Relay for Life (Cancer Fundraiser)

Jon Jon

I had mentioned in a past post I have a friend who lost her son, Jon Jon, to brain cancer when he was just 7 years old.  It was heart wrenching and probably the worst thing a person can ever endure.  Every year our community hosts a Relay for Life cancer walk fundraiser and my neighbor (Jon Jon’s aunt) forms a team in his honor to raise money for cancer research.  Tonight was a beautiful night in Buffalo and perfect for the occasion.  It’s an honor to watch the “survivor” parade walk around the track and meet others battling cancer.  It’s a very humbling experience and while it’s a serious event, it is run in a very positive way and there are tents set up with tons of fun things to do, eat or buy!!  We had a great time attending the Relay.

kids going up slide

Chase’s turn down

Chance head first of course

touching luminaries in honor of survivors, battling cancer and those lost

Beautiful sunset over the park

Luminaries lit up at night. There are hundreds of them around the track

Black Parrot Tulips

A few years ago I purchased these bulbs from an online supplier.  They bloom only for a few days but are so pretty when in bloom.  They are a majestic black almost purple color.  Wish I had bought more.

Happy Saturday

Classic Macaroni Salad

I have a few dishes that friends seem to really love and ask me to make for any get together we have.  Potato Salad, homemade Brownies and my Classic Macaroni Salad are always being requested.  Tonight I decided to make macaroni salad for dinner tomorrow night.  This salad goes with everything and screams summer in our house.

**reminder you do not have to follow this to the letter.  Adjust the quantities of anything to your taste

One 16 oz box of pasta

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1/4 cup finely diced celery

2 -3 hard boiled eggs

1 cup salad dressing (I use Miracle Whip)

1/2 cup real Mayonnaise

Paprika

salt/pepper

Cook the pasta and rinse in cold water and drain

add the onion, celery, eggs and good sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Add the Mayo’s and mix well. Sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate over night if possible or at least 4 hours.  Add more salad dressing before serving for a moister salad.  If you add more, sprinkle lightly again with the paprika before serving for a pretty look.

As a typical scene in our house I was multi task cooking.  I was making whole wheat white flour chocolate chip cookies and the pasta salad while the batches were baking.  This is what my kitchen looked like but the best was my daughter coming in asking me why I was chopping onions with cookie dough sitting next to me.  She thought I was creating a new cookie 🙂

 

 

From May until October

Cake Pops

The kids had a half day of school today.  Normally grandma comes to hang out with them until I get home but today she was sick.  So they entertained themselves by making these pretty (and messy) cake pops in the cake pop maker Chase received for her birthday.  She loves it as you can see and so does Chance.  They made quite a few but ate most of them before I got home. 

Shout Out Award

Thanks so much Cristi G.  (Easy Being Mom) for the Shout Out Award.  I am happy you like my blog!!

Cristi’s blog is funny, insightful and a fun reminder of what it’s like having young children and starting out the next phase of life.

This award was created by Amanda (From One Crazy Life To Another) and is a wonderful way to acknowledge other bloggers whose work we enjoy and want to bring attention to so thank you Amanda.

I started my blog with the hopes of inspiring others to find a balance between the pioneering ways of our history and the world we currently live in.  Simplicity is key in my life and I try to keep that same simplicity with my blog sharing easy home cooked meals, gardening, farming and raising children.  Faith, family and fun are my three F words.

I have found so many wonderful blogs it’s hard to narrow down a few to pass this award on to but have chosen the blogs below for the award:

1)  Vittle Monster  His blog is all about food from different restaurants as well as a picture of the scenery of the area he is visiting.  He drew me in with his “cherpumple”  recipe and I look forward to his daily posts and pictures.

2)  Serious Thoughts Taken Not So Seriously   Kate’s blog is faith based and has wonderful examples and ideas of how to continue to grow in your faith as well as growing as a person.  She keeps the posts short and simple while driving home the main idea of the post.

3)  Of Kids and Cows  I love this blog because it cover’s the daily life of a generational dairy (cow) farming family living in our modern world and raising 3 small children.  Fun posts, great pictures and awesome recipes!!

4)  Horses Sweat, Ladies Perspire  This is a Facebook blog and one worth liking if you are on Facebook.  Her posts, stories, recipes and tales of the old south are full of history.  She keeps her page full of interesting daily posts.  I have made many of her recipes and thoroughly enjoy reading the stories passed down from generation to generation on her blog.

There are so many others I could keep going but hopefully you will see them on my site under blogs I follow and check some of the others out.

 

 

 

Revenge

Going along with the drama post from yesterday this was something in 6th grade my mother said to me.  I had switched schools to a small Catholic school where most of the kids had been together since Kindergarten.  I was the “outsider” trying to fit in.  Of course the “click” of girls did not accept me.  I have a very strong personality so would never let them know it was hurtful but at home would express my dislike of the school to my parents and cry.  That is when my mother said to me “Happiness is your best revenge. It will make them think twice when they see they are not getting to you”. 

Two weeks after joining the school and acting like it was the best thing going (while cursing it out privately at home to my siblings) the “click” started losing it’s power and the girls started befriending me leaving the one “ring leader” to try and be my friend.  To this day she still tries (sending me facebook friend requests which I deny every time lol).  Happiness was my best revenge.  It also taught me happiness is a choice and when life throws you a curve you can either choose to be happy or choose to let it get to you. 

I hope whatever is thrown at you, happiness is your choice!!

Strawberry Shortcake

This is what happens when you leave your kids inside the house while you are working in the garden.  My kids love strawberry shortcake.  We had strawberries, Bisquick mix and cream, what better thing to do than make a nice dessert.  This was a yummy treat!!  I apologize about the blurry pictures but my son took these pictures so I could share them on my blog he said.  They were very proud of their hard work making dessert.

Drama…no thanks

“If you can’t say it to someone’s face, don’t say it to anyone else. If you are upset, angry, or unhappy with a situation, face it head on, don’t be a “behind the scenes” person stirring the pot hoping someone else will join your battle.”  Told to me by my father in my teen years.  One of the wisest bits of advice he shared with me.  He was a very wise man.

I have always been a person who does not like drama.  I will avoid people and situations I know create or thrive on it.  Everyone has some drama in their lives but school age girls are the worst. I had/have many acquaintances that I consider friends but not close friends as I do not like the drama they drag around.  In school most of my friends were boys or other “cowgirls” as we had no time for drama in the barn focusing on riding our horses.

I have shared this information with my children over the years.  My 12 year old daughter is now dealing with the typical girl drama and is showing she has learned by example of walking away and avoiding the drama creators in her class stating “shallow girls are not worth my time”.  That makes me one happy mother!!