We've been at the lake the last few days!



Monday we went to the lake. Isaac's friend, Zach, came with us. Jordan came back and forth as he had to work. My Gramma also came with us.



We had a fabulous time! We were there 3 days and it only rained 2 of them LOL! But not all day thankfully.



The first day was nice, but looked like rain, and we did have a storm that night. Isaac and Zach fished in the little boat. Isaac caught a 24" walleye (which is now tucked into the neighbor's freezer). They also caught bass, striper, catfish, perch and bluegill. They released most of those.



Tuesday we went out on the boat. It was gorgeous! See that blue sky and puffy clouds? We enjoyed having Gramma with us on the boat. Isaac drove us around some..............
Here's Jordan fishing. I can only get pictures of his back it seems like..................

Tuesday evening it was gorgeous. Jordan was working. Isaac and Zach were fishing. So we had a fire and made s'mores. Here's Gram roasting her marshmallow (she didn't grab the camera to get my picture, so you get lots of her :) )
The gorgeous sunset Tuesday evening.
Today the guys went to Linesville, PA and fished the carp. There is a fish hatchery there. Many people come and feed the carp. They are SO GROSS! They just pile on top of each other and scarf down the bread!

You cannot fish in the hatchery, but just on the other side of the line, you can. You bait your hook with bread and cast your line just ouside the boundaries of the nursery waters. Then somebody else lures them over by tossing more bread in. You can pull out some huge fish that way! We just catch/release the carp.

While the guys fished the carp, Gram and I lazed around.................
We had a fabulous time! I am very glad to be home, though :)

My guys are home from Canada!

They had a great time. They are full of stories and also brought me 6 loads of smelly fish laundry :::snort::: I am diligently trying to get them done.

The drier is dead. So I promised them clean laundry, even if it is not dry. (Mom, we bought the drier when I was pregnant with Allen. You're right that the washer is only a few years old!). The washer is being persnickity! I have 5 loads left to do and have been working on it for 2 hours UGH.

So that's that for tonight :)

A Lovely Weekend!


Of course, it went too fast, as weekends always do. The weeks drag on and the weekends fly. I love every second with my honey, though.



So Friday Doug couldn't find his keys. So I drove out to the shop (30 min. or so) to give him a set and we came home. Allen tried to mow the lawn, but we are having mower problems! Three of them have quit working, in the exact same spot! A lawn mower demon or something ::::snort:::: The neighbor is letting us borrow his (although it is now raining). I warned him about our problem and he said, "If it breaks, it breaks!" LOL.



So then we packed up and went to the lake for the evening. Doug and Allen mowed the lawn there. The mowers there worked great! But when we brought one home to use, it didn't LOL!



We had dinner and then a lovely evening on the lake. We worm fished. We bass fished. Well, the guys did and I read a book and made a grocery list. Then we went for a ride.


Doug and Allen went to get gas for the boat and a stop at the DQ! We sat on the swing and enjoyed the quiet and the view and being together. Then we headed home.



Saturday was a lazy morning sleeping in and lounging around. Then we did some grocery errands. I took a nap while Doug and Allen washed, inside and out, both vehicles.



I packed up the picnic basket and we ordered pizza and headed out to the park. Doug was running sound for one band and then we were going to leave there to go hear another one and dance. Allen went home with my in-laws (they came to the concert) for the night.



Well, at 5:30 it was gorgeous and sunny and blue skies with a slight breeze. They set up and at 6:30 were finished with their sound check. They were to start at 7. At 6:30, the skies were still blue but a storm was coming, but it looked far off! Certainly they'd finish (at 8:30) before the storms came.



Nope, at 6:55 the storms rushed in, the people left, they packed up and went to their next gig.



So Doug and I were quite early for the dancing band. But that was OK. We talked with bunches of people and didn't have to pay a cover :) We had a fabulous time dancing the night away and met a couple interesting guys from Austria here for some work.



This morning Doug went to my in-laws' house to get Allen for church. We prepped Doug's food and packed him up and got Allen all ready for youth camp. They left about 2:30. Isaac and Jrdan are making their way home from Canada. They should be here any time. I took a nap.



It is raining again. I don't know where summer is, but it certainly isn't here! It's been chilly and rainy most of the year, since the snow quit in April! We did have one hot week, and thankfully it was while we were camping! But gosh. If you have summer at your house, please send it to me :)



I just finished making food for tomorrow's Mexican night. We're having tacos. I made the taco beef, refried beans and some Spanish rice. I'll make the guacamole tomorrow :) We're heading to the lake. My Gramma is coming with us. It will be a nice visit I am sure.



So how was your weekend?

Not much happening today!

Jordan and Isaac are still in Canada.

Allen had church stuff from 9-2:30ish.

I tried to do laundry. I did a couple loads. The washer is not working properly, but not all the time. The last 2 loads I've done have spun out perfectly. This load did not spin out, so I have to take out 1/2 of the load, spin, repeat :)

The drier is not heating, either. So I am happily hanging the wash. I like hanging clothes on the line. But our weather has been cold, dreary and threatening rain. I left the towels out for 4 hours, and brought them in and they were still damp around the edges. I folded them and put them away anyway :) It was looking like a downpour. I was about to nap (still not recovered from camping!) and did not want to wake up to rained on laundry.

I woke up and there was the sunshine!!! I LOVE the sunshine.

So I sent Allen out to mow the lawn. Oh yeah, our mower and weed eater quit working, also. But my FIL rescued us and let us borrow his mower. So Allen does 3 passes on the lawn, and the mower stops and won't start! So it is sitting in the garage awaiting Doug's arrival home tomorrow (along with the drier.....thanks babe!).

So Allen decided to ride his bike to Convenient, get Hershey bars and we'll have a fire! I'll enjoy sitting on the swing with my youngest son eating s'mores.

So that is our day. Thursdays are long. Doug comes home tomorrow and for some reason, Thursdays are the hardest day for me. I am lonely. The day drags on. But Doug will come home tomorrow and then the weekend flies! I love having him home. I love that he is going to fix my drier while he's here.

We also have fun stuff planned for the weekend, and then Jordan and Isaac come home Sunday evening, Allen goes to youth camp Sunday afternoon, and we're going to spend time at the lake next week and my Gramma is coming with us :) I'm going to make some blueberry scones (at least that is the plan.........don't bank on it Gram) to enjoy with coffee while we're at the lake!

OK, enough rambling.....Allen is starting the fire!

I am glad we're not camping this week!!

It is so cold here. It got all the way up to 60 today, and rained, and will be 45 tonight ***brrrr***

So what did I do? I made bread! I am trying to find a yummy WW recipe that my family likes. I decided to try a different flour. I have yet to venture into the world of NutriMill and Bosch, but only because my boys are not wanting to change! So my quest is to find a good recipe first and then venture.........

So last co-op order, I ordered a 5 lb. bag of Prairie Gold flour! This stuff is wonderful! It was soft and light and easy to work with. My bread rose so nicely and was fluffy and I just sampled it and it is great!

I tried the following recipe. I think I may have gotten it from De'Etta's blog, but I can't remember for sure ***oops***

Delicious Whole Wheat Bread - makes 2 loaves

2 cups warm water
1/3 cup honey
1 T yeast
1/3 cut olive oil
2 t. salt
1/3 cup gluten flour
5 to 7 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour

In a large bowl or in a large mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid or Bosch type) combine the water, yeast and honey. Let sit for a few minutes to give the yeast a chance to start working. Add the salt, oil, gluten flour and 3 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour.

Continue to add more flour until the dough does not stick to the side of the bowl and does not feel sticky to the touch. Knead for 4 minutes in a Bosch mixer or 7 to 10 in other mixers or 10 to 15 minutes by hand.

When dough has finished kneading let it rise once until doubled in bulk (unless you are using a Bosch type mixer and in this case you can skip the 1st rising). Punch down dough and divide it into 2 pieces and form into loaves and set in bread pans.

Let it rise in a slightly warm oven (this means that you turn the oven on for just 2 or 3 min. or until you can feel the heat and then turn it off, if it is too hot then it will kill the yeast) for 15 to 25 minutes or until the dough is ½ inch above top of pan.

Turn oven to 350 (without taking bread out) and bake for approx. 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Random Camping Moments!!!

We just spent a week at Cook Forest, PA with 10 other families we had never met. Well, we had met one of them. I had anyway, for a couple hours, when the mom brought us meals. She lives about an hour from us.

Anyway, in February I asked on the Sonlight forums if anybody would like to go camping with us. And we had 10 takers! We had people from GA, IN, PA, TX, OH and Hondorous! There were 37 children and many late nights!

We made a lot of friends and met a bunch of cool people! I cannot wait to get together with these people again! And I must say, camping is much easier with "sister wives" and extra husbands :)

Here are a few random photos.

This racoon's name is "Royce". He crawled through a 3" crack in one family's car window!!! We assured the son that yes, indeed, his dad would want to be woken up and told about Royce in the car!
Doug and me at Seneca Point, a beautiful rock in Cook Forest! He really isn't that much taller than I am. The rock is not level LOL!
Royce loved marshmallows!

Isaac! Isn't he handsome? His hair is getting really long! Our view while canoing.............simply breathtaking!
Doug and Isaac!

What is sexier than a man doing dishes???
Doug, Isaac and Allen at Seneca Point. Jordan was only with us for 2 nights. He had to work and had church responsibilities. He was gone by the time this picture was taken. It was our first family vacation without our entire family :( Not a happy milestone!
This is how I canoe! My sweet honey was very concerned with my fibro pain. Mostly, he did the paddling and I enjoyed the sunshine :)
Allen! He is 14 now! My baby..........
I did not post any of the many pictures of other people............but trust me, we camped with strangers who are now our friends!

Long Time No Blog!!!!

So what have I been up to?

Well, we finished our 11th year hs'ing in May.

We celebrated Allen's 14th birthday! Where does the time go? My baby should NOT be 14 yet!!

Doug is adjusting to his new job. He likes it. After a year I am finally getting used to the yucky schedule of him only home on weekends, but I treasure those weekends!

Dad put the cottage up for sale! After 10 days they had a buyer, but the deal didn't go through. So for now we are enjoying the lake a little bit longer :)

In February I was really struggling with depression, and in a fit of craziness I posted on the Sonlight forums that I was going camping, and would anybody like to go with me?? Well, people did! We just got home (pictures coming next post) from Cook Forest, PA last week and we had a fabulous time! We were joined by 10 families, 9 of which we had never met! We had a BLAST!!!

I am continuing with the fibro clinic and am starting to feel somewhat normal. I am taking 23 different meds, creams and supplements daily. Four times a day I take a variety of pills and powders and creams. I have lost 12 lbs.! and was starting to feel less exhausted (and then I went camping and I am still recovering LOL) and I no longer stuggle with depression \o/

One of my Grams has been diagnosed with terminal uterine cancer. She just found out last week, with no signs or symptoms. Six weeks ago she was dancing 6 hours a night and now she cannot get out of bed. She has decided not to do traditional treatment, and is consulting with a natural doctor who works with cancer patients out of FL. She is going to eat a raw diet and do a detox and pray.

My step-dad is dealing with atrial fibrullation? and is in the hospital right now. Please keep him in your prayers, also, and my Mom too.

Doug and I are still going dancing as often as possible!

I am planning a trip to visit my new friends in PA and VA in July :)

So that's what's been happening my way. How about you?

You know it's spring when you head to the lake!!!

We had a gorgeous week last week. Monday started out in the 50s with sunshine and we had sunshine SIX DAYS in a row and it climbed up ti 80 degrees on Friday YAAHOO!!!!

The boys were hired to put in docks. I did not get down there in time to get their picture putting them in though.

Jordan and Isaac headed to the lake about 10. I went to pick Doug up from work, do a few errands, get Allen and do another errands and we got up there about 1:30.

It was BEAUTIFUL!!! Not a cloud in the sky! I LOVE spring at the lake. I love any day at the lake :)

So Isaac and Jordan did 3 of the 4 docks they were hired to do. They will do the other in two weeks or so; probably the same day they do Dad's.

Doug and Allen raked leaves........
And raked some more.........
Oops, I forgot to go take pictures of them working! I snapped this one of Jordan. He is quite happy to be done, but still wearing his waders. What a handsome young man he is! It was amazing to watch them swinging the sledgehammer and carrying dock pieces. They are quite strong with muscular arms. I am glad no girls were there :::snort::: Doug was amazed at Jordan's arms! It showed off his tattoo nicely, too LOL.
Allen was not happy to be raking and took a rest.........

Switched to the blower. But work is work and it wasn't fun either way LOL.
All right! Docks DONE! Let's clean the boat. Isaac cleaned their little boat while Jordan went for a fishing license. Isaac won't need one until the end of Sept. when he is 16.
Still cleaning........
They decided to lift it into the back of Jordan's little pickup and drive it to the lake. They needed Dad's help for that!
Isaac sat in the back to make sure it didn't fall out. They didn't have to drive far. The lake is 3 houses down :)

Isaac fishing on Bob's dock..........
Allen and Isaac fishing.........
Jordan trying his luck in he boat! Nobody caught anything though.
I sat on the swing and read a book and knit a little. This was my view while everybody slaved away. So peaceful and beautiful!
So spring is here and we are thrilled! The weather is turning ick again next week with rain and cooler weather. Hopefully it warms back up again and is dry. I hope to spend 1 night each week through the end of the school year at the cottage. It is SO much easier now that Jordan drives and can get himself to-from work and church activities and then come up afterwards :)

Quick Black Bean Chili

This is a recipe I adapted from a Pampered Chef recipe card. It is quick and very yummy, filling and WW friendly :)

Quick Black Bean Chili

1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 T olive oilo
2 cans organic black beans (15 oz. each)
16 vegetarian refried beans
14 oz. organic vegetable stock
1 T lime juice
Salt
Pepper
Cumin all to taste
14 oz. can diced tomatoes with jalepanos

Sautee peppers, onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer until warmed through, about 20 min.

YIELD: About 3 qts. 1 C = 2 WW points

Fibro Clinic Update

Thursday I had my first appointment at the Fibro Clinic (FFC). It went really well.

First we met with a nurse. She spent about 20 min. with me listening to my concerns and marking my chart.

Then the doctor met with us for about 1 hour and 20 min. He was SO thorough. Answered all my questions and listened to all of my concerns. He explained everything he wants to do in a step-by-step process. He addressed all of my questions and concerns. It was very good.

I had ALL of my blood work drawn, instead of splitting it up between the first 2 visits, because I will not have insurance the next time I go. The clinic is a holistic alternative medicine clinic, so I have to pay most things out of pocket, but not labs. They drew 34 vials of blood!

I had to list the top 5 things I'd like to work on first. Pain and fatigue were the top 2, and that is where they will start. Also foggy brain, weight gain issues and a personal issue were the next 3. He will start with the first two and await blood work results.

The most important thing is sleep. The body cannot repair and heal itself without going into deep sleep. Well, I never sleep more than 1 or 1 1/2 hours without waking up, so my body is not restoring and healing itself.

He gave me a natural supplement called Rest and Restore to take at bedtime. I am taking 2 right now but can take up to 6. It has melatonin and valerian root in it. He also gave me a script for Ambien. I am to start with 1/2 and take 1 whole tablet at bedtime if needed. I have reservations about sleeping meds, but am willing to do what it takes to be better. Last night is the first night I slept 8 solid hours in years and years! It was lovely.

He also gave me a script for pain, and I am having some side effect issues from it. Mostly dizziness. I am not sure if it is a temporary issue or not. I have a call into the doctor and they are checking on it for me.

I am also taking some other supplements. In Harmony, which has some Bs, St. John's Wart and 5-HTP. I did start taking SAM-e 2 months ago, and he wanted me to continue that also. I am not willing to take scripts for depression because the side effects are not worth it, so we're going the natural route for this.

I'm taking a powdered vitamin supplement since it is more easily absorbable. And a couple things for energy and to help with the pain and fatigue.

He was very happy with my diet. I had to take a food journal with me. He sees no reason why I should not be losing weight and thinks it is most likely my hormones and will be waitingfor thyroid tests to come back. He also thinks my adrenal and reproductive hormones are out of what. If that is the case, they will be treating them with bio identical hormone therapy.

I go back in May.

I am almost over the respitory thing. Gram, that is why I haven't called. I've not had a voice for days!

There is more happening in my life than kittens. But they are just so darn cute so you have to put up with just one more picture :) They are 3 1/2 weeks old now. From left to right we have Leroy, Newman (the only girl) and Shadow! In other news, Doug started a new job yesterday. He will still have the same type of work schedule, but that is OK. After 10 months I am starting to adjust.

Between jobs we enjoyed 10 1/2 days of him being home :) He had vacation to use up. We had a plan to work the first part of vacation and play the second.

We got a LOT of work done. Doug painted the woodwork, ceilings and walls of the stairway and upstairs hallways. We cleaned the linen closet. The boys cleaned their bedrooms and closets. We took about 15 loads of linens, blankets and afghans to the laundomat. No, I do not normally wash all of the linens in my house at once. But before painting the woodwork, we were stripping/sanding (it turned into WAY more work than we were up for) and there was SO much dust in the linen closet! So Doug and I made a date out of the laundromat. It was fun.

We cleaned and organized the school room and closet. I decluttered the built-in bookcases in the upstairs hallway and the 3 in the living room.

So we got all the work done AND THEN Doug and I were both sick with upper respitory things. It kinda inhibited our play, but we pushed through.

Tuesday Doug took Jordan and Isaac to Wheeling, WV to shop at Cabelas. We have serious spring fever/wish it were time to open the cabin going on here.

Friday we all went to Bob Evans for breakfast. That was TONS of fun! Then Doug and the boys went bowling while I slept. I was seriously sick by this time.

Thursday Doug took me to the Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Treatment Center. I'll blog a separate post for that.

Saturday we had a date night at Panera Bread and then drove around and talked. Neither of us were up for going dancing. Although we did go dancing the first weekend he was home.

I just enjoyed having him home so much and him being here when I went to bed at night and when I got up in the morning. I enjoyed cooking meals for him. I really enjoyed letting him make all parental decisions :::snort:::

So now we are back to life as we know it. Trying to wrap up school by the end of May. Planning for next year. Having baby kitties learn to climb out of the box YIKES!!!!! And longing for spring and nice weather :)

Cuteness Alert!!!!

The babies are 2 weeks old today. What is NOT to love about little balls of fluffy cuteness?

Leroy is a whopping 13 oz., Shadow weighs in a 12 oz, and the little girlm Newman, is the smallest at 11 oz. Their eyes are opening and they are just so DARN CUTE! They try to stand up, but wobble and fall over. They are so fun to snuggle. I hold Newman while reading aloud. She snuggles up under my chin and sleeps :)

Newman sleeping

LeRoy and his deep blue eyes!
Newman snuggling with Isaac
Shadow! His eyes almost match his fur. He's so darn cute!

IT'S BABY DAY!!!!!

I put food beside the nesting box. Lilly would not go into the kitchen to eat LOL. But she will jump out for a couple minutes and growl the entire time she is eating LOL. So I quickly snapped this picture of the babies. They are just SO adorable!

We have been anxiously awaiting Lilly's day of delivery for a couple weeks now. I wasn't quite sure when she became "with kitten", because I do not even remember her being in heat.

She LOVES to be at my feet while I'm on the computer. So we put a nesting box under the computer a couple weeks ago so she could get used to it. She pretty much ignored it LOL.

Last night she started going in and out of it a lot. So I figured we were getting close. Her tummy was rolling like a choppy sea, and that was fun to watch. I figured she'd have her babies while we were in bed.

But she waited for us. I woke up to icky stuff all over the bathroom sink (she sleeps in there at night?!?!?!) and on the kitchen floor, so really knew it was close. Nobody wanted to do school, but we couldn't just sit and stare at her LOL. So we read aloud on the couch and then they were on the living room floor doing school, or at least putting in the appearance of school LOL.

We have 3 sweet little babes. They look just like her. Two are dark gray and one is light gray. It is hard to see them, but they are in the pictures :)

Just minutes after the first one was born. She was cleaning it up.

Resting with the 3 of them. See how they kinda just blend in??
This would have been a PERFECT shot, but at the last

second she put her paw over the babe's head!

A clearer shot.
Tucker is quite interested in the little mewing sounds. And he wants to sniff them up. But he hasn't gotten too close, or Lilly isn't afraid of him LOL. Buddy, the other cat, seems miffed!

So that is our sweet news of the day :)