on the best selling and prize winning book 'Fast food Nation' by Eric Strussel. Basically it's a documentary about where our food comes from and the politics be hind it, a MUST see!

With that said, I am glad to see that Kroger's has Laura's Lean ground beef on sale this week! LOL Here is a look at this weeks menu:

Monday: Crock pot turkey Thia meat loaf w/ green beans

Tuesday: Spinach & beef noodle free lasagna

Wednesday: Mexican beef stew

Thursday: Chicken asparagus stir fry

Friday: Beef Chop Suey

Saturday: Crock pot rotisserie chicken w/Brussels sprouts

Sunday: Happy Easter! (and I don't have a clue, what do you think of stuffed cabbage?)

Whats for dinner at your home this week? For more menu plan Monday visit www.orgjunkie.com

Blessings, Beth Ann

Yarn madness

So OK, I have been sick as a dog (what does that mean any way?) but I did get out of bed a couple times to . . . you got it, knit : ) So here it is, my Metallic eyelash tea room scarf w/fringe ~ TA DA! LOL

Enough said, your lucky I stopped playing Bejeweled and got out of bed to blog this! Now what is the next project ? Hmm . . .

Blessings, Beth Ann

Ants

Yea! Just downloaded the softwear for my camera onto the new computer, and all seems well : ) So to celebrate I will share some pic's with you that were sitting on my camera.

Not a great shot, the butt of our orange cat sitting in my yarn basket

This is the backside of the ant hill we are doing for school with the twins, but we have all been enjoying it : )

Front side of the hill, see the ants at the top? The flowers were picked by the girls, spring is in the air!

Hubby said to use flash (you know how me and the flash get along), not sure this helped?

That's all for now and remember, I is for insect!

Blessings, Beth Ann

New MeMe

MeMe

It's been a while since I've done a MeMe, but I saw this one over at hand eye crafts and thought I'd grab it too.

What are your current obsessions?
Knitting, knitting and more knitting

Which item from your wardrobe do you wear the most often?
Brown leather clogs

What’s for dinner?
Tonight is meatballs in home made BBQ sauce with brussle sprouts in butter sauce

What is your greatest fear at the moment?
Medical bills

What are you listening to?
The wind howling outside

If you were a god/goddess what would you be?
Well I don't believe in any other God than our heavenly father, but if I had to make one up . . . man I can't even think of one right now. Is there a Greek god of domesticity? LOL

What are your guilty pleasures?
Bejeweled

Who or what makes you laugh?
Kids, husband, friends . . .

What is your favorite spring thing to do?
Plan my garden

Where are you planning to travel next?
Defeated Creek in Carthage, for Mother's day camping trip.

What is the best thing you ate or drank lately?
Coffee (1/2 caf with gingerbread creamer)

Who was your first ever crush?
Matt Dillion, I understand he is still singel . . .

What is you favorite ever film?
Steel Magnolias

What is the biggest life lesson you’ve learned from your kids?
To 'chill'

What song can’t you get out of your head?
I can only imagen

What book do you know you should read but refuse to?
Wow, hard. I have never met a book I haven't liked. However I don't share the same efinitay for Beth Moore, Tim LaHay or Joyce Meyers that my peers do.

What is your physical abnormality/abnormal physical ability?
My gift from God is discernment.

What is your favorite color?
I gravatate twords blue/green and gray.

Thats it, hope you all enjoy a little insight on Meme ; )

Blessings, Beth Ann

.

Checking in . . .

Sorry it has been so long and that there are no cute pic's to accompany this post. Been a couple of long busy weeks, mostly health wise. First, the stomach flu went through our house and hit everyone eventually in a two week span ~ yuck.

Then big son Z has been battling his chronic pain and made a couple trips to the ER and doc office. This time last year he almost died and when it was all over, the doc's said his chronic pain was probably CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome). In the past 14 months it has gotten steadily worse and now they are looking at FBS, or Fibromyalgia. Tonight he has an appointment with a neurologist, to see about his head pain. Z says it feels like millions of knives are being stuck in his brain, constantly :( We are again juggling his diet and all our energy seems to be focused on him. So exhausting. I hope we find some answers soon.

On a brighter note: We bought a new desk top and I am blogging from it right now! I am loving the 18" LCD screen, very easy on my bad eyes (swear the eye doc is going to give quad focals next). It is also refreshing to not have it shutting down on me every 7-8 minutes or so, makes checking email a tad faster when not constantly rebooting : ) Now I just have to move some files, pic's and ect. from one machine to the other.

Other news: hubby found a great deal on a rotary mower for our yard. Will be nice not to have to scramble around for gas money all summer for our lawnmower, not to mention safer for the kids to use!

Blessings, Beth Ann

I Believe . . .

Isn't this sign to cute? I couldn't resist snagging it from http://www.knitterella.com/ and sharing it with you : )
Finished a few projects to share with you and I refuse to apologize for my poor camera taking talent anymore. You know it stinks. I know it stinks. So, since I refuse to stop taking pics of my latest creations; we will just leave it to good faith from now on that all my pics are bad and my stuff looks wayyyyy better in person! Good? Good! LOL









This is a self felting eyelash yarn I used to make this cute purse


I was pleased to have enough to make two purses, love the almost hounds tooth pattern it made : )

Twins! I tell them apart by their belly buttons ~ LOL

This is a pink baby bib with gold metallic flecks in it, and a pearlized button to secure one of the three button holes I made. This bib grows with your baby!

Made a matching washcloth too. I think I have more of this some where, so most likely will also make a matching burp cloth as well. Will make an awesome gift, but I still have no clue what grand baby number two will be : P

In other news, most of the sick kids are back on the road to recovery. Big son Z is still a bit yucky, but he has been since about Feb. of 2009. I believe most of his complaints could be better controlled with diet, but he just isn't interested in that. His girlfriend is much the same way. She is a cancer survivor and she to has chronic illness. Her doc has also lectured her on a better diet as well. She is a little worse off than Z, as she has lost her gallbladder already and had limited kidney function as well as colon issues (she had colon cancer). Frankly I believe they are a perfect match! : ) Kids, what ya going to do with them? That's right, hold them tight, love them and smack them upside the head when they don't listen to their ma! LOL

Yesterday we tried a new church, always a interesting if not nerve wracking event! It was up by Nashville and our friend was preaching. They were pretty excited to have us (they have been asking for over a year) and everyone there was friendly and gracious. It is a family integrated church and made up predominantly of home school families. The service its self reminded me more of the Lutheran services of my youth, but just enough less formal to make it enjoyable. We all had a great time and hope to visit again soon.

Blessings, Beth Ann

What a difference a day makes ~

In more ways than one . . . Our weather has changed from sunny and 60's to rainy and 50's. Kids have changed from being mostly OK to being mostly sick : ( Last week twin dd had 'slippery poo's' (her words), but was for the most part well. This week one dd has PMS, twin son is vomiting and has stomach flu, and oldest dd has killer flu and missed some work. Took big son to doc yesterday and got a referral for a neurologist for his killer headaches, that he has had for the past year. He also saw the eye doc yesterday, no glasses needed. So with the 3 MRI's and the perfect eyesight, we are all perplexed and next step is the expensive big guns testing. There is a waiting list for this guy, who is perpetuated as being the best in the area, who knew? So we have a 3 month wait ahead of us for any more test and answers, sigh . . .

So, why the weather was still fine, back on Wed. - LOL - DH took twins to the park and snapped these cute pic's of them :


Here is E being 'swallowed' in the middle of the tri-slide : )

Here is Foo on top of the 'monkey' bars

E riding on the tire bouncy thing : )

Foo riding on a horse bouncy thing : P

And E just hanging out on the jungle gym! What a happy guy!

That's about it for me today, going back to my knitting .

Blessings, Beth Ann

Sunny Days

Well it was a sunny week-end in the upper 60's here in middle TN., and my hubby had it off!!! We had sooooo much fun. He kicked it off with a men's faith group breakfast at church. Oldest son only works half day on Sat., so picked him and his girlfriend up and headed for Nashville. We decided to skip the RV show, but ended up wandering around outside of Cullmen and Maxy RV sales, looking at the new models anyway : ) Then made a stop at camping world (mecca for RV'ers), and loaded up for the upcoming camping season. We also made a visit to Ernest Tubbs, Cooters and Willie Nelson's general store and museum. We skipped the museum part, it cost $5 to enter and there was a sing saying it would double on April 15th. Joke? I have no idea ~ LOL Cooters was cool though, it was free and I had no idea that there was that much Dukes of Hazzard crap, I mean merchandise out there! We capped off the day with dinner at Bod Evens. May not sound like a big deal to you all, but I think the next closest one is in OHIO! LOL We only do this once a year, thank goodness, and we were blessed with the best weather ever!


Sunday was equally as nice, and after a good-bye reception for our pastor, we commenced on the yard work! Hubby finished the fence between our second drive-way and the noisy neighbors. Oldest ds climbed on top the RV car port and trimmed tree branches, middle dd and her two friends finished raking and filling the compost bin. Me? Well I just kept running in and out of the house, trying to keep track of the twins who were bent on helping everyone! LOL Later as a reward, dh took the t-t0ps off his camero and we went to Sonic and brought home ice cream for the kids. Another wonderful day, that reminds me why we moved here and why we stay. There are good things in store this year, I can just feel it in my bones! They only sad disclaimer here is not being there for my oldest dd new baby : ( However I did modify my baby bib knitting pattern and whipped up a pile to send to her. I will also make matching burp towels and wash cloths. Does that make me sound annal? Didn't think so ~ LOL

Blessings, Beth Ann

Yarn it all!

So OK, I have been practicing with my camera. Not much improvement, but did notice that I don't need flash during the day : ) So, I have been knitting my fingers to the bone. I have a couple of venue's to consider: antique mall, craft shows and festivals, and flea market booth. Maybe all three? Hoping this will be a positive way to bring little extra income into our home. I an in desperate need to show off the fancy yarn I have invested in and am addicted to, but my photography skills won't co-operate - LOL Here is the best I could do on my latest projects:

This is a evening bag or little girl dress up purse

I used standard black yarn that has color flowered sequins interspersed

One more time, the cream mohair bag with dark red sequins

Again, great evening bag

My first practice baby bib

Reg, yarn with a button closure. Way easier to knit a button hole than I assumed : )

My current project, a snow white feather scarf. I feel like I am knitting Santa's beard! I am contemplating making a matching hat if I have enough yarn, but I have never knitted in the round before. A bit scary, but there is a first time for everything I guess : )



Last week-end my daughter had two friends over (like about every week-end). I taught them to crochet. L to R : Bre, Mika and Halie

Sorry this is so dark. I swear I used the flash! This camera just doesn't like the flash! Very proud of these girls.

So much yarn and so little time! For mothers day I really want these knitting needles that light up from the inside, that I saw at Michael's! How cool is that? Then I can knit in the car at night (when I'm not driving) and around the campfire at night when we are camping! No, I am not addicted! Am I ?

Blessings, Beth Ann

Happy Monday!

Another wonderful day here in middle TN, and the first day of March! What more could one ask for? Is it just me or is this year zipping by faster than the last? Scary : ( Thought I would share this pic of two of our dogs sharing a sun spot together, it makes me smile just to look at it : ) This Howard, our mini doxin, and Levi who is now 8 months old. They both have partial paralysis of their hindquarters. Even though Howie is small, he IS the Alpha dog (after me of course - lol) This picture exemplifies that fact and that he has finely taught Levi to understand it too!

Here is a look at this weeks Leptin (lo-carb/high protein) menu:

Monday: Crockpot crab soup w/salad

Tuesday: Noodless lasagna w/broccoli

Wednesday: Church bible study w/pot luck ~ crockpot fajitas

Thursday: Sweet n'sour chicken w/brown rice and mixed beans

Friday: Chili

Saturday: Metza! w/Brussels sprouts

Sunday: Hamburgers w/salad

Remember, if your making something that calls for crab to us the 'real'deal as the fake stuff is high in carbs! Also, metza is just a fake pizza : ) The crust is all meat with the sauce,cheese and veggies on top! One more thing, remember that with those burgers to skip the bun. Sometimes we just eat ours plain or wrap them in larger Romain leaves - yum! Whats for dinner at your house this week?

Blessings, Beth Ann