Survivor: Heroes vs. Villians

Is it just me or is Survivor a disappointment so far?   In the previous weeks and all the way leading up to tonights tribal council, I just wasn't enjoying the show like in years past.  I will say though, if it continues to give such wonderful blindsides (buh-bye Cirie) and play out like I hope it will... it just might redeem itself.

Smiling Objects...

Every now and then, I catch the American Express smiling objects commercial on tv.  I don't know why it bothers me, but it really does.  Creeps me out more than most anything actually.  Today, I was visiting some of my favorite sites and found a link to more smiling objects!  They're everywhere and I'm doing everything I can not to look for more in the places I go.  Who came up with something like this?

~:|:~ Kathie

What a week...

From Sunday last through right now....let me sum it up.

Sunday A.M. - It was the last week in our old church building.  Our church is moving to a temporary location (starting tomorrow).  In the future a new one will be built, but it felt a little bittersweet to me.

Sunday P.M. - Sarah gets very angry at me and leaves for 2 days.  *Thought bubble - How do you deal with things like this?*  She did return home and changes were set forth to give her just what she wants... to be treated like an adult (what is is about that age... gah, just enjoy not having responsibilities I say, but I'm old and dumb ...because the old saying must be you get dumber with time...anyhow, my thoughts are all over and I digress).

Monday - Trying to keep things moving on around here for Kelly.  We went to the library that morning and had a donut from Caseys.  It was really good.

Tuesday - Spent some time with friends and that evening Sarah returned home.

Wednesday A.M. - I don't remember one thing about this day... I think I was just so darn happy to see her.

Wednesday P.M. - Cleared the air.  Very overdue.  Kelly went to youth group and we all played a game of cards that night until midnight rolled around.

Thursday -


What a birthday.  The best thing was Sarah was home.  DH gave me a new bible case.  LOL, my old one was so slick.  Trying to pick that up and carry it was an art form in itself.  This one has a handle.  Kelly gave me her old mp3 player.. (Lol, love it) and Sarah gave me a card.  Mom dropped in and took us to lunch, but Carl didn't get to go...he had a date with the dentist to get a tooth capped.  Oh yeah, I also got a $345.00 bill on my desk for that procedure.  Christmas is coming after all.. lol.   I went over to mom's that night and watched Survivor.  It's an okay season so far.  I'm rooting for Corinne & Ken to win.  They probably won't, but oh well.

Friday - It seems so far away, but less than 36 hours ago, I was in the middle of it. We went to town and picked up some movies at the video store .  We still have netflix, but I was wanting to watch some movies all at once.  After realizing it today, the movies we chose had a common theme.   I guess it was something I needed .?.

Baby Mama (theme factor: the early years of life)
The Nanny Diaries (theme factor: young children needing to be cared for)
Penelope (theme factor: those teenage years)
College Road Trip (theme factor: and so the book on childhood is closed)

*sigh*

Sarah's sick.  She's been running a fever and has a cough on and off.

Saturday - Sarah & Carl had to work today (special auction day for Carl), so Kelly & I went to the library.  They had a teen gaming hour she wanted to go to.  Apparently, no one else came for the time she was there, so she had the games all to herself.  She said that was great and she really enjoyed it.  I used the laptop and enjoyed some high speed wireless surfing.  Wanna see a great video, go to youtube.com and look up "Evolution of Dance."  It's hilarious. :)

We watched most of the movies.... so far College Road Trip has been the stand out comedy of all of them.  It's a wonderful movie and very heartwarming.

Sarah is still sick, even though she worked today, she's running a fever again now.  I've read about many people having a virus that mimics strep throat.  I guess I'll take her to the doctor Monday, to get started on some medicine.

Anyhow... I'm beat from this week.  It's been so emotional and the song Big Yellow Taxi keeps rolling through my mind...I know it's an environmental song, but the destruction we cause with our words are just as debilitating.

Late last night I heard the screen door slam.
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man.
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Here's to a much brighter week with much softer words.

Birthday tag from Wendy

We went to the movies today...

We went to see Narnia: Prince Caspian today. It was a really good movie. I don't
remember much about the first movie, I just couldn't get into it. But this one, it was
really good. Lots of action and surprises and the storyline in itself was just great. I was blown away by all the Biblical references that I could pick up on. They've really done an amazing job. If you haven't seen it (whether you're a Christian or not), I recommend it. It was well written.

Catching up...

For a while, I felt like I was running so far behind on things, just trying to get caught up didn't seem possible.  So I said screw it, I'm not behind and I'm just where I'm at.  I feel so much better today for it.. LOL.

Tidbits...

The past few weeks just flew by here.  This week has been terrible with the time change, I feel like I'm in fast forward.. lol.

Sunday, dh & I went to see a movie.  We watched Vantage Point (excellent movie).  It was unlike any others I've seen.  I highly recommend it!

We had the teen homeschoolers come over on Friday night.  It was a bunch of fun as we played a bunch of different games.  The kids had a good time and never get enough of it I don't think.

My sister is visiting today.  She came up yesterday to see mom and I guess they're coming over for dinner.  Which means eventually I'm going to have to get off the buttocks and head in the kitchen to fix it.

I came across this picture in some photos from last fall... I left it kind of blurry for privacy reasons, but I still thought it was great.  This is one of my favorite things about homeschooling, no matter how busy you are, you have a few minutes to sit and talk with friends and catch up on how they're doing.


A few weekends ago, dh and I went for a drive to a local Mennonite community.  They have a natural foods store and a dented can food store. We were bored, so it was something to do on a Saturday morning.  I have to say, the deals were awesome.  The natural food, not so much, they were a little high, but still affordable.  The dented can store, I'm not too proud when it comes to saving money.. lol. The best thing I bought was some juice boxes for just a $1.  They go through juice jugs as it is, but these are so nice to have with us when going somewhere.  And a whole container of Quaker Oats (the biggest box possible) for only .90    I don't know... I get excited easily when it comes to silly things.. lol.  It's still a neat place to visit so if you live nearby and want to know how to get there, just let me know.

While were out, I took some pictures.  Wanna see them?

Here's a picture of our State Capitol.

Then I zoomed in... while the truck was moving at 70mph... surprised the crud out of me that it took such a close up.


We made it to the small community not long after passing the Capitol and I felt strange for taking pictures.  People were still using horse and buggys, riding their bikes and walking... very smart considering the price of gas.  I did snap this picture though because it was just a pretty day out.



After we finished up there, we headed back home.  Some of you know what our town looks like while others can only wonder what a truck stop town might be like.  There are 3 major truck stops,  6 restaurants, 6 places where cars can get gas (3 of those are also the truck stops), a bank, a post office, a carpet place, 2 souvenirish gift shops (stand alone businesses), a truck wash (no cars) and... umm I had to think.. lol, a visitors center/Firefighter Memorial.  I think that's all.  Anyhow, all of this is within a 1/2 mile to a mile radius.

So here's a shot coming in (not from the interstate side).

In this shot, you can see two out of the three truckstops, but the other one is sitting behind everything (near the center of the picture) on the left.

And this is how it typically looks when we get ready to turn onto our road.  Every day, year round..

Behind the center truck is the road we turn onto to go home, so we make a left through this.. lol.  And in the summer when you add the tourists passing through, it's enough to make a crazy woman sane.

Missouri is known for it's ugly billboard studded roads.  They are everywhere...
This is a set of billboards on the outer road that runs along I-70.

ROFL..that's right M I Z Z O U  And it's almost a mile long from the first to the last.  Two signs weren't included in the picture.  They say Mizzou...and I figured you could get the point without them.. heh.

So we're almost home.  We have to pass the experimental farms (they test different kind of grains and plants to feed to cows and pigs).  Then it's our closest commercial neighbor who comes into view...  the livestock sale barn...with the newest addition of a Cowboy Church (don't ask, I don't know).  What I do know is that palce stinks of cow poop in the summertime!!!


So after we round the corner, our road is just waiting on us.  I pointed out our nearest neighbors...

And even though you can't see our driveway, just as you get to that 'curve' in the road, we're already there.  Actually... if you could move that arrow just to the other side of the trees, our house is right behind them.

See...we're home now. :)

The week in review...

So we're all doing much better.  Sarah has put down the lysol and backed away some from the hand sanitzer.  Now if we can just get out of the snow and ice that winter brings. 

 Today we were supposed to be on a field trip with the homeschool group.  It didn't work out though because of said ice and snow.  We were going to the Federal Court House in St. Louis for a briefing by Homeland Security, FBI, a federal judge, prosecutor and defense attorneys and a whole slug of other people.  When the new date is given, we'll also get to sit in on an arraingment and go to the top of  of it because I'm peeking from behind the computer screen as I watch it, but it's still the courthouse/building for a view that looks out over the arch and stadium.  It should be a fun day and it's a bit disappointing that we didn't get to do it today.  Carl is home today on vacation because he was going with us, so we're just filling our time doing other things...  Like watching Silent Hill!  Intense Movie!!  I don't get halfintense... lol.  I haven't had that good of a track record with the movies I pick from Netflix.. lol.  I chose Good Luck Chuck which was cute, but it was dirty.  All of a sudden sex scenes were just showing up everywhere, HELLO.  I didn't know it was the unrated version.  Before that, I chose The Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller and I guess it was the unrated version too because the scenes were there too.  So far though, Silent Hill is good, just intense at times.  Next on the list is Mr. Brooks... another intense drama.

Well, we're in the early stages of planning for our family reunion.  We've got the group camp reserved for 2 nights and 3 days, so it should be fun.  Usually we have it just a few hours that come and go so fast, so this will be different.  And it's near a huge lake so maybe we can get in some fun there too.  I hope it doesn't rain.

Other than that it's the same old same.  Sometimes that's good... actually, most of the time it is.

TGIF

I'm thrilled that Friday is finally here!

The girls are gone for the weekend to a young Christians weekend in St. Louis called Dare To Share, with about 47 other people from our church.  I think it's going to be a fantastic experience for them.  Nothing much is planned around here.

We watched "Hairspray" the other day.  I didn't like it... I'm in love with the original version and I thought this one didn't even compare.  The girls enjoyed it like crazy... but I just couldn't get into it.  And they're still watching Soap... lol.  We've got 10 more tapes to make it through before the shoe is done.  *I admit it, I've watched a couple of times.*

Last night, a couple of the kids from our homeschool group stayed over so they could go to DtS today.  While they were here, I knew I wouldn't get the chance to see the new Survivor, so I went to mom's house... am I glad I did!!  It's going to be a fun season, but UGH, gag, James & Parvity... she's far from a favorite to me.  And I'm really glad fairplay is gone already, I didn't know how long I could stand to watch him this season.

Update on previous post:
Mom is feeling much better, we got our taxes back and *knocking on wood* so far I'm flu free.

Right now...

It's very quiet here right now.  The girls have went to youth group, dh went to the chiropractor and I'm here alone.  All day there's been a buzz from the tv, background chatter, radios, etc and I have a headache.  Well, it's not really a headache, more like one of those dull thuds when you know you're still needing to catch up on sleep kind of days.

New Years Eve, we spent the evening with some people Carl works with.  They had a party and invited us.  We had dinner, played some card games, talked and then welcomed in the new year.  I admit, I was ready to leave by 10 because I just like to be home on NYE, but we stayed around.  There was all kinds of food that people brought, but one I'd never seen before, Quail eggs.  They were hardboiled and peeled and just looked like small eggs.  I heard they tasted like it too, emphasis on heard.. lol.  It was a nice enough time though and I was able to meet the people he talks about and they were really nice.

We made up some 'granola' bars today.  I think it's more like oatmeal cookies disguised with the name "granola bars" in hopes of fooling someone into thinking it's healthy.  I think I found the recipe on Hillbilly Housewife but I'm not 100% sure.  I did save it and they were a nice treat. 

Chewy Granola Bars

4 1/2 cups Quaker oats
1 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2/3 cup butter softened
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar packed
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

 In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter, honey, and brown sugar. Stir in chocolate chips. Lightly press mixture into lightly greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and then cut into bars.

Anyhow, at least it was homemade and we know what went into it (most generally).  It's a start.  Fruit would have been a better snack, but we didn't have any in the house.  Next week we will.

So my mom went to the library the other day and picked up some books.  She chose Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom and offered to let me read it before she took it back.  I spend $75 a week on groceries and I thought that was pretty good.. lol.  I'm going to try a few of her tactics to see if I can cut the bill any farther.  Worst thing that happens is I lose some time.  Here's her website: Coupon Mom

I watched Wife Swap tonight.  It amazes me how people (some of them) can point fingers so quick on what the other person is doing wrong, but they fail to realize how bad they look when they're doing it.  There was a 15 year old girl on there who was allowed to be a part of the beauty pageant scene and her parents thought she needn't be burdened by homework, chores or lessons in humility.  The other mom made her do a project on famous women and the poor girl spelled America, Amerika.   I don't really blame the kid for the way she acts, her parents empowered it.  But it's just amazing to see what life is like in some people's households.

Well, it's almost time for them to come home now.. LOL.  I started this post over 3 hours ago.  After fixing dinner, watching tv, playing with the dog and reading, I decided to come back and finish it up.. lol.  Now it's almost bedtime, but first I have to finish watching SuperNanny.. lol.

Soap...

So my dear friend who gifted me with the Netflix membership has created a monster.  Dh asked me to rent SOAP, a tv series from the 1980's (?).  I put it in the queue and it arrived yesterday.  Tonight they popped it in and I left... I didn't like the show then and I don't like it now.  I thought Sarah might watch a few episodes, but oh my gosh... all three of them are piled around the tv and have been there for the past 3 hours!  It's a 5 hour DVD and I don't see any of them yawning!!! LOL.  The girls are complaining to their dad to get past the credits of each episode so the story line can continue... ahhh.  What's the real problem you ask?  There are 5 seasons and each season has 3 discs... and yea... we're just on disc 1, season 1.

Like they're going to let me cancel Netflix.. LOL. :)

Thank you so much again for doing that!  It's an awesome gift and we really have been enjoying it!