Well, it’s that unsettled time of year!  The January blahs are over…I hope!  We have more hours of daylight!  And I can hear the whisper of change drifting through the air! 

For me, it’s time for some serious juggling of the schedule and a renewal of the heart.  I usually feel unsettled and ready for some new ideas or projects this time of year.  So what do YOU do when this happens?  I’d be very interested to know!

Last year, I tried a forty-day experiment!  After reading an interesting book, 29 Gifts, I decided to freshen up my heart with a resolution to give a gift each day for forty days.  The gifts could be anything from an extra tip to a waitress/waiter, a ten-minute listening session, a random phone call/email, paying for the next customer at the coffee shop, to a gift of forgiveness/mercy.  I even put together a little booklet to journal the experiences and shared the idea with a friend who graciously agreed to do this with me.  The ‘random acts of giving’  journal had a place to record  the date, gift given, journal entry, a short prayer, any gift received, and a Bible verse.  Each day I would decide what gift to give.  I admit, there were many days when it was 8pm in evening and I hadn’t discovered what gift I was giving.  Some days were tough!  Most days were a surprise!   I realized that,  more often than not, I received so many more gifts from others than I gave away.  I learned that it is not so much in the giving…but the true essence of GIFTING is the thoughtfulness and awareness of needs/wants of others.  Thinking of others creates a focus and reveals a selfless love (and concern) for fellow human beings.  There is a great sense of freedom and peace in gifting this way.  And…there are some wonderful ‘surprises’ that you find out about yourself and how you enlarge your heart! 

That experiment was such a change in my thinking!  So this year, I’m on to a NEW shifting of the heart!  My indulging friend (same one as last year) and I have devised another forty-day journey!  We are attempting to perform random acts of kindness with the purpose of getting closer to God!   Again, the little booklet is out!  Many ideas are surfacing!  It is not coincidence that we are discovering all kinds of new and innovating projects to choose.  So, tune in again…in forty days….to hear  the rest of this story!

If you would like to come along with us, try this!  And then, let me know how it works for you!

Happy ‘Time of Change’!   It’s in the air!

Here’s your chance to do some dreaming!  Many years ago, I was asked to write 24 things I’d like to do in my lifetime.  It wasn’t too difficult!  The ideas were flowing!  What I didn’t know was WHEN I would get these activities/goals accomplished!  Today, I still have some left to complete.  

Just for examples….from my list….

> Build my very own treehouse.

>Take pilot lessons and fly an airplane.

>Get a piece of my writing published.

>Play a musical instrument.

> Own a horse!

> Be a clown and cheer up ill children.

>Learn to paint (watercolors and oils).

>Live by a lake and go fishing.

>Stand on my head!

>Take a whole day and just walk around in nature!

>Start my own ‘get away’ place for people who need a break.

>Learn to be a magician.

>Be a motivational speaker.

>Sit in an apple tree and just enjoy a summer’s day.

>Create a snow sculpture with colored water.

>Adopt a child.

NOW….it’s YOUR turn!  Write your own ‘BUCKET LIST’!  Get out your journal and write your “24 Things”.  Dream big!  Be silly!  Stretch your imagination!  You’ll be surprised !  

THEN…Share them with someone!

Okay!� I’ll be honest!� This�”walking”�business is harder on my brain than I thought!� I�start my day�and think, I’ll just do a load of laundry, clean up the kitchen sink, and sweep the floor.� THEN I’ll do my walking!� So I proceed with a quickness in my step and a nice feeling that I will be walking in no time and do my healthy thing for the day.� The phone rings and I answer it with a promise to myself that it won’t be long and I’ll walk in ten minutes.� A half hour goes by and as I glance at the clock, I realize that today is crock pot day.� I will just chop up a few veggies and make some wonderful stoup (that’s soup with the thickness of stew) and dump the ingredients in so the smell will be wafting through our house for the day.� Lo and behold, as I skip down the stairs to get some chicken from the freezer, I see that the washer has finished its cycle and it’ll only take a few seconds to transfer the washed clothes to the dryer.�� The crock pot is loaded.� My workout shoes are on.� I’m ready to walk my miles for the day.� But before I start, I’ll just take a trip to the bathroom.� It is then that I peruse the room and make a ‘note to self’ to tidy up the bath towels and clean the toilet bowl.� Oh well, I might as well squirt the toilet bowl cleaner now and I won’t have to think about it later……

The moral is…..I can procrastinate all day long when it comes to exercising and sweating (I believe I’m allergic to my own sweat!)�� I put it off� by doing all the inconsequential jobs around the house.�� And the ironic twist of all this is….I will do almost anything to avoid cleaning the toilet bowl (I dislike that job immensely)….except ‘walking’!��:)

The things I do….to�distract myself from the one thing that I�need to do!��Who said�that walking a mile in my shoes was so easy?�� I know…I’ll be walking at midnight before I know it!�

Tomorrow….I’m getting up earlier and WALK FIRST!� �(I sure hope your day was better than mine!� Keep your head up….and WALK!)

Yep, the garden is planted, the weeds are in full bloom, and I’m wondering where the year has gone! It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a whole year since I’ve written an entry. There’s been some changes going on around here! “The year of second chances”…has been dubbed and recognized for several changes in my life. It was the year of welcoming a new stent in my right coronary artery, experiencing the miracle of my dad’s recovery from a serious stroke, trying my hand at some painstaking prose, beginning a new book discussion group with two faith-filled ladies, and traveling to AZ to visit two sisters and see the Grand Canyon. (By the way, if you want to read a life-energizing book, The Enduring Heart will inspire you to new heights!) And do you want to know what my new experiment is? I’m making my own yogurt! ha! I’m a lifetime experiment freak! Any suggestions for my next one? I’ll be looking for those catalysts of change this month! It’s the way I roll!

Ok…I’m a fanatic about hearing quotes and how others play with their words!  It’s been a source of humor and inspiration in my life.  Lately, I’ve become aware of some  unique quotes that were uttered or read. Here’s a few to give you thought…(some are from well-known people; some are not!)☺

"If I shave my hair on my head too many more times, the American Cancer Society is going to start sending me alimony checks!" 

"The Farmer’s Almanac said this year we’ll be looking for summer all season long."

"Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm."

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

"Go out into the world today and love the people you meet.  Let your presence light new light in the hearts of people."

"I got carded by the rotor rooter man!"

"Friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-reserved body.  But rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO!  What a ride!"

"The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of one’s butt to the seat of one’s chair!"

"No one is so poor that he/she has nothing to give, and nobody is so rich that he/she has nothing to receive."

"All things work together toward good, for those who love the Lord!"

Just felt the need to share….Let me know if YOU have any ‘Quotable Quotes" in your life these days! 

Do you remember any special traditions during this time of year?  Here’s a memory that you can create with your family to celebrate our country’s birth.  They are individual ice cream bags that your family and guests can make…and then add your own fruit, topping, or sauce/jam.   It’s a yummy treat on these hot July days!

Happy Fourth of July to all…..and let me know what you added to your homemade ice cream!

Recipe:  Ice Cream Squeeze Freeze

1. Mix in a small ziplock bag:

     1/2 C. whole milk

     1 Tbsp. sugar

     1/2 tsp. vanilla

2. Remove as much air from bag as possible and seal tightly.

3. Mix in a large ziplock bag:

    1 Tbsp. salt

    18-20 ice cubes

4. Drop your ice cream mixture (small ziplock bag) into this large ziplock bag and seal tightly.  Remove as much air from bag as possible.

5. Knead(or shake) bag for 10 minutes or until mixture thickens.

6. Add any chopped fruit or ice cream topping to small ziplock bag…and enjoy your serving of ice cream right out of the bag!

Ye Gads!  It has been almost two months since my last blog!  That must be my measure of how busy I get in the spring.  I don’t even have time to go on and on in my own blog.  ha!  Well…it has been a fast pace around here lately!  Some of the highlights?  I finished some classes I was teaching…corrected 50 research papers…said goodbye to some very special writing students…emceed a local homeschool graduation ceremony…organized a Mom’s Morning Out (about 30 ladies attended)…planned (and attended a homeschool picnic)…assisted my DH in building 3 frames for my square foot garden…planted my garden…watched the rabbits nibble on my sprouted plants…spent a week at home with my parents and six sibling families…celebrated my neice’s high school graduation…then celebrated some more for my Dad’s 80th birthday…was involved in a ‘wicked’ (;o) volleyball tourney with my sisters, brothers, neices, and nephews…painted a room for my DH’s home office…totally neglected my spring cleaning chores…and even spent one day in my pjs for the entire day!!!  What more could I ask for?  ha!

I’m guessing most people have the same set of overwhelming activites in the May-June season.  It’s just a crazy period of time when all the ‘lasts’ occur before summer ‘break’.  I didn’t even mention all the  last sports/extracurricular activities that are finalized with state or national awards.  We live a very hectic life in May!

But it’s almost July…It’s time to do some serious dreaming and relaxing!  What do you do in July?  Maybe this year, I’ll take some time to enjoy my Mother’s Day glider swing that sits outside our front door.  I need some time to stop, sit, and focus on the creations of nature.  These ‘snapshot’ moments in my mind usually produce some kind of meditation on inner musings.  I’m hoping for some inspirations, laughs, and maybe a few new surprises in my daily life.

Here’s to those bits and pieces that glue the wholeness back into our lives!  ENJOY!

I smell peppermint around my kitchen today!  One of my warm memories as a kid involved those pink peppermint candies.  My  grandpa used to sneak me a few of the pink discs when I would visit him with my Mom.  Grandpa created a feeling of being his special grand daughter as he winked my way and whispered, "Here’s a treat for you, today!" 

So here I am standing in my kitchen reminiscing that cozy emotion as I push the clean button of my dishwasher.  Why would I be sniffing the peppermint aroma? you may wonder.  Well, my youngest sis researched making her own laundry and dishwasher soap…and invited me to concoct the recipes with her.  We had a blast looking for the ingredients.  In the past, I frequently commented about becoming like my mother.  But this experience made me realize I was becoming more like my grandmother.  ha!  We wandered through the local grocery store to purchase liquid castile soap, Fels Naptha soap, washing soda, and Borax.  My sister brought two white 5-gallon buckets to stir up and store the mixture.  We were ready to begin the procedure. 

Surprisingly, the actual mixing of ingredients did not take that long.  As we measured the ingredients and dissolved the shredded Fels Naptha soap, I kept thinking there has to be more to this.  It’s so simple.  But after making a double batch (which filled the 5-gallon bucket), I was amazed at the simple recipe and short amount of time it took us.  The final product resembled a gel-like  noodle soup and the cost was a mere penny a load.  How could I resist this savings? 

Then my sister and I got creative.  We had browsed the many scents available in the castile soap and had chosen the peppermint one.  And Voila!  We have a peppermint aroma floating through the air every time we use the dishwasher.  Who would’ve guessed that I would be able to mix up a batch of dishwasher soap and add the fragrance (essential oil) of my choice?  Ahhhh, there’s peppermint in the air!  Thanks, Little Sis! ☺

Want to try these recipes?  For the laundry soap, go to:  http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

For the dishwasher soap, try: http://www.ehow.com/PrintArticle.html?id=4591491

It’s been a long time coming…but I think Easter and spring are here!  As I was walking outside today, I saw my first crocus flowers peeking through the dried bed of leaves by our front door!  Just like the picture above, they remind me of new birth.  For me, it’s time to shake off the dust and start blooming again.  What does that actually mean?  Well, I start diligently perusing the seed catalogs, making garden diagrams in my head, searching for those Cedar Waxwing birds, and feeling the need to ‘go light’!  You’d think I would be tired of doing this every year.  But the truth is…I like the ritual of seeing nature with new eyes.  Just yesterday, I was watching a Robin puff up its feathers and nibble the berries off our Flowering Crab tree.  It stirs in me an awakening after months of nature’s hibernation.  Like a dormant seed, I slowly stretch above my ground level to emerge with a fresh outlook.  Spring reminds me to ‘start over’ and give myself a new chapter in my life.  Thank God I have the ‘ressurection’ attitude in my heart and know with confidence that new things are abrewin’.  I shed the cobwebs in my brain and reach for youthful optimism that ‘all is right with the world.’  It’s SPRING and I’m blessed to be a part of nature’s timeline!

There’s a lot of green in our house about this time of year.  You see, my dear husband is three quarters Irish and it’s a tradition that runs in his family for generations.  Me?  I have no Irish blood.  So for March 17th I become the honorary Irish mother in our home.  Our day begins with a breakfast of green milk, green orange juice, green eggs,  green muffins, and green oatmeal (optional).  The most unusual thing is that the leprechauns visit our house the night before and have a party.  One year they threw Lego building blocks all over our living room…and there were even Legos in my children’s snow boots by the front door.  Another year there were piles of playing cards scattered around our house…with popcorn bowls overturned.  My children will not soon forget the time folding chairs were tipped over and their toy shovels were hanging from the living room curtain rods.  No matter how messy  the little people leave our house, they do not forget to gift us with their special treats, emerald gems.  These popular squares of shimmering green jigglers (aka green Knox Blox)  are hidden in our refrigerator as a thank you for our hospitality.  Ah, the luck of the Irish!  We smile and remember St. Patrick who drove out the snakes and used shamrocks to explain the Trinity.    At the end of our emerald day, we feast on Irish Stew made in the crock pot and homemade Irish Bread to dip.  For dessert, there may even be a piece of Key Lime Pie to celebrate.  No matter if we are Irish or not, there is a wee bit of the green in us all.  I sigh and remember one of the Irish blessings (see below).  I am Irish for a day!

It happened again today.  That old feeling of butterflies in my stomach visited me at 7:30am with a vengeance.  I was asked to do an interview with the local radio station about the ‘day in the life’ of a homeschooler. That was a few weeks ago…and I replied "Sure!"   Two other Moms also agreed so we planned to meet for a quick cup of coffee before the interview session. Of course it didn’t hit me ’til I was seated around the table with coffee mug in hand and gabbing with my homeschool friends.  The ‘What ifs?’ reared their ugly heads as my stomach started to rumble.  What if I put my foot in my mouth?  What if I knock over the microphone?  What if I start sneezing continuously?  What if I don’t know the answer to the question?  What if I start laughing uncontrollably?     What if I don’t make any sense?  The list could go on and on.  I had touched upon that old fear of public speaking that has accompanied me most of my life. As I glanced over at my younger friend, she whispered, "My stomach hurts."  That’s all it took for me to smile.  We were in this together.  I realized that the silly, random ‘what ifs" would not paralyze us from telling our stories.  We shared a common adventure that united our courage.  After driving to the radio station office, I inhaled a deep breath and knew we would do fine.  The powerful knowledge that I was not alone gave me (and my brave friends) the ability to relax and enjoy the gabbing about a subject dear to my heart.  God has an amazing way of connecting us to each other in those butterfly moments.  He supplies the extra blessings to let us breathe in the peace and calm us.  I didn’t even need a butterfly net!   

Here’s another idea that will add some spice to your homeschool adventure!  (My mother originated this tradition in our family!  She’d put them in our lunch bags on Valentine’s Day!  THANKS MOM!)

Valentine’s Day Cookies!  Roll out your favorite sugar cookie recipe.  Then cut out a BIG heart shape about three to six inches wide from a piece of paper!  Using the pattern as a guide, lay down the paper heart on the cookie dough and cut around it with a sharp paring knife.  Make some tiny hearts with a cookie cutter.  Bake them all!  When it is time to frost the cookies, start with the large cookies and then put the tiny cookies on top for a layered look.  Add heart sprinkles or other colored frostings for pizzazz or try M & Ms!  After the decorating is done, wrap the Valentine cookies in plastic wrap and have your kids deliver them to neighbors and friends.  One year we brought them to some friends in the nursing home and every cookie ‘greeting’ was received with a SMILE! 

This week just hasn’t been a good one for me!  Little things have happened that make me wonder if I am returning to my adolescent days!  Back at that time, I was not very good with spatial coordination and ended up tripping over my feet, walking into doors, ‘sliding down the stairs’, and bumping into obstacles.  I would get bruises that I couldn’t remember how they were obtained.

This week?  Well, I went to get the mail and slid not once, but twice, on the ice down our driveway.  My left hip and knee were the target points.  After the two attempts to get the mail…I walked back in the house  empty-handed hoping that all the neighbors were not at home to see my ‘gymnastics’.  Another day I was backing out of our driveway and ‘bumped’ into another car.  I know I checked both ways…and don’t have a clue where the other car came from.  I dropped the same DVD two times in a local retail store.  Then while stirring up some banana bread managed to spill flour all over the floor and ‘skated’ in my slippery shoes.  To top it off, last night I was walking out of Barnes & Noble and went over to my van to unlock the door.  It wouldn’t open!  I realized I was standing by the wrong vehicle. ha!  At least I could smile about that one.  I woke up this morning with a pain in my shin and after some deductive thinking I guessed it was a result of banging my leg on our coffee table last night before I went to bed. 

I’m so glad this week is over.  Hopefully, I have had my awkward spatial ‘moments’ qouta for the month and will be free of such uncoordination for a while.  No wonder I acquired the name "Klumsy Kora" in my teens!  It just isn’t easy being me!  LOL

Ok, I’m going out on a limb here.  I’ve been noticing the higher cost of food stuffs lately and doing some late night research.  Being an eternal gardener, I have decided to try something new-to-me.  This spring our backyard will be wearing a new look…Square Foot Gardening (Google these words for some pictures).  I know it’s probably an old concept for many.  But I’ve never tried it.  So off I go on another journey to juicy red tomatoes and mile-high bean stocks!  ha!  I have depleted most of the books from the library on the subject and am now searching seed catalogs for new offerings.  I have also found a site about using old car tires stacked up and filled with dirt that works for potato hills.  When the plants are mature, you just lift off the tires…and violla…there’s potatoes growing in the mound.  Tune in again tomorrow….for the rest of the story!  ha!  If you have any suggestions or other great ideas…my garden and I would love to hear about them.   Spring IS coming, right?

This week we celebrate two birthdays at our house.  Our children’s special days are four days apart.  So I wander to the garage and pull out the birthday box.  For some reason, I am usually digging for it in the wee hours of the morning to choose which items would be fun to display again.  The ragged twenty-three year old box holds much history.  Some things make my kids roll their eyes.  Others are acticipated and searched for.  Because both the kids are now over 20 years old, I debated whether I should even bother to pull out the relics.  Despite my indecision,  I began to rummage through the collection.  I selected a long "Happy Birthday" banner to put across the kitchen patio door.  I couldn’t resist a metallic royal blue curtain that hangs from the doorway.  Of course, I had to display a large (and somewhat ratty-looking) spray of sliver stars overflowing it’s base like a water fountain on our kitchen table.  There was a picture drawn by my artistic daughter when she was a youngster (this was the eye roller one).  And I couldn’t resist the birthday candle that is suppposed to be lit every year and burned down to the current birthday number.  It’s still level with the number 16, but who’s counting.  But all was  worth it when my daughter came into the kitchen later in the morning to search for the signs from the past that greeted her.  She smiled as she turned to me and responded, "I was wondering if I would see this stuff today."  I guess I’ll put it back in the box for one more year!  We’re never too old for some things.

I was going about my errands yesterday and knew the years were starting to catch up with me.  It was time for a haircut.  My hairdresser’s little shop is one of those places where there’s always someone laughing or discussing one of those universal facts.  What did I learn?  Well, the subject was cataracts…it seems that Sue’s (the proprietor) Mom recently had the surgery to relieve her of cataracts.  When the patient arrived home, of course she went to the mirror to ‘see’ the outcome.  She was shocked!  Her first words were "Oh my goodness, this surgery gave me wrinkles around my eyes!" 

I laughed ’til I had tears in my own eyes…and casually glanced over at the lady who had just vacated the chair I was sitting in.  I noticed that she was wearing such a nice coat.  Then I realized that it was very similar to mine.  I commented, "Hey, I have a coat just like yours."  The lady took a long look at her coat…and burst out in hilarious laughter!  She was walking out the door with my coat and didn’t even notice!  Those wrinkles are catching up with me!  My theory is that I get MORE  every time I walk into my hairdresser’s shop!

After thinking about all the fun things we did in our 11 years of homeschooling, I decided to record a fun activity once a week.   It will remind me of the great moments I shared with my kids…and the ‘spice of life’ we experienced. 

Today’s Homeschool Spice Idea:   Tea Time

Every Thursday around 1:30pm, I would set up our china cups and saucers (which we purchased from a goodwill store at such a deal) at the dining room table. After Mom poured hot water into each cup, each child would add their own concoction such as hot cocoa mix, herbal tea bags, apple cider mix, or chia tea.  Then we would sit down to read a section of a book, share some new facts, discuss a topic pulled out of a ’talk’ jar, or take some quiet reading time.  The discussions were very enlightening.  One day about a month after we started this ritual, my 9-year-old son proclaimed, "Mom, isn’t it almost tea time? I’m ready for some friendly conversation!"  I smile every time I think about what I would have missed…if we had not taken a ‘tea time’ break! 

I got a phone call around 11:30am today from my son, M.  He asked me what I was doing and if I wanted to go out to lunch with him.  I was on my way out the door, but made a detour and agreed to meet him at a nearby restaurant.  I’m not sure what he had in mind…but we started talking about one of his dreams, to go to college.  He has been working hard at a full-time job as a saleman for the past 9 months and  has gone the extra mile (or more) to be responsible.  There have been some rough choices along the way.  During this ‘real world’ experience, he has realized a few facts.  One such fact is that he can rely on family in good times and bad.  This has not always been easy for him to accept.  He has strived hard to be independent and ‘on his own’ with minimal help from us, his parents. 

The next chapter in his life is about to begin.  He is prepared to work on his college dream…and asked me to help him with some decisions.  It touched my heart that he would want to include me in his plans.  I am so glad for those ‘detours’ in my life that allow me the chance to share moments like this.

Because there are many days when I can’t even hear myself think, this is one of those moments to appreciate the quiet!  I have been correcting papers most of the evening.  It’s my next chapter in my life as a homeschooler.  My children have graduated and now I teach other students in the area.  I find the actual class time so rich with learning moments and wisdom snippets from the students.  But tonight, there’s not enough noise!  I can hear the refrigerator humming and the floors creak from the cold air outside.  I smile as I glance at the sink with dishes soaking and know that this chore is mine with no interruptions.  In the past eleven years, I have waited for this.  Now I am surprised at how odd it seems to have this quiet time.  I hear that little voice inside telling me to cherish it and remember that tomorrow…there WILL be noise!