Turkey in the Straw

I was over at my parents' the other day doing some more cleaning in my old room. The day's assignment: clean out the drawers to my old vanity. There were the usual things one finds in a vanity: make-up from YEARS ago, brushes, combs, hair ribbons. There were not so usual things such as toys, three old 110mm film cameras (Chris's, Steve's, and mine), and old cards from different occasions that I had kept (Christmas, birthday, graduation). But in one drawer I had kept all my stories and essays through the years...all the way back from primary school! I went through and read them all, my favorites being the ones from primary school. I found one where there is a monster in my closet and I screamed, then mom scream, then my dad ran in with a 250 shotgun (yes, that's what I wrote) and shot and killed it. I discovered that a lot of my stories began with "Once upon a time..." or "Once there was..." and then every paragraph/page after that began with "And then..."
But, I'm here today to share with you a Thanksgiving tale from long ago. A story with love, suspense, and murder! Without further ado, I give you...

The Turkey Family
Written by: Samantha Lynn Miller
Copyright 1994 by "Cool Kids Publishing Company"

Dedicated to Mom and Dad

   One day a turkey was walking with his wife and two children. As they were walking, Father Turkey smelled that danger was near. So he yelled to his family
  "Run, run! I smell danger. Let's run in those woods and hide! Run!"
  So the family ran over to the woods and hid.
  After a while, Sister Turkey piped up and said "I think it is gone. I hope it is because I am tired of standing here."
  "Me to." added Brother Turkey.
  "Honey, is it gone? Because I am hungry. There are no berry bushes around here."
  It is scary here. Quiet too." said Sister Turkey.
  "Hush, everyone. I think it is gone."
  After a while Father said "I am going to see. If I don't come back I am dead. Whatever happens, don't come out."
  The father went out. There was a loud "Boom." The family never came out. But the father, in the afternoon, was being cooked for tomorows Thanksgiving dinner.

Isn't that a lovely story?

*A couple of side notes:
-In 1994 I was 8 years old and in second grade.
-"Cool Kids Publishing Company" was found in several of my stories from different years. Either I made it up, or it was something the teachers came up with and was used throughout the grades. Wherever it came from, I was apparently released from the contract when I left primary school, as nothing I did past third grade had it.
-I typed this exactly how I wrote it then, so any errors you may see are intentional.

...Up to Haunt in Their Masquerade...

With Halloween approaching, it makes me think of a little pet peeve of mine. I've heard people, especially Christians, make comments about not celebrating Halloween because they don't worship the devil or they don't recognize an "evil" holiday or they claim that Halloween is not a "holiday" because the word is derived from "holy day."
Halloween is not a day for worshipping evil or the devil or any such thing. In fact, some of the traditions are to ward OFF evil. Now, I've heard/read different origins, and yes, most of them are originally pagan, so if you want to go that route then no, it's not really Christian, I guess. But considering most traditions for any holiday begin from superstitions and paganism (yes, even Christmas traditions...but I'll touch on that probably closer to the season), why are you complaining?
The biggest tradition of Halloween I would think is dressing up. This is due to the belief that ghosts and goblins and demons and such came around to walk the Earth at this time of year. We dress up to either attempt to scare them off or blend in with them so they don't recognize us as being mortals, depending on which origin you read.
As far as it not being a holiday or "holy" day, another name for it is All Hallows' Eve or All Saints' Eve, the evening before a CHRISTIAN holiday. All Saints' Day or All Hallows' Day is a day to remember loved ones and important Christians whom have passed.
There's much more Christian influence behind this night than I could even think to write about without creating a book...plus I don't want to plagiarize, so I'll just add a link to "Halloween" via Wikipedia.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE!

Back to the Good Ol' Days

I recently got a chance to do some canning with my mom and soon-to-be sister-in-law. I've canned with mom before, and I love the idea of having your own fruits and veggies without all the added junk they put in things nowadays. This time we made and canned applesauce. We all sat around the dining room table and talked and peeled and chopped. It was fun and made me think of older days.
See, I've always felt I was born in the wrong era. I feel we as a people have gotten so lazy over time. What happened to the days of making your own clothes and other necessities, hunting, farming, and gathering? Yes, we still have those things, but they are few and far between. Now people want to complain about the growing obesity problem we face when they aren't doing anything to improve upon the conditions. For example: When Barack Obama first was elected into office, soon after his wife, Michelle, started her own campaign to get kids moving. Now, before I go on, I am not in any way bashing the Obamas. This is more of an observation, I guess. That being said, rumor had it that Mrs. Obama was trying to get higher taxes on cheaper and more accessible junk food so people would be more inclined to buy healthy. I don't know if that ever came to fruition or not, but I want to point out a small flaw in that plan. Yes, raising taxes on the junk food would cause it to be not as cheap and therefore a little less appetizing, so to speak. However, the healthier, fresher food is already priced sky high so people who actually would want to change eating habits wouldn't be able to do so, unless they had their own garden or small farm.
But I'm kinda getting away from the point of this entry. People are worried about the downfall of the nation. There are more poor and hungry here now than ever. But if people would start farming and learning to make their own things rather than rely on someone else, those rates may decrease. I don't know politics, I don't know economy, I don't know a lot when it comes to the country. What I do know is that technology and modernization have almost hindered us in a way. There's so many drugs out there now that, yes, they may take care of the problem, but in return give you a whole slew of new problems. Why don't we go back to natural remedies and herbs that God gave us? Those things worked quite efficiently for centuries...why did we turn away from them? All because we wanted it done faster and more conveniently.
This didn't entirely come out as I was planning, but it's been on my mind for a while. I don't know if anyone will see this or not, but this is my opinion on things. We need to go back to simpler times. There was less crime, less starvation, better education, and better morals.
Anyway...sorry, I hadn't intended for a rant, but as I said, it's been on my mind for a while.

Just an Update...

So, I haven't kept up my part of the bargain with writing more often. Sorry about that! But looking at other blogs I follow of friends it seems I'm not the only one.
I started walking again today. I put Jake in the stroller, put my ear buds in, turned on my "workout" playlist, and walked the mile-long path around the park. My legs are still throbbing a bit, but it was nice. Jake got to see the scenery of animals and the leaves starting to change color, and I had a good time. A little out of breath keeping up with the music, but it was really good. I'm also trying SlimFast again. I tried it once before and did halfway decent on it. Of course, I wasn't exercising when I did it before, so this is an added bonus. Mike's dieting again, too, which will make it easier hopefully.
Staying at home is going nicely. We had a little bit of running around to do last month (well, technically this month...I forgot it's still September), but we're getting back into routine. Jake's doing well, for the most part. You know, well enough for a two-year-old! He's discovered coloring/scribbling and he likes to get his marker/crayon bin out and my old sketchbook and just scribble all the colors on the page. He told me the other day he was drawing a circle. And a very nice circle it was, too!
I love the cooler temperatures. We've had the AC off for a while now and just open up the windows all day. Today is absolutely gorgeous. It's been nice enough lately that Jake can play in the back yard. Mike and I attacked the lilac shrub/bush/tree that had been taking over the yard and dismantled the old garden, so now there's plenty of room back there. I can't wait for it to get a smidge cooler, though, and kill off the mosquitoes. They're everywhere! I one time had fifteen bites on me within a couple minutes standing back there. For the most part they go after me, however Jake's had a couple of his own bites on his arm or face.
Grooming's going wonderfully! I've had many new clients and appointments are coming a little more steadily now. No, I'm not being swamped with them, but they're more spread out, whereas before I'd get six or seven in one weekend and then nothing for a couple months. I love seeing the dogs and have always loved grooming. Now I get to do two things I love the most: groom AND stay home with Jake. I am truly blessed!

It's Only Monday...Mr(s) Mom!

This is somewhat a follow-up to a previous post. Mike and I have decided it would be beneficial for me to stay home with Jake! Yay! This was my first official week of stay-at-home mommyhood and so far it's been going pretty well. We don't have a real strict routine as yet. The morning is usually about the same--we get up, he helps me feed the doggies, he eats breakfast while mommy cleans/straightens the house, then we go to the living room where he plays for a couple hours and watches his shows ("Martha Speaks" is one of his favorites, along with "Super Why"...the latter he actually will get in to, which is so amazing to watch him do!). Then he goes down for a nap/quiet time, and mommy has quiet time as well. It's actually pretty nice not having anything on. I'll get on the computer for a bit sometimes. But for the most part I'll do crosswords or read. The TV is off. Just the music is playing coming over his monitor. As for the afternoons, I haven't really done much. We went to the park the last couple days (which he LOVES!!). He played in the backyard. I'd like to start doing different things in the afternoons. I love Pinterest, as I believe I've stated before. Well, on Pinterest, I've discovered a couple sites that give summer schedules parents do with their kids. For example, Mondays are craft days. Tuesdays are library days. Stuff like that. I could tweak it a little bit for his age as well as the seasons.
To be honest with you, I never thought this would happen. I never pictured myself as a stay-at-home mom. I always wanted a family, having come from a family of five siblings. But I never really thought I'd stay at home with the kids. I didn't think I'd have the patience for it, that I'd always want to be working and moving. Don't get me wrong, I do miss work. You probably think I'm crazy for up and leaving a perfectly good job, and maybe I am. But in the long run, I think I'd be crazier for missing out on these precious years with my son. Once he's older (and if he doesn't have any siblings by then) I'll probably go back to the work force. Until then, I'll enjoy every minute I have with him. I've already discovered he knows a lot more words than I'd thought. And he's starting to put sentences together and talking understandably. It's like he's a little person now! ;-)
I am so thankful to God and the support of my family for helping us get to this. It's a wonderful thing and I wish all mothers had a chance to experience it and become closer with their children in this way. It might make for a better world.

Jacob Two-Two

Here we are again. Another year gone. You're upstairs trying valiantly not to go to sleep, little man, while mommy is here writing to you. You're still too young to truly understand what a big day it is tomorrow. All you know is mommy and mema keep asking you, "How old are you?" and you respond (after some prompting) with a proud yet somewhat unsure, "Two!" You're growing up, buddy. You're getting too heavy for mommy and daddy to pick up (though, of course we still do!). You think you can do everything on your own, and yet get SO frustrated when things don't work like you want them to. We're working on you learning your feelings and expressing them the right way (for example: not throwing things across the room when they don't work like you want).
You're speaking pretty decently now...at least enough that we know what you mean. In fact, today you even put words together, saying, "'Elp me, peez," when you needed mommy to help you climb on our bed. I was so proud of you for so many reasons...asking for help, saying "please," and putting it all together! You also said "I wuv oo" to mommy and hugged her without even being asked. I thought I was gonna cry right then and there (it's something mommies do)!
You have a wide range of words, including (and not limited to): mommy, daddy, mamaw (mommy's mommy), papaw (mommy's daddy), Nimmy (Uncle Jimmy), 'Ac-Ob' (Aunt Kristen's son, Jacob), Yady (Lady), Spite (Sprite), kitty and cat, dog and doggie, no (you like that one a little too much!), peez (please), tank oo (thank you), batt-y (battery), gook (book), 'nket (blanket), off (which covers anything off or not off), wait (which you repeat to yourself while mommy's locking the front door and you don't go any further than the edge of the porch), hat, cookie, smoothie, gapes (grapes)...oh my goodness, I could go on forever! You tell the doggies "bye bye" at their window when we leave the house. You yell "BYE" to mema and papa's entire household before we go home. You also tell people "bye" and "I wuv oo" (even if they aren't related!) when mommy gets off the phone.
You give Uncle Jimmy real high fives now instead of pinching his palm. You LOVE to snuggle on the couch with mema. You love playing outside with papa and climbing on the "chacta" (tractor) whenever you get the chance and helping in the garden (aka, find rocks and put them in the back of your dump truck). You love Big Jacob and Aunt Kristen (maybe a bit too much...you are such a flirt, kid!).
Some of your favorite things right now are playing outside, trains, tractors, planes (whenever you hear any loud humming you promptly call out "Pane!"), bouncy balls, doggies, books,  music, dancing,  and pretending. I love watching your imagination at work, baby. You aren't really into TV quite yet, which is totally not a bad thing. Sometimes if I'm watching TV or doing something in another room and realize you've been kinda quiet for a while, I look at you or peak around the corner and see you playing by yourself, completely enthralled with what you're doing. You'll sing to yourself or with mommy. If you hear music, you'll start dancing and/or singing.

 

You ask every night for a "baff" (bath), even if you don't need one. You ask almost every morning to "bre-bruff" (brush) your teeth. You're eager to help out (unless we ask you to do something, then you don't really feel helpful!), and will put things in the "chash" (trash) for us or do little tasks. You help mommy scoop the doggies' food in their bowls every morning and think it's funny when Lady jumps really high in excitement. You'll also bring me their "wawa" (water) bowl to be refilled. You've learned so much in this past year and are still learning and wanting to learn. Keep that inquisitiveness, sweetie.
Oh, there's so many things I could list here. I could go on and on and on about you (as every mama does about their baby). But it's late, and mommies need their sleep as well as little monkeys. So let me say happy early birthday, monkey man. Mommy and daddy love you so much!

Goodbye Facebook

I've come to a decision. Not in relation to my last post...that's still up in the air. No, this has to do with Facebook. Last night I got so irritated and quite literally FURIOUS with comments people have posted. Not on my page...on their own. I realize that everyone can have their own opinion, but when you're role models to people in your community or have children or anything else of the like, you should not post things that are being posted almost daily. If you're going to post something, you need to get your facts straight. Whether it be political, religious, or even common knowledge.
Anyway...so, yeah, I get so irrationally angry with things that get posted because I know how the person is behind the computer. It's just not healthy. So I made a decision. I'm not going to completely close my account. I use it for grooming as well. I also don't want to block people because that could get complicated and the whole point is to simplify. I also have long-distance friends and relatives I like to keep in touch with and I check in with my weight loss group.
Basically what I'm saying is if I don't get back to you quickly or you don't see much activity from me, this is why. This is kinda big for me because I'm constantly checking Facebook, I've come to realize. It'll be strange, I'm sure. My goal is at least a month Facebook-free and we'll see how it goes from there.
So...here we go!

MODIFICATION: I'm not going to be completely "Facebook-free." I just realized that that makes it sound like I won't even get on. I'll post some pictures (since we do have long-distance family that would probably appreciate updates of their grandson/nephew).