tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76803325721164364492024-03-12T22:41:12.623-04:00Freckled NosesFamily, Home, and ImperfectionsPhoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-28872718332886656912014-10-25T22:47:00.001-04:002014-10-25T22:47:13.884-04:00Let's Talk Graduation - Yes, ALREADY!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My firstborn is approaching her high school graduation. Before school even started she was discussing some of her plans and ideas and I was listening and nodding in agreement where I thought was appropriate, adding a hmmm? when I wasn't too sure, but mostly just listening. Finally, she was fed up with me and demanded to know why I wasn't interested and didn't even care that she was about to graduate from high school. I calmly explained to her that my dear daughter, it is not that I do not care, I am trying desperately to not think about the fact that pretty soon, my sweet little baby girl will be done with yet another phase of her life and the fact that time is going by so quickly that I am dizzy just thinking about it.<br />
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You see, as she was sitting there talking about all her plans, all I could see was this sweet little two year old singing her ABC's to me as I braided her hair. A little six year old big sister so generously sharing her beloved Eegee's with her baby brother. A scared little ten year old getting stitches after a crash on her bike. A sad little thirteen year old saying goodbye to her Arizona friends as we left on our grand adventure and moved to Michigan. A confident fifteen year old as she dedicated her life to Jehovah. A confused sixteen year old facing the ever present challenge of growing up with and sometimes in different directions than friends. And finally, as this seventeen year old nearly grown woman discussing her future plans that more and more included less and less of Mom. So no, I do NOT want to think about this thing they call growing up. It stinks! It really, really does.<br />
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So even though it was hard and many times while we were shooting she kept asking, why are you looking at me like that, we have been working on her senior portraits. I know I am speaking as a biased mom, but, gosh, she sure turned out beautiful!<br />
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So since we live so far from so many people that she grew up with and loves, we have to plan her graduation and subsequent festivities a little early. At the moment her graduation is scheduled for May 31, 2015. The only reason this date will change is if this winter is as bad as it was last winter and they have another, oh I don't know, KAJILLION snow days and it gets pushed back. Her party is planned for June 6, 2015. So all my lovely Arizona friends and family, I would love to know how many of you are planning on coming up to see us this summer. You can e-mail us at <a href="mailto:camandphoeb@yahoo.com">camandphoeb@yahoo.com</a> or give us a call.Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-10218761519076114912014-09-24T10:21:00.002-04:002014-09-24T10:22:45.455-04:00Okay, Okay, I'll Start AgainIt has been more than a year since I have posted anything on this here blog. Life is a little busy, a little crazy, and to be honest, I wasn't sure if I was the only one reading the blog anyway. Anyway....after numerous complaints.....I shall oblige you all and try to keep this thing more up to date.<br />
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The past year has been a great one! We have had many visitors, which is very awesome! We made another quick trip to Arizona for a wedding. We attended an International Convention. Went camping a couple of times. Harvested a garden, put in another garden and harvested it. Made some jams and jellies, canned some veggies. And now we are getting ready for the beauty that is fall and winter. All caught up? Hee hee.....just kidding, let me break it down for you. Well, not all of it because that is tedious and most likely boring. I will give you highlights.<br />
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We have had some visitors this year. Which is super awesome! We love you all. Here are just a couple:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PiatbxpD1yg/VCLLUmYblZI/AAAAAAAAB88/sya7EBcP0BQ/s1600/crystal%2Bvisit%2B2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PiatbxpD1yg/VCLLUmYblZI/AAAAAAAAB88/sya7EBcP0BQ/s1600/crystal%2Bvisit%2B2013.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This lovely lady came to visit us last summer. Here we are visiting the lighthouse in Ludington.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tv_t-_VfooA/VCLLd26NPnI/AAAAAAAAB9E/P2fn2JC7bPA/s1600/Me%2Band%2BDeeDee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tv_t-_VfooA/VCLLd26NPnI/AAAAAAAAB9E/P2fn2JC7bPA/s1600/Me%2Band%2BDeeDee.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This beautiful gal and her family came to visit me on my anniversary. One of the best gifts I have ever gotten.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8pbVxmfI_ew/VCLMK5iUd6I/AAAAAAAAB9M/bi_OwqKkhds/s1600/dom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8pbVxmfI_ew/VCLMK5iUd6I/AAAAAAAAB9M/bi_OwqKkhds/s1600/dom.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Dominic (who is not so little anymore) loved playing in the snow with the boys.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ne3L1ZuEwUQ/VCLNyeE3kbI/AAAAAAAAB9Y/mFg0qTy9SGQ/s1600/blade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ne3L1ZuEwUQ/VCLNyeE3kbI/AAAAAAAAB9Y/mFg0qTy9SGQ/s1600/blade.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister and her two boys came to visit us the summer. Here is my nephew Blade playing some music for my Grandma.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f_qqL3rLv3w/VCLO3n5R41I/AAAAAAAAB9k/_nc7_r_xGoE/s1600/kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f_qqL3rLv3w/VCLO3n5R41I/AAAAAAAAB9k/_nc7_r_xGoE/s1600/kids.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crofters came this summer also. It was so great to see them all again. We took them back to Ludington. Man was it windy that day!</td></tr>
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We also had a couple other visitors but unfortunately I don't have pics. But if you would like to be featured on the Freckled Noses Blog........Come visit!!!<br />
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Probably the best highlight from this year was the convention. We were assigned to the International Convention in Detroit. Ahhhhhhh Maaaaazzzzeeeee Iiiiinnnngggg! Yep, that's what I got to say about that. The talks were wonderful, the releases were awesome, we made tons of gifts for the delegates, received lots of gifts, oh....and this happened.....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KMqi6dSk8UE/VCLROMi5uPI/AAAAAAAAB9w/Rfxr5eDOXwc/s1600/jake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KMqi6dSk8UE/VCLROMi5uPI/AAAAAAAAB9w/Rfxr5eDOXwc/s1600/jake.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2014 International Convention<br />
Keep Seeking First the Kingdom</td></tr>
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Yep, that is Jake. Being at an International Convention with 30,000+ other people means I don't get to be up close and capture a better photo, but who cares when you get to be on the jumbotron! We are so proud of Jake and all our children for dedicating themselves to Jehovah. They are doing amazing!<br />
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That should catch you up for now. More pics and updates later. Right now I have to go get the boys back on track. The joy of homeschool means that if Mom is distracted we can run around and goof off until she catches on. Yep, I caught on, fun is over.....<br />
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Love you all! Oh, and part of the reason this here blog has not been updated is because I finally gave in to my daughter and got an Instagram. It is so much faster and easier to just post pictures on there. If you have one and would like to follow me... country_nelipot is my username.<br />
<br />Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-44948626979860573022013-06-20T11:02:00.002-04:002013-06-20T11:02:51.376-04:00Month of Pinterest Recipes - Mushroom and Cheddar Stuffed Onions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I know, I know, I am so behind. I did do my month of pinterest recipes. It has been lots of fun trying out new recipes and seeing the reaction to them. Some have been successful, some have been complete flops. Here was our next attempt: Mushroom and Cheddar Stuffed Onions.</div>
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These looked so yummy and since I have more than one person in this here house that is not too keen on meat I thought these would be perfect.<br />
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So here is the thing. Ever see something that looks sooooo good, and then you try it. Hmmm. Well these were those things. I, personally, thought they were pretty dern good. Everyone else in the house? Well it was probably 50/50. We have a certain picky person who refuses to put a mushroom to her mouth. :) So it was a no-go for her. We have a couple of other people who are a little set in their ways and do not like to try new things. So it was a no-go for either of them. The rest said they liked them but I haven't heard anyone begging for more. Needless to say these most likely will not be made again in this house.<br />
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The other problem with these is they take a LOT of work. A LOT!! The flavor was really good. I am thinking if I did make this again I probably would skip the roll it up in an onion and just make it as a one-dish type of side with the onions chopped in. It was a little fun though, felt like a little foodie preparing these.<br />
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General consensus is, if you are trying to impress someone and look all fancy, these will do the trick. Here is the link to the recipe if you would like to give these a try. <a href="http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/mushroom_stuffed_onions.html" target="_blank">Eating Well - Mushroom & Cheddar Stuffed Onions</a>Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-32376181010221247562013-05-15T12:01:00.001-04:002013-05-15T12:01:54.414-04:00Month of Pinterest Recipes - Pickled AsparagusSpring means fresh veggies are starting to appear. Thanks goodness. With a lack of variety in grocery stores you are limited to what you can get at Walmart and Meijer in terms of fresh fruits and vegetables. Meijer far outweighs Walmart in terms of quality and selection. So when local fresh yumminess becomes available, we grab it up while we can.<br />
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The first vegetable to pop through the winter madness is asparagus. YUM! We love it grilled, broiled, or pickled. Cameron informed me last week that as he was driving past the asparagus farm they had a sign out that it was finally available. So he used all the cash in his pocket and bought a bunch. Thank goodness he only had about $14 in his pocket. We got 7 pounds of asparagus. Some was immediately grilled for dinner and the rest was used for this:<br />
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We all love pickled asparagus. Especially the hot and spicy kind, but at $6 a jar, it is kinda pricey! So I set out to find a good recipe and after reading lots of reviews on lots of recipes, we decided to try this one. You can find the original recipe <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pickled-asparagus/?scale=15&ismetric=0" target="_blank">here.</a> We do not like the sweet so we left out all the sugar and added garlic to each jar. We also added a Serrano pepper to most jar and left some with just the pepper flakes to see which way we liked best.<br />
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These are so good. We love the pickling juice and will be using it this summer to do our pickles also. So good.<br />
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<span id="goog_860433094"></span><span id="goog_860433095">So far we have only tried the one with just a Serrano in it. It was delicious and after it sets for a little while it is only going to get better. Yummo! Better go get some more asparagus because these jars are going to disappear quickly.</span><br />
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Next up on Month of Pinterest recipes: Mushroom and Cheddar Stuffed Onions!Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-15384994073816798902013-05-15T11:05:00.001-04:002013-05-15T11:05:23.158-04:00Summer of Festivals - Tulip Time - Holland, MIThis will be our third summer in Michigan. Michigan is a place FULL of festivals. They have festivals for flowers, vegetables, fungi (a.k.a. mushrooms), cars, antiques, historical events, and on and on. Every year we say we are going to go and every year we are insanely busy, the menfolk don't want to go, we forget, or mostly we are just plain broke. This year we decided we are going to these festivals no matter what.<br />
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The first festival on our list is one that my Mom chose. The Tulip Time Festival in Holland. She went when she was young with her parents. This weekend A. was off with her buddies at a Taylor Swift concert and the boys were hanging out with Grandpa and Dad getting the garden ready for me to plant. So Rachel, Mom, and I headed off to Holland for the Tulip Time Festival.<br />
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First festival lesson learned, it may not be such a great idea to go to a festival on the very first day. It was crazy busy there. People and cars everywhere and we really had no idea where we were going. Just about every festival has a section like a county fair with rides and games and such and we didn't want to go to that part of the festival. Not sure I could get my Mom on a ride even if we had wanted to go that portion. But trying to get around all of those people was ridiculous. Eventually we found a parking spot and found the free tulip garden. I never knew there were so many varieties of tulips. Just gorgeous colors and variations in the petal size and shape.<br />
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We all had our favorite. Of course as we walked around that kept changing.<br />
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All the streets were lined with these gorgeous trees. Not sure what they were but they were all in full bloom with the pretty pinkish purplish blossoms on them. Just beautiful.</div>
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All in all for our first festival, and not knowing where we were going, or what exactly was happening there, we had a good time, saw a new city that we plan on visiting again, and got one thing checked off of our bucket list for the summer.Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-39330707986758337062013-05-05T20:56:00.002-04:002013-05-05T20:56:49.352-04:00Month of Pinterest Recipes - Nutella Brownies with Peanut Butter FrostingSo after pinning many delicious recipes and only trying a couple I have decided that May is going to be my month of Pinterest recipes.<br />
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First recipe of the month is the pile of deliciousness:<br />
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You can find the recipe for this awesomeness here <br />
<a href="http://www.nutmegnanny.com/2011/07/18/peanut-butter-frosted-nutella-brownies/" target="_blank">http://www.nutmegnanny.com/2011/07/18/peanut-butter-frosted-nutella-brownies/</a><br />
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A. has a slight obsession with Nutella. Not even a generic or off-brand will do for her. So her and I headed to get some Nutella and chocolate for this recipe and came home to discover that we had forgotten the chocolate. Big GRRRRRRR!!! So I googled and found a simple Nutella brownie recipe that required only three ingredients. And thankfully they were ingredients that we had on hand. Nutella, flour, and eggs.<br />
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I can't wait to try these again following Nutmeg Nanny's recipe. I think it will be even more delicious. On a side note, be sure to make these when there will be LOTS of people around so you don't devour the whole pan by yourself. No, seriously! They are that good.<br />
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These are our yummies. My frosting didn't come out as thick but I think I could have used a little more peanut butter and a little more powdered sugar. I was in a bit of a time crunch and just wanted to get them done. Even so, these were so good.<br />
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One Pinterest recipe down, endless possibilities to go.Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-72084606772517410642013-05-01T22:53:00.001-04:002013-05-01T22:53:44.692-04:00Let The Gardening Begin<br />
Be warned, this post is going to be full of randomness. Complain enough and I will eventually post something. I know I am so behind. We went to the butterfly exhibit in Grand Rapids a few weeks ago and I promise to get those pics up soon. In the meantime, enjoy my random, scatter-brained, musings.<br />
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Last Wednesday we woke up to snow on the trees. One week later, I get a sunburn while out in service this afternoon. Go figure! And silly me, I have been in sweater mode for so long that I wore a sweater again today and Whamo! we made it up to 85° today. Wow! On the plus side, this means that the trees are in overdrive blooming out, and it is officially get the garden ready time.<br />
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So this is our plan, or the start of our plan anyhow. This year we are going to try "wide row" gardening. Sounds a little easier, a little better. Anything that involves less weeding I am all for. Nothing is planted yet, so if you have any requests, you know, cause you are going to come visit late this summer and you want some homegrown goodness, better get it in quick.<br />
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All the little birdies are back including this cute little Chickadee. Spring is for sure finally here! It seems like it took forever this year. But we are very glad for all the extra rain. After a fairly dry summer last year we need that extra rain for the garden. All the rivers and lakes around here are so high. We went to Grand Rapids earlier this week and all the buildings that are built right on the edge of the Grand River have water up over their first floor windows.<br />
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This is Gilbert (the dog) and June (the cat). This is their normal perch where they scope out the squirrels who love to come and torment them.<br />
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That is all my randomness for today. I promise I have stuff in the works to post and some pics of our little faces for you to see. We miss you all so much!Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-67268850341227081992013-03-15T12:04:00.000-04:002013-03-15T12:04:30.393-04:00Spring is Peeking OutWell we got what we asked for. . .a winter with lots of snow. And while it was fun, we are pretty much done with it now. And spring is done with it too. She has waited patiently but now she is pushing her way out.<br />
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This is our maple tree out front. See those buds at the end of the branches and those stringy looking things hanging off? Yep, she is starting to bud out. I am so excited. I love spring. Spring is really the start of the new year for me. Forget about January. March is the start of 'what are we going to do this year'. Seeds get planted and wait for the ground to be just right so they can be transplanted. Garden plans are started, summer vacation looks close and kids are lining up what they want to do this summer, festivals are starting, the world just starts to wake up and is happy to be alive again.<br />
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It is also the start of increased spiritual activity. March has four of our household auxiliary pioneering this month. We also have our Circuit Overseer visit this month. This will be the second visit with our new CO and his wife. We love them! We get to attend the entire pioneer meeting this Saturday. We are all excited for that. And it will be good motivation for the kids to auxiliary with me this summer.<br />
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Mom and Dad are returning to us in a matter of days now. We are all looking forward to having them back. We are trying to hurry and finish some last minute things around the house. Almost everything on our list has been checked off as completed. ALMOST, things never go exactly as you plan them. But we are nice and saved some things for Mom and Dad to help with.<br />
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We miss you all bunches! You should come visit this summer or this fall or NOW!<br />
Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-19535113551529473512013-03-07T10:02:00.001-05:002013-03-07T10:02:22.665-05:00Another YearThis post is long overdue! If you remember on our one year anniversary of being in Michigan I posted <a href="http://frecklednoses.blogspot.com/2011/10/365-days-later.html" target="_blank">the 52 things we miss about Arizona</a>. My plan was to then post a year later the 52 things we love about Michigan. Yep, missed that date. But I have been trying to get to it. I promise.<br />
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So it has been just over two years now since we moved to Michigan. Two years, and five months to be exact. Things haven't changed much since that last post. It is still hard, busy, crazy, stressful, fun, and wonderful. We are still learning so much about living here, it seems like it is going to be an ongoing theme to our life.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree in spring bloom from last year.</td></tr>
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So in honor of another year in the greath north, I bring you another list. Another year means another 52 things. This list will be things we love about Michigan combined with phrases we never thought we would hear ourselves say. Enjoy!<br />
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1. <span style="color: lime; font-size: x-large;"><strong>Green</strong></span> 2. Spring 3. Summer 4. Fall 5. Winter 6. Trees 7. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><strong>Lakes</strong></span> 8. Rivers 9. Ponds 10. "We need to plan the garden." 11. Birds 12. Family 13. Congregation 14. "Better bundle up for service today, it is 0º out this morning!" 15. <span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><strong>Flowers</strong></span> 16. Wild vegetables 17. Grass 18. "No school today, it's a SNOW DAY!!!!" 19. <strong>Friends</strong> 20. Farms 21. Backyard wildlife 22. Small Towns 23. "We need to plan a trip. . .to ARIZONA!" 21.<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong><span style="color: #e69138;">F</span><span style="color: #274e13;">a</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">l</span><span style="color: #a64d79;">l</span> <span style="color: #f1c232;">c</span><span style="color: #134f5c;">o</span><span style="color: #e69138;">l</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">o</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;">r</span></strong></span><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>s</strong></span> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">22. Homecooked Goodness 23. Not ever reading 110º on the thermometer 24. "It's raining" (again, or still, or period!!!) 25. <span style="color: cyan; font-size: large;"><strong>Snow</strong></span> 26. <strong>"I live in Michigan"</strong> 27. Wildflowers 28. Weather 29. Bald Eagles 30. Forests 31. "We need to shovel the driveway today" 32. Homecooked Goodness 33. <span style="color: #93c47d; font-size: large;">Garden</span> 34. Wild Berries 35. <span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;">Strawberry</span> picking</span> 36. Snowmobiling 37. Pick-Your-Own Farms 38. "We need to weed in the garden." 39. Aunts and Uncles 40. Space 41. Deer 42.<span style="font-size: large;"> "The kids are down swimming in the lake."</span> 43. "Sorry I missed your call, I was out stacking wood." 44. Four - yep, four <strong>DIFFERENT</strong> seasons 45. <span style="color: #d5a6bd; font-size: large;"><strong>Grandma</strong></span> 46. Dinners consisting of only what we picked from the garden that day 47. Sledding parties 48. Lakes as big as oceans 49. Fireplaces that get used 50. GREEN - have I mentioned this!?!?! 51. Festivals 52.<span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="color: #a64d79;">The Scenery!!!!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Potato fields just a few minutes from our house.</td></tr>
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Needless to say, we love, love, love it here. This third year is already almost half over. Each year brings its own challenges and we are working through them. Each passing year also makes the missing of or friends and family back in Arizona so much worse. We miss you all so much. I can't believe it has been almost a year since we have seen you last.<br />
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It truely is beautiful here, you really must see it for yourself. Our door is always open and we would love to see you.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squash Blossom from our garden last year.</td></tr>
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Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-75043336445733859532013-02-28T14:44:00.000-05:002013-02-28T14:44:01.496-05:00A's New Room Sneak Peak No. 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A. is finally into her long awaited room. We converted the sunroom into a very cute little room for her. She wanted a shabby chic room and since the room was basically being built from scratch we were able to add shabby chic elements into the room itself not just the decor.<br />
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For the ceiling we did a tongue and groove pine and did one very thin coat of white paint on the rough sawn side and painted very sparsely so the wood grain would show and in spots the wood itself peaks out. For the light we used the existing fixture but in place of the old glass we used my favorite vintage mason jar. To complete the vintage look we used an old fashioned light bulb.<br />
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It is easily one of my most favorite things about her room. I am more than a little jealous since it is my favorite mason jar and she gets to look at it everytime she steps into her room.<br />
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I also worked on a secret project for her room. I did a pretty good job at actually keeping it a secret until 2 or 3 days before I was finished. Unfortunately when we were out shopping I let it slip that I was working on something for her. Oh boy did I get it. The entire rest of the day she bugged me about what it was and then started worrying that she wouldn't like it. I knew she would love it so I didn't have any stress over it. Plus if she didn't like it, I did, so I would just snag it for my room or the office area.<br />
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She spent the weekend with her besty so it gave me time to finish it up and place it in her room. I knew I didn't have to worry, when she got home Sunday she was instantly in love with it.<br />
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So here are the specifics. We were cleaning out in the basement and I found this stack of old windows and screens. I asked Cameron if they were earmarked for something and he said no. So after squealing with delight, I snagged this window and got to work. First task was to scrub all the dirt and grime off, then I sanded away. After I got it distressed to the point I was satisfied, I applied a coat of stain and sealer.<br />
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The top and third panel were taped off and a few coats of chalkboard paint were applied. Make sure you get the chalkboard paint that specifies it can be used on glass. Otherwise you end up with a big mess and no chalkboard. Yes, lesson learned. The second and third panel I stapled fabric to the window frame on the backside so it could be used as a wipe board.<br />
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Once everything was dry and in place I add these beautiful porcelain rose drawer pulls that I purchased from TJMaxx ages ago.<br />
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To hold the chalk and dry erase markers I took an old can and cleaned up any sharp edges and drilled a hold on each side of the can near the top to hold the ribbon to hang it. Then I took a scrap of fabric and mod-podged it to the can and added a piece of lace and ribbon. Once that dried a took a long piece of ribbon and threaded and knotted it to the can and hung it from one of those beautiful roses.<br />
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And so she would know what it was, before she got I home I modified a song I used to sing to her when she was little and wrote a verse on each pane.<br />
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I love how it turned out. And almost every day when I head into her room it has something new written on it. Notes to different family members, a list of crafts she has going on, homework she needs to finish, or just doodles. Love it!<br />
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Have any old windows laying around? Put them to work!!Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-39254026817620170572013-02-28T13:17:00.000-05:002013-02-28T13:17:27.856-05:00A Road Trip, A Snowy Winter, and A BabyOk, stop freaking out! I know you all read that title and the only words you saw was "a baby". No, I am NOT having another baby. A sweet friend of ours had her long anticipated little one arrive this month and we are all very excited for her. More on that later.<br />
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So first I will apologize for taking so long to update this here little blog. I have received many complaints that it has been so long since an update. So, I am so very sorry. I will update you all on what has happened these past few months and give you all glimpses of our lovely little faces.<br />
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The last post was the big winter storm we received the day we were leaving for vacation. We headed off that afternoon through all that snow and headed to Missouri to see some of Cameron's family. I have been begging him to see them for a very long time so we were all excited 1. to be going on vacation and 2. to be seeing family whom we hadn't seen in so very long.<br />
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So we started out with our typical Richie trip glitches. Our power plug up front decided to stop working. Not that big of a deal except it meant no GPS. So we had to stop and buy a road atlas. I was secretly glad. I love using a map and finding the way on my own. As I cracked that atlas open I was instantly transported back in time to our family road trips. I could hear my Dad's voice teaching me how to read the map, how to add up how many miles to our next stop, how to tell where the next rest stop was, what the different color roads meant. Very nostalgic that little map! I loved being my Dad's co-pilot. Loved it until I would doze off and he would whack my arm out from under my head. Ahhh the memories!<br />
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Our trip was a wonderful, relaxing vacation. I love seeing family that from the very beginning are instant friends and even though you haven't seen them in so long it is like you just saw them yesterday. All the kids who had never met were instant friends and I barely saw my children the whole week. Seriously, I saw them in passing as they went from one house to the other. So much so that I barely got any photos the whole week.<br />
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We went geocaching one day. We learned a couple of very important lessons. 1. it really is not fun to geocache in the cold. Really, trying to find the micro caches when your hands are freezing takes all the fun out of it; and 2. it is much more fun in one vehicle or on foot than trying to coordinate two vehicles. But we really did have so much fun. We love that Missouri bunch and can't wait to get back there again. This summer you Funderburgs, be prepared we are coming back!<br />
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On to our snowy winter. We are so glad the white stuff was back this year. Snow on the ground is much more fun than ice on the ground. Yes, there is a difference. That snow we got right before our vacation was the start of the snow this winter. It has been on the ground since that day. We have had a few warm days where some of it melted off but for the most part we have had snow covered ground all winter. The kids have had soooooo many snow days this year. Which means they have to make some days up, but they were pretty happy with all those free vacation days. And what is there better to do on a snow day but have a snowball fight.<br />
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We love the snow. Love the sound of it crunching under our feet. Love the snowball fights, the snow forts, the snowmen. Watching it fall outside as we are cozy around the fire inside. Yep, we are pretty much in love with all the seasons up here in the great north.<br />
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On to that gorgeous little baby. Our good friends welcomed their beautiful little girl this month. Rachel and I were privileged to throw them their shower. They were so excited to be having a girl so we overdosed them with pink. It was beautiful. And the new little baby girl is even more beautiful.<br />
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I apologize again for the long wait, thank you for being patient with me and I promise to TRY and post more often. Love you all!Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-25963554275745155762012-12-20T16:12:00.000-05:002012-12-20T16:12:10.371-05:00The Big StormBecause I know you are all dying to know, yep, that big storm barreling across the U.S. finally reached us today.<br />
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This is our beautiful Maple Tree. Look how low her branches are hanging. And this is actually a little higher than they were early this morning. We did lose a few branches off the pine trees, but thankfully, they didn't hit anything.<br />
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This is looking west down our road, after the snowplow went through of course. So beautiful. Everything is white, even the sky.<br />
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The kids were very excited, their morning started off with a 2-hour delay which turned into a snow day which by lunch time turned into two snow days. So we did what any good parents would do. . . we put them to work. We shoveled the driveway. Yes, we have a snowblower and a snowplow. But we really want our children to have those pitiful "we worked so hard when we were kids" stories to tell their children.<br />
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We worked with them of course so we could share our hard work stories too. Oh wait, we grew up in Arizona. Ummmm, remember all that dirt we had to sweep all the time.<br />
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We are supposed to get some more this afternoon and tonight but we are in the rain/snow area so we shall see what we wake up to tomorrow. We are hoping it is not too bad because we are heading out on our roadtrip tomorrow. But we are determined to be like mailmen - rain, snow, sleet, or shine we are GOING to Missouri.Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-7863662868805068822012-12-06T09:27:00.001-05:002012-12-06T09:27:45.160-05:00Voila! La salle de bain est fini!Finally! After countless months, and lots of procrastination, the upstairs bath is finished! I gave you a sneak peak months and months ago thinking that we were just about done. And really, we were, but other things got in the way and it was usable, so finishing it kind of got delayed.<br />
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That before picture really gives the "before" way too much justice. The bathroom was really, really bad. I am so happy with how it turned out. Now if we could just get the rest of the house finished. :)<br />
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My french quote. "Sing away your sorrows and cast away your cares." Vinyl so graciously provided by my cousin over at <a href="http://www.decalcity.com/">Decal City</a>. Check them out!<br />
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I couldn't find the exact mirror I wanted. They were either too big or too small, the frame was too big or too small or not enough detail or way too much detail. So we bought just a standard mirror and then hubby framed it in for me.<br />
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The walls in this house are all plaster. The plaster in the bathroom was looking a little shabby. But we really didn't want to tear it all out and drywall it. I also love, love, love wainscoting, so we decided to beadboard the bottom of the walls and leave the top as is since that part of the wall was in pretty good condition. The ceiling was not, however, and we were trying to decide what exactly we were going to do with it. My brother suggested we put the beadboard on the ceiling also. Brilliant! I love the way it looks.<br />
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The linen closet. I love this thing! I wanted it to look like a piece of furniture more so than a closet. I think the hubby did a great job. I love the handles and the screen. Love it!<br />
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It is so hard to get a picture of the entire shower. The diagonal pattern on the ceiling of the shower is repeated on the floor. The glass mosaic tiles on the back of the shelves is repeated in subway tile size bits and scattered randomly throughout the rest of the shower. And that little hook next to the shelf nook, yep, I made the hubby put that in. It is for the bath scrubby. I hate when they hang on the handle and with that shower head, there is no way it was going up there. So I had him put in a hook specifically for that little scrubby!<br />
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Details, details, details. So many little things I love in this bathroom. All these little details have been collected over a very long period of time. Some of the things I bought many years ago in the hopes of using them in our house in Tucson. Sadly, that never happened, but they have all found a lovely little home here. Some of the things I found digging around in antique shops, thrift stores, or yardsales.<br />
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This not so pretty metallic gold shelf I got at Goodwill for $2! I wasn't too sure about it but decided for $2 if I didn't like it, no big deal. I am so, so glad I got it. Amazing what a coat or two of black spray paint will do. This is now one of my most favorite things in the bathroom.<br />
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Sitting on the shelf is a vintage Avon bath set I won in an auction also for $2. The apothecary jars are awesome. I bought one at an antique shop for $2 (I guess it is a theme for this shelf area) and one I bought at a yard sale for - get this - $0.10!!! I love yard sales! The Paris lady is from a Ross store in Chicago. I still have plans for her hooked skirt, someday that may get done.<br />
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Gotta have a magazine rack. This works perfectly and was a great find at a Goodwill for $2.99.<br />
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This antique Bayer aspirin jar was picked up at a local thrift shop for $1. The flowers are scraps from the curtains and twigs from the yard. So cute.<br />
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Another favorite area of mine. Ok, I need to quit saying that because pretty much the whole bathroom is my favorite. These handles are from this very, very awesome antique shop in Grand Rapids. <a href="http://philsstuff.com/">Phil's Stuff</a> is one of my favorite places to riffle through. Seriously, it is two floors of awesomeness. If you go, go with someone who likes to do the same, because you can spend hours in that store. In the basement of this store is a room dedicated to house items. Old handles, claw feet, hinges, grates, you name it, it is there. I searched through all the bins of old cabinet handles and couldn't find two matching like I wanted. As I was very sadly about to leave the store "Phil" plopped down a bin of new handles that needed to be put down in the basement. These two beauties were right one top. Quick coat of black paint and they are a perfect fit for the bathroom. The screens are from Home Depot and those got a quick coat of black paint before they were installed.<br />
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<br />The towel/robe hooks are from Home Goods from many years ago. The candle holders are another find from Goodwill at $1.99 each. Already black so no painting required.<br />
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And finally, the curtains. Since I live so far from my great seamstress sister, I had to tackle these by myself. I love they way they came out. The shower curtain fabric is from Joann's and is awesome. It is french script with the english translation following. I coveted this fabric for a long time. Three times it was in my basket to get for the bathroom and three times I put it back. I couldn't decide, was it too much, not enough, do I just want the window curtains and the shower curtain to match? But every time I would put it back and then come home and wish I had bought it. So finally, back to Joann's I went and - yep, out of stock and they were not reordering! Thankfully the wonderful lady at the cutting counter found some for me at another store and had it shipped up. Whew - I guess you know I then bought whatever they had left.<br />
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So there she is in all her beauty. You really should just come see her in person though, she is beautiful!Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-70213084190137740142012-12-04T13:51:00.001-05:002012-12-04T14:47:22.535-05:00Laundry ExperimentLaundry. Blech! Probably one of my least favorite household chores. For one reason only. It is never done! I love fresh clothes from the dryer. Love to see them neatly folded and in there place (a rarity in this house), love the smell of clean linens as you slip into bed. But no matter how much you get accomplished in a day, you know there will be dirty clothes as everyone changes into PJ's, there will be dirty towels in the morning from all the showers, and those fresh, clean linens will now be considered, umm, not in the morning.<br />
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So laundry in this house full of people is an ongoing event. If you don't hear the washer and dryer going on a daily basis, something is amiss.<br />
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So in the interest of saving a little moola, and since in the last couple of years my skin has decided to become a little more sensitive, I have been looking online at homemade laundry soaps recipes. Interesting. And since my nose also doesn't like the smell of most laundry soaps and fabric softeners, I like the fact that I can create a scent of my choosing.<br />
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So this week, after pinning <a href="http://www.ecokaren.com/2009/06/front-loading-washer-maintenance/">this</a> article and then reading her homemade laundry soap recipe, I decided to not only clean out my washing machine but also to try some of these recipes I keep reading.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ecokaren.com/">ecoKaren</a> has some great ideas on her blog. I liked her laundry soap recipe and was tempted to try it. I still might down the road, but the problem here at our house is our water pressure. At least that is what I am assuming it is. I love using baking soda and vinegar in my wash. So for a little while, I was putting it in the soap dispenser drawer on my washing machine. Not a great idea. All the powder gunked up behind the drawer itself and caused a blockage. I don't know if this is because of our low water pressure or the machine itself, but I decided to hold off on the powder direction.<br />
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Further searching found <a href="http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm">this</a> recipe on an equally great blog. First go-rounds on recipes I usually try to do exactly as told so I can see how I can tweak it to my liking. I followed recipe as is on the blog and added about 1/6 ounce of sweet orange essential oil.<br />
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There were a few options for the bar of soap. The Fels-Naptha brand happened to be the only option available here in the boonies. The local health food store however, had lots of options in essential oils. I love the clean smell of citrus so for first go round I bought sweet orange.<br />
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I added the essential oils while the soap was melting. The heat would let the essential oils melt and spread more evenly through the mixture.<br />
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While the laundry soap was brewing, I started on the dryer satchels. For actually fabric softening, I add white vinegar to the washing machine in place of fabric softener. Works great. I wanted something for the dryer to add scent. I decided to stick with the orange theme and grabbed some dried orange peel at the healthfood store.<br />
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To make the dryer satchels is really pretty simple. Most blogs, website, etc. all had the same recommendations. Add something unscented for weight, dry beans, flaxseed, etc. Then add your scent items. I read mixed reviews on adding essential oils to the mixture. Some said to be careful because the oils could heat up and transfer to your clothing. Others simple made felted balls and doused them with essential oils and said they have never had a problem with the oil transfer. I am experimenting to see which theory I go with.<br />
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Here is what I put in my dryer satchel. A handful of dry navy beans for weight, one tablespoon dry orange peel, 10 cloves, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and a few drops of sweet orange essential oil.<br />
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Finished products! The kitchen smelled heavenly as these were being made.<br />
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Lessons Learned:</h3>
I think I may tweak the soap recipe just a tad. Less water and a little more cleaning agents.<br />
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These dryer balls are awesome and I will be making a basketfull of these so you can choose your scent for your own load.<br />
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Dried ingredients are expensive. This spring, summer I will be collecting and drying local wildflowers for my own use. And drying citrus peel is very easy so I will be doing this on my own as well.<br />
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What's It Cost:</h3>
Box of Borax $3.38<br />
Box of Washing Soda $3.24<br />
Fels-Naptha $0.97<br />
Essential Oils $4.19<br />
Dried Orange Peel $2.34 (for a small bag with about 1/2 cup)<br />
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Not too shabby. The Fels-Naptha bar will make three batches if you use exactly as in the recipe. The washing soda and Borax will make a LOT of batches considering you only use 1/2 cup for each batch. The recipe as is makes about 2 gallons of laundry soap.<br />
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Results:</h3>
The first load of wash has been washed. Clothes came out smelling clean and faintly of orange. Perfect. No overpowering scent but definitely clean. They are now in the dryer. I will update you on results, but so far, everything is great!<br />
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Dryer is done, clothes all warm and smelling great. There is not an overwhelming smell of orange. But as the basket sits in front of me I can definitely smell the orange spicyness of it. I think I will either make larger satchels or put two satchels into the dryer.Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-29657583417808167242012-12-01T18:45:00.001-05:002013-03-15T14:40:37.885-04:00Book of NatureSo. . .A.'s most favorite person in the whole world has this pretty awesome little brother. We shall call him "Bob". "Bob" loves animals. Loves as in LOVES loves! He has an animal scrapbook that he pastes pictures of animals cut from magazines and writes in little facts about animals. Very cool.<br />
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We have a couple of books here that I aquired while my children were growing up. They are Wildlife binders and once a month we would get a package in the mail with 5 new animal cards to put in the binder. Bob covets these books! So I decided, since my kids won't let go of their precious wildlife binders, that we would make one of our own for Bob.<br />
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What to fill it with was the next question. Thankfully, we have this pretty awesome feature in The Awake! magazine, "Was It Designed". So we created a section for these pages. We just glue the pages from The Awake! to scrapbook paper and then glue the pages together, laminate, and voila!<br />
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I love these articles. So much information and color on one little page. Bob loves them too. We also wanted to give him a section or two with plant and animal life. So we created three more sections. "Animal Life", "Plant Life", and "Bug Life". These sections will contain both articles from The Awake! magazine and also photos and info from local nature.</div>
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The first page to go in the "Plant Life" section was a page dedicated to the Maple tree. The photograph is the Maple tree in our front yard, we collected leaves in various color stages, and included loads of facts about the Maple tree.<br />
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And of course, a bookmark. I made Bob a set of bookmarks one time as a gift and he loved them, then came over to make some of his own. You would think by now he has enough bookmarks to last him a lifetime, but this is what he requested so I shall oblige him.<br />
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The notebook was delivered on a Sunday afternoon. I explained to Bob that I would send him a package once a month to fill up his binder. We saw Bob again the next Saturday, the first question he asked was if I had finished the next package yet. Umm, no - once a month! We saw Bob again the following Saturday, guess what his next question was - yep! Sigh! So I put the package together for him and delivered it to him the next Saturday. He was pretty ecstatic!<br />
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With this package I also decided to make him a set of bible character cards, also from The Awake! magazine. Want your own set? You can download them <a href="http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/bible-characters/">here</a>. We have been doing this with our character cards. I cut out the card, glue it to a colorful piece of scrapbook paper and laminate it. We are creating a set for the car, the house, and the camper. It is fun to quiz each other on the bible characters. So Bob got his first set of character cards with this first package along with a very cool Jungle book we got at the Friends of the Library sale. These are awesome sales! If you have never been to one you should look it up for your local library and go! We also created a card for his "Animal Life" section. Cute little wood frogs that are all over the garden in the summer.<br />
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This last week I finished the second package and got it mailed off.<br />
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No local pages this go round, mostly because I was running out of time and wanted to get it mailed off. Plus J. was hogging the computer doing his school work! The nerve!<br />
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Today we had a crafty day after service. I started work on my next little project - A little book on The Six Creative Days. Want a sneak peak?<br />
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Not sure who this is going to, but when these projects start swimming around in your head, it's best to just let them escape. Maybe a certain little niece and nephew in Arizona might like these?Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-41352473771855470582012-11-01T17:15:00.000-04:002012-11-01T17:15:27.096-04:00Hay Ride Time. . .mmmmm Sorta<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The congregation in Mt. Pleasant invited us to their annual hayride hosted by a great family. Apparently they do it every year and brothers and sisters from all over come for a hayride, great food, associationg, and a big bonfire. J.'s buddy was here for the weekend so he tagged along as well. And of course, the car ride was crazy as ever.</div>
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All the teenager-ish girls sat waiting and played the ever fun game of "truth" and "would you rather". Yes, just truth, they took out the dare because they decided it was more fun just to make people tell the truth about weird and random things. Silly girls.</div>
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And the boys do what boys do best and played football.</div>
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I know, tiny little specks that you can't really see, but a girl can only carry so many lenses at once!</div>
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The girls were super excited to see each other again. And there was an awesome tire swing.</div>
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At one point the girls stole the camera so it is pretty funny going through them all and seeing the silly faces and poses and seeing random people pop up on my screen and I have no idea who they are. It was a lot of fun and we met a lot of new brothers and sisters from all over the area. But as for actually riding on hay - nope. There were a LOT of people there and they hayrides were going in shifts, by the time it was our turn, we decided we wanted to stay next to the big warm fire instead. But there really was a tractor pulling a wagon full of hay bales, I swear! Maybe next year. . . </div>
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And lastly, we had a very cute little backyard visitor Monday evening.</div>
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She was so cute, not very skittish though. We banged on the window a little and she didn't budge, but I took the picture through the window anyway because I didn't want to open the door and scare her off.</div>
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That is all the newsworthy items from these parts. Saturday we have a work day at the Kingdom Hall and I am assigned to working in the flower beds again. So now I will be pulling out the flowers I planted in the spring. And our family is taking over one of the flower beds so I have to plan what we want it to look like in the spring so I can get some bulbs planted soon. I will post pics for you all next week.</div>
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Love you much and we are sending virtual hugs and kisses to you all. If you want to feel the real thing turn to the person to your right or left and hug away. Unless of course it is a stranger. . .then that would just be awkward!</div>
Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-40861110338427814292012-10-26T11:16:00.001-04:002012-10-27T07:41:55.771-04:00Raising Children In This Crazy World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is the message I try to teach my children, the message I try to live by. It's tough, and frankly, I have most likely failed on a number of those counts. I'm hoping it is like lessons my parents taught me. I may have known what they were teaching me but sometimes the understanding and the practicing of those lesson didn't click right away.<br />
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Okay, here is where I show my true age and start sounding like my parents. I think about the difference of times and influences from when I grew up and this crazy world my children are growing up in. What influenced me? What shaped me? The first word the comes to mind is "physical". Friends and people that were physically present in my life. Family, friends from the Kingdom Hall, parents of said friends who later also became friends, super awesome teachers, very bad teachers, workmates, random strangers you meet at work. You get the idea, right? Influences that you could actually see AND touch. Of course there were also influences that were not physical. There was music, TV shows, movies. Most of which were far more innocent than what is available today.<br />
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Today my children are subject to those same influences but are subject to this new phenomenon we call the internet. I hate that there is so much negative influence on them. Even when it is supposed to be positive.<br />
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The tone of TV shows and movies is so different today. I share classic movies with my kids, and silly old movies, so silly, so stupid, but so innocent. Today the comedy is usually based on funny at someone else's expense. And then our children imitate that, and then they take it further, and now it is bullying. Things we try to steer our kids clear of are now broadcast as family TV and if we don't allow our kids to watch it we are called "extreme parents" who don't allow our childrent to be who they are.<br />
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And then of course is the "association" they receive via the internet. They take photos of themselves in positions and doing things they wouldn't dream of doing in person. They say things they would never say in person, and it is all filtered or excused with phrases like "I am beautiful", "I am great", "Be yourself no matter what anyone else says". Yes, all great empowering messages for our children. But let me ask you, when, in person, do you just love a person that tells you how wonderful and beautiful they are on a daily basis? Right!?!<br />
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The most beautiful, strong, confident, and most respected people I know and have ever known never had to tell me they were any of those things. I know it because of who they are, the things they do, I respect them for who they ARE. And <em>THAT</em> is what I want for my children. I want them to love who they are, I want them to love others for who they are. And I want them to do both without feeling the need to shout it to the world and demand acknowledgment. Nature does it, why can't we.Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-1957727296363566352012-10-23T11:45:00.000-04:002012-10-23T11:45:05.929-04:00The Great Fall Cleanup 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yep, it is that time of year again. Already! We love, love, love our giant Maple tree. She is beautiful, provides us plenty of shade in the summer, beauty all year round, and for all that she provides us, we have a price to pay.<br />
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We get to rake up and somehow get rid of all those beautiful leaves. You remember how much fun we had <a href="http://frecklednoses.blogspot.com/2011/04/moving-days-work-work-work-big-maple.html">our first year</a>. Last year was no exception, and every year here on out will be the same. This year we tried to do things a little different. We thought we would just burn the leaves.<br />
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So while this was somewhat successful and what a lot of people do around here, we found that it created a LOT of smoke and pine needles and leaves really, really stink when you burn them. So we stuck with the tried and true. Load up those tarps and haul it off to the woods and compost them.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow shovels - not just for snow!</td></tr>
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Some of us had the all important task of holding down those tarps. Yep, tough job, but someone has to do it. So he paid for it accordingly.<br />
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Not to worry, he was rescued by his faithful sidekick, Gilbert.<br />
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And off it goes.<br />
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Oh the joys of fall! It is so beautiful it is worth the little bit of work that goes along with it.<br />
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<br />Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-59234838546811003682012-10-15T14:16:00.000-04:002012-10-15T14:16:06.589-04:00Random Updates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So October is shaping up to be quite the wet month. But the rain is good. Would have been nice if we had more of it this summer, but such is life and all this rain will make the ground great next spring.<br />
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As always, we have been so busy! J. is doing K12 Virtual School this year. Took us awhile to get back into that swing of things, but I think we are finally there and have a good schedule going. Z. is officially out of elementary now. They do things a little different up here. The go to "Middle School" which is 5th and 6th grades and then to "Intermediate School" which is 7th and 8th grades. He is still so little I am scared to death of him being at the giant school with bigger kids. A. is doing great. She is a sophmore this year. She brought home a class ring brochure the other day. I didn't even want to look at it. I can't imagine my little girl graduation high school. Nope not possible!<br />
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September was another month of vacations in our congregation so we had a lot of sparsely attended meetings. A few Sundays ago there were only 27 there when the meeting started. Cameron was back in the sound department and Z. ran up and said I have to do the rovers. And then he was off again before it even registered what he said. One of the elders took him downstairs for a quick how-to and then when the Watchtower study began, there was my little baby, running the mics.<br />
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What!?!?! He did so good. No one bonked in the head, no dropped mic, no tripping over the cord. He was so cute, and now that he got the practice in when there was just a few people there, he has been added into the rotation and will now be doing it more regularly. He is also learning how to do the sound equipment. So proud of my little guy.<br />
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Cameron, I, and J. went up to Manistee, MI for a quick build. Cameron has been approved or at least has been going to quick builds up here almost since we arrived. There was a little mix up with applications so it took me a little longer to be official. So Manistee was my first quick build in Michigan. What a great time to go up there! The fall colors were at their peak. It is so beautiful! One of those, stab you in the heart, take your breath away, fill you with awe, make you wanna cry, all at once kinda beautiful. The weather was yucky but the kingdom hall was built in record time and we had some time to go exploring.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Michigan</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New KH in Eastlake, MI (Manistee, MI)</td></tr>
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It was so much fun to be a part of it. I ran into a cousin there that I haven't seen in a very, very long time. So it was good to catch up with her and her hubby. Met lots of new friends. And one of my most favorite things about the build was getting to the site from where we had to park. On the other side of those trees you see in the back ground was the main parking area. There was a path from the parking area to the build site through that little patch of forest, and when we arrived in the morning and left at night it was dark so the path was lit up with little twinkle lights. It was so cute. I know, it's the little things that get me all excited.<br />
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And lastly, friendiversary was this past weekend. A. and her buddy have a friendiversary every year on the day they met, which also happens to be the day they were suddenly glued together. The girls haven't seen eachother in two months so it was an extra special weekend filled with junk food, laughter, all night talking, and of course, gifts. So many gifts!<br />
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They know each other so well. This past year A. has discovered the Beatles. So, yep, she was pretty excited about this gift, there was also a Beattle's t-shirt to go along with it. She is over the top excited.<br />
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And as most young teenage girls are, they both LOVE Taylor Swift so A. made this for L. I promise to post more pics about that project later. Very cute. But I do believe the best loved gift of the evening came from a certain Auntie in the house.<br />
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Yep, that's the reaction you get to Taylor Swift perfume. They were so cute, and so appreciative.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pileated Woodpecker</td></tr>
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This is a Pileated Woodpecker that visited us a few days ago. This is a seriously big woodpecker. It can measure up to 19 inches in body length and have a wingspan up to 30 inches. Cool. This is only the 4th or 5th one I have seen. So cool.<br />
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That's about all the news from the home front. We are gearing up for winter, and I am praying for a historic blizzard that keeps us in the house for days so I can just do nothing. Or catch up on some crafts or something other than going, going, going.<br />
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Love and miss all of you. Give each other hugs and kisses from us here up north.<br />
Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-91649609671563776382012-09-14T15:52:00.000-04:002012-09-14T15:52:19.970-04:00Good Ol' Fashioned Corn Roast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The first week of September we had our first visit from our new Circuit Overseer. Very nice, he and his wife both. On Saturday afternoon we had a corn roast to welcome them and also an excuse to taste all the homemade cooking from our congregation. So the deal was each family had to bring a different topping for the corn. So many different ways to eat your corn on the cob!<br />
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So here were some of the ways:</div>
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the favorite standby, butter with salt</div>
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Mexican chili and lime powder - this was very yum and we will soon be heading to Detroit with a certain someone to get some of this deliciousness of our own</div>
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creamy guacamole</div>
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mayonnaise - still sceptical about this one, I didn't try it but others said it was yummy</div>
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parmesan cheese</div>
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and we made a cream cheese topping with cerrano and jalepeño peppers, green onions, and lime. This was very delicious. A. doesn't like corn on the cob (I know - she is crazy) so she ate it with chips.</div>
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Oh, and one sister used the corn to make a corn relish/salsa dip. So, so good. I now have that recipe in my stash.</div>
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It was a fun day. Boys threw the football for a little bit, everyone chatted, some played scrabble, ladder ball of course was present, kids played on the playground, then the wind was just too much and everyone called it a day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My boys</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cameron and C.O.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. GQ Under Armour model. (You're Welcome!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and C.O.'s wife</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the gang. Trying to stay as close as they can to the heat source. :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Scrabble Game</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MhgPn3t9H_U/UFODQ9nVjPI/AAAAAAAABOw/oz65t47qfW4/s1600/DSC_0051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MhgPn3t9H_U/UFODQ9nVjPI/AAAAAAAABOw/oz65t47qfW4/s400/DSC_0051.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the Teeter-Totter</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NNC6Lq1Sp_Y/UFODx34Q2cI/AAAAAAAABO4/ABEKwenNKyU/s1600/DSC_0068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NNC6Lq1Sp_Y/UFODx34Q2cI/AAAAAAAABO4/ABEKwenNKyU/s400/DSC_0068.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Crazy Three</td></tr>
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Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-58238334511134714722012-09-07T17:15:00.000-04:002012-09-07T17:15:49.870-04:00It's Salsa Time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I still think it is pretty dern awesome that whenever I am in the mood for salsa, I can walk out back and come in with a bowl that looks like this:</div>
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and end up with something that looks like this:</div>
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Yum! I actually had to add a few more ingredients to my bowl 'o goodies up there. Thanks to our tomatoes not really wanting to produce this year. But thank goodness for Aunt's that grow an abundance but do not eat them. Because then I get this:</div>
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She gave me this lovely little bag of tomatoes and two more boxes. Whew - we definitely shouldn't run out of tomato juice or salsa this winter. Welll tomato juice anyway, salsa seems to disappear as soon as I make it. Let's see if any of it actually gets stored away.</div>
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I also had to go get cilantro from the store. This makes me very sad because once you have had fresh cilantro, everything else just tastes kinda bland. But the salsa is yummy and a nice way to end the day.</div>
Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-45391086474122999252012-09-06T11:05:00.000-04:002012-09-06T11:05:17.350-04:00Like Diamonds on Eyelashes!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ever see dew drops on dandelions? Neither have I, until today. I spent the morning outside, just me and the dewdrops. Good thing I had my macro lens in my pocket. You don't notice the little dewdrops on the dandelions until you get VERY close. So beautiful. Looks like tiny diamonds on eyelashes.</div>
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I love this time of year, the dew in the morning makes everything sparkle.</div>
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Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-72500963787168714062012-09-03T16:58:00.000-04:002012-09-03T16:58:36.650-04:00Reflecting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For us here in Michigan, today is the last official day of summer. School starts tomorrow. It has been an interesting summer. Plans got rearranged, focus changed, lots of different emotions ran through our little family. We lost loved ones, said goodbye to good friends, welcomed new furry family members, accomplished goals, made new goals for the coming year. All in all it has been a great summer, and it is always sad to say goodbye to such a great season. So today is for reflecting on all of that, saying goodbyes in our hearts since we can't say them in person, and trying to make peace with things we can't really control.<br />
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Fall is quickly coming and it is my most favorite time of year. Some of the trees are already rimmed with reds and golds. It is going to be a gorgeous fall. I promise to update you all with lots of pictures.<br />
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Here is Gilbert. Our roadside rescue of sorts. Long story for another day. But he is very cute and we love him so much already.<br />
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Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-54456322868908848882012-08-30T22:36:00.000-04:002012-08-30T22:36:11.201-04:005 OH - We Made It!!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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We finally made it today. It has been a long month. Full of lots of obstacles, but we did it. Next month is going to be lonely without my two troopers by my side, but oh the memories we made this month.<br />
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I am so proud of those two little boogers right there. First month out of the gate and they joined me auxiliary pioneering this month. Everyone told us we were crazy because it is the worst month to try and do it. Almost half our pioneers were at pioneer school for two weeks. Half of the remaining pioneers were on much needed vacations, and those that were left work so they were out limited hours. But we had lots of support from those that were out. We are so appreciative of those pioneers that had their hours in but came out just to help us. Love them!<br />
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We celebrated our accomplishment with ice cream from the best ice cream spot around. Williams Cafe in Barryton. Biggest single scoop of ice cream you will ever see!<br />
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We made it through days that started out rainy and cold . . .</div>
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. . . and ended up sunny and hot.</div>
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We made it through days where no one showed up and we trudged along by ourselves.</div>
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We made it through days with pioneers very particular in their ways. :)</div>
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But we also made it through days where we laughed all day, learned new things about old friends, made new friends, saw parts of our territory we have never seen before, drew closer to each other, closer to the congregation, and most importantly, closer to Jehovah.</div>
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It was a most awesome month!</div>
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I can't wait 'till next summer so we can do it all over again!</div>
Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7680332572116436449.post-39587713303426272832012-08-21T17:31:00.000-04:002012-08-21T17:31:36.240-04:00Gifts From a Not So Great GardenOur garden was incredibly sad this year. INCREDIBLY! From seeds not sprouting, to not enough rain, to deer and raccoon, to lack of attention, and on and on. Anyway. . . Incredibly. Sad. Garden. The good news is, we are getting some gifts from said garden, I suppose it is trying to redeem itself, or beg us to not give up on it.<br />
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One of the things I really wanted from the garden this year was for all of my salsa fixin's to be ready at the same time. Jalapeños are doing awesome, green onions this year are doing spectacular, but tomatoes and cilantro - not so much. Cilantro is one of the items that I kept re-planting and it just would not sprout. After about three or four rounds of planting and waiting I got maybe 5 or 6 plants. So I used some and I just let some go. Now, I am just waiting on the coriander to be ready, then I can use some of that and keep the seeds for next year and through the winter. A little gift from the garden.<br />
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Another gift from the garden is the one thing I could not find this year. Tomatillos. J. loves his green salsa. Last year we had a bumper crop of them. This year I was never at the right nursery at the right time. But leave the garden alone for a week or two and it gives you a lovely little present wrapped in green crepe paper!<br />
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It is also giving us lovely little things to look at. Like grape vines that look like little green snakes.<br />
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I know I am so far behind. I promise I will catch up. School is starting soon so life will slow down a tiny notch or two for me. Stay tuned for what we have been busy with this past month!Phoebehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172839904769080157noreply@blogger.com0