22.6#

Yep.  22.6#

I wish I could say that is how much weight I have lost. Ha!

Nope, this is the amount of meat that is currently curing and brining in my basement in a cooler, because it won't fit in my refrigerator.  This is the amount of pork that I am praying will turn into lovely, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth ham.  This is the amount of pork that I am praying I don't mess up and that it turns out edible, so I don't have to throw it away.

Yes.  You read that right.

I am making my own ham.  And it needs to be ready for Christmas, otherwise, we're going to be eating brats  from the freezer.

Now, this isn't my first curing attempt.  I actually am very good at Canadian bacon and sausage and discovered that the last scary endeavor of bacon, wasn't that scary.  After all, a week and a half ago, I smoked up 11# of Canadian bacon and 14# of bacon, and they all turned out.  I was scared the whole time that the first attempt at bacon wasn't going to work, but it did.

The ham is scaring me, though.  That is a HUGE chunk of meat that I am messing with.

Well, taking a deep breath and carrying on.  After all, the only thing left to do is wait, turn it over in the brine, and hope, before I smoke it this next weekend.

It Feels Good to be Random

Random could mean a jumble of things thrown together, like when a conversation makes sense to me and my husband is giving me that blank, confused stare.

Random could mean moving from topic to topic without a clear connection.

Random can also be Random Acts of Kindness, which I did today.

I had to go to town for my physical therapy appointment and decided to combine all my running in to one trip.  Stopped at the church office for some scrip.  Dropped off 5 or 6 bags of donate stuff - several bags of toys from when I cleaned the girls' room, at least one of things the girls decided to donate, and some clothes into the St. Vincent de Paul drop site at church. Then, to treat myself, I stopped at the local coffee shop and used part of my gift card.

Since I was given the gift card, I decided to share some of my good fortune.  I left a large tip in the tip jar and I also gave the gal behind the counter $20 and told her to use it until it was gone to pay for other people's coffees.  She gave me the most shocked look.  As I was leaving the store, I heard her telling two ladies that they didn't have to pay for their drinks, that they had already been taken care of.

I left the store with a light feeling in my heart and a big smile on my face.

Sometimes, the littlest things can change someone's day.  It sure did for me.

Trying to Say "YES"

If you think about it, really think about it, it is harder to say "Yes" than it is to say "No."

To say "Yes" is to give something of yourself and we are reluctant to do that.  It should be my time, my money, my gifts, mine, mine, mine.  After all, we're all 2-year-olds at heart with the toddler mentality of mine, mine, mine.

It is much harder to give that Yes.

How difficult was it for Mary, all those years ago, to give GOD her Yes?  Her Yes changed the world and gave us our salvation.

I need to remember that my little yeses might change someone's world, at least a little bit.  It might give a memory, a happy thought, immediate gratification, happiness, it might help buy someone's supper or help give them a warm place to stay.

I'm working on my own YES - because nothing I do is going to give us our salvation, but it might change someone's world.

No Ordinary Picture

As you can plainly see THIS is no ordinary picture.

In fact, "This is no ordinary pisher.  I made it with LOTS and LOTS uv Love."

I Love You

I am loved.

I have proof.

Bug told me, "I love you more than pirates and popsicles."

What Mom needs more proof that that?

Fixit is Thankful for....

Fixit's teacher sent home an email to all the parents that they had talked about what Thanksgiving was about and what being thankful meant. Then, she asked each of the kids what they were thankful for.  (Remember, these guys are only 4 & 5)

Here are some of the answers:

My toys - James
My house - Conner
My Dad and my four-wheeler - Macey
My moms dinner - Katie
My Mama and Daddy - Fixit  (awwww)

So, we talked about it at home and her answer got longer.

Ready?

Take a deep breath and say this all in one breath:

I'm thankful for Mom and Dad and K and Bug and Marley and superheroes and Grandma and Grandpa and God and superheroes 

I did get first mention, but superheroes got double mention, but I was still first! :)

HUGE Etsy order

This is what I have been doing for the past week - in between school work, being sick, taking care of the kids, letting housework slide, doing some Ebay shipping and updating... No wonder I'm tired.

I got an order for 50 Christmas puppet kits!

Oh my, of course I can get those done for you.

Umm - call out the troops, go buy more felt, get more google eyes, cut, cut cut, and then sew!

Today, we reached final destination of assembly, bagging, and tagging.  They are counted (no, I've counted them 3 times. I am not going to count them again...) and boxed.  I just have to print out the postage and then get them in the mail tomorrow.

WOOHOO!!!!!

She needs them by the 30th and they will be in the mail on the 19th - okay, we are coming up to a holiday and they are going to New York, New York - so getting them in the mail 11 days early is a must!

Phew!

Pile of bagged puppet kits

Nice, neat rows of bagged & tagged puppet kits.