Over The Homespun Hedge

Homemade Incense

2010-03-22T06:07:00.001-05:00

Here we are on a Monday again lol...i can't believe how fast the weeks go by. Yesterday was great...we had a lazy slow do nothing day and it's been awhile since that's happened.

I made a new homemade incense and I really liked it so I thought I would share it. It's a combination of herbs and oils for relaxation and it just plain puts you in a good mood.

In a bowl mix 5 fingered pinches of the following dried herbs:

Jasmine
Lavender
Rose Petals
Sage

Add 5 drops each of:

Rose Ess. Oil
Lavender Ess. Oil

Add a heaping teaspoon of salt peter. (If you don't have salt peter, that's alright, just use a charcoal circle)

Mix well and put about a tablespoon in a metal dish or bowl and light.

Snakes, Birds and Moving

2010-03-19T06:41:00.000-05:00

This week has absolutely flown by!! And I'm having trouble getting wireless signal when the sun is shining...must be some kind of interference and it's driving me nuts!! I may just do my blogging at night, at least i'm still doing it right? lol

Well...the black snake apparently is a mainstay here. He comes out every morning and sun himself in the same spot. I'm not freaking anymore and actually go check in the mornings to see if he's there. My mom and I names him Bentley. lol

I've also been feeding the birds down on the dock and one of the birds (i think it's a gull) hovers just over my head and I toss him food. He catches it in the air, then flies right back and hovers over my head. It's the coolest thing....i'm feeding them dog food lol and they love it.

It's been so fun getting to know the species of birds in Florida. I even picked up a bird guide at a garage sale so I can identify them. Mom and I put up bird feeders around the resort and we are having a blast watchin them. We have red headed woodpeckers that come to the suet regularily now. Do I sound like a nerd?? hahahahaha

Well off to the garage sales...it's Friday!! WooooHooo

Garage Sale Day!!

2010-03-12T06:37:00.001-06:00

Since I've gotten down here, my mom and I have dubbed Fridays our garage saleing day. She gets so excited and gets the paper right away in the morning to check where they all are, then she maps out our route. We have coffee then head out at 9:00.

This morning The Ladies Club is having their annual garage sale and she said there was some "good stuff" there last year. lol She's so cute.....

I love garage sales and its so funny when other people think what they have is junk and to me it's a total treasure. In fact, I've decorated and set up my little cottage here solely on garage sale and junk store finds and everyone that comes in calls it a "doll house". :)

And one thing I've learned from my hubby is the art of negotiation....well lol if you don't ask you don't get a lower price! lol

Here is some of my ultimate garage sale finds over the years:

A mens solid gold coin ring surrounded by diamonds - $1.00 (the ring was worth about $500)
A 30 gallon fish tank with stand, heater, filter and all the goodies - $5.00
4 large windows of pink and white long sheers - $1.00
Antique carnival glass candy dish - $1.00 (I collect carnival glass, turned out the candy dish was actually worth $480)
Antique dressing table - $5.00
Antique secretary desk - $30.00 (these are worth hundreds!)

Write me a comment and tell me about some of your ultimate finds. I love this stuff!!!

Homemade "Vicks" Vapor Rub

2010-03-11T07:32:00.000-06:00

Still some nasty viruses going around...3 of the tenants here at the resort are very sick with respirtory yuck (hope I don't get that crud). So I thought I would share my homemade vapor rub recipe, works great and easy to make.

Homemade "Vicks" Vapor Rub

In a crockpot or double boiler on high, drop two huge tablespoons of vaseline and 2 T of beeswax.

When melted together, turn off the heat and add:

10 drops of peppermint oil
10 drops of wintergreen oil
3 drops of tea tree oil
10 drops of eucalyptus oil
5 drops of thyme oil

Break open 2 Vitamin E capsule and pour that in.

Blend well and pour into a sterilized glass jar and let set.
Cap tight and use for congestion and colds.

Hope you all have a blessed and sunny day :)

Handicapped Kids and Horsies

2010-03-10T06:49:00.000-06:00

First of all, I want to say thank you for the sound wonderful opinions and advice about my dad yesterday. You are all right...he's depressed and really does need some counseling or meds or something. He never used to be this way...it started about two years after he and my mom moved down to manage this resort. I think he's just plain ol burned out....and needs to either get away from the resort or let me handle all the monkey business.

Soooooo...on to my story....When I was a little girl, we lived in a very small town in Iowa. My dad was transferred there thru J.C. Penney's and was the manager of the little one level store (he was with Penney's 31 years). This town was right out of a movie, complete with a town square and a Ben Franklin dime store. Every year, we had a rodeo, parades and alot of small town functions, everyone knew each other. My parents were the head of THE social circle there. One of their friends had horses, so my dad decides to buy one of his horses...that lead to a Tennessee Walker, a Shetland (JoJo, my sisters pony) and Dandy (my 4 year old quarter horse).

We kept our horses in the pasture behind the nursing home, which was really a two story white farmhouse complete with a beautiful white wooden barn. My sister Wendi and I would go everyday to play with our horses. She would cut JoJo's bangs, brush his teeth and would have taken him to bed if she could have. lol I was a little more practical with Dandy.

One day, we led our horses down the street, across the road and up the hill to our house. There was a little dirt "alley" running between the houses and we were riding the horses up and down that. Dandy tripped in a pothole and we both went flying. I never got back on a horse since that day.

I love horses, they are beautiful and majestic, but because I fell and never got back on I was afraid to. Yesterday, I went out to this non profit place here called Heartland Horses for Handicapped. They do riding for handicapped children, it's just wonderful!! I'm going to be their new volunteer! I had so much fun with the horses and I'm hoping after I spend time with them and the children, I will get back on and ride. I've already picked one out to ride....lol...he's 19, named Simon and acts like a dog! lol

I start volunteering next Tuesday and I'm on the feed and grooming schedule! I'm really really excited about it.

Help, Advice and A Shoulder

2010-03-09T06:16:00.000-06:00

I need help, advice, a shoulder and some strength.....

You all know that I've moved to Florida to help manage my brothers resort. It's a good size resort....43 cabins on the lake. My parents have been managing it for 4 years, mostly my Dad, but he is 78 years old with COPD and has had one knee replaced with the other one needing it. He doesn't look 78 at all and is still really active. He golfs, plays tournament ping pong and goes to the gym 3 days a week. But he's become this grouchy man in the last few years, that swears alot and says whatever the hell he pleases to whoever he pleases.....He says almost daily that he doesn't give a "shit" about this place and he wants to turn the keys in.

A typical conversation between him and a tenant:

Rob: Hey Jerry, how are you??

Dad: You better not have that whore of a girlfriend of yours in your cabin.

Rob: Nope...she's not here but we'd like to have that empty cabin.

Dad: She's nothing but a f**king whore and she's the only female that I've ever met with no tits and a whole lot of balls.

Alrighty...you get the idea...

My brother wants me to take on more responsibility here, but everytime I breathe my dad is yelling at me. It's all little stuff...and he's doing things behind my brothers back that is hurting the resort. For instance, yesterday, he just decided he didn't want to run the "no deposit" ad in the paper anymore and called and canceled it!?! wth

It's a sticky situation...I think my dad feels like he's losing control and I've been very very careful not to step on his toes. I've been running everything thru him and trying to stay out of his way.

Last night, i was talking to my mom about something (gossip about one of the tenants that is being stalked by another tenant) and my dad freaked out!! Told me to mind my own f**king business and blah blah blah. Then 5 mins later asked me if I wanted to play chess with him. I went home and cried out of shear frustration. :(

I don't know what to do or quite how to handle this....advice and help please!!! I feel my patience slipping away....

This is the sunrise I saw out my front window when I woke up this morning...it's beautiful and I truly love it here.

Snakes and Wreaths

2010-03-08T06:25:00.002-06:00

Sooooo....we are all sitting in my mom and dads garage on a beautiful morning yesterday, cool and sunny. My usual antsy self took over, so I got up and went to look out the back door. Oh my god! There was a 5 ft indigo snake with his head up, laying there in the sun!!! Of course I freaked out and started panicking....ran to get my sons for help. One of them went around the house and the other one crowded next to me. Then it moved!! eeeeeeeewwwwww went into the weeds and rattled! OMG! Then is raced off...like my heart needed that kind of jolt first thing in the morning. lol

One good thing did come out of it tho....I discovered a bunch of very cool stuff in the woods behind the house and I made a nature wreath out of it. We also found some cactus growing back there, dug them up and put them in pots. lol

Mister and Misses

2010-03-05T06:17:00.002-06:00

I was sitting on my mom's front porch yesterday and I heard a cardinal! Call me dumb, but I didn't know there were cardinals in Florida lol It gave me a little pang of homesickness for Minnesota. I spent so much time watching the birds and I'm not familiar with them in Florida yet.

One day, mid winter a couple years ago, I was photographing a male and female cardinal that showed up alot at my birdfeeder. I started calling them Mister and Misses. I wasn't getting a good enuff photo from the window. It was freezing outside so I was trying to catch them thru the dirty screen. I got this brilliant idea to take the screen off my bay window, sit on the ledge and photograph them. So I did of course, furnace running and my dog shivering.

I leaned too far and fell out the window!! Flat on my face in the snow...camera and all. hahahaha But I did get some good photos!

So in honor of the cardinal I heard yesterday, I'm going to share the poem I wrote about my cardinals...Mister and Misses:

Mister flies in first and when the coast is clear
Misses flies in, beneath him, but near.

Ever so watchful, he looks after his love
They're as close a fit, as a hand to a glove.

Misses wanders around and pecks at the feast,
not bothered by Mister at all, not in the least.

He protects her and tends to fuss and hover,
keeping close, but back under the bramble cover.

And when he thinks the Misses is almost through,
down he goes to join her as if on que.

Still keeping an eye on the joy of his life,
after all, his Misses compares to a wife.

Happy and content, Misses flies up,
Mister follows quick and abrupt.

Settled on a limb, leafless and long,
the two burst out in a beautiful song.

They will raise their young, together as one,
When the icy snow melts and the winter is done.

Their love fills the air, what an amazing pair.

Suddenly take flight and soar away,
Mister and Misses will be back to enjoy another day.

Orange Pickin

2010-03-03T07:43:00.001-06:00

I'm sitting here in the warm Florida sun and watching them harvest the oranges in the grove across the road. It's actually quite the process and I never knew that. They are picking them by hand with ladders. Then a crane comes and lifts the buckets full of oranges and dumps them into a big truck. It's kinda cool to watch so I said to my mom that it might be kinda fun to do that....

She chocked on her coffee and said "are you kidding me?" Well no...why?

She told me that the orange trees are full of thorns and the workers get bit quite often by snakes. Eeeeeeeew ummm okay then....no thanks!! lol

On the other hand...I've also been watching them fly over the groves in planes spraying pesticides and I'm sure they get into the oranges no matter how much they are rinsed after being picked. And we are probably drinking the pesticides right out of the carton that costs an arm and a leg these days. So I'm goin to be passing on the oj now lol

But I'm told when the trees blossom the smell is downright orgasmic so I can't wait to experience that part. lol Enuff about oranges...i'm rambling now lol

I'm Back!!!!!!

2010-02-24T04:35:00.000-06:00

I bet you've all been wondering where the hell I went lol Well....i'm going to tell you...

I decided to move to Florida with my son about a month ago to help manage my brothers resort. My husband is still working in Colorado, but will joining me here sometime in March.

It's been a very crazy, crazy month but things are settled down now and I'm able to get back online and start blogging and doing what I do again. LOL

With that said......ooooooo wow I just love it down here. I'm already growing vege's and herbs and it just blows my mind. In Minnesota, I'd be sitting there staring out the window wishing the snow and cold away.

We took a trip to the gulf Sunday and spent two hours walking in the surf collected shells...it was so fun! We found 11 sand dollars too!! lol

Glad to be back and I'd love to hear from you all, so catch me up!!

The Truck Stop

2010-01-05T09:13:00.001-06:00

We decided to go out for dinner last night but wanted something different. So we drove over to Wisconsin to this very cool truck stop. It was like something out of a movie!! I know...I know...those of you that see them alot probably think I'm nuts, but we just don't get to experience this. lol

It was packed full of running semi trucks and it even had a semi truck that was a chapel!! We walked in and it was like walking into a restaurant in the south. (I grew up in the south) Truckers were sitting around gabbing in their plaid shirts and john deere caps. The truckers were talking to each other from their tables and it was so friendly and informal. The waitresses were sooooo nice and they were wearing white waitress dresses!! And we had southern fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy on HUGE platters....and it was all you can eat! hahahaha omg I'm still full!!

It was really fun and we joined their conversations and laughed alot...great night!!

Another new day

2010-01-03T07:08:00.000-06:00

I'm up before the sun this morning...can't sleep....and husband and number one son head back to Colorado this morning. They plan on leaving around 8 and that will get them into Denver around 7 tonight. They won't be back for a good month this time. It's been a little bit toooooooo much togetherness!!! 24/7 for almost two weeks lol

It's been boring the last few days so I guess I've raked my brain enough and just don't have anything good or exciting to blog about today, or it's just too early and I can't think. lol

Hope you all have a great day and stay warm!! It's -20 here this morning! brrrrrrr

Starting out bad already

2010-01-02T09:30:00.001-06:00

As I'm watching the ball drop on New Years Eve, I was filled with excitment and almost giddy. I was so looking forward to putting 2009 behind us....it wasn't a great year...full of family/friend death, kid problems, career change and economy woes. We all hugged and celebrated and whooped it up. Whew...it was behind us.

Then I got up yesterday morning. While drinking my coffee I got online and decided to check out bank accounts to make sure balances were correct. To my surprise our household account was $600 short!!!

Turns out when we bought the chrysler 300M and put insurance on it, they have a new law! They run your address and anyone showing up with your address gets automatically put on your insurance even if they don't have a license or don't live with you!! So if we want insurance on that car we have to pay $600 a month because all the kids have our address on their licenses.

WTH!!! First of all...my oldest lives in colorado and doesn't have a license (it was suspended a year ago). Second son, lives with us temporarily, but doesn't have a license because it was suspended. Daughter lives with us sometimes and sometimes elsewhere. Third son does live with us and we had him listed on the insurance and we were paying $130/month total for me, hubby and third son. And first and foremost, none of them are ever allowed to drive either one of our vehicles. Who needs 600 bucks taken out of their account right after xmas!!!!!!!

I called the insurance company and gave them addresses for the kids and that wasn't good enough and they didn't care that their licenses were suspended. They want electric bills or something of the sort proofing where they live. And of course they have none. So we are just screwed!! If I want insurance on the chrysler we have to pay $600 a month!!!!! And I'm not paying that each month, that's just ridiculous!!!

So......so much for having a great 2010...it's already starting out bad.

A House Blessing

2009-12-30T09:52:00.001-06:00

With the new year coming in a couple days, I wanted to share with you my personal House Blessing. I've used it for ions and I love the feel of my house after I've done this blessing.

House Blessing:

Gather white sage stick or sandlewood incense, a white candle, dish of water, and a dish of salt. Place them in the middle of your house. Take the incense/sage stick to your east wall, light it saying:

Air with smoke now blow away

Unpleasant energy from this home.

Take the smoking sage/incense and walk along every wall in your house and say the chant in each room you entr. When finished set the sage in a shell or dish in the center of your house.

Take the candle to the south wall and light it saying:

Candle flame that flickers bright,

Burn negative energy with your light.

Take the dish of water to the west wall. Sprinkle the water along the wall and say:

Water wash this house and clean away

All the dirt and negativity.

Take the dish of salt to the north wall and sprinkle the salt and say:

Salt of earth, both fertile and pure,

Against negative energy, this house secure.

Stand in the center of your house, open your arms and say:

Spirits of the home and hearth,

Bless these walls and give them warmth!

Bless thewindows, roof and floor

Bring joy to those who grace my door.

Grant to all who enter here

Ease of sorrow, pain and fear.

Bring rest and comfort to the tired.

Bring ease to anger, quench it's fire.

Engulf this house with love and light

And laughter, joy and sunshine bright.

Make this home a happy place

Where all feel welcome in its space.

And see that only good befalls,

Those who live and enter within these walls.

Let the candle and the sage stick/incense burn out. Gather the items when cool and put the away.

Peed My Pants

2009-12-29T09:24:00.000-06:00

I'm up early, my house is quiet, the sun is shining and it's -2 outside. I'm warming up to my favorite thing in the morning...i actually get excited to get up so I can have this coffee lol (carmel truffle with chocolate creamer...yummmmmm) lol

We ended up going to the casino yesterday and it was not a good thing. We all lost money and it was waaaay too crowded. I actually did hit $200 on one machine, but then over time lost it in other machines one at a time plus gave out $20's to the kids. Oh well...good thing we only go up there a couple times a year. lol

On Christmas Day we all went to my sisters house, we take turns having it every year and my brother flew up from Florida. Whenever we get together, we revert back to being kids and act like we're 10!! hahahahaha So we decided to go outside and build a snowman. We put on hats and mittens and i soooooo don't do hats, I look like a complete idiot!! So of course my brother, PJ, grabs his cell and takes the most hideous picture of Wendi and I that I've ever seen in my life!!!!! I mean it's sooooooo bad we all went into a laughing fit and I had to run to the bathroom!! lol I looked like I was bald, my eyes are scwenched up, my mouth is open and i look like i'm giving birth. Hideous! We made our snowman anatomically correct of course and Wendi had a fit and made us take it down cuz she didn't want the "neighbors" to see it. hahahaha

The next day Wendi and PJ came out to my house so we could go downtown to the great little shops and spend our money. Right on the street, out of the blue and crowded with people, PJ opens his cell phone and shows me the picture again that he took of me and Wendi, I started laughing and he starts immitating one of my laughing attacks....he looked like he needed to be put in a home complete with his legs crossed, flinging his arms around, bent over, making faces and laughing like me (I sound like scooby doo when I laugh and i'm famous for peeing my pants when i have a laughing attack). I once peed on her trampoline at a July 4th party in front of everyone cuz i was laughing so hard when her son was flinging me around on the tramp. She had to give me her underpants and a pair of her jeans while we washed mine. hahahahaha Gawd I'm such a dork!!

Anyway...here he is on the sidewalk infront of all these people imitating me. They are literally stopping and looking at us. It was soooooooo funny!!! I go into a laughing attack and of course I'm froze in place with my legs crossed cuz if I move I'm gonna pee, head bent over and sounding like scooby doo!!!! So Wendi starts trying to help me into an antique store to find a bathroom and that made things even worse!! People were laughing and looking and staring at the spectacle we were making of ourselves. hahahahahahahaha And i of course started peeing my pants, but i did manage to get into the bathroom before I had a full blown issue. hahahaha Afterwards we all collected ourselves, we went into a Scent Chips store and the man inside says to me...."You were the girl outside peeing her pants weren't you?" OMG!!! I about died!! I turned right around and walked out of the store, leaned up against the building and proceeded to start laughing again. I'll never be able to go downtown again!! hahahaha

I think I'll go get my eyebrows done today! haha

Finally Over!!

2009-12-28T09:57:00.000-06:00

Whoa and Whew!! It's finally over...I have to admit this is NOT my favorite time of the year anymore. lol I'm so glad it's over. We've had a crazy week. Mike (husband) and Mikey (oldest) are home from Colorado til Jan 2 and it's been chaotic as hell. We had to finish shopping, finish baking, sell the puppies, spent a night in a hotel together, fix a broken snowmobile, dig out of a snow storm, my brother is here from florida, cooked two full holiday dinners, clean constantly, celebrated 3 birthdays ontop of all the christmas stuff and my back is still f**ked up.

We've been wassailing for 4 days and all I want to do is put my sweats on, curl up in front of the tv and chill. Last night was it...it's over and we're done.

I've sold all the puppies but one this week, can't believe how fast they went, but they are so cute and sweet people just grabbed them right up. It was hard seeing each one go...i got too attached and like a dummy named them all. lol The one I have left is the one I've kept aside because I'm debating keeping him. He's the biggest chubbiest sweetest, completely independent and he's my little bull roar. lol Walks with an attitude even and i've been calling him Wally.

My kids all had a good christmas and Mollee turned 20 yesterday, so I only have one left in the teens now. Gawd I feel old!! lol

They all want to go to the casino today...great family outing huh?? hahahahaha

I hope all of you had a very merry holiday and are all safe and sound :)

Almost time

2009-12-18T09:59:00.000-06:00

The puppies are now 6 weeks and are eating normal food, playing and barking. lol And it's TOTAL CHAOS!!!

I had a horrible thing happen on Wednesday.....I fed the puppies then came upstairs, about 10 mins later I went down to start cleaning up puppy poop and one of the puppies was laying by the food dish dead....she choked on her food. It was so sad and we were all crying, I can't believe something like that happened! :( We tried to clear her airways but it was just too late, it happened so fast. So now there are 8 puppies.....

We are going in for shots tomorrow and that is gonna be something else....8 puppies to the vet all at once....oh boy...I have an ad running for Sunday so I'm hoping I get lots of calls and we find good homes for them. Each and every one of them are absolutely adorable and they have such good dispositions and personalities. I'm debating keeping Wally (yes I've named some of them) LOL He's the biggest one, a major pudge and very independent. But I'm attached to Oney too, he was the first born and is so sweet and cuddly...always the first one there to greet me and always wants up.

Favorite Quotes

2009-12-16T10:58:00.000-06:00

With all the junk going on in my life, I decided to go thru my journal and look at some of my favorite quotes. They give me inspiration and hope.

I'm going to share with with you and I hope they give you the same feeling that they have given me over the years:

Home....where your story begins.

Without love, a heart is like a puzzle with missing pieces.

Follow your heart like a flashlight in the dark.

Love has no faults.

Love means never having to say you're sorry.

When life brings you rain, play in the puddles.

If it's meant to be, it's up to me.

Beauty is not in the face but within, like a light in the heart.

One of yesterday's crisis

2009-12-15T09:57:00.001-06:00

I'm sitting here this morning with my brain so full of junk, I don't even know what thing to write about this morning. Everything is out of control again at my house. You all know the problems I've had with my daughter, well she pulled a really good one yesterday......

Ayla (my yellow lab) was acting strange. She looked weird and couldn't sit still. I just figured the puppies were stressing her out and I tried to calm her. I went up to my daughters room to get something when to my horror I realized what was wrong with Ayla! My "daughter" AGAIN brought drugs into my house, left it in her purse in the middle of the bed and Ayla got into it. She ate a 1/4 ounce of pot laced with cocaine. OMG I freaked out!

I took her to the vet right away and was completely embarassed to tell him what had happened. There really wasn't anything the vet could do except tell me to watch her and try and keep her calm til the effects wore off. If she went into cardiac arrest I was to bring her to emergency vet. Well geeeeeez, ya think!?! She seems okay this morning, and slept for about 12 hours last night, I hope it didn't do any permanent damage.

Dogs that ingest pot can have permanent damage including...heart problems, hallucinations, and kidney and bladder problems. I'm so damn mad I don't know even what to do. My daughter didn't even apologize, infact she thought it was kind of funny. I don't know whether to make her leave again (3x she's been kicked out), send her to rehab (been there done that), or let her stay.

I'm about to run away and eat a fuzzy worm!! (my mom used to say that when we would push her over the edge)

For Sale!!

2009-12-12T10:35:00.001-06:00

I've decided I'm going to sell 2 of my online businesses. I have 4 online businesses and it's just too much. Both of the ones for sale do make money and would make more if someone put a little time in promoting them.

Ms Biz Links~http://www.msbizlinks.com
a site where WAHMS and Crafters can promote their businesses by purchasing one word for a small fee. It's a very cool concept. Sale price is $200.00 and that includes the dot com, all the graphics and banners, all the rights and help from me. If you are interested, email me at tmesenbourg@yahoo.com and I can accept paypal.

On The Craft Table~http://www.onthecrafttable.com
a site where WAHMS and Crafters can place a free ad or listing about their items and websites. It make money by advertisements from the WAHMS and Crafters or whatever clever way you come up with. Sale price is $150.00 and that includes the dot.com, all graphics and banners, all the rights and help from me. If you are interested, email me at tmesenbourg@yahoo.com and I can accept paypal for this one too.

If you are interested in both of them, shoot me a price. :)

It's Friday!!!

2009-12-11T08:52:00.000-06:00

With that being said yesterday, now life can go on. Thank you all so very very much for still accepting me and respecting my beliefs. I have a diversity of blog buds and I'm so happy that we all just accept each other for who we are, we can COEXIST, whine together, be moms and wives together, and tough out life, and I absolutely love it. :) Thank you :)

Now to my news!!! I get a new car today!! Yay!!! I drive a large SUV and it cost me at least $120 bucks a week in gas and I'm sick of it!! Soooo, we bought a Chrylser 300M and I get to pick it up at 10:30 today...I'm so excited!! I can fill it up for $30 bucks. lol We're keeping the SUV tho to drive when the roads are bad or when I need it to bring home something big, so that's good too.

Here is one of my recipes for homemade "Vicks" vapor rub...it works so well and we use it all the time when someone has a cold or is congested:

Vicks Vapor Rub

In a double boiler or crockpot, drop in two huge tablespoon fulls of petroleum jelly (vaseline)

add 1/2 t of beeswax

When melted add:
8-10 drops of peppermint oil
8-10 drops of wintergreen oil
3 drops of tea tree oil
8-10 drops of eucalyptus oil
break one capsule of vitamin E

Pour into sterilized glass jar and let cool.

Where there's a witch there's a way

2009-12-10T10:38:00.002-06:00

I decided to share some info about me today that I bet some of you don't know.....I'm a hedgewitch. Yup...I'm a full blown practicing broom wielding spell casting charm bag carrying witch. I've been one for 12 years and it completely changed my life for the better. :) I'm also a High Priestess of Wicca and an ordained reverend . Before you run screaming and scared lol I want to tell you about why I chose this path and what it means.

Wicca is a nature-based religion, we celebrate Mother Nature and the changing seasons. We celebrate the phases of the moon and our ancestors. We celebrate the earth and all the wonders she has to offer. It's not scary, it's not dark and we don't even believe in satan. lol Our symbol is called a pentagram and the points represent Earth, Air, Fire, Water and the Spirit. These are the elements of existence. We celebrate and honor a Goddess and a God.

The practice of Wicca is calm and peaceful and meditation is wonderful when being a mom and wife gets rough. I keep a rose quartz crystal handy all the time so I can just grab it and calm myself down if things are getting out of control. I believe that everything is made up of energy and if the energy is negative, we have the ability to change it by rearranging those energies.

I'm a very "white" witch...meaning all the things I practice are only good intentions. I have never ever practiced or cast harm on another because I life by Karma....whatever you do to others will come back to you three-fold. All my friends are "white" witches too. If you passed me on the street you would never know my beliefs except for a ring I wear on my left hand which signifies my ordination. My favorite clothes are my American Eagle and Hollister hoodies. My house is decorated in primitive country and I'm a fish tank nerd (I have 5 tanks and breed cichlids). lol

I practice natural herbal medicine and make all my own salves, tinctures and concoctions. Most of the herbs are right out of my own herb garden. Bet you didn't know that plain old aspirin comes from a willow tree branch. I have an entire medicine chest of naturals meds and we reach for them for everything from a bruise to a sprained ankle.

We live a very "normal" life and if it wasn't for my practice, which kept me sane, I would be in a looney bin!

I just felt the need today to talk about this...don't ask me why...i guess i'm just a glutten for punishment. lol If any of you have any questions or comments or thoughts, please feel free to post them, I welcome them. :)

Back to another time for us

2009-12-09T09:16:00.001-06:00

Ooooooo man did we wake up to snow this morning!! 6 inches of fresh white snow blowing against the house and the wind chill is -20 with gusts to 40 mph. Guess old man winter has finally arrived in Minnesota. lol That's okay tho cuz it gets me in the Christmas mood more and I tend to bah humbug during this time of the year.

Don't get me wrong....i like the tradition of Christmas...the music, the candles, the feasts, family gatherings and the perfect gift. It's everything leading up to it that makes me grumpy...long lines, crowded malls, the pressure of giving my family their christmas memories, gaining 10 lbs, long lists adding up to 1,000's of dollars from greedy ungrateful kids, trying to figure out what to get my parents and husband and an empty bank account. You get the idea. lol

I wish we could go back to way it was...the way it was intended...before malls and all the pressure, before it became so commercialized that I want to scream at the top of my lungs in the middle of the friggin mall!!!. I wish we could exchange handmade gifts and go caroling from door to door. I wish our kids would be esctatic over a piece of stick candy and a pair of knitted mittens.

I thought I would share with you my 18 year old sons christmas list that he handed to me the other day....hold onto your seats it's a doozie! :

a new electric guitar with a stage amp ($1,500)
an XBox ($300)
a new truck ($3,000)
subs for the new truck ($300)
cash

Wonder how he would react if he got a stick of peppermint, a handmade scarf and an orange?? LOL My family will be SHOCKED when I announce on christmas eve that we will be starting a new family tradition....only homemade handmade gifts from here on out! LOL

The New Me

2009-12-08T09:04:00.000-06:00

First of all, I would like to say THANK YOU to all of my blogger friends for reading the letters to my children and giving me your support. It meant a whole lot :) I did make a decision to read the letters to my kids and of course they were horrified and defensive. lol But then after their initial shock that they aren't perfect angels (in their own minds), we did sit down and talk and I'm happy to say things have been much better these past few days. I'm seeing some action with them and that's a major start. :) I just had to kick some much needed MOM BUTT!! lol

I've also decided to go back to living my life as a vegetarian. It's a two fold reason....they do such scary things to our food these days from feeding cattle hormone growth induced corn to forcing chickens to grow to adulthood in a month and a half! I have chickens and I know it takes at least 4 months for them to reach adulthood. Beef recalls every other week, people dying from e-coli, it's not "if" you get cancer, it's "when". Anyway...I could go on and on but we all know what has happened to our food...it's all about big money and big corporations and they don't give a shit if we get sick or die from it, as long as we buy it. So I've decided to not give them one more penny of our hard earned money for their hormone induced processed "food".

And the other reason is...I just feel better. I feel healthier, thinner and I have a whole lot more energy. I'm not and never have been fanatical about it...in fact I rarely even talk about being vegetarian, but I just felt the need to this morning. lol

A Letter To My Children!!!

2009-12-04T08:26:00.003-06:00

I'm particpating in Letter of Intent Friday today with Julie at Foursons. I love this idea!! Head on over to her bloghouse and grab her button and link up, this is a great way to say something to a person, place or thing, good or bad. lol

Dear Mesenbourg Children:

First of all and foremost I want to say that I love you. I love you all with my very heart and soul and will always love you until the day I die....however....i have some things I need to say to you....

You are all grown now, well according to your ages you are. Yet, you have not moved out (well in and out and in and out and in out) and you are not using the wonderful motherly advice i've given you SINCE YOU WERE 5!!!!

Mikey~You are 23 years old! You lost your drivers license because you thought it would be so much cooler to drive like an idiot then drive with no insurance then miss your court date. You are gorgeous, talented and the nicest person I know, everyone just loves you. Yet you go through your life without a care in the world, taking one day at a time. The world is not like that...you have to care about your future...you have to have plans and directions and goals. Play your guitar, you are amazing with it but get your butt into college, pay your fines off and get your license back, fix your relationship with emmy...she loves you, and get your shit together!!

Jorden~You are 21, officially an adult. Yet your quit your job because you had "worked there long enough", lost your drivers license because you didn't pay a seatbelt fine, lost Savannah because she wants you to get your act together and I'M SICK AND TIRED OF GIVING YOU RIDES!!! And now you just lost your brand new job because you didn't rennew your license when you turned 21 in AUGUST! We offered to pay to renew it, then you couldn't pass the eye test because you BROKE the glasses we bought for you and never BOTHERED to take them in and fix them, it was better to just throw them away huh?? Play your drums, by all means stay with your band, but get it together my son. Life is too short and before you know it, you will be 40 and still in the same situation. You have to have a job until your band "makes it", you have to support yourself, you need to have a license and a car and money and direction. We wrote down a plan, READ IT!!!

This is my favorite song from my son Jorden's band (Model43), Jorden is the drummer. The name of the song is Breathe:

Mollee~My only daughter, the one that has made me the most "proud", the one that has won the family award for most court dates, most hospitals stays, most drama, most mistakes and the most forgiveness from us. Enough is enough!! Time is up!! I see you are trying, but I've seen it before, I keep waiting for another explosion to happen, another accident, another crisis, another bottle of pills. You have to want to help yourself and I think you do finally. I love you so much and you've hurt me so badly, I've forgiven you for it all but I can never forget. And now you are about to lose your license from a DUI, which I might add you got 2 hours after your dad talked to you about drinking and driving!!!!! Get into cosmotology...you've talked about it your whole life, you are so good with hair and I know you would be successful. My patience are gone and you have sucked me dry.

Jon~My youngest....my bug man. You are 18 almost 19 and you are a super senior heading for a double super senior. What is your problem!! An education is a privledge and your right as an American citizen. It is a necessity to survive in this world. You were given an opportunity by being accepted at the ALC!! You are blowing it kid! You only have to go to school 3 hours a day and you get a week off every 6 weeks!! Yet it's just too hard on you to get up for school in the morning and now you've quit your job and are losing those school hours too!!!! You are also talented...play your guitar...become famous...buy me a mansion and a mazaratti, but GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL FIRST!!!!

The gravy train has gone off it's tracks my dear children. I'm tired...I'm worn out and I'm used up. I've spent my life being there for you, teaching you, guiding you, helping you, raising you, looking at the stretch marks you gave me, covering up the gray hairs you gave me, years of sleepless nights (from midnight feedings at 2 months to midnight worrying when you aren't home yet). AND THIS IS HOW YOU TURN OUT!?! GET IT TOGETHER OR ELSE!

Love,

your mom

Hey! This was fun...I feel better now. lol And yet I'm still smiling, but its the smile of an insane person!!

Tagged with a meMe! lol

2009-12-03T10:03:00.004-06:00

Alrighty....I got tagged from FeliciaE at Living Just Like Grandma! So here is my Christmas meMe and yup I'm going to tag some of you too. lol

1.) Have you started your Christmas shopping?

Heck no!!!

2.) Tell me about one of your special traditions.

We have lots of them so I'll share one from when I was growing up. Christmas Eve is also my little sisters birthday and my mom always made sure i was special for her. We would have her special birthay dinner, usually spaghetti, birthay cake and open present. Then we would ring in Christmas Eve by getting dressed up and going to 7:00 services. Come home, light a fire in the fireplace and gather around the tree. We got to open one present on Christmas Eve. Then a friend of my parents would come over every year dressed as Santa. lol He was still doing it when I was a senior in high school...go figure lol

3.) When do you put up your Tree?
We put up our tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving and yes it's up and lit right now.

4.) Are you a Black Friday shopper?

No waaaaaay, it scares me!

5.) Do you Travel at Christmas or Stay home?
Well not really travel...my sister Wendi and I take turns and we live 45 mins from each other. This year we are having it at our house and my little brother is coming up from Florida YAY!!

6.) What is your funniest Christmas memory?

My first year of college....we were gathered around the tree on Christmas Eve...firing going...music playing. It was my turn to open my one present. My dad hands me a box larger than a shoebox and I looked over at my sister Wendi who had a comical look on her face. I tore off the paper and untaped the box. When i lifted the lid, I saw to my horror that she had given me a large purple bong!!!!! OMG I went into panic mode and slammed the lid back down.

Dad: What is it Tam?

me: Nothing dad...

Dad: Nothing? What's the matter? What's in the box.

me: (muttering with my head down) a bong

Wendi breaks into major laughter

Dad: A what? (he's hard of hearing from polio when he was a kid)

me: a bong

Dad: What? A bonk?

me: a bong

Dad: A bonk?

me: a bong dad

Dad: A bonk? What's a bonk?

me: (shouting) IT'S A BONG DAD! A BONG! B...O...N....G

Dad: Oooh a bong? What exactly is that?

me: (in complete horror and frustration) you smoke pot with it.

Mom: (gasping) (my two other siblings giggling, and Wendi rolling with laughter)

Dad: Oh..very nice. We'll have to try it out together sometime. (smiling)

me: (mouth gaping open) ummmmm okay dad

Oh my god, I will never forget that present from Wendi as long as I live! I can't believe she put it under the family christmas tree! hahahahaha

7.) What is your favorite Christmas Movie of All time?

I have two....It's a Wonderful Life and Nestor the Long-Eared Donkey

8.)Do you do your own Christmas Baking, what’s your favorite treat?

Yes I do and my favorite is sugar cookie with creme cheese frosting.

9.) Fake or Real Tree?

Went to fake last year...i don't want to deal with the mess and a broken vacum cleaner every year anymore. lol

10.) What day (as a Mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done?

I don't usually panic until I need to send out boxes. lol

11.) Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?

Yes I am lol

12.) What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas?

The anticipation with the kids before we get to open presents. lol

13.) What Christmas craft do you like the best?

Making homemade ornaments.

14.) Christmas music. Yes or No, and if yes What is your favorite song?

Definitely!! Too many to list, but i love Merry Christmas Darling by The Carpenters and The Christmas Shoes by Kenny Chesney.

15.) When do you plan to finish all your shopping?

The day before christmas. lol

We would love for any blogger to participate in this meme, even if you haven’t been tagged yet. Heather will go back and add your blog link to the list if you wanna play along.

Just simply copy and paste the questions into your blog, and then answer them.

Then tag 5 or more of your favorite blogs, and leave them a comment telling them they’ve been tagged.

When you post your blog, please spread some Christmas cheer, and leave a link back to JaelCustomDesigns.com

OKAY LADIES, I'm tagging you!! And I'm only tagging 5 because we have a showing in 30 mins and I'm so not ready. If anyone else wants to do this, I'd love it and let me know so I can come see your answers. :)

Keeping Up With The Schultz's
Foursons
In and Out of the Bubble
MENOPAUSAL NEW MOM
The Mighty M Family

A Woman's Spirit

2009-12-02T09:51:00.000-06:00

Something wonderful happened last night...well actually two things. My daughter, Mollee was icing my back and noticed a bunch of bumps. She's says "Mom!! No wonder your back hurts so bad let me see if I can get these out." She started working on them and 30 minutes later....WALA...the pain is almost gone!!! OMG I feel great!!! Yay!! I'm getting out of this house today and going to do somethin fun.

And the second thing....the puppies (they are irish labs) are eating puppy food!! No more nursing!!! I slept all night last night, well all night after 3:00 a.m. I was still up with Ayla cuz she is so engorged, her thingies look like eggplants. I was putting warm cloths on her trying to relieve some of her pain, which worked and she was able to sleep at 3:00 too. lol

Me and Ayla right before she got pregnant

My poor baby this morning..look at her thingies! omg Doesn't it look like she's saying "help me!"

The culprits at one week

The little darlings this morning!

I've decided to share one of the poems I wrote today (and don't laugh), I write for fun. LOL

A Women's Spirit

A woman's spirit is wild and free,
yet complicated and secret for only her to see.

The absolute truth is buried deep down within,
don't pull it out because you'll never win.

Her soul is woven and intricately designed,
to try and see through it would leave your mind resigned.

A woman's heart is an ocean, far and wide,
yet rises and falls with the moons changing tide.

To love her brings great joy but still,
something is held back that only time will reveal.

A creature not meant to understand,
Cherish her
Hold her
Need her
The reward is grand.

Post-it Tuesday!! Yay!!

2009-12-01T10:47:00.000-06:00

I finally remembered this week!! Yay for me!!! lol Well here they are!!

Well alright, I probably did too many of them, but it was really fun!! This is such a good idea Supah.

And the puppies are still making me nuts....Ayla and I are trying to wean them and she is so impacted. It's got to be so painful. And my back is still hurting and it's making me nuts too!!!

Happy Tuesday!!

The Nut Lady

WoooHoooo!!!

2009-11-28T17:45:00.000-06:00

WooooHooooo! Thank you to my friend and fellow blogger Melyssa at Mrs. Blogalot for giving me her Rosie Award! How cute is this?!? lol I love it and it just made my day. :) If you aren't following her blog yet, run quick to her bloghouse, she's hysterical!

Thank you so much Melyssa!!!

Who Stabbed Me and Black Friday??

2009-11-27T11:08:00.000-06:00

Okay, the turkey did thaw but of course I was up and down with the puppies all night so I overslept!! Talk about panic! I didn't get the turkey in til 10:00 and 30 minutes later I was reaching around my daughter Mollee, washing the celery sticks when I felt a gripping pain.

The pain got more intense and now I'm doubled over at the sink. Five people in my kitchen and still no one notices me so I cried out. My hubby noticed then and came to my aid.

"What did you do now?"

"OMG who stabbed me in the back with a knife? Is it there? Pull it out, I can't breathe!"

"Gert (that's what he calls me), there is nothing there, what's wrong?"

"Pain! My upper left side...omg...what happened?"

He sits me down in a chair, I'm completely bent over and now I'm crying. Of course this just had to happen on Thanksgiving morning at the start of making dinner.

It's my Rhomboid Muscle, the large muscle that connects your shoulder and shoulder blade to your spine. It's unbelieveably painful!!!!

So our Thanksgiving dinner was made as a family, everyone pitched in and helped. The kitchen looked like a tornado went thru, i supervised hunched over like Quasi Moto, but they pulled it off and dinner was awesome.

I'm still hunched over in pain...icing, moist heat, sports gel and crying. I guess this takes a couple weeks to heal. I feel like such a dumb ass lol who the hell does this much damage to their back washing celery sticks!?!

Sooooooo....despite all this I'm still having my BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL at my Candle Shoppe:

40% off your order!!! Use coupon code: friday

Enjoy!!

A Quick Getaway

2009-11-25T07:29:00.000-06:00

As you all know, my hubby is home with us this week for Thanksgiving and if you didn't know, he made a major career change about a month and a half ago and took a job in Denver. I've been home holding the fort down by myself and he stays in Denver 3 weeks and is home 1 week out of the month.

So Monday, we are in the living room kind of watching a movie and kind of talking. Mollee is gossiping loudly on the phone, Jorden is going on about his new job, Mikey is on the couch strumming a guitar, Jon is kicking his new car (the one he bought for $250 on Friday and it's now broke down in the driveway), Ayla's 9 puppies are in the kitchen crying and walking all over the place. Mike looks at me and says "Let's go. Call Grand Casino and reserve a room, make it a suite!" I'm like....ummmmm...okay?? Ten minutes later, we were packed and in the car heading north. LOL

The suite was beautiful and had a 4 person jacuzzi, which of course we filled with bubbles. lol We had a blast were relaxed, peaceful and reconnected. I even managed to win $250 in the casino! All was romantic and wonderful til 12:30 a.m., that's when we got the call.

Mollee snuck out to hang out with people shes not allowed to be around and came home at 1:00 a.m. with them and she was drunk. She was down by the highway crying and carrying on because Jorden told us what she did. Then she lied to Mike and said she hadn't been drinking. Two hours on the phone later, Mike yelling, me crying, both of us had headaches, all the relaxation wiped out, we fell into bed at 3:00 a.m. That girl!!! I swear, will she ever get it together?!?

Then we drove home talking about what to do with her and worrying about it for an hour and a half. Got home and had to sit down with her and figure out a game plan. 10:30 last night, I yelled "oh shit!" We hadn't gone to the store and bought Thanksgiving dinner yet!!! LOL So off we all went, all 6 of us to the grocery store at 10:30 at night. Half way through shopping Mike says he's going to run over to Target.

"What? No wait!"

"I'll be right back, I promise. I bet I'm back before you even get to the checkout."

"ummmmm okay"

As I'm standing in line with a full cart waiting to check out, in the door walks Mike with a box. He walks up and hands it to me. In the box is the brand new very cool coffeemaker I've been wanting.

"What the heck??? What is this for?? You just randoming go to Target in the middle of our shopping and bring me a coffeemaker?"

"Yup. Happy Birthday, I'm sorry I forgot your birthday and I know you've been wanting this."

Well bust my buttons!!! I flung my arms around him right at the checkout, amongst the kids and hugged and kissed him. This was so sweeeeeeeet!!

So now my 25 lb frozen turkey is sitting in the sink and I'm hoping it thaws by tomorrow morning.

I was on puppy duty last night so I got a whopping 3 hours of sleep, coffee in hand from my new coffeemaker and Fox News on the TV and I'm ready to begin a new day. Oh well...at least we got about 8 hours of alone time, at this point in our lives, that's alot! lol

Happy Thanksgiving to all my blogger friends!! Have a safe and wonderful holiday and don't forget to wear sweatpants at the dinner table! :)

I am thankful......

2009-11-23T10:37:00.001-06:00

With Thanksgiving with week, lets all post about what we are thankful for. I tend to forget all the things that we do have and just complain about what we don't have. With all the chaos, problems and mahem I have in my household, it's easy for thankfulness to get lost, and it does a soul good to take a second and just think about the good things you have in your life and be thankful for them.

This is a poem I've had for years and get it out at Thanksgiving and read it at the table:

I am thankful:

For the husband
Who is on the sofa
Being a couch potato
Because he is home with me
And not out at the bars.

For the daughter
Who is complaining about doing dishes
Because it means she is at home,
Not on the streets.

For the sons
Who play their guitars and drums too loud
Because it means my opinion on their music counts and
I have ears to hear.

For the taxes I pay
Because it means
I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party
Because it means I have
Been surrounded by friends

For the clothes that fit a little too snug
Because it means
I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work
Because it means
I am out in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing,
Windows that need cleaning,
And gutters that need fixing
Because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining
I hear about the government
Because it means
We have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot
I find at the far end of the parking lot
Because it means
I am capable of walking,
And I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill
Because it means
I am warm.

For the pile of laundry and ironing
Because it means
I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles
At the end of the day
Because it means I have been
Capable of working.

For the alarm that goes off
In the early morning hours
Because it means
I am alive.

And finally, for too much e-mail
Because it means
I have friends who is thinking of me.

Now it's my turn....I am truly thankful this year that I have a husband who cares enough about his family that he is willing to be away from us to make enough money to support us. And when the guys he lives with are out running around the bars and being jerks, my husband doesn't go with them, but stays back, watches tv and calls me instead. I love you honey!!

The Osbournes?? Are you kidding me?!?

2009-11-21T10:20:00.001-06:00

I'm still reeling from the shock, smelling salts please??

My daughters friend loves to hang out at our house, infact through the years, our house has always been where their friends wanted to hang. I never undersood it...i'm always trying to get away from it and they are always wanting to come over. lol

One night my daughter Mollee, her friend Tess, my son Jorden and I were sitting on the deck, residual bonfire simmering. Jorden was goofing around like he always does, my phone was exploding with text as usual, the girls were gossiping about some drama and we were talking and having a good time.

Tess-"I just love being with you guys."

Me-"LOL you do?? Why?"

Tess-"You guys are just like the Osbournes, there is always something going on and your family is so funny."

Me-choking on my Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi "What? What? Are you kidding me? The Osbournes?"

Jorden cracks up laughing and runs into the house....

Mollee-"wtf, Tess, oh my god and I suppose you think I look like Kelly Osbourne....oh my god. Am I fat?"

Jorden comes back out with the guitar and starts playing Crazy Train, a song by Ozzy Osbourne!!

Of course we all started laughing...

Tess-"Tamara, you are just like Sharon Osbourne and Mike is like Ozzy. Well he doesn't look like Ozzy, but he acts like him."

I stood up and ran at Tess yelling "smell my finger". She trips over the edge of her chair when she got up to run and fell flat on her face. It was so funny, I was peeing my pants laughing!

So here we are...I guess my kids friends all view us as "the osbournes" and here I thought all these years they liked being with us because we were like the "clevers". hahahahahaha

Arrrggghhh Where did I go wrong!?! LOL

Mom Headache Remedies

2009-11-20T08:30:00.000-06:00

I get tension headaches sometimes, mostly from just being a mom and dealing with all the daily trials and tribulations. I also get wife headaches occasionally too. There are a some headache remedies I use that I wanted to share with you, keep an open~mind....and try them, they really do work. :) (of course, if you have an underlying problem, please talk to your doctor and make sure you don't have allergies to any of these suggestions also)

Most of mine are in my neck and shoulders but I get the occasional forehead one too, these rememdies work for both.

Peppermint Essential Oil~This is what I reach for first! It does absolute wonders! Shake a few drops into your hand and massage into your neck and shoulders. It gets down into your muscles and feels so cool and good, the sensation is awesome. Takes it away fast.

Olbas Oil~This has been a life saver. I found this at our local co-op (health food store but I know vitamin stores sell it too). Its a combination of oils including euclyptus and it really works. You can massage a few drops into the headache area, or a few drops into a warm bath. This also clears out sinuses and works great if you have a sinus headache or a cold.

Amethyst Stone~Hold the stone in your left hand (if your right handed) and absorb the healing energies of the amethyst. Then place the stone where your headache is and let the stone absorb the pain out.

Rose Quartz Bath~This is my very favorite crystal/stone. It has an amazing ability to calm and relax when you hold it. I keep rose quartz in my purse, in the bathroom and several other places. Run a warm bubble bath, turn off the lights and light a pink candle. Drop a rose quartz crystal into the water, sit back and relax. When you are ready, hold the rose quartz in your left hand and feel the calm and relaxing feeling coming up thru your hand and spread throughout your body. Pull the plug on the bath, stretch out your right hand towards the drain and let all the troubles and tensions go out thru it and down the drain with the water. I always feel so refreshed, renewed and headache gone after I've down this.

Frozen Vege's~Go to the freezer and grab a bag of frozen vege's. Place this on your forehead or neck. The cold with shrink your muscles and help your headache. I use this when I'm feeling like I need cold.

Flax Seed Bag~I bought these flax seed bags on the internet years ago and they are used over and over again. Warm the bag up in the microwave and place where your headache is. The combination of heat and the healing property of flax seed really helps with pain.

Bribe Your Kids~Pay your kids to give you a shoulder massage or promise them a trip to McDonalds if they can take your headache away. lol

Drumroll Please.....dadadadadadada

2009-11-19T09:57:00.000-06:00

I love awards and Jen at 3 Little Monkeys just completely made my day and honored me with this Heartfelt Blog Award. Thank you so much. :) I know I ramble alot and I'm all over the place and it makes me feel good that someone else likes what I write. :)

I would like to pass this award to the blogs I love, so drumroll please...dadadadadadada

* Display the award logo

* Nominate up to 9 blogs that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside

* Link to your nominees

* Let them know they have been nominated by commenting

* Link to the person(s) from who you have received the award

Below are the winners, please visit their blogs and congratulate them:

Airing My Dirty Laundry

Keeping Up With The Schulz Family

Secret Diary of a Mountain Witch

I'm Still Standing

In and Out of the Bubble

Where a Woman Shakes Her Tablecloth

The Mighty M Family

Big Teeth & Clouds

A Nut in a Nutshell

Menopausal New Mom

Mrs. Blogalot

Congratulations!!!

I'm breaking the rules and giving it to more than 9 lol

Kids and Cell Phones

2009-11-18T11:02:00.000-06:00

Our government spends months arguing over a ridiculous health care bill, worries about giving money to the auto industry, 10 million for mice studies, and blah blah blah. Why aren't they spending time and worry about real issues at hand....like kids driving cars while texting and talking on the phone, kids sitting in class texting in their purses or pockets instead of listening to their teachers, kids dying and causing accidents because of these cell phones!!!!!

Yesterday I was in my car sitting at a stoplight, when in the lane next to me a young girl blows by me on her cell phone and runs the red light!!! Last week I was driving down the hill on 96 and the car infront of me was swerving all over. They got in the right lane and I went into the left lane to turn on the stop sign, I looked over and he was texting! That's why he was swerving all over. Two months ago a 17 year old boy was killed on a curve in our town because he was texting instead of watchin the road.

Why isn't the government working on a law about this cell phone use?!? We have kids dying here and innocent people dying because of these kids and their cell phones. We have an entire generation not learning in school cuz they are too worried about texting during class. We have kids suffering harrassment from cell phone bullying also.

Here is what I propose to the all mighty U.S. government.....New Law for Cell Phone Use~you must be 21 years old to own a cell phone!!! You have to be mature to legally have a beer, why don't you have to be mature to use a cell phone? Driving and talking or texting is just as deadly as driving and drinking.

We have to get our government to see what is happening here, it's a very real problem. Here are the latest stats and I'm sure the numbers on even higher now with 2009 almost over:

Teen Driver Cell Phone and Text Messaging Statistics

•Despite the risks, the majority of teen drivers ignore cell phone driving restrictions.

•In 2007, driver distractions, such as using a cell phone or text messaging, contributed to nearly 1,000 crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers.

•Over 60 percent of American teens admit to risky driving, and nearly half of those that admit to risky driving also admit to text messaging behind the wheel.

•Each year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% every year.

•Almost 50% of all drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 are texting while driving.

•Over one-third of all young drivers, ages 24 and under, are texting on the road.

•Teens say that texting is their number one driver distraction.

These stats are frightening! Let's write the government, email Obama, call our congressmen and get them to sit up and pay attention to this deadly growing problem.

Weekend Hangover

2009-11-16T10:55:00.000-06:00

Wow!! Crazy Crazy Weekend!! As you've probably noticed, I'm not writing my blog in the middle of the night today. lol I actually got 6 straight hours of sleep last night. Yay!! A first since Ayla's puppies were born, they sleep from 2 to 8 today. I'm hoping their eyes will open soon...they are 9 days old now...should be anytime I'm told. I just want to see those cute little brown eyes :)

And.....we decided to let our daughter come back home. I picked her up on Friday night and it's been kind of crazy. For those of you that don't know about my daughter here is the scenario.....she was a very beautiful girl, popular, active, danceline plus hip hop/jazz at studio, high school football cheerleader and mentor......then the drugs and a bad crowd happened. She started with pot and slowly moved her way to mushrooms, snorting prescription drugs, drinking...well you get the picture. In the past two years, we've beeen thru two suicide attempts, 3 hospitals stays, counceling, psychiatrists and inpatient rehab and outpatient rehab. It's been a rollercoaster ride that's for sure. Well a month ago, I found out she'd done mushrooms again, so I kicked her out of our home. My intent was tough love and I had hoped she would finally hit a rock bottom and want to get better. We think she has finally got to that point, she literally had nothing. No job, no car, no money, no friends. So she is back home and we all have renewed hope that this will be the end of it. I've missed her so bad, she's my only daughter and we've always been so close.

And last but not least, I survived another birthday yesterday!!! LOL The worst of it this year tho was that my HUSBAND ACTUALLY FORGOT MY BIRTHDAY!!! I finally reminded him late afternoon yesterday, he is still in Colorado and you should have heard the utter shock and horror in his voice. lol And being the good wife I am, I made him apologize and graval for a good 15 minutes until I accepted his apology. I did get a great extra gift out of the deal tho. LOL Gotta love this middle aged love thing. lol And btw, he had to remind my oldest son too!! So Happy Birthday to me! lol

Girly Comments & Graphics

So I face today with renewed gumption and vigor, another year older and wonder what the week will bring. LOL

Freedom

2009-11-13T05:04:00.001-06:00

Well....yesterday was a much better day. My youngest son got his drivers license and I don't have to drive around anymore kids! Yaaaaaaay!!! I let him take my car into town last night and it was the first night that I can remember I got to just take a warm bath, get snuggled in my sweats and plop on the couch and watch an entire movie. lol No phone call saying he's ready, no tramping out in the dark with Ayla to the car and driving into town hoping I don't hit a deer. It was wonderful!!! Of course I still worried that he was alright, he was watching the road, not texting, the music wasn't too loud and he was driving te speed limit.....but he came home safe and sound and on time. :)

And yes, it's 4:30 a.m. and your probably wondering why I'm blogging at this time of the night. The puppies were crying most of the night and Ayla insisted on sleeping in the bed with me instead of taking care of them. I'm not sure what that is all about, but it can't possibly be a good thing. My little sister is coming over today and now I'm going to be looking like a tired old hag with no energy. LOL

MOMMY BRAIN

If you've left the crayons to melt in the car,
And forgotten just where the car keys are,
There's a perfectly good way to explain:
You see, you've come down with "Mommy Brain."

When you're not sure where the past 8 hours went,
Or whether the phone bill check's been sent,
If you've left the laundry drying in the rain,
It's just---you guessed it---Mommy Brain.

If you find yourself chatting for hours on end
About diaper prices with your cyberfriends,
You've just caught a particularly virulent strain
Of that affliction known as Mommy Brain.

If you left your bags at the grocery store
Or completely forgot what you went there for,
If you called the cat by your baby's name,
You can bet that Mommy Brain's to blame.

And if you know the words to "Goodnight Moon" by heart, Or you study your sleeping babe like a work of art, If you're always surprised by how time is flying,
And the thought of that first birthday starts you crying...

It's unavoidable girls, and I feel your pain
For I, too, suffer from Mommy Brain.
But I'll admit one thing---of this I'm sure
I hope they never find a cure.

- Carlotta Eike Stankiewicz

I should be catching a few more hours of sleep but I'm caught up in the episode of Nip/Tuck that I missed on Tuesday. LOL

Overload Ramble

2009-11-11T07:29:00.000-06:00

I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed LOL All I can think of to write today is about all the things that went wrong last night!! So I need to just ramble....

We have our house for sale because the plan is to move to Florida and manage my brothers beautiful resort but that plan isn't going too well. We've already lowered our house $30,000 so losing money like crazy. It is a major feat to keep this house perfect and a total high speed clean before showings...it's awful. Then they show up, stay for 2 minutes and leave!!! I'm about ready to go out to the curb and kick the friggin sign down!! Yes, we have 2 showings back to back today and no one will make an offer.

Yesterday late afternoon, me and my son and his friend decided to go to the outdoor sculpture garden with Ayla. She needed to get out and we all did too. We had a blast then grabbed some dinner afterward. On the way home, it was dark and we were driving along and talking when suddenly a large doe appeared in front of us!! He tried to stop but it was too late, we hit the deer straight on!!! I started crying and jumped out of the car. The deer was on her back, kicking and there was blood and it was awful!!! I'm crying and afraid to get too close cuz she was hurt and flailing around. I wanted to help her but couldn't. The front of my sons friends jeep is a mess!! Alot of damage, but none of us were hurt.

Then after that, my Pink Convict Cichlids (fish) were nesting and going to mate again, so I moved their babies into the nursery tank with the baby Jewel Cichlids (fish lol) and the baby pink convicts ate the baby Jewels!!!

And to top it off, I put a pan of cinnamon and cloves to simmer on the stove, forgot to turn it down, all the water boiled out and my house smelled like burnt cinnamon and teflon! eeeeeh

Okay....i do have one good thing. Ayla and her puppies are doing so good, she's such a wonderful mother. All 9 puppies are happy and healthy. They are so pudgy they now have little wrinkles on them. LOL I'm still being neurotic and checking on them every 15 mins but at least I get to sleep at night and they are all sleeping at night now too. :)

I'm done.....today just has to be a better day! lol My coffee pot is taking too long, i think it's time for a new one. lol

Free Samples from L'Bri Skin Care

2009-11-10T10:08:00.000-06:00

I reviewed L'Bri Pure 'n Natural~an Aloe Vera based natural skin care line~ for consultant Denise Dobbs. I was blown away by how gentle and wonderful these skin care products are!

I have sensitive skin and Denise was very patient and worked with me to get the right combination for my skin. After using the product for just two weeks, my skin was so soft and nice! I saw a noticeable difference in fine lines and how my face looked.

The cleanser foams quickly and rinses off quickly. The toner is very gentle with no alcohol and the moisturizer is very light yet does a great job moisturizing. The mask is awesome!! The best mask I've ever used!!

L'Bri Pure 'n Natural is just what it claims to be, all natural anti aging skin care products, dietary supplement and color cosmetics~fabulous for your skin and no harsh chemicals.

I highly recommend these products and to try them just visit Denise's page for a Free Sample Kit: http://www.deniseslbri1.com/ You will be so glad you did!!

Puppies Puppies and More Puppies

2009-11-09T03:10:00.000-06:00

Well here I am a 2:30 a.m. writing my blog....I'm delirious from no sleep and delirious with pride and joy. Ayla had her puppies Saturday evening~9 of them!! I've never experienced anything like this before and i will cherish that night for the rest of my life in being able to be there with her. It was unbelievably awesome!!

I was home all alone and did it all by myself. My oldest was at his going away party, the middle one was out to dinner with his gf, the youngest was at work, hubby is in another state for his job. So it was just me and Ayla.

She did so great and by some instinct I was able to save 2 of the puppies lives (they were asperating) and 2 others were breech so I had to go in and turn them and pull them out. She never cried or whined and had each one of them sitting or standing next to me in the whelping area. She insisted on touching me with her paw for each birth. It was absolutely amazing. :) My sister stayed on the phone with me for hours giving me support and crying with me, I don't know what I would have done without her.

So here I am at 2:30 in the morning...no sleep really since Friday night. The puppies cry trying to get the next available feeding station and I'm worrying constantly one isn't getting enough or she will accidently lay on one. So I keep running in there moving puppies around and checking.

Here is a picture of all our newest additions to the family...can you tell I'm proud?? LOL

Like Travis Tritt says.....It's a great day to be alive, the sun's still shining when I close my eyes. Well okay, the sun would be shining if I could close my eyes. LOL I feel like I did when I was up all night when my kids were newborns. LOL Like a Zombie!

Holiday Shopping Extravaganza

2009-11-06T15:20:00.000-06:00

I'm the Network Coordinator at a very special ning.com called Live Laugh and Love to Shop. We are growing like crazy and have over 400 active members now. We are having a fabulous holiday event called Holiday Extravaganza. We have prizes, contests, holiday shopping specials and lots of fun events.

Come on over and join us!!! We would love to have you~there are great groups to promote your business and lots of new people to meet, everyone is so nice and we have lots of fun. :) You don't even have to have a business to join us, just come and make some new friends and do some shopping if you'd like.

Live Laugh and Love to Shop

Winter Has Arrived

2009-11-05T11:45:00.001-06:00

Winter has arrived at our house for sure. All the gardens have been cleaned out, pots and garden accessories have been tucked away, leaves are raked and the fire wood is split and stacked. I woke up to a hard freeze this morning and the most beautiful blue sky!

Falling Snow
Author~Unknown

See the pretty snowflakes
Falling from the sky;
On the wall and housetops
Soft and thick they lie.

On the window ledges,
On the branches bare;
Now how fast they gather,
Filling all the air.

Look into the garden,
Where the grass was green;
Covered by the snowflakes,
Not a blade is seen.

Now the bare black bushes
All look soft and white,
Every twig is laden,
What a pretty sight!

As long as I'm on the subject of winter, here is my homemade hot cocoa recipe. I make a big batch at a time and store it in a gallon ice cream bucket. Enjoy!

Homemade Hot Cocoa

Ingredients

10 cups dry milk powder
4 3/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups powdered non-dairy creamer

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk powder, confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, and creamer. Stir till thoroughly combined. Store cocoa mixture in an airtight container like an ice cream bucket. Makes about 15 cups mix, or enough for about 45 servings.

For 1 serving, place 1/3 cup cocoa mixture in a coffee cup or mug, and add 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir to dissolve. Top with dollop of whipped cream or a few marshmallows, if desired.

Weed Picking

2009-11-04T12:22:00.000-06:00

Weed picking has been an annual autumn tradition in our family for generations. I remember as a little girl going with my Mimmie (my grandma) and my mom. We would pack a picnic basket and drive along back roads and look for dried wild flowers and cool looking weeds. My mom would make arrangements with them in vases and different things during the Fall.

I'm still doing it, but I have to bribe my kids to come with me. LOL They think it's "boring". Please! It's peaceful, relaxing and fun just driving the backroads, munching on a sandwich and looking for cool stuff. I had to bribe my son to come with me yesterday by agreeing to let him bring his ipod and play "his" music. Oh brother!! I had to weed pick listening to grunge metal! LOL Never again with that boy!!

But I did find some very cool stuff to bundle up. I hang them in the windows, combine them with dried herbs from my garden and make concoctions like tinctures and poultices, so I guess it was worth it. LOL

Mom Poll

2009-11-03T08:35:00.000-06:00

I need opinions today.....

If your son/daughter doesn't get up and go to school in the morning, should they be allowed to go to work that day or have any extra~curricular activities??

If your son/daughter didn't get their license because of bad grades, should you be the one that still drives them all over the place with no offer for gas??

My little darling doesn't think school is for him. LOL He only has to go to school 3 hours in the morning and that's just too much to ask apparently. Then he thinks it's okay to get up and go run around with his friends then go to work. I'm not allowing it, so I'm the bad guy!!

Please take a minute and tell me what you think so I'm not sitting here thinking I'm Attila the Hun. lol Thanks!!!

Weekned Craziness Hangover

2009-11-02T09:32:00.000-06:00

Talk about a crazy messed up weekend!! My hubby came home and surprised me so I had him here all weekend wanting every minute of my time.....we had a showing (2hrs of panic before trying to get the house perfect)....I had a dream my best friend was sad and depressed and I couldn't help him and I felt him die (woke up to missed calls and texts from him freaking out because he needed me).....my oldest son quit his job and is going back with my hubby Mike to work with him (so now I'm losing both of them to travel)....my new pair of Jewel Cichlids mated and laid 300 eggs......Ayla is needing me constantly (she's uncomfortable, whiney and the puppies are moving alot and it bothers her).......and I think my cat is pregnant now. :( We are all goin to the vet when this is all over to get clipped, tied and do whatever they do.

And to top it all off, my middle son, his gf, her little sister and his gf's parents were riding in their Expedition on Hwy 94E in Minneapolis on Friday night when a decked out honda came up beside them. My son said it was a very cool car so he was looking out the window admiring it. The honda got off the exit, rolled down the window and SHOT TWICE AT THEM!!!!! Oh my God!!!!!! It blew out the window where little 13 yr old Cassie was sitting. They were crying and screaming and pulled over and called the police. I don't know how, but no one was hurt. I'm so thankful and I keep hugging my son....how crazy is this??? So now what?? You can't look at anyone's car on the highway anymore??? We have to ride with our eyes straight forward for fear someone will shoot at us? WTH!!! He was able to give a good description to the police but didn't have the licence plate number, it all just happened so fast.

So here I am on Monday morning with a weekend craziness hangover...the sun is shining its warm and I'm ready to face the week. I think i'll share a recipe lol Here is a great egg bake that my family just loves:

Overnight Egg Bake:

Ingredients:

•6 slices bread, crusts removed

•4 tablespoons butter

•1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

•5 eggs, beaten well

•2 cups half and half

•1 pound hot sausage

•1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Cook sausage until no longer pink; drain well. Melt butter in 9x13-inch baking dish. Tear bread into pieces and sprinkle over butter. Sprinkle drained sausage, cooked well done, over bread crumbs. Sprinkle cheese over sausage. Beat eggs with half and half and salt; pour over mixture. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight. Bake at 350° for 45 to 50 minutes, or until set. Serve with muffins or sweet rolls and cut-up mixed fruit.

Morning Surprise :)

2009-10-30T09:08:00.001-05:00

My hubby changed careers two weeks ago and its a major change in our family. He has been in the car business 30 years, home every night and we've rarely been seperated our whole 24 years of marriage. The new career requires him to travel 3 weeks out of the month so I'm here holding the fort down alone. I taught him to text and IM so we could stay in touch throughout the day. LOL He's now blowing up my phone with text ever since, so I'm wondering how smart of me that was! LOL

His travel was delayed and he wasn't able to come home til the end of November. Well.....our anniversary was Wednesday and it's been so crazy, WE BOTH FORGOT IT!!!

At 7:00 this morning, i heard my name called, opened my eyes and there he was standing over the bed smiling. Him and his partner drove 17 hours straight so he could come back and spend our anniversary together this weekend. :) I'm still in shock!!

He's so tired, he's sound asleep now. LOL What a guy :)

Happy 24th Anniversary To My Hubby, Mike

Feel Like Doing Some Shopping??

2009-10-29T11:22:00.000-05:00

I'm offering a FREE surprise gRuBbY or pRim candle with every order!! All my candles are handmade and handpoured with love and attention to detail. They look and smell so realistic that you won't know whether to eat them or burn them. lol

So if you feel like doing some shopping, just click on my banner below. Shipping is only $5.00 no matter the size of the order. :)

Pumpkin Seeds At 5 a.m.

2009-10-27T06:11:00.000-05:00

I was sitting here at 5 a.m., up before the birds and the sun wondering still why I woke up so early and trying to decide what to do with all this quiet. I looked over and had an incredible epithame~our 3 uncarved pumpkins! I'll carve the pumpkins and surprise the kids with roasted pumpkins seeds when they get up!

Out came the newspaper and carving tools, along with it my cat Chubbers (intriqued by the rustling newspaper) and Ayla, thinking there is food on the table. Thirty minutes later, I had one carved, Chubbers full of pumpkin goo, pumpkin on my p.j.'s and Ayla drapped over my feet. So okaaay, changed my mind about doing all 3 pumpkins, but I did get one done, coffee drank and the seeds are soaking in some salt water. :) I forgot they have to soak all day, but we will be munching on them tonight, yummmmm.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Carve a medium size pumpkin
Set the seeds aside and clean off all the pumpkin goo
Put the seeds in a strainer and wash them with cold water really good
In a bowl, place the seeds in salted water and let stand 8 to 12 hours.
Rinse well and lay out on a tin foil lined cookie sheet.
Salt to taste (add ideas: seasoning salt, garlic salt, chili powder etc.)
Roast at 250 degrees until golden brown
Let cool and store

A Major Oooooooops!

2009-10-26T12:54:00.000-05:00

ooooooh boy do we ever have a big whoops in our house! My hubby and I went on vacation Sept 8 thu the 17th to Florida. We left our two grown boys in charge of the house and my dog Ayla. She just turned a year old on Oct 1st and was finished with her heat before we left, or so I thought. A pure bred irish setter was hanging around our yard when we were gone, and my oldest, Jorden, couldn't stand Ayla going crazy anymore so he let her out!!!

Well guess who is with puppies right now? My poor Ayla!!! I'm freaking out and have never had a pregnant dog before. She gets bigger everyday and if our calculations are right, she's due around my birthday. Aaarggghhhh

Her whole personality has changed, she's jumpy, barky and keeps going off by herself to sleep. :( And her skin is itchy. She is my buddy and my shadow and I can't believe this happened. I don't want puppies LOL But it looks like i will be having them whether i like it or not.

I hadn't had her spay yet because I was planning on breeding her with my brothers very rare blue lab but not for a year or so.

Anyone have any advice, other than to smack my son upside the head!? LOL

Me and My Ayla :)

Cyber Bullying

2009-10-23T10:49:00.000-05:00

I would like to write about a very real problem that is happening with our preteens and teens, it's called Cyber Bullying. For those of you that haven't experienced it yet, it's hurtful, embarassing and harassing on an online public forum, mostly Facebook and MySpace. These kids are posting embarassing pictures, vulgar arguments, broadcasting lies and calling names. It's become so bad that there have been suicides commited over some of these cyber bullying instances.

We as parents have got to be the important catalyst in stopping cyber bullying. We are the ones that buy them their computers and pay the DSL bill for them to use them. It's up to us to monitor what they are doing on Facebook/MySpace. It's okay to look over their shoulder. A good way is to set up a Facebook page yourself, http://www.facebook.com/ then request to be a friend on your teens Facebook, that way whatever they are doing and saying will come across your page on your Facebook page. I did that and I see everything my daughter is up to and everything that people post on her Facebook. We have had several bad cyber bullying instances and yes I've gotten involved to stop them.

My friend Shelley at I'm Still Standing After All This Time has been working hard on awareness and speaking out about this problem. She was invited to speak at Wired Safety Stopcyberbullying Coalition Roundtable at the US Senate. PLEASE take a moment to go to her blog and read her story on Cyber Bullying, Shelley's Blog. It's our responsibility as parents to become involved. :)

Love...pass it on

2009-10-22T10:31:00.000-05:00

I got up this morning, dragged myself to the kitchen , turned on the coffee pot, let ayla out to potty and turned on fox news. blah blah blah same ol morning routine LOL....Sat down at my laptop, coffee to my left and started reading email listening to all the horrors, tragedies and latest economic downfall on the news.

I got to thinking what is the point, the world is falling flat on it's face and so many people are suffering. Mankind is going right down the tubes with all the foreclosures, lost businesses, wars and lack of love and respect for one another. I literally sighed out loud and sat back in my chair....

When suddenly a commercial came on tv called "Love...Pass It On" and it stopped me literally. A big sweaty angry hockey player came off the ice and got on the phone with his daughter and started singing eensy weensy spider to her in front of all his hockey buddies. It was so cute and heartwarming. 10 mins later another commercial came on from the same people about a high school homecoming and they had elected a beautiful girl with Down's Syndrome as their homecoming queen. She was brimming with happiness and every one was truly happy and clapping for her. Tears welled up in my eyes and I broke out in goosebumps....

These commercials completely changed my entire doom and gloom outlook this morning. There is hope afterall for mankind...okay I know they were just commercials, but they really made an impact and I'm ready to face another day head on.

Love....pass it on today :)

My First Blog Award!

2009-10-21T10:36:00.000-05:00

I was so excited yesterday when I checked my blog and saw that I'd been given an award! My first blog award! Yay!! Thank you so much Nikki from The Chocolate Mousse, you made my day. :)

Here are the rules:

1) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.

2) Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

3) Share "10 Honest Things" about myself.

So here goes.....10 Honest Things About Me:

~I twirl my hair when I get nervous
~I can't sleep with the closet door open
~I buy all my clothes at Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle
~I was a cheerleader in high school
~I have chickens and they all have names and come when I call them
~I'm an ordained reverend
~I'm a fish aquarium nerd, I have 5 tanks!
~My bestfriend is a guy
~I love horror movies and my favorite one is Halloween
~I spend way too much time online, but don't we all! LOL

I'm passing this award on the following wonderful blogs:

Audrey's Giveaway Blog

Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom

Theta Mom

Shabby Bags

KJ Designs~Karisma

Two Little Monkeys Plus Hubby

Mrs. BlogAlot

Please take a minute and visit these blogs, it's well worth your time, they are awesome :)

Homemade Calendula Salve

2009-10-19T17:36:00.000-05:00

Autumn is the time to harvest our bounty from all the fun we had gardening. :) One of my favorite harvests is my calendula (marigolds), the scent alone is so strong and the flowerheads are so brightly colored and full. Each year I make enough calendula salve to last us through the year and I'd like to share it with you. Callendula has an amazing ability to heal such as booboos, abrasions, cuts and burns.

Calendula Salve:

Pick about 4 cups of clean full flowerheads mid morning after the dew has dried. Make sure they are nice and dry, or the moisture will cause your salve to spoil.

In a large jar, put in the dry flowerheads and cover them with olive oil and about 1/4 cup of vodka (as a natural preservative). Put the lid on tight and set in a sunny windowsill or outside for 2-4 weeks. Every day shake the jar for a full minute. The liquid will turn a beautiful golden color as the calendula properties are drawn out and infused with the oil..

After a few weeks, open the lid and strain the liquid through cheesecloth or a coffee filter into double boiler. Bring the liquid to a low simmer over med low heat and add 2T beeswax. Stir until melted together. Let cool slightly and then pour into small sterilized pots or into jars.

Keep refrigerated (it will last up to a year if you do) and use everytime you need to help heal a cut or booboo. :)

RaggaMuffins and Apple Pie

2009-10-17T13:13:00.000-05:00

I've spent the morning making candles for an order, she is giving my Warm Apple Pie RaggaMuffins Candles to her client for Christmas. My whole house smells like i've been baking apple pie...the kids have gotten up one by one hoping I was actually baking an apple pie. LOL

So being the "good mom" that I am LOL, we are going to the apple orchard this afternoon to get apples to make a homemade apple pie. And like any baked goods I make, toiling and sweating away in the hot kitchen so it looks perfect, making a huge mess and getting flour in my hair, they will jump on the pie like termites on a piece of wood and the whole pie will be gone in 10 minutes.

Oh well, it'll be fun anyway. Wish me luck! :)

Here is one of my RaggaMuffin Candles. If you'd like to check them out, here is the link to my website. :)

http://www.homespunheartssoap.com/

Hubby Comes Through lol

2009-10-16T10:24:00.000-05:00

Just when he's pushed me over the edge.....

Added more gray hairs (which i dye to cover btw),

Irritated me by telling me I'm beautiful when I know I look like a puffalump,

Went golfing AGAIN,

Gives me sympathy when i hit my thumb with the hammer, cuz he can't hammer a straight nail,

Compliments me on how nice the house looks when I've been on the puter all day,

And sends me screaming when he left his shoes by the door for the 100th time and the dog chews them.

He comes home with a dozen red roses and makes it all okay. :)

To quote my friends blog this morning, "aaaaaaah middle aged love" lol

Simmering Cinnamon

2009-10-15T12:03:00.000-05:00

Another rain/snow mix day...cold and gloomy. I'm almost getting used to these days we've had so many of them. LOL It's especially fun letting Ayla out to potty and bathing her each time she comes in muddy, wet and smelling to high heaven!

I've decided to make the best of it tho. I have cinnamon stix, nutmeg and allspice simmering on the stove, it smells sooooo warm and homey. I have a couple of my big cinnamon bun candles lit on the fireplace mantel and a fire going. Good day to cuddle up and watch a scary movie. :)

Flying Turkeys!!

2009-10-14T10:56:00.000-05:00

Good Morning!
I had to go out early and take my son to work. Another cold damp morning but at least the snow we got has melted. Yay!!! I had Ayla with me (my lab) and when we pulled in the driveway she started going nuts! I looked toward the back and there had to have been 30 wild turkeys in my backyard right by the deck. She lept out of the car and ran for them. Have you ever seen turkeys fly?! Scared the crap out of me lol They all took flight (looked like 30 bowling balls flying in the air) and landed in the trees above me. It's was the craziest site!! Gooble Gooble Gooble lol

We've had fires in the fireplace for 4 days now and it's just not doin it anymore...i broke down and turned on the heat this morning...arrrghhhh $600 a month bills here we come!

Warm Banana Bread Recipe

2009-10-13T16:54:00.000-05:00

This is the time of year where there is a chill in the air and nothing tastes better than warm banana bread with melted butter fresh from the oven.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Live, Laugh, Love to Shop!!!

2009-10-07T15:20:00.000-05:00

Come and join us at Live, Laugh, Love to Shop!! I'm the Network Coordinator at LLLS and we have a blast~over 400 active members now. There are ongoing contests, drawings, parties and lots of ways to promote your business. We also have the most talented people gathered in one spot I've ever seen. If you love to shop, like we all do lol, this is the place. The co~owners (Karren and Marla) are amazing and work hard to keep the community active and fun. :)

Visit Live Laugh & Love To Shop

New Candle!!

2009-09-26T15:41:00.000-05:00

I've added a new candle to my line just in time for Autumn! Introducing Carrotcake Walnut Shortcakes. The center is scented with carrot cake and poured into a pie crust scented shortcake and topped with scented walnuts. It smells so good!!!

Welcome Autumn!

2009-09-25T12:32:00.000-05:00

This is my absolutely favorite time of the year. I actually get excited when the trees start to change colors and there is a chill in the air. There is nothing like that beautiful blue of an autumn sky. This time of the year lifts my spirits as I harvest vegetables and flowers. My dehydrator is going 24 hours a day and I have bundles hanging in my windows. The fallen leaves crunch under my feet on my nightly walks and the once green weeds are beautiful earthen colors.

Buckwheat Cakes

"Now the frost is in the air.

Blue the haze at early dawn.

There is color everywhere.

Old and ragged looks the lawn.

Autumn's resting on the hills.

Harvested are fruit and grain,

And the home with gladness thrills.

Buckwheat cakes are back again!

Every season has its joys,

Every day its touch of mirth.

For us all - both girls and boys -

God has well supplied the earth.

What if care must fall between

Peace and pleasure now and then?

Autumn holds this happy scene:

Buckwheat cakes are back again!

Time and trouble change us all,

Youth gives way to middle age,

One by one our fancies fall

Till we reach life's final stage,

But in spite of aches and panes

And the difference old age makes,

Man devoted still remains

To a stack of buckwheat cakes."

- Edgar A. Guest, Buckwheat Cakes

NEW PRODUCT REVIEW! Rustic Heart Candles

2009-09-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

RUSTIC HEART CANDLES

I contacted Stacey because I thought her candles were adorable and even though we both make
prim and grubby candles, hers were much different than mine, plus I loved her graphics and website. Her website is very easy
to navigate with good pictures and links to her products.

I was thrilled when her box arrived at my house full of goodies for me to review!! I could smell
her fabulous products before I even opened the box, and even more thrilled when I saw how cute they were.
The candles were packaged in cello and tied with raffia and homespun. The bath products were in plastic
containers with very cute labels, primitive/rustic. Below is my review of each of the products:

Pie Crust Scented 8 oz Jar Candle~This was absolutely fabulous! The scent was perfect to burn in
the kitchen and it filled the whole area with a fresh baked pie crust scent. Yum!! The candle was long burning and
I'm still burning it!!

Cinnamon Bun Candle~This was one of the best looking cinnamon buns I've ever seen. It looked so
real that I truly wanted to eat it. LOL The scent was so good and smelled just like the real thing.

Chocolate Chip Cookies~How cute were these! Real size of a toll house cookie and smelled just like
it came out of the oven. I loved the texture of them also...really soft and I honestly got hungry and had my
sons girlfried make a back of cookies. LOL Adorable ornie!

Mini Cinnamon Bread Loaves~These are something I've never seen before and I thought it was a wonderful
idea. They looked and smelled just like real mini loaves. I cut off a slice and melted it in my tart warmer and
it was wonderful.

Sweet Sugar Scrub~This sugar scrub was awesome!!! It made out skin feel so soft and smooth after using
it and left a nice subtle scent on our skin. Her sugar scrub really did a nice job exfoliating dry skin and
this is a product I'll definitely continue to use.

Strawberry Creme Grubby Votive~Yummmmmy! This also has a great cold throw as well as a burn throw. Filled
the room with a wonderful scent and burned really nice.

Buy One~Get One Special!

2009-08-29T12:39:00.000-05:00

I'm having a special right now at Homespun Hearts Grubby and Prim Candles. Buy one product and get one product of equal or lessor value for free!!! Just put your free choice in the comment area at checkout.

2009-08-29T12:26:00.000-05:00

I'm constantly trying to come up with new ideas for candles that haven't been done before. There was trouble on a ning that i belong to about one candlemaker stealing another candlemakers ideas. It's very hard to come up with new stuff that no one has because there are alot of candle makers out there and let's face it, there is only so much you can do with wax. So I'm sure alot of candlemakers products are similiar to others but that doesn't mean it was copied. :(

In my exploration of the internet, I've seen other candlemakers that have products very similiar to mine, but i don't think they copied me. And if they did, well then i'll take it as a compliment.

People just need to relax...the internet is a very large place and the competition is fierce but that doesn't mean that one is copying the other one. It's bound to happen that alot of us have similiar products.....Come on everyone, let's support each other in our businesses as women, friends and business women. If we all do that, I'm sure we would all see wonderful success.:)

I've added alot of new products to Homespun Hearts. We now have garden candles (ex: Tomato, Honeyflower) and some cool new bakery candles like mini apple cinnamon pies, new jar candles and grubby topped votives. Check em out!

Hugs,

Tamara

Would you like your products reviewed??

2009-08-29T12:22:00.000-05:00

I will review your product or products for you and give a straight honest opinion. When the review is finished, I will write it up including pictures, links and your banner and post it on the front page of my blog for all to see. Great way to get free advertising too because I market my blog in all the WAHM Shopping Exchanges, ning.com and on Ms Biz. :)

If you would like your product reviewed, please leave a comment on this post and I will get in touch with you.

NEW PRODUCT REVIEW~It Works

2009-08-29T12:20:00.000-05:00

The name of the company is It Works! - Sheri Carpenter is the Independent Distributor.

Wow it really does work! That was the initial reaction after I tried this very cool body wrap. On the second day, I still felt like i had lost more inches. It seems to speed up my metabolism also. This is absolutely amazing!!

It's very very simple to use. The body wrap is placed anywhere on your body you would like to loose fat/cellulite, i placed it on my abdomen. The wrap is paper thin, coated with a special lotion and easy to handle. You simply unfold it and place it where you want it. I wrapped some cling wrap around it on my abdomen so it would stay in place. Then go about your business for 45 minutes. That's it!

I was amazed and really did notice a difference when I took it off, my abdomen did come down and I drank 2 glasses of water while i had the wrap on and still noticed a difference.

Could you imagine how much weight you would lose if you used these wraps every 3 days?!?

We also tested the Fat Fighter tablets and the Colon Cleanser capsules, which both contain all natural ingredients. We were very pleased at how gentle they work with your body, and no side effects at all!

Sheri is incredibly sweet and very knowledgeable about her products. In fact she's lost 30 lbs herself using this system. :)

I'm sold, the name of the company really says it all, It Works!!

Visit It Works! website and see all the wonderful all natural slimming products. http://www.ilovemyscale.com

Hugs,

Tamara

I'm the Featured Member at Rusty Rooster

2009-08-29T12:12:00.000-05:00

Sheila at Rusty Rooster Online Mall did an amazing review of my products on my site ~ Homespun Hearts Soap and Grubbie Candles, where I'm the Featured Business for the month!!! Come see!!

CLICK HERE~FEATURED BUSINESS~

And while your there, join her online mall it's awesome.

I moved!!

2009-08-29T12:09:00.001-05:00

I've decided to move my blog from wordpress to Blogger, I liked the options better. So please update your URL's if you have me listed on your blog.
Thank you :)