The Outspoken Mom Blog

Cabins, bugs, and summer camps

Good Afternoon Everyone!

Well I am back!  lol.  We have been up at our cabin a lot this July and we are planning on a long vacation up there while our son is at his first time ever of overnight camp.

So, for the rest of July, and a little of August, I will be writing only bits and pieces as computers are not compatible with cabin life...at least in our family :-)

We had a great weekend up at the cabin this past weekend!  We had a couple other families up there with us and it was a blast!  I do long for the days of having our own cabin so we can have friends up whenever we would like and we can go up there whenever we like without worrying about who is going to be up there.  But, for now, we are just blessed to have a place to go at all and are VERY grateful we don't have to pay for any of it!   :-)

So, summer camp.  Wow, our 8 year old son is heading off to overnight camp for about 6 days.  I hadn't been one to go to camp.  My first experience with a week long camp was the summer between jr. high and high school when I went to a German Language camp and we were fully immersed in the language and culture.  THAT was super fun!!  I loved it and would have loved to have gone back but, it was super expensive.

This camp our son is going to is quite a bit different, well for one, there is no foreign language but, it is a Christian Camp and one of his camp supplies he needs to bring is a Bible.  I love that.  I am grateful that he will be surrounded by other Christians and will be learning about God's love not only from his counselors but, from his peers too.  I pray it will be a good experience for him.

I also pray he will actually participate in activities as that is always a 50/50 with our son.  He tends to sometimes be a loner and very strong headed which, I have NO clue where he gets that strong headed attitude from with parents like me and my husband!  (very big joke there)

So, as our 1st born heads off to overnight camp for the first time and his first time not doing a YMCA day camp, please pray with us that he will be safe, learn and grow, follow the rules if just some of them, have fun, grow closer to God and friends, and most importantly, not get kicked out...sad but, true fear on the mothers part here.

I pray my son will be understood and be loved.  I pray he will fit in with someone and participate.  Please let him participate! 

I just want this to be a fun experience for him and I pray he won't close his mind to the fun that could be had.  He is a great little man and I know this could be the beginning of something so amazing for him!

Ok, change of subject here, I am giggling, I have been itching like a crazy lady the past 24 hours.  I am convinced there are bugs crawling all over me as we have been up north and our dog I am convinced is covered in ticks however, I am so grossed out I will never check.  Also, right before we left, our cat came home with fleas so, we treated him before we left but, I am certain(in my crazy lady head) that my house is crawling with fleas.  Then, last night our 6 year old daughter had a centipede in her bed and she still doesn't believe me that I didn't put it in there on purpose.  Uh huh, she actually believes I threw a centipede on her bed to scare her because I am mean...that is what she told my hubby last night.  Great huh.  By the way...really off the subject here, how sad is it that I only know how to spell Centipede because of the arcade game Centipede from when I was growing up?!

Ok...back to bugs.  Then, on the way home from the grocery store this afternoon, I had something splat onto the top of my head and I very hesitantly put my hand up there convinced a bird had pooped on my head...instead, it was a bug caught in my hair.  ICK, yuck, icky, eww!  Of course, couldn't say any of that stuff as all 4 children were around and I have to be brave mom.  So I calmly..as calmly as can be in this retched situation!  I calmly try and pick the bug out of my hair and finally I get it out and it flys away.  I do not know what kind it was, frankly, I don't care, all I know is I don't want it around especially in my hair!!

And that brings me back to why I am itching and flinching and sort of grossed out right now.  I am convinced there are bugs all over me, I am convinced I have fleas, ticks, deer ticks(that are all carrying Lyme's disease), and a million other types of creepy crawly's all over me and my house.  OHHHH, forgot to mention the spider that was in my suitcase that my son didn't tell me about until I had already zipped it up and put it in the car yesterday.  So, lets just say...mommy hasn't unpacked her suitcase from the cabin yet :-)

Yes, I am a nut bag, I know I am crazy and yes, I will be one of those old ladies people are probably afraid of or that people think is very nice but, behind my back whisper about how a little coo-koo I am.  It is ok, I am secure enough in myself to be able to handle people feeling I am a little nuts or missing a couple screws up there.  

I would like to believe it is all part of my charm :-)  Isn't there any way I could make  HUGE smiley face there?  lol.

Boy, I wish I have been able to write, I might have to figure out how I can post things from my cell phone to blog because there are so many things flying around my head right now!

By the way...did you all know that President Obama is the first president to NOT attend the Prayer Breakfast since they started having prayer breakfasts?  Instead...he decided to have hamburgers with some guy friends.  Hmmm, are you all sure this guy is a Christian?

Anyway, just some food for thought for you all there.

Blessings to all of you and thanks for continuing to follow me.  It truly is a joy for me to write to all of you.  

-Liza 

Weekly Recipe 2

Oops!  Forgot to do my weekly recipe!

It is for Hamburger Soup since it is only 56 degrees right now and I am freezing in my house!  This is a great clean out the cupboard soup or oh no, I have not gone grocery shopping soup as that is how I came up with the recipe..just throwing things from my cupboard and freezer into a crock pot..the children LOVE the soup.

This is done in a crock pot:

1 1/2 pounds of cooked and crumbled ground beef

1 15oz can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of frozen corn

1 can green beans sliced

1 can sliced mushrooms

diced potatoes (I use frozen diced potatoes..southern style is good in here too!)

3 sliced carrots

3 stalks of celery

6 cups water

beef boullion (use as many as you need for your taste...I use about 4-5)

1 bay leaf

onion salt (for flavor)

salt and pepper to taste

Slow cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4.

This is an easy soup to add other ingredients to and it freezes amazingly well!  Serves 8-10 people.

Follow your dreams

Good Morning Everyone!

I am sitting up here at my desk listening to my baby cry just praying she will actually take a nap this morning so I can finish cleaning our carpets and pack for the cabin.

I am not sure either of those things will get done or at least done well this morning if she does not nap.

So, my husband is currently looking for new office space because his company is growing...yes, even in this economy and they have hired a couple new employees, yes, even in this economy and he was telling me about one office space they found.  It sounds neat and I told him that it might make all of my dreams come true...even more than he already has!

My husband laughed at first but, when he realized I was serious, he thought it might be a good fit too.  Of course, they are in the infancy stages of looking for new office space and they are looking all over but, oh man, this one is in some sort of a company that does a lot of broadcasting stuff and advertising and stuff like that. 

Once he mentioned what the company did and what their offices are like, all I could hear from him is, 'blah, blah, blah, blah, blah'...sort of like when I am talking to him with a swimsuit or tight shirt on and all he hears is, 'look at my boobs, look at my boobs, look at my boobs.'

So my thoughts were racing, I was planning my big debut!  Yes!  I would go live with my blog!  I could do a local cable access show based on some of my blog subjects and really take it to the masses!...or at least who ever is watching local cable at that time.  OR, even better!  Radio!   Not really sure I want to be on TV anymore, all the wrinkles, blemishes, wrinkles, and someday gray hairs would be very apparent.  I don't want people watching me age on TV.  No, radio, that would be better!  I could just banter and not worry about looking into the camera, I could have guests, it would be great!

See, I have always had the dream of being 'famous'...not Madonna famous, or Michael Jackson famous or even George Clooney famous, just famous enough where people would actually want to hear me speak.  I dream of some day having my own radio show and even someday running for some sort of office.  Yes, I aspire to be like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh or similar.  However, I would like to stay more on the local or regional level.  I don't care about Hollywood or NYC, I really have NO interest in Washington DC.  I care about my local area, I care about my city, my county, my state. 

It would be fun to be on the radio, talking about local issues, some world issues, and home, children, marriage and God too.  It would be great to have a radio show that I could speak my mind and it would be ok.  I am sick of everyone being so stinking politically correct even when truly they are so politically incorrect!

When I hear a story about how one of Obama's closest friends has written a book and speaks about sterilization of women and how we should put drugs into our country's water system to cause sterilization...or about health care and the myth that people can't get affordable or good health care, have any of you checked out Minnesota's health care system?!  We have one of the best and our state medical system and health care is fantastic!  We don't need the federal government taking that away or changing it.

Or, I could talk about car seat safety and booster seats, I could talk about the books I am reading, I could talk about the feminizing of men, I could talk about education, anything I wanted and that could all be just in the first show!  lol.

I don't know how to get on radio, I don't know anything really about it.  I do know that I am a strong conservative and I am a mother of 4 children, I live in a very liberal state however, I love where I live.  I am college educated and I believe Jesus is my Savior.

It would be fantastic to start guest spots on someone's show locally and hopefully someday move on to my own show.  Will it ever happen, I do not know.  Will I ever run or be in office, I certainly hope so someday.  Only time will tell.

So, as I dream a little bit more today about my 'big break', I ask all of you, what dreams do you have that you have pushed aside?  What are your dreams and what are you doing to make those dreams come true?  I am living one of my dreams right now, I am blogging my thoughts, my dreams, my words and people are reading and responding and I love it.  It isn't the Broadway stage that I always thought it would be or on the cover of a magazine or on the runway like I was sure it would be in jr. high and high school.  But, I am living my dream of public 'speaking'. 

My next step will hopefully be to begin speaking to a broader mass of people and my other dream of 'changing the world'  will be when I run for some sort of office and do what I can to change my world in my local government and city. 

Blessings to you all and although your dreams may change, never stop dreaming and never stop following your dreams!

-Liza

Happy Birthday to me.

Good Morning Everyone!

So yes, as the title suggests, it is my birthday today.  Now, I am not writing a blog about my birthday to gain recognition for my birthday or anything!  In fact, I am usually pretty quiet about my birthdays, not because I don't like getting older, it is more because I don't like drawing attention to myself like that. 

However, the reason I am writing today, this morning is because I was thinking about how boring my birthday is today.  No, not because of the events taking place or not taking place but, because of my age...37.  What a boring age!  I am now officially in my 'late 30's' which when you say it sounds horrible but, 37 just sounds so, dumb.  I remember thinking this way when I turned 27 too.  It was just a dumb age...it must be that '7' number or something. 

Have any of you ever noticed that some ages are just more boring birthdays than others?  37, what does that say to people?  Not much to me.  I could be old, I could be young, I could have gray hair, I could have none.  Wow, very Dr. Seuss sounding there :-)

Really though, what does 37 say?  To me it just says you are probably in the throws of parenthood, you aren't doing much other than focusing on your family and in some cases, you might finally be seeing some of your work start to pay off in your children.  When someone is 37 I think they are in the heights of their career, they are stable and probably in their 'forever' house or currently shopping or remodeling for their forever house.  They are currently driving newer cars and feel secure in their finances.

37 tells me the person is starting to probably feel old or older or wondering(as I am) how did this happen?  I don't feel 37, I don't look 37, really, I am 37?! 

When did the music on the radio get so bad?!  How can the 80's be back in style?  What?!  No one knows who The Go-Go's, Duran Duran, or Pearl Jam is?  The kids now don't know Michael Jackson when he was still black?!  UGH!!  Have you all noticed that all of a sudden the bands at the festivals and State fairs and such are 'really good' bands finally!  Then, you realize they are the bands you like but, no one in high school or college knows who they are?!  Barf....yes, that is 37.

I officially could be my babysitters mom, my husband was a sophomore in college when she was born.  She wears boat shoes now and thinks they are the newest fad...along with leggings, short/short skirts, and ripped and holey jeans. 

Or when I was at the Richfield 4th of July celebration and LOVED the 2 bands because they both played 80's rock and the high school kids all were wearing 80's rock shirts, torn jeans, unlaced tennis shoes, and black eyeliner.  They loved the 'vintage shirts and rock' and all I could think of is 'oh crap', this is just like me in high school wearing 60's crap and listening to 60's and 70's rock.  They are doing a remake of Footloose....Oh no, I am officially oh..I can't even say it...I am officially my mom!  I am the same age she was when I was in high school.  Gross!  She was old, ugly, nagging, and fat!  Plus, she had gray hair(she dyed it of course) but, NO!!!!!!!!!  (insert huge scream here)

I think you now all understand why the master cleanse happened a few weeks ago and why the moods have been a changing and flip flopping.  I remember what my mom was like at this age and I thought she was super old...yet, turns out, she was a very young mom and I am the old mom.  lol.  Life is a bitch isn't it? lol.

So as I am writing this blog, I am sitting here listening to my 80's music, Kenny Loggins is currently on, just got done listening to the Go-Go's, who is next? OH Duran Duran, lol.  The itunes gods must know the type of blog I am writing this morning.

Honestly, and truthfully, I don't feel old, I don't think I am old but, in the scope of things, it sure sounds like I am old sometimes.  I am not fat, I don't have to dye my hair..yet, the wrinkles are still manageable, the boobs still are relatively firm...even after nursing 4 babies..well, at least they aren't pygmy boobs or hanging down to my knees...there is still a bit of substance there :-)  OH, the Go-Go's again!

I still feel good about my looks, my self, and my age frankly.  I am actually excited to be closer to 40 because I think I will look better and better with time which by the way, I always thought was cliche but, in my case so far, it is true.

I really think a lot of what makes a woman look so much better in her 30's and 40's is how you feel about yourself.  Granted, I think the past 10 years of slathering on sunscreen didn't hurt either!  There are still some things that I feel over time will need to be nipped and or tucked a bit here and there (belly from 4 babies) but, everything will just be a minor 'tune-up' and I don't think I will need a major overhaul.

I feel good about myself, I have more confidence than I ever have, I like my life, I love my family, I have great friends and I am living life with a great partner.  Our friends are the people we see ourselves raising our families with and growing old with and my current friends I can definitely say will be a part of my life for the rest of my life.  I feel truly blessed to be surrounded by true, loving people, that love me no matter how fat/skinny, young/old, or gray I am or get....oh ok, here is a song that makes me really feel young and cool...yep, how many 37 year old's have Good Charlotte on their itunes?!  See, I am still hip and young!

The clock doesn't stop running, age will eventually catch up with all of us and we all will get old and look gross eventually...oh yes, I am flipping out about the deep wrinkles, saggy skin and gray hair that is now one year closer than it was this time last year but, for now, I look good, I feel good and I know my friends will love me even when I am wrinkly and gross!  LMAO!

My mouth doctor said something to me yesterday that really got me thinking...he knew today was my bday(on my chart) so, he said to me as I was leaving, "Have a great 29th birthday tomorrow."  I laughed but, as I was walking out the door, I thought of something, you know...I don't look that great for a  29 year old but, I think I am pretty terrific for a 37 year old! 

So, everyone, in case you haven't figured it out, I am 37 today and I am fine with it.  It is a boring age but, thank God my age doesn't define who I am because I certainly am not boring!...ooh...a little Indigo Girls...are they old too?

Blessings to you all!

-Liza

What?! Huh?

Good Morning Everyone!

I hope some of you made that chicken enchiladas recipe last night for dinner!  If you did, tell me what you all think.

So, I am hoping starting tomorrow, I will begin the process of moving all of my children's bedrooms around...ugh.  We have decided that our son and our daughter are now getting too old to share a room so, we are moving the baby upstairs into our 6 year olds room and our 6 year old is moving into the bedroom our 5 year old and our son used to share and then our son is moving to the main floor by us in what is currently the baby's room.

It will be great once it is all said and done but, ugh it is going to be a lot of work!  I told our son that I am NOT going to repaint the walls in the main floor bedroom for him and he said he didn't care so, lavender walls it is for him!

It will actually be a perfect bedroom for him and it is the bedroom he started in when we first bought our house.  Had we known we were going to have 3 girls after him, we would have never moved him!

But, it will also be so nice to have the baby upstairs so I can shower now without waking her and my husband can get ready in the morning without waking her at 6am!  My older girls won't be able to play in their bedroom anymore as they would wake up the baby but, oh well, we have a full finished basement they can run around in now instead.

Us moving our son down to our level has also changed our remodeling plans AGAIN.  We are hoping to remodel our house next summer and were going to have all 4 children upstairs but, decided it would be better to just have the girls upstairs instead.  Then, all 3 girls can share the bathroom upstairs(that will be put in during remodel) and they can girl it up!

Then our son will get our old master....goodbye my dream den/family room with a fireplace but, oh well.  Then, instead of making our main floor bathroom bigger, we will just put a small bathroom with a shower in our master bedroom instead...goodbye my dream whirlpool tub.

However, we will now not just have a bigger house but, we will also have a 5 bedroom house instead of just 4 so....I guess that is ok.  Wow, that sounds really big doesn't it?  A 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house in Richfield?  For those of you who don't know about my neighborhood... our entire city of Richfield was built as a place for GI's coming home after WWII.  So, every house is a small story and a half or rambler style home averaging about 1500 sq. ft. in size.

Our home is already just under 2200 sq. ft. but, with our remodel I think it will be closer to 3500-3800 sq. ft. which will be great for our family.  We will definitely have the largest house in our neighborhood but, I think it will finally draw some new families and hopefully some developers into our neighborhood!  Considering that our 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2200 sq. ft. house is valued at around $200,000 and just blocks away in another city the exact same home on a very similar lot would cost between $350,000-450,000 depending on the block it sits on.  So, we are due for some families to move in!

OK, I am back, sorry my children needed me.  The baby needed her nap and the older children well, they don't think they needed me but, I had to round them all back up and get them back into our yard.  I have wanderers, they are all free-spirits that need to be reigned in once in a while.

Well I am so far off subject and so empty headed now about blog writing....sorry today's was a bit scattered and really lacking a subject.  It is hard to write and be creative with a baby sitting on your lap and you getting up every 10 minutes or so to make sure the other ones are making a break for freedom.

Blessings to you all!

-Liza

Weekly recipe and dress codes for the office

Good Morning Everyone!

I haven't written in a while, we had a very busy week last week and then with the 4th of July weekend, life just got away from me.

I am starting something new, each week I will be posting a Schwab Family favorite recipe or one of our recipes that has been requested a lot by others.  I know that sometimes I get in a recipe rut or find myself making the same things week after week for dinner.  Hopefully this will help you out of those ruts.  I will also try and rotate between dinners, apps, and desserts plus some entertaining recipes.

Ok, this first recipe has been requested by many and is so easy to double or even triple to make for dinner party's and our children love it and it is one of my husband's favorites!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas:

2 cups cooked chicken breast -cut(I slice into 1/2 x 2 strips)

1 cup sour cream (even works with fake sour cream!)

salt and pepper to taste

12 tortillas (flour are best but, we have used corn and still good)

10oz can of green enchiladas sauce (or 4oz can of chopped grn. chilies)

2 cups shredded white mexican cheese

Serve with:  shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, black olives, guacamole, sour cream, tortilla chips

Combine: chicken, sour cream and s/p.  Scoop mixture onto tortillas, spread down the center and roll.  Place seam side down in a 13x9 baking dish with some sauce on the bottom.  When tortillas are all in pan, spoon over either chilies or sauce and top with cheese.

Bake: at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes until hot. 

Hope you all enjoy that recipe!

Ok, I have a subject that has been bugging me for a while and they were just discussing this on the radio this morning because some court somewhere is talking about appropriate attire for the courtroom.

So, I haven't worked in corporate America in a long time, however, when I did, I was always very aware of what was appropriate for work and what was not.  I actually, have never worked somewhere that didn't have a dress code in writing that was given to me the first day of employment.

Company dress code.  I think 'casual Friday' has gotten way out of control and I believe we are getting very sloppy in our dress at work.  I am shocked when I go into some businesses how their employees dress and thought I would give my two cents worth on the subject.

Uniforms:  Ok, there are obviously jobs where a uniform is required...however, people are trying to add their own 'flare' or stand out in their uniform and in some places, it is too much.  They are called 'uniforms' for a reason and that is because the company wants everyone to look the same or uniform!  An example I just saw the other day was at Target.  For as long as I can remember employees had to wear the trademark red shirt and khaki bottoms, usually pants.  However, lately, I have been seeing very slopping dressing done by Target employees and frankly, a lot of ethnic dressing that doesn't fit in to the Target uniform. 

A black skirt all the way to the floor or even a khaki skirt or greenish khaki skirt all the way to the floor is NOT appropriate attire for Target.  Neither is a tight bust showing tank top underneath an unbuttoned red shirt.  I also think it is very inappropriate to wear sandals in Target.

Or our local McDonald's where it seems every employee is dressed differently and it is very difficult to tell the managers from the employees.  They all wear different colors, different styles and pull up your pants!  I don't want to see your nasty underwear when I am eating!  Plus, tuck in your shirt, have a little bit of pride in yourself and your work.

Then, office attire.  Oh man, that has really gotten bad.  If you are the receptionist, like it or not, you are the first impression of the company.  There should be no cleavage showing, no sleeveless shirts, no mini-skirts and no sandals.  I believe closed toed shoes should be the norm in the office.  Skirts should be no higher than just above the knee, no sleeveless shirts EVER, no tank tops, they are never dressy no matter what.  Your pants should fit appropriately too.  I have seen so many girls wearing super tight pants, I don't need to know if you have cellulite or not.  Plus, hem them!  What is with women now wearing such long pants that they drag on the ground and are actually fraying on the bottom or dirty?!

My biggest pet peeve is if you are wearing pants with belt loops, they are meant to have a belt there so, please wear one at the office.  What you do out of the office, I don't care but, in the office or at an office gathering, there is a certain level of professionalism that is required.

I have been to many company gatherings over the years with my husband where it was very obvious who the lawyers or executives where and who the receptionists and office staff were.  You shouldn't be able to tell according to how professional or unprofessional someone is dressed.

The following is what I feel is appropriate wear for the office:

WOMEN

closed toed shoes NO sandals

dress pants that are tailored or fit well (no khakis, jeans(even on casual Fridays), shorts, or capris)

skirts or dresses (no mini skirts, tight skirts, body baring dresses, NO cleavage! no strapless or spaghetti straps)

button down shirts (pressed, and NOT see-through even if wearing a tank top underneath)

jacket or sweater (NOT some huge cardigan, Ecuador sweater, nothing frayed or with holes, nothing cropped)

tights or hosiery..nothing patterned, nothing crazy colored, simple and tasteful.  In the summer....if you shave!  you can go without hosiery however, keep in mind no heels or toes should for sure show then.

MEN:

button down shirt (nice pressed polo shirt on casual Fridays)

tie (not without jacket please, you are not in high school anymore)

jacket or suit

dress pants (NOT khakis, not dockers, (only casual Fridays) no jeans...EVER!)

socks, yes make sure you wear socks

belt (always a belt, no matter what for men)

dress shoes (NOT Dr. Martins, NOT clogs(sorry honey) good dress shoes in black and brown)

NEVER a t-shirt, shorts(unless a golf outing), anything ripped and again, no jeans.

We are very visual people and if you look the part, often times, you will play the part much better and I believe if you look professional, often times you will act more professional too.  People like to see a professional person and besides, don't you want people to remember you because of the work you do and not because of how sloppy or sleazy you dress?

Blessings to you all today and enjoy the summer!

-Liza

Great books, great sports, great holidays....ain't life great?!

Good Morning Everyone!

Sorry it has been a while since I have written, life just gets busy sometimes as you all know!

First let me tell you how thrilled I am at how many people are starting to find my blog!  Welcome all new readers and I hope you stick around and continue to enjoy my blogs.  I can usually figure out who is reading my blogs and who is finding my blog by who follows me on Twitter. (www.twitter.com)

Just this morning I discovered 2 more people following me on Twitter and I giggled.  One is Master_Cleanse and the other is a twitter page all about reshaping your thoughts on eating.  Obviously they had found my blogs about me doing the Master Cleanse and my issues with food! :-)  So, welcome new blog readers and new followers on my Twitter page. 

This morning my husband is playing golf with 2 of his really good friends as no one had to work today!  Yay!  I love it when my husband gets the opportunity to play golf.  It is one of the few sports her truly enjoys and really likes to do.  Plus, I secretly (well....not secret anymore!) love that he can kick butt in golf.  Actually, my husband kicks everyone's butt in most sports.  He doesn't play any sports anymore but, when the time comes or he has to, he goes out and plays and just kicks butt, every time!  I love being married to an awesome athlete that no one ever sees coming.  It is fun.

I wish my husband actually played sports more often but, I should just be happy he does anything once in a while!  As he really doesn't enjoy many sports other than golf even though he is amazingly talented.  Oh, he does enjoy skiing as much as golf.  Those two activities have stayed with him from his youth and still bring him great joy when he does them. 

Both sports of which, I do not play.  Sucks.  But, as a mother of 4, how am I supposed to play a sport that takes an average of 4 hours to play?!  Then, skiing....oh yea right.  I don't like heights and I don't like speed.  Plus, I don't like being cold.

I would like to learn how to ski well enough that I could ski with my family and be able to swoosh down the hill leisurely.  I want to be like one of those old guys that just slowly glides down the hill going side to side seemingly without a care in the world. 

As for golf, it is a sport I have wanted to play since I was young.  I have to get over myself and my mother's words that constantly roll through my head about not only golf but, skiing, and tennis.  'Only rich people or talented people play those sports'.  Or her many fears cast into me over the years of, 'you could get hurt', 'oh, I would NEVER do that', or 'it is too expensive, such a waste of time and money'.

I just finished one of our July book club books this morning and found myself strangely understanding how the author felt and so mad that the father didn't try harder to save his daughter.  After finishing the book, I realized a lot of the feelings and things the mother in that book did to her daughter and how her daughter felt and thought as an adult, are very similar(albeit very different) to the same feelings/thoughts I have about my childhood.

The book is called "Swallow the Ocean" by Laura Flynn.  It is a memoir however, it feels like it is written more as a story and it didn't take very long for me to get into the book.  Nor did it take me very long to read the book.

Now, this book is about a family where the mother suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia, my mother does not have any other mental illness other than fear running through her so, that is not the same.  It is hard to explain but, I felt strangely connected to the author.

It is a very good book, I think, even if you come from a completely 'normal' family, I would still highly recommend this book.  It isn't necessarily dark, it is just a good story most of the time.  It didn't hit me until I got to the end of the book....looked at the picture and read the acknowledgments then I teared up.  

Great summer read as most of her memories are of the summers.

I need to end this here, my children are all finally awake (it is 10am!) and they are about ready to eat me for breakfast so, I need to hurry and feed them!

If I don't write tomorrow, have a great and safe 4th of July!  Oh!!!!  Let me give you all a few tips on creating family traditions for the 4th if you don't already have some or if you need new ones. 

Family 4th Traditions:

-Most important in my eyes....Hang an American Flag!  This is a great country, lets celebrate our freedom!  Please remember a few simple laws about the American Flag.  It MUST be made in America(it is a law now), it cannot be hung in inclement weather, if flying at night, it must ALWAYS be lit, and it can never be torn or frayed.  These are simple laws about our flag that need to be followed!

-Wear red, white and blue.  It seems simple enough but, many people don't.  You don't have to be glammed out.

-Say a prayer of thanksgiving that you were born or are able to live in the land of the free. 

Food ideas for the 4th of July.  Have a 4th of July feast with family and/or friends.  This is a GREAT time to have a block party and to get to know your neighbors.

-Go All-American with your menu:  hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, potato chips, and baked beans!  Make an apple or cherry pie and enjoy!

-Decorate in red, white and blue and go crazy!

-Find some silly recipes, make a jello cake with cool whip frosting and make the flag on top using blueberries and strawberries!

-Serve red punch with blueberry ice cubes....yum, yum!

These are some tips from the fantastic book called "Creating Family Traditions making memories in festive seasons" by Gloria Gaither and Shirley Dobson.

I highly recommend this book for all seasons of the year and your life!

Blessings to you all!

-Liza