It's another GIVEAWAY! This time, Cheri of It's So Very Cheri is Sharing the LOVE all month long with a huge giveaway! And there's prizes from lots of different vendors - something for everybody, if you will! There will be giveaways each week during the month of February. But you have to hurry! The first week ends tomorrow, Saturday, Feb 6, 2010, so you'd better hurry if you want to get in on it from the very first!
Become a follower AND leave a comment OR
Become a follower, leave a comment, AND post her button on your blog's sidebar OR
Become a follower, leave a comment, post her button on your blog's sidebar AND post about it OR
nah, that's it! Just GO, GO, GO to Cheri's site and read all about it, check out this week's giveaway, follow instructions and then, while you're sitting back drinking a glass of sweet iced tea or sipping on a cup of hot tea waiting to win a fabulous prize, check out the rest of her site!
Oh yeah, you never know when Cheri's gonna decide to give a prize - seriously - go read all about it!
And don't say I didn't warn you! It's gonna be a good'un!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Starting Over
I'm sitting here wondering where to start - I have no idea. I want a place where I can put my thoughts, feelings, & whatever. I've seen sooo many other blogs and am currently following many of them for one reason or another. Some are Christian blogs, some are craft blogs, others are mainly decorating or cooking-based. Some I just like because of the pictures, others because of the heart of the author that shines through. Some are just plain funny, while others' authors have a way of writing that makes them so transparent - they just totally expose themselves, their souls. And not for any reason other than to share themselves to help others, and maybe even themselves in the process.
So I think I'm going to start my blog over. When I first started it, I chose a name and a background and that was it. It just sat there for a long time before I ever posted anything. I'm so afraid of saying the wrong thing, or not writing the perfect post, that I freeze. What if I mix tenses in the same sentence or paragraph? What if I misspell a word? What if my family reads it & get upset? (no, no one in my family knows of my blog, even now.)
So I guess now I need to get rid of my fears, neuroses, phobias & paranoia. But how do I cast all that aside, and still care about others' feelings? On the other hand...where has all that gotten me?
I rarely express my opinion, for fear of offending someone. No, not just because of that. Because I have opinions I don't know how to back up. Sitting here almost all by myself for 8-1/2 yrs, I seem to have lost a lot of my vocabulary. Along with a large part of my memory.
I had decided to blog about cleaning up the mess around me, but I think I'd rather get rid of the past first. Telling about the story that led up to the suicide of my son. I mentioned it in my first post, but didn't return to it. I think I need to get that out first.
I go as far as I can today, & will return to it as I can.
I have two sons; one who is now 26 yrs old, and Clint, who was 16 yrs old when he died by his own hand 8-1/2 yrs ago.
Some background first. I was working at a car wash in town, about 6 miles away from home. I loved it. Loved my boss, loved talking with the customers, solving problems, etc. I also had a lot of leeway in taking care of personal business - I could usually leave when I had to go to the school to take care of one problem or another, or maybe to go pay a bill or to go to a dr's appointment.
After the first couple of years of school, both boys began not bringing home/doing their homework. That was just the beginning. They would do it, but not turn it in. Then they stopped doing it at all. At first I would sit there with them while they did their homework, hoping to make sure they understood what they were doing. I probably confused the heck out of them more than anything else! When I'd hear of them not turning in their homework, and I knew they'd done it, I'd find it in the bottom of their backpack, all crumpled up. It wasn't that they were struggling with the work, they understood it well enough. They just didn't want to do it. I won't get into all the nitty gritty - again, most of it I don't remember, but the situation was addressed over & over, and it would change for a couple of days, then start back up again.
When the boys got into jr high and high school, they started getting into bigger trouble. My memory of those years now is just a blur, but I remember smoking, drinking, skipping school were the problems. Actually, it started in middle school for Clint. I don't even remember what grades are involved in middle school, I guess it's 5th & 6th. At any rate, in his last year there, I received a phone call from the principal (while at work) and was told that she'd been told that Clint had taken a gun to school several days earlier! My 12 yr old son! I told her that was impossible, that my husband did indeed have a pistol, but that he kept it locked up. She said that all the students were in some pre-test for a major all-school test (TAAS, for those in Texas you'll know what I'm talking about), and when they got finished with it for the day, that she'd call me so I could come over to be there when they talked to Clint. I called my husband and he verified that his pistol was locked up in it's case and it was locked up in the toolbox in the back of his truck, which was with him at work. He'd just handled it the day before, so he knew it was in the case in the toolbox.
I went to the school when the testing was done, and the principal told Clint what was going on & had he had a gun in school. He thought for about a split second then said that yes, he had. I was so unprepared for that response! They asked him about it, and he told them everything (a neighbor kid had shown it to him out of his father's bedside table drawer, and dared him to take it to school, which he later denied). Finally we went from the classroom to the office and Clint and I sat there while the principal and vice-principal went into her office. We were waiting & waiting, and finally at one point I looked up to see who else was coming in, and there was one of the local police officers. I recognized him because we gave the officers free washes at the car wash, for their patrol cars. His mother and father also rented one of my in-laws' rent houses. Talk about a small world, huh? I knew we were in big trouble when I saw him. Incredibly, I almost felt sorry for the principal & police - this is a small town, and this kind of thing had never happened there. And while I'm not making excuses for my son, this was a tiny derringer type of pistol; it fit in the palm of your hand, and the firing mechanism was broken. It just wasn't 'heard of' there; it was so totally unexpected!
Long story short, charges were filed and Clint was on probation for 1 year and had to perform 25 hours of community service. He was on trash-picking duty on the sides of the road & garden detail there at the juvenile detention center. We were treated with dignity and respect the whole way through and I can't praise the juvenile probation officers highly enough. I did however have a problem with the folks who took care of the Saturday community service stuff - I'd drop Clint off by 7am, and he might call at 1pm maybe, saying they were done for the day, and that he was getting credit for the whole 8 hours! What's that all about? Who was it for? It certainly wasn't for the benefit of the kids - what were they learning from this? (don't get me started!) One weekend, it turns out that someone had given a bunch of tickets for a college football game (in Houston) to someone at the probation center, and so the kids who had not caused any trouble were allowed to go! Nice reward, huh? (I told you not to get me started!)
I was proud of Clint, in spite of everything. When he was confronted with news of the gun, he instantly responded with the truth. I was mighty impressed with that. He didn't really stall for time to think of how to get out of this. He just flat out told the truth. And when he was taken to the basketball game, he wasn't impressed. He didn't care for basketball, even if it was getting him out of 'work'. I think he would've preferred doing the work, to be honest, rather than to sit there through what was obviously a boring couple of hours for him!
So, back to the trouble both boys got into in school. I went to court on several occasions because they'd skipped school. Yeah. If the kids skip school, the parents are brought to court. And I can understand that. But what if you drive your kids to school, and watch them go in? Whose responsibility is it then when they skip out? I'd done my part, in my mind. When I asked the judge about this, he told me that the school had enough to do, without having to guard the doors, or something along those lines. Looking back, I wish I'd just quit my job (another job by this point) and just made it a point to sit in the classroom with one or the other of them all day long, day in and day out. Actually, Clint was put on probation for another year for skipping school and had to attend a boot camp school. He was under house arrest -he could go to school, then walk across the street to his grandmother's house where he had to call the drill sergeant to let them know he was there, then he had to wait for me or his dad to pick him up when we got off work. He wasn't allowed to go anywhere other than to school & church & functions for either of them, unless he was accompanied by one of his parents. He couldn't go down the street to a friend's house; he couldn't even go to the yard next door.
One day while I was at work (again, not there close to home, but in the north part of Houston), I received a call from another kid's mom, telling me that both our kids had skipped, actually both of mine plus her son, and they were spotted by the cops who tried to stop them to ask them what they were doing - my older son stopped immediately, the other two ran. I just broke down there at work. My supervisor, a Christian woman, thank God, pulled me into an empty meeting room and talked me down and let me call my mother, a very strong Christian woman, to ask her to pray for the boys. I honestly don't remember exactly how this ended. I suppose they were tracked down, given a ticket and that's probably one of the times I had to go to court with Clint.
So, Clint had some scrapes with the law. He also ran away a couple of times. Once, while he was on his own. He stayed at a friend's house & was gone a day or two. The 2nd time, a friend of his that lived down the street, was going to run away (he was a foster kid) and Clint didn't want him to be by himself. Clint was looking out for him. I think he was younger & smaller than Clint and Clint was scared for him, so he went along to look out for him. About a week later, the foster father came down to our door after midnight & told us the police had put a trace on the boy's girlfriend's phone & tracked the boys down to a seaside town a couple of hours from here, where they were staying with the boy's natural mother.
Clint also was a master of sneaking out of the house. He could sneak into our bedroom, get my keys, steal my car (yes, that's what it was, pure and simple) and drive around town - with another kid a couple of years younger than him! - and then come back, park my car, return my keys and go to bed. I don't know how many times he did this. Actually, the neighbor was my first clue. She lived across the street from us. Called me one day to ask if I'd heard all the noise the night before. I told her no, hadn't heard a thing (and our bedroom window is at the front of the house!) She said she heard a loud grinding noise, and there was Clint, trying to drive my stick shift! He'd let it roll down out of the driveway to the side of the road. He somehow got it back up in the driveway & went back in the house for the night. I confronted him & he said yes, he'd done it. He was grounded or whatever we did back then. But he did it more than once.
We did what we could to help Clint and his brother. Clint was seeing a psychiatrist, & was on medication for ADHD. He was seeing a counselor, was in a teen 12-step group and attended those meeting 3-4X a week, and then the program had things planned in advance for Friday nights & Saturdays. We might have had movie night at the home of one of the teens on Friday night, then on Saturday, we'd go to someone else's home for a pool party. It was for the kids & their parents. It was a strict group. Each parent wrote out the rules for their house. Each time there was a rule broken, there was a consequence. Say, the first time a rule was broken, the consequence was to lose tv/stereo privileges. The second time, they'd have their cell phone taken away. The 3rd time, they lost their privacy - the door to their room came off. And if they were really rebelling, they were kicked out of their house. Seriously. But there was a catch. They were welcome to ask to be able to stay with any of the other families in the group. BUT, they had to abide by the rules of THAT household. And if they broke those rules, then they had to accept those consequences. And they didn't get a free ride at the other houses. They had to work for the roof over their heads and the food. Clint was out of the house several times, & each time the parents would tell me how polite and hard-working he was.
Okay, that's enough for today. I was going to post a couple of photos of Clint, but I forgot that I'm on a new computer, since my old one died around Christmas & had to be replaced. I haven't hooked up the printer/scanner yet. I found the instruction booklet & CD and tried, but I first have to download the correct version of Windows. Now that's going to be a problem - can't find the right box of stuff! So as soon as I get that done, I'll add some photos. I think a lot of the success behind a good blog is the photos included. I'm a bit of a slow learner. That thought just occurred to me yesterday. But at least I got it - I could still be in the dark about it! Kudos to me!
So I think I'm going to start my blog over. When I first started it, I chose a name and a background and that was it. It just sat there for a long time before I ever posted anything. I'm so afraid of saying the wrong thing, or not writing the perfect post, that I freeze. What if I mix tenses in the same sentence or paragraph? What if I misspell a word? What if my family reads it & get upset? (no, no one in my family knows of my blog, even now.)
So I guess now I need to get rid of my fears, neuroses, phobias & paranoia. But how do I cast all that aside, and still care about others' feelings? On the other hand...where has all that gotten me?
I rarely express my opinion, for fear of offending someone. No, not just because of that. Because I have opinions I don't know how to back up. Sitting here almost all by myself for 8-1/2 yrs, I seem to have lost a lot of my vocabulary. Along with a large part of my memory.
I had decided to blog about cleaning up the mess around me, but I think I'd rather get rid of the past first. Telling about the story that led up to the suicide of my son. I mentioned it in my first post, but didn't return to it. I think I need to get that out first.
I go as far as I can today, & will return to it as I can.
I have two sons; one who is now 26 yrs old, and Clint, who was 16 yrs old when he died by his own hand 8-1/2 yrs ago.
Some background first. I was working at a car wash in town, about 6 miles away from home. I loved it. Loved my boss, loved talking with the customers, solving problems, etc. I also had a lot of leeway in taking care of personal business - I could usually leave when I had to go to the school to take care of one problem or another, or maybe to go pay a bill or to go to a dr's appointment.
After the first couple of years of school, both boys began not bringing home/doing their homework. That was just the beginning. They would do it, but not turn it in. Then they stopped doing it at all. At first I would sit there with them while they did their homework, hoping to make sure they understood what they were doing. I probably confused the heck out of them more than anything else! When I'd hear of them not turning in their homework, and I knew they'd done it, I'd find it in the bottom of their backpack, all crumpled up. It wasn't that they were struggling with the work, they understood it well enough. They just didn't want to do it. I won't get into all the nitty gritty - again, most of it I don't remember, but the situation was addressed over & over, and it would change for a couple of days, then start back up again.
When the boys got into jr high and high school, they started getting into bigger trouble. My memory of those years now is just a blur, but I remember smoking, drinking, skipping school were the problems. Actually, it started in middle school for Clint. I don't even remember what grades are involved in middle school, I guess it's 5th & 6th. At any rate, in his last year there, I received a phone call from the principal (while at work) and was told that she'd been told that Clint had taken a gun to school several days earlier! My 12 yr old son! I told her that was impossible, that my husband did indeed have a pistol, but that he kept it locked up. She said that all the students were in some pre-test for a major all-school test (TAAS, for those in Texas you'll know what I'm talking about), and when they got finished with it for the day, that she'd call me so I could come over to be there when they talked to Clint. I called my husband and he verified that his pistol was locked up in it's case and it was locked up in the toolbox in the back of his truck, which was with him at work. He'd just handled it the day before, so he knew it was in the case in the toolbox.
I went to the school when the testing was done, and the principal told Clint what was going on & had he had a gun in school. He thought for about a split second then said that yes, he had. I was so unprepared for that response! They asked him about it, and he told them everything (a neighbor kid had shown it to him out of his father's bedside table drawer, and dared him to take it to school, which he later denied). Finally we went from the classroom to the office and Clint and I sat there while the principal and vice-principal went into her office. We were waiting & waiting, and finally at one point I looked up to see who else was coming in, and there was one of the local police officers. I recognized him because we gave the officers free washes at the car wash, for their patrol cars. His mother and father also rented one of my in-laws' rent houses. Talk about a small world, huh? I knew we were in big trouble when I saw him. Incredibly, I almost felt sorry for the principal & police - this is a small town, and this kind of thing had never happened there. And while I'm not making excuses for my son, this was a tiny derringer type of pistol; it fit in the palm of your hand, and the firing mechanism was broken. It just wasn't 'heard of' there; it was so totally unexpected!
Long story short, charges were filed and Clint was on probation for 1 year and had to perform 25 hours of community service. He was on trash-picking duty on the sides of the road & garden detail there at the juvenile detention center. We were treated with dignity and respect the whole way through and I can't praise the juvenile probation officers highly enough. I did however have a problem with the folks who took care of the Saturday community service stuff - I'd drop Clint off by 7am, and he might call at 1pm maybe, saying they were done for the day, and that he was getting credit for the whole 8 hours! What's that all about? Who was it for? It certainly wasn't for the benefit of the kids - what were they learning from this? (don't get me started!) One weekend, it turns out that someone had given a bunch of tickets for a college football game (in Houston) to someone at the probation center, and so the kids who had not caused any trouble were allowed to go! Nice reward, huh? (I told you not to get me started!)
I was proud of Clint, in spite of everything. When he was confronted with news of the gun, he instantly responded with the truth. I was mighty impressed with that. He didn't really stall for time to think of how to get out of this. He just flat out told the truth. And when he was taken to the basketball game, he wasn't impressed. He didn't care for basketball, even if it was getting him out of 'work'. I think he would've preferred doing the work, to be honest, rather than to sit there through what was obviously a boring couple of hours for him!
So, back to the trouble both boys got into in school. I went to court on several occasions because they'd skipped school. Yeah. If the kids skip school, the parents are brought to court. And I can understand that. But what if you drive your kids to school, and watch them go in? Whose responsibility is it then when they skip out? I'd done my part, in my mind. When I asked the judge about this, he told me that the school had enough to do, without having to guard the doors, or something along those lines. Looking back, I wish I'd just quit my job (another job by this point) and just made it a point to sit in the classroom with one or the other of them all day long, day in and day out. Actually, Clint was put on probation for another year for skipping school and had to attend a boot camp school. He was under house arrest -he could go to school, then walk across the street to his grandmother's house where he had to call the drill sergeant to let them know he was there, then he had to wait for me or his dad to pick him up when we got off work. He wasn't allowed to go anywhere other than to school & church & functions for either of them, unless he was accompanied by one of his parents. He couldn't go down the street to a friend's house; he couldn't even go to the yard next door.
One day while I was at work (again, not there close to home, but in the north part of Houston), I received a call from another kid's mom, telling me that both our kids had skipped, actually both of mine plus her son, and they were spotted by the cops who tried to stop them to ask them what they were doing - my older son stopped immediately, the other two ran. I just broke down there at work. My supervisor, a Christian woman, thank God, pulled me into an empty meeting room and talked me down and let me call my mother, a very strong Christian woman, to ask her to pray for the boys. I honestly don't remember exactly how this ended. I suppose they were tracked down, given a ticket and that's probably one of the times I had to go to court with Clint.
So, Clint had some scrapes with the law. He also ran away a couple of times. Once, while he was on his own. He stayed at a friend's house & was gone a day or two. The 2nd time, a friend of his that lived down the street, was going to run away (he was a foster kid) and Clint didn't want him to be by himself. Clint was looking out for him. I think he was younger & smaller than Clint and Clint was scared for him, so he went along to look out for him. About a week later, the foster father came down to our door after midnight & told us the police had put a trace on the boy's girlfriend's phone & tracked the boys down to a seaside town a couple of hours from here, where they were staying with the boy's natural mother.
Clint also was a master of sneaking out of the house. He could sneak into our bedroom, get my keys, steal my car (yes, that's what it was, pure and simple) and drive around town - with another kid a couple of years younger than him! - and then come back, park my car, return my keys and go to bed. I don't know how many times he did this. Actually, the neighbor was my first clue. She lived across the street from us. Called me one day to ask if I'd heard all the noise the night before. I told her no, hadn't heard a thing (and our bedroom window is at the front of the house!) She said she heard a loud grinding noise, and there was Clint, trying to drive my stick shift! He'd let it roll down out of the driveway to the side of the road. He somehow got it back up in the driveway & went back in the house for the night. I confronted him & he said yes, he'd done it. He was grounded or whatever we did back then. But he did it more than once.
We did what we could to help Clint and his brother. Clint was seeing a psychiatrist, & was on medication for ADHD. He was seeing a counselor, was in a teen 12-step group and attended those meeting 3-4X a week, and then the program had things planned in advance for Friday nights & Saturdays. We might have had movie night at the home of one of the teens on Friday night, then on Saturday, we'd go to someone else's home for a pool party. It was for the kids & their parents. It was a strict group. Each parent wrote out the rules for their house. Each time there was a rule broken, there was a consequence. Say, the first time a rule was broken, the consequence was to lose tv/stereo privileges. The second time, they'd have their cell phone taken away. The 3rd time, they lost their privacy - the door to their room came off. And if they were really rebelling, they were kicked out of their house. Seriously. But there was a catch. They were welcome to ask to be able to stay with any of the other families in the group. BUT, they had to abide by the rules of THAT household. And if they broke those rules, then they had to accept those consequences. And they didn't get a free ride at the other houses. They had to work for the roof over their heads and the food. Clint was out of the house several times, & each time the parents would tell me how polite and hard-working he was.
Okay, that's enough for today. I was going to post a couple of photos of Clint, but I forgot that I'm on a new computer, since my old one died around Christmas & had to be replaced. I haven't hooked up the printer/scanner yet. I found the instruction booklet & CD and tried, but I first have to download the correct version of Windows. Now that's going to be a problem - can't find the right box of stuff! So as soon as I get that done, I'll add some photos. I think a lot of the success behind a good blog is the photos included. I'm a bit of a slow learner. That thought just occurred to me yesterday. But at least I got it - I could still be in the dark about it! Kudos to me!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
And More Great Giveaways!
Incredibly, there are still more giveaways going on by some of my favorite blogs and new favorite blogs!
Here's one from The Old Farmhouse Gathering. If you love PRIMITIVE, you'll love this giveaway!
There are so many items in this giveaway, that you have to scroll down a bit further to see the picture of all the items included, then click on it to enlarge it, to see it all! Then there's a couple more items that will be given away a few days after the basket giveaway. I really don't have enough room here to describe everything, so you'll just have to take my word for it & go check it out!
Next up I have Pam of Rooster Inn Primitives giving away some of her prim punkins! You heard me right - I said PUNKINS, as in more than one! I'm talking one large one and five small ones! A whole patch is goin' on there!
Pam is hosting a give away. Winner to be picked on Oct. 10 click on the pic for details. Pam says she got her love of sewing from her mom, who used to make Raggedy Anns in all sizes! I have a special place in my heart for RA's, because when my brother & I were in 4th & 5th grade, my mother made us Raggedy Ann & Andy costumes for the school's costume contest. My brother, being younger, went first with his class and won a ribbon. My class followed and I actually heard the judges talking, noticing my costume & how it went together with the winner from the previous class. So they decided that since there was already a winner in the family, they went in another direction to pick my grade's winner. It kind of hurt my feelings a little bit, but I realized why they did what they did and was so proud of my mother for making the costumes in the first place, and for staying up so late to sew barn red yarn in rows across the sleeve of Daddy's tee shirt that had the open end sewn together, so it would fit like a skullcap over our heads. She actually made two of those & I remember her waking me up to try it on for a minute, then letting me go back to sleep. That was a wonderful memory in and of itself, but the story continues! When my Daddy passed away, and Mom decided to move into a smaller place, I helped her go through the attic and lo and behold, I found both costumes, complete, along with the pattern! I gave the Andy set to my brother and (sometime) I want to either buy a doll or make one, then use the pattern (which is for both costumes and 2 sizes of dolls) to make the outfit. I'd love to get the stuff back from my brother and maybe make an outfit for a matching Andy! Pam, if you're reading this, hope you know how much I appreciated this memory surfacing, especially at this time of the year!
And Aunt Manny is having a giveaway:
Here's one from The Old Farmhouse Gathering. If you love PRIMITIVE, you'll love this giveaway!
OFG GIVEAWAY BASKET
There are so many items in this giveaway, that you have to scroll down a bit further to see the picture of all the items included, then click on it to enlarge it, to see it all! Then there's a couple more items that will be given away a few days after the basket giveaway. I really don't have enough room here to describe everything, so you'll just have to take my word for it & go check it out!
Next up I have Pam of Rooster Inn Primitives giving away some of her prim punkins! You heard me right - I said PUNKINS, as in more than one! I'm talking one large one and five small ones! A whole patch is goin' on there!
Rooster inn Primitives give away
Pam is hosting a give away. Winner to be picked on Oct. 10 click on the pic for details. Pam says she got her love of sewing from her mom, who used to make Raggedy Anns in all sizes! I have a special place in my heart for RA's, because when my brother & I were in 4th & 5th grade, my mother made us Raggedy Ann & Andy costumes for the school's costume contest. My brother, being younger, went first with his class and won a ribbon. My class followed and I actually heard the judges talking, noticing my costume & how it went together with the winner from the previous class. So they decided that since there was already a winner in the family, they went in another direction to pick my grade's winner. It kind of hurt my feelings a little bit, but I realized why they did what they did and was so proud of my mother for making the costumes in the first place, and for staying up so late to sew barn red yarn in rows across the sleeve of Daddy's tee shirt that had the open end sewn together, so it would fit like a skullcap over our heads. She actually made two of those & I remember her waking me up to try it on for a minute, then letting me go back to sleep. That was a wonderful memory in and of itself, but the story continues! When my Daddy passed away, and Mom decided to move into a smaller place, I helped her go through the attic and lo and behold, I found both costumes, complete, along with the pattern! I gave the Andy set to my brother and (sometime) I want to either buy a doll or make one, then use the pattern (which is for both costumes and 2 sizes of dolls) to make the outfit. I'd love to get the stuff back from my brother and maybe make an outfit for a matching Andy! Pam, if you're reading this, hope you know how much I appreciated this memory surfacing, especially at this time of the year!
And Aunt Manny is having a giveaway:
Aunt Mannys Creations Aunt Mannys is having a Halloween giveaway! Several ways to enter including multiple entries! No purchase necessary to be entered...giveaway ends September 30th!
Aunt Mannys Creations
The winner of this SPOOKY GIVEAWAY will receive a set of 3 scarey-looking mini witch potion bottles along with two sets of Halloween Hang Tag printables AND choice of ANY 1 of her Halloween patterns!!! Go - RIGHT NOW to see everything up close and personal, and if primitive and Halloween are up your alley, this is where you need to be!
And lest you should think I've forgotten my pink roots, here is a giveaway from Debbi at All in my Cottage.
Doesn't that look scrumptious?!? Debbi is lauching her 2009 Christmas line called "A Cottage Christmas" and is marking it's debut with this Tea & Roses Giveaway! Included is a gorgeous pink and white tea and toast set, 12 bags of Stash Tea, 2 French Cottage glittered gift tags, and a handmade gift towel. These are sooooo shabby chic! I've already found some beautiful sugared Tea Pot Christmas Ornaments, the absolute lovliest old-fashioned Christmas Tree YO YO pillow (b) that I really, really want, both from the "A Cottage Christmas" section of Debbi's store, then under the Cottage Kitchen category, she has the most adorable oven dresses - from vintage '50's to shabby chic to fruit! All kinds of wonderful things - time to load up for Christmas!
All righty, that's all for me! I'm too pooped to pop, having so much fun looking at some really fun blogs, meeting wonderful people and seeing beautiful items and knowing that there are some very talented women out there - so let's support them!
Leslie Anne
The winner of this SPOOKY GIVEAWAY will receive a set of 3 scarey-looking mini witch potion bottles along with two sets of Halloween Hang Tag printables AND choice of ANY 1 of her Halloween patterns!!! Go - RIGHT NOW to see everything up close and personal, and if primitive and Halloween are up your alley, this is where you need to be!
And lest you should think I've forgotten my pink roots, here is a giveaway from Debbi at All in my Cottage.
Doesn't that look scrumptious?!? Debbi is lauching her 2009 Christmas line called "A Cottage Christmas" and is marking it's debut with this Tea & Roses Giveaway! Included is a gorgeous pink and white tea and toast set, 12 bags of Stash Tea, 2 French Cottage glittered gift tags, and a handmade gift towel. These are sooooo shabby chic! I've already found some beautiful sugared Tea Pot Christmas Ornaments, the absolute lovliest old-fashioned Christmas Tree YO YO pillow (b) that I really, really want, both from the "A Cottage Christmas" section of Debbi's store, then under the Cottage Kitchen category, she has the most adorable oven dresses - from vintage '50's to shabby chic to fruit! All kinds of wonderful things - time to load up for Christmas!
All righty, that's all for me! I'm too pooped to pop, having so much fun looking at some really fun blogs, meeting wonderful people and seeing beautiful items and knowing that there are some very talented women out there - so let's support them!
Leslie Anne
Skipping Around the Blogosphere and Lots and Lots of Giveaways!
Okay, listen up! I LOVE to hop, skip & jump around visiting blogs with interesting names that I've seen as favorites on some of MY favorite blogs, or that I've seen commenting on someone else's blog & catches my interest, so I have to check them out. Yesterday I ran into an abundance of them, as well as some with stories that deeply touched my heart. So, in the spirit of keeping this light, right now I'm going to dwell on the more positive side, and tell you about the giveaways I've run across. Then I'll tell you about the ones that have so touched me, that it'll move you to tears as well.
Okay, first, look at my previous post to see that Susan of Between Naps on the Porch is having a giveaway - an autumn tassel from Angela at the Tassel House. Check it out HERE or click on title below!
Is that not some awesome gorgeousness?
Now, look to the left and you'll see that Holly of The Pink Rose Cottage is having a giveaway to 4 lucky winners!
Click on photo to Enter For a Chance to Win This Beautiful Giveaway!
Holly's got tea napkins, tea spoons, a table topper, embroidered guest towels and a lovely soap, 8 vintage handkerchiefs and a gift certificate to her Etsy Shoppe. The napkins, spoons & table topper are one prize; the guest towels and soap are another prize; the vintage handkerchiefs are still another prize; and the gift certificate is the last prize. Wowzer!
Then, above that, you'll see a giveaway from Carol at Firecracker Kid:
click photo to go to contest page - Ends October1
This is a wooden farmhouse dough bowl and rolling pin keep. Handcrafted by Carol and her husband, who is retired from carpentry. So you KNOW it's gotta be well-made!
Next up is Stefanie from Rose Petals and Rust:
click photo to go to contest page ends Oct 19th
Stefanie is celebrating her 100th post and is having a giveaway in honor of this milestone! Twenty - count 'em - twenty pink vintage ornaments! Am I dreaming or what? I'd love to add these to my itty bitty collection!
Next up is Kimberly at Sugar Creek Hollow:
click photo to go to contest page
These are some of the prettiest and most scrumptious-scented candles I've seen in a long time - and they're soy candles! Doesn't get any better than that now, does it? The trio picture shows the flavors that are included in the giveaway - Candy Corn (love the layers!), Tricks or Treats, and Witches Brew. Don't they sound wonderful? You'll have to go to Sugar Creek Hollow to see the descriptions of each flavor, as well as visit Kimberly's Etsy shoppe to see the many other scents she has for sale!
Then came Suzy of Mill House Primitives with a Fall basket in her giveaway. I'm not exactly sure what all is in the basket, but after looking at her Etsy shoppe, I know I'd be thrilled with anything from Suzy! Suzy is a primitive folk artist from Maine.
click photo to go to contest page - Ends October 12
I'm tellin' ya, I just can't stress enough that you HAVE to go look at Suzy's blog and Etsy shoppe to see how wonderful everything is!
Well, that's enough for now! There are just so many more that I'll have to make a second post for you to see them! Get busy though, because some of these end in a day or so, and I know you don't want to miss out on any one of these generous giveaways!
Okay, first, look at my previous post to see that Susan of Between Naps on the Porch is having a giveaway - an autumn tassel from Angela at the Tassel House. Check it out HERE or click on title below!
Fall Give-a-Way from Between Naps on the Porch!
Is that not some awesome gorgeousness?
Now, look to the left and you'll see that Holly of The Pink Rose Cottage is having a giveaway to 4 lucky winners!
A Giveaway At Pink Rose Cottage
Click on photo to Enter For a Chance to Win This Beautiful Giveaway!
Holly's got tea napkins, tea spoons, a table topper, embroidered guest towels and a lovely soap, 8 vintage handkerchiefs and a gift certificate to her Etsy Shoppe. The napkins, spoons & table topper are one prize; the guest towels and soap are another prize; the vintage handkerchiefs are still another prize; and the gift certificate is the last prize. Wowzer!
Then, above that, you'll see a giveaway from Carol at Firecracker Kid:
Hop on a broom or grab a ride with a ghost, but get on over to Firecracker Kid to enter this giveaway!
click photo to go to contest page - Ends October1
This is a wooden farmhouse dough bowl and rolling pin keep. Handcrafted by Carol and her husband, who is retired from carpentry. So you KNOW it's gotta be well-made!
Next up is Stefanie from Rose Petals and Rust:
Enter My 100th post giveaway!!!!
click photo to go to contest page ends Oct 19th
Stefanie is celebrating her 100th post and is having a giveaway in honor of this milestone! Twenty - count 'em - twenty pink vintage ornaments! Am I dreaming or what? I'd love to add these to my itty bitty collection!
Next up is Kimberly at Sugar Creek Hollow:
Halloween Candles Giveaway - Ends Oct 16th
click photo to go to contest page
These are some of the prettiest and most scrumptious-scented candles I've seen in a long time - and they're soy candles! Doesn't get any better than that now, does it? The trio picture shows the flavors that are included in the giveaway - Candy Corn (love the layers!), Tricks or Treats, and Witches Brew. Don't they sound wonderful? You'll have to go to Sugar Creek Hollow to see the descriptions of each flavor, as well as visit Kimberly's Etsy shoppe to see the many other scents she has for sale!
Then came Suzy of Mill House Primitives with a Fall basket in her giveaway. I'm not exactly sure what all is in the basket, but after looking at her Etsy shoppe, I know I'd be thrilled with anything from Suzy! Suzy is a primitive folk artist from Maine.
Get on your broom and fly on over and enter this giveaway!!
click photo to go to contest page - Ends October 12
I'm tellin' ya, I just can't stress enough that you HAVE to go look at Suzy's blog and Etsy shoppe to see how wonderful everything is!
Well, that's enough for now! There are just so many more that I'll have to make a second post for you to see them! Get busy though, because some of these end in a day or so, and I know you don't want to miss out on any one of these generous giveaways!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Just Checking In and a Giveaway from BETWEEN NAPS ON THE PORCH
I'm currently in Maryland visiting family. I'm staying with Mom and have seen my aunt, JoAnne, cousins David and Jeff, and Jeff's twin daughters, Jenna and Jessica.
Then Mom & I drove down to Salisbury (still in Maryland) to see my brothers, Tres (Homer) and Kevin, and their families. I got to visit with sisters-in-law Karen and Mary Jane, nephews & their spouses, Brian & Angey and Michael & Lauren, and nieces Kelly and Katie. Then there were my nephews' children, Owen, Audrey, Lydia and Logan. Logan was only 10 days old when I met him! When we get back to Mom's, I still have to see my cousin Becky & her family, and my sister-in-law Cassie and her boys! Can't wait! I love visiting family; it's so much fun and laughter and filled with love. And I love it up here in Maryland. I forget just how beautiful it is up here, then I visit in autumn (my favorite time of year, especially up here!) and see the beautiful homes and the trees/woods and the mums and pumpkins and cornshocks and it kind of makes my chest hurt just a little, because I realize what I've missed all these years! (sniff, sniff!)
Now, for the really fun stuff! I visited one of the blogs I follow this morning, Between Naps on the Porch and author Susan is hosting a giveaway that is beautiful! (Welcome to the 37th Metamorphosis Monday and a Fall Give-a-Way!) Visit her blog and see the stunning "Give Thanks" autumn tassel that she is giving away, courtesy of Angela, who has an etsy shoppe, The Tassel House. If you visit there, you will find more tassels, for sale! Good luck to you if you enter the giveaway (but I really hope I win!!!) ;)
Leslie Anne
Then Mom & I drove down to Salisbury (still in Maryland) to see my brothers, Tres (Homer) and Kevin, and their families. I got to visit with sisters-in-law Karen and Mary Jane, nephews & their spouses, Brian & Angey and Michael & Lauren, and nieces Kelly and Katie. Then there were my nephews' children, Owen, Audrey, Lydia and Logan. Logan was only 10 days old when I met him! When we get back to Mom's, I still have to see my cousin Becky & her family, and my sister-in-law Cassie and her boys! Can't wait! I love visiting family; it's so much fun and laughter and filled with love. And I love it up here in Maryland. I forget just how beautiful it is up here, then I visit in autumn (my favorite time of year, especially up here!) and see the beautiful homes and the trees/woods and the mums and pumpkins and cornshocks and it kind of makes my chest hurt just a little, because I realize what I've missed all these years! (sniff, sniff!)
Now, for the really fun stuff! I visited one of the blogs I follow this morning, Between Naps on the Porch and author Susan is hosting a giveaway that is beautiful! (Welcome to the 37th Metamorphosis Monday and a Fall Give-a-Way!) Visit her blog and see the stunning "Give Thanks" autumn tassel that she is giving away, courtesy of Angela, who has an etsy shoppe, The Tassel House. If you visit there, you will find more tassels, for sale! Good luck to you if you enter the giveaway (but I really hope I win!!!) ;)
Leslie Anne
Sunday, August 9, 2009
And on a lighter note... and a recipe
I couldn't just let the day end on the note of my previous post. So, on the up side, I took all of the recipes I'd typed into the recipe program I'd purchased and put them in Word documents. First, I went into Word and created a Recipe file. Once in that, I created sub-folders for each section of recipes - like in a recipe book. There's Main Dishes, and Desserts, and Appetizers, etc. Then, in each of those sub-folders, I created more sub-folders for specifics. Like in Desserts, there's cakes, candies, cookies, brownies, cheesecake, etc. I started placing recipes I'd taken from the internet into these sub-sub-folders. (Is there another word for that?)
Anyway, I created another recipe file, but named it Leslie Anne's Favorite Recipes and put in the same sub-folders and sub-sub-folders. I decided it would be easier to find one of my old stand-bys if I kept them separated from the rest of the general population of recipes I have. I had once upon a time started typing them into a recipe program that I bought off the internet. But I didn't like how it worked. I'd already typed in a little over 100 recipes and have lots more to put in there. I can't believe that I have that many favorite recipes, but there you have it! Anyway, I copied & pasted them into separate Word documents and filed them appropriately, thank you very much.
So, here's one of my favorite recipes. Be sure to read the notes following the recipe - I like to take a recipe and make it my own. Variations are of my own making. This pie is a great one for summer time.
Anyway, I created another recipe file, but named it Leslie Anne's Favorite Recipes and put in the same sub-folders and sub-sub-folders. I decided it would be easier to find one of my old stand-bys if I kept them separated from the rest of the general population of recipes I have. I had once upon a time started typing them into a recipe program that I bought off the internet. But I didn't like how it worked. I'd already typed in a little over 100 recipes and have lots more to put in there. I can't believe that I have that many favorite recipes, but there you have it! Anyway, I copied & pasted them into separate Word documents and filed them appropriately, thank you very much.
So, here's one of my favorite recipes. Be sure to read the notes following the recipe - I like to take a recipe and make it my own. Variations are of my own making. This pie is a great one for summer time.
Jello Whip Pie
From: Aunt Audrey King
1 - 3 oz pkg lime jello
1 C hot water
1/4 C cold water
juice of 2 limes
zest of 1 lime
1/2 C sugar
1 - 13 oz can evaporated milk, chilled
2 - 3 oz pkgs cream cheese, room temp. (I just use one 8 oz pkg!)
pie crust(s) - see note
Stir hot water into jello till dissolved.Add cold water. Add lime juice, lime zest and sugar. Cool till set.
Whip the chilled evaporated milk. Whip the jello mix. Beat the cream cheese and add to the jello mixture.
Fold jello mixture into the evaporated milk and whip until stiff (should be fairly stiff.)
Put into graham cracker crust (recipe makes 2 ready-made 6 oz crusts).
Note: Top of recipe says it makes 2 - 8" pies or 1 - 9-1/2 to 10" pie.
PERSONAL NOTE #1: This recipe can very easily be made "healthier" by substituting the following:
1 pkg sugar-free lime jello instead of sugar sweetened jello
sugar substitute to replace the sugar
1 - 12 oz can skim evaporated milk
Use Neufchatel cheese (the 1/3 less fat cream cheese) instead of regular cream cheese
Make your own graham cracker crust. I found this recipe in a magazine for diabetics that Daddy must've received when he was diagnosed with diabetes (the magazine was put out by Southern Living, but is no longer in print.)
HOMEMADE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST ( recipe taken from Collector's Edition Successful Living with Diabetes)
1-3/4 C graham cracker crumbs
1/4 C granulated sugar substitute
3 Tbsp reduced-calorie margarine, melted
cooking spray
Combine crumbs, sugar substitute and margarine substitute; stir well.Press mixture evenly in bottom and up sides of a 9" pie plate coated with cooking spray.
Bake @ 350°F for 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
PERSONAL NOTE#2: You can come up with pretty much whatever flavor or combination of flavors that you want with this recipe.
Orange - orange jello, orange zest & orange juice
Lemon - lemon jello, zest & juice
Raspberry or cherry or strawberry - matching jello flavor, matching bottled fruit juice, and appropriate chopped berries. The same can be done I imagine with grape or blueberry or blackberry. Even cranberry with some juice & cranberry sauce with whole berries.
Basically any fruit flavor with a bit of the fruit in it should work. This is a light, refreshing dessert in the summer.
Tired
Well, I'm just tired. Of everything. According to some people, I can't do anything right. I'm a disgusting slob who doesn't mind living in a pigpen and who is too lazy to do any work around the house. And I'm a recluse who is happy with that. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! On all counts!!! Does anyone really think I enjoy living in rooms stuffed full of ...stuff? Obviously someone does. Or that I want it to stay that way? Or that I want to stay in the house, 24/7, 365 a year? Yeah, I've kept to myself a lot since Clint's death, and I was fighting depression even before that. So yes, I did isolate myself. But even then I'd get out of the house at least to go to church, to see the dr's and to the store occasionally. I can still do that - oh wait. No I can't. After my fun trip to Albuquerque, where NOBODY judged me or put me down or looked down their nose at me, I came home to a filthy car, flat tire and dead battery. I've been home just about a month now and the car hasn't been touched - still filthy, flat & dead. So I'm stuck at home unless I beg for a ride.
And the mess? I've finally come to the place where I feel like I can start to go through things. But I can't do that without some supplies. I'm not asking for big bucks to be spent on plastic tubs at this point. I'd be thrilled with cardboard boxes. But. I can't go get them myself, although I've asked. And asked. And asked. For someone to keep an eye out for boxes - at work, in dumpsters, at the liquor store or the convenience stores, even on the curb of a neighborhood home where someone's just moved in & unloaded some things. But no go. I was told that "no one has boxes anymore, they recycle them". Baloney. But again, I can't go do it myself - no ride.
So how do I sort & go through stuff if I don't have somewhere to pack things up or have boxes to hold the things I want to get rid of (garage sale or shelter or Salvation Army)? Yes, a larger part of the stuff is mine. After Daddy died and Mom moved into smaller quarters, I brought a lot of stuff back home here from Maryland. Add to that the things I'd already gotten from both sets of grandparents' homes. Then throw into the mix the fact that my son has returned home to live, twice now, each time taking over a spare bedroom that I'd made into a guest room with a closet full of stuff. But now the stuff is all in my computer room. So I barely have room to walk in anymore. Anyway, I need boxes. Lots of them. And I can't see spending money on boxes - not that I have any money to spend on boxes - I'm lucky to get money for groceries. And I have to beg every payday for that. Usually I get it. Sometimes I don't. Then I'm stuck with whatever I can forage from the fridge, freezer or pantry. So if there's barely any food, how come I'm not losing weight? Almost funny, right? I suppose I shouldn't sound so negative. Occasionally some groceries are brought in, and I get to eat whatever someone else chooses, rarely being asked what I would like.
I'm sorry. I used to not be so negative. I was a happy person, laughing, smiling, fun to be around, making other people laugh. Now I seem to have turned into the one person I didn't want to be like. It happened slowly. So slowly I didn't even recognize it. I don't want to be that person. But now that I've seen that it's there, how do I stop it? How do I get rid of it? My first thought is to just not let it happen. Embrace life. Live life to the fullest. Go for the gusto. Then I remember who I am. And where I am. And who I live with. And I remember that it's not that easy. Now when you're constantly being ragged on. Put down. Yelled at. Made fun of. And I think, "Why have I stayed here for so long?"
I guess I was thinking it was what God wanted. He abhors divorce. He loves the people, but hates the divorce. I tried to follow that. Or maybe I used it as an excuse. Because I'm lazy & don't want to go through the mess of a divorce. Or maybe I'm afraid to. Or maybe I'm afraid to be by myself afterwards. Nah. Don't think so on that one.
There are so many things I want to do, but I seem to have my hands tied behind my back in each instance. I feel so helpless sometimes, like I don't have control over anything in my life. I can't work, so I don't have any money. I have to depend on someone else for all my needs. I can't clean up, so I get called names. I can't leave the house without a big hassle. And even if I could do either one, it's not like I could just jump in both feet first and be done with it, 1 2 3. I still can't stay on task like I used to. But I can at least get a little done at a time as far as the cleaning up goes. Same with getting out. I was starting to get out and at least attend church functions before I left. And yes, even that was spotty. But it's more than I'd been doing. And a lot more than what I'm doing now.
And the mess? I've finally come to the place where I feel like I can start to go through things. But I can't do that without some supplies. I'm not asking for big bucks to be spent on plastic tubs at this point. I'd be thrilled with cardboard boxes. But. I can't go get them myself, although I've asked. And asked. And asked. For someone to keep an eye out for boxes - at work, in dumpsters, at the liquor store or the convenience stores, even on the curb of a neighborhood home where someone's just moved in & unloaded some things. But no go. I was told that "no one has boxes anymore, they recycle them". Baloney. But again, I can't go do it myself - no ride.
So how do I sort & go through stuff if I don't have somewhere to pack things up or have boxes to hold the things I want to get rid of (garage sale or shelter or Salvation Army)? Yes, a larger part of the stuff is mine. After Daddy died and Mom moved into smaller quarters, I brought a lot of stuff back home here from Maryland. Add to that the things I'd already gotten from both sets of grandparents' homes. Then throw into the mix the fact that my son has returned home to live, twice now, each time taking over a spare bedroom that I'd made into a guest room with a closet full of stuff. But now the stuff is all in my computer room. So I barely have room to walk in anymore. Anyway, I need boxes. Lots of them. And I can't see spending money on boxes - not that I have any money to spend on boxes - I'm lucky to get money for groceries. And I have to beg every payday for that. Usually I get it. Sometimes I don't. Then I'm stuck with whatever I can forage from the fridge, freezer or pantry. So if there's barely any food, how come I'm not losing weight? Almost funny, right? I suppose I shouldn't sound so negative. Occasionally some groceries are brought in, and I get to eat whatever someone else chooses, rarely being asked what I would like.
I'm sorry. I used to not be so negative. I was a happy person, laughing, smiling, fun to be around, making other people laugh. Now I seem to have turned into the one person I didn't want to be like. It happened slowly. So slowly I didn't even recognize it. I don't want to be that person. But now that I've seen that it's there, how do I stop it? How do I get rid of it? My first thought is to just not let it happen. Embrace life. Live life to the fullest. Go for the gusto. Then I remember who I am. And where I am. And who I live with. And I remember that it's not that easy. Now when you're constantly being ragged on. Put down. Yelled at. Made fun of. And I think, "Why have I stayed here for so long?"
I guess I was thinking it was what God wanted. He abhors divorce. He loves the people, but hates the divorce. I tried to follow that. Or maybe I used it as an excuse. Because I'm lazy & don't want to go through the mess of a divorce. Or maybe I'm afraid to. Or maybe I'm afraid to be by myself afterwards. Nah. Don't think so on that one.
There are so many things I want to do, but I seem to have my hands tied behind my back in each instance. I feel so helpless sometimes, like I don't have control over anything in my life. I can't work, so I don't have any money. I have to depend on someone else for all my needs. I can't clean up, so I get called names. I can't leave the house without a big hassle. And even if I could do either one, it's not like I could just jump in both feet first and be done with it, 1 2 3. I still can't stay on task like I used to. But I can at least get a little done at a time as far as the cleaning up goes. Same with getting out. I was starting to get out and at least attend church functions before I left. And yes, even that was spotty. But it's more than I'd been doing. And a lot more than what I'm doing now.
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