Heat Day 2023

 I am popping in here to announce that today is the official Heat Day 2023! 

This picture is from yesterday morning when we actually decided to turn on the heat.

But Heat Day isn't simple anymore, so allow me to offer some clarifications.

Since my father moved in, we have not allowed him to freeze. His room has its own heater, and so does my son's room. Both of these heaters are in the addition to our home on the north (and cold!) side of the house. Their heaters have been in operation, off and on, for a little while now. That heat doesn't seem to have too much of an effect in the main house. Or at least I don't think so.

Also, we did have to turn the heat on earlier one day when the furnace repair fellow came to service the furnace. We turned it back off as soon as he was done. So this doesn't count for the heat game either.

AND yesterday morning was the day we turned the heat on, BUT the furnace didn't actually kick on until around 6 a. m. today because we had the temperature set low. I am not planning on turning the heat up yet because there will be much baking the next few days. 

It is still not the record, but it was a more than respectable performance this year, don't you think?

It's Not All About Me

Sometimes I like to highlight people in my life (or people I don't actually know) who are doing things I think are cool, amazing, or interesting. Today is one of those times. (Note that I have highlighted some of these folks before, but if they continue to do things that impress me, why not?)

1.  Creative juices are flowing for my daughter. She has been writing, creating games, crocheting, and sewing of late. This morning she created a blog post about a recent creation.

Cute unicorn gift

2.  I've post before about our first-time beekeeping experiences. My beekeeping son has really put some effort into his endeavors. He's created a YouTube channel, Baroque Beekeeping, to post videos of his bees and to document what he doing and learning. (This is not a homeschool assignment.) I particularly enjoy how he's merged his love of classical (and baroque) music with his love of bees. If you want to try out his videos, choose one of the more recent ones; the quality is better. There's something to be said for experience.

I love the logo he created!

3.  My brother-in-law knits, crochets, and paints. Other people in the family do other crafty things. Last week they created an Etsy shop, Bakerz Dozen Creations, to sell their goods. (This last year wasn't good for the craft fairs they normally frequent.) They don't have everything in the shop the way they want it yet, but if you have a request, they probably can meet it-- especially if you are into amigurumi (that's his expertise).

4. I have two more friends' Etsy shops that I want to share. The first is from a virtual friend, Karen, who I "met" on The Frugal Girl. I love Karen's ability to repurpose and make beautiful, classy, and useful items. Her shop is called Fabric Speaks. (I really love repurposing!)

The second shop also brings to life old things in a different way. I hadn't expected I would enjoy buying, learning about, and selling vintage items so much, but it is another way of repurposing, don't you think?Anyway, my friend in real life, Ann, finds the coolest vintage items and sells them at Annie's Vintage Nook. She takes clean photographs of her items, and I've noticed she has excellent reviews, especially with regards to packing her items carefully. I'm so excited Ann is doing this because she has an eye for beautiful things. (She is artistic and crafty, too, but, to my  knowledge, she only sells her creations at craft fairs.)

And that's all for now, folks! 

Heat Game Update

 Temperature outside: 26 F

Temperature inside: 65 F

We woke to these chilly temps, but the heat is still not on! Will we make it to November with no heat? We will try! That means biscuits in a hot oven for breakfast, heating up leftover beans in the oven for lunch, and something piping hot for supper, too! One son has volunteered to make granola today, and that takes a long time in the oven. Warmer clothes are out of storage for everybody, so we can bundle up a bit, if necessary.

I think our chances are good of getting at least to midnight tonight before turning on the heat. Still not going to make a record (November 23rd is my record), but I count anything in November as decent.

Fall Update--Cakes (and more!)

Fall is here, and we've recently wrapped up our family's birthday season. As always, I like to post pictures of my homemade cakes (and sometimes not cakes) to encourage folks who don't have the time/talent/money to make each birthday "pinterest-perfect." 

First up is a Zoey Zebra cake. The 5-year-old requested a zebra ice cream cake. 

Zebra toy + ice cream + fudge stripe = Zebra ice cream cake

All I had to do was melt ice cream a little bit and smoosh it into the lid of a cake carrier. Then I crumbled up off-brand chocolate sandwich cookies and threw them on the ice cream and drizzled some homemade fudge topping. Last I added another layer of very soft ice cream. I covered the whole thing and put it in the freezer. Just before cake time, I flopped the cake out onto a cutting board and put on zebra stripes (cold hot fudge sauce in a zip plastic bag with the corner cut off). The toy doubled as one of the birthday presents. 

The next cake wasn't a cake at all. The new teenager requested skillet cookies. I decorated the top with the rest of the fudge sauce.

The next birthday boy wasn't really sure what he wanted, but he didn't want a decorated cake. He was more interested in flavors. So I suggested a spice cake and a carrot cake.

Looks plain but tasted good!

The cake on the left is a spice cake with a maple cream cheese frosting, and the cake on the right was Grandma's carrot cake recipe. Those are toasted pecans in that cream frosting, and, yes, they WERE tasty.

And last, and certainly the sweetest, was a repeat request. My youngest son wanted another construction cake with a toy on top and candy. I'm not sure this was actually a construction toy, but he liked it. And it was so easy; I frosted the cake with chocolate frosting, dumped a bunch of candy on top, and placed the toy. 

But there was a problem. The birthday boy took a bite and declared it too sweet. The poor child didn't even eat his own cake. To tell the truth, he wasn't the only one who couldn't eat it because it was too sweet. I felt horrible, and I learned a lesson.

And that wraps up the Fall Birthday Season of 2020.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

***If you are a regular reader, you might be curious about how my heat game is going this year. So far, no heat! However, I am not optimistic that we'll last the entire week. Today was chilly and damp, but I countered nature's move by baking a pumpkin, dressing the beds with flannel sheets, and digging out the warmer pajamas.

In a strange turn of events, my 15-year-old is attempting to sabotage my game by purposefully leaving the front door open. I countered his move by threatening a grounding from all electronics for the rest of his life. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

(Is anybody else playing along with my insane game?)

Five on Friday

1. Bees!  Okay, so not yet. But soon. Soon we will have bees. My eldest son has been obsessed with interested in honeybees for a couple of years. He saved up money, bought supplies, and ordered bees. He also set up a webpage for the whole endeavor. I'm a bit of a partner with him in this, but we've changed roles because he is the boss while I am the underling.

Son-created website

So, if you're interested in following along on our latest adventure, check out Sideling View Apiary's webpage. He will be updating the blog there to document our adventure in treatment-free beekeeping. I'll also put a link in my sidebar.

2. Instagram. I signed up to Instagram today so I can follow my friends. But. I haven't figured out how to post things yet. Someday. (I think a big problem is that I don't have a cell phone.)

3.  Dress. I made a dress for my daughter for Easter. I learned a lot. Unfortunately, I had to learn a lot the hard way. For example, store-bought patterns can have multiple mistakes (I'm talking to you New Look #6427). But my sweetie was absolutely thrilled with the results.

Hand-dyed scarf was made at homeschool group.

I spent a lot of time on this, so I haven't made much headway on the Great Clothes Heap Challenge. However, I like to think I learned skills that will come in handy when I try to repurpose that huge pile of unwanted stuff and make it useful again.

4. Soap. Remember how pioneer-y I was feeling a few week ago?  Well, the soap didn't come out perfectly. In fact, when we flopped it out of our primary mold, it wasn't ready and cracked and generally looked ugly. But it'll be okay. Today we cut it into bars. We put all the ugly ones and pieces into a container; these bits and pieces will become "hand-milled" soap later because my daughter wants to make "flavored" soap. (By "flavored," she means "scented.")

Ugly soap

5. Spring. It's still a bit chilly out sometimes, but spring is here. It's fun watching spring creep up Sideling Hill.

I'm looking forward to getting more things planted outside. One of them is this beauty a friend gave to me.

I have just the spot for this on the east side of the house.

That's all for now. How's your week been?

Official Heat Day 2019

Today-- Monday, November 4, 2019-- is the day you've all been waiting for-- Heat Day 2019! 

Yesterday it was a bit chilly in our house, but we didn't have to deal with the cold at night since we left for a quick overnight visit to my dad. When we returned this evening, it was too cold for me. If I hadn't felt like I might be coming down with something, I might have toughed it out for another day or so. 

But I'm not too disappointed since we made it into November. Is it November 23rd (our record)? No. And while I will forever harbor the dream of lasting until December, I think we all know that's unrealistic. 

Here's to waking up with toasty toes in the morning!

Five Quick Things

1.  Little Girls. I'm not sure this next picture needs much explanation.

2.  Wholly Holey.  Last week when the weather was so nice, I saw this. 

I guess this tree is multi-purpose for birds-- a place to live and a woodpecker buffet.

3.  New Blog.  Afterthoughts isn't actually a new blog, but it is a new-to-me blog. It is a homeschool-y blog. I think it's a keeper for me. I haven't actually listened to any of the podcasts she does because I never have quiet time to listen to podcasts, but the posts are helpful and link to other things I sometimes like wasting time reading.

4.  Favorite Blog.  The Frugal Girl is my favorite blog. Hands down. She shares frugal tips. She shares recipes. She shares hilarious pictures of clothes she tries on. And she posts several times a week. She makes money from her blog, but she's not overly commercial (which is the problem I have with most blogs that are constantly pushing things). 

5.  My Daughter's Blog.  I don't let my children do a lot online, but my oldest daughter begged for a blog so that she could share her love of nature. (I steal some of her pictures sometimes.) She doesn't get to post often, but she wrapped up winter in her latest post on A Nature Girl's World.

Spring!

Now, you might all be thinking, "She does this same post every year-- crocuses, robins-- how boring!" But there is something different for me this time-- a homeschooling freebie!

Anyway, three days ago, I felt spring in my bones, so I took a walk outside with my camera to dig through the leaves to see if the crocuses were up. And they were so close to being open, but I didn't think I could count this as the official spring indicator.

See? Not quite open yet.

Well, the next day, the children found another sign of spring and hollered for me to grab the camera.

Do you see them?

Maybe this one is a little better?

Yes, Robin Redbreast graced us with his presence, and so did all of his friends. That's pretty much the official beginning of spring in my mind, right there. But, I cannot ignore my crocuses, so I took a walk to the backyard again. Et voila!

Definitely official

My husband gathered the troops to re-make one of our raised beds. It is now smaller and taller, and sand the masons left in a pile is in it because this is our attempt to improve the soil for planting garlic later this year. I want to grow enough to make a braid. Or two.

All ready for planting

And while it is officially spring in my bones and my heart, a peek at Sideling Hill reminds me that winter might not be through with us yet.

If you look closely, you can just see the ice still on the south side of the cut.

Now, for my first freebie.

Education.com reached out to me to offer a freebie to post on my blog. That was several weeks ago, but when I saw the worksheet, I knew I had to wait for my flowers because it is a spring word search (and answers). I hope you like these, and if you have difficulty accessing them, let me know because this is the first time I've done such an endeavor.

Spring Word Search

Spring Word Search Answer Key

Thank you to Education.com for providing this fun addition to my little blog. They asked that I post the following, and I'm happy to do so; I know lots of homeschoolers (and other educators) benefit from the site. 

Learning opportunities are in full bloom with this spring-themed word search. Kids will have lots of fun hunting for words while they reinforce their spelling, vocabulary and word recognition skills. Even more fun learning resources are just a click away at Education.com!

Back to Jody's words-- I would also say this word search is one of those quick and easy activities that a mom who is homeschooling many sometimes needs to keep some busy while others need a little extra help. Enjoy!

Happy Heat Day

Well, today's the day. My husband woke up and turned on the heat. It is chilly in here, and since our garden did nothing this year, we have no pumpkins roasting to keep the house warm.

Hmmm. . . maybe yesterday was heat day because I turned on one of the heaters in the addition last evening before bed for a little while. I was chilled to the bone from being outside all afternoon making cider.

But then again, does it count that yesterday we had a heater going in the garage so everybody could warm their hands while making cider?

This heat game I made up is so confusing!

Because I'm writing the blog post today and because my husband turned on the main heater this morning, I declare today-- Monday, October 22, 2018-- the official 2018 Heat Day.

Click here for last year's Heat Day post.

Oops. That wasn't the "official" Heat Day 2017 post. Evidently, this year is an EPIC fail with my game. Today I definitely lost my heat game. Losing a game you make up and change all the rules to in which you are the only player-- I think that is just pathetic.

Oh, well, always next year.

Kids These Days

Last year we bought a digital camera at a flea market for $5. It was to be for the kids to take pictures, and take pictures they do!

Some pictures need explanation. Some do not, but I'll explain them anyway.

This is the curb outside the local elementary school. In the top of the picture you can see some feet. Some of those feet belong to some of my children who won the American Legion Auxiliary's Americanism essay contest. We were invited to the school for the presentation of the awards. I called it a field trip because the kids were able to see what a school is like.

I guess this next one is somebody's head or the ceiling.

A bird in the gravel outside our back door (before the patio was poured). Can you see it?

A Thanksgiving turkey that still hangs on our bedroom door.

Maybe they took this one because they want to travel here or maybe because a certain state has a capital with a similar name to a certain daughter? I just don't know.

I'm fairly certain this picture was taken to show the whole world how I let my clean laundry sit in baskets to get nice and wrinkly.

This picture was supposed to be irises ready to bloom, but the bricks are in focus instead.

The overwhelming majority of kid pictures are Lego creations. This one is/was (not sure if it still exists) a creative model of a city, complete with airplay runway and all sorts of cool details.

And this last picture was taken by my daughter. It is showcased at her new blog, A Nature Girl's World. If you want an explanation of this picture, you should click on over and read about it.

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Five on Friday (on Monday)

I've missed these posts, so here goes:

1.  Blog for Boys by Boys. My older boys have started a blog called Basically 4 Boys. They anticipate when their little brother can help them out (the 4 part). They want to post book reviews and Legos and whatever their hearts desire. If you have a boy who might like reading, here it is!


2.  Lovely Poem. A blog I read had a lovely poem about reading books. If you're a book lover, check it out.


3.  Funny Book Review. If you have children and have read the classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? about a gazillion times, you will appreciate this review on Amazon.


4.  Those Stinking' Deer. My beans can't catch a break. Nor the pumpkins/squash. This culprit was caught in the act by my husband's game cam Saturday night. Today I plan to coat every plant in the garden with spray the deer supposedly don't like. This is on top of the most hillbilly-looking fence ever and noise traps. It seems like at least half of our garden work this year is trying to keep the deer out!

Time stamp is wrong; we figured it was closer to midnight.

5.  Beautiful Creation. My Etsy shop has been selling more supplies than finished projects, and it's neat to see what some people are making. For example, the talented lady at Thy Beautiful Self made a beautiful wedding bouquet with some of our guinea feathers:

Guinea feathers are the black ones with white spots

She also makes handmade beauty products including a natural insect repellent I'm interested in (the gnats have been so bad in the garden this year!).

And if you're wondering about the toilet paper tubes I told you about earlier, I have sold two batches already. I know the first batch was earmarked to make toys for rescue birds. I love it when buyers show me the cool things they're making.

It's time for breakfast, and the workers outside are already at work. That's my cue to stop typing!

Five on Friday

I've often admired blog posts with several random (short) points, but I've not made it a point to write such posts regularly. Because life has been busy and I don't have a ton of time to write about every topic that's on my mind, today I'll try to start writing such a post semi-regularly. While "Five on Friday" is an unoriginal title, it works for me.

1.  Mommy brag time. Back in January and February my school-aged kids thought I was a mean mommy. I required them to write entries in several contests. One was for the American Legion Auxiliary's Americanism essay contest. Two of the boys won local prizes, and one went on to win 1st place in the district. We also participated in the ALA's Poppy Poster contest, and while none of the children placed in that one, we enjoyed a pizza party for all participants. Our local chapter of the American Legion does so much for our community-- thank you! It was a good experience for our children.

Then last evening we attended a reception for the winners of a poetry and short story contest at the Washington County Free Library main branch in Hagerstown. It was the second writing contest I forced my kids to enter. Call me Tiger Mom Lite. All four of the children were honored for their entries and were asked to come forward and read their selections in front of an entire roomful of strangers. And they did it! There were nerves involved because this was the first public-speaking experience for three of them, but they did just fine. I wish you could've seen it.

Enough bragging. Please forgive a proud mama.

2.  Growth.  Have any of you ever noticed that your children take a growth spurt in the spring? In the last month, my eldest has grown an inch taller. This puts him exactly even with me. It is about time for his big adolescent growth spurt. Sigh.

Earlier this week he notified us that suddenly his shoes no longer fit, so our big trip to Hagerstown doubled as a shoe-shopping trip for him and his brother (who also no longer fits in any of his shoes). When we measured their feet at one of the many shoe stores we visited, we learned my eldest now needs to look for a size 12!

3.  Supper in Hagerstown-- Since we had to go to Hagerstown early for shoe-shopping, we needed some supper. My husband picked Karu Peru. We love this place and have been there 3 times, which, considering we eat out so infrequently, makes it a big favorite. They are a Peruvian restaurant and have delicious and juicy charcoal rotisserie chicken. Their sides (like potato salad and yucca fries) are nothing to sneeze at either. If you live in the Hagerstown area, you need to check this place out!

4.  Krumpe's Do-nuts--  Since the reception had us in Hagerstown after 7 p. m., you know what that means!

Full disclosure: These pictures are not "fresh" like the do-nut holes we enjoyed last night; they are from a previous post. We'll enjoy do-nuts for breakfast this morning.

5.  Sideling View Crafts--Yesterday was also a big deal for my Etsy shop. No, no. Still no sales. BUT yesterday a stranger marked one of my items as a favorite. Not my mom or my friend or my cousin. A stranger. Wow.


Well, this post was lengthier than expected. Maybe next week we'll make it 4 instead of 5; plus my life is not likely to be this exciting two weeks in a row. Have a good week!

Gotta Love Family

Since it's closing in on Valentine's Day, I figure I needed to send some love to a couple of my family members.

First up, my sister-in-law just started a new blog. She has some great pictures of their travels all over the place and some cute pictures of her and my brother-in-law. And their feet. And, believe it or not, their feet are cute, too. Anyway, you can check out The Rested Wanderers here if you're interested.

And next up. . . my brother-in-law! It's a different one. I have a lot. Ten of them so far. The brother-in-law got an idea for his business after working in different nursing homes as a social worker. He started CheerCrates, a subscription box service geared toward those in nursing homes. Basically, you pay the subscription fee, and he boxes up appropriate gifts each month to send to your loved one. I've heard of such things for college students, but this is a great idea for people who are far away from Grandma and can't visit often or who just want to make sure Dad knows he's not forgotten. If you are interested, visit CheerCrates here. If you don't need this service but know somebody who might appreciate it, please pass the link along!

The Pioneer Woman Experience

Way back at the beginning of November we traveled for two weeks. We drove too much for the liking of some little kids, but we did get to see new sites.

The one that was most exciting for me was this little spot in the middle of nowhere, Kansas. This log cabin is a replica of Laura Ingalls Wilder's little house on the prairie. That was the first big book I read as a child, and I've worn out copies of the series from so much reading. They're still my favorite books as an adult. While this site was closed for the season, we were still able to walk around and see what was outside of locked doors.

I actually started to get emotional when we pulled up here!

Since we were headed to the Oklahoma City area from here, it wasn't too far out of the way to go to Pawhuska, Oklahoma, where Pioneer Woman (a.k.a. Ree Drummond, blogger extraordinaire and Food Network star) had just opened her new store, The Mercantile, earlier in the week. My kids watch her show with me on Saturday mornings, and my little girl (the middle one) really loves her.

Pawhuska is a little town, but it seemed hopping on that Saturday afternoon. You can see why in this picture. 

Approaching The Mercantile, the line to get into the store.

And on the other of the building, there was another long line.

I'm guessing this was the line for the restaurant.

At this point, my husband and I knew we'd not be stopping because seven children and a line that looks like it would take hours isn't my cup of tea. I'm also not into waiting in line to shop in a store of any kind. But I decided I wanted to take a picture of the lines for this blog, so we hung a left and turned around. While we were doing this, two children swore they'd seen Pioneer Woman's husband, Marlboro Man (a. k. a. Ladd). The adults weren't buying it. 

On our way back through town, we saw this:

This hand-held sign reads "Cool Stuff".

So we followed and went around the block. And wouldn't you know, cool stuff appeared. If we hadn't been driving for so long with little children, I would've stopped to look at the cool stuff more closely.

Metal bison and roosters qualify as "cool stuff."

On the way past PW's store, I did get some pictures (namely the ones above). AND see the fellow in the cowboy hat below? That's the husband the kids had spotted before, out mixing with the crowd. 

Ladd Drummond

So then we drove on out of town, into the eventual sunset. And there were many, many tears from my disappointed little daughter. I felt horrible. It was the one thing on the whole trip she was looking forward to, and I just couldn't make it right. 

However, on our way to the interstate from there, I saw some gorgeous scenery. I pulled out the camera to take a picture, rolled down the window to take a picture of it, but since we were driving the speed limit which is so fast out there, I clicked on this instead:

The Drummond Ranch

While I didn't plan it and don't actually know if that is Pioneer Woman's family's ranch, I thought it was a funny accidental shot. And the possibility that the vehicle we saw coming out of the drive might have been her beloved Pioneer Woman seemed to calm the crying girl down a little bit. But not entirely. Disappointment is a sad thing.

This was some of the scenery I was trying to get a shot of:

Not long after, we noticed this field.

Windturbines, oil, and cattle grazing 

We guessed that whoever owned that land was making a killing on one spot of land. Talk about maximizing potential!

Room With a View

While I don't always have a picture with each blog post, I do think those posts are more fun to do. Lately I've sort of been preoccupied with our family and the new baby, so most of the pictures taken in our house have been of our little ones-- and little ones holding the littlest one. And since I don't like to post pictures of our children online often, I don't have many pictures to post. 

However, in looking back at photos of the past couple of weeks, I came across one with no kiddos.

The helicopter at the hospital

This was the second time my hospital room had a view that included where the helicopters land. During my stay I saw three helicopters come and go. Each time, as the helicopter came in, I found myself praying for the person on board, and each time nobody was on board. I couldn't figure out why they would keep landing helicopters with only some cargo. Then I asked a nurse, and I was told that sometimes they fly out different organs and such that have been donated. That made sense.

Unfortunately, the children weren't visiting when the helicopters were around; they would have been thrilled to see the landing and take-off. As it was, I was thankful to have the change of scenery once in a while to break up the monotony of hospital walls.

Why I'll Never Be A Big-Name Blogger--Reasons #1 and #2

While I'd love to be a big-name blogger who makes a nice extra income on her blog, I just don't see that happening.

For starters, such people post holiday ideas before or, at least, on a given holiday. Here I am posting St. Patrick's Day stuff a day late.

Yesterday I was feeling like my homeschooled children might turn out a little culturally illiterate because they weren't used to making green decorations, and most of them didn't know what a leprechaun was. I decided that, while we needed to be getting ready for company, we were learning about St. Patrick's Day for school. We read library books and talked about the history behind the holiday. In the afternoon during baby's nap, the children colored shamrocks and did various St. Patrick's Day (educational) worksheets I happen to have stowed away. We even listened to Celtic music.

We ate some themed food during the day. We had a Mexican Irish themed breakfast because we had green avocado. For lunch we had some Irish cheese we found at Sam's Club. But supper was the big one and new to us-- corned beef and cabbage.

Our favorite-- by far-- was what we ate for evening snack-- Irish Soda Bread and green milk.

A slightly sweet and delicious version of Irish Soda Bread.

And this picture brings me to Reason #2 about why I'll never be a big-name blogger. I am not a photographer. Yesterday I attempted to follow advice I'd found on the internet and use natural light for taking my awesome blog photo. Unfortunately, by the time the bread was done, it was evening, and there wasn't much natural light left in the house. I took the bread outside.

Once outside, I was met with a few other problems. Namely, cats. And children who were worried sick that birds would poop on it.

And then there were the long shadows. No matter how I placed my bread and my camera, those shadows were there. I took the pictures anyway.

I also took more advice and lightened the picture artificially. I'm not trained in this. I only had my photo browser's editing tools, and while I'm not tech savvy, I don't think they're advanced. I lightened the shadows. I'm not pleased with the results.

That's okay. The bread was delicious anyway. If you'd like, you can make it with this recipe, but I wouldn't wait until next St. Patrick's Day. It was yummy and gone by morning!

Irish Soda Bread

3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
2 cups sour cream
1 cup raisins

1. Mix together all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Fold in beaten eggs and sour cream to flour mixture.
3. Stir raisins into dough.
4. Mold dough into a round loaf and place in a greased 9" pie plate.
5. Sprinkle loaf with flour and cut a cross in the top of the loaf with a knife.
6. Bake at 350F for about an hour until loaf is well browned.

Recipe Note: This was the first time I made this, and the dough was quite sticky. At least the dough is tasty, so feel free to lick your fingers.

What An Honor

More than a week ago, Emily from Simple Cheap Mom nominated me for the Liebster Award. Cool! Thank you, Emily. 

The Liebster Award is known in the blogging community, but I’d never heard of it because I tend to be ignorant of such things. 

I did a quick search online, and basically what it seems to be is an award that is created by bloggers and intended for bloggers. It’s passed from person to person through a nomination/chain letter type of process in order to encourage connections and discover not only new blogs but new and interesting people to relate to. In other words, it’s a great way to get to know the person behind the blog. 

From what I understand, you share a few random facts about yourself, answer a few questions from the person who nominated you, and then nominate a few other bloggers you enjoy (and ask a few questions of them). 

Here goes:

11 Random Things About Me

1.  I’m left-handed, married to a lefty, a daughter and sister of lefties, but have only one left-handed child.

2.  My friend and I were once stuck in an elevator that fell about 2 feet below the bottom floor. The doors wouldn’t open, so we used the emergency telephone. After waiting for a good long while with an annoying alarm sounding, I called back only to be told that they had checked and “nobody was in that elevator.” The operator believed us only when we asked her to get a message to our band director so that he would not be worried about where we were.

3.  My favorite books of all time are Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series. I’ve worn out a set completely and have no idea how many times I’ve read each. If I read the last two pages of Little House in the Big Woods, I’ll cry--guaranteed.

4.  I have lots of pregnancy food aversions and cravings. This time around I’m sick thinking of sweets. I’m craving a Thai Spicy Roll from my favorite sushi place. And red wine. I want red wine.

5.  I love, love, love yard sales. My husband loves auctions. Me, too.

6.  I have a small quilt that I started making with my Oma when I was 8. It’s still unfinished, and I look forward to the day that I have time to make it a priority.

7.  While I was born in California, I only remember living in West Virginia. That is the state I call home. I can see her hills from my front porch. I can see Pennsylvania from my back porch.

8.  I went to college in one of the most historic places in our country--Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I did not take even one history course while there. I regret that.

9.  I met my husband online, and I knew in my heart I would marry him before I ever set eyes on him in “real life.”

10.  I love my favorite pair of maternity jeans (which were handed down to me about 5 years ago) so much that I actually called the Levi’s company and asked if they’d start making them again. 

11.  I love the game of Yahtzee. My grandmother used to play with me. More than 7 years ago, my husband bought me a hand-held electronic Yahtzee game. It’s been lost for months at a time, needed new batteries a couple of times, and been dropped in the toilet twice (not by me!), but it’s still going strong.

My Answers to Questions by Simple Cheap Mom:

1. How many hours of sleep do you need each night? How many do you get? 

 I have no idea how many hours of sleep I need each night, but I normally get between 5-7. However, it all really depends on what’s going on in my life. If I’m pregnant, I’m up in the middle of the night a lot. If I have a newborn, sometimes I’m happy to get a couple of hours. 

2. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

I would take my family on a cross-country trek with many stops along the way, but the destination would be Olalla, Washington where my grandparents lived and I spent many vacations. I know it wouldn’t be the same for them, but it was magical for me, and I want them to experience even just a little bit of it.

3. What was your best Christmas gift as a child?

I honestly can’t remember one that stands out. I always enjoyed the Christmas ornaments my grandmother and aunts made. 

4. Do you have any pets? 

We have a golden retriever, Calvin, who loves baby carrots. We have three outside cats, black as coal and deadly to bunnies, mice, birds, snakes, etc. We call them the three ninjas. We also have a tankful of fish, but really don’t know what kind or how many. And we have guinea fowl, but I don’t know if I’d call them pets. For the record, I’m not an animal person.

5. How many credit cards do you have? 

We have one that we pay off each month on time. We’ve earned lots of bonus points that have paid for helpful gift cards.

6. What's the best thing you've ever done for your finances? 

I suppose the best thing I’ve done is to stop working. When I worked before I was married, I wasted so much money. Then after we were married and began a family, I stayed home, and there was no extra money to waste. Having a limited budget has forced us to employ all sorts of frugal strategies. 

My Nominees

I nominate these three blogs I enjoy for the Liebster Award:

The Merry Mennonite by Laura because she’s so honest. I wish all mommy bloggers were this open and honest.

Day by Day, at home, away by Ewe because I like reading what she does with her boys because I just so happen to have 3 boys about the same age.

Lucy's Quilts by my aunt, whose name actually isn't Lucy, but Alicia. I nominate her blog because I like reading about her way over on the west coast and because I think it's fun to look at the things she makes and does. She's super-talented. And I might be trying to prod her into another blog post. 

So, nominees, I just copied what Simple Cheap Mom did. Announce, 11 Random Things, answer questions, nominate, ask questions. Gee, it kind of sounds like a school assignment. But I promise, if you don't do this, nothing bad will befall you (from me, at least). 

Here are my questions for the nominees:

 What do you like/dislike about your blog?

 With whom do you want to spend more time?

 What award (real or made-up) would you most like to win?

 What is your favorite children’s book?

 What unhealthy food is your favorite?