My Blog

Yummy Bread and a picnic

05/11/2012 00:05:00

Another week has gone by and as usual, full of things to do and never enough time to do it. Aww life. This past weekend, we had a church social at our house on Friday evening. The weather was perfect; not too hot, but not chilly. It was potluck and I had made a huge batch of ham and beans.

I had also attended the opening of a new center at the college where I teach computer classes. It was very well done (which the college always does), but as I stayed to clean up—a wonderful thing happened.

There was food left over, and the owner of the restaurant did not want to take it back. So I took home several goodies and used them for the potluck that night. This older I get, the more that I am aware that this type of thing happens again and again. It always seems that I am in the right place at always the right time.

To receive blessings: to get something on sale, to find an item I have been looking for, to be given something, to meet someone that will bless my life, to be blessed by music, or art, or beauty. It just happens continually and amazes me again and again—the tender mercies that our Creator is just waiting and wanting to bestow upon us.

Rebeca and I went to the Art Festival last week and as always it was full of incredible beauty. We ate Indian tacos, had slushies, she put glaze on a vase, and while we waited for it to be fired, we sat in lawn chairs under a beautiful Sycamore, a cool breeze whispered past, and we watch dancing (Mexican Traditional and then ballroom) on the stage they had set up.

It had been unbearably hot during the afternoon. (I usually have an umbrella in the car and use it when I am in the sun…as my skin gets blotchy) but there was not one in the car. We just hurried as we went from booth to booth and tried to stay in the shade. But by evening, when the music started in was nice…and of course…by that time we were done and leaving.

But also as we were leaving, it was obvious that many people were headed to the Art festival, so we left before it was crowded.

This past weekend, the girls and I worked outside cleaning around the house. Even though it has been almost a year since the tornado, there is still cleanup. The city has one day a year that you can put just about anything by the curb. We started gathering junk and putting it into a pile.

We also raked up and cleaned the area where we have the wood pile near the house for burning wood, and then I cleaned several gardens. There were staples, nails, pieces of stucco, metal, foam, shingles, insulation, and trash from the construction workers. It seems as though the cleanup will never ever be really done.

The back is done. This next weekend, I want to weed the front gardens. And by the weekend, I should be over the stiffness I had from bending over so much…

I made 22 loaves of apple, pineapple, and coconut bread this week. I didn’t have enough apples; therefore, I put in a can of pineapple in place of them. It came out so perfect! Soft and a little chewy with a crunchy crust.

I took some to a family where the father was recuperating from surgery. I took some to a friend for her birthday. Some went to fellow workers and bosses. Fito took some to his work. The small loaves of bread are easy to make and are a nice way to say: thank you, I’m sorry, I feel sad for you, etc.

I made a batch of Chili this week and on Sunday we grilled chicken. Take a big spoonful of mayonnaise and rub it all over the chicken. Also add seasonings like lemon pepper, a fajita seasoning mix, or whatever you prefer.

This gooey mixture keeps the chicken soft and seals in the juices when you grill. The mayonnaise bakes right in and you can’t taste it at all.

I have classes finishing up this week and that means paper work…Yuk. But I have two weeks off before I start teaching another early morning class in June, which means more time to work in the garden, sleep in, or do what I want…yea!

My older sister sent a bouquet of flowers to my mom for Mother’s day and it is one of the most beautiful bouquets I have ever seen. There are pink roses (almost a hot pink) and pink lilies. Small yellow roses and purple mums. But the contrast of the colors and the way they set each other off is incredible.

I also took two meals to people this week that had different problems in their lives…it is always good to go and visit others, because I was at the point where I was extremely frustrated with something that I am not quite sure how to handle.

However, after seeing these other families with their issues made mine seem almost trivial. Mine is just a work ethical political goobly gook type of dilemma in deciding what is the best way to handle a very delicate situation…

When I came home today, Rebeca had a picnic lunch already packed. It was a beautiful day and we went on our picnic while waiting for my mom at her hair appointment. That was just the needed medicine to erase life’s little worries.

Hope all the Mothers have a wonderful Mother’s Day and all women who mentor, teach, work with, care for, heal, coach, and love children are mothering and therefore; are mothers. God bless each and everyone one of you for serving His children.

Easter, Grandma's birthday, and more

04/21/2012 18:48:00

Two weeks ago was Easter and Tony came home with a girl. We were all so excited to meet her and she fit in so well with the family. Whether or not she becomes a member of the family remains to be seen, but we all vote a definite YES!

I had been gone the weekend before on a trip to Utah and thus had been playing catch up all week. The laundry wasn’t done (and I might add) still isn’t done. I am still trying to get everything in order after 3 weeks of doing other things.

We had the church’s children’s Easter activity at our house on Saturday morning. I slept in and had the first people show up while I was still in the shower.

We had a craft, an Easter egg hunt, and then had hot dogs and hamburgers out on the grill. It went over well.

Fito and the boys have just about finished building a cover over the patio using some of the tile left over from doing the roof. It is a great place. Before, when you were on the Patio, it was in full sun in the day. Now, there’s shade. Fito also hung up 4 hammocks plus we have tables and chairs and it is just a great place to relax.

After the activity, Fito went to OKC on errands, others took naps or played games, and I worked to get everything ready for Pupusas and for Easter dinner. I also made PB Chews, which I hadn’t made for a while. They were a big hit. I had forgotten just how easy they are to make and just how addictive they are: you just can’t stop eating them!

When I made the mixture for Pupusas, I made enough for Saturday night dinner, plus enough to take to the school during the week to have a treat for Fito’s class.

Fito is a “New Comer” teacher. He has 18 students who are new to the US and do not speak any English yet. We made Pupusas for them and other staff members on Friday. I probably made more than 150 Pupusas in 3 hours (and then I was wondering why my back was hurting on Saturday).

Saturday evening, they all played Dance Revolution on the Connect and I blogged.

Sunday morning, I awoke early and made a Spanish Turkey. Then after church, I had the children peel potatoes. That way you could make a Bolio (Spanish Sub) or they could eat more American. I had thought Tony and Colette were leaving Monday, but she had to work on Monday, therefore, they needed to leave Sunday. I felt bad as I had blogged and not spent as much time with themas I should have.

I really didn’t cook as much as I usually do as I didn’t make any bread or even a ham. However, I did make Pupusas the night before and was tired.

Sunday afternoon, I finally took a nap-the first one in maybe 3 weeks and it was really needed.

Of course, that meant that I woke up at 5 am on Monday and couldn’t sleep. Again, another crazy week and I am still not caught up on things.

Monday after work, I had to meet with a lawyer about some paper work, and then Tuesday, Elizabeth had testing in the afternoon. When I went back to pick her up, they were not done, so I had to drive to my evening college class and had to send Fito to go back to OKC to pick her up. He was already home and had to turn around and head back to the city.

Wednesday, I was so tired of all the work and world, I called the children after my morning classes and said, “Do you want to go see a movie?” Maria was at the house, helping them with school. They met me at the theater and we saw, Mirror, Mirror. What a cute, fun movie. It’s great for the whole family.

Thursday, Ross said he was headed to Dallas, subsequently,David, Elizabeth, and Rebeca just had to go with him.

Fito and I enjoyed the weekend to ourselves. On Saturday, we went and did errands all day long, mainly looking for car parts (How fun…right?!?) I actually was sitting in the car many times, while he was looking for stuff.

Sunday, we had our in-laws over and had a nice meal and visit. Rebeca made cupcakes for everyone.

The next few days were full again. Tuesday after my class at tinker, I went out to my car and I had locked my keys in the car. I went in and was told that because of liability, security could not help me. I took a hanger outside and started trying to get in.

A gentleman saw me and started helping me. He had just moved here from Georgia. His family is still back there while they sell their house.

The hanger was not strong enough, so I went back in and another gentleman said he had a slim Jim in his truck. He came outside with me,handed the Slim Jim to the other man and he almost opened the door. You could hear it start to open, and then it would slip.

I finally told them that they had given me enough time and that they needed to go back to work. The first man handed the Slim Jim to the second man. He then went to the passenger door and opened the door.

We both looked at him and said, “Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you ask to try?”

He answered that the other man was so close to opening it, he just waited.

I made Poppy Seed bread that night to take the next day to thank them. I made 22 loaves. That way we could take it several places. Fito took some to his class. I took some to two different classes, to some supervisors, and to the two men that helped me open my car. I also made Lasagna.

Thursday, was my mother’s 81 birthday. I took her to her hair appointment, then out for Chinese Food. I also picked up some library books and visited a friend while she was in her appointment.

We had a nice afternoon together. In the morning, between classes, I had gone to an antique mall and bought her a beautiful new vase. It was Vaseline glass, which she really likes. It is glass from the early 1900’s that was made with uranium, thus, it has a glow to it. She was happy. My sister Shannon sent her a nice boutique of flowers.

Friday, I did not have to work. Yeah! I did all kinds of things around the house. Today, Saturday, was the same. I did not have to work and did not to do anything elsewhere. I cooked Turkey, mashed potatoes, corn and peas. Made some PB chews.

I slept in, went on a bike ride, painted, worked on my website, etc. It was such a wonderful, beautiful spring day. The lake is full from the last rains. Everything is green. The flowers are blooming. Rebeca cut flowers and made a boutique. There was a nice breeze, and I used an extension cord and sat outside on the patio all afternoon on the computer.

BTW, I added a new page to my website that is really interesting...All Over America...check it out!

Trip to Salt lake City and Grand Canyon.

04/07/2012 20:18:00

First of all, I went to Save-a-lot last week and bought 2 grocery carts full of canned goods. I hadn’t bought canned goods for more than six months and was out of just about everything. In that time, too, I had seen the prices drifting upwards and was worried that to replenish my stock it would be too expensive.

The first cart was vegetables and cost me $149. That was an excellent price for so much food. The second cart had more expensive items such as Cream of Mushroom soup, pineapple, fruits, etc. -- it ran about $300.

I was very pleased to have my pantry full again and as always, Save-a-lot has the best prices (in the OKC area) on canned goods. Aldi’s does okay, but usually Save-a-lot beats them on canned goods. Plus I actually like their brands.

Also, on the 23 of March, I was at home in the evening when some friends came by. I was in the kitchen making a HUGE batch of Goulash. The husband came to the door and I saw him first through the kitchen window.

He was in a suit and I thought they were stopping by on their way to the temple as he does tile work and we wanted a bid on some work. Then I went to the door and saw her sitting in their van. She was wearing a white dress and had a veil on her head.

I then suddenly remembered that their 25 wedding anniversary was that night and we were supposed to attend. Fito wasn’t even home and I was in slacks just cooking away.

They had come to our house to take pictures outside, using the gazebo, the gardens, and so forth. Anyway, thank goodness another lady was taking the pictures and I did not have to be with them the whole time.

I worked frantically to finish the Goulash. I ended up with 5 large pans and 2 small pans. I buy the disposable aluminum pans from Sam’s. That way I do not have to remember to get a pan back from a family…and they do not have to wash a pan or worry about returning something.

I then cleaned the kitchen and went to dress for the anniversary party. I also had forgotten that I had told another friend that her daughter could spend the night so when I came out of the room all dressed—there she was with her daughter.

Elizabeth and Rebeca were still in Dallas. They came home the next day. So this little girl had to go to a Spanish party with two older people (although, I think it was a neat cultural experience for her).

We came home early and did not stay to dance. I slept upstairs in the Elizabeth’s and Rebeca’s room with her so she would not be alone. Then Saturday was the day we had David’s party.

This past week was an exciting week. On Thursday, March 29 we left for Salt Lake City, Utah. Over a 1000 miles of driving-one way. Our friend Kathy and two of her daughters: Rachael and Abby went with Rebeca, Elizabeth, and I. Girls Night Out Extreme!

We drove through the night and got to Albuquerque, New Mexico about 2 am. We then decided to do the extra driving and drove on into Arizona and went to see the Grand Canyon. We arrived in the park just after sunrise, about 6:30 am on Friday morning.

I did all of the driving except when Kathy drove for two hours in the night. I really like to drive and do well (as long as I am eating something chewy…and then get so tired of candy…yuk…but it keeps me awake).

What can you say about the Grand Canyon? We have all seen the incredible pictures. We know the depth, the length, the variation of color, and the features of one of the wonders of the world. But just as pictures, movies, or videos cannot do just to Niagara Falls, or the ocean, they do not come close to seeing the Canyon in person.

They simply cannot catch the depth, the majesty, the magnificence. It is worth the trip for sure.

We stopped at the main center at the south rim and got out of the car and walked to various points, took pictures, and marveled in the beauty for about an hour and a half. We then went back to the car and proceeded to drive through the park, stopping countless times as we came to new vistas, saw new dimensions. It is simply amazing.

We then entered the Navajo reservation as we headed north on our way to Utah. We also drove through other reservations during the trip. The Native Americans live in such poor conditions. Most live in broken down trailer homes with tires on the roof to keep the wind from blowing it away. Dirty conditions. Trash and junk lying around. One town even had public showers as many of the homes do not have indoor plumbing. Some still have dirt floors. There were very few clean, well-maintained properties.

It always amazes me that the poorest counties in the US are all on Indian reservations. Most tribes have free health care, free college education, free services of many kinds. They have the Casinos that rake in millions of dollars every year, yet their individual members struggle with illiteracy, marginal literacy, diabetes, alcoholism, and poverty.

As my dissertation was on marginal literacy, this is a topic dear to my heart. When you take away a person’s desire to become self-reliant you rob them of achievement which then robs them of everything else: their self-esteem, their sense of accomplishment, their sense of being in control of their destiny, and so on.

We did stop at one of the many places that the Indians have to purchase home-made items. We bought some jewelry and pottery. Rebeca insisted on buying her father something…using her own money to do so…and buying less for herself in the process…as I had only given her so much money to buy something. I was so proud of her for doing so and think it is really important to teach and encourage children to be generous.

We stopped by one place that was by a deep gorge with a fascinating view. This scenery was different than the Grand Canyon, but still spectacular. We also drove through Zion National Park which was extraordinary.

Through the drive there and then the drive home…in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado: the four corners region. Where the four states meet, there is a site where you can stand in all four states at once (we stopped on our return trip).

This whole region is full of rock formations. It is really dry, a desert with sage brush, cedar trees in the higher elevations, etc. but the rock formations are varied and all are spectacular. Sometimes they rise straight up like they are reaching for heaven. Other times, they are twisted and turned like the swirl of an ice cream cone.

Then as we reached Oklahoma on the way home—there is a reason it is called Green Country. It is green! And after all the recent rain, which has been a real blessing, it was soooo green. Seeing the fields of green wheat, green grasses, wild flowers, full ponds with the water reflecting the sky, the trees greening with new leaves. It was a completely different type of beauty.

I have been in 32 states and 3 countries and each has its own unique beauty and each has people that are ordinary, good people trying to do the best they can and serve those around them.

Well we finally reached Salt Lake City on Friday night around 9:30 pm. We went to the room and all took turns taking showers. What a wonderful blessing after being in the car for two straight days.

Saturday and Sunday, we took turns going to Conference (the reason for our trip, see, our church has a bi-annual conference when members of the church, world-wide, do not have regular church, but listen to the prophet and apostles for two days of special meetings).

The weather was incredible Saturday, being in the 80’s, which broke a record high for Salt Lake City. Sunday, it turned cold and rained and even snowed a tiny bit. Monday, we arose early and packed and left.

We had so much fun while at conference and being in Salt Lake City. It is a beautiful city with many things to see and do. They just built a new mall that has an actual creek that runs the length of the mall. Beautiful. We played tourist and saw many sights. Temple Square was beautiful with Tulips, Pansies, Hyacinths, and other spring flowers.

There was a special exhibit on Temple Square of how the Salt Lake Temple was built and even had a miniature replica of the Temple where you could look inside and see the various rooms (like a doll house, but even better).

Conference was like a soothing shower after working in the yard on a hot, dusty, August day. It calmed my soul, gave me hope, consoled me, lifted me up, encouraged me, and admonished me.

The music is my favorite. I had tickets for Saturday afternoon when the choir was comprised of missionaries. They were a great choir and I cried as I remembered my days as a missionary in the Missionary Training Center and being in the choir there.

I also had two tickets for Sunday morning, and Kathy braved the cold and rain with me. The Mormon tabernacle Choir sang and there is no other choir to compare with them. And to hear them in the Conference center is too incredible to describe.

Also, there is no way to describe the feelings of fellowship, to meet with saints from all over the world in that great center, sing together, worship together, pray together. No matter your religion, if you ever have an opportunity to travel to a regional, national, or world-wide event: do it! It is inspirational.

We planned to be home by Tuesday morning as I had to be at work at 9 am. However, it started snowing toward evening and after driving 2 hours in thick blowing snow (poor Kathy was driving). We stopped at the first town we found, found a motel, and stayed there for the night. I texted, emailed, and called my three bosses (as I had three different events that day). We lost the electricity for a while, but it came back on after a couple of hours.

When I woke up at 5 am Tuesday morning, there was about 5 inches of snow on the ground and it was still snowing heavily. I insisted that everyone hurry up and get ready (and we did not bring all the luggage in as we had stopped in new Mexico and picked up a pile of smooth round river stones, packed them in the back of the Suburban, and then put the luggage back on top…I was afraid if we opened the back, the stone or luggage would all fall out) so we just got part of our stuff and made do with what we could get to.

We left by 6:30 am. I had checked the roads on the Internet (just as I had the day before and this large snow storm was not forecast). We followed a snow plow for a while, then as he was going too fast, we were then on our own. But the Suburban has four-wheel drive and I just drove slowly until we finally were out of the worst of it. (We heard later on the radio, that that pass was closed later in the morning because of the snow. As we were headed down one mountain, the other side of traffic was stopped as they could not make it up the mountain...we did see a snowplow later that was headed that way).

We were snowed in at Cuba, New Mexico. Even when we reached Albuquerque, it was still snowing and they even had school closings. It snowed on and off all morning. Then in the afternoon, it was rain, hail, and crosswinds all day. Many times there were thunderous, massive black clouds that looked as though they could form a tornado any moment.

This was such a crazy day for weather. It was the day that the Dallas area was hit by all the tornados. Kathy was on the phone many hours, calling family and friends and checking on things.

On the way out to Arizona, we had stopped at a Stuckey’s travel center in Adrian, Texas. Right off the I-40 near the New Mexico border. For the past 8 years they have taped butcher- paper to the walls of the stalls in their bathrooms. At the top of each sheet, it says: Tell us about your trip.

The comments on the paper are heart-warming, happy, sad, exciting, human, and more. They are funny, inspirational, and some bring a tear. Thousands travel All Over America on their way to vacations, to pick up loved ones, to bury loved ones, moving to a new job, going off to college, etc.

They are a kaleidoscope of the life we live and endure. I asked the owners if I could bring some sheets home and put them on my Website. They so graciously allowed me to do so. I hope to have the comments up soon, and then as they send me more, I will add those, too.

Hopefully, as people become aware of the site, they will send photos of themselves, let us know how their trip turned out, and share their travels with us.

We had a great trip and a great adventure. What an exciting time to be alive. To travel with a smart phone that allows you to look up things, find maps, restaurants, a Wal-Mart, whatever you need. I still remember the trips of finding a pay phone and using a calling card in order to call home.

Yes, I love technology, I love the many magnificent creations we saw, the inspirational meetings, but most of all, enjoying family on the trip and then coming home to family and friends.

As Kathy said at the Grand Canyon, “The only thing sad is that not all of our family is here to share this with.”

May all of our family and friends be blessed, and I pray for the day when we will indeed share all.

Pictures of Trip to Grand Canyon and Utah

Spring break, spring cleaning, and more tragedy.

03/26/2012 09:47:00

Another week or so has gone by and as they say tragedy strikes in threes and it has. Another family in our church lost their wife and mother unexpectedly. We were in Houston for Spring break and Maria called me in the morning.

She told me this woman had passed away. I just couldn’t believe it. Her older children are married, but she still had 13 and 17 –year-old daughters at home. Also, her husband is legally blind and so she did all the driving, paper work and so forth.

He of course is devastated. My heart just goes out to them. She had been struggling with several health issues, and was in the hospital for kidney stones and just passed away quietly and peacefully in her sleep. They now believe she died of a blood clot or perhaps even of heart disease. We haven’t heard anything conclusive yet.

We weren’t back in time for the funeral. We were going to drive back from Houston Monday night, as the funeral was Tuesday morning, but we hit powerful thunderstorm and flash flooding near Dallas so we just went to a cousin’s home and stayed there for the night. It rained and stormed all night. Apparently so in Oklahoma for when we arrived home the lake out back was fuller. Yea!

We needed rain so desperately so rain even with lightning and thunder is welcome. Please more rain. Since the rain, things have really started to green up and it is prettier each day. Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day. We had company over after church and I made Pupusas. I didn’t quite have enough as the day before we had had company all day for David’s birthday party.

But Fito made scrambled eggs (the chickens are giving us about 18 eggs per day right now) and we still had a big pot of beans and with the Pupusas we had enough food. If you haven’t had beans and eggs together try it. Also add some of the Spanish cream and some fresh cheese. A really good combination.

I remember as a missionary, the first time I went to a home and they served beans and eggs together, I thought, “Beans and eggs?” But, WOW, are they good together.

I also made Poppy Seed bread. I need to take some to one of my bosses to “soften” her up. When I was an adjunct at the college, we found our own substitutes when we needed to miss class….sooo…when I missed class last week I asked the teacher across the hall if he could cover for me and if my class could just go in with his. We set it up; all was fine, until I found out that this supervisor likes to find the substitutes for the classes and really wasn’t too pleased with what I had done.

Oh, the dilemmas of the work place.

We had a wonderful time in Houston. On Friday we went to Moody Gardens and saw the aquarium with seals, penguins, etc. Celeste, our two-year-old granddaughter thought all the sea creatures were great. It is always more fun to go someplace like that with a younger child who delights in seeing all of God’s creations.

We also saw their pyramid that contains a jungle. It was fascinating as my husband knows so much about the animals and plants and it is as if you have your own personal guide because he tells you about so many things.

They also had a 3-D movie about tornados which made me wonder why we were living in Oklahoma? But I already know the answer. Oklahoma has tough weather, but that has created tough people who have good old-fashioned principles, determined self-reliance, and uncommon common sense. Oklahoma is a great place to live because of the people.

We went to the beach for a while after Moody gardens, but by then it really was too chilly and we headed for Douglas’s and Ary’s. They recently just bought a home in Spring (Spring is just north of Houston and Douglas is son number two).

They bought a foreclosed home and got a good deal. Saturday, we put in a patio for them and worked all day.

Sunday, I woke up every 10 minutes from 5 am until 6 am when I decided God was not going to let me sleep in and we had better get up and go to church (their church starts at 8:30 am).

We went to church and there was my sister Shannon from Omaha, Nebraska. She was visiting her children in Houston and her daughter, Jennifer, is in the same congregation that Douglas and Ary just moved to….a small world indeed.

That afternoon, she and I went to visit our brother and his new wife which we had not met, yet. We had a nice visit and it is always amazing how the Lord can take any tragedy and turn it to good. Their marriage is a testament to that.

Monday morning, we left Houston early intending to get on the road quickly, but we kept stopping. We visited Ary’s parent’s store. They have an herbal store and we visited with them (they are always fun to visit) and then we went to eat at a Spanish restaurant.

We then went back to look at a car which Fito had already been looking at. We ended up buying it and that took the rest of the afternoon. The poor children were stuck in the car all afternoon and now we were caught in evening traffic trying to leave Houston.

When we came home, Fito spent the rest of the week working on covering the patio. It is coming out beautiful. It is really going to be nice.

I spent my free days cleaning out drawers and closets. Wow, I did a lot of cleaning and de-cluttered. I probably threw away or gave away about 10 bags of stuff. It is amazing how quickly we can accumulate stuff.

And why we thought all that stuff need to be kept is beyond me, we humans are rather unique when it comes to our stuff,

$2500 stolen...what a week!

03/13/2012 14:13:00

Well, a very long week has gone by. It started with the death of our friend’s child and it just kept dragging and continuing. Monday morning, after I had not slept at all on Sunday night, I went to work.

I had told my class I would make them Pupusas so they could see how they were done.I took everything to class and made them. I then went to my next class out at Tinker, then home. I spent the afternoon on the phone planning meals and other needed services, did Landry for the family, then went on to my evening class.

Tuesday was much the same, except that I made Pupusas for my evening class. I also took Rebeca with me to class, as Fito took the older children to the Temple for the evening. She sat quietly and just drew.

One interesting note is that while I was making the Pupusas (and the students were working on practice GED tests, a Spanish woman entered the room. She questioned me as to where another classroom was in the building.

I told her where to go, when one of the students asked me, “Hey, Dr. Tammy, how did she know you spoke Spanish?” I then realized, she had indeed, spoken to me in Spanish. This is the first time that has happened as people always address me in English. Was it the Pupusas?

Wednesday, the same: work, making phone calls, arranging things. I did make a Spanish Turkey for the family and Elizabeth made mashed potatoes.Thursday was the same, except after class I met Matthew, some of his friends, Maria and Alexander, and the four younger children at Chili’s for lunch.

It was Matthew’s birthday. We had such a nice afternoon being together, teasing him, and probably being too noisy for other patrons. I kept telling my children to not be too loud, but some of them simply do not listen to me.

I was going to clean the family’s car this afternoon, but after the lunch I ended up doing some paper work for the college that I had to turn in.This whole week I have been working in the early mornings with David on his Geometry. I finally am learning it after 30 years.

That is one good thing about homeschooling, especially if you love to learn. You keep learning alongside of your children.

In the evening, toward the end of my computer class, Fito called me. He was frantic and asking me where I had put his suits. I had taken them that afternoon to the dry cleaner as the funeral was Saturday. I did not know which suit he was going to wear, and as I had not cleaned them for a while, I just took them all.

He then informed me that he had hidden money in the suits. We had just sold a trailer and he had the cash. He didn’t want me to find it so he hid it in the suits. One of the suits, I actually missed taking-- so thankfully, we did not lose all the money, but we did lose $2500.

After class, I drove to the dry cleaners and saw a phone number for their security company. I called the company, gave them my cell phone number and he passed it on to the owner. The owner called me and then met me at his company. We looked through the suits, but did not find the money.The clothes had not been cleaned yet and were still in the sacks.

It had to be the owner (he arrived before I did and already knew which sacks the clothes were in, or it was the woman who received the clothes. She had looked through the pockets and found some tissues and a card, but I do not know if she felt the money and just waited for me to leave to get it, or if it was the owner that found it.

I do know that when I went to pick up the clothes on Friday afternoon that she had just had highlights added to her hair. She also had on all new clothes and was wearing new shoes. Coincidence? Who knows?

I did tell her that the money was cursed and she asked why. I said that my husband had been unemployed for almost a year and we were going to use the money to pay bills. That one of the bills was tithing and that in the Spanish culture if you steal from a church or charity it puts a curse on the money.

I actually feel sorry for whoever took it or anyone who does that type of thing. First of all, they cannot trust people because they think everyone is like them. Second, they have to lie and remember who they lied to, what they lied about, etc….that is too much to remember for me. Lastly, they will not be blessed and therefore, have turned down the richer blessings they could have from God for material goods which rust and corrupt.

The other thing is that after having seen the loss of a child, made it seem so irrelevant. Yes, we really did need it, but at the same time, it is just money and can be replaced. I learned long ago that when a window is closed...a door opens.

Friday, I did not have to work and met some of my students for lunch. I took Rebeca with me and we had a great time. Afterwards we did some errands and then came home to do school work. I did take a much needed nap. It had been such a long week.

Saturday was the funeral and it was a very nice one. They did a good job explaining that the spirit is eternal and separate from the physical body, which is mortal.We believe the spirit and body together are the soul of man and through Christ all men will one day be resurrected, which means that their spirit and body will be united forever and it will be perfect…no sickness, no sorrow, and so on.

We also believe that families are eternal and that once we have been married in the Temple that our children, through covenants, and through the atonement of Christ are sealed to us for all eternity.

In other words, the family unit is in heaven.Since their son was so young and below the age of accountability (understanding sin) he is saved through the atonement of Christ and automatically will be exalted and reunited with his family in the next life.

For more of an explanation of what I believe go to my academic link and read a philosophy paper I wrote for school. It is called Human Nature.

After the funeral, we had a family dinner for the family and friends. There were so many people that brought food, that helped set up tables, stayed and cleaned up, did things for the family, took the children out for an afternoon, bought the mother a new dress, bought their little boy a new suit to be buried in, cleaned, washed clothes, comforted, prayed, cried with, wrote poems or notes, invoked blessings…

I could go on and on.We even had so much food leftover from the funeral (after sending home many dishes with the family) that I called a friend of mine that is always doing service. I asked her if she knew any families that needed food. She and her husband were actually on their way to the church to pick up a check to go and buy food.

I gave them all the leftover food to take to 3 different families, whom they said were out of food. So much service this week. Thank you to all those individual who serve.

Whether it is just a smile or complementing someone, or stopping to help a stranger stranded on the highway…there are a thousand ways to serve. Thank you to each one of you for each act, each sacrifice that you make to benefit others and the world.

Sometimes it seems that we only hear the bad things that go on in the world, but I see the wonderful acts of love and service every day. We truly do live on a wonderful earth and there are so many good and strong and valiant people today on the earth. You are not alone. Remember you are loved. You have worth. And know that I and many others appreciate all that you do.

The death of our friend's 3 year-old son.

03/06/2012 16:55:00

How do I start to describe my week so far? On Sunday, we went to church in the morning as normal, and then had friends over after church. One family had come earlier and they were almost through eating (I had made Pupusas) when the second family called and said they had to go help someone move.

I told them to just come anyway and that they could eat real quick and then take our Suburban with the boys and go help the other family move.

Soon after they left, the phone rang and Elizabeth answered it. She didn’t speak to the person and then hung up the phone. She said it was a lady from the church who lives near us and that there was an emergency and we needed to go now.

Fito and the other husband left immediately, and then the other mom and I headed over in our car. When we arrived, there was already a sheriff’s car there. We ran to the backyard and there by the side of the pool was the father bending over his 3 year-old son giving him CPR.

Being an ex-EMT. I immediately ran to the baby and asked him if he wanted to start 2 men CPR, but he said that now they suggest only doing the chest compressions. My previous training compelled me to try to give him a few respirations to try to expel any water in the lungs and hopefully bring much needed oxygen to his bluish body.

He vomited and some water came out, but no breath, no response. His pupils were dilated completely and he had no pulse, except for the compressions. His lips were blue and his body had the cast of one whose spirit has left the body.

My mind was racing, but I have also seen times when the impossible occurs and someone returns to their body.

The father continued the chest compressions, while I tilted the head back trying to keep the airway open. The EMT’s then arrived and took over and did two-man CPR with respirations.

Shortly, they loaded him and took him on to the hospital. His mom and dad went with him. He never recovered and they pronounced him dead a few hours later.

I stayed with the family all evening, cooking, cleaning, and taking moments to speak with someone, hug someone, let someone cry. I could still smell the vomit in my nose and I kept seeing his empty eyes.

I could not sleep that night. I would see his lifeless little body, then my strange, uneasy dreams would change, and I would see the lifeless body of my dear sweet Michael who was stillborn.

I had not felt such grief for years.

The next two days have been crazy. I still went to work, but have been helping with arranging everything, contacting people, and so forth.

We did gather up all the dirty clothes when we were there on Sunday and brought them home.

I have to brag on Elizabeth, my 12 year-old. She made sure all the laundry was done (the others helped…but it was mainly her) and then Maria took it back yesterday with some goodies she had bought from Sam’s.

I am also proud of Maria. She showed up as soon as she heard and was ready to go to work, but at that point she was asked to leave as the police were conducting an investigation.

Let me give some advice: do not be afraid to serve. Even if you do not know what to do…find something to do. Mop, sweep, clean a bathroom, do laundry, clean the kitchen, clean a fridge, plant a tree, write a letter, send a short note, bring a meal, bring snacks, bring cereal and milk, bring paper products, even toilet paper, take the younger children on an outing, take an older child out to eat and to visit, take mom to buy a new suit for the funeral, clean the family car, offer to pick up a relative at the airport, help get beds ready for company…

I could go on and on, but I do want to add, that people are individuals and each grieves in their own way. Do not assume they will act a certain way or respond a certain way. Listen- to them and to your intuition, then act accordingly—to your own talents, time and resources.

A news crew came later and we closed all the blinds in the home and tacked up sheets over the living room windows that did not have blinds.

Why the world must peer in on other people’s tragedy or privacy is beyond me. We as a society have lost all sense of civility and appropriateness.

Here is a family of 10 children, two whom are on missions; one serving in Guatemala, one in Argentina, whose children are smart, intelligent, vivacious, and well-behaved now being hounded by the government. Instead of being able to huddle together and to comfort one another over a misfortunate accident, they are treated as criminals and spied on in their own home.

We fought the American Revolution to keep British troops from being boarded in American homes, to keep unreasonable searches from occurring, and to allow a jury of peers decide one’s fate…after evidence is presented. One is innocent until proven guilty.

And yet our so called child-protection agency regularly assumes one is guilty (unless you are on drugs…and then they look the other way) and you have to get a lawyer and spend thousands proving you are innocent (sometimes just from an anonymous phone call that could have been made by a disgruntled client, ex-spouse, personal enemy, etc.)

They do not have to provide a search warrant. They do not have to have reasonable suspicion; they are outside the peer (jury) system. They are judge, jury, and executioner all in one moment.

The family was informed yesterday that they had to have a cover on their pool before nightfall or the children would be removed from the home.

There had been a cover on the pool, but in a wind storm, it had ripped and the mother was afraid that the boys would walk out on it, and then fall through the rip, and be trapped underneath the cover.

She therefore, took the cover off with plans to purchase another.

Anyone who has ever raised a small active boy knows how quickly they can find trouble.

When my boys were young, I knew that if I didn’t hear them, I had better investigate quickly.

Through the years, I have had children flush stuff down the toilets, unwind the toilet paper and drag it all through the house, climb bookshelves, climb kitchen cabinets….actually, climb anything they could.

Wall paper torn, walls drawn on, one time I came into the kitchen to find a son dropping eggs on the floor. He said it looked cool.

I have had children wander off, hide in closets, one hid from me at Wal-Mart, kept completely quiet…I was franticly looking and calling for him, and was about to call for an Amber alert, when he popped up from under a display, and yelled, “Peek-a-boo, Mommy!”

Today, parents are so afraid that they keep their children confided to indoors, watching TV and playing video games.

Perhaps they are safer one way…but is that safer for their mental health?

I truly believe that children need to be outside. That they need to run, jump, climb, use their imaginations by riding bikes, hiding in the woods, climbing trees, swimming in a lake or pond, camping, hiking, playing in the dirt or sand, playing in rain puddles, and so on.

I believe if we let children be children again and they played outside daily--there would be less ADD, ADHD, bi-polar, etc.

There will always be evil in the world. There will always be the chance that an accident can occur. However, statistics will show that children can hurt themselves even inside the home.

Let our children be children. Let us contain our run-a-way government and take our country back.

But most of all, let us have compassion again. Give mercy and forgiveness, even to yourself. Forget evil when it happens and live with charity.

Up and down...

02/21/2012 21:32:00

What a roller coaster of a week. I had extreme moments of joy and extreme moments of frustrations. But such is life. One evening, I was alone in the house which is very rare and I was just crying and so I went to the computer and looked up the music to a new song I wanted to learn.

I had seen the sheet music in our church’s magazine and I had tried to pick it out on the piano, but I am not very good at that.

I did find it on YouTube and the music was incredible. I went from being sad and frustrated to feeling peace, comfort, and joy. What a great blessing music is, especially, inspirational music.

I think we all feel the same way. It is although the world is closing in on us. Demanding more and more of our time, talents, and resources. We have more paper work to do. More required at work. More taxes to pay. More to do and less energy and time wherewith to do it.

It has taken me many years to learn to say no. I used to have a really hard time saying no and I would find myself leading a project at work, being the room mother at school, coaching and refereeing my children’s sports, taking meals to shut ins, cleaning someone’s house, and on and on.

All of these things are good pursuits; however, there is only one me. It took years of neglecting some of the really important things (myself and my family) when I finally realized through a bitter moment in my life that while there are many good things to do, I must devote myself to doing the things that have eternal significance.

And each person must choose for themselves what those things are.

Right now, I am in a GED class at the college (they are taking a test). One of the teachers died unexpectedly and they needed a teacher at the last moment so I told the director I would take the class this semester.

It has been a unique experience. This class is the lowest testing level they have. I have class members that are from really difficult circumstances. They are from broken homes, raised in poverty, some are on probation, some have already served time, some had to drop out because they had to work to help their families, and yet- they each have reached a point where they have the desire to better themselves.

They are a great class and it is so neat when you see the “light come on”- when they grasp a concept or they understand what went wrong in a math problem…teaching is such a difficult, yet rewarding career.

Enough of that. The girls and I went out on Friday. We went shopping until our feet hurt, and then out to eat. We have so much fun when we are together. My husband is my best friend, then my children. When they are little and all you do is laundry, dishes, and diapers the years seem to never end. Then all of a sudden you have these wonderful friends that you can talk to, do stuff with, and just be yourself with them. What a blessing!

A stomach virus, wrecked truck, re-arranged house, and a water leak week!

02/13/2012 19:38:00

It snowed last night and was icy so the college did not start classes until 10 am. My class is at 9 am. In other words, I did not have class today. Yea! I just stayed home.

I still woke up early and read for a while. I just finished, “Killing Lincoln” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard and now I am reading, “To Try men’s Souls” by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen.

Both books are hard to put down and are excellent. I am making Felipe, my 17 year-old read both.

I then recruited Fito and a friend who is staying with us, Jorge, to help me rearrange furniture. We switched the couches that were in the living room to the playroom and also switched two cabinets.

I brought the oriental cabinet and the black leather couches to the living room and the Honduras cabinet and the brown leather couch went to the playroom.

Then I took two headdresses that Fito had made: one of parrot feathers, and the other of Turkey feathers and put them on each side of the Honduran cabinet.

The Buffalo hide is now on the back of the brown leather couch. Fito and I like both changes. Now I just need to buy either an entertainment center or two tall cabinets to go on each side of the TV in the living room.

We had leftover mashed potatatoes, so I made Hamburger Gravy tonight to go with them before I had to go to my evening class.

On Sunday, I canned some Turkey broth that was leftover from a turkey we had last week when the cousins were here from Dallas. David made the Turkey. I called him from work and told him to get down the roaster pan and what to do. He did a good job…of course though; it is really easy to do a Spanish Turkey.

I also made 19 loaves of Poppy Seed bread. I need to take some this week to two different classes for celebrations.

I also cleaned my office area this weekend. We had two leaks by the water heater and had to have a plumber come out. We did not have water Sunday for half a day, but we were prepared and it wasn’t a problem.

My office area has not been this organized in a long time. We added another file cabinet to the area and I rearranged files, folders, books, software, cleaned drawers, put away stuff, made new files, dusted, swept, etc.

It is an amazing feeling to have your office organized. I also found a few items that I had been looking for and threw away three bags of trash. (I too, am guilty of hoarding things).

This past week, we had cousins come and stay and I did a lot of cooking. My friend, Kathy, cooked for us, too. It is always fun when family is here.

Friday, Fito and I awoke early and drove to Missouri to a tow yard to pick up the wrecked truck of Tony (our oldest son). He had slipped on the ice the previous weekend, fishtailed and ended up colliding with a cement barrier.

The trip there was 7 and ½ hours. We then drove an hour and a half to pick him up in Fort Leonard Wood. We ate at Panera bread and then headed for home with the pickup on a two-wheel dolly connected to the back of our Suburban.

We had to drive slower. When we stopped to get gas, one of the tire straps had come lose and we even had to recruit help to rock the truck to pull the strap from under the tire and refasten it.

We headed home and it took about seven hours to get to OKC. We had left a seven in the morning and got back after midnight. A very long day.

Everyone in the family had been sick with a stomach virus, starting Wednesday night. All the cousins ended up with it. Our whole family (except me) had it and even the others who had visited while the cousins were here.

Fito was going to Missouri alone, but I went to help drive as he had been sick. Then Saturday, he went to help Tony find a new car while I cleaned my office. I also made Pupusas on Sunday before Tony left, but did not cook on Saturday.

My 80 year-old mom was sick, too, and that was scary for a while as she just couldn’t keep anything down and it is so hard for her to move. She definitely cannot do anything quickly.

Lots of cleaning and lots of laundry. It never stops does it!

After writing this…now I know why I am about to drop from exhaustion…whew! What a week!

I do have to admit, though. Whenever there is sickness like that it makes me very aware of just what a blessing it is to be healthy. And I do enjoy good health. I have been so blessed to have such good health.

It also makes me aware what a great blessing it is to have running water, a washing machine, and a dryer inside my home. We are truly blessed!

Lots of cooking...

01/30/2012 20:38:00

I am teaching a computer class write now (well…they are practicing their keyboarding). This is a beginning class and they come without even knowing how to use a mouse, turn on the computer, etc. many times they haven’t even see the Internet.

It is a fun class to teach, though, as we progress through Windows, Word, and the Internet. They set up a Gmail and Facebook account. They learn to copy and paste and learn the wonders of the Web.

Over and over again, the light comes on, they realize what a great tool this will be in their lives, they sent emails to each other and the excitement bubbles over and is contagious.

This is when teaching is incredibly fun.

This was a great past week. Last week was Fito’s birthday and then our 28 Wedding anniversary. We both had night classes to teach so we still haven’t gone anywhere. We had previous commitments on the weekend. Perhaps another time we will sneak away.

Friday night, I took Rebeca, Elizabeth, and Abby (a niece) to a sew-in that the senior citizen’s center holds each year. They spend 24 hours just tying quilts, making clothes to send overseas or to disaster relief. Caddy bags for wheelchairs, and so forth. We went Friday evening and had a wonderful time.

A friend of mine that moved away was there and we spent the evening catching up and cutting out patterns for children’s clothes.

I have cooked like crazy this week. We had company, plus cousins staying with us so a full house all week.

I made beans from scratch one day, but they were a little plain, so I took some baloney and cut it up in small pieces and added it to the beans. Just right now. I also made rice two times during the week. One yellow, the other plain with onion and veggies.

One meal was just scrambled eggs with beans on the side…yum.

One day, I made spaghetti (I wanted lasagna, but we did not have lasagna and I did not want to go to the store. I made a lot and had two pans (aluminum disposable pans I buy at Sam’s) for give away. I put cheese on top and then baked it in the oven It was okay, but not as good as lasagna.

One day, I made Ramon Noodles, and added a jar of chicken, bell peppers, and onion.

On Saturday, I made Carne Guisado. It came out really well. Fito had friends coming so I made a large batch. I also added potatoes pieces to it to stretch it out for more people. We had enough left over to even eat it on Sunday.

I also made bread and put in banana, sweet potatoes, and pineapple. What a great combination. Never did that before, but really good bread.

Then Sunday, I made the blonde brownies with chocolate chips and peach cobbler from yellow cake mix. I hadn’t done the cobbler for a while and forgot how easy it is and how fast.

Also to note: I was low on beans by now, so I just opened one of those large cans you get a Sam’s and added it to the already seasoned beans, added another Sazon packet and they were just as good.

I got a jar of salsa from the pantry, added fresh cilantro and yum, yum.

I canned BUTTER this weekend. WOW!

01/18/2012 16:06:00

What a great weekend I just had.

Friday morning, I woke up in one of those strange moods where something was really eating at me…I didn’t know what or why…but I knew I wasn’t happy or content with life at the moment.

I ended up getting angry at Fito. We both left for work upset.

Of course, we cleared it up later and I realized what had been bothering me (and poor Fito, it had nothing to do with him).

Anyway, on the way to work, I was stopped by a Highway Patrolman. But a tender mercy from above was bestowed and he did not give me a ticket or even a written warning.

He just told me to have a great day and to slow down. I don’t know if he could see that I would have broken down and cried had he given me the ticket (hopefully, not in front of him). But somehow, someone knew I was at my limit and needed mercy, not justice.

Well—through the years, I have learned that when you are discouraged, down trodden, or sad: to work, serve others, and count your blessings.

I did all three this past weekend and as always it pulled me out of the doldrums and I feel 300 percent better.

I started with work. Saturday, I woke up early and cleaned out both upright freezers. First of all, I only intended to pull the frozen bell peppers, jalapeños, and turkey that I had in bags to can them. But when I saw how dirty the freezers were, I ended up cleaning them.

I then cleaned the back pantry as I was still waiting for the bags of stuff to defrost. It really wasn’t that disorganized, but it had been invaded by weevils. They had been killed by a bomb, but I had never come in and cleaned the shelves, etc. It took a couple of hours to clean it and set everything in order.

What a great feeling! A place for everything and everything in its place!

I then took a break to eat lunch…actually…I had taken occasional breaks as I was reading the book, “How to Kill a Million People”. A good book that I finished on Saturday…everyone should read it. I am writing a book on Critical Thinking because I believe that if people did know how to think…they would be able to discern between truth and lies.

This book and a conversation with a friend about female circumcision really reminded of my blessings and then I took meals to two other families that are struggling…made me realize how blessed I was…

After eating, I went and gathered jars, washed them, and then packed them with the stuff from the freezers. I ended up with 22 pints of peppers, 4 quart jars of peppers, 3 quart jars of turkey broth, and 2 quarts of turkey.

I also tried canning something new. I canned seven half pints and one quart jar of butter. I had read somewhere that they had canned butter…either during the depression or during WW II. So I thought about it, Butter is a fat. I can meat that has fat and it is okay. The butter will melt and boil while it is canned, but when it cools it should go back to a solid…

Hummm… Let’s give it a try. I did it in a pressure canner, just as I do just about everything else-- at 10 pounds of pressure for 45 minutes.

BTW—I did Google this and some people were showing how to can it using the oven, But DO NOT ever can anything using the oven. Without the pressure, you cannot get the temperature high enough to kill all bacteria that lead to botulism.

DO NOT ever can using the oven…I do not even use a hot water bath anymore as through the years I have learned that many of the new varieties of vegetables, tomatoes, etc. are low acid and they will go bad after a few years on the shelves.

I ONLY can using a pressure canner.

There are three pictures of the butter. The first is before I canned it. I just put the softened butter in the jars and used Clorox wipes to clean the glass rim before I put on the lid and metal rims.

The second picture shows the butter just after I took it out of the canner and it is still hot and a liquid. Notice: it separated.

The third picture is a picture of it a day later, opened, and ready to use.

I did try shaking a jar to keep it from separating, but as it cools, it just naturally separates.

When I broke the seal, and opened it, I then took a butter knife and stirred the two parts together. We ate it on bread, and also on toast.

Yummy. Exactly like butter. No difference whatsoever…except…canned butter should last about seven years without going bad or rancid.

I even canned 4 more pints, yesterday.

I am so excited about this…imagine fresh butter in your pantry when others cannot buy it. Butter on freshly made bread (from all that wheat in the pantry). Sounds wonderful to me!

BEFORE CANNING

STILL HOT--AFTER CANNING

THE NEXT DAY--READY TO SPREAD--YUMMY AND SAFE!