Ohio Winter Journal

Aug. 12 - Moved into our new home in Ohio. It is so beautiful here. The hills and river valleys are so picturesque. I have a beautiful old oak tree in my front yard. Can hardly wait to see the change in the seasons. This is truly God's Country.

Oct. 14 - Ohio is such a gorgeous place to live, one of the real special places on Earth. The leaves are turning a multitude of different colors. I love all of the shades of reds, oranges and yellows, they are so bright. I want to walk through all of the beautiful hills and spot some white tail deer. They are so graceful; certainly they must be the most peaceful creatures on Earth. This must be paradise.

Nov. 11 - Deer season opens this week. I can't imagine why anyone would want to shoot these elegant animals. They are the very symbol of peace and tranquility here in Ohio. I hope it snows soon. I love it here!

Dec. 2 - It snowed last night. I woke to the usual wonderful sight: everything covered in a beautiful blanket of white. The oak tree is magnificent. It looks like a postcard. We went out and swept the snow from the steps and driveway. The air is so crisp, clean and refreshing. We had a snowball fight. I won, and the snowplow came down the street. He must have gotten too close to the driveway because we had to go out and shovel the end of the driveway again. What a beautiful place. Nature in harmony. I love it here!

Dec. 12 - More snow last night. I love it! The plow did his cute little trick again. What a rascal. A winter wonderland. I love it here!

Dec. 19 - More snow - couldn't get out of the driveway to get to work in time. I'm exhausted from all of the shoveling. And that snowplow!

Dec. 21 - More of that white stuff coming down. I've got blisters on my hands and a kink in my back. I think that the snowplow driver waits around the corner until I'm done shoveling the driveway. *******.

Dec. 25 - White Christmas? More freakin' snow. If I ever get my hands on the SOB who drives that snowplow, I swear I'll strangle him! And why don't they use more salt on these roads to melt this crud??

Dec. 28 - It hasn't stopped snowing since Christmas. I have been inside since then, except of course when that SOB "Snowplow Harry" comes by. Can't go anywhere, cars are buried up to the windows. Weather man says to expect another 10 inches. Do you have any idea how many shovelfuls 10 inches is??

Jan. 1 - Happy New Year? The way it's coming down it won't melt until the month of July! The snowplow got stuck down the road and the plow driver actually had the stones to come and ask to borrow a shovel! I told him I'd broken 6 already this season.

Jan. 4 - Finally got out of the house. We went to the store to get some food and a bleepity bleep deer ran out in front of my car and I hit the dang thing. It did $3,000 in damage to the car. Those beasts ought to be killed. The hunters should have a longer season if you ask me.

Jan. 27 - Warmed up a little and rained today. The rain turned the snow into ice and the weight of it broke the main limb of the oak tree in the front yard and it went through the roof. I should have cut that old piece of crud into fireplace wood when I had the chance.

May 23 - Took my car to the local garage. Would you believe the whole underside of the car is rusted away from all of that dratted salt they dump on the road? Car looks like a bashed up, heap of rusted cow poop!

Jun 10 - Sold the car, the house, and moved to Florida. I can't imagine why anyone in their freakin' mind would ever want to live in the God forsaken State of Ohio....




O - H.....I - O!
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What's happening in your home tonight?

It's a rare night in our household. All of the people are home!

We had a really nice dinner. Doug requested glazed salmon and brown rice for dinner. I made that with some sauteed fresh veggies seasoned with bell pepper and herb spices.

While I was doing the dishes, the boys' friend, John, stopped by. He's like my 4th son. Jordan and John have been friends since they were 1st and 2nd grades.

Anyway, Doug, my three guys, and John are all sitting in the dining room playing Apples to Apples. It sounds like they are either having a great time, or they are about to kill each other. I guess it depends on who is the judge.

I am hiding in my bedroom, propped up in bed with the laptop, the 70s digital music station playing and a hot cup of creamy coffee.

Life is so sweet!

So what's happening at your home tonight?

I've been tagged!!

De'Etta tagged me the other day. I'm finally getting around to doing it.

Right behind the computer we have 8 bookshelves that house our SL books and various other school books. I just grabbed one from the top of the pile :)

The Rules:

~Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages

~Open the book to p. 123 and find the 5th sentence

~Post the next 3 sentences

~ Tag 5 people

I grabbed The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.

Sentences 6-9 on p. 123 are this:

For the first time the man's eyes met mine.
"I'll never forget this," he said.
The amount was more than we had at the Beje so I sent Toos to the bank with instructions to hand the man money, but not to volunteer any information.

I have no idea who to tag:

1. Mom
2-5. Everybody who reads my blog :) Just leave me a comment so I can come and read your tag!

Lots and lots happening here!!

My father-in-law thought I should stay at the lake until Thursday evening. Now I know why he thought that!

But I missed my man. I didn't want to spend most of his vacation away from him. If he had a regular job where he came home most nights, I'd still be at the lake :::snort:::

But much is getting done!! The boys have scrapped woodwork and started sanding it today. They are working their tails off! But I don't have pictures of that.

Doug and his dad have replaced many icky spots on the kitchen ceiling and put in drywall, mudded it and screened it. They've done this a few times! Man is it dusty!!!

Here's Doug today while screening. I have NO IDEA how he can see! Thankfully it was warm out (70s), because I hosed him down afterwards! My father-in-law has the neater job!
Dad has also put new woodwork trim and moldings around the kitchen door and also the door leading to the back door (I know...lots of doors). It is beautiful! I'll post pictures of that after we clean the kitchen!

Tomorrow brings more mess. The very last of the ceiling sanding. I cannot wait to get in there with a big bucket of Pinesol! They're going to screen and prime the ceiling in the morning and hopefully we can paint the ceiling in the evenign :)

The boys are going to continue sanding woodwork upstairs!

I am hopeful I'll be able to cook tomorrow!!! I'll at least grill chicken breasts :) And I'd like to clean and get my stuff put back in the kitchen! This clutter is getting to me. But it is only for a short time, right?

I had a lovely, lovely, lovely time at the lake. It was so quiet and peaceful and the weather was gorgeous. I took many walks, watched a few sappy movies (they should have given out kleenex at the video store), and spent time journaling and worshipping. It was awesome! I slept a lot too :)

Naps!

Who doesn't love a cozy nap on a cool, rainy day? Naps have become a regular part of my routine the past couple years, since being daignosed with fibromyalgia. It is the first I've had regular naps since the boys were babies/toddlers and preschoolers (all at the same time even!).

I often feel guilty about naps. I'm not talking a 20 min. power nap. No siree Bob, I am talking at least an hour, 2-3 hours on bad days (such as today). So I feel guilty. I could be doing so much more during the afternoon. Grading schoolwork, reading to my kids, playing games, or taking them somewhere. In the summer, we do go places, and I nap where we are at. The park or beach or whatever. Thankfully they are old enough to not need constant supervision and they wake me all the time.

But today I discovered a wonderful reason to take a nap! I am preserving my heart! That's right. According to a blurb in The Reader's Digest, "Folks who take regular naps lower their risk of dying from heart diseas by 37%"!

What better reason to lie down with a book and take a snooze? I am reducing my risk of heart disease! Plus it is cozy and fun, too!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by MuddyBoots This meme has me sharing my reading list. You will see what superficial fluff I've been induldging in :)

Read within the past week or so:

Miss Julia Strikes Back by Ann B. Ross. I love the Miss Julia series. This is just the latest in Miss Julia's escapades. It is a quick, light-hearted read.

A Playdate with Death by Ayelet Waldman. This is the 3rd book in the "mommy mystery" series. It is fun and light. I don't agree with or care for the main character's view on being a SAHM, but the series is fun otherwise.

Wildfire by Nelson DeMille. I love spy espionage novels and this one didn't disappoint. Nelson DeMille is one of my favorite authors.

The 80/10/10 Diet by Dr. Doug Graham. This book explains the raw vegan, lowfat diet. I am attempting to eat like this and it was a very good read about nutrition.

Read to the boys for school:

The Hiding Place the story of Corrie Ten Boom. I am really enjoying reading this book aloud to the boys! So glad I saved it for the end of the year. I am tired of WWII battles and such. This is a heart-wrenching book.

Hiroshima by John Hersey. We just started this book and are only a couple chapters in. So far it seems to tell the story of 5 (or 6 I don't remember) people and where they were before/during and what happened to them after we dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. I am really enjoying this one also.

We'll read God's Smuggler next. I'm also looking forward to that one.

I never know who to tag. So, if you want to do the meme, please put link to it in the comment section. I also enjoy seeing what others are reading. I get great ideas that way!

Tagged! And I forgot about it!

My friend from over on the Sonlight Forums, TanyaRejoyce, tagged me on March 26th and I am just now getting around to it.

In accordance with “THE RULES” I must post said rules in my blog entry:
People who get tagged need to write a blog entry of their own 6 weird things as well as stating this rule clearly! Three people need to be tagged and their names listed. Finally a comment needs to be left on each tagged person’s blog…

I've put this off because I do not think I have any weird things about me LOL. I am a perfectly normal lady LOL.

I'll give it a good try though!

1) 80% of the food that I eat is raw fruits, veggies and nuts. I only eat 1 cooked meal a day. I do not eat any refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, packaged foods, ingredients I cannot pronounce or refined, white flours. I do eat healthy, whole foods that are mostly cooked from scratch.

2) I cannot relax if my house is a cluttered mess. If Doug and the boys are gone for the afternoon/day/whatever, I must first whip through the house and red it up, vacuum and have it be all neat looking. Then, and only then, can I relax and read, watch movies or just do nothing!

3) While I like (no crave) a clean, organized house, I do not like housework. I do it, though, on an organized and daily routine. The best thing about a schedule or routine is that, say, if you see a mountain of laundry on the basement floor on Wed., there is NO need to stress out. Monday and Thursday are laundry days, so plan accordingly! So, Wednesday = no laundry and no stress LOL.

4) I like to be in control and I pretty much think I am always right. This, sad to say, is a family trait. My maiden name is Broadway. There is a saying in the Broadway family (coined by the people married to Broadways) There is the right way, there is the wrong way, and then there is the Broadway! which is the only way! Those inlaws are so darn smart! They also have this little "club" called the Broadway Annonymous club. At any holiday gathering, you can find all the married-to-Broadway people in the room. My step-mom will say, in a rather dramatic voice might I add, "I've been married to a Broadway for 20 gglllooorrrriooouuuusss years! And then they have the nerve to ask questions, such as, "With a raise of hands, who controls the thermostat in your house?" Well, of course, only Broadway hands go up LOL. You never would have thought that meek, mild, little ole me, likes to be in control, eh? lol.

5) Next to being with my family, reading is my absolute favorite thing to do. Now, that isn't really weird, right? But, I love, love, love to read. If I find a new author I like, I have to read ALL their books, in order written, right then! I've been known to read while standing at the stove cooking, while waiting for kids to finish math, and while riding in the car at night. The little bitty book light is the best invention!

6) Six things, eh? What else could possibly be weird about me? I just asked my kids what is weird about me. Allen said, "Juicing". I guess he does not think cucumber, celery, spinach and apples are something that should be a beverage? Isaac (the middle, complient, likes everybody to like him child), shrugged and said nothing! I love that boys! Jordan said, "Everything!" Then went to list all the weird things such as, "Makes whole wheat bread when we much prefer white", "sing every song off key and really bad!", and I quit listening after that LOL.

Who to tag. I never know who to say! So, if you've read this and would like to reveal your "weirdness", go ahead and consider yourself tagged!