If You Had Your Druthers....

would you prefer a gift card to Amazon or an actual something (useful) as a prize in a giveaway?

Polling, of sorts, here.

Coming up on the 6th Blogiversary here (and it will likely coincide with the 500th post at that) and would love, love, love to hand something over to one of those of you that have stuck around all this time.

Shoot me your opine!

Yesterday....

I spent a large part of the day researching things that are only important to me (insurance related) and sneaking out to watch the just discovered babies in the holly tree.

Today....I sauntered out to enjoy my coffee in the sun (and super cold wind) to find the nest already empty.  Those crafty robins.

The only reason I even noticed the nest (despite in being in the tree RIGHT NEXT to the porch) was that one of the parental figures rather ferociously emptied out the suet feeder that was stationed in said tree on Thursday.  I'm guessing in an effort to discourage other birdies from invading the flight training space.

Nature is a remarkable thing...gets along just fine without us and our interruptions...adapts to deal with the human stupidity.

Bye, bye baby birdies!  Safe flying!

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Some Fuzzy Butts...(Image Heavy)

sometimes patience does pay off...6 so far:

Downright Giddy...

keys to the new place will (or should) be in hand by next weekend...plans are to move stuff from here to there a little at a time over the month of September (between my work and all the school stuff) and be in place full time before the end of the month.

For those wondering, we're staying in the area...just buying a little place about 25 minutes from post.  Tanker will commute in everyday, I'll commute in for classes twice a week.  I'll be dropping the McD's gig around the end of September (if not sooner) due to having to start clinical hours and the drive to work (45 minutes) not being worth the pay or hours...not with gas prices on the rise.

Tanker is beyond thrilled...we spent two hours walking around Lowe's this evening and he's chomping at the bit to hit up the local farm good stores and do some pricing on stuff.  Plus there's all the garden planning he's been doing.  Nothing is solid with any of it, of course, as we've still got to test the soil and decide where what will go and when...but the whole dreaming and planning thing is doing him some good.

And now I'm off to catch some sleep...interview tomorrow that if it pans out will give me an early exit from the world of fast food!  Fingers crossed!!

Land Ho!

It's official...we're taking the junk land owner plunge.  Nevada, watch out!

It took a little convincing, but I got Tanker to mull it over and look at the possibilities.  Never fear, it's all built into the budget...see, I was sneaky like that.  Debt free (at least Tanker will be, lol) and landowners (at last!) by this time next year.

I'm excited...it may be a good long time before we're actually on it but hey...it's a start, right?  Now to start reading up on gardening in that climate...ha!

We all love Free...

right?  Right.

The past 3 or 4 days in this house has been one of free reading.  This is soooooo going to sound infomercial-ish, I am well aware of it and can't help it.  I LOVE the Kindle for PC app at Amazon!!!!!!  Why? you ask...um, first off it's FREE, secondly you can download lots of FREE books and thirdly...well, it's FREEEEEEEEE!

It feeds my desire to continue to shove useless (and not so useless) info into my already slightly overtaxed brain. Information like that on Practical Distillery, How and When to be your own Doctor, Simple Field Sabotage and Sailor's Knots...just a few of the hundreds of Freebie books.  This thing is flippin' fun...tons of public domain books that are free...how-to books, classics, you name it...it's there.  It's like a book heaven.  Go check it out...you won't be sorry...well, the choice overload may make you want to hunt me down but remember I've been reading up on Field Sabotage...lol.

Happy New Year All...go expand your reading repertoire.

Sometimes....

the little guy does win.  It may take years but sometimes they win.

Woman single-handedly beats IRS in court

She is my new hero. Determined to keep/get what is rightfully her's, even according to "their" laws. One woman, no lawyers...just determination. My hat is off to you Lori Singleton-Clarke.

Spoons, School and a little fun....

Just a quick drop in to let ya know I'm still livin'....albeit with a little less time on my hands for much in the way of bloggin'. That doesn't mean I don't read my usuals or think of you lot...it just means that I forgot how tough some of these college courses can be (hello, 1400 word papers on something I don't really care about every other week) AND top it off with the whole restarting with the edumacationating of the screamers here at home....fun all around!

Really, it is. The oldest is one happy fella and is breezing through a lot of 1st grade work (proud, bragging momma alert). It's been an easier transition back than we thought. Doesn't hurt that the boy is obsessed with all things scientific...so we are focusing on a bit of Nature Studies (i.e. we walk around the woods and momma points out stuff and answers questions).

That is where the 'spoons' part comes in...you might remember that we have a huge amount of persimmon trees around these parts...the oldest decided to snap up about ten of these orange beauties...Momma decided to do a little cutting and guess what? Go on...guess!! Ten spoons, all lined up in a row...Momma's hoping that it holds true and we have a nice, super snowy winter. Heck, with the quick change in weather round here lately (summer to fall in something like 4 hours, lol) I'm thinking this winter is going to be interesting anyway!!

Home Again, Home Again

Wow! That was by far the most interesting and fun week I've had in a long time. Quite informative as well.

I won't bore you with details, let's just say I had a lot of fun and plenty of time to think without interruption (which isn't necessarily always a good thing, lol). It gave me the chance to take a step back and have a good look at things (life, relationships, where we stand in general with home stuff, etc). I guess I am the kind of person that needs to physically step out of the situation to be able to assess it mentally.

In doing that, I've discovered that my life could be way worse (duh, knew that) and found ways to make myself feel useful. See that's what the problem was, I didn't feel useful. I don't 'work' so can't really bitch about money too much (but do). My 'job' isn't paid or very much appreciated for the most part, but it's mine. I've got at least another two years before I can/will even consider working outside the home again...it's only fair to the littlest screamer to be home with him like I was the biggest. So the online schooling stuff for me is a step in the right direction for feeling useful. It begins on Monday (25th)...I should probably be nervous but I'm not given that my first two classes are cherry easy.

So, in short, that lovely (and I do mean LOVELY) vacation gave me a slightly different perspective and I'm going to run with it...can't do much worse than I've done before and it's a learning opportunity (always good).

As for Portland, let's just say that someday...someday...I will be a Portlander permanent or at the very least an Oregon girl. Gorgeous city, stunning countryside, great people...heck, I didn't even mind the chilly winds and cold rains. If you've never been, go. Next year, jebus/allah/buddha providing, the whole lot of us are going...may the Dust help me!!

Last Post....

from the home computer at least...until the 18th!!

For the safety and sanctity of my darling computer, I will be shutting her down and locking her up while I'm gone...little fingers tend to add extra hard drives that don't really exist and can't be erased when left to their own devices.

I have however learned how to post a full on post via my loverly phone...so I may be sweet and fill you in on a day or two of vacation. Or you can check in every once in a while on the Twitter thingy to the left...sure to be lots of updates there!

I won't be able to respond to comments, but will be able to read them via email (also on my super freakin' cool phone), so comment away when I post...if I post...nah, I'll post at least once, promise.

In the meantime, bag is packed up and dang if I'm not counting down the hours.

2 days
55 hours
3302 minutes
198166 seconds

Take your pick...they all point to the exact same time, lol.

More TV to lay on ya....

in the form of a somewhat survivalist mindset...of course.

Out of the Wild : The Alaska Experiment

Have you watched any of this? Just curious what your take on it is. I giggled during the first episode at the decision to take everything offered to them in a pile of 'junk' (I mean please, a ukulele...the strings, yes but the whole thing, no)...in the end they ended up paying for that decision by having way more than they could carry for any decent length...wore them out, made them use up energy that they couldn't spare. Then the decision to take a 'shortcut' over a mountain...um, can we say dumb?

All in all it's been a pretty interesting show so far. A few things that I personally would have done differently (see above for two big ones). If you haven't been watching it, the basis is pretty simple. Nine people get dropped off in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness at the end of fall (ie winter is coming on) and have to hike 60 miles out. Each one has a GPS that they can push to have a helicopter come pick them up when they feel like they've had enough (nice, can I have one of those for TEOTWAWKI?), they were given three days of bush training...blah, blah...basically it's a bunch of city slickers (for the most part) dropped into the super cold Alaskan 'outback'. I've found it a nice study in psychology thus far.

I don't often praise TV shows, but this one I will...let's you get a bit of a different perspective on others ideals of survival, what they are willing to put up with (ie hunger, cold, tiredness, etc), makes you think about what you would do differently and in my case, makes me see areas that I could use some brushing up on, like snares.

Anyway, is there anyone else out there watching it? Has it pointed out anything to you that you didn't realize you weren't trained up on or thinking of?

A Bit of Hollyweird...(and other stuff)

that I'm actually excited about....The Road finally has a release date! Woot!

Love the book and so hope that the director/producers/everyone else involved did it justice. For me, it already has one thing in its favor...it has Viggo Mortensen starring as The Man. If there is one 'celebrity' I'd love to meet, it's Viggo. But I won't wax poetic on ya, just suffice it to say he rocks. Okay, enough Hollyweird.

The home front...a week to go before the big "I'm outta here for a while" and you bet I'm counting down. No, I'm not packed yet (puh-leeze I am queen procrastinator around here) but I do know what I'm taking. Lots of plans on things to see and do, but naturally I'm keeping things nice and flexible. No sense getting there then stressing out over not getting to do something in particular at a certain time...it is supposed to be a vacation after all.

The screamers are back home and driving me appropriately crazy...along with their father. What's a girl to do? Run screaming into the dark and hide from the monsters!! Nah, I just take it as it comes mostly. They squealed the glories of the peas and butternut squash popping up in the parental units' garden, told me stories of the pumpkin and watermelon plants growing as tall as them (love those imaginations) and regaled me with tales of migrating snapping turtles. They are currently 'relaxing' in the tub (ie splashing around like giant tuna).

Tomorrow is lazy day 'round these parts. The sun is supposedly going to pay a visit, so I may just be the cool mom and take the screamers out on a walkabout. May even get adventurous and walk them into town for a library visit...maybe. It's only two miles...guess I could be cool mom tomorrow. I dunno. Sure, why not. A little library time, lunch at the park, a little playing in the creek then home for what will probably be a much deserved nap for me. It's all about adventure and for the screamers that will be an adventure for sure.

So, adventure it is...care to join us? I promise, my boys don't bite...hard.

Mommy's Day Off (Extended Edition)

this is becoming a trend in our house. Not so disturbing, which in and of itself is disturbing.

The screamers departed the premises on Wednesday evening, with the eldest informing me that he would not be home again until Monday. My mother just laughed and stated they could stay as longs as they/I wanted them to stay. An ongoing trend in the Ozark house...my willingly sending my children off to the parental figures for extended stays (upwards of 3 days at a time now).

I distinctly remember a time when I disliked even leaving my screamers for short jaunt to the grocery...now I'm waiting, bag in hand, at the door when my parents come to get them. As of this very moment, I have NO clue when my children will return. I'm not worried, I know where they are. Besides I managed to survive my childhood under my parents' supervision, my boys should be able to do the same...right?

So Mommy has another day off...and has no clue what to do with it!! The weather thingy down on my toolbar is saying partly sunny with a high of near 70 today. Methinks I'll be grabbing my camera (the good one...the 35mm...fine, I'll take the digital too) and going for a wandering walk around the lake. But first, I'll be sleeping in...which translates to anything past 7:30, lol. (For the record the current time in my hills is 1 a.m.)

Today is sure to be nice...silence, sleeping late, quiet coffee time, long walk...yeah, nice. If I'm feeling spunky, I may just walk into town for lunch. But then again lunch in the woods sounds good too. Hmmmm.

Busy, Busy, Busy....

Sorry I've not been on much lately, other than to Tweet updates and random thoughts (see Twitter in right column).

I'm one busy Momma these days (and not just because I've seen the sun for two days straight)!! Been busy filling out college applications, working on essays for said applications (good grief) and now I have two articles to add to the writing mess. Keep in mind there is still a house to run, screamers to chase after and blow bubbles with AND a trip to get ready for (working on last minute needs that I can find el cheapo via a neighbor that used to hike but can't anymore...can we say bartering him down to prices I can afford?). Toss in a little extra research on schools of choice (oh how I wish I could go to Lewis & Clark right off) and I've got just a little extra time on my hands...very little.

I've got a few posts in the works, but well...let's face it...I'm going to get the school stuff done first, lol.

Hope the weather is treating all well, the gardens/seedlings are doing brilliant and you all are taking even just a few minutes a day to do something for you!!

It's a Sign, I tell ya...

Call me a quack, but I really truly believe in 'signs'. Gut feelings, deja vu (I have this A LOT)...things written in the stars.

No sooner did I finish reading HermitJim and Cyg's posts (and commenting naturally, lol) and in my email popped a tidbit titled "Transformation Time." Weird, eh? It's astrology, take it as you will...BUT this was the main body:

Pluto, the planet of transformation, takes a whopping 248 years to complete a single cycle of rotation around the Sun. On average, it spends 21 years in each sign and 5 months of each year in retrograde.

Pluto turns retrograde in Capricorn on April 4, signaling in a time of destruction and rebuilding, rejuvenation and regeneration. It is a time for fresh starts and dead ends. The things that we hang onto the tightest can suddenly be taken away. We may be forced to reevaluate the things we cherish most.

During a Pluto retrograde period, we will feel pressured to eliminate and release the old, outworn, outdated and obsolete in our lives. We will be urged to let go of attitudes, thinking or communication patterns, security drives, and rigid emotions that no longer serve us. This is an excellent time to undergo an internal form of house cleaning, and look into ourselves to determine exactly what we do and do not need.

Pluto retrograde imparts an intense power for investigation, so we should use this time to assess what reoccurring patterns in our lives make us feel out of control, where and why do we continually give our power away, and under what circumstances do we react so defensively that we elicit attacks from others. Pluto retrograde marks a time wherein we should seek to gain greater control over our lives.

A little freaky if you ask me. What with all the massive change in the air and so many of 'us' ready to make some odd changes and decisions...well, this is just one of those hmmmmmm moments for me. The next 5 months should be interesting to say the least, would have been anyway but now it's REALLY going to get that way!

Sidenote Rant: Why the hell is it that my friggin' mp3 refuses to shuffle it's electronic butt to the songs I really want to hear...nooooooo....it has to go through all the stuff I'm not in the mood for first. No, I won't hit skip...I want it to read my mind and do what I want dang it!!

House Keeping and a Confession

Cleaned up the blog a little bit. Got rid of the Ping (it was eating up bandwidth and slowing down the blog...for me at least) but added a Twitter thingie. Which leads to the confession.

I am a tech junkie. I am utterly, unabashedly addicted to cool techno gadgets. This could be a problem. Probably is a problem. It's moot to say that I don't spend money on them, ya'll know I don't have a ton of cash floating around, but I have to say I'd love to. I'd love to have a rockin' cell that I could access the net from with all the cool little apps to connect me to my favorite online spots. Alas, it is definitely not in the budget.

So I suffer with my little online based fun and my pre-paid cell that lets me text updates to Twitter. This is a good thing really. Especially for May. 'Cause then you can go on my trekking trip with me if you want. Yes, my friends, I will Tweet all the fun I'm having (or not having) while I'm away. Short little updates like "I'm still alive" or "help, bear attack"...you know, the little things that make a solo trip fun.

There you have it...a confessed obsession with everything wrong with the world. I should feel dirty, but I don't! ;P

A Little Help?

After days of isolation (okay, one day) due to a slight modem malfunction (I fried it, alright), I am happily back online using a piece of ancient technology. It works...I won't bitch too much.

Anyway, the help part. I need guinea pigs...a few of you new, old and in between preppers...to help me out with some research for an article. No real names will be used, unless you want the to be used. I'll tack a list of questions below, you answer and EMAIL them to me HERE.

You'll get the gist of the article when you see the questions...trying to shed a better light on 'our sort' for those that don't really know what it's really about. I can do it as is, but I'd love to have some points from folks other than me ('specially since I'm way to opinionated and fairly new at this prepping in the bigger sense of the word).

Wanna help?

Questions:

1. What drew you to this lifestyle?
2. How did you start?
3. What is the number one piece of advice you would give a new 'prepper'?
4. Name three websites that you would recommend for those truly interested in learning about prepping.

Thanks to any and all that do this...oh and don't forget to let me know if you want to be quoted with your name or what! Feel free to throw in anything that you think is relevant too.

Cool...Technology Fun

See that...right there, on the right. That new little gadget hanging out over there with the mushrooms on it. That is called a pingbox. From that pingbox, you can chat with me any old time you want (if it says you can that is). Now ain't that just spiffy!?!

Of course, I would add it to the blog on a day that I'm going to be out and about. You'll have to catch me later on...after I've had my brain mushified by chatting with one who has no real opinions of their own (you got it...sewing day). Sigh.

Guess I better get...gotta shower AND get the screamers ready...may hang around for a minute or two and read the headlines...yeah, that's it. It's not procrastination if I'm doing something semi-productive to waste time, right?