Echoes in the Nest

We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance. Harrison Ford

2012-01-30T21:15:00.000-05:00

Negative thinking? I don’t think so!

I am planning on making a few changes in my life this year; getting rid of negativity is one of them. Negative thinking brings negative outcomes. That’s something we already know.

For me, negative thinking causes stress. This in turn causes me physical pain. I have a lovely little disease called Fibromyalgia. There are about 1,000 explanations of this disease from its not existent to over active nerve endings.

I prefer to explain it as every day is an adventure in new levels of uncomfortable. Some days I don’t even notice the various pains that are happily taking up residence in different parts of my body; other days I am considering hiring a good lawyer that specializes in evictions.

Those are the days that I realize that I have allowed the things that I have no control over to affect me in negative ways. I begin to stay negative throughout the day and often for days at a time. Do you see the snowball effect here?

I have another reason for getting rid of negative thinking however. I have been noticing that when I am around people that can only find the negative in everything, I get cranky and negative too.

Hmmm? Could this be a possible connection? Negativity breeds negativity. Perhaps it’s no wonder our country and society as a whole are seemingly always negative.

We only see negative news on the television, internet, and in the newspapers.Why is that you ask? Because, that is what sells. I was once told that people like to see negative things to make what is happening in their own lives seem less so.

What a sad world we live in if this is truly the case. If anything at all, we should be demanding to see positive stories that can help encourage us that there are still good things going on in this world.

In my effort to get rid of as much negativity as I can, I am searching for positive stories that I will share with you on a weekly basis.

“The homemade pie has been under siege for a century, and surely its survival is endangered.” ― Janet Clarkson, Pie

2012-01-27T02:14:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NATIONAL PIE DAY! (January 23; I’m late)
Since Monday was National Pie Day, I thought I would share an easy pie recipe with you. The first is a yogurt pie that my mother made for us all the time as children. My step-father was a brittle diabetic so she had to be careful with the sweet treats she made for us. This recipe was approved by his diabetic nutritionist as suitable for him.

Yogurt Pie

1 container of fruit on the bottom yogurt, any flavor you like
1 8oz. container of whipped topping, you can choose which type you prefer since there are so many available now
1 graham cracker crust, you can buy or make your own using the recipe at the bottom
Mix the yogurt and whipped topping together gently, but thoroughly. Spoon the mixture into the crust and smooth the top. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Serves 8.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 ½ cup of graham cracker crumbs; about 12-14 whole graham crackers finely crushed
¼ cup of sugar
8 tbsp. of butter; melted
Put graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a bowl and stir with a fork. Add the butter and stir until crumbs are moistened. Pour the crust mixture and then pat and press the crumbs all around the pie plate until evenly disbursed. I use a measuring cup to help me press it firmly in place. Keep the edges even with the top of the pie plate. Place in a 350˚ oven for 8-10 minutes. Watch it carefully to prevent it from getting to dark. Allow to cool completely before adding filling.

13 Glade Coupons!

2012-01-21T01:49:00.000-05:00

Here's a great link to a site to get you some Glade coupons!
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Extreme Personal Measures: Glazed Doughnut Muffins

2012-01-18T11:43:00.000-05:00

Extreme Personal Measures: Glazed Doughnut Muffins

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2012-01-17T15:47:00.000-05:00

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Horseradish

2012-01-17T15:30:00.000-05:00

I may or may not be having a love affair with horseradish.

Alright so I am.

My affair started with a trip to a sport's bar named Beef O'Brady's. My husband had ordered one of those appetizer combo type plates and there was this bright orange dressing in the basket. I asked the waitress what it was for and she said the onion rings. I don't like beer battered onion rings so I peeled the breading off and dipped the resulting string of onion in this "onion ring sauce".

Angels began to sing.
All was right with the world.

For the rest of the meal I felt compelled to put this dressing on EVERYTHING on my plate. I had ordered a sliced beef sandwich that I promptly removed from the bread and mixed into my broccoli along with this amazing sauce. My husband began to look longingly at the empty table at the opposite side of the room as I besieged the waitress with a barrage of questions about the ingredients in this sauce and proceeded to ask for additional little to-go cups of amazingness to take home with me.

Of course this may or may not have increased the price of our meal, and I may or may not have been on the receiving end of a few glares from my adoring husband.

Feeling the need to always have this dressing/topping/awesomeness, I began to search for recipes that might taste similar. There were so many of them, but I began to try out a few different ones and finally created one that met my personal needs.

Horseradish Dip

• ½ cup of mayonnaise (not salad dressing)
• 2 teaspoons of Ketchup
• 2 teaspoons of prepared Horseradish
• ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar (you can use stevia if you prefer)
• ½ teaspoon Lemon juice (bottled is fine)
• ¼ teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon of paprika

Mix everything together making sure that everything is well incorporated. Move the mixture into a glass jar. (I use a well cleaned pickle relish jar.) Put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to let the flavors blend. Use as a dip for onion rings, French fries, or tator tots. The dressing is also great for use on steamed vegetables or as a sandwich topper in place of mayonnaise or mustard. Of course, it is also great on roast beef.
Try it this way and make adjustments to suit your own preference for heat and flavor. Some adjustments that could be made are to add:
• Substitute zesty ketchup for regular
• Add a few drops of hot sauce
• Use just 1 ½ cups of mayonnaise and add ½ cup of sour cream

Video Chatting In The Nest

2012-01-15T17:58:00.001-05:00

My sons are both in the Army and because of this they are either in a different state or country from the rest of the family. Right now, one is in Hawaii and the other is in South Korea.

This is a picture of them crossing paths at an airport; one was on his way back to Iraq after a two week leave. The other had just graduated from basic training and was headed to his next base for additional training.

You can imagine what our phone bills would like if we were to try and keep in touch this way.

One of the great things about the video chat program we use is that we are able to have six people in our “chat room” for free!

The site we use is called ooVoo. It’s free and easy to set up an account. They offer so many options to use for messaging from an instant message chat without video to leaving a video message.

They also have paid plans you can purchase to further enhance your use. This is different than the one that we had previously used and is completely priceless to us.

This year for the holidays we were able to quiet those echoes in the nest and enjoy each other in a way that we had not been able to for the last few years thanks to ooVoo.

To a mama with an empty nest, that is valuable beyond measure. Not only do I get to hear their voices, I can see them and participate; if only virtually; in whatever they may be doing. Sometimes its watching them play video games, and sometimes I just get to listen to them banter back and forth.

The only way life could be better is if they were home.

( The opinions in this post are mine and mine alone. I was not reimbursed for this review in anyway. The posting contains links to an outside source in order to give credit to the product/service reviewed.)

Discussion Wednesdays!

2012-01-11T15:53:00.002-05:00

I want to talk about what I have officially labeled as "Man-Logic". This is a phrase that I have come up with to explain some of the off the wall reasoning's and explanations that the men in my life come up with.

My primary example of this will be something that my dear husband informed me of during a discussion of our move to Upstate New York in May. Please keep in mind that my husband is a very smart gentleman, he is so very charming and could probably sell ice to Eskimo's if he had a reason to.

The conversation went something like this:

Him: I really want to find a rental that includes snow removal. It was bad enough that I had to shovel snow when I lived in Maine, I don't want to have to do it in NY also.
Me: I will do the best I can, but most of the rentals only do snow removal for driveways and do not always include the front walks or any paths you may need to get to the driveway.
Him: Well you need to keep looking for someplace that includes all of that.
Me: Well a path and little bit of sidewalk is not that much to have to shovel.
Him: (eyes rounded and huge)Are you kidding me? Snow is heavier in NY than it is in Maine.
Me: Excuse me?
Him: Yeah, it's true. It rains more in NY so the snow is heavier and Maine's snow is all light and fluffy.
Me: Yes, Dear.

Now, I don't know how many of you have had to shovel snow, but I can find no studies that have compared the weight of snow on a shovel in Maine compared to NY.

Maybe I am missing something here?

I think it may be a certain level of testosterone that allows men to come up with these things.

So here is the question of the day:

Do any of you have "man-logic" stories? I mean the ones that you just can not, for the life of you, even think of a response to.

Why Start A Blog?

2012-01-08T13:42:00.001-05:00

Why am I starting a blog? Answer 2,000,456,876 would be because I need an outlet for my thoughts that includes feedback. For some reason, journaling just doesn’t provide feedback that actually challenges me.

It might be that I agree completely with what I have said.

Anything is possible.

I am also a fairly creative person. I like to think out of the box when it comes to life in general. I honestly believe that there is a nice little niche for someone like me out here in the blogging world. I’m an empty-nester at the age of 40 and I’m a homemaker. I have to believe there are more people out there just like me that want to read about life after the kids have started their own journeys in life.

Please do not misunderstand me. Most of the blogs that I read on a regular basis and truly enjoy are from young mothers. I can sympathize with how tough it is to raise children in this world we live in.

I’m not going to lie; sometimes I give a somewhat evil giggle when I read about crayon masterpieces on walls or the adventures in shopping with children that are not impressed with the whole shopping experience.

I’m allowed to do this. I have been there. When they get to my point in life, they too will give little evil chuckles at the pain of other mother’s adventures with their children.

We earned it.

I can give so many more reasons for starting a blog, but I would rather hear all about why you started one or are considering starting one.

Nonlinear Slip Watch GIVEAWAY

2012-01-07T12:17:00.000-05:00

Here's a great blog for men and they are offering a giveaway! :)

Nonlinear Slip Watch *GIVEAWAY*

Oxygen Women's Fitness | Nutrition | Baked Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

2012-01-06T11:17:00.000-05:00

Oxygen Women's Fitness | Nutrition | Baked Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

Do you consider goal setting to be helpful?

2012-01-04T18:20:00.000-05:00

Setting goals is, in my humble opinion, a must. I have gone through the first half of my life without trying to set and keep working towards goals. It hasn't worked out the best for me. Having something to accomplish rather than just living day to day seems to be the best way to get what you want out of life.

Well, unless of course you win the lottery, then some things might be easier to accomplish without really working very hard.

I would also like to note that I have been informed that waking up tomorrow as a witch and being able to twitch my nose to get the housework done is not a realistic goal. I say that all depends on whose reality we are referring to.

I would love to hear other opinions on this as well as ways that could help people set realistic goals.

Setting Goals

2012-01-04T16:36:00.000-05:00

Goals for 2012

One of my goals for 2012 is to make a list of attainable, realistic goals that I want to accomplish by the end of the year. This isn’t going to be a New Year’s Resolution type situation either.

Who actually follows through on them anyways? Now, I can admit that some, and by some I mean very few, actually follow through on these resolutions. However, I truly believe that most people make resolutions for the New Year for two reasons.

The first would be peer pressure; which of course is a really just another way of saying “I did it, so now you have to be as good as me and make a list that too!". Of course neither of you will even remember where you put said list, or what was on it, until next year's list has to be made.

The second is that it has become somewhat of a tradition to convince ourselves at the beginning of each year that we must make a list and get rid of all of our perceived bad habits.

With all that being said, I also have to admit that I have never been much of a list creator. This could be the reason for the lack of organization in my life.

Anything is possible.

OK so here goes my list of small attainable goals for 2012.

Get a blog started.
Refuse to give into negative thinking.
Start the process of making as much as I can of our food from scratch. This includes bread making, seasoning mixes, and a few other food projects I have my eye on.
Send handwritten letters to my sons at least once a month.
Eat three meals a day.
Stop drinking diet soda and drink more water.
Take pictures consistently.
Stop using technology as a substitute for true communication with friends and family.
Learn to be a better example to those that I come in contact with.
Take criticism as it should be, without a defensive attitude.
Teach myself gardening.
Read at least one book a month.
Renew my love of crafting.
Find creative ways of earning extra money for savings.

This post will be a series for me to give explanations for choosing some of these goals. I think the why is as important as the what when it comes to goal setting and accomplishing.

It doesn’t hurt to use it as a method of making me plan out my blog posts ahead of time either.