Busyness

I have been extremely busy these last couple months, as well as most of you I'm sure. I've slowly been getting into the holiday spirit, even though the idea of decorating my home when I have little ones who like to play with everything they see has been daunting. We have our tree up, but there are only kid friendly ornaments on it, and the candy canes are clustered at the top. Also, my kids think the stockings are fun to wear on their feet ~ I can't help but giggle when they slip around the house in them.

Most of my gifts for family are homemade, or bought with frugality. We've limited our budget, & it's interesting what you can come up with if try. I found a target coupon for $5 off a Kodak camera and was able to print 4 of them. I then bought 4 disposable cameras with them & paid less then $5 for them. My in-laws love these, so they're going in their gift baskets! One of my relatives is getting a blockbuster gift card that I "bought" with points I earned using my american express card. And for my daughter, I'm making some blankets & pillows for her dolls. I really like some of the frugal living blogs out there. My 2 faves are www.frugalcouponliving.com & www.moneysavingmom.com
They have helped me save some cash on groceries & gifts. You should check them out.

I hope you all have a blessed Christmas!

Famous?

Ian is in today's local paper! Why, you ask? We went to a train show in Batavia yesterday with my in-laws and he was just too cute to resist photographing I guess! Anyway, here's the link & picture: http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/

Eating Better - Recipe Review

So, as I mentioned yesterday, I'm trying to eat (and feed my family) healthier foods. For Christmas I recieved the book Deceptively Delicious. I've tried some recipes already, but mainly just the easier ones. Tonight I decided to try the recipe for Macaroni & Cheese with Butternut Squash. Even though it looked daunting, it was fairly easy to make. However, it calls for 4 oz. of cream cheese and that is all I could taste. I was not impressed. I might as well have just chewed on the brick of cream cheese, it was that strong. I wonder if you could make it with only 2 oz? Hhhmmm? I'm not sure I'll try, though. One recipe from the book that I absolutely love, is the Chocolate Chip cookies with Chick Peas. YUM!!!!! I cannot eat just one. They're even better fresh from the oven. I'll let you know if I try any more of the recipes.

Sweet Treat

A couple weeks ago I found a cookie mix at the batavia farm market. It wasn't just any old mix, it was labeled as "All Natural 8 Grain Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix". I like easy, healthy food, so I bought it. It has all sorts of good-for-you ingredients. Including, 8 types of flour and sunflower seeds. Ian and I whipped it up this morning and by golly; they were great! I highly recommend that you check out their website: www.allenshillfarm.com They even have an 8 grain brownie mix, which isn't bad either.

Cleanup

I'm so glad today was rain free! I've been looking at my poor, neglected garden. It needed to be cleaned up in the worst way! So after supper tonight, Ian and I went out to work on it. I pulled out dead plants and Ian picked the stakes out of the weedblock. [Of course, the stakes needed to be transported in his dump truck :)]. It felt so good to be outside working in some of the last nice weather of the season/year. Maybe when it's time to plant next year, we'll have a new house to garden at! That would be nice, but I'm ok if that's not the case. How did you enjoy the day?

Weekly Recap

I decided that because I'm so busy and hardly ever home that I would do a weekly recap. Here's what happened this week:

1. I made applesauce. 2 different types of apples. Canned 11 quarts and 7 of them separated. Chucked them down the drain. Don't know what happened, but not pleased that I only have 4 quarts left.

2. We went to the apple farm in the dreary rain. The highlight of Ian's trip was that he got to "go into the apple frigerator which was only 40 degrees!". We got to pick Red Delicious apples which you can't use for anything but eating the way the Good Lord made 'em. I thought maybe I could replenish my sauce reserves with the apples we picked, but apparently not.

3. We had preschool open house, which we weren't supposed to bring the kids to (even though no one said otherwise). It's kinda hard not to when my mom is out of town and my friend Julie, who's my backup, is at open house with her kids, too!

4. I attended calling hours & helped with the funeral dinner for a young man who died way too young. His mom (mentor) & ex-wife (mops mommy) are part of our MOPS group. He had a motorcycle accident last saturday.

5. Today, I found fresh brussell sprouts at the farm market! SO excited! They are my new favorite food and taste great when roasted.

6. My aunt moved to Tennessee yesterday. The doctor told her she needed surgery to remove the cancerous spot on her liver. They don't believe it has spread, but she'll need chemo in 3 months as well. Please keep her in your prayers.

7. We are meeting with the mortgage broker from our bank tomorrow. We looked at a house we really liked last weekend and want to put our house on the market. Anyone want to live in the Wildlife Refuge? We'll see what happens. If this is in God's plans for us, then He will put everything into place. If not, then we will just keep praying and looking.

So, I'll probably just end up with another weekly recap next time, unless I somehow end up with a little extra time to blog.

Blessings for now!

I'm a blog slacker

I don't know where the time went, but last I knew it was summer and now it's fall. We have dealt with a lot in the last few weeks. Illnesses & vacations & school starting; it's all so time consuming.

So what's been going on in the Keberle household? Let me tell you:

1. I had the WORST bronchial asthma attack ever. I could not breathe and had to have steroids. My breathing improved, but I still was congested and had to do the anitbiotic thing.
2. I had an abdominal ultrasound & Upper GI to make sure there is nothing wrong with my digestive system, because of some pain I've been expriencing. More than likely, it was just anxiety attacks.
3. Ian started preschool & is doing great with it. He's a little clingy when I drop him off, but is fine once he gets in the room. His class is going on a field trip to an apple orchard next week. He has homework assignments! He has to cut out pictures relating to the color & letter of the week. Oy! I don't even have magazines! I had to borrow some from my mom.
4. Our new MOPS year started, at least for the steering team. It's going to be a fun year and we have a couple new moms, which is fantastic!
5. My grandma came down for my cousin's funeral, so we had a nice visit while she was here. Tried to talk her into moving down this way when my aunt moves to Tennessee.
6. Just found out that the aforementioned aunt had a follow up scan from colon cancer treatment and the doctor found a spot on her liver. She's going to have another scan and surgery, but that's all we know for the time being. She still plans on moving.
7. My nephew turns 1 this coming saturday. Happy Birthday Joshua!

There's probably lots more, but I can't think of anything right now. I still owe you pictures from our trip to the cape. Hopefully they'll get posted soon.

What's for supper?

As a general rule, I don't really care for Denny's, but I couldn't pass up a deal like this on a night no one felt like cooking. 2 coupons, where if you have 2 adults & 2 kids, you eat for virtually nothing. If you do even better then we did and everybody gets water, then you only pay for a BYO Grand Slam ($5.99 @ our Denny's). We lucked out, because kids eat free w/o coupons on Tues & Thrus. The slam coupon expires soon, though, so get it while you can!

missing

Yesterday I posted about my cousin who passed away. Today, I'm posting about my other cousin, Melissa, who has been missing since January 27, 2007. This is from the OSBI website:

Melissa Sue Flores

The Washita County Sheriff’s Office has requested OSBI assistance in its search for a missing Cordell woman. Melissa Sue Flores was last seen by a friend in Cordell at 5 o’clock Saturday morning, January 27, 2007. The 27-year-old woman's vehicle was found at her ex-boyfriend’s home in Cordell. The sheriff’s office called in OSBI for help since several personal items were found in Flores’ vehicle. OSBI and area law enforcement have gathered evidence and conducted many interviews to try and determine Flores' whereabouts. Authorities have no suspects at this time.
ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ABOUT HER DISAPPEARANCE PLEASE CALL:
the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at (800) 522-8017

If you are reading this, and you know of any information that could help put an end to my family's misery, PLEASE CALL. PLEASE. Help us bring her home.

caught off guard

I was totally caught off guard today. My dad called me after church to let me know that my cousin, J'Michael, had passed away. Although it is quite unexpected, there is some background to his death.

About 2 years ago, J was skateboarding home from somewhere (I don't remember whether is was a friend's or work) and he was hit by a car. He wasn't wearing a helmet and he suffered head injuries. He was in the hospital for a while and was left with sproadic seizures.

He just got married recently and his wife found him this morning. He had a seizure, then fell & hit his head. He was 28; days away from his 29th birthday. He lived in San Diego, near his sisters. His mom (my mom's sister) lives in Hawaii. I met J once when I was 8 and we went to California for a vacation.

He will be missed. For all he was and all he could have been. We loved you J'Michael. I wish we could have known each other more.

vacation ~ part I

Very late last night we got back from what was supposed to be a relaxing trip to Cape Cod. Keith, myself, our 2 kiddos & my mother-in-law. Drive out Sunday, drive back Friday. Miss 2 hurricanes. Simple enough.

Or so you would think. We had all of our plans in place.

Hurricane Bill gone -check.
Free lodging - check.
Swim gear - check.
Suitcases packed - check.
One toddler w/ a throat virus -check.

We went on vacation with our sick toddler, who was at the doctor saturday before we left. The dr then called, after we were already in MA to say it wasn't a virus, but strep. We then ended up with a sick 4 year old & a sick daddy. We spent the 1st 2 days @ the local urgent care facility, pharmacy & on the phone w/ the uc in Rochester. AND, a grandma who was counting the days on the calendar until she came down with strep. (I haven't even gotten it & I live with them!). So we kind of laid low until Wednesday.

Once everyone who needed them was on drugs, we started our vacation. A week that was supposed to be spent on the beach, included precisely 2 hours of beach-going. We did however visit quite a few museums & ate a lot of ice cream. So, it wasn't very relaxing, but it was nice to spend time with family. For some reason it seems that being sick at the ocean is easier then being sick at home.

I did manage to take a few pictures which I'll post later.

Summer Harvest

Here is a recipe that uses veggies from the summer abundance.



Vegetable Quiche

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inch)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 medium chopped green pepper

1 1/4 cups chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup chopped zucchini

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

5 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese



Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake at 450 for 5 minutes. Remove foil, bake 5 more minutes. Remove from oven & reduce heat to 350. In a large skillet saute veggies in butter, salt & pepper. Spoon into crust. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk & cheese; mix well. Carefully pour over veggies. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

Cakes

So, I took these cake decorating classes through Wilton from April to July. At the end of each 4 week course, we had a "final" cake that we made with all the skills we learned. Well at the end of Course 4, I gave my final cake to my friend Heidi. She liked it much & asked me to make her daughter's birthday cake. I said I would.



Well, this summer has been a little on the cool side, until the last 2 weeks. Then the earth decided to warm in WNY and it has been extremely humid & hot. Hope's birthday is today. Try making things out of fondant in 90% humidity. It don't work so good. My decorations were half dry & the flowers didn't hold their shape well.



After I baked the cupcakes, I put them on baking sheets to cool. Apparently my 17 month old thought they didn't look good there, so she put some in her belly. Had to make another batch. She also didn't like the frosting I put on, and but that in her belly as well. One more batch of frosting to replace lost batch.



And then on the way to deliver the cakes, they all decided to flip over in their case. Not good. Smudged frosting & lost flowers.



How did I remedy these weather & driving related mistakes. Did I cry? A little. But then I had a brilliant idea. Buy a cupcake tower & stack! This hides a plethera of incident induced blemishes. Here is my finished product.

did i get a wake up call, or what?!

So, yesterday I blogged about how my cell phone died & I felt completely lost without it. Today, I went to church & God hand delivered the message through our guest speaker directly to me! Today's sermon was about "American Idols". Not the show, but idols in our life that sometimes aren't quite apparent. The chaplain from Roberts Wesleyan College gave the sermon & he listed 6 hidden idols (feelings, technology, entertainment, sports, success & self). For obvious reasons, the tech one stood out. He related that we rely on tech for so many aspects of our lives, and we expect that it will just make everything instantly better. That's not true though, and as Christians, the only thing we need to trust in & rely on is Christ. Psalm 20:7 gives a good illustration that "technology" has been an idol throughout the ages, and not just today. The verse is as follows from the NIV version of the Bible; "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God". Even in Roman days, they trusted that if they had the right chariots/horses, then they would win the wars, but truly winning means to claim your crown n judgment day and that's not based on what you own. Next time you fire up your cell, computer, etc., make sure that you're not putting it in front of your God. Worship Him, not things and He will reward you.

By the way, I bought a new cell phone after church today. I loaded my contacts, but haven't touched it since. It's a Blackberry Curve, in case you wondered. And it's not surgically attached.

the death of an appendage

I never really thought of my cell phone as an appendage.

Until today.

When it fell into a sink full of water.

And ceased to work.

Now, I feel absoutely lost. I think it should have been surgically attached to my hand because I use it ALL the time. A new phone would cost too much right now, so I'm forced to use my dad's old work phone. Nothing flashy (including no camera), just the basics. I can make calls & text, but only to those people whom I've actually memorized their phone numbers. Others will just have to wait or call me. In December, when my upgrade becomes available, I will be undergoing a minor surgical procedure in my local cell phone *cough*verizon*cough* store. Until then, please call me!

Summer Busyness

I cannot believe how fast summer is going! We took a trip to Northern NY to visit family for July 4th and then made our way down to visit more fam & friends in Ohio. Since we returned, we've been harvesting nature's bounty. I've canned jam a lot! and froze berries as well as eaten a ton of yummy veggies. Peaches will need to be canned next and I'm hoping to try my hand at my friend Joce's blueberry syrup. We are also planning a trip to Cape Cod at the end of this month. (Thanks to Keith's generous uncle, who has a house out there.) I can't wait to show the kids the ocean; Ian will be amazed! Pictures will follow.

Grandpa Savage

Today is the 15 year mark since my grandpa was called home to heaven. I often get teary-eyed thinking about. Not because he's gone, but because I didn't really know him.

Grandpa died of lung cancer. The doctors gave him 3-6 months. He lived for well over a year longer. He passed on Father's Day 1994 when all his kids were home. I was 14 when he passed away. 6 of those years we lived in Dayton, Ohio. He lived in Hammond, NY. That is a 14 hour drive. Needless to say we didn't get home much.

What do I remember about him? Grandpa was a farmer and he took naps all the time. He would come to a family function, eat and then go find a place to lay down. He would also stop dead in the middle of the road if he found a returnable bottle/can. (He left $8000 in the bank just from those). I went to Bingo with him & my grandma one time. All he did was swear when someone else got Bingo. But, he did love his family. That's what I remember about my grandpa.

An upcoming adventure

In 2 1/2 weeks we will be embarking on an adventure. Where to? We are going to Dayton, Ohio to visit my brother, sister-in-law & nephew. Maybe a few friends, too. I am so excited because we rarely get to see each other.

On the other hand, I'm not so excited because we'll be traveling with our 2 little ones. Ian is recently potty trained so that means more stops because of his little bladder. A 7 hour trip could easily become 10,12,15..... You get the picture. Addison is still in diapers, but hates the car seat! When she's had enough, she screams bloody murder until you get her out. It is not pleasant!

So, in the meantime, I will be praying that our trip is safe, but also that we hit nap times just so. A sleeping baby is a happy baby!

I will have pics of our adventures to Ohio and the many things we'll do while we're there. We are planning to at least go to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery and the National Air Force Museum. (Yum, astronaut ice cream.) Maybe we'll hit the Cincinnati Zoo. None of it matters, though, as long as it's spent with family. (I'm sercretly hoping to go to the Mongolian Grill & I hope we don't eat @ Waffle House!)

Addison Jael & Mommy

People have always said that Addison looks like me, and she does. I just didn't know how much until my mom found a picture of me @ the same age Addy is. (Sorry the pics are a little blurry.)

Michele:

Addison:

for the love of strawberries.

It's strawberry season in WNY!

On Wednesday morning I bought 5 quarts of fresh picked strawberries. YUM!

Ian helped me make 17 half pints of freezer jam later that day and it turned out so good!

You can bet we'll be making more! There's no way this amount will last the whole winter, let alone the summer! Ian is such a big helper. Addison is too, but her idea of helping is to try and eat the berries as I'm processing them!

Out of the mouths.....

My handsome dude has some funny ways of pronouncing certain words. He also says some funny things. When we're going somewhere in the van, he'll make up a song. It's usually about farms & cows; his 2 fave things. As is typical, we were driving to church on Sunday. Handsome dude was singing away and I wasn't really paying attention. But then, something caught my attention. He started singing, "God bless me for doing good things!" and then continued his song about cows. He had spent the weekend with my husband bc I was @ a conference, so I looked at the hubs and asked if he had taught him that. He said he hadn't. I guess kids pay more attention then we think.



Pretty girl is starting to say more words now, too. Her fave word right now is HELLO! She says it with gusto! She hasn't quite got the difference of a few common words yet. For instance, we call her grandpa, Papa. She says this quite well, but thinks this is also the word for baby and puppy. If she sees any of the 3 she yells: Papa, Papa! She also pats her belly and says Papa. (My dad has a big belly!) It's too cute!

change of plans....

So, I was planning on telling you a story this weekend, but my plans got changed. I'll have to tell a different one.

Friday afternoon I was planning to have a relaxing weekend. Not do too much, ya know? Well, my mom called me at 3pm to tell me that my grandma was in the hospital with chest pains and did I want to ride along to see her. My grandma lives in Potsdam, NY. We, live near Rochester. It's a 5 hour drive on a good day. I was not about to take the babes with me. So, I called my hubby and asked if he could have Saturday off from work. Praise the Lord, he said yes! He stayed home with the kids.

My mom and I headed out Friday evening, spent the night in Watertown & then proceeded to Potsdam in the morning. We went straight to the hospital, where we sat for 41/2 hours waiting for the doctor to tell us what's going on. My grandma was the LAST patient on his rounds. He finally came in and told us that she had had a bad asthma attack, but she should have a stress test to rule out anything else. He then proceeded to send her home..... (We did not know that my grams has asthma! When did a doctor ever diagnos that? My gram needs a new primary care doc.) We got her set up with a nebulizer and she was fine. Oy! What a weekend.

dirt

5 years ago if you had said to me, "You're going to garden someday", I would have laughed at you!

Here I am, 5 years later and in my 4th year of gardening and 2nd year of canning.....

Funny how life changes you, isn't it?

I started my garden out of boredom. Just something to do while Ian played in the backyard. I hated digging in the dirt, so I started with some planters of veggies. The next year I had way too many planters, so we decided to put in a raised bed plot. Keith put together some landscape timbers and brought a bucket load of dirt home from the farm. (Nice, fresh pasture dirt.) I still kept some planters, but the majority of the plants were in an 8x8 plot. Not too shabby, I'd say.

Last year I expanded out of a love of gardening and also necessity. I had Keith buy more timbers, and he built an 8x16 plot. I went crazy. I actually ran out of room! So, I had the 2 plots and planters & then had to plant alongside the garage. (I helped with & gardened in my parent's garden as well.) I was in veggie heaven! I had one plant in particular that was interesting: my summer squash. It produced this:

A lovely siamese squash! I can't wait to see what we get this year. God is good to have blessed us with such an abudance. We canned/froze most of what we grew, but had enough to be able to bless others as well. As long as the animals stay away we'll be able to bless others again; but that's a story for another day. I will have pictures of this years garden along my summer journies. Until then........

first timer

So, this is my first time ever blogging. I've read many blogs, but not sure if I have much to say on my own. Please bear with me as I learn the ropes (and try to find something interesting to say).