My daughter will soon be Fifteen

Or the Post known as…Oh, no…we are going to have to buy another vehicle!!

Yes, she is counting the days.  And it doesn’t help me AT ALL that a few of her friends (and daughters of my heart) have already turned 15 and have given her that learner’s license fever.  It is sooo bad that she wants to skip school the morning of her birthday and go get her learners.  I told her this is Dad’s department, not mine.

Of course she is about batty because the chance of him being nearby is almost zilch.  I bet I can get her roomed cleaned with this one!!  With all of this turning 15 talk comes the “I’ll be 16 and what kind of car am I getting?” questions.

Not only am I a mean parent, I am a cheap one too.  So my answer of “Whatever is in the drive way and available that day” apparently is not the desired response.  She was hoping to hear “Avalanche, or a pick up truck, or a Mercedes…”  I’m like “ummmm if anybody gets a cool new(er) ride, it will be ME!!”

 

Apparently I’m also a selfish parent.  Not that our decision is final…Mimi could always win the lottery and buy her a new car.  However, right now, our decision is Mommy will get something new(er) and the Suburban (aka…The Tank #2) will become the teenager car.  Because it is big.  And it doesn’t go race car fast.

My parents did not buy me a new car.  I drove a Volkswagen bug one year older than myself when I turned 16 (1968, no clutch, no air…I still love bugs!).  I also was taken down to Cotton States Insurance office and introduced to Mr. Earl Ford and told to write the man a check for my insurance. 

Oh…that’s right I had a Jay Oh Bee slinging burgers out the drive thru at the old Hardees in Camilla.  I also got two fill ups of gas a month at Brooks Texaco.  And wasn’t no way I could slip a third tank in because them Brooks brothers were way too tight with my Daddy and would narc me out.

After the old bug died I drive a 1972ish olds…it was gigantuan and pewkish green, fondly referred to by my friends as The Tank.  I drove said tank until I graduated from high school.  I didn’t get another car until spring of my freshman year in college, it was a Chevrolet cavalier.  I HATED that car.  I also worked at Wal-Mart and waited tables to make its payments. 

Needless to say upon graduation I was simply dying to buy a car…something with air conditioning, a luxury which I had NEVER had in a car.  And yes people this was in 1992…NO AIR.  As soon as I had been gainfully employed, I went off and bought all by myself a brand spanking new Jeep Cherokee. 

It was shiny and red with four wheel drive.  It had the coldest air I’ve ever had in a vehicle.  I loved my red jeep and drove it until our family simply wouldn’t fit into it anymore.  (aka:  paid for, no payments, maintenance only)  It was an awesome little truck that I drove the sheer living daylights out of.  I said I would never buy another jeep because there is simply no way I could get another one that good.

So what am I looking at?  Well…this will probably be the car that the eldest gets to take off to college.  So I want something as new as possible in my price range…which is cheap as possible.  Free maybe?  I would like something extremely safe.  Since a genuine tank is not possible, I am looking at a range of the smaller Car like SUVs.  Everything from the Chevy Acadia, Fords, the new VW (it’s so cute) to BMW’s and yes the Mercedes.

Cost is a major factor.  I despise car payments.  However paying a lump sum of cash isn’t possible for us.  So I pretty much want something that can be paid off in 3 years.  We are most definitely looking in the “used” category, previously loved, or whatever the dealers are calling it these days. 

Fuel mileage is also a major consideration.  I can’t imagine having a car that gets 25 plus miles to the gallon.  The Suburban is great for hauling a bunch of kids and their stuff…but oh, it kills the pocket book at the gas tank.  I would also like something with a 3^rd row seat that at least the 5 of us can fit in if needed.

Here is the kicker…nobody will go car shopping with me.  I’m really not all that mean to the salesmen.  I just don’t tolerate their BS really well.  And I kind of tell them not to bug me, let me look.  I have a speech that is very polite.

“I am looking to purchase a vehicle in the next 6 months.  I will be buying used.  Please do not suggest new.  I am determining which make/brand/features that I want and researching the price points.  I do not plan to buy a car today.  I realize that the model I am currently perusing will be gone slash sold off the lot in the next 30 minutes.  Good for you!  If you pester me I will leave.  I won’t come back.”

Now, is that really so bad?  I know y’all can’t wait to hear the updates…I will probably really start looking about once a month after Christmas.  I mean…I have a WHOLE year to look, right?

What’s she is getting!! (Unless anyone cares to donate that Avalanche...call me about this time next year!!)

 

First Cookie of His Season…Snickerdoodle

I first started Christmas baking as a way to share with family and friends.  I was a part-time stay home Mom and graduate student.  Our funds were kind of tight, so gifts for coworkers and friends were going to be homemade. 

I don’t remember where I spotted the BHG Christmas cookie magazine, but I’m pretty sure it was standing in line at Ingles or Wal-Mart.  On a whim I purchased the magazine and decided that I could make those pretty cookies.  How difficult could it be?  I was a chemistry whiz until politely asked to not return to class.  In my defense, I did warn my lab partners to stand back... this might cause a flame.  Since baking is essentially a chemical reaction of ingredients to heat, I figured I could do it.

I bought some buddah, and shuggar and eggs…that was in 2001 and I am still baking.  There have been years when I didn’t bake at all.  The years when I baked just enough for a few friends and families.  And, years when I baked up enough for my family, your family and a few electrical co-ops.

Accounting can make the holidays really suck.  If you are an accountant with a December year end and audit then you get my drift.  And, you might should have started baking a few weeks ago.  FYI:  If you are an accountant and your holidays aren’t awful then I want some of what you are taking.  Or you are either the boss or the underling.  Somewhere in the middle is the poor accountant who hasn’t done their Christmas shopping and might remind you of Scrooge.  She might also say things like, we aren't having Christmas this year and I am NOT putting up a tree.

I digress; lets get back to the baking.  This is the first Christmas in 8 years that I haven’t been full time employed.  And maybe that is why I haven’t felt the urgency to bake until now. Suddenly, the cold weather is up here and  I need to smell some vanilla and cinnamon.  And I’m sure the girls would love to start their sampling.
  

First Batch of Christmas Cookies: Snickerdoodles

While the oven warms, I thought I would share this simple snickerdoodle recipe.  It is the first that I tried way back in the day.  It is simple, very quick and would make a great cookie to bake with children.

 

Ingredients:

½ cup butter (room temperature)

1 cup of sugar
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
Slight pinch of nutmeg or pumpkin spice
1 ½ cups of All Purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Step one: Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium for 30 seconds. ( I use my pampered chef mixing bowl with lid.)  Add 1 cup of sugar, baking soda and cream of tartar.  Beat until combined while scraping down the side of the bowl.  Beat in egg and vanilla. 

Add slight pinch of nutmeg or pumpkin spice. (This is Less than a ¼ of a ¼ of teaspoon…you won’t be able to see it in the mixed dough.  It adds a hint of flavor!)  Mix well then add flour ½ cup at a time.  Keep the sides of the bowl scraped down in between adding flour.  Mix only until combined well.  Do not over mix…it will make your cookies tough.  Refrigerate dough for one hour.

While my dough is chilling, I like to wash up all of my measuring cups and spoons.  Then I plan whatever dough to mix up next!

Step two: Once chilled, add two tablespoons of sugar and the teaspoon of cinnamon in a small flat bowl. Or, use a paper plate!  Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the sugar cinnamon mixture.  Place on an Ungreased cookie sheet.  (NOTE:  I use parchment paper…it is the secret to great cookies and less mess!)

Step three:  Bake at 375 degrees oven  for 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Will yield about 36 cookies.  Once cooled, pack in a sealed container and freeze.  Separate layers of cookies with wax paper.  The snickerdoodle freezes very well for up to 8-10 weeks which makes it the perfect first cookie of Christmas baking.

Baking hint:  How well do you know your oven?  If it bakes “hot” reduce baking time.  Also use a timer.  For Every batch!  I use the timer built into the stove.  Most microwaves have a timer also…so you don’t have to go out and buy one.

I NEED to be Baking

Really…like I should be mixing up some cookie dough right now.  But I have nowhere to put my beautiful creations.  That’s right; my cookies are purty to me!  And since I don’t have a freezer up here in the trailer hood, I’m pondering what to do. 

Do I buy a used freezer or find an economical new one?  I really can’t afford a new upright and the chest type is difficult for my 1 ½ arm self.  The upright back in Camilla is old and very heavy.  It also have been moved several times.  From Jasper to Winder, from Winder to Mimi’s and then over to the 285.   The hubby is concerned about moving it again with all the bouncing and jostling around.

Of course, he votes for a brand new freezer.  And I, being frugal, would rather buy used.  (Keep the cheap comments to yourself.) Chest type freezers are much less expensive than uprights.  Of course, I also know that I need to think about the long term rather than just being cheap.  It’s not like my mobility is going to magically improve.  Can’t you just see the girls come skipping in off the bus to find me upside down IN the freezer?  Well I can!

In the mean time, the month of November is marching on and quickly at that.  I need to get the bowls out and the mixer going.  I’ve got to bake myself into the Christmas spirit.  I need to hear some Martina McBride Christmas CD (which has gone missing, again!)  It is the most awesome CD of classic Christmas songs with some of my favorites such as O Holy Night!  Sigh.

Guess I can get in this little freezer and try to arrange things and make me some room.  Maybe I can get a container or two of cookies in there while I think through this expenditure.  First up is the classic snicker doodle with my top secret ingredient.  Y’all want pictures and the recipe?

The Frustration of Chronic Illness

There should be some type of meetings for us to go to.  Hi, my name is Rebecca and I lied 18 times today.  No I’m not jesting or poking fun at AA.  Many of us with chronic illness display the same people pleasing issues that addicts have.

Don’t believe me? Go ahead…ask me how I’m doing.  I dare you.  My answer is going to be something like this “pretty good…doing fine” or ‘Oh, I’m getting along…” and I’m going to leave it at that.  I mean, do you really want to know?

My right wrist is permanently fused.  Thank God my fingers still move.  Most days it hurts like hell.  I’ve already decided that if I lose use of my fingers that I’m good with amputation, especially if that mitigates the pain.  It hurts to type, wash dishes and feed myself.  I’ve learned to do just about EVERYTHING with my left hand.  Yes, EVERYTHING, infer accordingly. Well except cut with a knife, my knife skills are horrific and will probably one day lead to an ER visit.

Do you wanna hear that my left knee crunches and crackles like rice crispies?  Or that after standing up to wash dishes and load the dish washer or put on a load of clothes my feet swell and become numb.  That I’m only good for about one hour of chores in the morning and another hour in the afternoon?  That buying groceries exhausts me and by the end of the trip to the store I’m shuffling about and dragging my swollen aching feet.

 

Swollen foot...developing another nodule.

 

Or, do you want to hear about the fatigue?  That feeling of being bone tired and utterly exhausted but knowing that you still have to get up and get the kids to school or fix dinner after a long day at work.  Or maybe you want to know about the burning dry eyes, dry skin and how difficult it can be just to swallow food.  How you sometimes eat soup because it’s EASY and not because you are on the soup diet.

Oh you wanna talk about diet…why don’t you take some of these little Satan’s tic tacs…prednisone.  You will bloat up like a bull frog.  But later, when RA ravages all your systems, you start wasting away. 

Or maybe you’d like to hear about the pharmaceutical side effects?  My hair fell out on 2 of the 3 drugs I tried.  Methotrexate made me so nauseated, it was way worse than being preggers with a yager hangover.  Now THAT is nauseated.  The Aleve that I currently use to manage the daily inflammation is eating up my stomach.  I try to remember to take a prevacid each evening and keep a bottle of Tums next to my bed.  It seems that the drugs are almost as bad as the disease itself.

I could keep this up for quite a few more paragraphs…but if you read this far then you are getting my drift.  Four out of Seven days a week, I feel like shit.  Is that what you want to hear?  The truth smacks and doesn't make for polite Wal-Mart/grocery store conversation.

What can you do for your friends that may have Lupus, RAD, Reynaud’s, Sjorjens or Psoriatic Arthritis?  If you notice me or them having trouble lifting a cup (yep, the old coffee cup can sometimes be too heavy to lift) offer to help.  If you notice your friend, sister, mother/father looks tired don’t offer to help or ask about a meal.  Just show up…sweep, vacuum or load the dish washer.  Pay for someone to clean their house. Drop off a pot of soup or frozen casserole.  Believe me any help will be appreciated.

 

Please understand that if you see one of us out somewhere with family or friends, they are making a TREMENDOUS effort to be there.  Just because they are out and about doesn't mean it won't cost them later.

Yeah…I was a little worked up when I wrote this.  It is so hard to get other people to understand the pain, the debilitation, and the life sucking of a chronic disease. But I ain’t taking none of it back…it’s the truth.  And if you can’t handle it, then please just walk away and don’t ask…because today I feel like shit…and I’ve got a softball awards banquet tonight that I don’t intend to miss.  So I’m off to find my prednisone and aleve.  Gonna chase it with some Benadryl,  put up swollen foot and rest.

The Soup Edition

In between billing and posting loads today, I am simmering a pot of taco soup.  The weather isn’t that cold…yet.  However, I am making it to take over to Scott’s Mother and Step Dad.  His mom had a pacemaker put in Saturday.  She is doing really well, but still should be taking it easier than what she is.
 

And bless her English soul, she loves any kind of soup.  At her and Grandpa Dave’s ages (80 plus), they don’t do a lot of cooking and eat a lot of Campbell's out of the can.  I told Scott to give her a choice of two of three soups:  Potato soup, taco soup or vegetable soup.  They chose Taco and Potato.  

Taco soup is sooo easy…and I probably never make it the same way twice.  The ingredients are simple and this time of year most people have them on hand.

 

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground meat browned (venison, beef, pork, turkey…your choice)

½ cup diced onion (for us RAD folks, pic sweet sells them already diced or buy fresh from produce dept)
Combine with:
1 can tomatoes with chili’s
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can red beans
1 can corn
2 tablespoons of taco seasoning (homemade)
2 tablespoons of ranch seasoning (or one packet)

I don’t do this at home like most folks would.  I add the can of tomatoes with chilies to the browned meat and onions.  Then add one half can of black beans, one half can of red beans and drained can of corn.  Blend remaining beans and can of stewed tomatoes in blender and add to soup pot.  Then add the final can of tomatoes.  I also add about two cans of water rinsing out the tomato cans.

Add the taco and ranch seasonings, stirring well.  Allow the soup to simmer.  The longer it cooks, the better it is.  Now if you like soupier taco soup, add an additional can of petite diced tomatoes or a can of beef broth.  I prefer tomatoes.  If it is “too” spicy, reduce the taco seasoning.  In other words, cook it to you and your family’s taste!

Other than the pain of opening cans (Santa please bring me an electric can opener…my wrists will be so grateful!) and the onion chopping, this is very easy to throw together.  My girls like it served with grated cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.  It is also wonderful with some Granny Fussell Egg bread. 

I am going to put the cooled soup in two medium sized containers in the freezer.  This way, Grandma Peggy can take out just the portion that she and Grandpa Dave need for one meal.  This is also very easy to double for a crowd or if you want to fill up that freezer for the busy Basketball season!

 

Up next…Potatoe soup:  It is wonderful too!

The Work Rut

I guess for some of us, the work rut is just a habit.  A really bad habit that we fall --- no plunge into head first.  The trucking had been very busy for nearly four months and guess what feel to the wayside while it was so busy.  You got it, my health.

Now if this was the first time, or the second time, I allowed…yes willingly allowed, my work schedule to dictate my health I could say, “oh, my bad…”  But for me, this is just the same old rut…the one I very comfortably go back to.  I work like a dog and run myself ragged looking after the kids and everybody BUT MYSELF.

Well, guess what?  As usual, it has caught up with me.  The loads starting slowing down and as usual, I started fretting.  Oh, my gosh…no loads! What will we do?  And as usual, eventually during praying (more like talking to God) I finally got the message.  He must think I am so dense.  Duh…maybe the work has slowed down because I need to slow down.

It was like a smack right between the eyeballs.  Yes, I did partially quit my full time job to help Scott with the business.  But mostly, I quit to have more time to REST and to invest the rest of my time into my children and family.  A decision made after many long arduous hours of prayer.

Since I didn’t have as many loads to bill, this Sunday afternoon the girls and I went to the park.  The park that has a playground, walking trails, four super nice basketball goals, soccer fields, softball fields…and only about 3 miles from the house.  Maddie, Carlee and I shot hoops while AnnaB played her heart out on the monkey bars.

Well, I shagged balls while Maddie and Carlee worked on shooting drills.  The weather was cool and we enjoyed just getting out.  We are planning to go back today weather and homework permitting.  And I’m looking forward to my one-armed woman ball shagging date with my girls!

If I won the Lottery

The joke use to be, if I won the lottery I was building a gym for the girls’ former school…a big gym, with air conditioning and some nice soft seats with a mezzanine.  However I’ve since had a change of heart.  No Gym.  I’m gonna build my baby school…
 

Reality is if Mama won the lottery nobody would know…until the crushed ice machine was installed…that would be my dead giveaway.  After paying some bills, buying a really large (used, I know always cheap) diesel motor home, I would give a lot to charity.  Then I wondered what charities?  Then later that day I watched a 27 minute video about the amazing Dr. Ben Carson. 

And then I decided…I would build a school.  That’s right, an LD school, South of Macon.  It is amazing at the resources that are available north of Macon, especially if you have deep pockets.  But nowhere in the rural south is there a Bedford school for children who learn differently.

Click here  to learn about Bedford….http://www.thebedfordschool.org/

So if money and budget weren’t an object or I had the money in the bank, how would I do this? So I thought some more.  I would partner with an existing independent, preferably parochial school.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have an LD school on the same campus with an existing school?  A school within a school…

The students would get the best of both worlds…an established campus and infrastructure along with a learning environment specifically designed to assist with their learning. 

I would build a separate wing with 8-10 classrooms.  The classrooms, much like the ones at Bedford would have state of the art technology and be very organized.  The teachers would be trained just for LD kids and the curriculum and daily schedule would reinforce methods that will allow them to succeed.

Class size would be limited to somewhere between 6-10 kids per class and would have grades K5 through 9^th grade.  The goal:  to equip students to enter high school with the background and skills to be successful while also provide services to transition through high school and on to post secondary education.

Would this be expensive?  Most certainly.  Bedford is about 17G a year.  But in south Georgia this education could be offered much more economically.  And y’all know I’ve crunched the numbers.  Let’s say that typical private education tuition averages 5 grand per year with a targeted enrollment of 15 per class.  That class would generate 60,000 in revenue to cover teacher pay and overhead.  This is revenue per student NOT cost per student.

 

If half that enrollment would be optical for a LD classroom, say 8 students, then an LD school class would need to generate $7500 revenue per student.  Compare that to 17,000 per student.  Now look around.  Would a school with this type of student population be able to draw full enrollment for K5-9^th grade?  That is a total of 80 students. 

I would have happily either commuted or relocated to this type of school had this been an option for my child.  Now I want to know are there 79 more parents and students that are would do the same?

And I also want to know where is a school that has a heart for LD kids and a vision to offer this very needed service in South Georgia? 

Very sadly and very regrettably, I have realized that my child could have had that Bedford education…and had it near her family and friends.  I didn’t crunch the numbers…the cost is actually small, the tuition even though more than the average independent school in South Georgia is still attainable for many families with LD students. 

For less than a million bucks we could have a Bedford South.  If you are interested in building this dream, if you have a vision of an alternative other than moving your entire family or if you have that million (or a few hundred thousand), please let me know.  I’d come back for that.