Armistice /Veteran's Day

 In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, an

d now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

~John McCrae

(http://www.ayearfromoakcottage.org/ )

World War I veterans

Florence Beatrice Green (née Patterson, born 19 February 1901) is the last known living veteran of the First World War. She was a member of the Women's Royal Air Force.

US Living Veterans

Veterans Affairs

World War II

1.7 million

Korean War
2.2 million

Vietnam

7.6 million

21.8 Million veterans in the US (2010)
1.6 Million are female
9 millions over age 65


Take a moment. Put aside the politics. Remember those in the past, present, and future that have served in the military.

Biscuits galore

Kelli at 'Kiss the cajun cook' claimed that her buttermilk biscuits were the bomb and couldn't be messed up. I am not a good bread or biscuit baker. So I took that challenge and made the biscuits. Real butter- check. Buttermilk- really? had to go to 2 grocery stores to find it.

So Thursday evening I made them.  The intention was to make some eggy sandwiches for dinner and then eat the rest over the weekend. I had an early day (430am) and thought this would be great. Plus I wanted to use the iron skillet that my gma gave me. It was was the skillet she received for her wedding. I saved it from a garage sale.

The results!?!?!?
Perfectly light biscuits. So great that I call my gma to exclaim my excitement. Thanks Kelli!
Find the recipe here: http://kissthecajuncooks.blogspot.com/2011/10/buttermilk-drop-biscuits.html

So now I have a quart of buttermilk---need to make another batch or two so I can use up the milk. :)

g'ma skillet

yummy!

Autumn

Autumn. My favorite time of year. If we had smell-o-vision blogs I would share with you the scents of Autumn. The smells  of Autumn vary. You have the crisp smell of  apples to the warmth of cider. The hint of smoke from bonfires to the earthy scent of the leaves on the ground. Fall for me means festivals, football, leaves piled up like snow, corn mazes, pumpkins, and apples. The Ozarks is perfect for Autumn. Take the back roads and you will see what I mean.  Drive along the winding roads while you are surrounded by the colors of the season. Some roads will be so thick with leaves that they fly up like snow when you drive thru them.

Besides the smells of the season I love the weather. Layer up and layer down. Throw on a cute jacket for those bonfire nights. Hoodie weather. Perfect for nature hikes.

Today is a great rainy day of Autumn. We had a late summer so this is our first true Autumn day. I had a pumpkin muffin with a cuppa for bfast. Now if I could sit by the fire it would be a perfect day. :)

Happy May Day!!

Happy May Day!! Remember the days of making baskets for friends and neighbors? Going door to door and trying not to get caught leaving the presents. :)  This was a big deal in our town in Nebraska....

Finals are over but the rain hasn't stopped. So I am thinking it is time to enjoy not doing anything for a bit. Just in time is the Royal Wedding. I don't follow celebs alot but this was a fun thing to watch. I love weddings of all kind. Plus being a history and pol sci major had me surrounded by the royals of many countries that shaped our world. Who needs a soap opera when you can crack up a history book and get an eye-full.

I think the best part was the crowds. The public had a chance to celebrate just being British and enjoying themselves. It has been a hard year for alot of people so it was nice to see villages, cities, pubs, and parks full of people having a great time being British. I didn't make it to the expat bfast but enjoyed watching it in my pjs. Plus I will admit---- there is still the little girl in me that remembers those fairy tale weddings

I know, I know. There are alot of things that can be said against the establishment. But for a moment it was fun seeing the carriages, hats, and boys in uniforms. :) Also this is a new generation of Royals. So hopefully they can raise the bar. But enough already---- BBC kept replaying it over and over. Seriously!!?!? Do we need to see it that many times?

Off to a week of no deadlines till the next class starts on May 9th...... hopefully the rain will stop before then.

Remember those resolutions and changes

It is March and I am looking at that last post. It is funny how times flies and you realize that your to-do list will not finish itself. But on the other side I realize that if these things were really, really important then I would do them without a second thought.

Besides the above I have also been trying to make some decisions in my life. Not earth-shattering but rather quality of life type of stuff. For the past year I have been working 2 jobs and grad school. The last month I have been pondering why I was doing all of this and that I needed to change it. I had some clear reasons for job #2. Pay off some med bills, have play $$, not have to budget so much, etc... The last few weeks I have realized that job #2 might not be helping me as much as I thought. I ended up spending alot on drive-thru as i jetted between jobs/school, my hip pain returned & I had no time for workouts, my time was so budgeted that I had no time to spend the $$ I was earning.

With all this said I still feel guilty about quitting. Maybe it is because I compare myself to those around me who are working/school/kids or friends who are still working 2 jobs and rarely sleep. Maybe it is the expectations that we and society place on us to be the ultimate jugglers. Or it might be a part of me still scarred from events of the past that feel I better have options, 'just in case'.

But even as cheap as I am, I really like my down-time. I want to be able to sleep in on the weekends/go to the park and not have to cram everything in a few hours on Sat evening.  I also worry that in a few months I will look back and I haven't enjoyed the extra time. I know this guilt is so silly.

So the cheap/over-achieving side of me is fighting with the fun-loving side. Right now I think that the fun-loving side is winning but the other side of myself is putting up a good fight.

2011 Projects---- not resolutions

You may call them resolutions but I rather call them projects. I had a roommate that was the best at these. She even had them divided out in categories. I loved it!

1. 365 in photos - The concept is submitting a photo for each day of the year. I am doing a weekly collage. This should be loads of fun and keep me from getting buried in non-creative things.

2. Be a better blogger. It has been too easy to post something fast on facebook and twitter. I have been writing but it has been more shorts on a travel blog. I need to revamp this blog and make it interesting again. I wasn't good at keeping up two blogs last year.

3. Branch out on my reading. I am a avid ready but have been stuck in a reading rut lately.

4. Keep up on my hip/back PT. This time last year I was in soooo much pain. I don't want to get that way again. Plus working out is always on everyone's list

5. Really plan out my summer vacation.... London/Denmark/Scandinavia here I come!!

6. Start looking at a monthly projects. Even it is just organizing my closet.

7. Make time to see the niece/ nephews more. They are going up soooo fast

That is it for now! I am sure I will revise it soon.

Post Holiday & Jan Roundup

End of January..... and I am just now putting together the holiday pics and emailing them out. I don't think I have even properly thought of some resolutions aka (projects) for the next year. I finally put up the  last of my Christmas items. No more sitting by the Xmas lights reading or enjoying the smells of the season. But then again I was ready to have a tidy apt.

The holilday season was a bit of a blur. I have been working a 2nd job night and weekends. If you have ever worked retail then you know the pain I am talking about. Some weeks I was racking up 30 hrs on top of my regular job 40 hrs. As I worked I kept thinking, wow is this how people shop during 'hard times' I hate to see it when the economy is good. Also it made me want to avoid shopping like the plague.

 On the plus side I made enough from Nov-Dec to pay for spring semester of grad school. :) Plus a little extra for my travel plans this summer.

I spent New Years weekend with the family in Illinois. I always have such a fantastic time with the kids. Swam at the hotel pool, nature walked, and had loads of junk food into the wee hours of the night.

Pics can be found here - Christmas Photos

So this winter has been really dry. Only a few days with snow. I have a feeling we will regret this later on in the the summer. I miss the snow.... especially all of the great things that go with it.

I have started my classes this semester and they should be OK. I prob will be ranting about it later as they progress. One of them is a rally 'touchy-feely' counseling class. I am sure I will get used to it later on (hoping). It is alot of counseling role-play but with my classmates revealing their real issues. Sigh.....  I prob will be ranting about it later as they progress.

Haven't quit the 2nd job yet..... still debating it.

So that is Dec/Jan. Loads of work, fun with the kids, and buckling down for a great year!