mommafitz

Gofish-bummer about the friends hurt ankle. We are going to haul a load of stuff to the new house today. We also need to put a coat of paint on one of the bedroom floors. The bedrooms have the old type of hardwood that must be painted. On top of what I need to accomplish today, I have a sinus/ allergy headache. How annoying.

I am enjoying my morning coffee and thought I'd share a bit of what's going on in my life lately. We finally bought a house! No more renting! Wooooooo! We haven't moved in yet. We expect to be in by the end of the month. It's a 2 story colonial built in 1922. My DH played in the house when he was a little boy. He grew up in the little house that sets behind it. It was a foreclosure so we got a great deal on it. It is partially remodeled but we still hafta do some things. It has plenty of storage room and two great pantries in the kitchen! I am looking forward to filling them up! (I've been reading some things that indicate we are gonna need to be prepared for more economic blimps in the coming months.) There isn't much property that goes with it unfortunately. We can have a small garden spot but no livestock. The community and location greatly off set that in my opinion. We are still in the same county but on the farthest edge. Its a nice quiet community where neighbors watch out for each other! I still work at a car dealership. And yes each month we have worries about me remaining employed. The stress is a constant state of being now.DH is still a LEO. DH and I have a low house payment so if I must change jobs and have lower wages we can still cover house expenses without a major worry. Yep! We are planning ahead!

Hey Ya'll! I haven't visited in such a long time! I think it will take ages to catch up on everything!

Good list Gofish! I realized this past week that I need to make DS2 a general first aid kit with cold and flu items in it. I can't believe I haven't already done it! I know there is a clinic on campus where he can go but he may not feel up to the walk. This way he can take care of himself in his dorm. Thanks for the additional ideas! mommafitz

Sorry to hear about your quilt mishap! What happened? Perhaps I could give a suggestion or two.

My Marvel peas and red onions are coming up! My garlic is also coming up and the surviving tomatoes are reviving with the warmer weather. Spring is on its way!

Thanks for the birthday wishes! My DD took me out to dinner and we watched "Second Hand Lions" on video. Yes, I'm doing my remodeling myself. My significant other is helping with the really heavy stuff such as hanging the upper cabinets in the kitchen, but sheetrock, tearing out old stuff, and repairing a large crack in the concrete and leveling the floor are all mine. I find that on a lot of the more tedious jobs I prefer to work alone since I can get a little cranky if someone else isn't doing it 'right' (read that as my way!) I learned all kinds of skills at my mother's knee, from cooking and sewing to plumbing and auto repair. We never had money to hire things done, so we did it ourselves including raising a large garden and all kinds of animals.

Since teaching is my 'thing' and Payson has no tutoring service, I'm planning to do that and spend some time organizing materials that I have developed over the years for publication. I have accumulated a long list of topics that I would like to write about outside of education, too.

For the past week I have been 'kitchenless'. I am remodeling my house to sell. I bought it for a good price when I divorced a couple of years ago with the intention of slowly fixing it up to sell. Well, both my boys decided to join the Navy and now I'm an empty nester unless you count the four legged 'kids'. My mom lives all alone about two hours away in Payson (a small town), so I'm accelerating my remodeling pace and plan to move up there away from the big city this summer. I am a teacher, so that fits my schedule. Fortunately (for me) they have a hard time finding teachers up there! This is my 'get out of debt and go cash only' plan. When I sell this place, I will pay off a ton of debt and then work for a year while sharing expenses with Mom to pay off the remainder of my bills and tuck a few bucks away. I'm also starting my own business up there from home, so after teaching there for a year, I hope to be self-employed! Wish me luck! Right now it's off to Home Depot for some drywall compound. My significant other gave me a Home Depot gift card for my birthday yesterday!

According to my son who is in the Navy, the MRE's they are issued contain about 4500 calories each. They are meant to feed soldiers in the field, so they are very high calorie. I don't think it would take three of them to feed two adults and a young child. I have used them on various occasions, such as during a survival workshop and couldn't consume an entire MRE in a day. Things like pasta dishes are much more practical for regular folk. You mentioned dried milk. It can be added to many things. You can use it to extend mac and cheese. Just boil the noodles, drain off almost all of the water, add some shredded cheese (your favorite kind), and some dry milk powder. You can also throw in some onion powder and/or garlic powder for more flavor. I can't give you exact quantities since I tend to cook by sight rather than recipe, but if you experiment, you will find what tastes right for you. Good luck!

I have all of my energy-hungry toys such as the computer, TV, VCR, and stereo on power strips. When they are not being used, the power strip is turned off. Such devices as TV's use power even when 'off'. This is known as a 'phantom load' I believe. I also keep the thermostat as low in the winter as I can stand and wear extra clothing. When lights or other electrical things are not being used they are turned off. To save water in the garden, mulch, mulch, mulch! When I change my dogs' water (with 5 they have a tub!) I dump the 'old' water on a thirsty plant. To see if your toilet is leaking, put some food coloring in the tank, let it set for about 30 minutes and see if the color has moved to the bowl. Only use enough to color the water a little bit! Check your phone service to see if there are any optional features you can do without. Comparison shop for Internet service, too.

Does anyone know where I can get volumes 2 through 4 of the Sunbonnet Family Reunion Album quilt pattern books? My mom has volume 1 and used to have volume 2 until my sister 'visited' her recently. (A lot of other things disappeared during that visit, but that's another story!)

Lentils are a good, quick-cooking alternative to dry beans. Just look in the same area in the store. If you have a Dutch oven you can bake biscuits when you have a campfire. Just scoop out a hole about 6 inches deep for your fire, get a good bed of coals, make your dough as usual, place a round cake tin upside down in the bottom of the Dutch oven and put your biscuits in a second round cake pan. Set the biscuit pan on the upside down pan, put the lid on the Dutch oven and shovel a layer of coals on top. It should take about 15 minutes maximum to bake your biscuits. Be really careful removing the lid! A big, sturdy pair of pliers is helpful. This is a method I learned from my mom when I was about 5 and we moved to the back-end of nowhere in Arkansas. We camped for about 3 months while remodeling an old barn into a house so we had lots of time to experiment with primitive living. Since you are looking for a place to be that is warm, try contacting Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department (www.maricopa.gov) to see if there are any park host positions available in this area. I used to work for them and our park hosts seemed quite happy. They require you to work about 20 hours a week for your camping space. You do things like cleaning, helping at the entry station, collecting camping fees, and so on. It's possible to have an outside job, too. Good luck!

Hi Sharon and welcome! I don't envy you your cold weather, I'd freeze solid. (Desert dwellers tend to be that way ) Good luck with your plans!

Hello and welcome from Arizona! This is a great place to be with wonderful, caring friends. Grab a brownie and kick back by the fire for awhile!

Boy, what a year! I haven't had time to post much lately, but my post on wood splitter dangers generated an inquiry as to my whereabouts. I'm still teaching junior high science and trying to escape the Phoenix area. My sons were here for the holidays. David, the 23 year old, drove back to San Diego yesterday evening. He is a hospital corpsman at Balboa Naval Hospital right now. If you have a Marine recruit in San Diego, my son may be looking after his well being during training. Adam, the 19 year old, flew back to Dahlgren, VA this morning. He is training to be a fire control technician. That means that if his ship comes under attack, he is responsible for firing the defensive missiles. They are both counting down the time until they can come home for good. Right now they both have about five years to go. My mom and I are still trying to find a way to consolidate our households. She turned 72 yesterday and really doesn't want or need to be living alone two hours away from family! We are going to go look at property near Roosevelt Lake tomorrow. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and enjoyed whatever traditions are dear to your families. For those of you who have sons or daughters far from home serving in the military, my heart goes out to you. May they stay safe and return soon.

Please take care when operating wood splitters! This morning my mom was telling me that she was using her wood splitter to split a large piece of dry wood and it suddenly split into about six pieces, which flew up on hit her in the face. Fortunately, she wasn't seriously injured, but she has cuts on her chin and nose. She isn't sure if her front tooth was damaged in the gums, but it's really sore. She also had splinters in her face. She says that the wood seemed to just explode suddenly. So, if you are splitting very dry, knotty wood, BE CAREFUL!

Right now I have three of my own plus my sons' dogs. Mine are Lisa, a Beagle mix adopted from the pound; Cassie a Border Collie that was found out on the desert with Cholla cactus stuck all in her; and Jesse a yellow Lab mix who just showed up and adopted me one day. My older son has a Taco Bell chihuahua, Tinkerbell aka Stinky, he inherited from his grandma and my younger son has a shepherd mix, Charlie, from the pound. They are all very sweet girls and have their own personalities. They love to go visit my mom and her three dogs. My younger son was in town to visit for a few days and they were so excited to see him. They kept going to the door as if they expected his brother to be here too. They are both in the Navy and attending training at Great Lakes in Illinois. That's why I'm babysitting their dogs and the older son's cat. At least they are good company!

I am interested in adopting an older child, not a baby. Since I am a junior high teacher, I have a lot of experience dealing with older children. Besides, I don't really want to start changing diapers again at age 42!

Is anyone out there an adoptive parent? I have been thinking strongly about looking into adopting a child. I have successfully raised a daughter and 2 sons but feel a need to continue parenting. I am single but involved with someone in a long-term relationship. Any advice?

I received a letter today from my son's commanding officer informing me that he will be awarded the Navy League award at bootcamp graduation. He may also receive the academic excellence award. This son has always been my "golden child" and I am so very proud of him! I'm proud of his siblings, too of course, but he and I share the over-achiever trait. The other two are quite happy and successful being a bit more normal. I'm sure they will have less stressful lives thanks to their more layed back attitudes.

I'm jealous! Here I am stuck in the city missing the days when I was a kid on a small farm. Oh well, if I can get my act together and pay off the debts accumulated while living in the city, I'll be able to go back to the country and have my own busy spring. Until then I'll have to settle for a backyard garden and an assortment of mostly useless dogs and cats!

Funny how many of us collect dust! Well, I won't say I personally get that dusty, but my house sure does. Maybe because of all the animals I've collected! I'm another one who can't say no to those big, sad eyes. I guess my number one thing to accumulate is books. It kind of goes with being a teacher and a student. (Teachers never really get finished taking classes.) I also am getting quite a collection of tools. Since I'm fixing up a wreck of a house and plan to build my own someday, plant collection, too.

My list is pretty long. Many of my jobs were to make ends meet while in college and raising 3 children on my own. Helping Mom raise livestock (cattle, pigs) was paid in livestock (I liked it. I was a kid at the time!) Babysitting House cleaning plastic molding company worker (ran machines, finished parts) office worker quality assurance manager (same plastic molding company) assistant to the curator of marine invertebrates and fishes at U of A lab assistant in biology dept. waitress receptionist substitute teacher high school teacher jeep tour guide/naturalist park ranger field researcher for small mammal study TA for soil science labs researcher for computer modeling of the impact of urban growth on the San Pedro watershed park educator teacher (8th grade science) professional mom (25 1/2 years and counting) Pay? No money, just lots of love!