Technology and the Media. . .

Some days I think, have we really come as far as we think we have with regard to technology.  There are many days that I feel we would be better served without all of our technology that we seem to depend on so much.  With the influx of all of our "fabulous" technology we have opened our homes and our children up to predators of all kinds.  Bullying used to be only at school, now it follows our children home on their cell phones and computers thanks to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
I know I am a dinosaur and you, like my kids, probably think I grew up in the dark ages but I think I grew up in the best time.   Our news was on only two times per day for an hour maybe two at a time.  I am not saying we do not need to be informed of what is going on but, not everything is news worthy.  Some days I think they are just trying to fill their 15 hours for their news slot.  Let's take the weather, my hubby calls these folks "weather weenies," please do not get me wrong I know we need to know when we have severe weather approaching and I am very thankful when they alert us.  Let's be honest, you have seen it too, when the weather person is almost giddy while talking about a tornado or a snow storm approaching.
I also grew up watching "Andy Griffith" and "I Love Lucy."  I like Facebook just like everyone else but I am shocked most days at the things I see on there.  I use it to keep in touch with my family and friends that do not live near me.  With all the things going on in our Country this last few weeks I have seen some very nasty and negative things posted.  This is where I think the news media use social media to stir up trouble.  They post things in the guise of news in the hopes to create trouble.  It works, you can look at any "news" (I use this term very loosely) post on Facebook and look at the comments to see people attacking each other.   They are just like teenage girls waiting to see how many comments they can get from that post.  What ever happened to unbiased news coverage?  I do not think I have seen an unbiased anything from the news media in decades.  

Monday Blues

Crazy last couple of days.  Feeling sad today.  A friend passed away suddenly this last week, leaving behind a beautiful wife and two very sweet boys.  These boys will know what a very sweet man their daddy was and how loved he was by our community.   He will be missed by everyone that knew him.  My heart breaks for this family.  
He was several years younger than my husband and myself.   It really brings everything in to full focus.  
When I am gone will my family know how much I loved them?   I have told you about the letters that I write to the boys periodically, they may get a novel this month.  You do not know His plan for you and you do not know how long you have with your loved ones.   Take every opportunity to tell and show them how much you love them.
Things I want to do better for my family: 
I will try not to sweat the small stuff
I will always give them my best
I will always give them my time
I will always let them know how much I love them

I hope that my family will know how much they mean to me and how important they are.
My heart breaks for this sweet family and I ask each one of you to say a prayer for them this week.

Technology Etiquette. . .

I was reading an article from Dave Ramsey about technology and it brought up an interesting fact.  Americans check their phones more than 150 times a day.  This reminded me of an observation I made while out to eat one evening with my family.   I looked around  and  more than half of the people sitting around us had their heads down tapping away on their phones.   This is where my etiquette issues come in to play.  I think it is rude to those you are eating with to have your head buried in your phone rather than being with those that are right in front of you.  I do not think these folks are being rude intentionally,  they just do not realize how it appears.   We are so tuned in to our devices that we do not even think, it is an automatic response to the sound of the ping or bubble.  I am guilty of it too, but I am trying to do better for my family's sake.   Sprat does not even carry his phone much anymore and of course Big T does not have one.  The hubbs and I are the ones in our house that need to tone down the tech time.  We never get on our phones at the table, unless of course I am trying to take a picture.  These days I have to snap them where I can and many times it is when they are pined in at a table while we are out to eat.  I know sometimes it is unavoidable, especially when you may have a loved one sick or trying to keep touch with a loved one out of town.   

I just wonder what Dear Abby or Mrs. Manners would say to the lack of face to face contact that we have today?  I saw a commercial the other day talking about "dead time" or "dead zone" meaning no cell phones or tablets during family/dinner time.  Do we really have to have that to remind us of what is important?  

Sometimes I wonder, has all of this technology really made our lives better or has it just made our work day longer?  I know my hubby does some of his paper work at home after work just to stay caught up.  He has a company laptop, ipad, and cell phone that makes his work "easier" and enables 

him to do much of his paper work long after the "work day" is over.  

"Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backward."  Aldous Huxley.  Here is another quote for today:  "Even the technology that promises to unite us, divides us.  Each of us is now electronically connected to the globe, and yet we feel utterly alone." Dan Brown, Angels and Demons.

Happy Monday. . . .Read On. . .

I have said numerous times that I read all the time; if it is not a text book it is a novel, magazine or blog.   My hubby is also an avid reader, of course he loves his war novels and history.  He loves Stephen King and has many of his novels.  I am very thankful that our kiddos both like to read.  Big T took after his daddy with a love for history books and Sprat likes a good mystery just like his mama.  I did not find my joy of reading until I was out of college and I found Robin Cook.  If you do not know him, he writes medical mysteries and I love them.  I was never a Harlequin romance girl, I did not care for those at all.  I even found a series of knitting murder mysteries, yes knitting.  They are easy and very interesting.  Give me a good murder mystery and I am set.   In the last several years, a group of my girl friends formed a book club and I joined.  I thought I needed to broaden my literary awareness beyond murder.  I have really stepped out of my zone in the books I have read with this great group of ladies.  This is not a hard core book club so if we do not finish the book it is no big deal.  We all have families and kids and they are very understanding when life happens.  I have tried to read every book but, I must admit there have been a couple that I did not read.
     One of our books we chose was sort of a murder mystery, "Gone Girl."   I was finishing this one up when my dear hubby got hurt.  He decided he needed something new to read and when I finished he started reading it.  I do not think we had ever read the same book, I thought this is going to be fun to talk about when he was finished.  I was very impatient for him to finish because I wanted to know what he thought and I wanted to see the movie.  I swore I would not see the movie until we both had finished the book.   I think you can gauge a good book by how you feel about the characters, I had definite feelings about both of these main characters.  I will not spoil the story or the movie if you have not seen it.  You will have definite feelings about this book and the movie.   The hubbs is now reading, "The Help," another good book and movie if you have not read or seen it.  
    I have started a new Stephen King  book that my mom gave Big T.  He is knee deep in another book right now so I did not think he would mind if I borrowed it.   I will let you know how I like it.  I only have a few months before I am back in my text books for school.  I will be taking a public speaking class and a Constitutional Law class.  Looking forward to August.

Update on a Couple Posts. . .

My hubbs went back to work on Monday.  I think he has had a good week, his leg  has been tired but that was expected.   He loves his work and is glad to be back at it.  He has been at this same job for 23 years and that alone, these days, speaks volumes.  
Now for the update on my sourdough starter.  I had lots of bubbles this morning, I am on day 5.  I think this one will be a keeper.  I will share a picture below.  I have about 3 more days of discarding and feeding before I can bake, I cannot wait.  Check out the Pocket Farmer www.thepocketfarmer.com,  great site with a lot of information. 
Today I will be making lots of casseroles to go in the freezer.  The zucchini is going crazy, I just wish I could freeze cucumbers too.  I am going to make some more zucchini muffins.  The hubbs loved those.  I would love to freeze those but I am not sure how they would taste after the fact.  They are very good fresh though.  

Look at those beautiful bubbles.  

Everyone Should Have a Hobby or 12. . .

Everyone should have a hobby, I have many hobbies.  I do not know if they are really hobbies but these are things that I love to do:  knit/crochet, reading, gardening, cooking, DIY (do it yourself stuff), fishing, and shooting.  I guess you could add blogging to that list too.   I have only recently learned how to knit and crochet.  I am not very good but I do enjoy it.  I do mostly scarves and shawls, I have made a hat or two.   I have found since starting to knit and crochet my eyes are really bad.   My distance vision is very good but up close I have to squint and strain, I think this is old age and I do not like it at all.

I have been painting too, this falls under the DIY section.  We have a cute wrought iron table and chair set for our back patio that has some rust and weather wear.  I decided I would steal wool the rust off and seal it with a spray to protect the iron.  Then I  sprayed in a gloss black, it's original color.  I got both chairs done but I have not done the table pedestal yet.  That is on my list to do this summer in between running the boys to and from football workouts.  I will share my chair pictures below.  

 I grew up fishing on our family vacations, I do not like lake fishing, I love salt water fishing.  The hubbs and I enjoy fishing together.  That is how I hooked my hubby.  I know corny right?  We went to the beach with some friends and he wanted to go fishing and he was surprised that I wanted to go too.  I out fished him that weekend and the next week he proposed.   Before we had the kiddos we would take little trips to the beach and go fishing all the time.   One time we even drove to the beach just to eat crab legs and drove back.   We were much more impulsive then, something about having kids that grounds you and makes you more responsible.  I would not trade our six years of impulsiveness for anything though.  That just makes me smile.  

My mom gave the gardening bug when I was little.  Mom always had a garden at the house and later she had one at the barn too.   Mom always had fresh peas, those were my favorite.  She used to get so mad at me because I would go out and sneak and pick her peas and eat them while she was busy in another part of the yard.  That has unfortunately bled over to my poor hubby, I sneak and pick his peas too and eat them before he can put them in the freezer.  I think he knows though, because each year he plants more peas.   I am so glad that my hubby caught his gardening bug from his mom and dad too.   I hope that my kids will learn from their dad and I the joys of gardening and eating fresh veggies.    Sprat loves the potatoes and he does help dig every now and then.  

My newest hobby is shooting.  My father-in-law gave me my first gun, he was worried about me being alone while the hubbs was traveling.  He was also a retired city police officer.  He knew the importance of a woman by herself being able to take care of herself.   I did not know how to shoot so I went to my dad, he took me out below our barn and taught me how to shoot my gun and a couple others.  I have since bought a new one and was in need of some refresher work with it.  I have found a great range that encourages women to learn gun safety and how to shoot well.  

Sourdough Starter. . . .

My sister gave me the best sourdough starter in the world.  It was a wild yeast starter, that means you do not add yeast to get it going.  I was a bad sister and did not keep it fed like I was supposed to, so I am trying to do my own starter.  I tried the one where you use whole wheat flour and orange juice and you feed it every 24 hours to start.  This one did not work for me, that does not mean it would not work for you.  I am now trying one from the Pocket Farmer, 1/4 cup of water and 3/8 cup bread flour. Add this every 12 hours and stir.  I am seeing some bubbles, which is good, that means it is active.  If after 24 hours you do not see bubbles discard and start over.  You also want to keep your starter (in the beginning phase) around 70-80 degrees.  It is a living organism and you must keep it cozy.   I am on my third feeding for this one and today I will discard 1/2 and add more water and flour.  Your starter, once it is growing should have a mild aroma of beer and should be the consistency of a good pancake batter.  You do not want it too thick or too runny.  Here is a picture of what I have so far.

My mom and my sister are my role models for cooking and caring for my family.  I know this is Fathers day week but I am going to brag about two of the strongest women in my life.   My mom always made homemade bread for us, not because she had to but because that is what her mother did. Funny how our moms influence our lives.  My moms homemade loaf bread is the best in the world, she did not buy bread until she and dad started eating whole wheat bread.   I am not sure if I shared this before or not but the hubbs started having food allergies not long after Sprat was born.  He could not eat any store bought bakery items, and that included bread.  My mom gave me her recipe that was her mothers.  This was the first time I had made bread.  It was a great feeling and every time I use that recipe I think about my mom and my grandmother (she passed away when I was little).  During this time of uncertainty with the hubbs and his diet, I made every thing from scratch.   That is a daunting task, to say the least, but between my sister and my mom and their wealth of recipes and help we survived and thrived.   The hubbs food allergies corrected themselves after a year or so and I do not have to make our bread any more.  I do make some every now and then just because my family and I like it.                                                   

I blame my sister for my obsession with sourdough bread and its' starter.  She gave me my first 

starter and I loved it but I was just lazy about taking care of and feeding it.  I guess it is a good thing my kids and husband are more vocal or they would be sitting around covered in mold too.    Just kidding. . . . . . .   Before I let her starter go to the dogs I made several loaves of bread and tried to make crackers.  My crackers did not turn out that great, they were a little thick.  I am going to give them another shot with this starter.   Once I get it going I will share the cracker recipe and how it turns out.                                                                                                                                              

Hard Drive Storage? ? ? ?

Do you need more storage for your computer?  Would you like to back up your MANY picture files to another source to protect them from computer failure?   I looked into to this for myself, that is why I thought I would share what I found with you.  There are many options for file storage away from your computer.  There are flash or thumb drives that have good storage capabilities.  You could buy and install an extra hard drive on your current computer system but, that would still run the same risk of virus and crash as your original hard drive.   

With those thoughts running through your head, what other option could there be?   There is a stand alone hard drive offered by Western Digital called a passport.  These offer portability and safety for your files, pictures, anything you want to keep safe and private.  There is the Passport X for gaming it is compatible with Xbox 360, Xbox one, and PC gaming.  Depending on which gaming system you use will depend on how much you can store on the Passport X.  The Passport X runs about $100.00.

The Passport Ultra runs about $80.00 and has 2 TB of storage for your pictures, videos, and extra files.  2 TB = 2,000 gb   

Since the kids are all gaming heavily these days I liked the Passport X for the extra storage that you get for your gaming console.  We had to buy extra storage for ours a year or so ago, I wish I had known this option was out there.  

Summer Vacation. . . Begins

The hubbs has gone back to work today.  I pray that he will have a good day and that his leg will not give him too much trouble.  The boys are still asleep.  They start football tomorrow,  I am a little worried about the heat we are expecting this week. 
Since the hubbs has been out of work since March, I doubt he will be able to take any vacation this year so we will probably be doing some stay-cation things.  Luckily,  there are wonderful things to do that are only a short drive away.   Looks like some day trips for us.  My mom was telling me that for the month of June the Biltmore House has free admission for kids.  I checked the website and kids (10-16) are free through September with an adult admission.  If you purchase 7 days in advance, adult tickets are $50.  Check out their website, they have a lot of options for tickets.  www.biltmore.com

There are also several science museums around and of course the zoo.  

The boys are going to be busy with a few camps too.  Sprat is very excited about Mission camp with our Church in July.  Big T gets to do a leadership camp through the school at the community college in July.   Of course they both have football camps too, I think we may enjoy some down time in between.  

If you are in need of ideas for what to do with the kiddos this summer check your local library they usually have a list of things being offered.  

Today we are going to enjoy a veg-out day, a day to do nothing.  Stay tuned, I will keep you updated on what is going on around here.  

Last Day of School. . . .

Whoot Whoot!!!!  Last day of school!!!!!  Yes, I am glad school is out for my kiddos.  In fact they are not going today.   Sprat did not have an exam today so he does not have to go and Big T will not have anything going on.  They are both sound asleep right now.  One of my friends referred to days like today as mental health days for the kids, it is more of a lazy day for me.   My dear hubby heads back to work on Monday so we are going to enjoy a nice day all together.  We are going to check out the new "Jurassic World" movie.  The hubbs and I went to see the first two at the movies when they came out.   We were not big movie goers before we had the kiddos, we would only go to a movie once or twice a year.  When the boys were old enough to go to the movies we went to most everything that came out for their age.  Big T saw "Finding Nemo," or slept through it in his little infant carrier.   Ahhhh, the good ole days.   They enjoy going to the movies and it is just one other thing we do as a family.  I do not remember my mom and dad taking us to the movies when I was little.  I do remember going when I was in 7th and 8th grade.  Mom would drop us off at the theater and then come back and pick us up at the Burger King across the parking lot.   That was our Friday night thing when I was younger, we all went as a group.
I remember the first 3D movie we took the boys to, it was "Journey to the Center of the Earth."  It was a great movie and great in 3D.   We had gotten a big tub of popcorn for us to share and about mid way through the movie and elbow deep in the popcorn Big T starts fussing about his eyes burning.  I am sure you can imagine, he said the 3D glasses were burning his eyes.  He had rubbed his eyes and had gotten the popcorn stuff in them making them burn and sting.  To this day he still blames those 3D glasses.
Here is my financial part of this post.  Since my hubby has been out of work for his knee we decided we would get a few things done with our finances.  Dave Ramsey has what he calls ELP's (endorsed local providers), these are financial consultants and real estate agents that are in your area that follow the Dave Ramsey system.    I decided I would look into an ELP to help us with a few things, this was several years before I actually took the Dave Ramsey class.  I told you I had read everything about him before I took the class.  At this time the hubbs company was going to give us control over his 401K and let us manage it rather than pay someone associated with the company to manage it.  I was not confident enough in my own knowledge about a 401K to take on that responsibility myself.   We found an ELP close to us and they were associated with the company that was handling our college fund for the kiddos.   That was just perfect.   I met with them originally and set everything up, they made recommendations with regard to the 401K and also made some recommendations with the college fund.  I took their suggestions and we made the necessary adjustments, this was almost nine years ago.   Flash forward to about a week ago.  The hubbs and I went to see our ELP to make a few more adjustments and to see if there was anything we needed to change with the 401K.   Dave Ramsey says, if you are getting a 12% return on your investment that you are doing good.   Our ELP said that we had made well over the 12% on our college fund and the 401K each year since we had been with them, that was a very pleasant surprise.  We had stopped funding the college fund while we were paying down our debt so now that we are debt free (except for the house) we started funding the college fund again.  We never stopped funding the 401K, you never turn down free money (aka company match).  
My tip for the day:  check out Dave Ramsey and his ELP for your area I would bet that most would offer a free consultation.  www.daveramsey.com  You will find the ELP section toward the bottom of the page.  Check them out and see what you think, it never hurts to talk and gather information.  I am all about gathering information before I make a major decision.  The more you know the better off you are.  If you have not read about Dave or his books I recommend checking him out, go to the Library.

Drying Herbs

You may not think drying herbs is craftsy but it is.  It takes talent to know how long to dry and how to dry.  There are several different ways:  you air dry by tying your herbs in a bunch and hanging them, air dry by laying them flat, or my way with a dehydrator.  I have used all three at one point or another.
The dehydrator is the quickest and most efficient, in my opinion.  Pictured below is my oregano and sage that I recently dried.  I did several trays of each with one empty tray right above the heat element, this way the herbs on the bottom do get burnt.  I leave mine for about 24 hours, I check them after 12 or so and rotate them if necessary.  I love the aroma of dried herbs especially oregano, my house smelled like an Italian restaurant for a day.  

When cooking with dried herbs you may add them while cooking, when using fresh herbs you should only add them at the very end of cooking.  This was something I had a hard time getting used to.  I have always added herbs at the beginning of the cook.  Per what I have read, you want to add fresh herbs at the end of cooking because you want to take advantage of that fresh flavor.   When using dried herbs be sure you mash them between your fingers to release their essential oils.  

Once you have dried your herbs you need to be sure you store them properly.  I use glass jars for mine, it keeps air and moisture out and those are the enemies of your dried herbs.  If you have some herbs you have dried or have purchased be sure to check for mold and moisture in your containers.   If you open your container and do not smell that lovely herb, it is time to discard it and get new.  

Garden Crazy. . .

The cucumbers and zucchini are really going strong now.  I thought I would share a couple of recipes that I am using to keep up.  Yesterday I made my yummy zucchini cornbread casserole with jalapeno peppers.  I had to use my peppers from the freezer because our peppers are not ready yet.  I have been eating our cucumbers just with a little salt.  Now that they are really going strong I needed a recipe that would use more than one.
I was reading something on the Internet the other day about cucumbers and their health benefits.  I thought I would share some since cucumbers are going to be in full swing in the next few weeks.  One point was relieve joint pain (arthritis) and inflammation, as I have gotten older I have noticed my knees aching more and my hands sore at times.  I am willing to try anything that is natural for joint pain and I love cucumbers so this is a no brainer for me.  This article also said it helps with weight loss, this one I am more skeptical about but I have seen several posts about cucumber water on Pinterest lately.    It is also supposed to help blood pressure, diabetes, hydrate the body, and reduce cholesterol.  I love cucumbers and I always have, I am not sure that I believe all of what they said cucumbers can do but they are very tasty.
I fixed these the other day:
3 cucumbers peeled and sliced (thick)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tbsp dill
1 or 2 garlic cloves or 2 tsp garlic powder
1 jalapeno pepper
3 small onions sliced
I used a large mason jar and put my vinegar in then added my cucumber slices, dill, onion, and pepper (whole), then filled with water.  It was hard to leave them in the fridge because I wanted to eat them right then.   I held off for 2 hours and tasted, they were good but the longer they sit the better they get.  I love these!!

We have a lot of zucchini too so, I decided I would make zucchini muffins.  This is not the original recipe, as usual I tweaked it just a bit.
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg beaten
2 1/2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp molasses
1 cup finely chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Combine first six ingredients and set aside.  Combine egg and oil then stir into dry ingredients.  Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.  Oil your muffin cups bake 350 for 20-25 minutes or until pick comes out clean.

Below is my cucumber vinegar combo:

Techno Tuesday. . . Social Media

What is it about social media that makes people think they can just say anything to anyone?   I have clicked on news feeds comments section and I am amazed at what some people say and how rude they are to people they do not even know. 
Is it because they are not saying it  in person that they believe it is ok?   Why say something ugly and hurtful to someone, especially someone you do not know?  What purpose does that serve?  Not that it is ok to be hurtful to the people you know.  I just think I would understand it better.   I know some  are just out to cause drama and see if they get a reaction from people, they crave the attention. 
This is one reason I have not let my kids on social media.  Kids are mean enough in person, add a little distance and anonymity and you are just asking for trouble.   I have a few friends that let their kids have a social media account and they shared terrible things their kids have had to deal with.  
It is sad that we as adults cannot set better examples for our kids and others.   I believe it all goes back to the respect issue.   There is a huge lack of respect all over but, especially among young people. 

Babbles on Famine and EOG Testing. .

Update on the 30 hour famine.  The kids were divided into tribes corresponding to those in Ethiopia.  Some of the kids were given disabilities; Big T was mute, one of the girls had a hurt foot,  one boy had no hand, and one was blind.  They were divided into their tribes and competed in challenges. 
During this 30 hours together they played and learned about Ethiopia and the Ethiopian children that go hungry everyday.  Our youth leaders are the best.  Big T told me all about the games and the food they were given.  They fixed a type of crepe and a soup that the children of Ethiopia eat.  Big T and Sprat said the crepes were good but the soup was not.  The soup was a coconut milk base with corn, and sweet potatoes.  They also had a peanut butter mixture with powdered sugar.   They both loved that.
The hubbs and I helped fix lunch for the kiddos and youth leaders after Church for the finale of the Famine.   We served breakfast for lunch; eggs, biscuits,  pancakes, sausage, bacon, and grits.  It was a good day. 
My mom always told us that breakfast was the most important meal of the day.  It gets your engine rolling (brain).  I was terribly picky when I was younger when it came to food.   The thought of sitting down to breakfast made me nauseous,  I hated breakfast.  Luckily,  my mom sold vitamins when I was growing up and they had a protein shake that was really good.  That is what I ate or drank for breakfast from the time I was in maybe 6th grade all the way through college.  It was easy and I was not tied to the table during breakfast,  I could carry it with me room to room while I was getting ready.  The whole breakfast is important thing has stayed with me.  I try to make sure the boys get a good breakfast before school which is sometimes difficult because they are a lot like  me.   Big T likes muffins, so he gets muffins in the morning and an occasional pancake.  Sprat eats hash browns and sausage or biscuits and sausage.  He has always been the meat eater.  

EOG's are finishing up and final exams are right on their hills.  Every year during EOG's and final exams I try to make it more fun and kind of an event for the boys.  We take the boys out for breakfast each morning to make sure they get a good start to their day.  I hope that they will remember these little things that their daddy and I have tried to do.   I hope that they will do the same for their own children some day.  I think that is what we as parents all want.  We want to leave our kids with great memories and traditions to carry on with their own families when that time comes.