Gardasil HPV Vaccine Hoax Exposed...

Free Land....or not???

Still think that we live in a nation of freedom? Those freedoms that our founding fathers fought, bled, and died for are being taken away at a rate that boggles the mind. Just check this out:

The leader of a newly formed public awareness campaign to alert U.S. citizens about an effort to stifle free speech says he expects local "boards" will be assembled within 90 days to begin censoring talk radio, a move that will come as an "Arctic blast" against the expression of opinion in the United States.

WND reported just days ago on a meeting at which more than two dozen principals of the nation's top talk radio shows held a private strategy meeting to discuss government plans to squelch critical political speech on radio.

Check out the rest of that story here.

And of course, the "Hate Crimes Bill":

Members of the U.S. House today approved a plan to create a federal "hate crimes" plan that will provide special protections to homosexuals and others with alternative sexual choices, but leave Christian ministers and pastors open to prosecution should their teachings be linked to any subsequent offense, by anyone, against a "gay."

The vote was 249-175, and came despite intense Republican opposition to the creation of the privileged class.

Check out the rest of that story here.

I love this country. I believe that we were a nation blessed by God, and we can have that back...we just need to pray!

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

The Value of YOU

I just had to share what my friend wrote in a note on facebook...it was too good to keep to myself!!!!

Check it out here.

WHAT IN THE WORLD????????

I found this from a friend's blog and I was just stunned...can you believe it?????


Read the story here.

All I can say, people, is now is the time to pray....

DayBook

For Today...April 27, 2009

Outside my window... another gorgeous day, warm breeze and sunny

I am thinking... that a 250 watt heat bulb in my bedroom was probably the reason that I couldn't sleep this last week

From the learning rooms... math, math, math

I am thankful for... my wonderful children

From the kitchen... we moved the chicks into there and I was able to sleep again last night...now the kitchen is rather warm...

I am wearing... purple shirt, tan capris, my crocks...park attire, I would say

I am reading... Katts in the Cradle, Life Lessons, The Shaping of Things to Come, and The Bad Girls of the Bible series.

I am hoping... to finish the garden planting this week.

I am creating... a homestead place that we always wanted

I am praying... for a bountiful harvest from the garden and berry bushes

Around the house... replanting the tomato plants, zucchini starts, windows open and summer type breeze rushing in...Ah, the simple things in life.

One of my favorite things... soaking up the sun, watching the chickens...NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SAY THAT!!!!

A few plans for the rest of the week... softball, Tball, Baseball games, park, gardening, finishing the coop, getting FREE CHICKEN AT KFC TODAY!!!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you:

(again, I am cheating due to the fact that I haven't pulled pics of my camera yet, but I will get that done this week...)

and on his farm, he had some chicks...

Aren't they adorable? We got 12 of these little cheepers. Of course, they are not exactly on a normal schedule. They take about 1 minute naps, then they are back at the cheeping and running around. Noisy as all get out. And they are in our bedroom (I ran out of room in the other rooms in my house!) so we are kept up all night.

I can't wait until they start laying....

Free Tote Bag-Earth Day 2009

Get your FREE reusable tote bag with any purchase tomorrow (April 22, 2009) to help celebrate EARTH DAY! Go here for your coupon.

April Challenge...Update

We went to the grocery store on April 5 to get some on sale ham and potatoes. I bought some on sale strawberries last week at Walmart ($1/lb and I got 35 lbs!).

I made preserves, and cut up a bunch to freeze. We dehydrated a bunch, and the kids ate about 8 lbs. fresh.

I haven't been to the store for anything else this month. Our pantry and fridge are a bit bare, but I know that I can still pull off meals for this week. We still have plenty on hand.

I showed my children this website and her stocked pantry. That is what I would like to build up to. Might work for me...

Anyway, this month has been a lot less stressful, since I am not shopping or spending money. My coupons need to be reorganized and cleaned up, but that is easy enough to do. I will have to go to the store for a few things this week so that we don't feel the need to eat out at the ball park on Saturday (opening day). Other than that, I am working to stretch it out for another 10 days...we'll see if I can really do it this time!

I will post my menu for the week a bit later today.

Daybook

For Today...April 20, 2009

Outside my window... cloudy, rainy. But at least it's not snowing!

I am thinking... that my life is getting too cluttered again.

From the learning rooms... finishing Math tests, Mystery of History still, working on Zoology

I am thankful for... my wonderful husband who works hard to take care of us, yet still finds time for each of the kids and me!

From the kitchen... pizza sauce simmering, and banana bread for breakfast

I am wearing... jeans and a Tshirt (hey! I'm dressed this time!)

I am reading... The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost

I am hoping... for a fun week, even though it's busy

I am creating... a new schedule for the summer

I am praying... that my heart will be soft, and not all hard and thorny

Around the house... need to catch up laundry, dishes, and mopping

One of my favorite things... spending time with my family, cuddled on the couch, watching a movie


A few plans for the rest of the week... Opening Day, getting the new chicks, replanting the tomatoes and peppers that suddenly died, getting new cleats for daughter, and finishing the garden planting

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
yes, I am cheating again...but I looooove this song!!!

My fingers have healed, Lisa....

So, I have been busy. But, I have found my "big girl pants" and decided to get my fingers out of their casts and update this blog. Yeah, yeah, I know...I am only putting in 50 hours a week, raising kids, hubby, chickens, rabbits, dogs, and cats. Get a straw, right?

Well, the chickens have been interesting, to say the least. We fenced off an area to the side of our house where they can "run free" during the day until we get the coop finished. At night, we still bring them in and they sleep in the dog kennel in our laundry room. ( no flack from any of you that I have barn livestock in my house...) We thought that only one of the hens was laying, until the other day. Turns out that the other one is laying as well, she just eats the eggs as soon as they are laid. While there are days that I can totally sympathize with eating your young, that has given her a one way ticket to the stew pot as soon as the chicks are old enough to join the other hen.

A guy that my hubby works with told me that if you put food coloring in the chicken water, that the eggs will eventually turn that color. Said that he used to do that around Easter time to mess with his kids. Now, I can't resist adding purple dye to the water just to see.

Spring is finally upon us, and we got the strawberry pyramid in the ground, the strawberries planted, and they seem to be growing well. I am excited to get the rest of the garden in, and at the same time feel quite overwhelmed. I mean, seriously, who on earth wants to can the tomatoes from 40 tomato plants this fall? Well, you know if the economy tanks and all....

The kids are in full swing with ball practices. The official "Opening Day" is a big event in our town, as the entire town shows up for the festivities, whether or not they have children playing. And next Saturday is opening day, so between the three kids this year, we have practice every night (except Sunday) until then. Ka has a library volunteer appreciation party next week, and they are still doing school each day, as well as Friday school each week.

I have been "Spring cleaning" like a mad woman as well. Clutter seems to creep up on me, and it stresses me out! So, earlier today, I went through and decluttered a truckload full and feel soooo much better. The kids had set up some of the stuff as a garage sale, but I couldn't deal with it outside, either. So off to GoodWill it went.

I then spent two hours picking up the yard, and getting stuff moved around so that it looked a bit better. Being in the middle of a chicken coop project and a gardening project makes for one messy yard. But, I think that I have a handle on it...for now, anyway.

And my blogs seem to be updated a bit less lately. Sorry for all my readers (Hi, Mom and Dad!), I promise it'll get better as soon as things slow down a bit in June. Until then, it's ball games, library, gardening, and trying to keep up with the chicks.

testing

testing the new blog posting abilities...this is cool, is it not?

FREE KFC CHICKEN

On April 27, 2009, KFC is giving away a FREE piece of their grilled chicken to each customer. For more details, check out their website on April 19 here.


Thanks, Bargain Banana!

My Favorite Ressurection Song-Happy Easter, Ya'll

Financial Goal Update

Here were our goals this year

1. To use cash only each week. We got a bit "lazy", if you will, and found that if we don't use cash, we spend sooo much more. It was easier to spend more than the budget when we pulled out the ol' debit card, and if we wrote a check, WOW!! did it go fast! So, after having a "meeting of the minds" with the hubby, we made a firm resolve to go back to funding the envelopes each week, and putting away the card again.

2. To put $50 each week into savings. We had to lower that right now, since we added another member to our family (no, I didn't have a baby-it's my niece) and our food budget went up a bit. But, we are being faithful in putting away $35 each week. We had to drain our savings when our fridge quit, and I was very glad to have it. So, we are looking at ways that we can cut "fat" from the budget to repad the account. It was a nice feeling to have it there, and a bit scary that it left, but I know that we did it once, we can do it again!

3. To create a new budget for the new year, with all the changes at hubby's work. (ie...insurance tripling)
Our budget went so awry when we my niece came to live with us. I am not sure what happened...ok...I do, I got lazy. That is all it was, pure and simple. Faced with choices, I took the "nice aunt" road and went out to eat more, or bought things I normally wouldn't have. We have recognized this, and we both agreed to put the hatchet back down. (so to speak)

Our goals for this spring are simple as well. We ordered a small flock of chicks, and were given two adult, laying hens. We don't have to buy anything else for the chicks, since we were given all the "equipment" with the hens that should get us started.

Our garden has been tripled in size, and we have 50 tomato, 30 pepper, 50 strawberry, and 6 cherry tomato plants going. We will have to budget a bit higher for canning accessories, but we feel that it will be worth that in the long run. Besides, the taste of garden fresh tomatoes and strawberries can't be beat!

So, there you have it...a look at our goals and how we are going to get back on track. How did you do?

Bettr'N TV....

If someone had told me a year, or even a month, or even a week ago that I would be saying to my children,

"Finish your chores so you can watch the chickens"

I would have told you that you were crazy!! But, my children LOVE watching the birds for hours...good thing they don't need privacy, eh?

Yesterday, we heard one of them squacking so loud that it made us jump. I thought that they were getting all upset at the cats, but my oldest son soon hollered with glee, "Kentucky Fried laid an egg!!"

Our first egg.

Yummy. Or so I was told...

Old McDonald Had a Farm...

E...I...E...I...O...

My apologies to anyone with an ear for music


Guess what we got this week?

Meet Kentucky Fried and Nelson's



Meet Trix


I know, I know...crazy, right? Well, the rabbit actually belongs to my niece and the lady that we got the chickens from was just giving them away, feed, waterer, and everything included! So I couldn't resist. We have 12 more on order, but this will give us an idea of what we are going to be "up against" when it comes to raising them.

So, between 2 dogs, 2 cats, a rabbit, 2 chickens, 4 kids (niece included) I am going to be one busy lady!!!

Sing with me...."E...I...E...I...O..."

How to Shop and Save at Walgreens and CVS

If you are anything like me, you avoided CVS and Walgreens like the plague because some of their prices were so much higher than at WalMart or the grocery stores. You were being frugal after all, and watching your prices. (Go you, by the way!)

I am going to share a few secrets with you today and some tips that may help you change your mind. This has taken me hours of extensive research and time, but I've had a lot of success with this. Let's start with Walgreens:


To see how to do this...join me here:

My new toy!!

I have been toying with buying this for about 2 years now. Should I, or shouldn't I? I could always go to a friend's house and get the same thing, but this would be soooo nice to have for my own.

My hubby finally convinced me that we needed to get our own grain mill.



We had purchased about 200lbs of grain this Spring, and going to my friend's house wouldn't always be convenient. So, here it is!




And the first thing I did with this is grind popcorn into cornmeal and make yummy, yummy cornbread!






I can't wait to show you Ezekiel bread!!

DayBook

For Today...April 6, 2009

Outside my window... snow???? Didn't God check the calendar and see that Spring has already come???

I am thinking... that I want to go back to bed

From the learning rooms... just the usual, Math, History

I am thankful for... the robins in the yard...I know that Spring will be back

From the kitchen... Ezekiel bread-yummy!

I am wearing... jammies...haven't had the energy to get dressed yet

I am reading... waiting on my new book "From Eternity to Here" by Frank Viola to arrive

I am hoping... for warmer weather this week...I have cabin fever!

I am creating... a clean home...finally!

I am hearing... my children playing, and doing chores

Around the house... laundry has piled up, potaotes need to be dehydrated

One of my favorite things... talking with my sister

A few plans for the rest of the week... ball practice, Bible study

Menu Plan Monday

BREAKFAST

baked oatmeal, dutch babies, granola over yogurt, scrambled eggs, Ezekiel muffins, cinnamon rolls, bird's nest

LUNCH

PBJ's, homemade raviolis, homemade mac and cheese, cheese and crackers, broccoli, rice, and cheese casserole, leftovers

DINNERS

tacos, chicken and rice casserole, spaghetti, cheeseburger soup and biscuits, homemade pizza, BBQ chicken sandwiches, ham, mashed potatoes, green beans

What's on your menu for this week? Need ideas? Check out other menus for this week here.

April's Challenge...update

I am enjoying the challenge that I have set before myself for this month. We did set aside a small amount of cash for groceries this month and found a GREAT sale on potatoes and ham at our Kroger last night. Potatoes for $.97/5lb bag and ham was $.77/lb! So, we bought up 6 bags of potatoes and 3 hams for $19.24.





The problem is, what to do with all those spuds? Seriously, we cannot eat 30lbs of potatoes before they would go bad, and having little space to store them became difficult.

So, we looked up on the internet and decided to dehydrate them.

We sliced and blanched them, and placed them in the dehydrator and the oven to dry out. 170 for about 4 hours and viola! Shelf stable potatoes!


To reuse them, we will either bake them as scalloped potatoes, or rehydrate them for 25 minutes with a 2:1 ratio of water and spuds and use them like we would fresh.

Storm Practice...

Ok, ya’ll. I live in the North. We don’t have the luxury of lots of warm weather to get seeds started, grown, and produce for many things. Take tomatoes for example. They need about 60 days from seed to veggie stage. And if I plant them in early May, it’ll be middle of July before I begin to see fruit, and around August before they are ripe.


To see the rest, join me here.

I get her back

I am excited! I leave in 3 hours to get my niece from the airport...I can't wait!!!
I have missed her soooooo much!!!

This was too Funny...

Woot: One Day, One Deal...hurry and get yours while supplies last! Just click here!

Thanks, megryansmom!!!

I'm getting too old for this, I think

My children have baseball fever, full force. And since they are soooo competitive (where on earth did they get that) they practice hours a day.

Literally.

Hours.

My daughter wants to "play catch" for 4-5 hours a day now. I took them to the ball field this morning for an hour, and have played catch in our backyard for 3 hours now. I am sore, stiff, tired and ready to drop.

She, on the other hand, is going strong. Her brother is right out there with her, practicing his heart out.

On one hand, I am glad that they are working so hard for something that they want. On the other hand, I can't wait until ball season is over.....there isn't enough Tylenol out there!

APRIL FOOLS!!!

Some fun and well known pranks for the day:



* Alabama Changes the Value of Pi: The April 1998 newsletter of New Mexicans for Science and Reason contained an article written by physicist Mark Boslough claiming that the Alabama Legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi to the "Biblical value" of 3.0.[citation needed] This claim originally appeared as a news story in the 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein.[5]

* Spaghetti trees: The BBC television programme Panorama ran a famous hoax in 1957, showing the Swiss harvesting spaghetti from trees. They had claimed that the despised pest, the spaghetti weevil, had been eradicated. A large number of people contacted the BBC wanting to know how to cultivate their own spaghetti trees. It was, in fact, filmed in St Albans.[6]

* Left Handed Whoppers: In 1998, Burger King ran an ad in USA Today, saying that people could get a Whopper for left-handed people whose condiments were designed to drip out of the right side.[7] Not only did customers order the new burgers, but some specifically requested the "old", right-handed burger.[8]

* Taco Liberty Bell: In 1996, Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times announcing that they had purchased the Liberty Bell to "reduce the country's debt" and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell." When asked about the sale, White House press secretary Mike McCurry replied tongue-in-cheek that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold and would henceforth be known as the Lincoln Mercury Memorial.[9]

* San Serriffe: The Guardian printed a supplement in 1977 praising this fictional resort, its two main islands (Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse), its capital (Bodoni), and its leader (General Pica). Intrigued readers were later disappointed to learn that San Serriffe (sans serif) did not exist except as references to typeface terminology. (This comes from a Jorge Luis Borges story.)[10]

* Metric time: Repeated several times in various countries, this hoax involves claiming that the time system will be changed to one in which units of time are based on powers of 10.[11]

* Smell-o-vision: In 1965, the BBC purported to conduct a trial of a new technology allowing the transmission of odor over the airwaves to all viewers. Many viewers reportedly contacted the BBC to report the trial's success. [12] In 2007, the BBC website repeated an online version of the hoax.[13]

* Tower of Pisa: The Dutch television news reported once in the 1950s that the Tower of Pisa had fallen over. Many shocked people contacted the station.[14]

* Write Only Memory: Signetics advertised Write Only Memory IC databooks in 1972 through the late 1970s.[15]

* The Canadian news site bourque.org announced in 2002 that Finance Minister Paul Martin had resigned "in order to breed prize Charolais cattle and handsome Fawn Runner ducks."[16]

* Annual BMW Innovations[17] see a new "cutting-edge invention" by BMW advertised across British newspapers every year, examples including:
o Warning against counterfeit BMWs: the blue and white parts of the logo were reversed
o The "Toot and Calm Horn" (after Tutankhamun), which calms rather than aggravates other drivers, so reducing the risk of road rage,
o MINI cars being used in upcoming space missions to Mars,
o IDS ("Insect Deflector Screen") Technology - using elastic solutions to bounce insects off the windscreen as you drive,
o SHEF ("Satellite Hypersensitive Electromagnetic Foodration") Technology, which sees the car's GPS systems synchronise with home appliances to perfectly cook a meal for the instant you return home,
o Marque-Wiper - mini-wipers for each exterior "BMW" logo coming as standard on all future models,
o "Uninventing the wheel" to counter the "EU ban" on right-hand drive cars,
o Zoom Impression Pixels ("ZIP") to counter new "Slow Cameras"
o "BMW Instant Messaging" - using Reactive User Sound Electronic (RUSE) particles to display the driver's words to the car in front on the windscreen.
o A compact disc available to all BMW owners, which when played over the audio system performed minor service and diagnostic checks; when flipped over it played soothing classical music (Australia).
o Canine Repellent Alloy Protection (CRAP)- a means of discouraging dogs from urinating on car wheels. (2008)

Go here to read more and have a fun laugh!

FREE BASIL SEEDS!!

Create an account on Tomato Heirlooms today and they'll send you a free 3-pack of basil seed to the mailing address you register in your account. Their sample pack is made up of 250 seeds each of Sweet Italian Basil, Purple Basil and Lemon Basil. A $6.00 value. Seed availability is limited so hurry and register here for free today!




thanks, MoneySavingMom!