Blog Posts

This has been something that's annoyed me ever since I started writing my blog. There are people in the goerie.com blog site that don't update their blogs for months. I feel that you shouldn't take up the space if you're not going to keep up with it. That might not be accurate about the space thing but I'm sure others will not bother checking your blog if it's not updated. There are so many sports and specialized blogs such as Tall Ships, etc. that I think someone should have made them broaden their subject a tad so they could do more with it. Some of them have said at the beginning that they would write on weekdays only and take weekends off. I get the impression that it is more of a job to some. Others, I realize, are busy and this is just one more thing they've gotten themselves into. All that said, it only takes a couple minutes, you're writers anyway, and it shouldn't be that big of a deal to blurt out a few sentences about anything just to keep us informed. Maybe I'm too critical but that's the way I feel. Me, I'm looking forward to my 100th blog post coming up in a couple days. Stay tuned.

Craft Supplies

I'm feeling overwhelmed by all my craft supplies. I did make a dent in it over the holidays and I certainly have more ideas but it all seems like a bottomless pit. I started last summer in getting rid of some books and magazines related to crafts. I sorted through every book and decided what I honestly thought I would make. If it didn't make the cut, it was out. Then this spring I got rid of more through the garage sales which made a little money, hopefully not for more craft supplies. I still find myself now with a ton of pictures that need to be scrapbooked and 3 full bins - one full bin each of material, yarn and crochet thread. I know what I want to do with most of it, it's just a matter of time. All this stuff can't be relocated to the cabin - that's the bottom line so I either use of lose it. So what I did last night was pull out all the baby yarn. I found some more purple (I must have torn something else out) and I'll make another blankey for Audrey as that might be the last of it. Then with the rest I will make another baby blanket to put away for who knows who. The thing about crocheting is that I can do it even while I'm engrossed in another project such as scrapbooking. It sits with me in the living room as I'm watching TV. I've also been looking for another scrap afghan project to use up the rest of the yarn. This is a tough one because I usually don't make a pattern twice and there aren't a lot of patterns that I like. I know that unless I find one that I can work with, I'll give up on this before it's done. I remember my smart goal blog and the timely part and I want to say Easter for that yarn bin to be empty. Then I will use the bin to store my completed items. That seems like a plan and now it's in print for everyone to see.

After Christmas Sales

As strange as it may seem, by the time Christmas is over I am so done with shopping that I don't even want to look at another ad or go to a store. Then I start thinking about all the Christmas stuff that's on sale, especially at Target, where I've gone before. However the last couple of years I haven't even been interested in the Christmas stuff. I had to buy rolls of wrapping paper so I'm good with that and I picked up Christmas cards at Ollie's this fall so I'm stocked for next year. The only thing I've considered going shopping for this week is a new pair of winter boots for myself and maybe a few things at JoAnn's (I will try and resist this urge). I'm really itchin to start some new projects so maybe I'll do some research and gets some good ideas. Otherwise I think this week will be spent eating the leftover foods, nibbling at some goodies, finishing a couple things for the next leg of Christmas travels and getting myself prepped for the New Year.

Merry Christmas

Well, this is my first Christmas Day blog. It is nice to have the girls home overnight and they seemed to like their gifts. We found out that my younger daughter knew about the t-shirt quilt I was making so I hid that in the bedroom until we were all done with the other presents. I still wanted it to be a surprise. I think she liked it and I certainly enjoyed making it. I'm already thinking about what to make for next Christmas. In the oven I have a prime rib cooking and it is starting to smell really good. I'm keeping it simple beyond that but I am making a winter fruit salad that I saw in a magazine. We're used to the summer ones when everything is in season but tend to forget that there's fruit we can use now. Pineapples were .99 apiece at Aldi's so I put that and canned mandarin oranges, kiwi and maraschino cherries in the salad. It smells wonderful. My cookies and candy are going over pretty well - more than enough to constitute dessert - however I did take a key lime pie out of the freezer. We'll just be relaxing after dinner and taking in a movie. You'd be amazed at how many other people have the same idea. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Christmas Cookie Marathon

I just finished my annual Christmas cookie marathon which this time also includes candy. There were some new ones on the list this year that I hope are good. Also a suggestion from my husband about putting orange extract in the sugar cookies. It tastes pretty good but my attempt at saving some time and doing slice and bake sugar cookies didn't hit the mark in my opinion. My slice and bake always turn out misshapen. A new one called Coconut Tea Cookies turned out good and very delicate. I was a little disappointed in my truffles this year but I did make the orange for the first time. It hardened up a little too quick so the verdict is still out on those. I tried to continue my desire to use up some of my pantry stash with my cookies. The coconut is gone but I can't seem to get rid of that almond bark no matter how hard I try. I thought I'd give some to my daughter for her peanut butter balls, but by the time I asked her, she had already bought her own. I'm also trying to improve on things for next Christmas so my marathon doesn't need to take place 2 days before Christmas. Unfortunately, my freezer has been too full to store any cookies that were made ahead of time. I guess that's all something to work on for next year. Merry Christmas Eve!

Christmas Presents

There have been alot of articles in the paper lately about memories of Christmas's past so I'll share one of mine. I'm not sure how old I was or even if I still believed but one year I received a table and set of chairs for Christmas. It's always been a struggle for me and I'm sure the same was true for my mom, to keep everything a surprise until Christmas morning. That year it was my brother who found my gift in a little room off my parent's bedroom. This was an early edition of a walk-in closet, I'd say, and later on it would even become my brother's bedroom (but I digress). Anyway, when he found it, he shared his enthusiasm for his find with me. My parents overheard the conversation and quickly went upstairs and moved it. As my brother took me up to see it, it was no where to be found. Of course, I was very upset with him and thought he was just teasing me and being mean. He was dumbfounded! He was certain he had seen it. I can't remember the reaction on Christmas morning when it appeared again or if I got an "I told you so" from my brother. I think hiding presents has to be the hardest thing for a parent. Every time I thought I had a good spot, the kids would see something and I'd have to start all over again. Some years I would keep them in my trunk, but that didn't work well with the station wagon. A few years ago I decided enough is enough and as I bought the gifts I would put them under the tree. That met with much resistance from my older daughter who still wanted everything put out late Christmas Eve. I should have taken some advice from someone at work who said her daughter-in-law saved one big gift from Santa for Christmas morning and the rest were wrapped, put under the tree and were tagged from the parents. That would have saved me alot of hassle over the years.

The Christmas Re-gift

We've all done it so let's be honest. Usually it doesn't happen with good friends or family but there have been times when I'm getting gifts that I know are more of an obligation and sometimes I pass them on. I believe there are some rules involved like not giving it to someone who might know the original giver and having a quick come-back if asked where I got it, so we need to be careful. I've found myself, this year more than ever, trying to use up things and not necessarily re-gift. If I don't have any use for something and I know someone else might then it's re-gift time (plus a little candy). Of course, some gifts have too much meaning such as many of the gifts I got from preschool. I can never get rid of anything that is personalized even if it sits in my ornament box Christmas after Christmas. That's one thing I learned about gifts this year - if you put their name on it, they'll have it forever!

Recycling

There was an article in this morning's paper about a girl using magazines that were headed for the garbage to make Christmas ornaments. They were religious mags and both ornaments, last years and this, looked very nice. I try to recycle some of my Christmas stuff, much to the dismay of my husband. I would keep every box and bag during the year and try and reuse it again sometime. I think I've been fairly successful and haven't needed to buy boxes or bags at all this year. I also hate to throw away Christmas cards so the last couple years I've saved part of the front of cards that I like and don't have writing on the back. I even used one in the gift I gave the neighbors (a cute one that had 10 reasons to believe in Santa). Instead of keeping them in the card box, I think next year I'll put them right in with the wrapping paper and try to eliminate tags altogether. I remember one year at Christmas when I was teaching at the preschool I used old Christmas cards as postcards and sent them as thank you cards for gifts I received there. Of course, my problem has been the thrill at getting a bargain so when I shop the after-Christmas sales, I tend to overbuy the exact stuff I'm trying to recycle. What a vicious circle!

A Christmas Story

Yesterday we made a trip to Cleveland and visited the Christmas Story house in Tremont. The younger brother, Randy, was there to sign autographs. I had been to the gift shop before and it brings back many memories of the movie. Randy, if you remember, was the one who put on the snowsuit and when he fell couldn't get up. We missed the actual tour of the house since Randy was there but that was something my daughter could probably due on her own (she's been through it before and is very knowledgeable). It was fun to see different things from the movie such as a coat pole with hats on (especially the pink bunny ears), the half unwrapped BB gun in the corner, the notebook in the bathroom that had the words from the decoder ring, and of course the leg lamp at the living room window. It makes me want to watch the movie again. By the way, someone actually bought one of the leg lamps while we were waiting in line. It was really cold yesterday and the line was very long. I think the best time to go would be Christmas in July.

McKean Beer

Yea, you read that right, McKean Beer - that's where we went to dinner last night. We were both pleasantly surprised. We noticed a while back that when they renovated the place they put a small restaurant in the front. They seem to cater to the Sunday afternoon football crowd with coolers lining one wall with all different kinds of beer (I found my diet Dr.Pepper) , a big screen TV, and a list of Sunday specials. We were up for the challenge as there's no other place in town for a pizza anymore, that we like. and it had been snowing all day so we didn't want to venture too far from home. I was hungry for the pizza and we weren't disappointed. It was a tad pricey at least compared to Pizza Hut these days but we were the only customers so service was great. A couple things on the menu, which by the way includes sandwiches, salads, wings, appetizers and pizza), caught my eye. They have the zesty sauce as they call it (you'll remember Middleboro had their spicy choice) and bacon on the pizza is considered 2 items, hmmm. Maybe one for the meat and another fat??? Anyway we enjoyed it and have enough for lunch today. I guess these kind of places don't scare me anymore. We've had some really good food at dives and some really bad stuff at expensive ones. Sometimes I judge a dish by whether I recognize all the ingredients and if I don't it sends up a red flag. Hey I watch Top Chef so I'm familiar with food.

Sewing

I've been doing alot of sewing these past weeks (can't explain why for obvious reasons) and it got me thinking about my first project. It was in high school where we had to make a skirt and wear it to school, which was part of the test, I guess. The teacher got really mad at me because I cut my material the wrong way, bias maybe I don't remember, and made me feel awful. I was convinced that it would look hideous, based on what she said. Well, I made it (gathered, waistband with buttons down the front), wore it to school and I thought it looked pretty good. At least no one pointed at me and made fun of it, because no one could tell, except the teacher that I cut out my material wrong. The rest is history! That could have ended my sewing but I made most of my clothes in high school and college and then a few things thereafter. I manage to hold my own when it comes to sewing and even enjoy it when everything is working like it should. I have quite a stash of material that I've bought over the years for one thing or another but never got around to it. I'm finding now that alot of that will fit in to what I plan on sewing. Looking back on that sewing class I'm thinking what an awful teacher that was. She could have been so much more supportive like Tim Gund in Project Runway when he says "Make it work!" She would probably be appalled at some of the ways that I've made it work over the years.

22 year Journal

Here's another blog inspired by Dear Abby (sorry, but it speaks to me). A while back a mother wrote about a journal she's been keeping every day since her son was born and she asked Abby when to give it to her son. I was so touched by that and I thought who wouldn't want a record of your mom's life when she became a mom. To read that in my mother's own words, good or bad, would be priceless to me. From the sound of it, to me anyway, this was her only child, she still had a good relationship with him (he just had a child of his own), and it was more of her diary depicting her journey through motherhood. I was stunned that several people wrote in and said she was a control freak, narcissistic, and wanted to ruin his special time with his child. Did I miss something in the first letter? I realize we all react and interpret things differently but based on the information she gave, how do these other people come up with this. Maybe some of us want to see the up side of things, I don't know. Others had the same reaction as me, in fact, the historical aspect was even mentioned. I wish I had the time and patience to do something like that for my kids, even if it had not been about them but, like this blog, recording ideas, thoughts, or even Dear Abby columns. I'd be curious how my kids would react to it.

Christmas List

I vowed to write a blog and remember the people we've lost since last Christmas so here it is. My list is three short this year without Grandma, Aunt Rita and Aunt Annie. At this point I'm usually putting together those boxes of goodies for the aunts for my husband to drop of on one of his trips to the area. It seems strange not to wrap a box in paper, fill with an apple and orange (something we used to get at the party where my dad worked), some of my candy (I found a bag of it being eaten by Rita at a summer bingo game) and a special treat or craft that I thought they would enjoy. Once I made my cake in a jar and Rita and Annie both said they loved looking at it and showing everyone before they tried it. They were always impressed with what I sent down no matter how simple. It's especially strange to not have Grandma this year. I can't seem to pass a box of chocolate covered cherries without thinking how much she would love them. Last year at the nursing home we bought her a bunch of her favorite candies. Of course, I love when she says she's never had it before and how good it is! Last year we missed Christmas Eve at her place (which will be someone else's place this year) but still had a nice visit at the nursing home . This year will be especially hard without her. Maybe it will be time to break out the home movies as a new tradition.

Homemade Christmas Cards

Well, I am astounded by what I just read in Dear Abby this morning. Someone wrote in about making homemade Christmas cards with her niece every year but this year she received a small check from someone saying she should buy the cards and here's money. I guess I chose my words carefully because I'm not shocked or surprised by this reaction. There are others who don't appreciate the homemade items but I do. When my daughter-in-law started doing scrapbooking, I saved every one of those cards she sent . I couldn't bear the thought of throwing something away that I knew took time not just money to make and send. I still have the homemade thank you card from Audrey on the fridge. I remember when I made a bunch of cards (all occasion not Christmas) with some poster paper cut into folded card size and paper napkins. I got the idea from Carol Duvall and I received many complements. All you do is put plastic wrap on the card then the top layer of napkin and iron them together. I've always wanted to make my own Christmas cards but didn't want to devote the time to it. That's why I commend this aunt for spending that kind of time , having that kind of patience and creating that tradition with her niece. I also think it would be amazing to see that child and her artwork evolve over the years. I feel sorry for the recipient because if she saved all those cards and that little girl grew up to be famous (who knows) then she would have something that would be worth a bundle or be priceless, whichever way you choose to look at it.

Christmas cookies

Here's another Christmas tradition that I think we all love and that's making cookies. My mom had a few favorites that she only made at Christmas. One was her Hungarian nut rolls with the cream cheese dough and another were called Ones, which were deep fried dough strips dusted with powdered sugar. Both are simple to make but my family has never been interested in either. My husband doesn't care for the cream cheese and the kids don't like nuts. I've never made the Ones because of deep frying, despite being unhealthy (I know we're talking Christmas cookies) but I thought it was too much trouble. It seems no matter what I make, I'm the one eating most of them in the end! Anyway, I already made a batch while we were at the cabin the last time and gave some as gifts. It was a recipe I found in the paper that week and since it was the only one I had all the ingredients for, that's what I made. They were peanut butter sandwich cookies and they were good. It was a simple recipe with lots of pb and a filling with more pb and pb chips, which I had just bought at Ollies. I made three different versions of them as I thought the sandwiches were a little too big. So I did some single cookies drizzled with chocolate and others dipped half-way in chocolate. I should have given them all away because I ended up eating the rest once we got home. So that's kind of my plan for this year's cookie making (no, not the eating part) that I'll make some different ones that I've found in the paper in addition to some old stand-bys. I'll let you know what seems to be the hits.

Wrapping Paper Rolls

Well, I did my shopping yesterday but still no wrapping paper sheets like I wanted. I ended up getting three bigger rolls to use but when I came home, my husband asked me why I wanted the sheets. So I had to think about that for awhile - I mean, I didn't want to seem like I was a little OCD about it with no good reason! As soon as I brought them in I knew why - they wouldn't fit in either of my storage bins for wrapping. I have an upright but that is tooo short. I have an under the bed bin but that was tooo shallow. Now I need one that is juuust right but that's not happening anytime soon. I doubt if I will finish any of these rolls before Christmas as I like different paper under the tree. One year I tried wrapping everything in red - it just wasn't the same. I've also been trying to use up all those bags that I keep recycling - somehow they keep coming back. I really like the set of boxes I bought one year at Wal-Mart that included small and large one piece boxes in different shapes. They are decorated on the outside so all I needed to do was put some ribbon around and it was perfect. Those were no where to be found this year. Also what happened to plain old curling ribbon? The ribbon they're selling now also has some metallic stuff in there that is nice, but does it curl? Who knows - the package doesn't say! Just when you think you have the whole wrapping thing licked, they up and change it.

Three things - Dec. 10

OK, another three things I'm lovin today.

1. The roads seem to be pretty clear out there today so I'm heading out to do some shopping. I'm down to my last remnants of wrapping paper anyway. One thing I'm not thrilled about is having to buy rolls of paper. The last time I was at Wal-Mart in Clearfield, they said they weren't getting the flat sheets. I'll try here.
2. I love doing my hardtack in the microwave. I think even my mom would have gotten used to this. Before I would devote a good part of the day to my candy and now it's so much easier and quicker. Also the more I do it the better it turns out. Yea!
3. I picked something up at Pat Catan's when I was in Cleveland and just yesterday got it out to use it - magnetic wreath hooks! Wow, are these things strong!! We need something like this to use at the cabin for our calendar. Just hope I can find them here somewhere. They are similar to the ones sold on QVC for metal doors or single pane glass doors (use both for glass).

There they are - as you can see I'm thankful for small favors.

Christmas Trees

Well, I got my tree up yesterday. I started thinking about trees through the years. It's one thing we've always had ever since I can remember - putting up a tree at Christmas. Even when I was in the hospital for about 3 weeks and came home Christmas Eve, there was a tree. I can't remember how it got up or who decorated it but I do remember wrapping presents and putting them underneath it. I remember heading out to buy a tree and even when my husband and son would go out and cut down our tree. Then there was the time our decorated tree fell down - my husband was out of town and I asked a girl across the street to babysit for awhile, that night it happened! When we made the move to an artificial tree, it affected us all differently. Some took it harder than others, but me, I was empowered. Being able to put up a tree whenever I wanted and not having to string lights on it changed my life. The year I had my accident the tree also went up even though it only had a few ornaments on it. Last year some of the lights didn't work on the tree and thoughts raced through my head that it could be the last year for it, but this year everything works fine. Go figure! When I was young we always had a real tree and I remember my father trimming the bottom and fitting it in this old metal tree stand with wedges of wood. One year while trying to straighten it out he cracked the top third of the tree - that was the best tree we ever had, we all said. I still have some of the Christmas ornaments from then - the balls. I still prefer putting up all my ornaments that have meaning for me whether it was something the kids made, something given to me or just something I found and bought for myself. Putting up a tree will always have those memories for me.

New Weight Watchers

This topic has come up several times in other blogs I read and today in the food section of the paper so I thought I'd give my view. I quit going to WW awhile ago and not because of it but me. I failed and I know it. It's a great program with many success stories but I couldn't stick with it. Anyway, I've had conversations at work about WW versus Atkins or at the time a modified Curves diet. The discussion was about the carbs and my point was that even though WW didn't talk about the carbs, they were still factored in with the calories since they go hand in hand. The Curves diet recommended whole wheat carbs so they weren't cut out completely. I hear now that WW has remodeled the point system and includes protein in the mix. Good move! I've said this for awhile now, ever since I heard that NutriSystem adjusts its meals in protein depending on your age. They say older adults need more protein hence their food has more. That makes a lot of sense to me since I've been doing weights. You need that protein to help build muscle and then boost your metabolism. I think that's why us older people have so much trouble losing the weight. I'm not sure how others feel about the new calculations as I've heard it adds more points to different foods. I think some people need more structure in their diets and the fact that WW said you could eat basically anything you want (short of fruits, veggies, dairy, oils and water) as long it fell into the point category, gave some of us too much leeway. I do like the fact that all fruits are free!

Erie Weather

Just another typical winter day in Erie County. We made it back on Sunday, just in time! We debated whether to head back then or wait as we heard things were happening in the Erie area that were not good for traveling. My husband checked the internet on his phone (we've managed to access the internet for a few things) for the weather and found more snow was headed for the region so Sunday seemed to be our window of opportunity. As expected, once we hit Edinboro the world changed. Since then we've continued to get dumped on with snow and schools in the district have been closed for 2 days. That in itself is surprising since we've been used to snow and after the initial shock, things usually move according to plan. Just to let everyone know this was the right choice to head back when we did - the weather forecast for the cabin was more snow this week. One thing we noticed and were kind of tickled about was that we finally went someplace that had a better weather forecast than at home. At least at the cabin it might be bad right there but once you head out into the real world, it dramatically improves. At least we don't need to go anywhere special - just stay put until it warms up a bit.

Christmas Letter

Dear Abby just had a write-up in her column about these letters and she, more than this time, has said they are tacky and shouldn't be used. Well, Abby, let's give the other side their time. I used to feel like that and I would write a handwritten note on each Christmas card. I started sometime in Nov. and finished up, sometimes, in time for them to reach everyone by Christmas. At least I'm continuing the custom of writing cards! I finally succumbed to the notorious "letter" because I wanted to keep people informed as to what was going on in our family since this might be the only time I keep in contact with most of these people. I found I was saying the same things to each of them anyway. I try and keep it short and to the point without puffing myself up - it was easy cause there was never much to say! Personally I've always enjoyed hearing from others too, as long as they didn't ramble or exaggerate. I used to get a four page letter from a cousin who was quite a name-dropper and if I had been one of the names it would have been much easier to take. What was even more surprising was that she was Jewish! Anyway, I'll continue with my letters and I might even write to Abby and let her hear from the other side, unless she reads my blog.

Hits and Misses of Thanksgiving Dinner

I just watched a "Hits and Misses of Holiday Decorating" on HGTV so I thought I'd do one for my dinner. The hit I thought was my cranberry salsa. Melissa D on Food Network did this a couple weeks ago and I wanted to try it. Cranberry sauce is one thing that never gets used up, as much as I try. My husband is really the only one eating it that day and it just sits in the fridge until I throw it out. I just used a little of it to try but it's with regular cooked sauce that you add whatever you would normally put into salsa. Of course I didn't have the jalapeno but I did have some chipotle cubes that I used. Mine ended up pretty spicy so next time one would be sufficient. I also added onions, cilantro and lime juice - it was tasty and a good way to get more of those cranberries into your system. So that was the hit (IMHO) and the miss was probably the gravy. All I can think of was that the broth from the turkey was not that strong because it was bland and not very appetizing. I must have had a premonition at the grocery store when I stocked up on the jar gravy on sale. So there you have it everyone - my list of hits and misses. Live and learn - wooo, I think I feel another blog about 3 words coming on.

Snow mode and shopping

Well, we're officially in snow mode now with our couple inches overnight. The roads are fine so I don't see it as much of a problem but it has begun. This is where things can get harry. My tires are not on and I'm covering alot of roadway this week. Who knows what this week will look like at the cabin. Traditionally we don't get a huge amount of snow there but it's usually colder so the roads freeze fast and stay frozen. I have complete confidence in my Subaru and driving skills so I'll be fine. This snow mode definitely has an adverse effect on holiday shopping though. I surprised myself yesterday by actually hitting regular retail stores for Black Friday. After our trip to Volant, we decided to stop at Grove City Outlets to check out a couple things. I was pleasantly surprised at the sales and ease of shopping there, except for the parking which even on a good day can be challenging. I finished up some shopping for clothes for the upcoming holiday picture with the kids and bought a couple of other things, all at 50% off plus extra! The stores were not crowded and the lines were nonexistent in most places - can't beat that! I still have more to go but as long as the lake effect snow holds out, I'll be great.

Don't touch my junk!

Yea, you read that right! "Don't touch my junk" is all we seem to hear on tv about the airport security issue. If we listen to the media, there's going to be huge delays because everyone will be fighting over this issue. In reality, the media is probably the only one that is worked up about this. Travelers just want to go home and enjoy Thanksgiving with their families. Why do they do this? They grasp at any little straw and tear it to shreds, most of the info being false. Remember the Chandra Levi case where they were hell bent on blaming it on the Congressman. And I've really had enough of Mel Gibson and Charlie Sheen! There's gotta be some real news out there somewhere. It seems like everything is so exaggerated anymore, even the weather and how long the lines will be on Black Friday. And thank goodness Dancing with the Stars is over and give Bristol a break - she's a single mom living in Alaska!

Caffeine

I can't think of much else that is more of a morning ritual for me than coffee. It wouldn't be the same without a cup to read the morning paper with, sit at the computer and write my blog or just watch the morning news. It didn't used to be that way. I didn't start drinking coffee until I was pregnant with my oldest daughter and then I was hooked. I try and keep it to 2 cups, maybe 3 if I have the time and company. My daughter-in-law was right when she said it's such a social drink. Whether or not my company drinks coffee has been one of the first questions of the morning at the cabin. The second comment is concerning the creamer, which to me is probably more important. We also just had a conversation about different morning drinks this past week. With coffee prices having their ups and downs over the years, my husband has had to vary this morning ritual a bit (this was before I started my habit). He started drinking Post um for awhile which is chicory. It's supposed to taste like coffee but that didn't last too long. Sometimes we would buy coffee with added chicory which was a special treat. Now they are saying that coffee, in moderation, is really good for you especially with the antioxidants. So I'll keep my habit going for now with no plans for any changes in my routine. If the sleep issue develops into a problem I'll take little Audrey's stance and just go for the decaf!

Bullying

There's been alot said in the news about bullying lately and I thought I've give my take on it. By the way, this is something that's been around a long time and we've all had to deal with it, ourselves or with our kids. I think it's been primarily a girl thing or mean girl, as we now prefer to call them and they prey on others who they perceive as weak. When my kids came to me with concerns like this, first of all I thought it was important that they learn to handle it themselves. When I worked at preschool and kids would come to me with a bullying issue, I would always try to get them to stand up to this person and fight , not literally, their own battles. Bullies seem to feed off this weakness, hence not everyone is bullied. I know there have been cases of kids committing suicide after bullying but, not to minimize the effect of it, I'm not convinced that the sole reason for it was the bullying. I think that child has deeper issues that needed to be addressed. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm rallying for the bully because I'm not. I believe the solution lies in an all out campaign to stop bullying, which I think has already begun in the media, and which we have done with drugs and smoking. That's not to say we will succeed but talking about it, especially in the schools is the first step. Bullying is something that you never get over due, in part, to the fact that there's no good reason for it. It shouldn't be confused with standing up for yourself with others or reacting to something that's been said about you. Even at my age, all it takes is a little dig of sorts and it sends me right back to me in my 20's and having some play money crumbled up and thrown at me during a monopoly game. Sounds petty, I know, but that feeling inside me will linger forever.

Christmas Shopping

Everyone seems to be asking if we've begun our shopping or maybe even finished it. I guess no matter what my circumstances are I tend to follow my same schedule for this time of year. I try and have gifts for a small group of family members done by the middle of Nov., just in time for a birthday party that happens then. That's the first stage and there is a sense of relief when that happens. The next stage is putting together any packages that need to be mailed and I try and have that done close to Thanksgiving. At that point things get kind of tight and weather permitting, I take off to the stores to focus on the last round. I decided a long time ago - probably when I worked at the mall, to delay my shopping until Tues., Wed., and Thurs. only. Weekends, Mon., and Fri. have always been too busy for me. I understand there are good sales going on but it's just not worth it to me. Avoiding traffic has been a major reason for me doing more online shopping the past few years, along with notices that an item is not available in the stores. I just have to remember to give myself even time for delivery, which I think will be fine. I've also started making gifts or should I say finishing some. I'm also planning a trip to Goodwill to hopefully give someone else a chance to pick up something for someone else at a reasonable price. So I'm officially in shopping mode as long as our weather holds up.

Beaded ornament hanger craft

I am very pleased with this holiday craft/gift idea that I've been making. It has all the necessary requirements of a holiday craft idea, which are

1. the supplies are readily available to me
2. it is easy to do
3. it is quick to assemble
4. lastly, and probably most important, it looks good. My husband even bestowed the best compliment on me when he said they looked professional. Wow!

They are a 4 inch piece of wire, a couple crimp beads and a few other beads. One end is a simple loop and then after the crimp bead, feed the beads on the wire. You finish it off with another crimp bead and coil the rest of the wire to put on your ornament. That's it! I've been making up a bunch of these and bagging them in groups of three. I think they would be perfect for a craft show and I've never seen them before. This was one of those patterns I've had stashed away forever and finally got out. I wish I could say the same for the beaded spiral Christmas tree. Despite high hopes for that craft, I'm afraid it will go in the trash bin. It meets none of my criteria. Oh well, now I know.

Conversation at McDonald's

Over the weekend I witnessed a disturbing conversation between two young people (boy and girl) in the booth beside us at McDonald's. The couple, or I should say the boy was saying he was upset because he couldn't spend time with his friends and she was evidently upset about something from the day before and therefore giving him the silent treatment. I kept hearing him say the same thing over and over that he was not allowed to do what he wanted, even though he let her do things with her friends. I just wanted to go over and slap him across the side of the head but maybe not for the reasons you might think. I would have tried telling them both 3 things:

1. You have to communicate with each other because none of us can read minds. It only makes for more confusion when you try and guess what's on someone else's mind. Men and women think differently so it's best if you take something at face value and not read more into it.
2. No one can make you do or not do anything you don't want to. If we do something it's because we decide to do it for whatever reasons. We need to be accountable for our actions and not blame others.
3. We are ultimately responsible for our own happiness. We can't depend on anyone else to find it for us. Having a little time to ourselves let's us explore our options.

Of course, I was chicken to approach either of them mainly because I didn't know what their reaction would be. I guess they'll just have to figure it out for themselves especially if they aren't reading my blog. Maybe I should have left my card!

Microwave Hardtack

A major milestone in the hardtack making endeavor happened this weekend. I finally conquered the microwave! This has been no minor obstacle and has been over a year in the making. Last year I found a recipe for microwave hardtack and tried making it. I've always made the candy the way my mother did - on a gas stove with a candy thermometer and cutting it with a pair of scissors and rubber glove. I've experimented with other things but always came back to the same routine. This process is time-consuming to say the least with a batch taking about 30 min., that's as long as I don't burn it. Equipment is critical for my candy making, also. The pan must be no bigger than 2 quart (1 is better), heavy or copper bottom (for heat distribution) and have a straight side (for proper placement of the thermometer). I've been using my candy thermometer for as long as I can remember and my gloves have to be tight enough to pull the candy out and cut it. My first attempt at microwave candy was a disaster with it boiling over and burning. I was also trying some candy molds for the first time. I found that the mold would not hold my batch of candy. The second attempt was better but it still burned. The third attempt worked, did not burn, filled 2 molds and hardened like it was supposed to. The only change I will make is to put more candy oil in the microwave batch. I can now make a batch of candy in less than 10 minutes! I think my mother would be proud.

Coming Full Circle

My latest craft project is a hemp necklace with beads and it brings back memories of my macrame days. Macrame- a fancy name for knots- has been around a long, long time and most of us, at least girls anyway, have done it at some point. In Girl Scouts we made our friendship bracelets, the 70's were full of knotted wall hangings of which I had numerous instruction books (since sold or gone to Goodwill), and then there were the hanging planters made with jute. I am reminded of the shelves my sister-in-law made and showed me how to do. I made my own version of them where I included beads and a hanging planter on the bottom. I must have involved my mother in it, too, because I was working on them while I was visiting one time. I couldn't remember how to do the big knot at the top right below the loop when my dad stepped in and showed us how to do it. I was amazed! It was something he learned in the Navy. Here, I thought we were into a unique and inventive craft and my dad knew more about it than me. Those shelves hung in my living room a long time and it nearly killed me to finally take them down and get rid of them, but I did. My kids might remember them but I know I have pictures. Now with this necklace, it's nice to take an old time craft and bring it up to date - I guess, coming full circle.

Being Sick

I've spent most of this week feeling under the weather. This isn't anything new to me at my age but I've been trying to reduce how often I get sick with multivitamins, vitamin D, exercise, etc. so it kind of threw me this week. For some reason, I have this desire to pinpoint the source of the contamination, which I think was last weekend, either the bar on Fri. or the game on Sat. My husband came down with basically the same thing so I'm certain it's one of those. Of course, our ailments take different courses. Mine has always settled in my chest and can also lead to loss of voice. This sounds worse than it is especially with the cough but usually there is little pain. This time I'm achy with a slight headache. We were scheduled for our flu shots today but had to be canceled. I remember while teaching preschool the first year I contracted "something" every month with a few days coming on, a couple weeks in full blown stage and then another week trying to get over it. Once I told the doctor about it and she said wait until summer and if you still get sick it's probably allergies. Well, I was fine all summer so it was just picking things up from the kids. Since then I think I've built up that resistance to most colds and such because I've been pretty healthy. I thought this morning what my routine would be like if I were still working. I probably would have gone into work and started feeling better. For that reason, I'm trying to stay busy at home and even forcing myself to exercise (I just read in a fitness newsletter that it really helps when you're sick). So that's my plan but it sure is nice to know that if I start getting too tired I can curl up on the couch with my afghan and chill out for awhile.

Traditions

That word, tradition, keeps popping up. We tend to use it to give ourselves an excuse for doing things that we enjoy. It's almost like an insult to the family if we don't abide by these traditions. My kids probably use it more than I do or maybe without realizing it, I've been saying it all along. This past weekend I was talking about serving Polish kielbasa for all of our holiday meals because that's what Grandma always did. My hardtack candy is a tradition started by my mother to make at Christmas. Now, just this past Monday, my youngest daughter and I began a new, or so she thinks, is a new tradition - going to Pat Catan's when I'm in Cleveland. Really though, this tradition started with my mom way back when we lived in Cleveland. My parents would visit us and she and I would go to the Southland Shopping Center and go to Lee Wards. The names have been changed but the idea is still there - craft store tradition! If my mom were here she would be in her glory and certainly embrace the whole tradition idea.

It's great to be old!

It really is great to be old! Of course, that means all things considered such as mobility, mental status, etc. but it has it's advantages. I've been noticing stuff lately in normal social situations where I seem to be given preferential treatment. I guess some of it can be attributed to looking fairly well off - definitely not rich but not in rags and pushing a shopping cart. I have doors opened for me and usually a pleasant smile when I thank them or even if I open the door for someone else. I think also the expectations of someone older is a factor so if I can't remember something or am a little slower or more confused about something, it's met with a slightly kinder demeanor, which I appreciate and don't look at as a put down. Basically what I'm saying is that I can get away with murder (almost) and not be criticized for it. I can be tolerated without being strung up for it. And then of course if I manage to do something that is out of character or not what's expected then I am lauded for my actions - it's a win-win situation. How great is that!

Fitting In

This weekend was a lesson in fitting in and being someone who could have a good time no matter what the conditions are. We were invited to a football game so we reciprocated with an invitation to our cabin and some food and entertainment ideas. One of our guest was a renowned flute player and lover of music so my husband suggested we go to one of our dive bars for a talent show they were hosting. I cringed when he told me his idea and hoped for the best. It turned out our guest was able to turn a pig's ear into a silk purse. It was an acoustic talent show and most of them sang and played a guitar but the highlight was the girl who played the fiddle and took the state championship this year. She is fantastic, this time and the other time we saw her. But what amazed me was the ability of our guests to find something fascinating with the entertainment we had chosen. I've known only a few other people who could talk to others about anything even when they were totally out of their element. So when it came time for the game I decided to suck it up and enjoy it, and I did. Maybe I wasn't as enthusiastic as the rest of the crowd but I watched and followed along fairly well. This wasn't the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last time I'm put in a position of being out of my element and I hope I step up to the plate just as our guests did this weekend.

Simple Pleasures

This morning on GMA there was a girl who wrote a book on life's simple pleasures that we've gotten away from with all the technology, etc. I started listening into the conversation a bit but I did hear her talk about driving gloves, black velvet chokers and calling cards. When she talked about the cards, I realized that's what my cards are! Her point with this was that it was strictly a social thing that said you want to be their friend, here's my personal info, and I'm letting you into my life. I guess that's what I'm saying with my card. Robin Roberts spoke up and mentioned that growing up they always ate dinner by candlelight. Hmmmm! I'm sure my son's ears will perk up at that one. But now I have someone else who thinks it's a nice idea.

Bugs

I thought since I was able to do my gardening yesterday and spend time outside that it was probably time to talk about bugs and especially a story about Audrey. One evening while I was reading her a bedtime story, a bug crawled from behind the board book and sat on top of it, just staring down at us. It was almost as if it wanted to listen to the story, too. When I saw it my first thought was how she would react to it . I'm pretty calm about bugs, not at all like some of my co-workers who screamed when they were around spiders. I've tried to see the value and purpose in most bugs but I do draw the line at ants in my kitchen. I don't mind if they have their space outside but my kitchen is off limits. Anyway, getting back to my story, Audrey and I just sat there very quiet and watched the bug for a few seconds. She was perfectly calm and very soft-spoken so as not to scare the bug and she said "Don't squash it!" So we carefully got off the chair and holding the book as still as I could, made our way downstairs to flick it outside. Life was preserved - at least this time. Hopefully she'll be older when she needs to deal with where her meat for dinner comes. I thought about her while doing my yard work when I saw a woolybear. I had forgotten how to tell from them what kind of a winter it's supposed to be but I didn't squash it, just swept it away, gently. I know I'll have to answer to Audrey.

Rocky and Glee

I was a little under impressed with Glee last night. I love the music and all but it seems like they are moving further and further away from any sort of plot lately. My daughter mentioned that it was too much singing and no plot to which I disagreed at the time. Usually there is a plot and the songs relate to it but last night was more an opportunity to put out an album than anything else and I wasn't liking what they were singing. In this case I would prefer the original Rocky Horror Show. What I did like was seeing Barry Bostwick and Meatloaf make guest appearances! At first I wasn't sure who the guy with Barry was but he sure looked familiar, then it hit me. At the end of the show my ears perked up when I saw they are putting out a Christmas cd and I already know that they sing "Last Christmas" . It'll be interesting to see the Office show that relates to Glee.

Slip-Slidin

That's kind of how I feel today - I'm slippin and slidin and not really getting anywhere. It's like the game we used to play at girl scout camp around the fire - fortunately/unfortunately. Fortunately, it was a nice warm day but unfortunately, it was raining, hence, no work done outside here only some leaf raking at Grandma's. Fortunately, I had time to do some jewelry and I had some good ideas, unfortunately, nothing seemed to work out due to wrong materials and no specific pattern. Fortunately, I didn't have to cook yesterday but unfortunately, there's still too much cake staring me in the face everyday. Fortunately I was able to have a good workout with my weights but unfortunately, despite scaling down the weights a bit, I'm still sore today because it's been a week since I exercised. Fortunately I'm getting plenty of sleep but unfortunately I feel sluggish and it really cuts into my day and after exercise, computer time, etc. I don't start my day until almost lunch (I'm exaggerating but it's still later than it should be). I guess it's not that I'm not accomplishing anything but it's like I'm taking 2 steps forward and 1 step back. I'm wondering where that optimistic person is inside of me - she might be buried under too much marble cake!

Indian Summer

Well, I think we're finally getting our Indian Summer. We can only have one if we've already had a frost which we have had. It's about time for some nice weather! Of course that means this week will be spent outside doing some long overdue yard work. I had plans in Aug. to do the weeding, etc. while I was home alone but that didn't happen. It was a little too warm and besides I had cleaning I wanted to do. This week will be perfect for it. The garden will need to be cleaned out by pulling all the plants, putting away the tomato cages and filling it with leaves, if my husband decides that's what he wants this year. Leaves will still need to be picked up in the yard though, no matter what he decides. We bought a new leaf vacuum which I'm excited to try. We used the other one until it's demise last year (good investment). This one has some different features such as a metal blade that should grind them up better, otherwise they won't decompose as well in the garden. I also want to dig up those coneflowers, repot them and have them ready to give out to all that wanted some. They really are pretty, easy to grow and very prolific. I started with 2 small plants and now they have taken over the bed in front and even traveled to another one. I like them but that's all I can see ! They say you can plant in any month that has an R in it as long as the ground isn't frozen. I'm afraid around here that doesn't leave many. I still think May and June here would work fine. Anyway, that's my plan for this week - getting some fresh air and getting some much needed workouts.

Out there

I realized something this morning that kind of sent me into a tizzy for a few minutes - my blog is listed in goerie.com! When I created it back in July, I put the info in to have it posted on the page but I never saw it until today. I didn't know what to expect of this blog thing when I started but I soon decided, after looking at others, that this was something I wanted to do for myself and for my own peace of mind. I wasn't going to be concerned with whether I had comments or not. I did this for myself, not who or what was impacted by my blog. It was interesting to check how many hits I had gotten with certain blogs, but I realized that the Ebay one was a fluke. I guess as I got going on it, it became a medium for me to relate some of my childhood memories to pass on to my kids and grand kids. The people that read this are mostly family and friends that are kind and non judgemental so I have felt pretty safe. I steer clear of any conflicts or issues that I may have to answer to in the future and I like it like that. This is supposed to be a stress reliever not promoter. I fell at this point that I need to pump it up a bit maybe with some pictures. The mobile blog is not working like I expected so for now I'll focus on my home computer. There are alot of blogs out there that are just like mine - people's varied interests on display for no other reason but because they can! Thanks to all of my readers!

Wooden Doll Necklaces

This was an excellent craft weekend for me. For years I've been saving craft projects that I've torn out of magazines in hopes of someday having the time to make them. Long before I had a granddaughter, I tore out instructions to make a little girl's necklace out of wooden beads. It proves to be much easier than I thought and except for the doll's head, I had everything I needed. It gave me a chance to use some creativity in incorporating what I had available in the necklace. I made four of them and I think they really came out nice. Once again, my only concern is that they stay together! Despite using a bunch of wooden beads, I still have alot left. As I dig through more of those papers, I'm sure I'll find more projects to use some beads with, such as ornament holders and spiral Christmas trees. Here are 3 things I learned by making these necklaces:

1. Always check that the small bead I'm using to separate beads is larger than the hole in the larger bead. If it isn't, it slips right through and can't be seen.
2. Practice bead placement first to get a nice arrangement and use your beads efficiently.
3. Always count how many beads you will need to finish the necklace. This helps with #2 also in that you'll see which ones you have enough of for the project.

Family Affair

Today in the paper it was reported that many of our politicians are actually related, in a distant way. It caught my eye enough to read the whole article, especially when Obama, Palin and Bush were descendants from the same people. Of course, let's put things in perspective - fundamentally we are all related, but beyond that, if these people have had ancestors here, in this country for almost 200 years, then it only goes to reason that they had to be related. It amazes me since my grandparents, on both sides, were the first to come ashore. The same goes for my husband's side. That pretty much makes us newcomers! So, way back, if there was any inter family marriage it might have come from some of the people we know and well, let's just say know. I mean, most of the people coming over on the Mayflower were probably related, too. Wouldn't you try and bring along alot of family? It just makes you wonder!

SMART goals

This is a topic I've had on my list for awhile and thought it was appropriate to post now. My son told me about these goals when he was in college and I've already asked him several times to repeat them so this time I looked them up myself.
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
I've realized lately that I am a very goal-oriented person, even in retirement mode. I can visually look ahead with the calendar in mind and plan my days. Without that, I'm lost. I can still be flexible but I need some kind of plan in mind. These goal attributes help to compose goals in a way that is easier to achieve, instead of some that are too vague. Heaven knows I've always had goals but without that Timely in there, I'm still working on them. So, here's to the SMART goals and hope they get me through!

(Re: New phone)Trying something different - mobile blogging. This will give me access to my blog wherever i am.im really exited to send a picture. Wish me luck.

More sleep

I've been seeing several articles about getting more sleep lately. They all say that more sleep promotes certain chemicals which can affect weight loss. I'm not sure that's happening since I don't get on the scale. My feeling about this is that I'm doing what I can and if I'm not losing weight then it isn't meant to be. I'm sure the extra sleep is helping my body recover from the strength training. I'm finally edging up to my 10# so it's getting harder. I feel pretty good with my schedule now and I seem to be getting up between 6 and 7 which seems about right. Now that the rain seems to have subsided for awhile, maybe some fresh air will be in the mix. I'm certainly not going at warp speed around here but I'm trying to stay busy. We're in a very relaxed mode around here, to say the least. It feels good!
P.S. My spelling is getting better, too. The last couple posts have not produced any misspellings on the spell checker!

Scouting

So, when did scouting get to be so expensive? I just received a request to buy some nuts and popcorn from a family member and normally I would buy to give my support but the options were a tad outrageous. Even in girl scouts when we sold nuts, most of it was under $10 and our biggest fund raiser, cookies, were $3.50. These prices started at $25 and went up. And we seemed to get all the criticism about how much went to the local scouts. This one showed that almost 3/4 of it went to local scouting, which is great but why overinflate the price just to make a local profit. I'm usually pretty good about buying from kids even if it's something I really don't want or need. I appreciated when people bought from my kids, even if it was something little. But give me a choice here! I feel bad but I'll have to pass on this one, maybe next time. Get used to hearing those words, everyone, we're on a fixed income now.

Old Cookbooks

Boy, it doesn't take me long to come up with a blog idea when I start looking through cookbooks. I have a recipe for Chicken Pot Pie Soup and I saw another recipe for rivels (kind of like mini-dumplings) that I thought would go good with it. I looked online and found it was a German/Amish recipe so I got out my Amish cookbook. There, right inside the front cover was the name A. Markievich which was in my son's handwriting. I wondered for a minute why he would have written in my cookbook, especially back then, when he thought more about eating than cooking. Then I remembered - when he was in middle school and taking a class on PA history, I made a bunch of funnel cakes and took into his class. I recall that I had everything planned according to what time I was supposed to bring them in on one of my days off from preschool, when I got the phone call that they were ready sooner. I scrambled, finished them up, put my daughter in the car and delivered them to his class. He must have taken the cookbook into his class, therefore the name inside. I used the recipe again when I was a grad assistant when we also studied PA and it was a big success. Unfortunately, those were in my deep frying days which are long gone. Now if I get a funnel cake it's at a fair and few and far between. It does make for some delicious memories though.

Apple Orchard

My son took us to an apple orchard over the weekend that we didn't know anything about. We noticed as we were shopping later that the Musselmann product were from there just as my son told us. We're really missing our apples this year with the frost we had wiping them all out. Hopefully next year will be better. It made me think how lucky we have been, thanks to my husband and his foresight, to have our own apple orchard in the back yard. We've been able to experience growing our own fruit and everything associated with it. At times it hasn't been easy for my husband - especially when he needed to prune them and fell later. We've had some of the best apples around due to his pruning and spraying. Sometimes I was overwhelmed by the picking, baking, preserving and canning part of it but I've learned more about apples over the years than I ever imagined. Of course, the best part was making our cider. I've taken some to school for the kids to share with their class and even co-workers, who raved about it. Not much in the stores compares to our home made cider especially since the scare that made pasteurizing all too necessary for commercial users. I tried that one year but it took too much flavor out and left us with apple juice, which, if you know your cider is completely different. I want one more year to harvest our apples and share this with the grandkids then we can pass it on to some other lucky family.

Workouts

This week has shown a breakthrough in my workouts, at least how I feel after I do them. I've increased my workout time to one hour and have taken my time building up my weights. I'm still not doing what I was doing before but I'm very careful about that. I've had too much experience with pain once I've first started a strength program. I am faithful to the twice weekly weight workout that I do and so far it's worked. As far as cardio, my walking workout is about 50 min. and then my stretch , which comes to about an hour. That's been getting easier for me but I still feel like it's a good workout. In my attempt to vary my sessions, I started doing the Women's Health Perfect Body DVD. The only cardio on that is a 20 (approx.) min session so I supplement it with the Core and More part and then the stretch. It had been a week since I did the core part, which is very good, by the way, and has left me doubled over and in pain the first four times. This week was different - I knew what was coming, did it and completed it with no pain - until that evening when my whole torso hurt, alot like when I had my gall bladder attack. I was fine the next morning but it put a little scare in me. It's definitely a good one! My problem now is that there are very few if any one hour cardio workouts out there for me. Most DVDs divide up the workout into cardio, strength and flexibility and it leaves me hanging. I will have to find a workout with several cardio sessions that I can combine to get a sufficient workout. It's not an easy thing to find.

Three things I'm loving today

Well, I'm going to try this again and hopefully get the hang of it. Here's three things I'm loving today.

1. I'm really enjoying my craft room - someplace I can sneak into and work on my jewelry but not have to put it all away each time. I finally got that room under control, thanks in big part to Aunt Rita's bins and containers. I know I'll have to do more sorting later but for now it works. My light needs some help but I'll work on that, too.
2. I'm lovin all the new shows on TV. I've mentioned this before about them giving me alot of material for my blog and besides that, I just enjoy watching them. There's almost too many of them to watch so I might have to do some in mid-season but for now I'm squeezing in as many as I can.
3. There's only 3 months until Christmas! Some people might not get too excited about the thought of presents right now but it's giving me alot of reasons to craft. I was just thinking the other day about making my candy and other recipes I've wanted to make but didn't have the time. My head is spinning with ideas!

Well, there they are and I think I have that mastered. Unfortunately as I was writing I also thought about some cons to each of those so that might be another blog. Maybe I should do a heads and tails sort of blog so it's not too much of a downer.

So Emotional

Yes, I'm back into my TV shows which will make for, hopefully, more interesting blog reads. Last night was Thintervention, which has been on for awhile but I realized something last night. These shows are sooooo emotional! It started with the Biggest Loser, especially with the girl who lost her husband and kids in a car accident, and every week she rehashed all the details. It's not that I'm not sympathetic but, really, every week, the same story. And of course, it got to me and I was in tears. That can be draining week after week! They seem to think that we're not overweight unless we have some emotional scar that we need to uncover and deal with. Nope, not that I know of, just pure and simple - love food, have kids, eat and gain weight. I know that I'm an emotional eater, too, but not to the extent that they think on TV. Maybe this is just their way to make better TV material to keep people interested but it's becoming a little too routine and predictable. It seems to even bother a couple of the contestants on Thintervention to the point that they are making fun of one of the girls because she breaks down every week and they're getting tired of it. Of course, when it's their turn, it's OK to have a little meltdown of sorts. So, when did being overweight go hand in hand with having underlying mental issues? And can I assume from this trend that all skinny people are completely free from any emotional issues, or at least, brought them up to the surface where they could be addressed and put to rest? If this is all it took then once you're thin, it shouldn't be a struggle to keep the weight off and we all know it's a battle for life. Maybe what this is all telling me is that I'm watching too many weight loss shows for my own good!

Fresh Basil

The last couple days I've been trying to use some fresh basil I bought at Erie Co. Farms the other week. That and the fresh dill (for those green tomato pickles) were cheap - 99 cents each for a big bunch. I made a pizza Fri. night and cut up some basil and that tasted good! Needless to say, I still have tomatoes and after I used some up yesterday making chili, I thought I'd do some sauce with the leftover paste tomatoes. I cooked it down and plan on adding garlic and basil (my sister's recipe she brought back from Italy) and have spaghetti tonight. I didn't add the basil right away because I was worried most of the flavor would go up in steam. If it turns out well, I might end up making more sauce to freeze. This was pretty easy, without the hassle of peeling those tomatoes. I just washed , cut and pureed them in the food processor. I still am not too impressed with this version of paste tomatoes but I'm not in a position to be too picky. I guess I just need something to do with them as long as they keep ripening. That's been one of the problems with paste tomatoes - they are slow to ripen and they drag the season out way too long.

Everyone getting skinny

Everyone seems to be getting skinny these days as I noticed this morning as I was reading the Parade magazine in the Sunday paper. Drew Carey was the last one with the makeover and before that it was Kirstie Alley - wow, she had just talked about her new show and was using her weight in the sitcom. It used to be that everyone you saw on TV and the movies were thin and that was just the way it was. We didn't ask for any more since we realized this was not reality, at least not mine. Then overweight people started to filter into our everyday viewing experience and I thought "Wow, this is great! You don't need to be thin to act." Now so many of these people are losing weight right in front of us and it really is an inspiration. Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar, then lost weight, Sara Rue had a hit show and appeared on Big Bang Theory as a doctor and love interest, then lost weight, Jeana on Real Housewives used to be a playboy model, , gained weight, got on the TV show, now she's on Thintervention with Jackie Warner and now Drew, losing weight. It almost seems like we're going back to the old days and maybe that's the way it should be. Have we gotten complacent in our view of being overweight? Maybe we need to step up our role models and be that inspiration that we all need. In that respect, Biggest Loser has really stepped up to the plate except that those results are very unrealistic (makes for good TV but still not based in reality). So my prediction this season is that Mike and Molly will be on a weight loss program by season 3, if it lasts that long.

Three things I've learned about jewelry making

1. This is something that seems to be big right now - the things list. So I thought I'd give it a try. Oh well, I'm trying to figure this out myself. Anyway the first thing I've learned is to make something for myself first. I usually make crafts to give as gifts and then never get around to making something for me.
2. The next thing is to use up what I have first. There's a sense of accomplishment when I get rid of somethings that's been laying around. And that really is the purpose for all this -to use it up.
3. The last thing is to keep things simple, don't bite off more than I can chew and when my interest starts to wane, move on. Those first 7, yes 7, strands of seed beads were time consuming to say the least. I still have to put the back of the necklace on but I don't want to start a big project again on this one. So I've decided to keep it simple and just do a ribbon or something similar and tie on the side. Then I can move onto my next project.

Ok, I did this, not without some difficulty but it's a learning experience, right?

First Piece of Jewelry

I guess this isn't really my first piece of jewelry if I go back to my girl scout days. We did a whole badge on jewelry and made some very unique pieces including potato necklaces and fishing swivel bracelets. Those were the days! I think that's what intrigues me the most - using materials that are totally out of the box. Considering that previous experience, I still felt overwhelmed in my first attempt at "real" jewelry. I had been looking through magazines getting ideas and I kind of knew what I wanted but where to start - I didn't have a clue. I found myself wishing my daughter were here to guide me through it. I needed a beginners book to go through terminology and basic techniques. Most of the magazines show beautiful pieces but their instructions assume you know the bascis, which I don't. What the heck, I'm a quick learner, right? I looked at all the beads and my head was spinning. So I went shopping, bought some beginner's supplies, found some gorgeous glass beads I just had to have and used some gift cards. Of course, when I got home I still didn't know what I was doing but I vowed to do it anyway. Well, I'm on my way to making a seed bead necklace in blue metallic and learning as I go. Let's just say this is a work in progress. I really do like my idea and I hope when I'm done it doesn't all come apart and scatter in a million pieces on the floor!

Going Home

I spent yesterday going back to my hometown to visit an aunt, brother and sister-in-law and doing some stuff on that "No more excuses" list. I've always wanted to plant daffodils at my mom's grave since she really liked them and had a bunch planted at her house. Unfortunately, I never made it down to visit at this time of year (I was probably canning tomatoes). I bought them (bulbs) at Aldi's last week and planted half at the DuBois graves and the rest at my parent's. It felt good to do this and it'll be kind of like a birthday present to her when they come up in the spring. Anyway, driving through town I saw a few changes that were positive - a couple new stores/restaurants and even a couple umbrella tables at the grocery store. I drove past the Paramount Cafe where my dad used to spend every Sat. until he broke a glass on the pool table and never went back. That was probably the best thing that could have happened. He started going up to the Chewton club for a few hours in the afternoon for a little social time and giving my mom some much needed alone time. One thing that was hard to miss was all the cars at the funeral home but no one knew who was there. That's unusual for a small town. I took some different routes between towns this time due to the bridge (over railroad tracks) in West Pittsburg being closed for repairs. I never knew the name of it was Crazy Horse Bridge. I wonder how far they had to dig to find that out! I finished my stay with a visit to Jimmy's for two pints of hot dog sauce and a trip to Goodwill where I found a tall blue jar, my corduroy shirt and some jewelry findings. After a quick stop for a free coffee, I was back on the road headed home (this home). It was a good road trip!

More Phone Stuff

We don't get many phone calls (landline ones) at this point in our lives, especially with having cell phones. It's a far cry from when the kids were still home and sometimes we felt like the answering machine, even though we didn't have one. Now, even with being on the do not call registry, we get all the political calls, renewals for magazines and donations to charities. I guess if you've ever interacted with an agency, they have the right to call you. Why does it have to happen right when we're sitting down to eat or one of my favorite TV shows is about to start? I know the answer - they know I'm home! I have a hard time being rude despite the fact that they are interrupting me. Sometimes, if I'm not busy, I let them go on, knowing I have no intention of accepting anything - just to waste their time. Time is money for them so they want to get to as many people as they can in a sitting. One time I turned the table on someone who was selling a home security system and questioned them about what they had. She was a little taken back but was honest with me. I've thought about screening my calls with the machine but I end up doing the *69 if they don't leave a message and the charges add up. I shouldn't be the one who pays! Of course, when I get that phone call at about 7:25 and I hear "Hi Grandma" on the other end, telling me about what they got that evening, nothing else seems to matter - I'm all ears!

Canning, Again

This has got to be my last entry about canning! I'm down to the green tomato recipes so you know I've hit rock bottom. We still have tomatoes and I can only imagine how much longer we will. In fact, the girl that does the foodie group on the Internet has asked if anyone will contribute to an article about canning. I thought for a minute but all enthusiasm for it has disappeared, all that's left are the tomatoes. If she would have asked about 3 weeks ago, I would have been on board and loving it, but now - NO! I have filled my two long shelves reserved for canned goods in the utility room and moved to the vertical shelves. It'll give me a reason for clearing away some to the tools and pans needed to make some space but I'm at the end of my rope. I even think we need to redo one of the boards on a long shelf that's just barely on the side support. I'm worried it could come crashing down. Just the thought of all my hard work ruined turns my stomach. Anyway, it's supposed to be hot today so better get to work and get my last of my salsas done.

New Week

I wasn't sure what to write about this morning and considered giving it a rest until I came up with something, but as I checked out the other blogs I'm following, it seemed like everyone else might feel the same as I do. The other ones haven't updated their blogs since last week so maybe it was the weekend. Hopefully once my husband retires, we won't have to squeeze everything into a weekend which just makes Monday morning quite a drag. I definitely went off my diet yesterday with a breakfast buffet. It started to hit me last night and I knew today wouldn't be good. Ever since my gallbladder was removed, I seem to have a hard time processing fat and even though I know this, the buffet proved too much for me. They even had french toast stuffed with chocolate and peanut butter! I only had a taste of most things but it all added up. I've become dissapointed with breakfast buffets after I did a few and found all sorts of unique and tasty recipes. Somehow the usual eggs, bacon and pancakes didn't cut it. I guess along with many of those new additions comes some high calorie high fat options. Anyway, I'm back on track now, have a list of things to do this week and even have some of my Peppermint Mocha creamer in my coffee. Life is good!

Weather

Last night's weather was memorable, more so for others but it still had me remembering that day in May 1985 when the tornadoes shot through this area. I was watching TV when the alert came across that a tornado warning had been issued for our area and the town of Albion was mentioned. That's all it took to take me back to that day. Yesterday had been rainy all day and no where near as warm as that day in 1985 so it kind of surprised me. I'm used to associating that kind of weather with a tornado. They also said on TV that no actual tornado had been spotted which shows the improvement in weather radar over the years. It used to be that a warning meant one had been spotted and get down in the basement as opposed to a watch which meant conditions were favorable. Now they are able to tell when a tornado has formed well up in the sky which is alot more advance warning than we used to have. Even though I've watched people outrun a tornado I'm probably not quick enough for that. So after hearing the warning, I tuned into a couple other channels to see exactly where it was headed and found that we were more than likely OK. Now that day in 1985, we had no idea what was going on. I've often commented that my youngest daughter was a bun in the oven that day and the other two gathered up their most valuable possessions (a backpack of Transformers and one with My Little Ponies) and we headed to the basement. I also had mine - I was huddled with them downstairs until the storm blew over.

Peppermint Mocha

I just received a notice from Giant Eagle that the seasonal Coffeemate creamer will soon be available in the stores. Ya-hoo!! The Peppermint Mocha is my all time favorite, so much so that the last time everyone was home, I used my new (thrift store) carafe to make a batch of my own version. It turned out pretty good but there was too much leftover chocolate just sitting in the bottom of it. What a waste! As long as I can get the real thing I'm good but if I need to make my own again, I might try a little hot chocolate mix thrown in instead of the chocolate squares. That little bit of chocolate just seems to mellow out the whole experience. I used to do the same thing with the coffee spoons - dip a plastic spoon in melted chocolate then sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Those were fun to make and give as gifts and they looked so pretty,too. Heaven knows I have enough of the chocolate, white and milk, stockpiled to make a bunch. It would be nice to get rid of some of that and make room for something else. As you can tell, Christmas seems to be right around the corner, in my mind anyway.

Someone else's trash

There's a certain high we get from getting something for nothing or a dirt cheap price. I've felt that all too often. A similar high can be felt getting rid of things, maybe in the hopes of buying more. I've been in a state of continuous garage sale mode all summer but we need the space, ie. my husband can't get to his wine making supplies. I went through it all yesterday, sorted it out, and loaded the car up with Goodwill donations. Lucky for me, today starts Goodwill Days at Bonton! I've never done that before but I might try it. Of course, the thought of going to Goodwill to drop stuff off only makes me want to stop inside to see what there is for me. Isn't that defeating the sole purpose of donating? On the other hand, they might just have exactly what I've been looking for. I'm fairly selective when I shop at any thrift store and I have certain things I like to look for such as canning jars with metal spring clasps, Girl Scout tins, exercise dvds, blue glass, and a new addition for right now is nice corduroy shirts. With that list I can whip through pretty quick and be on my way to Erie Co. Farms, again! I'm sure I'll feel good no matter what and I hope the person who snatched our old ladder with the free sign on it last night feels good, too.

Up in the Air

I've had this movie for over 3 weeks now and just yesterday watched it. At first I didn't even remember where I put it - I was right in the middle of cleaning and I tucked it in the entertainment center. Admittedly I have been busy and I never wanted to spend my day in front of the TV, whether it be movies, soaps, news, weather or QVC, but after 3 weeks I started to re-evaluate my membership to Netflix. I almost got on and canceled it but thought I better get that movie ready to send back first. I didn't even think I'd like it. As much as I hate to say it, I haven't been that impressed with George Clooney lately. But yesterday while my tomatoes were cooking down into sauce, I decided to watch it and get it over with. Man, I loved it! I found myself experiencing so many emotions during a short time and having a bunch of aha moments. I think it was alot better than Crazy Hearts - that one was too predictable in a bad way. Now I'm in the process of rethinking my decision to cancel Netflix. I still don't like how they sold us out for the on demand channels but it is convenient and really don't want to have to go out of my way to the Redbox. Well, there is another option which satisfies my new frugal spirit and my love of movies - change my plan.

One month into retirement

Well, it's been a month - is that all? Looking back on it, I'm amazed at all that I've accomplished, at least for being on perpetual vacation (new word for retirement). It was only a little over a week ago that I was returning from Las Vegas and during that week I've managed to almost fill up the shelves in my utility room with canned goods. I have to admit I'm tiring off it! I'm longing for the fun stuff like crafts that gives me my passion. Don't get me wrong, canning is one of those passions, too, but I've nearly exhausted that one. Exercise is going good despite a slow start after the trip. Today I will use 10# wts. for the first time in forever it seems. I've been cooking more, getting things out of my system but with few successes. That's OK though - the point is to try them out. I long to enjoy this fall weather more and that used to come with picking apples which are nonexistent this year. We're closing the pool tonight which might lead to staining that deck, hmmm. I think if there is a negative side to this retirement, it's lack of human contact. I'm probably ready for a trip somewhere to talk to people - doesn't have to be far. I'll be working on that one.

Wampum carnival

Last week we went down to see the Waterford Fair, a yearly event that I've entered in the past and we've taken the kids to over the years. It's a small fair to say the least but nice and cheap and it got us out of the house on Labor Day. As we were there, I noticed a young girl I thought I recognized as a friend's daughter, and sure enough, when I saw the name plastered on the back, it was her. It brought to mind the Wampum carnival I used to go to every year when I was young. It was within walking distance to my house and I would go every night it was there. I usually invited a friend, or more likely a cousin, to stay overnight all week to enjoy the festivities with. I remember my dad buying tickets for my brother and I at work which amounted to $5, I think, for each and that lasted us all week. They had the usual rides, games, food, etc. but I especially enjoyed the fries with vinegar on them, yum! And of course, one of us had to stop at the Chewton pizza stand and bring back some for everyone. I loved the fireworks on Saturday night and the grand finale that by today's standards are tame but for me they were great. Then, as the ultimate culmination of the event, Sunday was the day for anyone with a metal detector to canvas the ball field where everything had taken place. I After I left they had a Wampum Homecoming for awhile but I'm not sure if they have anything now. It was a good place and time to grow up.

Good Fall Meal

I'm finally getting back into cooking, at least for awhile. I made stuffed peppers on Thursday which turned out really good, especially with my sweet-sour sauce that I also use for stuffed cabbage. It's funny that growing up, when my mom would make stuffed peppers, I would always slide the pepper off and offer it to someone else. Now I long for an extra pepper and think that's the best part. I also made more to freeze and eat later. I wanted a bread to go with it so I made a recipe for Potato-Chive Rolls that I've been dying to try. The dough turned out great and overall I'd say the rolls were a success. I did cloverleaf rolls besides a small loaf and all we ate was the roll. Those are frozen for later, also. My mom's favorite way to do rolls were the cloverleaf where you make 3 small balls in a muffin tin. They are a convenient size and easy to break apart. I probably won't make them again as they weren't flavored with the chives as well as i had hoped. I have another recipe, tried and true, for brown and serve rolls that are the best I've ever made and even more convenient. This was just the kind of meal I like on a fall night with a home cooked feel and using a bunch of stuff from the garden.

Canning is in my blood

Well, I've put a week in of canning, accomplished alot but I'm ready to move on. For the past year, I've been fielding attempts by my husband to buy more canning jars, saying I'm not into it much any more. We had numerous opportunities to get more jars what with his aunt's and mother's houses but I put him off. Wouldn't you know this week I had to buy some. I thought that might be grounds for divorce but he took it in stride. This was a chance to try something different and I did that in my mild and hot versions of chipotle salsas. They taste pretty good so I might do one more batch. I probably have another batch of regular juice I can do if not more. Looking back through my stash in the utility room, I noticed that 2007 must have been a great year for tomatoes. I still have some ketchup from then and I remember I made taco sauce that year. I enjoy seeing the fruit of my labor but I'm tired of the tower of boxes that hold my canning supplies littering the kitchen, such as pressure canner, squeezo, stock pots, bowls and basket with tools. At least I'm able to do this at my leisure and not squeeze it into a weekend.

Birthday Wishes

I just have to share this one that happened yesterday. I was in the kitchen on my cell phone when the land line phone started to ring. I figured I'd let that one go and hope they left a message or I'd *69. I was calling a business to inquire about some merchandise when from the living room I heard my sister's rendition of "Happy Birthday"! Needless to say, I heard nothing else from that point on. I quickly picked up the phone and we had a good laugh. It brought back some other phone memories I had. Just recently, we were at Dobbins Landing at the top of the Bicentennial Tower when I received a call from a friend. A little into the conversation the cruise ship below set out a low, billowing foghorn that seemed to go on forever. Everything stood still and despite trying to escape, I was trapped until it decided to stop. Once again we had a good laugh. Another one came years ago when we were in our apartment and I placed a call to my mother. Due to a bad connection, I could hear her but she heard nothing. Becoming a little frustrated and thinking it was a prank call, she started to scream into the phone and say "Booooooo". I had been frantically trying to let her know it was me but at that point I realized it was futile. I ended up calling her back and reciprocating the sentiment. I'm sure there are many more of these phone memories but that will be for another blog. Just to let you know, I am in no way comparing my sister's beautiful voice to a foghorn! In fact, I still have it on the answering machine. Thanks for the memories!

Erie County Farms

My shopping trip to Erie County Farms brought back many memories of my first real experience in Erie years and years ago. Soon after we moved here (me pregnant with my son), we were staying with my in-laws and frequently shopped at Erie County Farms. That was a hot spot on 26th street then where all the good deals on food were and basically still is. What I was amazed at back then was how people attacked the food when it was brought out in shopping carts such as lettuce for 29cents. You really had to be careful you weren't trampled by these people. I guess that's why we let my sister-in-law go in first as she was the fastest and most agile. My mother-in-law was not as quick and hey, I was with child. I look back at that and remember how proud we were that we walked away with a couple heads of lettuce. Well, due to any number of reasons, it's not like that over there any more. They seem to have their act together as far as putting the produce out. The even have a number system for the deli and cheese sections and everyone is very polite and helpful. You just can't beat the deals over there and now that I'm home I do intend to take advantage of it. I've learned a few things since then so maybe I'd get a head of lettuce now if they go back to their old ways.

Ebay

I truly am on a mission when I set my sights on something. Right now it's about a birthday present for my grandson which I think he will love. I bid on a set of Batman Lego McDonald's minifigs that were put out in 2008 and I lost by one cent. I've had this done to me before and unless I'm perched right in front of the computer for hours, I get outbid. Well, there's alot more where those came from I'm finding out and I'm determined to get me one. This brings back memories of the beany baby promotion years ago. I was determined to get as many as I could and even recruited my husband to stop into as many McDonald's to get ones I didn't have. He was such a good sport about it. I especially liked when he would go out of town and bought totally different ones. I had visions at the time of selling them for a bundle but everyone else had the same idea. Now I have bags of beany babies, unopened, waiting for the windfall. I ended up selling some at my garage sale and the rest will either be toys for the kids or decorations. I do have an Elvis beany baby bear with a cape that I got in Las Vegas(second trip) that I keep in my bingo bag for good luck. I guess I just have to be patient but this is where that mobile Internet would come in handy. Wish me luck!

Cards

This is always a busy time of year for my entertainment center, what with all the birthday, anniversary and now retirement cards propped on top. In order to fit them all in I have them wedged in behind others so as not to neglect any ones. I enjoy looking at them and manage to get a chuckle along the way. Of course my husband manages to find funny ones and also insists on writing a big birthday number on my card (thank goodness I don't mind getter older). Last year as we received the first round of cards, they were placed on the TV. As the second round was delivered I thought, hmm, that looked familiar so as I put it up I noticed it was exactly like the one my other sister had sent. As my husband opened his two (he's often slower to open his), he noticed they were the same. We laughed and pondered whether this was planned or what. I called both of them after and since they shop at the same store, it was not out of the ordinary for them to pick the same cards. This year mine were different but I guess there's just not that many nice brother-in-law cards to pick from because he got the same one! At least now I won't have to be so particular about displaying his tow that are the same.

Las Vegas

I've been to Las Vegas three times now and each time I saw and did different things. What a place! I've gone with different people each time so it just stands to reason we would choose to see other sites. My daughter had us looking for each casino's special attraction such as the coaster at New York, New York, the gondola ride at the Venetian, Eiffel Tower at Paris, Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay, the top of the Stratosphere, Madame Tousand's Wax Museum at the Venetian, lion habitat at MGM, pirate ship at Treasure Island, fountain at Bellagio, midway at Circus Circus, and the Bodies Exhibit at the Luxor. I'm sure there are still more but in two days that was all we could accomplish (quite a bit I'd say). That's what's so great about Vegas - you can experience so many countries from just one place, and they're still building more. I'm sure the next time I go, I'll see completely different things. Even when you don't "win big" you still feel like you've won.

Retirement Party

Well, the retirement party was great but I hope I will remember the lessons I learned from this. I mentioned before about having a hard time coping with relinquishing control of the party and I'm afraid I was not very easy to get along with the last month or so. Even up until 10 minutes before the party started, I was still having anxiety about the outcome. The outward appearance was all I could focus on but in reality, what was more important and what everyone really cared about was the food (always great), the drinks (the cranberry vodka was outstanding),the cake (raspberry-filled white which was awesome) and the company (we are blessed to have such good friends). I had a really good time and one I will remember forever. One final push to get the thank yous out before my trip and I'm good to go. I should have listened to Bethenny on Real Housewives when she said "It's all about the cake". Yum, she was so right!

Tomatoes

I've been busy these past two weeks, what with cleaning, painting, taking care of car recalls, shopping, delivering invitations and spending some time with friends before the official end of summer. There has not been any down time to speak of and the last thought on my mind was squeezing some canning into my schedule. Now comes the last real day to myself to finish stuff up and I'm faced with a garden full of tomatoes that are just screaming for attention. Next week proves to be very warm and I doubt if they will fare well until I get back from my trip. My husband can only eat so many sandwiches with a slice of tomato on them and he won't have time to do anything with them. I thought, before I retired, how nice it would be this year to can my tomatoes and even try something different since I'd have the extra time. I guess I really did a lot on weekends while I was working because some years I made salsa, juice, ketchup, soup and even dried tomato halves. So, as I talked to my husband this morning about what to do with some, we decided to lighten the crop a little this weekend by giving some away and by the time I get back, it should be replenished. That sounds like a plan I can live with.

Long time no paint

Well, I finally got back up on the saddle, so to speak. It's been 6 years since my last paint project - in fact, almost to the day. I remember it vividly as I prepped the bedroom to paint, positioned the step stool in the closet, missed the bottom wrung, fell backwards then forward, coming down on my knee and spending the rest of the day in the emergency room. That was also the day I was scheduled to pick up my daughter from the airport on her return trip from Arizona. It was also the day before the kids started back to college and the beginning of a new school year for me in the dorm. All the plans my daughters and I had, having lunch together in the food court went up in smoke. This was really a life changing event for me as I would realize months later as I tried to regain full use of my leg. I also started exercising to minimize discomfort in my leg and developed friendships during the process. I truly believe that when one door closes another opens. Anyway, the door to the bathroom opened and found me in there painting on that same step stool. It was a job for me but I survived and feel good that I've gotten past that experience. As far as my next painting project - I think I'll leave that one for the professionals.

Eye Witness

I witnessed a disturbing incident while at K-Mart yesterday and need to share it. I was at the checkout behind a mother and her 2 kids, an older boy and younger daughter (I'd say about 7 and 4) when the girl asked her mom to buy something to which her mom said no. The girl started crying, walked past the register by her brother, stopped crying, then came back in the aisle behind her mom and picked up the item she had wanted in the first place which she proceeded to hide under her shirt. The mother was busy checking out so she didn't notice it. I was torn as to whether to tell her or let her find out herself which I figured wouldn't have been long since it was very noticeable. I also didn't know the reaction I would have gotten so I kept quiet. I think that's what's bothering me the most as things progressed, the mother never noticed it or did anything about it. As I finished checking out and went to my car, I saw the mother and those 2 kids riding the merry-go-round outside the store and the whole time, that little girl held on to her treasure under her shirt. I watched as they entered their car - still no reaction on the part of the mother. I realize that kids will be kids and they'll do almost anything to get what they want but it sure looked like this little girl had all the in and outs of shoplifting down pat - a scary thought for a child so young. I wonder what her next heist will be!! I firmly believe that making a child accountable for their actions, at any age, would go a long way in solving the problem. I think my kids would agree that when they did something wrong (an inevitable fact of life, I mean who has perfect kids) and I made them call and apologize, that made more of an impact on them than any spanking, time out or privileges lost could ever do. I can only hope that once they got home and the mother found the stolen item that she went back to the store, child in tow, and made her return it. Am I an optimist or what!!!