Gossamer

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go with Emma's 5th grade class to see the Oregon Children's Theatre producton of Gossamer. Based on the book by Lois Lowry, Gossamer is the story of Dreamgivers and how they help a young boy and those associated with him. The book is excellent and a good choice for older elementary age children and middle schoolers. Like Lois Lowry's other novels, Gossamer, deals with deep, thought provoking issues. This one happens to be about the abuse that parent's inflict on a young child. In the course of the book we find out that the child's father gave him dog food to eat and wouldn't feed him anything else until he had eaten the dog food. Appalling? Of course. What was interesting to me was the discussion that was held at the end of the play.

When the play was over a man came out and asked a few questions of the audience. "Stand up if you believe the boy should forgive his mother." Almost everyone in the audience stood up, including teachers. Then he said, "Stand up if you believe the boy should forgive his father." Very few stood up. It was interesting, albeit not surprising that very few stood up. What did surprise me though was that the same teachers that believed in forgiveness for the mother did not believe in forgiveness for the father. Yes, what he did was awful. Some may even use the term "unforgiveable." But the lesson I want to teach my children is that we still need to forgive. We don't need to forget how the boy was hurt and it doesn't mean that forgiving his father means the boy needs to spend more time time with him or any at all for that matter. But forgiveness means getting rid of the anger in your heart and wishing happiness/change for the other person. This can be difficult but I believe attainable.

Emma and I had a nice chat after the play was over. She is so smart, this is what she said, "Yeah, I didn't stand up when they asked if he should forgive his dad, but that is wrong. He should forgive them, we should always forgive, that's what Jesus taught us to do."

A letter to my neighbors

Is this what your table looks like after a night of trick or treating?
I want my table to be filled with these:

And these:


To all the people giving my children candy on Halloween night:

In order to help you with your preparations I thought I would share with you my suggestions in order of preference:

You get a grade of A+ if you give them an Almond Joy or Junior Mints. I don't care if that's not the one they want. Just give it to them. They will thank me later even if my butt doesn't.

You get a grade of A if you give them a Kit Kat, Twix or Peanut M&M's

You get a B for any of the following: Snickers, Pay Days, M & M's, Hershey's

You earn a C for Smarties, and these better be the real ones, no fake ones, I can tell the difference and Reeses peanut butter cups.

You earn a D for the following that I will only eat when A, B and C's have all run out: Cinnamon bears, Jolly Ranchers, Twizzlers and Bottle Caps

And I will not eat the following so just don't even think about handing this stuff out:

Pixie sticks, last years candy, a piece of fruit (come on, what are you thinking?) Orange Circus peanuts, peeps and certainly not any piece of candy that is fashioned into a body part.

Sincerely,

A mom who admittedly steals candy from her children

So what are your A+ candies and your F candies?

Why I went to college

For moments like this:

$100 a month on groceries....how I did it.

These musings are to give myself a pat on the back. Oh, I guess that's what this whole blog is. Well, here is something else I want to celebrate. And that is Thriftiness, Frugality, saving money, whatever you want to call it. Money has been tight around here the past month. So much so that we have had very little money for groceries. My grocery money was cut in a fourth for the past month in order to get caught back up on some bills. So I decided when I saw the cold hard truth in front of me via Quicken that there was no need to worry or panic or be depressed. We have food storage! Let me say though that we do not have the kind of food storage where we have absolutely everything we need to live off of. I wish! I strive for that but we are not there yet. So these are a few things that I have done to live off of a $100 budget for the past month.

1. Check out the weekly ads and make a list of the items that are a really good deal and buy those items.
Which has resulted in about one shopping bag per week. Remember that most grocery stores will take competitor coupons so you don't have to run around wasting your gas.

2. I gave 2 jars of my home canned chicken to a friend and she made both of our families enough chicken noodle soup for 3 meals.

3. Harvest almost everything that is left in my garden and eat it.

4. Borrow $20 from my daughter to go out to eat with friends. ( I was able to pay her back a couple days later)

5. Use up all those things in my freezer and fridge that I never feel like using.

6. Shop at the Franz bakery outlet. 10 loaves of bread for $4!

I was telling Chris that I was surprised at what I have been able to come up with in the department of dinners for our family. For example, Thriftway had acorn squash on sale last week. I was able to buy 2 large ones for $1.39. So my dinner started out with that as a base. I would have been fine eating just that but I knew that wouldnt fly with my honey so I looked in the freezer and decided that I needed to use up that other package of Falafels that I had bought at Costco. Remembering that Heidi didn't like them I decided to press forward anyway hoping I could disguise them to look like a meatball dish (which she loves). To see if I succeeded in this check out Heidi's blog here. Just don't laugh at the very disgusting looking picture she took. It really looked much better than that. I had used up the rest of the rice in our house the week before so I dug around in the back of my cupboards and found a box of couscous. Yay! So I mixed a can of cream of chicken soup (from food storage) with the rest of a carton of sourcream, added a little water and 2 tbsp of curry powder and let that simmer with the frozen falafels. We had that over a bed of couscous and had acorn squash with it.

In April my cousin, Marlo, had given me a huge chunk of ham from her freezer that they weren't going to eat. It had been sitting in my freezer since then. I have been putting off using it because I just knew it would have freezer burn. So i pulled it out on Saturday and stuck it in the fridge to defrost. Yesterday morning I pulled it out and cut off the freezer burn. (Just a note: freezer burn is not a safety issue, only a quality issue) I threw it in my crock pot with a couple cups of water and set it on low. When everyone got home from church I drained off the liquid and shredded it. I threw in a bottle of barbecue sauce from my fridge that needed to get used up. I was planning on just putting it on bread for barbecue ham sandwiches but then I saw the containers of Pillsbury crescent rolls that I had bought at Albertsons last week. When you bought ten of certain items those items were only $1 each. Normally crescent rolls can be spendy and I knew that was a good deal so we got about 6 containers. I also know how many things you can do with crescent rolls. I wasn't a pampered chef consultant for 4 years for nothing! So i pressed out the crescent rolls and put a dollop of barbecue ham and some grated cheese on each one and made barbecue ham bundles. The whole family loved them and I had enough left over to put in Makenzie's lunch today.

So we made it through the month and I'm feeling encouraged to be more diligant in shopping with the weekly ads in mind. I couldn't keep on living off of $100 a month because I have depleted most things from my freezer and a lot of our food storage but it's great to know that I can do it when I am prepared.

Oh, one other thing we did to cut expenses long term: we cut our size of garbage can in half and are going to be better about recycling. We just finished our first week with this and we did it! We even had room to spare in the garbage can. It's amazing how much stuff you can actually recycle now.

Arizona

I've been to Arizona twice before that I can remember. There was the time that I went with a group of 4-Hers on a school bus, during the summer, with no A/C to the Grand Canyon. That is certainly an experience I have never forgotten. And then there was a trip that Chris and I took about 12 years ago to visit my dad when he was living there.

Last weekend my friend Merilee and I went to AZ to spend a weekend with her family having fun and relaxing. And although it wasn't the high temps of summer I was still glad for air conditioning. On Friday I met a friend of mine that I hadn't seen in 6 years. It was great to see her and we were able to catch up on each other's lives. Then that night we went to Pizzeria Bianco. It was voted as the #1 Pizza in the U.S. After eating it I can see why. The taste of the pizza was heavenly but it's everything else that surrounds it that really gives it it's #1 rating. The place was small and rustic which lended itself nicely to the wood oven in the middle of the restaurant. And the smell was like how my Italy smells. You know the smell. I have in my mind what a little pizza place in Italy would smell like and this place smelled like that. And Yes, we did have to wait 4 hours to be seated. Luckily for us it was First Friday in Phoenix which meant we could leave and walk around downtown and visit the art galleries and different artisans that were selling their creations. We had a large group of us (I think 10) and it was a complete blast.

The next day I was able to watch the Saturday morning session of general conference and then it was time for the ever anticipated trip to Elmers. This place rocks and did not disapoint. Merilee has been talking about this place ever since I met her and it was really the catalyst for me going out there. Simple Mexican food but good. I agree with Megan who said it was the beans that really make it what it is. An incredible flavor. My favorite was the tostada which is what I would order if I went again. After lunch we headed out to Casa Grande. It's part of the National Park system and I was able to get a stamp in my National Park passport book. It was very interesting to learn about the ancient civilization of the Hohokam. There is one very large structure (Casa Grande) which the archeologists have never been able to figure out what it was used for. It's much larger than the sizes of the homes they built. It was Monique who suggested it was posibly their temple.
Merilee brought some apples from Oregon and on Saturday night we made some homemade caramel and dipped those apples. I loved the look of wide eyes on the kids faces as we dipped those whole apples in the caramel. They tasted so good that I decided we have to make those this year for sure at my house.

Sunday morning we awoke to the smell of bacon frying as Merilee's mom started getting the breakfast burros ready. These are so dang good and I love that it is a tradition for the Bogle family. Within 15 minutes of conference starting the whole extended family had arrived. The house was full and tummies were full too as we hung out and watched conference.

I thought that what I saw of Arizona was beautiful. I'm glad I didnt see any snakes although I did have a very close call. I can't wait to visit again as long as Merilee's family doesnt mind if I crash the party again!

7 Interesting Things

My friend Tonya tagged me for this. You are supposed to list 7 interesting or weird things about yourself. I have been reading others list of 7 things and it's been fun to read. I've learned some unique things about my friends out there. So here are some interesting things about me:

1. I drive with my left foot resting on the dashboard.

2. I type a lot of stuff with my fingers as i'm listening to people speak or when I see signs.

I have to say that this quirk is getting better. I used to do it constantly but I don't do it near as much as I did even a year ago. I started doing this when I was in the 9th grade and I took a typing class (back when people actually used typewriters).

3. I don't like to try new things when I go to restaurants. I hate being disappointed when I've paid for something. So unless I'm pretty sure I will like something new I stick with what I know I will like so I'm not disappointed.

4. I sleep with one of my feet off the edge of the bed.

5. I'm afraid of children falling.

I wouldn't say that I'm afraid of heights because I don't have a problem if it's just me. but if there are children with me then I become this maniac that won't let my children touch the edge of the railing or look over the side of the cliff.

6. I like to stay in hospitals.

I mean where else will someone bring me food and I get the remote control all to myself?

7. I have a hard time with my blood being taken.

or anyone elses for that matter. I have been known to pass out when having blood drawn. I start to see white circles and then black fills in around those white circles and the next thing I know I am laying down with a cold compress on me. I also can't stand to see others with tubes or needles in them. I cannot go into hospital rooms if someone has a lot of tubes in them. My sister does NOT have this quirk and is graduating from nursing school in December.

So there you have it. I tag anyone who hasn't done this and wants to. I would love to read all about the quirky things you do.

To Topher

I feel so much love for my husband and wanted to share some of the reasons why. He is the best. He is perfect for ME. So this is for you, Topher.

Why I love you

You smell yummy
You look incredible when you wear that new silk sweater like you were this morning.
You are willing to do hard manly things like chop wood
You like to go camping
You have defined yourself and I love the definition
You help me with computer issues
You NEVER complain about what I cook
You tickle my back and roll your eyes when I mention you haven't done so in about a month.
Because it's not true, you do almost everynight and I know it but I just like to tease you.
You love our girls
You don't fart or burp in public....thank you
You support Family Home Evening and family prayer and family scripture study
You let me be me
You help me with huge daunting projects I have like 3rd year girls camp hikes
You are so smart
I can say to the girls.....go ask dad, and they will and you will always know the answer
You are gorgeous
You have the best laugh EVER.
You work hard to support our family with things like food, housing and clothes.
You are a superb rafter
You share with me.
You don't mind cooking dinner as long as I tell you what to make
You bring me treats from work
You like to dress up for ren faires and halloween
You actually will listen to my country music and not complain
You appreciate Thai, Vietnamese and Indian food
You speak 3 languages fluently
You are a good friend
You are my best friend

I'm off to see Phoenix (sung to the tune of "off to see the wizard from the Wizard of oz")

Today Merilee and I are leaving our children behind with our husband's and going to Phoenix. Why Phoenix? Well, her family is there and to be honest the thing that motivated us the most to go was this place called Elmer's. It's some Mexican food place that is supposedly seriously good grub. Yes, I know I'm a total foodie. The even funnier part is that the other thing we are doing is waiting in line for approximately four hours to have the best pizza in the United States. It better be good after waiting that long. And then there are the breakfast burritos that Merilee's mom will be making on Sunday morning for general conference.

So besides my three food events (yeah, pathetic huh?) I am looking forward to reuniting with a friend I haven't seen in 5 years, going to a National Park and just hanging out in the sunshine with Merilee's sisters.

Have a mentioned that I have the best husband in the world who understands his wife passion for all things travel? (That's a completely different post)

Note: General Conference is a world-wide broadcast that happens twice a year in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The messages come from church leaders and are very inspiring. If you have cable you can find it on one of your stations. There are two sessions on Saturday 10:00 and 2:00 Mountain time, and 2 sessions on Sunday at the same times. I always come away from a conference weekend feeling renewed and uplifted.

A fun tag

Photo Tag...

The rules of the game: Go to your pictures folder and take the fourth picture from the fourth file and post it.

This is a fun tag because it is so quick. And as I've read the stories behind other people's pictures they have posted it's fun to see the randomness and how every picture has a story.

This is a picture of my 2nd cousin Andrew. He is my cousin's Jenny and Steve's son. He has Down Syndrome and is the cutest and sweetest thing ever. I mean look at those lips. I just want to kiss them.

I tag: Mahina, Siouxsie, Nancy & Chelle