2009 May

The truth about cats and dogs

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

May 12, 2009 By kimc

I’ve seen a quote that sums it up very nicely:

Dog: “You feed me, you care for me, you love me. You must be God!”

Cat: “You feed me, you care for me, you love me. I must be God!”

But this link does it even better: Dog Diary vs. Cat Diary

Nonetheless, we love our fat old cat, and he loves us.

ht to Amy’s Humble Musings. Amy always finds the best links!

Filed Under: humor 2 Comments

Flowers that deer avoid: what do you know?

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

May 11, 2009 By kimc

I’ve been looking at my new Spring Hill Nurseries catalog a lot lately, trying to decide what plants would work well here in the Texas Hill Country. Aside from climate considerations, we’re overrun with deer, so I took a few minutes this morning to write down a list of plants I like which – according to the catalog – deer tend to avoid. I never knew there was such a list, let alone so many choices! Some of the plants are prettier versions of wildflowers that grow well here, and now I realize that we must see them in the wild because the deer are leaving them for us.

Keep in mind, this list is not a bit exhaustive. It only includes the ones that caught my eye and are suitable for my region. My very favorites are in bold.

I realize that “deer tend to avoid” doesn’t mean that deer will never eat them, but I’m assuming it means they prefer not to eat them if they have other choices. Now I’m ready for your help.

If you live in an area where deer are common, have you ever planted any of these? Did the deer leave them alone, nibble modestly, or attack them shamelessly? Which are your favorites? Which were easiest to keep alive, and spread/grew the fastest?

aster
begonia
blackberry
bleeding heart
butterfly bush (some varieties are marked as deer resistant, others are not)
butterfly weed
carnation
clematis
columbine
coneflower
coreopsis
cosmos
crape myrtle
delphinium
ferns
forget-me-not
geranium
grapes
hellebore
hollyhock (some varieties are marked as deer resistant, others are not)
honeysuckle
lavender
lenten rose
lilac
lily of the valley
peony
petunia
phlox
poppy
primrose
ranunculus
raspberry
russian sage
sedum
vinca
viola

Filed Under: Everyday life 21 Comments

Happy Mother’s Day

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

May 10, 2009 By kimc

I’ve been treated like a queen today, and I hope you have too.

Of course, I’m treated like a queen nearly every day. What can I say? His momma and daddy raised him right.

A few highlights:

The perfect gift. Exactly what I was secretly hoping he meant when he gave me a cryptic clue!
A surprise cake. Two of the girls sneaked over the hill to my brother’s house on Saturday afternoon, and baked a Mother’s Day cake in my sister-in-law’s oven. They brought it home, hid it in the freezer, and stayed up late decorating it after I was in bed. Chocolate, of course. Did you really have to ask?
A clean house, when hubby and I came home from Saturday errands. They even scoured the stovetop and rearranged the kitchen bookshelf.
Breakfast on the deck, including strawberries, bagels, cream cheese/jam, and all things delectable.
BBQ at Mom’s house with the extended family. We had bbq chicken slow-cooked over a woodfire with Rudy’s bbq sauce – the best in the world! I’m sure there was other food, but I had 3 pieces of chicken. Dessert included a grand and glorious chocolate cake (see above), 2 more cakes, a huge bowl of strawberries, and plenty of Bluebell Vanilla ice cream for all. 10 of my sibs were there, with their 8 children and 2 spouses. Yes, we’re a little light on children and spouses. Some of my sibs are still young and unmarried. Especially the 11yo and two 13yo’s.

Filed Under: sweet lovin' 11 Comments

Vision Forum Giveaway! Vote for your prize

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

May 8, 2009 By kimc

drawing closed, 5 days behind schedule. winners to be announced soon, probably 5 days behind schedule. Thank you for your patience, because you know you would do the same thing.

Yee haw! It’s time for a giveaway!

Vision Forum is launching 5 new titles in their Reclaiming the Culture DVD set.

They’re kicking it off with a sale, and we get to kick it off with a giveaway. Good deals will be had by all.

The sale:

The 5 new titles include important and timely topics such as gun laws, parental rights, and a biblical view of science fiction. Between now and May 15 you can get all 5 brand new DVD titles for just $45. If you don’t have the other 9 titles you can get all 14 for $99. That’s about $7/disc!

The giveaway:

I’m giving away all 14 titles – 9 current and 5 brand new.

The question of the day is, all for one OR one for all? That is, should we award one title to each of 14 happy winners, or give the entire set to one very happy winner? Giving away 14 DVDs is pretty exciting, right? But so is a drawing with 14 winners. Which is better?

Let’s be democrats today, and settle it by popular vote.

To enter:

Go look at the Reclaiming the Culture set, and leave a comment telling me which one you’d like to win.
In the same comment, state your vote: should we give the entire set to one winner, or one title to each of 14 winners?
Enter a second time by blogging about the giveaway with a link back to this post. Just leave a second comment with the url of your post.

Filed Under: giveaways & deals, Vision Forum 71 Comments

Lessons learned the hard way

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

May 8, 2009 By kimc

The van – our van – our only vehicle, our Precious – is in the shop. This is awkward, and I think the guys at the shop know it. The bill is far higher than we expected, but by the time we have it towed to a more reasonable shop and pay the diagnosis fee for the first, we won’t save anything but our dignity, and that doesn’t seem worth the trouble.

Anyway, getting this far was such a comedy of errors that I’m not too excited about prolonging the saga. Rather than recount the whole sordid tale, let me just offer a few points of advice.

Don’t rely on AT&T’s roadside assistance. Yes, it was helpful to us once. This time it was worthless, and it generally will be in the future. They won’t don’t tow our van. They say it’s a heavy duty vehicle and requires a flatbed trailer for towing. Fine, right? They pay the first $50, and we pay any add’l costs. That’s how the policy works. This should be easy, but they refuse. It’s not because they can’t find somebody to tow it; they did find somebody, but told me I would entirely responsible for the cost. It’s just because they choose not to cover their share. Plain and simple.
Don’t take a mechanic’s recommendation to have the wrecker bill him for towing your vehicle, so that you can have everything on one bill. The mechanic will mark up the tow service just like he does the parts for your repair. And he won’t warn you.
Do follow the wrecker to the repair shop, even if the mechanic says you don’t need to. Somebody has to make sure the wrecker doesn’t forget to give your key to the mechanics.
Do call regularly to check on progress, so you’ll know that the mechanics are waiting for the wrecker to come back with the key. I was less than a mile away, with extra keys in my purse. In fact, there was an extra key in the ashtray. They knew I was in a hurry and really hoping to get the van back that day. They had my number and didn’t call. We lost nearly 2 hours over a problem that could have been solved in 5 minutes.
Do call again, even if you just talked to them an hour ago. Even though they assured you that your vehicle is next and they’ll get right on it, they might be waiting to get started because your ignition is sticky, and they want to make sure they have the right key. They might not tell you this until you call again just before closing.
Do prepare for sticker shock, especially if you chose your mechanic based on the fact that he said he could fix it today. And don’t forget that even if he’s not done today, you’ll still be paying the Today Price to the Today Mechanic.
Don’t think you can just switch mechanics if you find a better price. By the time you pay for a second tow and shell out the diagnostic fee, you won’t be saving anything but your pride, and even that is debatable. Besides, we try not to put a high value on pride. We’ll just call this a lesson in patience and humility. And lots of other stuff.
Do remember to give thanks in all things. Just last week, we received more than enough unanticipated money from unrelated sources to cover this repair. It’s painful to part with the unexpected bounty so soon, but it’s also a good reminder that everything is in God’s control. He knows our needs even before we know them ourselves.

Filed Under: gone awry, thankful thoughts 10 Comments

Our goodies are here! Marie Madeline Studio!

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

May 6, 2009 By kimc

You should have heard the squeals when the mail carrier arrived with our package this morning! We had so much fun choosing what to order that it took us over a week to put together our order. Would you believe that everything was sewn, packaged, shipped and received in less time than it took us to decide?

This is our 2nd round of goodies from the sweet ladies at Marie Madeline Studio, and it was just as exciting as the first. The girls are having a photo shoot this very moment. That’s why the gallery of photos will be at the bottom of this post. There are going to be far too many photos to give an individual treatment. I could see it in their eyes.

As soon as we opened the packages, the seamstresses among us were struck at the stunning quality of every seam and hem on every item. I don’t know how they do it but their work is utterly flawless. ‘Nuff said.

Last time we ordered the mid-calf Gracie ruffle skirts. Those skirts are all still going strong, so this time the younger ones chose the brand new Tessa bloomers – perfect for girly girls who love to climb trees and jump on the trampoline. Kaitlyn and Lydia chose Bianca handbags, and Megan and Deanna chose some of the beautiful high quality fabric to craft their own creations. Megan is already planning her first-ever quilt, while Deanna wants to make herself a skirt this time.

Can you tell they’re having fun in the photos below?

Filed Under: fun, reviews 9 Comments

I heart Swagbucks

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

May 4, 2009 By kimc

Why didn’t I join Swagbucks sooner? Leave it to me to be the next-to-last one to jump on the bandwagon. Now that I’m on, you’re probably the last one. Jump on with me!

I just blogged about Swagbucks a few days ago on Frugal Hacks, and already I have enough for $10 in Amazon gift cards! We already use google all the time, so I added the Swagbucks search engine and now I get paid for something I was already doing for free. That’s my idea of fun!

Exclusive code

To join, just go here and fill out the simple form, and they’ll start you out with 3 Swag Bucks. I also got 1 Buck with my very first search. Coincidence? I think not.

Want more? Here’s a special code just for my bloggy friends to get 2 bonus bucks when you sign up: LIFEINASHOE (case sensitive). It’s good through midnight, Friday, May 9 so hurry! Feel free to tell everyone you know. I don’t mind.

Filed Under: frugal 8 Comments

Our weekend summarized in linkage

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

May 4, 2009 By kimc

We had a whirlwind weekend at the Oklahoma City homeschool conference. I’d love to tell you about it, but we’re still pulling things back together now that we’re home, so here are a few quick links to sum up our weekend:

We made a quick-stop at IKEA. Hubby indulged me and let me run in and out for this incredible drying rack. We’re using it already, and it’s everything we hoped it would be!
We met Julia and her family. They own an amazing old white brick building in Oklahoma City, with a coffee shop downstairs, a creation science museum on the second floor, missionary apartments being constructed on the third floor, etc. We went up and down the elevator, touring the place from top to bottom. Julia sold some adorable baby dresses from her Young Entrepreneur’s booth at the conference, and she has more on her blog. I really love this one with the cowboy theme.
The Boy had a beautiful curly-headed admirer. It was love at first sight, and she cried when he left. They met again the next day: he spotted her from afar, and asked to go visit. At first she didn’t notice him standing there awkwardly; then their eyes met. Hers grew wide with surprise, and she dropped her ball and ran and threw herself into his arms. She’s only 14 months old, so she’ll get over him someday. We brought our camera, but left the memory card at home, so we have no pics to remember her by.
We met old friends and new ones at the conference. Why didn’t I jump up and hug Kelli when she came by? Mainly because I had just met somebody with exactly the same name – first name and last! – and was still very confused. I know what you’re thinking: it’s not hard to confuse me. Any excuse will do. I’m afraid lots of people caught me with a dazed and confused look on my face this weekend. If you were one, thank you for not laughing. Hi, Karen. Hi, Edie. Hi, Other Person Whose Name I Have Already Forgotten. Hi, James Bond. Yes, he was at our booth. I checked his ID. He actually looked a little like Sean Connery, too.
We heard about Swine Flu ad nauseum. And I don’t mean we were nauseated because we had it, though we might very well have had it a few weeks ago. Who knows? The symptoms are striking only in their complete lack of distinguishing qualities or uniqueness. I have a sneaking suspicion that half of the country already had it over the last 2 months. I find it telling that interviews with victims are almost entirely absent, though I did manage to dig up this one. Could it be that there’s simply no story to tell, once you move away from hysteria toward reporting actual news?
If you think that’s not quite scary enough, try reading this link that Candace found. It looks like normal, run-of-the-mill influenza isn’t quite as scary as the CDC wants us to think.
I got really excited about Swagbucks when I saw lots of new bucks appearing in my account. Look for a post about that very soon. Like, in an hour. I have an exclusive coupon code to share with my readers!
We arrived home to find new DIVE CDs in our mailbox! Review to follow. After we get back to school, that is. Today, it’s laundry. We’re doing Home Ec.

Filed Under: Everyday life 6 Comments

The Boy promises not to drown…again

Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker

May 3, 2009 By kimc

All the work at the Oklahoma City homeschool conference was done last night, and this morning we’re getting ready to check out of the hotel and head home.

Well, we will be getting ready after hubby and the kids get back from a quick morning swim.

Did I mention what happened last time they went swimming in the hotel pool?

Thursday evening, they all came blasting back into the room, one hubby and a hurricane of wet excited children, and The Boy ran straight to me with huge earnest eyes. “Mom! I drowned!”

“You WHAT?”

Nearly everyone in the room repeated after me: “He WHAT?!”

I’ve heard a thing or two about raising boys. It seems a mother can expect approximately 2.7 near-death experiences per week, per boy. Our boy is way behind on that schedule, perhaps because his dad had so very many in his younger days. Nevertheless I was curious, so I inquired further.

Apparently he was sitting in the hot tub with the bigger girls and lost his seating, slipping off the steps and toward the center. He’s short, and the hot tub was deep. Natalie felt him tugging her hair from behind, and tried to swat him away. That’s when Megan realized that he was under water. No harm done; she fished him out, and he wasn’t even scared yet. He was just annoyed that he got water in his eyes. It was all so fast that only the one fishing him out knew about it.

And so it begins. I may not like pools, but at least I’m not scared by blood, bugs, snakes, toads or spiders, because I hear there’s a lot of those involved in raising boys, too.

Filed Under: Boys, gone awry 8 Comments