O Christmas Tree......

My family tends to be pretty nontraditional in most things that we do. We are just not big followers. Tradition is great..... we have lots of traditions.... just probably not the ones most people have! LOL

One thing we do a little different is decorate our Christmas tree. We decorate the tree with Star Wars, Star Trek and Lord of The Rings figurines. Also Dr Seuss and Harry Potter. Maybe a few ornaments from other space type shows as well. I do have some ornaments that my daughter made when she was little and some with special sentimental value and those get hung as well. But, the overall theme of our tree is space travel. LOL Lots of little spaceships flying all over the tree with a Darth Vadar or two thrown in for good measure!

We just like being different!

So, right now, we are int he process of putting together a playlist for the blog (and for Christmas!) full of highly humorous Christmas songs and parodies. We love traditional music as well.... but who can resist the redneck christmas song? Ha!

I will be replacing my current playlist with this version as soon as it is complete. If any of the songs are offensive to you.... I apologize in advance! Just hit stop and they will stop playing.

So, what are your weirdest traditions for the holidays? What does your family do that is just a little odd? What is your favorite Christmas song?

Trying to get in the spirit early this year.... LOL

Let Freedom "Ring"

I was scrolling through all of my favorite blogs the other day and came across THIS POST from The Queen of Shake Shake. After reading her post and following the links therein, I have decided to participate in The Middle Finger Revolution. Yes, laugh, but it really is no laughing matter. I grew up in a time and a place where homosexuality was not really a major issue. Yes, there was prejudice but it was not "in your face" as much as some places. I grew up with parents that were open minded enough to say "live and let live". I grew up with friends and relatives in long term homosexual relationships and it was not a big ussue for me. It was just the way they were.

I cannot even imagine waking up one morning, like so many couples in California did last week, to find that my spouse was no longer my spouse. To find out that my relationship is no longer valid in the eyes of my neighbors and my relatives and my country.

I could rant and rave about this issue for hours. But nothing I say will change anyone else's mind. People with the prejudice that allowed Prop 8 to pass in California will never be swayed by my words. But, maybe if enough people show their disgust about this situation, it will wake somebody up. If not, at least I have shown them how I feel......


We welcome supporters of gay rights to snap your own photo showing your wedding ring on your middle finger. Spread the word that this fight isn’t over. Whether you’re gay, straight, bi, white, blue or tan — show your support by letting freedom ring on your blog! Please forward this page to any friends and family who may find it of interest.
If you want to join in, go HERE to add yourself to log it in and show the world how you feel.

The Weird Child of Mine

So, as many of you know, my fabulous daughter has a blog of her own over here. What few know is that she has started a second blog specifically to discuss writing and her trials and tribulations with her novel. Yes, my daughter is a writer geek. LOL She is currently participating in NaNoWriMo which is National Novel Writing Month. All of the participants have vowed to write AT LEAST 50,000 words in the month of November on a brand new novel. Well, my ambitious child has written 30,000 words in the past week. I am not kidding. She read me an excerpt and I was fairly impressed. She has talent, I think. This is in addition to the novel that she has already completed and is rewriting and editing. AND, she is still pulling straight A's as a sophomore in high school. Yes, she makes me feel like a slacker sometimes.

Anyway, the whole point of this (other than just bragging) is that she has a bit of a contest going on right now. Not really a contest contest where you win something physically but kind cool anyway. So, if you want to check it out, go read this post on her writing blog. Poke around a little bit while you are there. She has some pretty funny posts on there, like this one.

HA. My weird 14 year old just asked me if it wouldn't be weird if the "evil demon of Writer's Block manifested as a corporeal monster". Yes, she is definitely a writer.......

Boring?

I've been spending a lot of time lately just cleaning and organizing my house. I am trying to cut back on my smoking with the intention of quitting and realized that the busier I keep myself, physically, the less I smoke. The unintentional side effect of this is that I have not been on the computer as much.

In reality, I also have nothing to write about! LOL The boys have been fairly normal and Jenna has her normal life and very little excitement has been going on in my life! Steven's job is going fine and I am just trying to get through every day without tearing my hair out. I try to get things accomplished and still be a good mother to the kids..... it is a challenge. I am not quite sure how other Mothers do it.

Christmas is coming up fast! We are planning our Thanksgiving feast and can't wait for that. My mother and Mother in law will be coming for a week and it will be wonderful to see both of them. Maybe Steven and I will actually get a date night while they are here! We could certainly use a night off.

I am planning my CHristmas presents and baking and decorating. The kids are older this year, Braeden will really appreciate things this year. Mal is still too young but he will get excited because everyone else is!

I have a really cool advent calendar that my Mother gave me and I need to decide what I am putting in it. I know a lot of people do candy but I want something a little different. Any ideas?

I will post again soon with something a little more interesting, I hope! (ALthough boring in my life is like a vacation! LOL)

Recipe and Giveaway!

My favorite soup recipe is for a spicy vegetable soup that is made with whatever I have on hand! The recipe changes every time I make it but here are the basics:


Chop a medium onion and add it and some minced garlic to a large stock/ soup pot with some oil or butter. Cook until the onion is beginning to soften and then add your vegetables. Chopped or sliced or cubed carrots, potatoes, parsnips, green beans or anything else! Softer vegetables need to be saved for later (such as zucchini or squash or tomatoes). Season with salt and pepper and any other seasonings you wish. Cook the vegetables for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add about 2 quarts (8 cups) of a vegetable stock (or chicken if you are not vegetarian). I don't precisely measure. I just put in enough to make a solid pot of soup. Bring the stock to a boil and then reduce the heat. Add a can of chopped tomatoes with chiles and any softer vegetables that you would like to add. Stir well and taste. Season more as needed.

Cook on medium heat, covered, approximately 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Use an immersion blender (or remove some liquid to a regular blender) to puree some of the vegetables to increase the flavor of the soup and thicken it slightly. Only a couple of quick bursts are needed. You want most of the vegetables to still be whole.

Stir, taste and season more if needed. Remove from the heat and enjoy!


You can add lentils, rice, pasta or anything else you would like to as well! I usually try to cook my pasta and rice separate and allow everybody to add what they want to their personal bowls. But I have picky eaters! LOL


Now, the giveaway....... Fiarion of Lionden Landing has a giveaway going on right now for a fabulous cookbook! She is giving away a copy of Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson. I totally want to win! But, head on over, check it out and enter the contest!

Planet Pixies! - UPDATE

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls is having a fabulous giveaway. Head over there and read all about The Planet Pixies.... isn't this one adorable?!? She also has another Giveaway going on for some great wooden toys from Santa Wood Shop. Go HERE to enter this one! I'm telling you, Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls has got some really great giveaways going on lately!


New Giveaway over at Sharon Loves Books and Cats..... enter for a chance to win Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins which looks like a really interesting book!

MPM 11/3 - 11/9

I never got a chance to make my beans this weekend. Mostly because I realized I was out of beans and just never made it to the store. HOPEFULLY the bean making will happen sometime this week or next weekend. We'll see.... NOW, on to bigger and better things! LOL Menu Planning Monday over at Organizing Junkie has some great links to menus with fabulous recipes. Don't believe me? Go check it out!

Here is my menu for this week.... not very inspiring but at least fairly inexpensive and all from scratch!

Monday - Hamburger Gravy and Rice
Tuesday - Homemade Pizza!
Wednesday - Fajitas OR Pasta with red sauce and meatballs
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Baked Chicken with scalloped Potatoes and a veg
Saturday - Vegetable soup and grilled cheese
Sunday - Black Rice with Thai Chicken Curry

That's it, folks!

Pictures!

Here are some pictures from Halloween! Just a few......

Braeden in his chef's costume up at the restaurant to show off.

Me in my last minute "Super Mom" costume with Malachai in his chef's costume.

Jenna in her zombie costume. The makeup was so realistic and scary that she made on little kid cry while we were trick or treating! Poor baby... Jenna felt bad! LOL

Chef Chris holding Malachai at the restaurant. Mal does not like people to hold him, talk to him or even look at him. It was funny, poor kid! LOL

Chef Hank holding Braeden. See the look on Hank's face? He is scared of kids! LOL

I do have pictures of the kids painting pumpkins and of the decorations that Jenna did but blogger hates me tonight and trying to upload any more pictures right now would be pure agony. Maybe I will be able to get them up tomorrow!

Candy Coma?

We had a great time last night but did not end up with much in the way of candy. It seems like the same neighborhood we trick or treated in last year was.... less this year. Last year almost every house was decorated and giving out candy. And the streets were filled with people. SO much fun! This year.... maybe one house in 6 was decorated or giving out candy. We had maybe 1/4 of the people on the streets this year....

Is it the economy? Or maybe just that it is homecoming weekend here at the University. Or maybe something completely different. I don't know. The boys loved it. Braeden actually said "Trick or Treat!" and "Happy Halloween!" which, if you have been following him at all, is a really big deal. Granted, probably nobody but family could have understood him, but Steven and I were both so excited and just so proud of him.

I don't have the pictures off of the camera yet because I have been busy cleaning house all day. But, maybe tomorrow. They were soooooo cute! And Jenna's zombie costume was wicked.

Hope your Halloweens were fabulous and I will be back tomorrow!