Quote of the day

" A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards." -Theodore Roosevelt

Garden 2010 Update

I took some pictures last week and didn't get to post them yet. So without further waiting her it is! I have tons of volunteer tomatoes coming up in the strangest places! Here is one of those. Here is some more of the garden.

Quote of the day

I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it. -Voltaire

Pickled Habaneros

Ingredients
20 to 30 habanero chiles, stems removed
3 cups white vinegar
3 cups water
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
3 Mason-type (1-pint) canning jars, sterilized

Methods/steps
Select habaneros that are fresh, firm, and free of blemishes. Wash in a mild bleach solution (1 teaspoon household bleach to 1 quart of warm water), rinse and allow to dry overnight. (I haven't washed them in the bleach solution, I just have washed them as normal with gloves on of course.)
Wearing food-safe gloves and using a sharp paring knife, cut two slits in the top of each chile. Tightly pack the chiles into the sterilized jars.

In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, water and salt. Bring to a boil and pour over the chiles. Seal the jars and store in a cool, dark place for at least 4 weeks before serving.

A people that values its privileges above its principles will soon lose both." ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

Guess What Answered!!!

I know that some of you were probably thinking that we decided to have a baby, household things, or something girly. If you have read this much you have learned I am not your normal "girly girl". I like to be outside hunting, fishing and although I do normal girl things like cross stitch, embroider and other girly stuff I am a girl who likes to get dirty too!

So now we come down to what I finally talked my husband into.

Any final guesses?????

My cousin responded with an email instead of a comment and she was right. Do you think you have the right answer?

I am telling you that it might shock you, but again, it might not...

Have I changed your mind in what you are thinking???

Okay I will quit teasing and just tell you what it is.

I know it may sound weird but I am so excited to get dirty, greasy and tired working constantly to get this project done. I will be working on a

Tuff Truck!!!!

The guys pictured above are some of the guys who are racing in the area and have offered to help me get a truck up and going. We are going to have to start from the bottom, put a roll cage in it and get a body on it. Then it will be upgrading everything as I can to make it better

Mister has been dealing with my nagging, begging and everything in between for two years. The first year was just saying how much I wanted one but this last year has been the guys also helping me bug him for one. After this last weekend he decided that it would just be easier to give in I think. :) So hopefully next year I will have some awesome pictures of my "new tuff truck" at the monster truck show here in my hometown. I now am on the hunt for a full size truck frame and motor preferably a 350 to get started with. I think that when I told Mister I was going to the salvage yards to start trying to find something suitable and I was going to have one of the boys up in the picture bring it to the house, he realized that I was serious. So he has started talking to others and finding me what I need. Now to move forward with all the work.

I will have to figure out a name to put on the side so that will be the next thing that ya'll will have to help me with. I will have the pink ribbon on it, of course, but beyond that (and the sponsors names that I am trying to get) I am open for suggestions! HELP

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little announcement that I made you wait for!!!

Quote of the day

In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. -Mark Twain

Quote of the day

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing. -Theodore Roosevelt

Guess what....

Guess what my husband told me that I could do/have FINALLY?!?!?!?!
Comment and tell me what you think and I will give you the answer in a couple of days....

Quote of the day

The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice that which we are for what we could become. ~Charles DuBois

Quote of the day

Never explain. Your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe it anyway. ~Elbert Hubbard, A Thousand and One Epigrams, 1911

Quote of the day

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~Theodore Roosevelt

Quote of the day

Monday morning wisdom-
Be pleasant until ten o'clock in the morning and the rest of the day will take care of itself. ~Elbert Hubbard

Quote of the day

If no one ever took risks, Michaelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor." - Neil Simon

I liked this quote since we could all stay with the status quo, but we should be reaching for the stars!

What will we be doing tonight? Only what everyone in the area should be doing!!! I will be watching my buddy, Devin, show off his skills with Barbarian. I actually do know Devin, just so you know. The Mister and I went to school with him. He will put on quite a show for the hometown crowd. Photo Credit

Photo Credit

Then there will be the tuff trucks.

Like Steve in Mischief

Another Steve in Trouble II

Richie with Bam Bam

Pat

Warren with Crazy Fireman

Matt with Iron Horse

And they are having tractor pulls this year!!!! So we will be having a load of fun this weekend. What will you be doing this weekend?

Quote of the day

Now that it's all over, what did you really do yesterday that's worth mentioning? ~Coleman Cox

would you tattoo your spouse's name on you????

I want to state this for the record at the very first, I LOVE TATTOOS! I have a total of 8 tattoos and they all mean something different. 6 of the tattoos form a chain around my hips and then I have the two that are below.

This tattoo is inspired by G Loomis' fish. I told my tattoo guy to make it meaner. This is what we started out with....

And this is what we ended up with. I love his interpretation of what I wanted. He free handed the "Fear No Fish" on it and I love how it all turned out. This one is for my mom. She passed away over 20 years ago and I wanted to do something special for her. The same tattoo guy did this design and tattoo as the other. I gave him the spelling and he sat down with a Bic pen and drew out the design on my foot. I love it and want to add to it someday.

I said all this to say that I have no issues with tattoos. The Mister and I have made an agreement though about our tattoos - neither one of us will have each others names tattooed on us. I will never get "Mister" tattooed on me, I refuse to. I hope that I can have my kids names tattooed one day and even have a design in mind for when that time comes. But I won't get my spouses name tattooed on me.

That being said, I have a good friend who called me with a question. How would I react if my husband went and got my name tattooed on him? I would have a conniption fit but we have already crossed that bridge and discussed it so I know that he wouldn't do that. How would you react and what are your thoughts on names being tattooed on you or someone else???? I am needing some opinions to share with my friend.

Graduation season

I am not against golf, since I cannot but suspect it keeps armies of the unworthy from discovering trout... ~Paul O'Neil

Quote of the day

To teach is to learn twice. ~Joseph Joubert, Pensées, 1842

Quote of the day

Do not confuse your vested interests with ethics. Do not identify the enemies of your privilege with the enemies of humanity. ~Max Lerner, Actions and Passions, 1949

Quote of the day

If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job. ~Donald D. Quinn

redneck fun

What do you get when you combine a can of paint, an Aim & Flame lighter, a mailbox and a bunch of ants? A whole heapin' bunch of redneck fun!

My favorite Redneck Diva was bringing me a starter to the Amish 30 day friendship bread and I had told her to put it in the mailbox if I wasn't home. So I decided to go out and check the mailbox before she came over.

Now in the country our mailboxes aren't attached to our house, they are out by the road like this.

Photo Credit

And this is all that I could see on the outside and the inside of the box. It was absolutely crawling with the little buggers!

Photo credit

So we did what any redneck couple would do and grabbed the lighter and a can of paint. This makes a torch of sorts and when you spray it at the ants it "torches" them. So after the tournament we came home and eradicated the mailbox of the ants. I am sure that the mailman will appreciate it and I was still able to be back in time to see my favorite Redneck Diva and get my starter for the 30-day Amish Friendship Cake!!!

Quote of the day

Laziness will cause you pain. ~Slogan on T-shirt worn at the Vee Arnis Jitsu School of Self-Defense

quote of the day

A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others. ~Author Unknown

Quote of the day

Most teachers have little control over school policy or curriculum or choice of texts or special placement of students, but most have a great deal of autonomy inside the classroom. To a degree shared by only a few other occupations, such as police work, public education rests precariously on the skill and virtue of the people at the bottom of the institutional pyramid. ~Tracy Kidder

Quote of the day

I love quotes. I gain so much from them and love the little bits of knowledge that we are imparted from others. So I am hoping to do a quote a day. Let me know what you think of it and if there is anything that could be different!

And for the first quote.....

Nature gave men two ends - one to sit on and one to think with. Ever since then man's success or failure has been dependent on the one he used most. ~George R. Kirkpatrick

letting go of control

As I was bouncing on the boat seat as we were going across the water during the tournament this weekend, I began to think. I am a person who likes her t's crossed and her i's dotted. I don't like change and I like to plan. At Christmas where we go for family gatherings is orderly and sterile. If you ask me on December 6 to come to your house on the 24th at 7 I put down the information and a 1 is put by your even and circled. You were the first to ask. It continues as people keep asking. If there are changes, it is based on who asked and when. Kinda crazy I know, but it is my way of having some semblance of control. What I realized as I was bouncing on the seat of the boat is I have no control.

Boats aren't equipped with seat belt and I always felt out of sorts since all I have to hold onto as the passenger is a shiny bar in front of me. That shiny bar doesn't always help you out when poles are riding up. But when we hit the ways perfectly everything is okay and we are flying across the water. But then the waves from the larger boats start coming towards you and you have no control. You may just get splashed by some water or you may ride that wave up and the boat comes out of the water. You hear the engine revving up and then you hear (and feel!) the "SMACK!!!" as you come down, hitting the water.

I realized that life is the same way. We can be cruising along, not a care in the world and we ride the wave of life up and then all of a sudden there is nothing below us and we are stuck in mid-air. As we are stuck we are wondering what is getting ready to happen. But we have not control over what is getting ready to happen.

But it will be okay, we will all get through it. Some of these waves are bigger than others but there is the falling to look forward to because after the fall comes the calm and we can recoup and get ready for the next wave that will undoubtedly come. By letting go of the control that we so badly want, we can enjoy the ride and not expect what will come next.

Parent as bullies

I have had the wonderful opportunity to spend time around a large variety of people lately. I saw something that made me seethe underneath the surface. I have seen these actions in the past but cannot take it much more.

I am a person who was abused by my stepmother. There was the physical side but the more more harmful side was the mental abuse. You begin to believe what you are being told. Although I was a straight "A" student, I was told that I was stupid. I was told that my mother wasn't a good person and everyone just said that to make me feel better. I was told that her children were more important and I would be gone if she had her way. At 12 I made that happen for her and my father and went to go and live with other family members. Still to this day my father will not admit that there was anything wrong or that anything truly happened. That is probably part of the reason that we don't have a close relationship. I wonder about people who can stick their heads in the sand and be alright with it.

Still today those scars run deep. I have issues thinking I am allowed to strive for something for myself. I am a people-pleaser and have let people walk all over me in the past. I am now learning how to get past this and as I am sure you all have read, will be graduating with a degree in May 2011. I have done this on my own and for myself. It has taken sacrifice on the part of others but I have learned that I need to come first.

As a parent you are there to be your child's protector, disciplinarian and strength, but you aren't there to humiliate your child. Things that you say to your child will not be taken the same as if you said it to your friends. As a parent you are there to lead your child or push them past the anxieties in the world, not cause them to be greater.

I was around a large group of people and one particular person was bullying their child. This wasn't the first time that I had witnessed this but I am hoping that it will be the last. This child has been put down, humiliated and absolutely has not had a chance. This child has bounced back and forth between Mom and Dad and I know that not only the child has problems but the parents do also. This child has the same traits as the parents, the same traits that they are ragging on it for. This child is starting to believe everything that they are being told. And I am frustrated by the ignorance I am seeing from both parents. But underneath all of this I can see a small glimmer of hope. This child has learned what respect is and has shown it on several occasions, even while getting humiliated by the Dad. And that gives me strength.

The next time that something is said tearing this child down I will be the one to take the blows. Although I have worried about what might be said and if there will be hard feelings, I will stand up and be this child's shield. I remember those who would stand up for be and just stand beside me and still to this day I am so thankful for them. Without them I could be a statistic. But because they cared enough to stand up for me I am about to graduate. And one day I will be a mother who will not treat my children the way that I was treated. But for now I will stand up and be an advocate for this child.

Moments in life...

My father-in-law always sends me some of the best forwards and this one was very true.

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
2. Nothing stinks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How in the world are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I know for sure I did not make any changes to.
14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.
15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Hello?), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste!
17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
18. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
19. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.
20. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
21. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
22. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
23. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?
24. Shirts get dirty. Underwear get dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
25. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
26. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is. 27. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my behind everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

A little 'bout me... The RHofOK style

I decided to join the gals over at Real Housewives of Oklahoma for their MckLinky Monday. It is always fun!!! Join in too! Monday MckLinky Rules:
1. Answer the question on your blog (or in the comments sections if you haven't a blog).
2. If you answer the question on your blog, add your name to MckLinky so that we all can discover the brilliance that is your mind.
3. Grab our button from the sidebar and post it either in your reply post or on your blog.
4. Enjoy and have some fun!

A - Age: 29


B - Bed size: King


C - Chore you hate: I hate all chores, but the one I hate the most is dishes. Love to cook, can't stand the dishes.


D - Dog(s') name: Roxy and Sasha. My MIL says that their dog is mine, she just lives in a different house so I will add Lily also! :)


E - Essential start your day item: Something liquid but it may change from day to day. Juice, coffee, tea, or water.


F - Favorite color: Green or pink


G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: Hello! Any of the above


H - Height: 5'10"


I - Instruments you play(ed): Drums and when I was 5 or 6 I took some piano lessons


J - Job title: teller, Supervisor over the intramural activities, full-time college student, chef, maid, cheering section, gardener, angler (fisher woman), hunter.... Those are the only ones I can think of right now...


K - Kid(s): None yet.


L - Living arrangements: House with the Mister


M - Mom's name: Phyllis


N - Nicknames: YaYa, honey, and hey you.


O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: I had surgery when I was three days old. That has been the only hospital stay for me!

P - Pet Peeve: Right now an un-named person whom acts like they are everything and has taken care of everything, but actually has done zero, zip, nada...

Q - Quote from a movie/show: "Nice fish captain. Big F*cking eyes, but a nice fish" - Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys 2

R - Right handed or left handed: Right


S - Siblings: well....I don't actually have any full siblings. But I have two step-brothers, a step-sister, a half-sister and a half-brother. I talk to the boys but not the girls.


T - Time you wake up: at the latest it is 6 AM, everyday. The dogs don't let us sleep past that and when they do let us sleep, we are still up by that time.


U- Underwear: Uh huh...Is there anything else


V - Vegetable you dislike: I don't really care for peas but will eat them if I have to.


W - Why you run late: Husband or dogs


X - X-rays you've had: This year alone I have had 3 chest x-rays


Y - Yummy food you make: Not to sound brag-a-docious, if I make it, it better be good! I strive to make every meal yummy. That is why we are going to try and diet yet once again!


Z - Zoo favorite: Polar bears or the moneys or the tiger, lions and all the other cats. I just like animals!

Now it is your turn head over to The RHofOK and see what you can find out about everyone else!!!

Mothers Day

Breast cancer has been a part of my life since I was a year old. Actually it was a part before I was born but we will start there. My mother found a lump when I was a year old and everything, for me at least, started there. My mother had a single mastectomy, among numerous other surgeries at the same time, and chemo. She was "cancer free" for a year before her hip started hurting. This whole time my mom continued as a nurse and was raising a small child. After doing some tests they found that it had metastasized into her bones. She refused the chemo at that time but once it was moving into other organ she did the chemo again. I have a friend of my mother's who told me the other day that *I* was the reason that she fought so hard. After 4 1/2 years my mother lost her battle but not without putting up a huge fight and impacting me in the process.
My grandmother (mothers mom) was diagnosed about4 years later and fought for two years. She lost her battle a year after my grandfather died of a massive heart attack.
My Aunt Teanne (mothers sister) was diagnosed and fought. She wanted to be able to last for me get married and she succeeded. She fought for a couple of years as well and passed a month after Matt and I got married. Although she didn't get to come to the wedding, her sons were there and I sent back many thoughts and prayers to her. She didn't tell us how bad she was and then I got a phone call all of a sudden that she was gone.
I have a hard time every May when it is mothers day. If I go to church I see everyone who has their mother around. If we go out to eat, their are families who are with their mothers and I don't have one. I am so happy for everyone who has their mothers still around. So don't take this post as a downer so something bad. Most people around me realize to not ask me to do anything that would have me around much family. We go to The Mister's grandmother's house and to his dad's house to relax and probably have some watermelon. Something to relax.
I am not saying anything bad to or about anyone. Hoping that I can help some people to gain knowledge. Just know that their are those of us whom don't have their mothers (or fathers) around. Just know that their are bad days that we will have and they may be the most inopportune times. My mother died in February so there are bad times during that month. Her birthday is in August, so that is hard for me too. Just know that they are only human and you might go and give them an extra hug and a little more love during the times that they may feel down and vulnerable.

Happy Birthday Misty

I wanted to say a big happy birthday to my cousin, Misty. You are such a strong woman and have been through so much. I think that we are so much alike (which is a good thing ;) look at what my mom was!) and you can only get better with age. You will accomplish all those things that you are trying for and it will be so worth it!

((HUGS)) from your favorite cousin!