I was not tagged

I was not tagged. I stole this from TXArtCgal.


•How tall are you barefoot? 5'10"
• Have you ever flown first-class? no
One of your favorite books when you were a child? The Sun Shone Down on the Elephant
• A good restaurant in your city? Mel's
• What is your favorite small appliance? electric knife
• One person that never fails to make you laugh? my daughter K15
• What was the first music that you ever bought? Partridge Family (still have the album)
• Do you do push-ups? now way Jose!
• What was one of your favorite games as a child? Candy Land
• When you were twelve years old, what did you want to be when you grew up? a teacher
• Your favorite Soup of the Day? Brocolli Cheese or Tortilla
• Have you ever met someone famous? Vincent Price, Michael Knight from All My Children, Natalie Grant, Ginny Owens, Rachel Lampa, Jump Five, (I know Kenny Rogers' oldest sister; does that count?)
• Date Of Birth? the day after Valentines Day
• From what news source do you receive the bulk of your news? unfortunately, ABC or NBC news (no cable or satellite here)
• Current worry? if my dds will be ready when they fly the nest
• Current hate? The only thing I hate is mornings.
• Favorite place to be? at home
• Least favorite place to be? in a doctor's office or hospital
• Do you consider yourself well organized? Yes, at work; no, at home.
• Do you believe in an afterlife? Heaven, of course!
• Where do you think you will be in 10 Yrs? Same home, same job, but I MIGHT be a grandmother!
• Do you burn or tan? tan
• Are you more optimistic or pessimistic about the future? pessimistic - I worry about everything!
• What did you fear was going to get you at night as a kid? I always saw bugs on my walls that weren't really there.
• What’s in your pockets right now? nothing
• Last thing that made you laugh? K13 was not supposed to talk for 14 hours because she has voice recital today, and she was having to write everything down.
• Worst injury you’ve ever had? I've had six broken fingers, but the first time, the finger was turned backwards!
• How many TVs do you own? two
• Best compliment received? That I am a good mother.
• What leaves you speechless? not much. I talk a lot!
• What is your favorite book? don't really have one (I know I should say the Bible)
• What were you doing at 12 midnight last night? sleeping
• Who do you tag? Kim in Tx! You're it!

A friend never defends a husband who gets his wife an electric skillet for her birthday.
Erma Bombeck
A friend will tell you she saw your old boyfriend-and he's a priest.
Erma Bombeck

Security

I am all caught up on consignments! YEA!!! But now I am BORED!

Went to my mom and dad's for Easter. Here's what we pigged out on: ham, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, stuffed peppers, fruit salad, scalloped potatoes that were undercooked (my fault), homemade rolls, green bean casserole with mushrooms. I'm sure I left something out. Oh, yeah, and pound cake with fruit for dessert.

My grandmother lives in a new apartment for senior citizens. One amenity which she pays for is security. To enter her complex you are supposed to key in a number on the keypad in order for the gate to open. Then, to get into her building you are to enter another number on the keypad near the door. Both times I have visited her, the gate has been wide open. (No need for a keypad #1) Sunday, when I went to enter her building, someone had put a large rock in the door to keep it ajar. (No need for a keypad #2) When I asked Grandma about the rock, she said that a lady puts it there when she goes to walk her dog. Now, how lazy is that? I mean, why can't she use the keypad next to the door like everyone else. It jeopardizes the residents' safety. I tell you, I felt like throwing that STUPID rock into the flower bed, right behind the bushes.

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Helen Keller (1880 - 1968), The Open Door (1957) (Not sure I agree with that entirely)

Mom24terrificgirls

I am now mom24terrificgirls instead of 42 because when I made my Google account, I made a typing error. That's why I wasn't able to sign in with my Google account.

I have received two online orders. Woohoo! Praise the Lord! Now I get to take my employees out for dinner!

I have changed my mind AGAIN about next year's science. Both girls will be doing Apologia General Science. That way, I only have one chapter to read and one list of vocabulary words and test questions to keep up with. I found two books and a solution manual in my resale area.

BIG NEWS!! Tuesday K16 took her learner's permit test and made a 95%! Last night I let her drive around the college parking lot for about 15 minutes. It was the longest 15 minutes of my life, but she did GREAT! Bought her a Sonic Blast to celebrate.

It is amazing how quickly the kids learn to drive a car, yet are unable to understand the lawnmower, snowblower or vacuum cleaner. -- Ben Bergor

I like to drive with my knees. Otherwise, how can I put on my lipstick and talk on the phone? -- Sharon Stone

Until you've learned to drive, you've never really learned how to swear. -- Robert Paul

Book Elves

If a book falls off a bookshelf in a bookstore in the middle of the night, does it make a sound?

I find books on the floor all the time that have taken a nosedive onto the floor. What makes them do that? It's not like it's windy in the store. And I do believe that the longer an open book is upside down on the floor, the worse the crease. They should be picked up immediately! Remember the elves in the story of the Elves and the Shoemaker? Well, I want to hire a couple of book elves to look after the store at night. They would have direct access to two microwaves, a refrigerator, and a play area.

The above photo was the only decent picture I could find of an elf. You wouldn't believe what comes up when you google the word "elf."

I have now officially priced ALL of my consignment. The warehouse is clear for the first time since April 2006! I sold about 300 resale books this week! Just goes to show you that if the books are out there on the shelves, the customers will buy them!

Emily: We can't just throw him out in the snow.
Walter: Why not? He loves the snow. He's told me 15 times.

Buddy: We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.

Another Saturday

I made up a new word the other day - "lemonier." e.g. Lemon drops are lemonier than Lemonheads.

My girls' new favorite word is "random."

I only have 10 more tubs of consignment to price and I am CAUGHT UP for the first time since last April. It is a race to see if I can get it done before someone else comes in with a truckload.

Still no internet orders, but a friend from Dallas has some clients looking for Sequential Spelling, so we added those to the shopping cart. Maybe an order next week!

I think I am just about Monked out. Hey, another new word! We watched four more episodes last night, and I'm finding myself laughing less. We borrowed Season Two from K16's friend, T.

Well, the consensus from Teaching Mom and the Well Trained Mind is that K16 can do the Apologia Physical Science without doing the experiments since she doesn't need the lab credit anyway. We will still need to read over how the experiments are supposed to turn out.

The word random is used to express lack of purpose, cause, order, or predictability in non-scientific parlance. A random process is a repeating process whose outcomes follow no describable deterministic pattern, but follow a probability distribution.

Monk

I cannot sign on to blogger using my google account for some reason. I don't know what I'm going to do when they take the "old blogger" option away -- probably have to start a new blog.

Still no online orders. May I please bribe someone to order something to make me feel better?

The girls are on Spring Break this week. You know what that means -- staying up late every night watching Monk reruns. Unfortunately, our video store doesn't carry season two. It's strange to see someone on TV who has the same type of illness that I do. Sometimes I wonder if that's what I project to the world. (don't tell me if I do) I thought I hid it pretty well.

There is an organization called Exhale that is offering sympathy e-cards to woman who have abortions. Shouldn't the sympathy go to the fetus, not the woman?

Pet peeve for the day: People in the Sonic drive-through who order six bags of food and six drinks. They have stalls for that kind of order.

After a handshake)
Monk: No, no, no - bathroom! Bathroom! I - I - I need a wash...!
Sharona: Just try upstairs! Try upstairs!
Monk: Did you see that? It was a two-hander!

Saturday musings

I work all day on Saturdays. BLAH! Have priced tons of consignment today. Every time I open a tub, it's like Christmas -- seeing what people brought in. Someone even brought in a Mystery of History! Lots of Alpha Omega lifepacs, too!

My shopping cart is up and running, but I haven't made a sale yet. :o( I told the staff that when I get my first order I will take everyone out to eat. Right now we are trying to figure out an easy and fast way to tell the website at the end of the day what items we sold in the store. It is a complicated process that we're hoping we can get down to 10 minutes.

Tonight K16 is going to a youth group function. K13, R, and I are going to the mall for some serious shopping. Didn't go to Olive Garden last night because I wasn't hungry. Maybe tonight?

Been thinking about next year already. Here is what I have for K16 SO FAR!
She will be a junior.

Math U See Consumer Math
Easy Grammar for grammar review
Apologia Physical Science (can we do this without the experiments?)
Word Smart
Essay writing class (she also has to read literature for this class)
Driver's Ed
One country map per week

What am I missing? We do history read alouds and timeline work. She works out at the community college for P.E. She's already taken two years of foreign language.

Olive Garden Penne Pasta with diced tomato & fresh Ricotta cheese

Ingredients
12 oz Penne Rigate Pasta1 cup(s) Fresh Ricotta Cheese20 oz Fresh ripe tomatoes1/4 cup(s) Romano cheese, grated1 Garlic, large clove, peeled and chopped8 Basil leaves, chopped1/2 tsp Marjoram2 oz Extra Virgin Olive OilSalt to tasteFresh ground black pepper to taste
Pasta uncooked 1 pound
Spinach gorgonzola sauce 16 fl oz
Gorgonzola cheese 2 tablespoons
Chopped sun dried tomatoes 2 tablespoons
Balsamic glaze 2 tablespoons-->

Procedures
Blanch tomatoes for 15 seconds, cool in ice water.Remove core, skin and seeds.Dice tomatoes, place in a bowl and add 2 oz. of olive oil, chopped basil and chopped garlic.Blend the Ricotta cheese with the chopped marjoram; season to taste with salt and pepper.Add pasta to a pot of salted boiling water. Stir frequently for 7-9 minutes.Test for al dente bite.While pasta is cooking, toss the tomato mixture in a hot skillet. When mixture is hot, stir in Ricotta cheese.When desired bite is achieved, remove pasta from water and add to tomato/cheese mixture. Toss immediately.Salt and pepper to taste.Serve with Romano cheese.

No Title Today

Wednesday night I got hit in the eye with a raquetball. Cannot believe that my glasses didn't break! The eye is still sore and draining a bit.

Two days ago our shopping cart went online! No orders as of yet, but that's okay because we are still getting some of the kinks worked out. We started with 2300 items and will add new items weekly.

Tonight the girls are going to a movie night to see Facing the Giants, giving R and I some time to ourselves. Maybe I can talk him into taking me to Olive Garden for some pasta and salad!

T, if you are reading this, you have bmail at Teaching Mom.

Mrs. Beth Rocks

Found this wallpaper on one of my business computers this afternoon. One of my employees, S, made it. It's SO NICE to be appreciated!

Porky Pooper

This has to be one of the most DISGUSTING things I've ever seen - a Porky Pooper candy dispenser. I saw this at Jo Anne's Fabrics today! I would think one would find this maybe at a Spencer's Gifts or Hot Topic, but not at Jo Anne's!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.
Miss Piggy

Girl Scouts

There's nothing more impressive than a Girl Scout standing outside of a grocery store, selling cookies, and picking her nose.


Famous Girl Scouts:

Anderson, Melissa Sue - ActressBergen, Candace - ActressCarter, Lynda - ActressChafee, Susy - EntertainerCrow, Sheryl - Singer/SongwriterDanner, Blythe - ActressDee, Sandra - ActressFisher, Carrie - Actress, AuthorHolm, Celeste - ActressLucci, Susan - ActressMerchant, Natalie - Singer, SongwriterNorman, Jessye - Opera SingerReynolds, Debbie - ActressRivera, Chita - ActressStar, Brenda - SingerStewart, Martha - TV Personality; Martha Stewart LivingThomas, Marlo - ActressTiegs, Cheryl - ModelTurner, Kathleen - ActressTyler Moore, Mary - ActressWarwick, Dionne - Singer

Not So Motivated

I haven't done too well on my motivated moms planner. Tuesday night I left the planner at the store, so I couldn't do it. Last night I went and had dinner with my friends R and J at Jason's Deli. By the time I got home it was almost 9:00 p.m. Today is my late day at the store. Oh, well, I guess I'll have to make up for it on Sunday like I did last week. At least the stuff is eventually getting done. Isn't that the point?

Pet peeve of the day: Why do they call them "Red Hats" when the hats they wear are purple?

Motivated Moms

A lot of you ask me how I do it all: run a business, homeschool, and run a home. Having OCD sure doesn't help. Well, lately, I haven't been doing a very good job of either. I have just purchased something that might help me get back on track. It's a yearly cleaning/organizing planner from motivatedmoms.com. It only costs $8, and you download it immediately. I purchased the half-size planner which fits inside my dayrunner. It reminds me to do little things like clean the trash cans and change my kitchen towels. It reminds me to do big things like clean my oven, mop my kitchen, etc. So far it is helping a lot. Thursdays, though, are going to have to be tweaked. There are too many items on the list that day. That is my late day at the store. I don't feel like cleaning my microwave inside and out when I get home at 8:30 p.m.

I have stopped teaching science. I was using Rainbow Science, and it was going fairly well even though I am not a science person. But we hardly ever get to it, so I am just going to make the girls take a science class outside of home for two years. Right now I'm searching for a class that uses Apologia, not easy to find.

Today is the Super Bowl, and we are having cheese dip and multi-grain chips, refried beans, and Spanish rice.

My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. ~Erma Bombeck

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966

Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it. ~Author Unknown

I'm not going to vacuum until Sears makes one you can ride on. ~Roseanne Barr

Homeless

This week has been full of interesting experiences in town. Our bank was robbed yesterday morning before it opened. Wednesday we had our first homeless person in the store. She was obviously mentally ill, wearing her pajamas, a coat and hat, carrying a crutch and singing to herself. She sat in the store awhile, then asked to use the phone and asked the person on the other end for money for a motel room. When she was refused she put the phone down and started talking to the phone. At closing, she went outside and huddled by our door to escape the cold and rain. My friend talked to her awhile and told her there was a shelter nearby, but the woman replied, "I don't go to shelters. All I need is $53 for a room at the Holiday Inn." I guess she could have hocked that cool Ipod she was listening to or not have bought those cigarettes she was smoking.

Then Thursday a woman came into the store and said someone had bought her a gift certificate for $20, but she had lost it and she wanted us to honor it. She got really bent out of shape when she was told we could not do that. Most of the time we don't even see whom the certificate is given to. She said we should have gift cards and that we had made her already bad day worse. Hate to tell ya , lady, but if you lose your Walmart or Target card, they will not take your word for it and honor it. If Walmart won't do it, I won't.

Pet peeve of the day: I love my subdivision. We have deer, possum, ducks, raccoons, armadillos. We have nice neighbors. But yesterday as I was leaving my subdivision I counted 12 cars coming into it. I waved at each person, but only one out of 12 waved back. What happened to being friendly?

Love thy neighbor as yourself, but choose your neighborhood.
~ Louise Beal

Customers

I LOVE it when a customer enters the store with a list and immediately picks up a shopping basket! I HATE customers with an attitude!

Saturday Thoughts

When I arrived at my office today, I was greeted with a sign on butcher paper, written by a child, which said "Love 2 Learn! The best bookstore ever." That really encouraged me. We have an art easel in the children's play area, and a child had left that sign for us. With the holidays over, I am overwhelmed, wondering how I am going to place orders, price consignment, work on the new website (which will now have a shopping cart), and homeschool. This sign was a real pick-me-up.

Yesterday at Kroger there was a lady in the expresss self-serve line with, I know, at least 30 items. She was holding everybody up. Why can't people be more considerate these days?

Pet peeve for the day: I LOVE talk radio, but why do all the stations have to break for commercials at exactly the same time? Makes surfing channels a useless waste of time.

Children seldom misquote. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said. ~Author Unknown

Christmas Presents

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Here's what I hauled in:

one leather high-back executive chair for my office
one heart necklace
2 CDs
a lampberge & oil
a Sonic card worth $15
a manicure & pedicure
some bath & body stuff
money
oh, and a key to backup my laptop with

Pet peeve for the day: I wish automobile manufacturers would find a way to make seatbelts that don't hang out of the car when you close the door.

Warm Watermelon Juice

Yesterday I read an article which said that the reason watermelon juice is not offered to consumers is because watermelons have low "squeezability" ratings. However, in the future, with new technology, watermelons will be squeezed, and you should find watermelon juice in your grocers juice section.

My grandfather used to play a joke on waitresses. Whenever he would go to a restaurant, he would request warm watermelon juice to drink. I'm sure he pulled the leg of many a waitress. The tables were turned on him once, however, when a friend of his called the restaurant in advance. That time when he requested warm watermelon juice, it was actually brought to his table! LOL

An American favorite for meals and snacks. People can’t seem to get enough of the sweet treat, and nutritionists have long appreciated the health benefits watermelon provides. Recently research has shed new light on its potential health benefits. Watermelon contains high concentrations of lycopene, an antioxidant that may help reduce the risks of cancer and other diseases. Watermelon is fat free, nutritionally low in calories and considered an ideal diet food, and is high in energy, making it a great energy boost!

Watermelon, the fruit that is really a Vegetable. Watermelon can be traced back to Africa and is part of the cucumber and squash family. Early watermelons were mainly rind and seeds. Today's varieties are larger, the flesh sweeter, the seeds smaller and the rind thinner. It is perhaps the most refreshing, thirst quenching fruit of all. Watermelon consists of 92% water and 8% sugar, so it is aptly named. Americans eat over 17 lbs of watermelon each year. The largest one on world record (Guinness Book of World Records) weighed 262 pounds.

Nutritional Facts: Fat-free Saturated fat-free Very low sodium Cholesterol-free A good source of vitamin A High in vitamin C

Blessings

I have been blessed twice the past two days. Yesterday, I rolled through a stop sign at a four-way stop. A sheriff was sitting at another stop sign. I was so nervous, I forgot to give him the right-of-way and I took off before him. He didn't even stop me.

Today, same sheriff was sitting on the side of the road. I was going 40 mph in a 30 mph zone. Again, he did not stop me! Praise God!

I surprised the pool man this morning when I walked out onto the back deck wearing my pajamas. Wonder if he'll ever come back! I guess if he feels he's being paid enough.

Yesterday after school the girls and I played The Weakest Link on my computer. It was good practice of their history and geography knowledge and also their ability to speed read. K16 won $207,000; I won $155,000. If only it were real.

Hello, you have reached the__________Police Department voice mail. -To whine about us not doing anything to solve a problem you created for yourself, press1.
-To inquire whether someone has to die before we'll do something about a problem, press 2.
-To report an officer for bad manners when in reality the officer is trying to keep your neighborhood safe, press 3.
-If you would like us to raise your children, press 4.
-If you would like us to take control of your life due to your alcoholic or chemical dependency, press 5.
-If you would like us to instantly restore order to a situation that took years to deteriorate, press 6.
-To tell us that you know the Chief of Police and or some other very important person and that we should respond to your problem immediately, press 7.
-To sue us, tell us you?ll have our badge, that you pay our salary, or proclaim that our career is over, press 8.
-To hear this menu again, wrap aluminum foil around your head and turn around three times.

Fall Festival

The fall festival went well. K13 dressed as a cowgirl. K16 and I didn't dress up. I worked at the fishing booth. I got whacked on the head about 50 times with the clothespin at the end of the fishing pole. Made me think of my childhood:

When I was about five or six, my favorite booth at the festival was the fishing booth. I took it soooo seriously as I held that fishing pole in my hand. I wanted to throw the "hook" over the wall, but the booth worker always did it. I would stand patiently, waiting for "the tug" that told me I had something on my hook. In those days, we didn't get candy. We got prizes!!!!

When I was about 11 or 12, I went to a different school, different festival. My favorite booth there was the Spin Art booth because every year the man who owned the booth would pick helpers, and he picked me every year for some reason. My job was to take the ticket, explain to each kid what to do, encourage him not to use too much paint, turn the spinner on, turn it off, take the painting out and hand it to the kid. Doesn't sound too exciting now, does it? But I loved that job and I wasn't even paid. Oh, yeah, I did get to make one painting for free.

Our local Christian radio station's antenna is out, so we've been listening to a country station. So now I am a huge Tim McGraw fan! Also loving Rascal Flatts and Josh Turner!

We're going to a Shakespeare play this morning, so I've got to run!