3 Stairs and a landing

Six Word Saturday: Loving you

2012-03-03T07:02:00.001-06:00

I know.

I love you anyway.

I love you

2012-02-27T00:02:00.000-06:00

I can't put into words why I love you.
I just know that I do.
I know you don't deserve it,
but I love you anyway.
I know the real you -
the you that babies and animals see.
The you that makes the babies stare and the animals nuzzle.
They and I see and know the real you,
the lovable you,
the you that you feel is lost.
But I see you hiding in there,
and I love you.

Friday Fill-Ins (on Saturday)

2012-02-25T18:27:00.000-06:00

1. I'm feeling all riled up by disrespectful, lying kids in the neighborhood.

2. I want their Mama to march them down here to apologize.

3. I need to figure out a way to not let it get to me.

4. I was thinking of buying a stash of Girl Scout cookies to hide away and sell in June and July when everyone runs out.

5. I wish people would teach their kids to be respectful.

6. I'm reading bits and bobs of books here and there, but never enough at one time to actually count as really reading the book.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight (Saturday) I'm looking forward to watching Merlin on the DVR, tomorrow (Sunday) my plans include knowing that I should be tackling my disaster/hoarders house but probably not doing it and Sunday (Monday), I want to get a plan of action from the counselor to help us with Brandon!

Six Word Saturday: Crafting

2012-01-28T15:45:00.002-06:00

I wouldn't be complete without it.

Friday Fill-Ins

2012-01-27T03:44:00.000-06:00

1. It's time to sleep, but I can't.

2. Don't try to cheer up Marvin ... and don't forget the towel!

3. I'm trying to decide if getting a booth at a craft fair would be a complete waste of time and energy.

4. "_____", that was the last funny comment I received.

5. Please send me customers with lots of money to spend.

6. You might as well stop telling me to leave, 'cause I'm in it for the long haul.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to crocheting, tomorrow my plans include crocheting more and maybe the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby and Sunday, I want to craft!

Hap-tea Winner

2012-01-18T18:43:00.000-06:00

Mad Hatter by karen.tkr, on Flickr

I finally found a minute to let Random.org draw a winner - comment number 4!

Anonymous said... I loved the challenge posed by your post. Unfortunately, I honestly don't know what the significance of choosing Hat Day for the date to have the entries in by. Unless their is a tie-in with preventing colds (wearing hats & tea). I have been googling, and honestly don't have a better answer... Regardless, thank you for the giveaway, and I woud love to win!!
terry (underscore) thacker (at) hotmail (dot) com

I'll be sending you and e-mail to get your address to send your goodies.

Julie got an extra entry for guessing why I chose Hat Day - Alice in Wonderland! Who wouldn't love to wear a crazy hat and have tea with the mad hatter?

Apple Dumplings

2012-01-16T06:40:00.001-06:00

I finally got around to making apple dumplings again and taking pictures to share with you, so without further ado... *Warning: long post with lots of pictures*

Start with two rolls of cheap crescent rolls, two wedged, peeled green apples (Don't eat any! Moral to come later in our story), and cinnamon-sugar mix.

Preheat the oven to the temperature on the rolls (375F in this case), and line your cookie sheet with foil so clean-up is easy.

Roll out the first can of rolls and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon-sugar mix.

Take a close up picture and be really proud of how it turned out considering you're using an iPhone.

Place an apple wedge on the wide end of the triangle of dough.

Roll the dough around the apple wedge from wide end.

Wrap the corners of the wide end of the triangle around the apple so that the three points of the triangle meet.

Place the roll so that the gathered points of dough are on the bottom of the dumpling. Space the dumplings an inch or two apart.

Repeat with second can of dough.

Make sure you don't eat an apple wedge while you're wedging the apples or you'll have a lonely, sad, apple-less crescent roll like me.

Bake according to package instructions (13 minutes for the Great Value brand) until light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Become the apple of everyone's eye when you declare that these are for dinner.

Take another good picture and pretend you're a real foodie/photographer.

Enjoy!

Six Word Saturday: Life with Kids

2012-01-14T18:25:00.000-06:00

fast, crazy, messy -

but worth it

...eventually

Friday Fill-Ins

2012-01-13T09:48:00.000-06:00

1. When I looked out the window this morning I saw frost on the country club grounds.

2. How someone could hurt a child doesn't make sense to me.

3. Remind me to take care of myself.

4. Giving gifts is something I love to do!

5. TP is toilet paper - duh.

6. I cleaned the refrigerator recently and I found out that I'm apparently a scientist.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to working on an OU hat and scarf set for my big sister, tomorrow my plans include church and Sunday, I want to keep plugging away at sorting the girls' laundry!

What's with today, today?

2012-01-09T14:04:00.000-06:00

Empire Records name badge for a geeky swap

...and a geeky Empire inside joke...

What's your favorite line from the movie?

Friday Fill-Ins

2012-01-06T11:55:00.001-06:00

1. Discussions are fine, and even encouraged, so long as they are civil and respectful.

2. It almost always hurts to say goodbye.

3. I think it's time I learned to tune out the insulting self-talk.

4. Seeing Michael's dimple puts a smile on my face.

5. Maybe sometime I might think I'm worthy of something good.

6. Knowing what's right gives me strength.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a quiet evening of nerdvision (I hope, if I can find something good on), tomorrow my plans include enjoying Michael's grilled hamburgers for dinner and Sunday, I want to sort the girls' clothes and plan to get rid of about 3/4 of them!

Hap-tea Holidays!

2012-01-04T08:54:00.000-06:00

Tea by Laurel Fan, on Flickr

I'm a holiday junkie, but not in the typical sense. I like weird holidays. I like them so much I've actually managed to get people to pay me to learn about them and write about them - more than once! I've just discovered a new holiday: January is Hot Tea Month. How did I not know this? Anyone who knows me knows I love my tea. Extra points if you know which is my favorite! +20 coolness factor if you know how I take it. Also, today celebrates another love of mine - Trivia Day, so how about some tea trivia? Here are some interesting tea tidbits I discovered:

Tea from the herb Camelia Simensis was first enjoyed by the Emperor of China 5000 years ago.
Colonial tea was very bitter. The severely overcooked leaves were salted, buttered, and eaten.
Tea is second only to water as the world's most popular beverage (take that, nasty old coffee!).
50 billion cups of tea are consumed in America each year; 40 billion of them are iced.
The first tea bags were silk, created by Thomas Sullivan in 1904.
Black, Green, and Oolong teas are all made from the same type of tea leaves. The difference is in the fermentation during processing: Black is fermented, Oolong is semi-fermented, and Green is not fermented.
Herbal teas don't actually contain tea, but peels, flower leaves, herbs, and spices. They have no caffeine.
Speaking of caffeine, tea only has 40 mg per cup, whereas coffee has 99 mg per cup.
Tea must have a caffeine content of approximately 5 mg per cup in order to qualify for the "decaffeinated" label.
Black and Green teas have antioxidants called flavenoids.

Still not a fan? Check out these health benefits of tea:

Consuming 30 oz. of black tea daily can reduce Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol levels by more than 10 percent. Study participants who drank four cups of tea per day had significantly lower risk of death following a heart attack – a decrease of up to 44 percent.
A Dutch study found that the incidence of heart attack decreased by 43 percent in the study participants who drank more than three cups of black tea per day.
Heavy smokers who consume four servings per day of green tea can have up to 31% lower levels of 8-OHdG (a biomarker for oxidative damage to DNA) in white blood cells. Oxidative damage to DNA is one factor which increases cancer risk and the researches suggest that a significant reduction of DNA damage found with green tea drinking may help reduce cancer risk in smokers.
Women who drink the equivalent of 2.5 cups of tea per day or more have a 60% drop in rectal cancer risk, as compared to women who drank less than 1.2 cups of tea per day.

It's cold and flu season. Aunt Crystal says, "Drink your tea to fight viral infection!" Research reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that people who drank 3 cups of black tea per day produced 5 times the amount of germ-fighting cells than those who drank coffee, suggesting that tea drinkers have more ability to fight viral infections such as colds and flu than non tea drinkers. I don't know about you, but I can't stand being sick. This sounds like a perfect excu-- *ahem* reason to drink tea.

So, care to join me for some tea? Leave a comment and I'll send a tea care package consisting of a dozen tea bags in a variety of flavors to the winner. Enter by midnight on National Hat Day: Sunday, January 15. An extra entry goes to the first person to tell me why I chose that day!

Disclaimer: This giveaway is not sponsored. I received no compensation for hosting this giveaway.

A Wish for the New Year

2012-01-01T00:44:00.002-06:00

Friday Fill-Ins

2011-12-30T10:48:00.000-06:00

1. Wait, wait - I need time to process that Sam is almost 6 months old already.

2. The way I view some things is a little different.

3. In addition, many people don't get that.

4. Immediately (I wish) is the way we do it here!

5. At the end of the year, I like to hope for a better next year.

6. Becoming a better person is one of the things I'm looking forward to in 2012.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a quiet evening, tomorrow my plans include watching the ball drop and enjoying a toast with my hubby and Sunday, I want to eat a bit of cabbage without Sam having major gas!

Perhaps not peace, but endurance

2011-12-26T03:01:00.000-06:00

"'There is no peace on Earth,' I said."
At least, there's none inside my head.
There's not time for the cry that threatens, though.
I must push it back,
for there's things to do:
others' tears to dry,
and squabbles to settle.
Meals to make, and dreams to peddle.

No, my dear ones, we've not got it all. Perhaps, some say, we've got none at all.
But we've still got us, and that's not small.

My little whos, the world is big, 'tis true.
There will be bad that comes, but we'll make it through.
We always do.

Friday Fill-Ins - More Christmas Lyrics

2011-12-23T21:38:00.000-06:00

1. Said the night wind to the little lamb, do you hear what I hear?

2. The first Noel, the angel did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay.

3. Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh. O'er the fields we go, laughing all the way.

4. It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old.

5. When I was small I believed in Santa Claus, and now that I'm old, I wish he was real.

6. And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing from within your heart.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to absolutely nothing, tomorrow my plans include church and Sunday, I want to survive the day!

God Heard

2011-12-23T00:53:00.000-06:00

I named you five years ago.
I asked God where you were for all that time -
who you were.
I wondered if you were some deluded figment of my imagination,
a half-whispered hope that would never be realized.

But God heard.
He heard my hurt.
He heard my wondering.
He heard the things I still don't know that I said in my heart.

And He answered with you.

Tripping through Tuesday

2011-12-20T23:02:00.003-06:00

I wanted to test this whole post-by-email thing some more so I thought I'd lie here in bed while Sam (who is supposed to be nursing and going to sleep) works on his reach/grab/squeal skills. Yep, four months old and already asserting himself. He's fascinated by this little light box. It doesn't matter what we're doing, as long as he gets to watch.

I went to my first Boy Scouts Court of Honor tonight. It was fun to see the boys of the troop interacting and I liked seeing the older ones encouraging the younger ones to reach for levels. One of them referred to the last three levels as "becoming a man." I like that. I hope that Brandon (and eventually Sam) will learn not only life skills and survival skills, but how to be a modern-day knight. Chivalry, honor, loyalty, duty, compassion: these are some of the values I want my sons to embody as they become men. I'm thankful for programs like Boy Scouts that help me to instill those values into them.

We don't have a lot planned for the holidays. We're just trying to keep the chaos contained so Dad can get some work done. With four kids in the house, that's a tall order! Tomorrow afternoon I'll drag them all to Mineola Eyecare to get Sarah's glasses during their open house so they can visit Santa and get out of the house for a bit. The doctor said she could really do without glasses, but Sarah's been fussing so much he said she could go ahead and have the mild prescription she needs for the classroom and watching television. I think she wants glasses because she's been feeling left out between Brandon and Bethany both having glasses. Yippee - three pairs of glasses to keep up with!

Such an exciting life I lead, isn't it? No matter how boring or exciting or hard you think your life may be, try to be thankful, because it is very likely that someone else is living a life even more so. Me? Tonight I'm enjoying the warm little wiggle worm next to me and the picture of that cute little reindeer up there. That's Bethy enjoying her class Christmas party. What's your reindeer for today?

Testing, testing, 1-2-3...

2011-12-19T22:47:00.001-06:00

I'm testing e-mail posting so I can inundate you from my phone. Watch out, world!

Internet Awesomesauce

2011-12-16T21:53:00.030-06:00

Some cool stuff I saw around the interwebs this week:

Photo via Geeks are Sexy

Geekgerbread Choose your realm: Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Portal, and Star Trek.

Photo via Wild Olive

Sweet, kid-safe creche Use it as an ornament, door hanger, or meaningful Christmas lovey for your little love.

Awesomeness from some local high school students.

Photo via The Pineapple Room

Gorgeous angel wings - made of cardboard, if you can believe it!

Photo via E-junkie

Amazing wood chip sculptures

Friday Fill-Ins - Christmas Lyric Version

2011-12-16T14:43:00.001-06:00

1. Sleigh bells ring are you list'nin'? In the lane snow is glist'nin'. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walkin' in a winter wonderland.

2. It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees somethingsomething singing songs of joy and peace.

3. You're a mean one Mr. Grinch.

4. Father Christmas come our way, fill our hearts with love today.

5. Silent night holy night. If only I could sleep tonight...

6. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth (but really someone to clean my house)!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a whole lotta nuthin', tomorrow my plans include a little Christmas prep and a nap and Sunday, I want to start tackling this stinkin' living room - it's driving me crazy!

Here's my favorite version of River:

Counting List

2011-12-15T13:42:00.001-06:00

ASL number signs

I've been prompted to write a list or to discuss what kinds of things I count. So I'm making a list of things that I count. I tend to be a counter anyway and find that I count things without thinking, but here are a few things that I'm conscious of counting.

crochet stitches - I count stitches when I start any project, but making hats especially turns me into a counting nut.
train cars (though I'm trying to stop myself from doing that because it makes me woozy)
tea bags - gotta have my tea!
I joked with someone yesterday that I ought to start counting my kids like teachers do to make sure I've got them all!
e-mails - I find myself fascinated with how many e-mails I automatically delete. I'm working on unsubscribing from those that I usually delete, so hopefully I'll stop counting that soon.

So here's another list:

Are you a counter?
What do you find yourself counting without thinking?
If you have a counting habit, does your counting habit bother you?

And just in case you're not thoroughly convinced I'm a complete loon, here's one of my favorite childhood songs:

Crochet Half-Double Crochet (HDC) Circle

2011-12-14T11:34:00.010-06:00

I swap a lot on Swap-bot and have been enjoying monthly dishcloth swaps. I recently sent a partner the circular cloth you see. In her rating, she asked if I could share the pattern with her, so I wrote it down. I thought others might be interested to see how I make a circle, so I decided to share it here. Feel free to ask any questions if I haven't been clear.

Note: This pattern is shared freely for personal use only. Thank you for respecting my wishes.

Crystal's HDC Flat Circle Cloth

Round 1: Using magic circle, chain 2 (counts as first hdc), 5 hdc in ring - 6 stitches; do not join - piece is worked in a spiral

Round 2: 2 hdc in each hdc around - 12 stictches

Round 3: (2 hdc in next hdc, hdc in next hdc) around

Round 4: (2 hdc in next hdc, hdc in next 2 hdc) around

Round 5: (2 hdc in next hdc, hdc in next 3 hdc) around

Round 6: (2 hdc in next hdc, hdc in next 4 hdc) around

Round 7: (2 hdc in next hdc, hdc in next 5 hdc) around

Continue increasing rounds until desired size is reached

To taper and end: stop at final increase of round; sc in half of remaining hdc of round; sl st in remaining hdc in round; finish off

Be Brave, Piglet

2011-12-13T14:43:00.004-06:00

So here's the prompt I got today: Where do you go to be brave? Is it your home? The gym? Your journal? Where is the place you are bravest? When are the times you are the most brave?

Sadly, I'm only brave at home. I can stand up to all the world's injustices as home, but step outside my door and I become the female Clark Kent or Peter Parker. I'm working on it, but really, I'm not changing the world here. But I want to. Does that count?

Nope.

As the saying (or some version of it) goes, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Ranting at home to my husband, or my kids, or the cat may feel like I'm doing something, but it's not really. Really doing something is going to the person or people that can change what's wrong. My husband can't change the school's policies. My kids can't make churches treat people right. The cat certainly can't (and probably wouldn't if he could because cats don't care as long as they're fed and petted when they want) stop an unconstitutional law from being passed.

Whatever we may see as evil will only be defeated when we - you and me - stand up for what is right. Yeah, it's scary. Yeah, laughter will probably follow us. We may be blown off, scorned, disfellowshipped, or arrested. But truth must out, and as another saying goes,

Friday Fill-Ins

2011-12-09T08:50:00.000-06:00

1. As I neared the light display I'd seen countless times before, I couldn't help but feel that child-like giddiness again.

2. Have a New Kid By Friday is what I'm reading right now. It's giving me a game plan to turn my family life around.

3. I didn't start out this way, really. Before taking Speech and Theatre classes from Larry Wisdom, I barely spoke above a whisper. Now, I have the supreme joy of reading books aloud to children and being told I'm a great storyteller.

4. I'd like to tell them off, to tell the truth.

5. The best way to enjoy a cold day is in a comfy seat with a blanket, a book, and a good cup of tea.

6. This is the reason I am fun to kids - part of me has never grown up!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner at Mom's, taking the kids to see Christmas lights, and sleep, of course, tomorrow my plans include the church's Christmas dinner and Sunday, I want to see if not speaking all day will get my voice back!