when boredom attacks

One day last August I reached an ultimate low. Bored to death. Well, not quite...but close to it! If you want to know what sort of hideous things I filled my time with on that day, you're about to find out. Please don't hold this against me.

This is me in 1952.

1954

1960

1962

1966
1968

1976

1980 - Oh. My. Gosh. This is getting ugly.

1984 - What do you think? Poodle? Cocker Spaniel? Komondor?
1990 - Praise the Lord I was a child of the 80s and was fortunate enough to miss most of the tragic fashions of the 80s and early 90s.

1992
1998

Food, Inc.

I don't want this to turn into a political platform. The purpose of this blog is solely to share with you my feelings, thoughts, experiences, and dreams. I feel that as an informed person, it is my duty to share my latest discovery with you, my friends and family.

I watched the documentary Food, Inc. today. I only want to consume organic foods for the rest of my life. Let me just tell you...it was scary to see the veil lifted. I strongly believe that every American should watch this movie. This film is not liberally biased and seems to touch on all the different bases - from the seed to processing, to the animals and the conditions under which they are raised, the slaughterhouses and mistreatment of (illegal) workers, the corporations and the government, the risks to the consumer and environment, and the farmer himself. It is my honest opinion that the most heartbreaking stories of all were the farmers trying to do their job the sanitary and ethical way. Food, Inc. has its own website where you can view the trailer. If you have Netflix, you can watch the movie instantly on your computer.

This film made me not only feel bad about the junk that I've been consuming, but guilty that I have been feeding it to my Baby Girl as well. It was eye-opening, disgusting, aggravating, and educating to see how blinded I was by the manipulative lies that corporate America has been feeding me. I must admit after watching it, I feel like an ignorant sheep. All this time I have been trying to eat healthy, but who knows what that is anymore? There has been a lack of education on the subject matter, quite frankly. Most people can't even afford to care because of the costs of food. It is really simple. These giant corporations can make more food faster and for less money, but at what costs (and I don't mean money). They don't want us to know where our food comes from. I'm not exactly sure who all "they" is referring to, but I don't doubt that government agencies are a major player.

As Christians, we believe that our body is a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). I strongly recommend watching this film and seriously educating yourself on real nutrition (not just eating something because the box says it's nutritionally dense or "all natural" or "whole grain"). While doing further research on GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) and food labeling, I came across a few websites that I will post links to below. Some of them are quite out of date, but still informative. One of the links is a PDF download for Non-GMO Shopping Guide. I am not advocating any of these sites. I don't know if they are professional or educational. I just found them informative.

Institute for Responsible Technology

The Campaign for Healthier Eating in America

Non-GMO Shopping Guide (PDF download)

HealingDaily.com (Genetically Engineered Foods)

Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?

Colorado State University: Labelling of Genetically Engineered Foods

Helpguide.org (Understanding Organic Food Labels, Benefits, and Claims)

home alone

Welp, we were supposed to be watching 24 tonight, but, instead, I am basically packing my husband's suitcase for tomorrow morning. What pants should I take? What shirts should I pack? Which suitcase should I use? I don't see how he made it this far in life...

Tomorrow, Top Gun is flying off into the wild blue yonder to Canada eh and leaving the two of us hens? no...tabby cats? nope...bitches? nuh uh...We'll stick to the human species...gals to fend for ourselves. We'll be holding down the fort while Top Gun is off gallivanting around another country for a whole entire week! Ok, so maybe it is for work, but what kind of lame excuse is that? I'm thinking road trip! (On a funnier side note, I just noticed he put his sweat pants on backwards! Harharhar!)

Where shall we go? A spa? I'm not so sure Baby Girl would go for a pedicure or full body massage just yet, and if we actually go anywhere I want to see something big. Grand Canyon? Yep, that's purty dadgum big, but I'm not sure how Baby Girl would feel about 8-9 hours in a carseat, either. Mexico? No, I don't think I like that idea...at least not without Top Gun...or just a gun, at least. Quick all-inclusive getaway to Hawaii? Oooh, Mommy likey...That's probably not in the budget. We'll figure something out.

what would you do...for a klondike bar?

My mind wanders sometimes. Okay, my mind wanders a lot. I've found it in the strangest places. Today it was wandering somewhere around Northern Thailand. I'm serious.

I was wondering what we would do if we were to come into a healthy chunk of money (is there such a thing?). Let's just say, hypothetically, we made $100,000. What would we do first? How much money would go towards what? Do we pay off all of our debt and put the rest towards savings? Do we take just a small portion to get something we've been needing for a few years (like a new car)? Do we take a teeny tiny bit to take a dream trip (to visit our Compassion kids, for example. One of whom lives in Northern Thailand. See, I told you I wasn't yankin' yer chain!)? Do we put some into a college mutual fund for Baby Girl and any more squirts we might have? Do I get to have a little itsy bitsy teenie weenie bit to get some stuff for the house that I have wanted to sell a kidney to buy since we couldn't afford it? Should we put a big fat down payment on a nice starter home somewhere? But then where the heck would that be? Never mind that for now...Maybe we could put a little bit towards all of the above. Yeah, I think I like that. It's okay to dream sometimes, right?

So, I'm just curious. I want to hear from you. What would you do with $100,000? How much would you put towards what?

easiest dessert ever

My friend Randi Beth (very Southern, no? But not nearly as Southern as my momma's name: Reba Lynn! Kinda makes you wanna holler, "Shoowee! Dadgummit git yor carcass in hyere right this instant, Reba Lynn!") introduced me to ThePioneerWoman.com when she blogged about her cookbook back in November. I have been hooked ever since. It is probably my most favorite website ever.

On her recipe pages, Ree Drummond gives step-by-step directions on how to prepare each dish. I found a scrumptious blackberry cobbler (among many other to-die-for dinners, desserts, and so on and so forth), and I love love love cobbler.

This particular cobbler is pretty hard to mess up, too. And you don't just have to use blackberries, either. I tried it with blueberries, which wasn't quite as delish, but still quite good. In case you don't feel like following all the links, I will kindly copy and paste the directions below. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 stick Butter
• 1-¼ cup Sugar
• 1 cup Self-Rising Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 cups Blackberries (frozen Or Fresh)

Preparation Instructions

Melt butter in a microwavable dish. Pour 1 cup of sugar and flour into a mixing bowl, whisking in milk. Mix well. Then, pour in melted butter and whisk it all well together. Butter a baking dish.

Now rinse and pat dry the blackberries. Pour the batter into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle blackberries over the top of the batter; distributing evenly. Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over the top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until golden and bubbly. If you desire, sprinkle an additional teaspoon of sugar over the cobbler 10 minutes before it’s done.

c'est la vie - je suis fatiguée

I'm sorry I haven't posted a new blog for a few days. We've kept pretty busy lately. I had to ask the nice Mexican yard service guys to leave some of their hedge clippers so I could shave my legs around midnight last night. Yeah, it had been that long. I know for a fact a razor hasn't touched these legs since I was in Texas only, oh, say...more than 3 weeks ago! Fortunately, I have blondish hair on my legs, so I don't walk around here looking like a man. And fortunately, it's winter, so my legs are always covered. And fortunately...no, that's all I've got. On top of that, I even painted my toenails. You don't even want to know how long it's been since they got a fresh coat of paint. I think it was November. The polish had completely grown off most of my small toes, and was nearly halfway up my big toe. Do you know how long it's been since I've had a haircut? I'll spare you the details.

I've also been pretty tired lately. The kind of tired you feel when you're pregnant. Only I'm not pregnant. Really. Honest. I promise. Not yet. I'm in the process of weaning Baby Girl, however, and she woke up around 2am with the intention of eating. I tried to stop it. I tried with every bit of strength I had to tell her no, but the sad truth is I didn't have much strength. I just wanted to sleep. So she ate, and I slept. For awhile.

Besides the late nights and middle-of-the-night wakings, I wake up every morning to the sound of the rooster crowing. Not really. I only wish we lived on a cute little farm with a stupid annoying rooster yelling at us at the butt crack of dawn. It's actually Top Gun's alarm. At 6 am. Then I wake up again to the sound of Top Gun's alarm. At 6:05 am. And again. And again. Finally, I give him a good kick in frustration and fatigue somewhere around 6:30. He's up. Oh yeah, it's tons-o-fun. I hate the snooze button, but I love the snoozer despite it. Did I just say that? Eh.

Now you know the rest of the story. That doesn't really make sense, but I felt like saying it anyways. I use to listen to Paul Harvey on the way to school in the mornings with my daddy. He always said that at the end of his stories, and I thought it would work. It doesn't really. But now you know why I haven't posted for a few days. Yesterday I said that if sleep weren't a factor then I would be ready for another baby. I guess I should get used to not sleeping for at least the next 18 years.

By the end of this week I plan to post a description of what goes on around here with our eBay business. Come check it out if you're curious.

what is love?

BEING ABLE TO GIVE CARDS LIKE THIS FOR VALENTINE'S DAY.

I just wasn't in a mushy gushy mood this year. I picked up this card and went for it. We don't really do the "Valentine's Day" thing anyways.