It’s hard to watch the Olympics and not imagine yourself doing some of those sports. Even if you are a 41 year-old woman who hasn’t raised her heartbeat once in the last six months. So really this is all theoretical. It’s more about affinity than ability. But let’s consider the possibilities here. Some sports are […]

I’ve already admitted that I’m a mathist and that I hate all things number-related. Now that my children are getting older and bringing home more complex math assignments, it’s getting harder for me to respond to their whines of “why do we have to dooo thiiiiis?” At least when they were learning their times tables […]

Time to dredge up the old wedding photo again. It’s my anniversary. Number 17 this year.   Let me just state a few things about this picture: 1. I was 21. I may have looked 16, but I really was a grown up (legally. Emotionally I certainly was not. But nothing gives you a big, […]

It’s strawberry season in Texas! Every year I drag my kids to the berry farm to pick strawberries. It’s only fair since they’re the ones who eat most of them! It might not be berry season yet where you live, but it will be soon enough. Jam is my favorite… Read More

Bad: My laptop decided to not acknowledge the existence of the internet this week. I could check my email through my iphone, but that’s about it unless I deigned to use the children’s computer. Good: I finally spent some time redecorating the room that Adelaide and Arabella share. I’ve been working halfheartedly on it for […]

Back in the early 80’s when I was an awkward pre-teen I fell in love with some animals. They weren’t real animals, they were much better than that; they were Critter Sitters. These were soft, adorable illustrations of animals dressed up all cutesy doing things that animals clearly aren’t meant… Read More Picking strawberries in an […]

I like to think of my food storage as insurance. How much money do you pay every month for your car insurance? House insurance? Health insurance? We spend almost more on insurance than any other expense we have. And what do we get in return? The kids get free vaccinations, but other than that our […]

I haven’t forgotten about the 72-hour kits; I just lost my preparedness mojo for a little while.  But I’m back in the saddle, thanks to the great Murphy’s Law article at The Epicenter.  Remember how I mentioned a while back that you’ll be going to the Army Surplus store for your next assignment?  Well, here it […]

March 6th marks the hundredth birthday of Oreo cookies. They are very special to me because they’re the only store-bought cookie that I like (I am the snobbiest of cookie snobs).  Every time I eat one I think, “boy, I forgot how good these are!” Did you know that they are the best-selling cookie in […]

You know Texas is HOT in the summer so although we have swimming pools every ten feet, we also have several beloved swimming’ holes (also it’s always “swimmin’” not “swimming” unless you want to sound like an out-of-towner). Growing up in Michigan we had lakes in every direction. We swam… Read More

I asked for this one year for Christmas. I mean, who could resist that monorail? Or those teacups? But I didn’t get the whole set. I only got the Mickey Mouse Weebles themselves. Maybe it was out of spite or maybe just curiosity, but I shortly found out what happens when Weebles take a spin […]

Remember how much I loved to tell you all about Preparedness? I haven’t for a while. Not because I haven’t been thinking about it. Oh no, no, no. Recently I have been stocking up on medical supplies and a giant canvas tent (more about that another day). But nothing you… Read More

Hey, my house didn’t burn down last night! Great news! There are wildfires going all over the areas surrounding Austin (several miles away, but still . . . ) and we have many friends who have been spending the last couple of nights in hotels. We are far enough away that fire isn’t an immediate […]

Have you ever gotten sucked into a world that a few hours earlier you didn’t even know existed? That was me, today. Somehow I ran across a picture of an adorable dirndl dress on Pinterest. I knew that ladies in Austria and southern Germany still wear them occasionally but I had no idea that they […]