Tub cleaner

As i've said before, I hate to come across a great idea and then try it myself only to find out it is never as easy as the blog/pin or whatever, said it was or that it didn't work as well as it was suppose to. I have to say that I've set out on a journey to try these things myself and tell it like it is.

Tub Cleaner
For those of you who know me, I've got a 15 year old son. He's a great kid who usually does what he is asked! Every weekend he and his sister have a list of chores written out that they have to do. I generally trust that they have done them when I ask. However, one day I was in Nolan's bathroom and noticed his tub looked horribly dirty. I got my trusty magic eraser out and went to scrubbing. I have to say, my arm killed me and then went numb. I was not able to get much of anything off of the tub. When confronted Nolan said he did clean his tub each weekend like I asked. Upon closer questioning, it seemed that the just sprayed the cleaner in the tub and rinsed. I jokingly reminded him that scrubbing bubbles to NOT actually spin around and clean your tub for you, you have to put some effort of your own into it.

I decided to try something i read about in Pinterest. 1 cup of baking soda, a teaspoon of liquid soap, and a few drops of an essential oil (I used peppermint), add water until it turns into a paste. Holy cow, the stuff started coming up with a little scrubbing. I eventually used my hands and spread it around the tub, let it sit for a min and then had Nolan scrub it down.
The house, not to mention his bathroom, smelled great! It worked. Should have taken before and after pics!!

If you have bad build up, use this mixture!!

WOW

Last year I bought some pom pom snow ball hanging things. They were way too cool to pass up. I've had them put away with the Christmas things all year long and then couldn't decide where to put them. I have three in all but found the perfect spot for two of them.

Snow balls outside the french doors.

My sweet boy....

Well, eight years later....it happened. Nolan was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in November of 2011. We have checked his blood sugar every 6 months when his sister Emma would go to the Endocrinologist for her diabetes, she was diagnosed at the age of 4. Nolan turned 15 earlier in the year and was insistent that he drive ALL the time. Two days in a row he complained of not feeling well and said he didn't think he should drive home. The first day I didn't think much of it, we all have sinus issues but on the second day when he said "I think I'm so tired because I had to get up twice to go to the bathroom last night", I knew in the pit of my stomach that I had to prick him when we got home. He had me do it three times but he was 322 each time. I called my husband and told him he needed to come home right away. Nolan packed a bag for the hospital, all the while telling me he wasn't going to need it...of course, he did. He is on 6-7 shots a day and is honeymooning. While this sounds like it's a good thing when it's related to diabetes...it's not. His pancreas has decided to work a little so he was hitting a lot of lows. It has been a constant changing of the novolog and checking a lot. He's actually doing fairly well with his adjustment to the new routine and Emma's numbers have improved since we've gone back to being hung-ho on the carbs and measuring.

We all did some crying, praying, and hugging that first night. God bless diabetics, they live with an unseen disease hour by hour.

I can't seem to find some of the pics I took in the ER but I'll add them later if I do.

Purity, Pancakes, and PJ's

Last night I chaperoned the Purity, Pancakes, and PJ's event hosted by the Howards. About 30-35 7th and 8th grade girls showed up. The first speaker was Colleen Conner, she frequently speaks to groups of girls about purity, God's design for us, and how boys think. I know I won't get it all correct b/c I didn't take good notes, and the ones I did take I left at the house. So here is what my old sleep deprived brain can remember....

This is Colleen talking to the girls about how boys think. She used the illustration of a guys mind being like an itouch/iphone that stores pictures, but can't be erased. These pictures are not always ones they intend to take, they are wired differently than girls. Boys are visual...girl are emotional. A boys brain will take a picture, and often "finish" a picture and this image can be pulled up at any time, and often it will pop back into their brains without them trying to recall it. She told the girls that it was proved in advertisement that one thing could get people to look at a page 30% longer, one little thing that you add to a page gets more visual time....a woman. She asked what they thought happened when girls wore a shirt that had "Juicy" or any other writing across the "girls"? It makes the eyes go to the writing. Across the butt, you have cheer, pink, or any other writing....eyes go to the writing. Why are we advertising our chest and our butt? When a girls has a thong that sticks out of her pants, it creates a V or arrow down to whats beneath. A boy will see this and finish the picture. Cleavage showing from a shirt that too low or too many buttons undone, a boy will see this and finish the picture. You may only be trying to get "the hot guy" across the rom to notice you by wearing a short skirt or low top, but you have assaulted every male in-between with images.

Colleen talked about the Gestalt theory about how your brian fills in information and forms a picture.

She asked what the girls thought this picture was. One eye and two frowns, a person with their hands up were two that came up. She said it was two parenthesis and a period, but everyone's mind made some type of picture out of it, they "finished it".

The overwhelming response to this picture was that it was a triangle. Colleen said it was three pac-man images in a pattern, everyones' mind "finished the picture".

This is how boys/men/christian/non-christian are wired, to finish the picture that they see.

She talked about how her husband is a teacher in a public school and that he is assaulted every day. The girls came up with many different ways they thought he could be assaulted..verbally, physically....but Colleen said he was visually assaulted by what the girls wore every day. Her husband has a saying about underwear..If he knows the color, shape, or size, he knows too much. She used the jello mold scenario. If you look at the pattern of this jello mold, do you have any doubt about what the jello will look like when it comes out?

When you pour your self into pants and tops, there is no mystery as to what is underneath. The boys already have pictured it.

She also took a water balloon filled with water and pricked a small hole in it each time a girl gave away her heart emotionally/physically. She pricked it maybe 10-12 times, just small pricks to represent how many times a girl from 7th to married in 30's might give her heart to some boy. At the end, the balloon was very small compared to where it began, and she asked if this was what they wanted to give their husbands, just a portion that might be left or their whole heart.

This next part really freaked the girls out....she said that every boy they knew, they dated, or came across...was someone's future husband (chorus of eewww). Would you kiss etc, someone else's husband. Nobody has the right to take from you, or your spouse, that which God designed for marriage away from you.

She said she wished she had the letter that a young many had written his pastor. It was him asking for help because even at church he was assaulted with images, the one place he should not have to worry about. He asked the pastor to please help do something about it.

Jay Shaw then spoke to the girls and gave them a boys point of view. He started out by saying that your most important relationship was with Christ. Without Christ you would not be able to say no to the schemes of the devil.

He gave them the visual of the mist that hairspray sends out, he said our lives are but mist compared to eternity and that nothing can match the love of God. He talked about how some people try to fill their hearts with people, if "so and so" just loved me, then I'll be okay. People don't fill the whole in your heart because it is a God sized whole and only He can complete you.

He emphasized that guys are visual, they are driven by what they see. He talked about 2 Samuel 11. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, ³ and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to get her.

Jay points out that David did not send someone to find out what color she liked, what food or music she like, he didn't care about these things. He saw her and he wanted her. Jay asked the girls if they were taking a shower, would they leave the big window open to the outside or would they shut the shades? The girls have a responsibility also. Bathsheba had to know that she could be seen by anyone, yet she bathed there anyway. Girls need to close the shade.

He pointed out that if a guy sees it with his eyes, he has touched it with their mind.

(another chorus of ewww). There was a question & answer time, the girls could write the question down or ask Jay or Rachel.

The speakers did a great job of telling the girls that dating is not wrong, it is something to be used sparingly and with wisdom in what it opens you up to. They encouraged them to talk to their parents, or their small group leaders when they had questions.

Once the speakers were done, the girls headed outside to do smores on the fire pit.

Here is the official shot of the group

and then the silly one, you know they had to go there....

The girls then had a choice to watch a movie One night with the King (story of Ester) or go upstairs in one of the playrooms to talk. Maybe half of the girls feel asleep at some point while the other 1/2 stayed up laughing, screaming, playing pool, watching freaky friday, and I'm not sure what else. I think I may have gotten about 2 hours sleep.

Pancake time:

In the morning the Howard's were so sweet and cooked bacon and pancakes. We had chocolate chips, blueberry, strawberry, apples, grapes, whip cream, and syrup as toppings.

Some plates had quite the artistic flair.

(as you can see, a mini mustache has been drawn on her face....the price you pay for falling asleep)

It was a great time so be sure to thank the Howard's when you see them next, and be glad it wasn't you!!

My new thing

Okay, so it's not SO new. I've become obsessed with Pinterest. I finally took the time to learn how to use it and now I'm hooked. I've come across so many cute things that I've added to my boards. I love this idea that you can search through all these images and follow what your friends are doing. It's so much better than an image google search.

I found a wreath that I fell in love with. It looks like roses but it is really felt circles that are pinned onto a styrofoam wreath. I bought the items on Wednesday afternoon, cut the circles out for about 2 hours and then it took about an hour to pin it to the circle. I'm so excited that it turned out as cute as I was hoping and it was so easy.

Things that go away

A friend once mentioned to me about taking pictures of things that were going to be going away. The more I thought of it, I loved the idea. I know that I would love to see pictures of my mom and dad with their first t.v. set, automobile, true malt shops on the inside and many other things that have gone the way of the wind with new technology. In my day I've seen 8 track, lp, and single go away. Pay phones for the most part, dial phones, the first big cell phones we used, the first atari, record players, and the list is growing. I decided that I would take pictures for my kids to remember and grandkids who are likely to have never seen things that went away in my day.

I have a picture of Emma in a phone booth. I had to explain what to do. I also gave her 2 quarters because I wasn't sure how much it would cost. (used to be a dime)

The next thing is stores like blockbuster and movie gallery. With all the digital downloading that goes on, these stores will eventually go away all together. There are only a few left now.

The things in this next picture that will be going away are the watch that Big Jer is wearing and newspaper that he is reading (not Big Jer)! They already say that this generation (my childrens) is the one who is defined by not wearing watches. They all have cell phones, ipods, and are generally in front of a computer. No need for timepieces. The newspaper has slowly become replaced with online news.

More to come as I think of things. Let me know what you think might "go away".

On a book kick

Ok, I've admitted that I totally judge a book by it's cover. I'm sure I've missed out on numerous good reads due to this. This is one of the reasons I love book club. I just finished reading The Secret Lives and Sorrows of Josephine B. and it was fantastic. It is the first in the trilogy about the wife of Napoleon Boneaparte. I'm sure I'll read the next two, this one left off right at the good part! i'm now onto Germ by Robert Liparulo. I know I'm not reading in order of the book club list but Germ is by a christian author and Jefferson County Library was the only one who had a copy. Since I no longer pay occupational tax at work and live in Shelby County, it was unavailable to me. I had to borrow it from the person who suggested it for the book club.

I only began reading it last night but boy does it start off with a bang. Can't wait to see what the rest of it holds.

Book Club

We are one month into book club. This is only my 2nd year to be in this book club. I love that I have been exposed to books i normally would have never picked up. I SO judge a book by it's cover. I know which ones are light fluffy things that you would read at the beach or ones you want to just not have to think a lot about. I can tell which ones are going to make me think a lot. I took on the roll of organizer of this years book club. The first book we read was one I have raved about for a long time....Demon: A Memoir by Tosca Lee. It's over on my book list to the right. There were only 4 in attendance the first meeting, but all loved the book. We have come up with the next months reading material and here it is (books subject to change based on if I've read one that really rocks!)

October 10^th

Book: THE MANY LIVES & SECRET SORROWS OF JOSEPHINE B.
by Sandra Gulland (first book of a trilogy)

November 14^th

Book: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

December 12^th

Book: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (first in a trilolgy)

January 9^th

Book: The Germ by Robert Liparulo

February 13^th

Book: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia de Luce Mystery
by Alan Bradley (we will swap pies

March 12^th

Book: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

April 9^th

Book: The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

May 14^th

Book: Crooked Letter Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

I have already read The Hunger Games (it's actually a trilogy), Sarah's Key (wonderful!) and Crooked Letter Crooked Letter...this was an okay murder mystery...I will most likely change this one as I discover more books.

I'll keep you updated and maybe post a picture of our book club as the months pass by! Now off to start reading my book for next month, just got it downloaded on my kindle. It looks like the one copy that the Library has will not make it back in time for me to be ready for the meeting.

Girls Night

This girls night is dedicated to Dana Whisenhunt. We miss you when you move to Colorado!!

Kellie Parks was back in town and it was time to get the movies out for girls night. This time we tried Quiche...(1) broccoli and ham and (2) mushroom to be exact. Of course, anytime I hear the word quiche, I start to sign Quiche Lorraine by the B52's in my head. (Has anybody seen, a dog dyed dark green. 'bout 2 inches tall, with a strawberry blonde fall)

Anyhoo, two Quiches's turned out great.


YUM!!

We watched movies and then Cat tried a pan dessert recipe she saw.
Step one: melting of ingredients


Step two: add more wonderful ingredients


Kellie Parks and Cat Callahan

Step three: Mudslides!

The goofy movies of us dancing through the kitchen did not turn out...too dark.

We must repeat this night again!

Lemi Shine= Let me Shine

Anyone who has hard water issue can appreciate just how frustrating and embarrassing it is when you pull out your "clean" dishes in front of friends, only to have them covered in white film. Todd had tried vinegar, lemon juice, and windex to clean the dishes. Some of these worked to a point but then you had to hand wash to get the stuff off, who wants to taste vinegar when you bite into a chocolate cake?? We did an internet search and Todd found a product online but you had to buy two bottles and then there was shipping. I was at the point of pulling out the old credit card just to get rid of the gunk on the dishes.

But with a little Lemi Shine along with your regular detergent...it's a whole new ball game.

Todd got this at Publix for about $5

A picture is worth a 1000 words!

Raiders Bigger & Better

Tonight Emma went to Raiders at Briarwood. This is the get together for the 7th and 8th grade guys and girls. The theme tonight was Bigger & Better, we play this for Emma's b'day parties and have a blast.
The Crowd: Cooper Pinson giving the rules to everyone


Groups were formed and a paperclip given to each and we set out on our way.


We drove around neighborhoods for 1 hour trading our paperclip for anything bigger and better that people might want to part with. Raiders has done this for many years and I'm still amazed that people living around Briarwood answer their doors!! We received many small items and finally hit on one big one when we went to Beth Hendrix house. I know her from the nursery. She gave us a huge outdoor umbrella that barely fit in the borrowed minivan I was driving. We also received several cans of soda, a basket, a bag, and a santa. Here is some of the loot that was brought back from all the different groups.

A chest of drawers


A lawnmower


Several bikes of all sizes


A miniscooter


Chairs


A TV, pictures, Kobe poster, basketball goal


An Armoire


A stuffed Bobcat


And a bathroom sink


there were many other smaller items that can't be listed. Fun was had by all!!

It's a Cirque Du Soleil Day!!

After Emma's XC race, see previous post, Camille, Caroline, Emma and I headed out to Atlanta to see Dralion from Cirque Du Soleil.
The race started 20 min late and we were already just at enough time to get dressed and head to Atlanta in time to catch the event.
As we headed down the Interstate to Atlanta, we notice a long line of lime green vans/cars ahead of us. As we approached we were able to see that it was a fleet of ServePro workers, our guess was headed to the Coast due to Irene.

This was the headline on Sunday from Fox news with some pics.

Irene Downgraded to Tropical Storm, Slams New York and East Coast

So we continue our journey to Atlanta and having a great road trip. As we are coming up on the bypass, traffic comes to a halt. I'm not sure how long we sat there stopping and starting until we finally got past the wreck that had all lanes closed at one point. We made it to Philips Arena with literally 10 seconds to spare. We were all running to portal 6 trying to get in before the event started. With 3 seconds left we passed through the "gate". We had great seats down front and settled in for a good show.

I've seen OVO and Mystere from Cirque Du Soleil and this time around it was Dralion ~ the four elements that govern the natural order take on a human form. Thus embodied, each element is represented by its own evocative colour: air is blue; water is green; fire is red; earth is ochre. In the world of Dralion, cultures blend, Man and Nature are one, and balance is achieved. . I love how each show is so different yet all about the acrobatics!

The girls loved the show, Emma said the trampoline act was her fav, it's always mine also!

Emma and Caroline with the Dralion sign.

So after the show we headed to Varsity for some fast, greasy food. (Thanks spence for being our personnel gps device!)

We then headed home to Camille doing the DJ thing taking us down memory lane....

and a beautiful sunset.

GREAT Times!

Emma's first XC Race!

It's Saturday August the 27th and it's time for Emma's first race. We head to Heardmont Park on a sunny day!

Here is Emma with the girls that showed up for the race.

L to R: Bailey, Katie, Elizabeth, Natalie, Jenna Rose, Caroline, and Emma. Now, Emma has only practiced a few times and is usually the girl who doesn't like to sweat, so I'm anxious to see how this turns out.

All the girls are lined up getting ready to start.

And their off....

Here is Emma coming across the finish line. She did great considering she had never run before.

Jenna Rose was the first Briarwood girl to cross the finish line, here she is at the creek.

Ups and Downs - Alert Blood shot

With Diabetes we've had our ups and downs over the years. Very low sugars, once it took us to the hospital via ambulance due to seizures, and some bad highs that also landed us in the ER on iv's. It's been 8 years since Emma was diagnosed and I'll say again, I don't know that you ever truly manage diabetes. She was changing her site one night and came running into the kitchen crying. I turn to see this as she walks through the door.

She had her shirt pressed to her stomach with blood tricking down her leg and onto the floor. I pulled the shirt away to see what was going on and the blood was still pouring out with each heartbeat. Ice wrapped in a wet paper towel pressed to the site seemed to help it stop. She must have hit a blood vessel while pulling out the old site, still not sure how that happened. I walked back through the house cleaning up blood spots that i found while Todd helped her get another site on. Oh well, I think, I hope, I pray, we've covered all things that could happen and now we can just try to "manage" the diabetes.

Return of Cornhole

I'm not sure what the fascination is with the cornhole game. It's a little like gambling, you feel you will do better with the next throw, and it's addicting. However, we aren't betting money so we can still keep our house with this addiction. We had the Atherton's and the White's over for Supper Club this past weekend and out came the boards. We had couples against couples, kids against kids, and then a mix. The sun was going down so all the lights on the outside came on and when those weren't enough, Nolan pulls out his phone and shines it on the board (which actually worked fairly well).

Anyhoo, the pics from that night.