A familiar phrase and book, ‘Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus,’ has been around for many, many years. It is popular for a reason. The differences between a man and woman are incredible and can be too much to grasp. It would make sense to me to assume that since men are from Mars, they started out as boys there; and to correspond with that, women grew up on Venus. If this is true, I am curious about what the future holds for my daughter over the next few years.
For all of the parents out there I have a question; How do you get your child/children to talk to you about school?
I love being involved with my children and knowing what they have going on. Generally, they reciprocate in this and make it very easy for me to be a part. However, since my oldest started school last year, I have found it difficult in getting him to talk about his adventures of school. I have asked every question I can think of as well as flat out telling him to tell me what happened at school and the general answer I get back is one of the following;
“I don’t remember.”
Or
“I ate and then I played.”
If I happen to get more from him, he usually tells me that the activity was “dumb” or “boring.” It is funny to me that he thinks that the activities at school are not fun, but yet he jumps out of bed to go to school each morning. There is something he is excited about, he just ‘doesn’t remember’ by the time he comes home.
How do you craftily pull information from your children if they are not wanting to talk about school?
My hubby & I went on a mini vacation last week and spent a night at a Bed & Breakfast close to home http://www.applewoodbb.com/.  The hosts were warm and welcoming as I can fortunately say has been my experience with most of the B&Bs I have stayed at. The landscape was beautiful. Just my style; trimmed in enough to show you care but mostly allowing the plants to grow naturally. It was everything you would expect from a B&B in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
But, what I enjoy most about staying at a B&B is the morning breakfast with the other guests along with the sounds and smells of breakfast being made in the kitchen. It is such a treat to be waited on in a relaxed, casual setting. Sends me back to when my family would have house guests as I was growing up. The morning would start with the few early risers. Conversation and coffee to begin with, watching everyone slowly make their way into the kitchen. Brewing more coffee…Mom and Dad getting out the cast iron skillets….Pops & cracks from bacon & sausage along with a toaster springing up…I grab the knife and start to butter the toast…. Scrape scrape and oh i have to have a bite now! Setting the table; plates and silverware, syrup bottles and jams…laughter and picking on the one person who had a little too much too drink the night before….My Dad talking over all with a “Well when I was your age…..” statement.
What a wonderful feeling of camaraderie and a lovely way to start the day. Even though we are strangers and may never meet our table-mates again, for that hour or so we all try to relax and allow the past to mingle with the present.
In our “spare” time my husband and I fix up older houses and then lease them out when we have completed the work. We got into doing remodels when his parents wanted to move to a new house and were unable to sell their old one. We bought it and made it our first project. Both Britt (my hubby) and I had been involved in construction for most of our lives and enjoyed working together on projects so this was a grate process that brought us closer together. 99% of the work was done by just the two of us (with a little help from some adventurous friends that owed us a favor or two). There were a few times when I thought to my self “what the heck did we get our selves into”, but over the next year the house slowly came together. There is something that is very rewarding about stepping out of your comfort zone and accomplishing something that you consider risky. We are now on our 5th property and haven’t looked back. I found some pics of our first house and have included them below. That project will always have a special place in our hearts because it was the first big risk we took together, I’m sure there will be many more in the future hopefully just as gratifying as this one.
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in theface… and do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Our house is small and space is limited, but I’ve always loved the cozy feeling of it. Everyone who has come into our home has said that it’s warm, inviting and it reminds them of a New England country cottage. I was born and raised in New Hampshire and lived most of my life there so it’s no surprise that my choice of decor has followed me here to Ohio.
Earlier this summer I was convinced that we needed to open up the space in the main living area. Our living room and dining room are two separate rooms, but the entry way separating the two rooms is large enough to blend the two rooms together. After much convincing, pouting, arguing, and persistence, I convinced Lori that getting rid of the dining room and making it into a second living room would be ideal. After all, we very seldom ate at the dining room table and our large living room set was much too big for one room.
After almost two days it was complete. The dining room set had been taken downstairs and half of the living room furniture had been divided up into two rooms. I loved it! Both of the rooms seemed so much larger and having a second living room gave us a whole new room that we hadn’t much used before. I knew that Lori didn’t like it much and I certainly didn’t miss a beat to encourage her to give it a chance.
A week or so ago I was walking down the stairs and I paused. I looked around at both rooms and realized that the downstairs had lost it’s cozy charm. It looked empty. I sat down at my work desk and decided that I didn’t like it much anymore, but how could I admit this? How could I possibly make the suggestion that we needed to put the two rooms back to the way they had been? I knew I would never hear the end of it especially when it involved lugging the dining room set back up from the basement.
A few days ago, late at night, I admitted that I wanted the two rooms back to the way they were. I held my breath. I knew I was treading on dangerous grounds. I heard a laugh followed by, “You’re funny.” Time to pull out the big guns. I pleaded. I pouted. I put on the sad face. I admitted I was wrong and the new arrangement had been a bad idea. I had to listen to how indecisive I was and how heavy the dining room set was. I don’t do this much, but I bit my tongue. I knew speaking up wouldn’t be in my favor.
After admitting I was wrong several times, offering to do the dishes, and promising to never change my mind again with the furniture, the transformation began. I didn’t expect things to be done that quickly and I had prepared myself for at least a week long battle. Our beautiful living room furniture was moved back into one room and the dining room set was brought upstairs. By the following day everything had been moved back to where it had been. It is, once again, cozy and warm. I got my country cottage back.
This is what I’m full of – useless information. A few fun facts that I bet you didn’t know.
1. When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red.
(Oh my goodness! The whole time I was in TX my insides were red) 2. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.
(You know you just tried it to hear) 3. In watch advertisements the time displayed on the watch is 10:10 because then the arms frame the brand of the watch (and make it look like it is smiling).
(Yes I did have to google that to check it out – take a looksie) 4. Belly button lint comes from your underwear.
(Not sure how true that is, but I don’t ever have belly button lint) 5. Your tongue is germ free only if it is pink. If it is white there is a thin film of bacteria on it.
(It’s OK that I licked your food – see I’m germ free) 6. Ingrown toenails are hereditary.
(I’m lucky) 7. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
(Huh, really?! Do you follow on twitter?) 8. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
(And all this time I thought I was average) 9. You can’t kill yourself by holding your breath.
(Please do not try this one at home) 10. Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a “Friday the 13th.”
(Do you have good or bad luck?)
Share any fun, unusual, or just plain useless facts here
Have you ever sat in one of the “those” meetings? You know, those meetings where you wonder why the heck you’re in a meeting that has absolutely nothing to do with anything you’re working on and you’re bored out of your mind.  Well lets just say that in my long and extensive career, I’ve been in more than my fair share of those.
A good friend and I found ourselves in a meeting just like that a few months ago. Totally bored, she leaned over and asked me “If they made this meeting into a movie which actress would play you?” I of course immediately thought of several attractive and oh so talented actresses. As I was mulling over my choices, I guess I my friend got tired of waiting for an answer because she leaned over and said “I’d have Kathy Bates play you.” Are you kidding me? Kathy Bates?! I was really hoping for someone cute or sexy.  Okay, fine, I’ll admit it I probably look closer to a younger Kathy Bates (that even hurts to type that statement) than I do to say a Megan Fox and there’s no doubt that Kathy Bates has done some fine acting. So who am I to complain?(rhetorical question only)
Nestled in Southern Colorado just west of the continental divide lies a small, pristine town called Pagosa Springs. This town, about 50 miles north of the central New Mexico border, sits in a valley between Wolf Creek Pass and Durango, 7500 feet above sea level.
I was fortunate enough to vacation there with my family in July and by all measures, I came away impressed by the striking beauty and friendliness of the community.  I experienced perfect weather and a picturesque backdrop that came right out of a movie set. From the hot steam billowing from the natural springs to the melting mountain snow making up the water of the San Juan River, there wasn’t enough time in the day to see everything.
So, I have lived in either Texas or Colorado pretty much all my life but it took a trip to New York City for me to ride my first mechanical bull. I am not bragging or anything, but I stayed on that thing for over a minute! Those professionals only have to stay on for like 8 seconds, so that makes me like 7 or 8 times better then them I guess. So I now have a big life decision to make: Do I keep working at DealTaker or do I become a professional bull rider? Well, after extensive discussions with my wife (most of which was her laughing uncontrollably) I think I will opt to stay with DealTaker for now. But it is always nice to know that I have something to fall back on…
Well I had hoped to have another Kohana PHP Tutorial written for today’s posting, but with all that has been going on with the house I have not had much time to do anything. I’m thinking I’m going to wait till 3.0 is final, which seems to be around the corner.
Back to the house. We still don’t have the water turned on to the house due to leaks in the faucets. This hopefully will be fixed in the next couple days. It’s amazing how much you can’t do with out running water. We also found out a big issue that the inspector missed. Termites in the outside wall of the master bedroom. There was quite a bit of damage done by them, but not as bad as we thought it would be. After replacing the rotted studs, I called up the pest control people and had them do a thorough check. The termites only had been in that one wall, which is good. I was given two option: Spot treatment, which would only treat that one wall or the whole house. Even thou the whole house treatment was about a little over 2x more expensive, I decided to go that route so I wont have to worry about replacing any more wood in the future. This weekend I hope to get all the insulation back in and drywall up and maybe get it textured.
Years ago when I was a cosmetologist my hair was short, funky and every color imaginable under the sun. At least twice a month my hair was slathered with the latest color of vibrant reds, purples or blues. Towards the end of my career at the salon my hair was a hot mess and it took on the feel of dry grass. I made a promise to myself that I would no longer subject my hair to any more harsh chemicals and I would let it grow out. That’s exactly what I did.
Over the years I have let my hair grow and I found that I became deeply attached to it. It grew out thick, wavy and I fell in love with the natural color of a deep brunette with natural highlights. Eventually the length reached a few inches past my waist. Washing it was a bit of a project and I couldn’t shake the fact that the weight of it all felt as if someone was constantly pulling my hair. If I left it down for too long it would get tangled and my quick fix for that was to grab a few scrunchies and put it up in a sloppy bun. I ignored the constant headaches and the pressure on my scalp.
Just another day in the neighborhood so I thought. Took kid to orthodontist. Seems ok, but I have a broke back window. Dad fixed, but I hit a huge hole in IL and broke it again. That mishap is a whole other story. Soooo, while at orthodontist it starts pouring down rain. Kid has to sit in the back and make sure the window stays up. LOL.
So I’m thinking yeah, some rain, that isn’t so bad. BTW forgot to mention my mum called and told me there were some storms headed our way and to be careful. So we get home and it has stopped raining. We all head to the gym. Work out. Go to Walmart. Get supper. Start heading home. The sky is turning black.
I have two sons, ages 4 1/2 and 6. They are both such awesome children, I am very proud of who they are becoming. But, even these wonderful boys are tempted daily to do what their little heart’s desire. What I am going to share below is true and is something I will always remember.
The children and I were at Target. We were there with the purpose of buying a birthday gift for one of their friends. We went through all of the toys and pick out a couple of things their friend would enjoy. We went to check out at the register. There was candy and drinks that you could add to your sale on either side of the aisle. The boys wanted to get some candy for their friend, but I told them we had enough for his gift.
The stock market went up sharply recently. Lots of people, Â especially my friends are all talking about it and thinking about putting new money in. Â For me, I just don’t believe the recovery will happen in such a rapid way.
Yes, some companies do have good earnings. Lots of them report earnings with dropped revenue and profit however exceeded expectations, people liked it and price went up. Come on, that is not the whole story.
As you may already know, I have added a new addition to my family. After 39 weeks of pregnancy, my baby girl arrived June 10th at 11:14 AM. I will not bore you with all the details, but the overall experience was amazing. She was 7.02 lbs and 19 1/2 inches. Of course she is one of the 3 most gorgeous babies on earth (She is my 3rd I am only a tad partial). She was a very healthy baby and is, to this day, very laid back baby.
We are very blessed and happy to have her! There are no words that can describe the joy she has brought to our lives. Her brother’s are in love with her and are always trying to comfort and hold her. Her father is already wrapped around her finger. And her mother cannot get enough of her.
So, I would like for you to meet our new addition to the family and to DealTaker… my princess!
So my family (wife and 2 kids) and I went to NC last week for the wedding of my wife’s cousin. It was a great event and everything went wonderfully (my girls were the beautiful flower girls!). The wedding was actually in Mt Pilot which is where Mayberry is based off of. I love the Andy Griffith Show so that was very exciting for me. Anyway, I came home Monday night but my wife and girls are staying in NC with my wife’s mother until next Tuesday, so I am home alone! So, what do I do? So many possibilities! I did see Harry Potter last night, so that was fun, but when it comes down to it, I will probably just work, sit on my couch, catch up with shows on my DVR and watch some baseball. And you know what? While I do miss my girls, I am going to love it!!!
My girlfriend and I just purchased a 3 bedroom, 2 full bath, 1500+ sq. ft. home on a 1/4+ plus lot that was built in 1984. The house interior hasn’t been updated since then. Imagine a country motif with lots of flowery wall paper and drapes. So we will be doing a lot of work on updating the interior of the house, painting, flooring, etc. The outside hasn’t been kept up in what looks like a couple of years, so I’ll be doing a lot of work outside so we can get “Yard of the Month”. I’m pretty sure with all the stuff that we’ll be doing, I could come up with some “How-to” video’s and such for future posts. Keep an eye out for those.
Running has never been something I loved to do but recently I made the decision that its time to take that up as a hobby. I found a great aggressive plan that would position me to be able to run a 5k (roughly 3.1 miles) after 16 weeks of training.
I am now almost two weeks into the training, with new shoes on my feet, and I’ve been doing pretty well. In order to build up stamina the plan starts you out walking then transitions to walking and running with times spent walking being inversely proportional to time spent running. Eventually you end up with 30 minutes of running only. Right now I’m feeling pretty good about the plan but I’ll let you know how it is going in a future blog post.
Why do they call it canning when you are putting in a jar? My new term for it is “jarring” beans. As you guys know i am also FarmerFli. Today i am “jarring” beans. Right now i hear the jigger in there doing the jig. You young city folk may ask what in the world is a jigger. Well it is the round thing on top of this lid.
Pressure cookers are dangerous. I’m affraid every year that i’m somehow going to blow it up and have green beans all over the place. And yes that can happen.
Final product.
If you do anything with green beans do you say break beans or snap beans?
Does anyone “jar” any veggies or put up any food from a garden?
My hubby & I went on a mini vacation last week and spent a night at a Bed & Breakfast close to home 
I am only a tad partial). She was a very healthy baby and is, to this day, very laid back baby.
My girlfriend and I just purchased a 3 bedroom, 2 full bath, 1500+ sq. ft. home on a 1/4+ plus lot that was built in 1984. The house interior hasn’t been updated since then. Imagine a country motif with lots of flowery wall paper and drapes. So we will be doing a lot of work on updating the interior of the house, painting, flooring, etc. The outside hasn’t been kept up in what looks like a couple of years, so I’ll be doing a lot of work outside so we can get “Yard of the Month”. I’m pretty sure with all the stuff that we’ll be doing, I could come up with some “How-to” video’s and such for future posts. Keep an eye out for those.
Running has never been something I loved to do but recently I made the decision that its time to take that up as a hobby. I found a great 
