Author: Foxxfire

101 Things To Do For Hubbers And Bloggers

Some excellent ideas for bloggers.

My daughter came home last night with a major announcement.

[Daughter] You’re a grandma!

[Me] Excuse me?

From behind her back, my daughter produced a basket. I looked in the basket expecting to find a baby bird or some furry little critter. There, nestled all warm in the basket, was a hard-boiled egg sporting a pink bow on it’s "head" and a smiley face drawn on it.

[Daughter]This is Eggberta.

This morning she took it to school.

I’ve been waiting  and wishing for the first real snowfall here in beautiful PA.  Well…this morning I got my wish. 

I just love snow.  I think that it’s one of the most beautiful creations that God  gave us. I don’t like the cold part of it but you have to take the good with the bad. 

 
My 12 year old son heading back inside to warm up.

If given the choice, which one would you choose yesterday or tomorrow and why? 
If given the choice, I would definitely choose tomorrow.  I already know what happened yesterday.  And, to tell the truth, it was very uneventful.  Even if yesterday was exciting I would still choose tomorrow.  I experience pain and fatigue every day of my life.  So, in all honesty, I know that tomorrow will be a bit of the same.  However, I cannot predict what tomorrow holds.  It could be a good day or it could be a bad day.  But, there’s always hope for a better tomorrow.
My yesterday was filled with pain.  The rain plummeted to earth and splashed back up to heaven to recycle itself.  I thought that the rain would never let up.  Rain=pain in my life.  Fibromyalgia reared its evil head and rammed me right in the (fill in your own blank).  However, it’s still a day that I’m alive and breathing.  I have a wonderful man at my side.  And, I have great children whom I love dearly no matter how much they aggravate me at times.  Therefore, I put my head down and leaned forward into the wind and kept on going.
My chore list had to be modified because of the pain and fatigue.  I did one load of laundry, loaded the dishwasher, and then sat down with my crocheting for a half hour.  I then proceeded to pick up where I left off on my chore list.  Next, clean the bird cages and sweep the floors.  I paced myself in 15 minute intervals alternating cleaning and resting. What normally takes me 2 hours to accomplish now became a 3 hour and 45 minute job. 
By noon I was totally exhausted and had to go back to bed.  As I slipped into bed and pulled the comforter up,  a warm hand reached out and touched my shoulders.  That was the last thing that I remember until 5:30 that evening.  Yes, I had slept for 5 1/2 hours.  After all that time, I was still exhausted.  I wanted to stay in bed until next year.  But, with the kids home from school and more chores and responsibilities to be attended to, that was not an option.
The evening followed the same path as yesterday:  feed the kids, make sure their homework is done, make sure they bathe and brush their teeth, and get them to bed before 10 pm.  With  a whisper of a prayer on my lips, all went well.  Once the kids were in bed, it was quiet time for mommy.  I could fall fast asleep with no worries.  Ha, ha, ya right.  Now is the time when I’m so exhausted that I can’t sleep.  So, I stay up half the night writing, reading, crocheting, or watching TV just praying to fall asleep again and hoping that tomorrow will be a better day.
The hope of a better day is why I would choose tomorrow as apposed to yesterday.  The reality of the unknown is exciting in itself.  Tomorrow may be a bad day or it may not.  “What if” is always in the back of my mind.  Okay, so it’s in the front of my mind too.  A new day is always better, for me, than the past.  We can’t go back and relive the past.  So, “what if” tomorrow is a better day?  “What if” I have less pain than today or yesterday?
Perhaps yesterday was a bad day and tomorrow is our chance to make a change for the better.  Maybe today will be a little bit better than yesterday and tomorrow will be twice as good.

1. My middle name is Lynn.
2. I have one older sister and one younger sister.
3. I have 4 living children and one deceased child.
4. I have Fibromyalgia.
5. I have 8 birds; 1 is my daughter’s bird.
6. I love all animals.
7. I hate shopping.
8. I was born and raised in Vermont.
9. I graduated High School in 1988.
10. I’ve lived in Vermont, New Jersey, and currently reside in PA .
11. I went back to college when I was 36.
12. I have hyper mobile joints.
13. I became a Certified Nurses Aide in 2003.
14. I love to create graphics with Paint Shop Pro 9.
15. I talk in my sleep.
16. I used to sleepwalk when I was a child.
17. I love to watch baseball. Go REDSOX!
18. My African Grey parrot says, “Go Redsox!”
19. I believe in God.
20. I love to read all different genres.
21. But, my favorite genre is British Literature.
22. I knew my Great Grandfather!
23. And, my children got to meet their Great Great Grandfather before he passed away.
24. I love crossword puzzles.
25. I love to write.
26. I love to watch Holiday movies.
27. I hate talking on the phone.
28. I don’t believe in reincarnation.
29. I’m part Native American, from the Onondaga Tribe .
30. My favorite colors are green and pink.
31. Sometimes I see things in my head and they come true.  My kids don’t like this one, lol.
32. I have naturally wavy hair.
33. I collect stuffed bears.
34. I collect stuffed cows.
35. I want to visit Fenway Park someday soon.
36. I love the smell of lavender and sandalwood .
37. I crochet doilies, blankets, hats, etc.
38. I hate doing dishes.
39. But, I hate having dirty dishes in the sink.
40. I can’t believe that I’ve gotten this far on the list!
41. It’s taken me 2 days to come up with 40 things about me.  Which makes this now 41, lol.
42. I write articles.
43. I have gorgeous green eyes.
44. I love Lucy.  Lucille Ball was an amazing woman.
45. My children, ages 17, 12, & 11, still give me a hug and kiss every night before bed.
46. I’m watching the movie “Sleepless in Seattle” right now.
47. I can’t stand telemarketers calling me on Sundays! 
48. I don’t like to wear a lot of jewelry.
49. I wear one ring every day.
50. I very rarely wear earrings or necklaces.
51. I love house plants.
52. I love Audrey Hepburn.
53. I wear shoes as little as possible .
54. My favorite color for roses is peach & yellow, consecutively.
55. I’m allergic to bee stings and iodine.
56. I try to go for a walk every day.
57. I am moody, over-sensitive, and stubborn.
58. I am also kind, smart, funny, imaginative, empathetic, practical, creative, loving, conscientious, and optimistic.
59. My man rubs my back and feet every single day.
60. I love chocolate.
61. I’m addicted to Seattle’s Best Mocha.
62. I love Borders Bookstore.
63. I prefer Barnes and Noble bookstore, but, we don’t have one where I live.
64. I hate lying.
65. I Must have my coffee in the morning.
66. I’m not superstitious.
67. I don’t like odd numbers (slight OCD).
68. My “p” key is missing thanks to my cockatoo.
69. I’m going to buy a new keyboard real soon!
70. I wrote the answer # 100 about 20 questions ago.
71. Too many noises bother me.
72. My favorite actresses are: Sandra Bullock, Lucille Ball, and Audrey Hepburn.
73. I am not a very patient person.
74. I had almost no hair until I was 2 years old.
75. I don’t like the dentist.
76. I sleep a lot.
77. I finally got a new keyboard.
78. Ergo, I can “p” again.
79. I’m waiting for the first snowfall.
80. I love it when the kids get a snow day so we can play outside then warm up with cocoa and play board games.
81. I’d rather it be snowing rather than raining.
82. My better half was just made manager.
83. I love to go barefoot.
84. I can be very random.  As you can see by my answers. 
85. I know some American Sign Language.
86. My favorite pie is Pumpkin.
87. My bedroom is the last room that I clean.
88. I’m trying to quit smoking.
89. My family raised Black Angus cows.
90. It’s 2:30 am and I’m still awake.
91. I currently have writer’s block.
92. I’m a social drinker.  I never drink at home because of the children.
93. I can’t regulate my sleep pattern.
94. I love the smell of Autumn.
95. I dream in color. Hey, some people don’t.  Some don’t even remember any of their dreams.
96. I once caught a 21 1/2” lake trout while ice fishing on Caspian Lake in Greensboro, Vermont.
97. My favorite toy when I was little was “Charlie Bear”. It was a little brown bear that my Grandma Perkins sewed for me.
98. When it comes to furniture, I prefer real wood. Don’t ruin the natural beauty of it with paint, ugh!
99. It’s taken me 2 weeks to finish this thing!
100. I can’t believe that I actually finished this list.

Okay, it’s back to school for the kids today.  Unfortunately, we all overslept.  I awoke to a knock at my door.  My 17 year old daughter informed me that it was 7:00.  I stumbled out of bed and up the stairs to wake the boys.  My 11 & 12 year old boys got out of bed and fumbled for their clothes that they had set out the night before.  After a few mumbles they were dressed and headed out the door.  My daughter, on the other hand, wasn’t quite so amiable. 
High School for a teenage girls is like a fashion show to models.  There is something to be said for cleanliness but, some mistake cleanliness for perfection.  My daughter should have been born a Virgo.  She is a perfectionist.  She expects way too much of herself and those around her.  However, she doesn’t go overboard to the point that she feels better than everyone else.  She just knows what she likes and she strives to be the best that she can be.
Needless to say, she spent the next hour getting ready for school.  Once she was out of the shower, she spent the next 50 minutes blow drying her hair, making sure that every single strand of hair was absolutely straight (with the Chi hot iron I paid $140 for), make-up applied to perfection, jeans clean with  holes in just the right places, her pet bird fed and watered, book bag together, and whatever else it usually takes her 2 hours to do.  Hey, this is a record time for her.  Maybe she should wake up late every morning.  All of this just to go to school to learn. 
“School is not a fashion show.”  That is my mantra every morning.  But, alas, I waste my breath.  For my words fall on deaf ears.  Or, at least, half deaf ears.  The poor child has an ear infection in one ear and has lost some of her hearing.  Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.  I guess there’s no crime in wanting to look your best.  She gets excellent grades and looks good too.

You can starch doilies, Christmas decorations or your Christmas Bonnet that you have crocheted.  Here are step-by-step directions.
Pattern to make your own Christmas Wall Hat http://hubpages.com/hub/Christmas-Wall-Hat-Pattern
Here’s one of my finished hats
Sugar starch
Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
Mix the sugar and water together in a small saucepan, place on the stove and heat on low, stirring often until the sugar is no longer
grainy and the mixture is smooth.
DO NOT BOIL!
Remove from heat and let cool.
Place doily (hat) in sugar water to thoroughly saturate, squeeze excess mixture.  Do not twist your piece.
I use an old Styrofoam  piece covered with a plastic shopping bag so my piece won’t stick to the Styrofoam.  You can also use a piece of a cardboard box or a cork board.  Just make sure whatever you use, cover it with saran wrap or a plastic bag so your hat doesn’t stick.  It makes it very easy to just unpin and peel off when it’s dry.

Once your hat is starched, shape the head piece around a small custard dish (or whatever is handy) covered in plastic wrap.  Here I have used a Kitchen Aid 1/2 cup measuring cup to shape my hat.  Set it on whatever you’ve chosen for your pinning board.

Pin your hat to your board and let dry.  It may take several days to dry, depending on how well you wrung out the piece.  Once your hat is dry, unpin it and peel from the plastic.  Now, you can add your embellishments to your hat or leave plain.
I like to use a nice Christmas color.   Silk red roses and a thin ribbon work well to adorn your hat. 
These are great for low-cost Christmas gifts and they’re even more special because they’re hand-made by you!  I have given several of these for Christmas the last couple of years.  Have fun and Merry Christmas.

Every family has their own traditions.  My family is no different.  Christmas time was always a time of good cheer.  Surrounded by family, friends, in-laws, out-laws, and friends that felt like family, all was right with the world.  With the passing of my step-mom, who I consider my mommy, life just hasn’t been the same.

The days leading up to Christmas Day were filled with excitement and anticipation.  Not anticipation of what gifts I would receive but, that of seeing the joy on my children’s faces as they opened their gifts or sat down to a wonderful Christmas dinner.

Our traditional Christmas Eve was spent sitting in my in-laws living room surrounded by friends and family opening our stockings.  Whether it was chapstick, hair ties, cute Christmas pins, or lottery tickets in our stockings, it was a time that filled my heart with joy.  We spent hours laughing, drinking home-made egg nog, noshing on cheese and crackers, and enjoying our family.  My ex-husband and I would then go to my Aunt Linda’s house with the children.  Dividing our time between different family members was exhausting but, it was the best time in my life. 

Christmas day was always special.  The children would wake up and come downstairs to find Grandma already in the kitchen with her cup of coffee and a warm smile on her face ready to give great big hugs to all the kids.  Meanwhile, upstairs, my ex-husband and I were praying for just one more minute of sleep.  But, of course, the excitement overtook us and we couldn’t resist joining the kids.  We would stumble downstairs and greet everyone with a “Merry Christmas” and mom(my mother-in-law) would shuffle us out to the kitchen for our first cup of coffee. 

Then, Grandma would take the kids into Pop-Pop’s room to roust him out of bed.  Sending the kids in was a sure way to accomplish this task.  Once we were all settled in the living room, presents were passed around, wrapping paper became the new rug, and smiles were abundant in our little house.  Later, my father, whom lived across the street, and mommy would come over with my sister and the whole day started all over again.

Now, my children go to their father’s for the holidays without me.  This is a very special time for them and their father.  I’m very happy that they get to spend time with their dad.  I just hope that they cherish it while they still have the time.  Their dad is an amazing father whom now has a wonderful wife and new baby.  The kids have learned a new Christmas tradition with their dad and his wife.  It will be their time to remember. 

My time to remember has already come and gone.  I will always remember even if I can’t experience it anymore.  My mom was the backbone of the family.  She had the strength and wisdom of 1000 people.  You could say that she was an army all by herself.  She could delegate chores and get things done with such finesse that no-one else ever could.  I will never forget our holiday traditions.  Time changes everything and I’m longing for Christmas past.