Mirth Monday

Image courtesy: sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net via Pinterest

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Inspiration Sunday

\

















Image courtesy: Tamarra Brown via Pinterest




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Rudeness disclaimer:

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I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Chicken-Scratch-Saturday: Wire Ribbon

If you're like me and pick up your wrapping supplies for next year during the post-Christmas sales, then I have two words for you...

Wire ribbon.

Yes, wire ribbon.

I'm in love with it.

I want to marry it.

I've been using it to wrap my Christmas gifts for years.

So beautiful, and it comes in every pattern and color and width imaginable.

VERY easy to use. You don't even need to borrow anyone's finger when you're trying to tie the bow.

Just lay a length of ribbon across the front of the package, cross it in the back, come back to the front and tie a bow. Wrap the ends around your finger a few times and it makes a pretty curl.

Just a quick pull unties it and it's good as new. When I'm tidying up after all the presents have been opened, I just roll the ribbon back up and stick it in my ribbons and bows box for next year.

I'm telling you, I have some ribbons in there that I've used over and over for years, and they're just as pretty as ever, so you definitely get your money's worth out of them.



Wire ribbon.
Get some.





Image courtesy: etsy.com


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I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
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Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Farm Friday: I'm on Christmas Break

Here's a repost from my old blog.
I have ribbons and bows and boxes to put away....


It's Friday. Farm Friday.

But it's been pretty quiet on the farm lately. No injuries or illnesses, no escapees, no births, no deaths.

Maybe I'll just jot down a quick list of what I like about each of the critters. Not as individuals, mind you, but as groups. Just the farm critters, not the dogs and cats and small caged animals.


The Horses

What's not to love about horses, right? Well, except maybe their poop. And their mud. And oh yeah, their burrs.

Still, plenty to love.

I love the way they smell.

I love their sleek coats in the summer and their fuzzy coats in the winter.

I love when they blow their sweet grassy breath into your nose, and their curiosity.

I love to sit on the bare back of my mare Genevieve in the cold weather, not even riding anywhere, just draping myself across her neck and soaking up her warmth.

I love Pippin's doggish friendliness.

I love Finnegan's .... looks. Not much else to like about that one. But he sure is handsome.



The Goats

I love that they will eat anything. I wish my youngest could be so bold in what he chooses to eat.

I love that they keep the grass and weeds down in the boggier parts of our property that would suck a tractor up and never say a word about it.

I love that they mow the steep hillside we can't take the tractor onto without fear of it taking a swan dive into the pond.

I love how they come running over to the deck when you call them for some goodies.

I love their absolute adorableness.



The Rabbits

OK, they have no purpose, I'll admit it. They're just so stinkin' cute. Especially Alice, our soft grey Flemish Giant who is roughly the size of a Springer Spaniel.



Our Chickens

Our only "productive" farm animals.

I love the clucks and chatters of my sweet hens.

I love their good looks.

I love their soft, glossy backs.

I love the out-of-this-world-fresh-and-yummy eggs they give us every day without fail.

How about you?  If you have farm critters, what's your favorite kind?



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Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

I-Need-Therapy-Thursday: Who's to Blame?

I hate to bring it up right after Christmas, but I've been thinking and talking and reading and writing a lot lately about "who's to blame" for the tragedy in Sandy Hook.

And though there has been much discussion about gun control and mental illness and video game violence, I think we all know, in our hearts, that the only one to blame is the shooter himself.




That being said, I don't think that means there is nothing to "fix".  The fact that there will always be bad people who will find ways of doing bad things is not enough, in my book, to simply do nothing to fix what we can. 

There is much work to be done in all of the above areas.  I love my country fiercely, and wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but in many ways, I think our country has turned into an over-indulged child.  We cry out for our rights and we demand what we want, without considering whether it's "good for us."   As any parent worth his salt knows, just because we want it doesn't mean we should have it.

Over the next few weeks, I'd like to touch on some of the issues that have been bandied about.

Today I'll take gun control.

But because it is such a complicated issue, I'll keep my take on it as simple as I can.  As a parent, I work in analogies all the time, and I'll use one here.  It's just a repost of something I posted on Facebook last week.

Alcohol, Narcotics, and Firearms

Think of guns - regular old pistols- as alcohol, and assault weapons as narcotics. 
If we want to get "intoxicated", we can legally have a drink as long as we are of age and we don't operate motor vehicles or heavy machinery.  
Does alcohol cause problems? Yes. Illness, addiction, death of self and others, and a host of others. 
But we’ve determined that it’s reasonable, and no one wants that right taken away. Even if we did, we tried that with Prohibition, and it didn’t work.
One could argue that teens can and do still get access to alcohol, so why even bother with an age limit?  Because although many teens still drink, there are countless more that do not, because of the law.
What if we want something stronger than alcohol?  If we want to get high on narcotics, we can’t. It’s illegal. 
Do people still get ahold of them? Yes.  Are there countless drug addicts?  Yes. 
Does that mean we should just go ahead and legalize them? No, for the same reason we have restrictions and laws for alcohol. 
Now, narcotics under a doctor’s prescription, that’s OK. And in this analogy, that would be like assault weapons being OK in military/law enforcement.


My point is, just as with alcohol and drugs, there needs to be a line, and we can’t just say that because people will cross the line, there shouldn’t be one at all.  So to say, why ban assault weapons if the criminals can still get them?  That's not a good enough reason, for me.  For every person that gets ahold of an assault weapon (just as with teens getting alcohol), there will still be many more who cannot get them.

In my humble opinion, there should be no assault weapons in the private sector.  An assault weapons ban would not infringe on any one's second ammendment rights.  Folks could still own guns for sport or home protection.   It would simply keep people from owning a weapon that is designed to kill a lot of people very quickly.  No one needs that.

And I'm not ignorant enough to think that an assault weapons ban will keep people from doing harm.  If Timothy McVeigh can build a bomb, others can, too.  But it is a step in the right direction. 

It will help.

Bottom line.










If anyone is thinking they would like to do something for the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy, Huffington Post has this article with many ideas of how to help. Check it out.




Image courtesy: cfnews13.com
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In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Check out my full schedule over in my sidebar, and come join the fun!

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I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Wordless Wednesday

There's this rumor going around that once your kids hit the teen years, they sleep in on Christmas.

That rumor hasn't hit our house yet.

The kids were still up at the break of dawn.

As in, about 6:15.

Probably would have been earlier if we had allowed it.

What can I say, we have an enthusiastic family.



They were cute.

There was stocking dissection.

Sweet sibling gifts like kitty-cats

and Bieber posters.

There were awesome sneakers

and overwhelmed puppy dogs.

And two tired parents that succumbed to long winter's naps before the clock struck noon.

Thankfully, no pictures of that....



Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!


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But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, dear readers! Hope you're all having a beautiful, peaceful day.

No TALU Tuesday today, but we'll back next week.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share how our Christmas mornings roll...

The kids get a MAT (Minimal Acceptable Time) they can wake us up. Now that they're older, it's much later than when they were little.

Like 6:30.
Ugh.

Anyway, they wake us up, but they have to wait till we give them the greenlight before they can go downstairs.

Which means, Fred and I go down, turn on tree lights, start coffee, get the cameras ready, basically anything we can think of to torure them a couple more minutes.

Just prior to explosion, we release the hounds.

Most years, someone falls down the stairs and there's a little associated hyperdrama, but there's rarely any blood, and it subsides easily enough on its own.

First thing the kids do is rush and stumble over to the sofa to see the Santa gifts.

Why the sofa? Because with six kids and two overly enthusiastic parents, there is literally no room for even one more present.

Next is stockings. They lovvvvvve their stockings.
They're cute.

When it's time to open the gifts under the tree, we do Santa rounds. Meaning the kids take turns playing Santa by finding a gift under the tree for each person, and passing them around. When everyone has a gift, we take turns opening them.

We ooh.
We ahhhh.
We repeat.

Santa makes sure all the wrappings are taken care of before the next round starts.
So paper in gi-normous trash bags, boxes and gift bags in a box, ribbons and bows in another box.

Can you say OCD?
I'll take it.

It all makes for a marathon morning that lasts several hours.
But why rush a good thing, right?

They love it.
I love it.
We all love it.





And how about you? What does Christmas morning (or whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year) at your house look like?


Merry Christmas to all!






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Rudeness disclaimer:

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But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
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Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Mirth Monday

Image courtesy: Marla Meridith, via Pinterest


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In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller. You can find my full schedule in my sidebar, come join the fun!


****************

Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Inspiration Sunday

Keeping in mind the tragedy at Sandy Hook on 12/14/12, make a point to become active, vocal, a thorn in the side of whomever will listen, so that we may see changes in our culture of violence.  Whether you speak up on mental health advocacy, video game violence, school security, or bans on assault weapons, the point is to be the change that we need to see.





Image courtesy: Stacie Vaughan {SimplyStacie.net}, via Pinterest


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I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Chicken-Scratch-Saturday: Ornaments

For those of you with little kids, here's a Christmas tradition that we've been carrying on since ours were knee-high.

We kinda like it, and you may, too.

Each year, Santa puts an ornament in their stocking. Some years they've been higher quality ornaments, and other years they've been cheaper, it doesn't much matter.

Santa always puts their name and the year on the bottom of the ornament, so they don't get them mixed up in later years.

And last year? I found these awesome shoebox-sized Christmas boxes on sale after Christmas. I got each of the kids one, and put their names on them, so when we're taking the tree down, their ornaments can be wrapped and put in their own box. This makes things a little less hectic when it's tree-trimmin' time.

This is not a picture of one of our boxes, but they're exactly the same.
Except ours have a cuter pattern.
And they're see-through.
And made of plastic.
And well, pretty much not like these at all.
But you get the idea.


When it's time for the kids to head out on their own (and we're getting closer over here at the Funny Farm), they'll each have a box of ornaments to take with them as a head start on their first tree.

For our adopted kids, a few years ago we took all our ornaments that didn't really "belong" to any one in particular, and we let them take turns choosing ones that they liked till they were "caught up" to their years. We added their names, and voila, they had enough ornaments as they would have had if they had been born into our family.


So go ahead!  Start this tradition with your kids.  They'll love it!






Image courtesy: boscovs.com

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Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
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But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Farm Friday: The Peanuts Don't Measure Up

Wow. I finally went ahead and took the peanuts in to get processed.

They were around 11 weeks old, which is four weeks older than their meat bird brethren.

I probably could have waited a few more weeks to let them get to 100% of their mature weight, but they were going through the feed like gangbusters, so I got tired of waiting for them to "flesh out" a little more and just took them in.

And like I said, wow.

What an extreme difference between the meat birds and these layer-breed cockarels.

Have a look.....

The layer-breed cockarel is the skinny one on the right, and again, he was about a month older than the meatie on the left.
The meat birds have been bred to reach mature weight very rapidly, and that mature weight is almost all breast meat and meaty legs.
Though the peanuts looked fairly close in size to the meaties when I took them in, they looked NOTHING alike once they were dressed.

Or should I say undressed.


I haven't tried cooking them yet, but my plan is to throw one or two in a soup pot. If the meat cooks tender enough to eat in the soup, then great. If not, I'll just use the meat for dog food, and keep the broth for future cookin'.

No harm, no fowl.

Get it?

Gotta love that chicken humor.....




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Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Holiday Shop for the Kiddos (in lieu of Therapy Thursday)

My kids are all teens now, and other than needing a lift, they pretty much handle their Christmas shopping on their own.

But when they were little? I hated the prospect of taking them all out together, and somehow helping them shop for Christmas gifts for their siblings without anyone seeing what the others were getting for them. Because wrangling preschoolers and toddlers and helping them shop for others when all they can think is MeMeMe is not on my list of favorite things to do.

Taking them out indvidually? That was a luxury in time I did not have.

My solution?

A holiday shop in the comfort of our own home.

I would take one evening to go shopping on my own, while Daddy played babysitter.
I'd run out to Five Below, or the Dollar store, or Wal-Mart, and buy small gifts for each of the kids (plus Mom and Dad), plus several extras. So for example, when I had four little ones, each of them had to buy for their three siblings, plus stuff for Mom and Dad, so five gifts each. Five times four is 20, so I would buy maybe 25or 30 small gifts.

Then one afternoon I would let them play holiday shop. I would set all the items out on my bed (except the "Mom" gifts), and let them come in one at a time to shop. I'd give them a gift bag, and let them select gifts for each of their siblings, and Dad.

You could let them pay for their purchases with allowance money, or by letting them earn tickets with good behavior, depending on their ages and how you handle money with your kids.

The reason I always got extra gifts is so that by the time the last kid shops, they still have things to choose from. Any extra gifts after the last of the kids has finished shopping can go in their stockings, or can be donated to any of the programs that collect toys and other goodies around the holidays.

The process is repeated when Dad helps them shop for gifts for Mom.

The Homemade Holiday Shop works out really great b/c
*the kids don't get so overstimulated,
*they can more easily think of those they want to buy for,
*you don't have to hear "Clean-up in aisle 2" and wonder what your six year old knocked over.



Hope this helps make your holiday shopping a little easier!





Image courtesy: stockfresh.com


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Don't forget to vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! Just click on this brown button with the juggling chick. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!


***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.

Check out my full schedule over in my sidebar, and come join the fun!

*************

Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Wordless Wednesday: Oh Christmas Tree (take 2)

We finally got to it.

We got our tree.

We got it home and got it up.

We decorated it.

Yay us!





Here's the "shack" at the Spruce Grove Tree Farm that we go to every year.

 





Here's the kids in the midst of some shenanigans.

We're "on the wagon."

View from the top of the hill.

Tyin' her down.

"Mom likes ME best"!
My sister got these for all the kids.
Funny.

Trimmin' the tree.

All done!
My sweet six kids and their adorable little cousin.

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*************

Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

TALU Tuesday

As of my child-like bedtime last night, we weren't proceeding with our regularly-scheduled TALU programming today.

Or we were.

But this old broad needed some sleep and couldn't stay up any longer till it was sorted out.

So please accept my apologies if there is no link this morning.

Or please accept my invitation to link up if it's on.

Or.... I don't know, I'm confused.
And tired.
And old.

If it's NOT taking place, here's a little tip I learned from my sister Veronica this past weekend.  Just so's you get your money's worth out of showing up here.

Ever have to get your toddler to drink medicine from one of those little cups like he's downing a shot? Doesn't work out so well, does it? Sputter, sputter and it's sticky syrupy meds all over your new shirt and the kitchen floor and his hair.

But if you stick a juice-box straw in it? He'll slurp it right up. It's like some kind of toddler magic that defies explanation.




There.
Don't say I never gave ya' nothin'.




Oh and if we ARE on for the Tuesday Archive Link Up, I may just defy the rules a little bit and link up something newer.
As in not an archive.
Because I kind of can't stop crying about Friday's tragedy.
If you need to do the same, I'll understand, and you will not be banned from future TALUs.

Promise.


***********************

It's time for TALU Tuesday.

That's right, the Tuesday Archive Link-Up.

Time to pull your treasured old posts out of those cobwebby archives, dust them off, and give them new life where they will be seen and enjoyed by untold millions OK, thousands of viewers.

See, this link-up is hosted by several people, who, all together have thousands upon thousands of followers. So when you link your post up with this party? Your post will show up on all their blogs, to all of their followers.

All you've got to do is:

1) link up your post using the linky tool below.

2) visit the hosts and leave a comment to say hi.

3) and try to visit three or more of the blogs linked up and leave a comment. They'll all be doing the same, so it's like a giant hippie love fest. Bring your own flowers.







Oh and when you comment? Put in the secret code "TALU" (Tuesday Archive Link-Up) and then give a little wink so we'll all know what you're talking about.

Have fun!



Now here are your TALU hosts, wonderful gals every one....


Jennifer, author of I Am Not Superwoman

Anne, author of Life On The Funny Farm

Debbie, author of Wrinkled Mommy









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Blog Hops I'm following today:

Tuesday:
Heavenly Homemaker's Gratituesday
Crafty Garden Mama's Tuesday Greens
The Wrinkled Mommy's Tuesday Archive Link-Up

You can see my full hoppin' schedule in my sidebar.

Come join the fun!

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Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Mirth Monday

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Like it?
Follow it.
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Thanks.
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Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs. You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!

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In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller. You can find my full schedule in my sidebar, but sice today is Monday, here's where I'm hoppin':

Homestead Revival's Barn Hop
Natural Living Mamma's Natural Living Mondays
The Chicken Chick's Clever Chicks
A Cat-Like Curiosity's Monday Mantras
Ponder Wonder's Soul Food Monday
@ Home Take 2's Mom's Monday Mingle
DIY Dreamer's Pinterest Repin Party
DIY Home Sweet Home's More the Merrier Monday


Come join the fun!


****************

Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

Inspiration Sunday

Dedicated to the dear friend of my sister whose sweet, beautiful, six year old son Benjamin was among those killed in the Friday school shooting in Connecticut.....


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"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory
no one can steal."
~Author Unknown


"A Thousand Words Can't Bring You Back,
I Know Because I Tried
And Neither Can a Million Tears
I Know Because I Cried."
~Author Unknown

"The light of a distant star continues to reach the Earth long after
the star itself is gone."
~Author Unknown


"They say that time in heaven is compared to 'the blink of an eye'
for us on this earth. Sometimes it helps me to think of my child
running ahead of me through a beautiful field of wildflowers and
butterflies; so happy and completely caught up in what she is
doing that when she looks behind her, I'll already be there."
~Author Unknown

"When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory
becomes a treasure."
~Author Unknown

"When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall
see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your
delight."
~Kahlil Gibran


"The deep pain that is felt at the death of every friendly soul
arises from the feeling that there is in every individual something
which is inexpressible, peculiar to him alone, and is, therefore,
absolutely and irretrievably lost."
~Arthur Schopenhauer


"Angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are
gone."
~Author Unknown

"Breathe.
Listen for my footfall in your heart.
I am not gone but merely walk within you."
~Nicholas Evans


"And if I go while you’re still here…
know that I live on, vibrating to a
different measure behind a thin
veil you cannot see through. You
will not see me so you must have
faith. I wait the time when we can
soar again, both aware of each
other. Until then, live your life to
its fullest, and when you need me
just whisper my name in your
heart…I will be there."
~Author Unknown

Rest in peace, Benjamin....







Please consider giving a donation to the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting. A Paypal fund has been set up to collect money to help parents pay for the funerals of their children. You can write in Benjamin Wheeler's name or keep it general.




Quotes courtesy: Grievingparents.com
Image courtesy: fanpop.com





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A Moment of Silence

OK, so today I can't do it.

It's not about the blogging.

It's not about the hopping or the voting.

It's not about funny Christmas anecdotes or cute crafts or Pin-worthy recipes.




It's about sending out our prayers to the families of the victims of the Newtown, CT school shooting.

It's about sending out the message to our political leaders about gun control. About getting security in our schools.

It's about trying to understand, but never really getting there...



To the families of the teachers,

To the parents and the siblings of the little children,


As empty as this may sound, my thoughts and prayers are with you....

Farm Friday: Vocab List

A little repost from my old blog.

What. It's a week and a half till Christmas. I've been busy.

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There was a time in my life that I was not a farmer.



Not that I'm really a farmer by any stretch of the imagination. We generate no income from anything we raise/produce on this little farm of ours. Our lives are not dependent on it. It is merely, what's the expression, a "hobby farm".



Nonetheless, it is still a farm of sorts, and it impacts the way we live our lives day to day. Here are a few examples of how our vocabulary, or at least certain connotations, have changed over the years:



Pre-farm

Jersey: the small state with the bad rep where I spent most of my growin'-up years.

Farm

Jersey: the breed of cow most of our milk comes from on the farm down the road.



Pre-farm

Lime: slice of citrus wedged into a bottle of Corona.

Farm

Lime: bag of powder to sprinkle over manure to dry things up and discourage flies.



Pre-farm

Driver: the friend who gave up drinking for the night in order to get her friends safely home from the bar.

Farm

Driver: Heavy hunk of metal with two handles used to drive t-posts into the ground.



Pre-farm

Her bag is full: Your friend has had a busy day at the mall and it's time to go home.

Farm

Her bag is full: Your mare's udder is big and tight and she's ready for delivery any time now.



Pre-farm

Pick up eggs: Honey, will you stop off at the store to pick up some eggs?

Farm

Pick up eggs: Honey, will you run out to the hen house to pick up some eggs?



Pre-farm

Bang a U-ey: Turn your car around in the middle of the road.

Farm

Bang a U-ey: Hammer a u-nail into a fence post.



Pre-farm

That's a load of sh**: Someone has just tried to pass off an untruth.

Farm

That's a load of sh**: Someone has just sprayed a load of liquified manure onto the neighboring field.






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Read it.
Like it?
Follow it.
Please?
Thanks.
(Follow my blog by adding yourself as a follower with Google Friends Connect in my sidebar!)


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Throw her a vote of course!
Just a quick little one-click-of-the-brown-button-and-you're-done vote.
Right here, right now.



Thanks!


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Look in my sidebar to see who I'm linking up with thoday, and come join the fun!


****************

Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.

I-Need-Therapy-Thursday: Merry Holidays

A repost from my old blog.....




I took my receipt from the cashier, white-knuckle-gripped the bar on the shopping cart, cast my eyes downward and muttered Merry Christmas under my breath as I sprinted out of the store.



Why?



Because I had this inner battle just before I opened my mouth: should I say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? I know that Happy Holidays is the PC way to go. Uttering the phrase Merry Christmas to someone used to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but nowadays I feel more like I've just delivered an insult than a friendly greeting.



Again, why?



I could comfortably wish the same cashier a happy Valentine's Day, even if I was unaware of her relationship status. St. Patrick's Day? I've wished a happy one to every culture and ethnic group under the sun.



Why then do the words Merry Christmas get so stuck on my tongue?



My questioning is purely hypothetical; I know perfectly well why. We've been brainwashed to believe that the merest hint of anything religionesque is to be stricken from our vocabulary. Now, fear not if your religion is in the minority. If fewer than 50% of the population worships alongside you, you may proudly decorate, sing, and greet others in the manner befitting your respective holiday. Your office manager will hasten to display your religious icons on the receptionist's desk, even while stowing away the two foot plastic Christmas tree in the stock closet with the extra TP and lightbulbs. But if you're Christian? Best to keep your household decorations pared down to some white lights and evergreen branches. Candy canes are iffy, but if you're feeling brazen, I say go for it. No reindeer, no Santas, and God forbid, no lawn mangers. Strike the word "Christmas" from the link with ___cards, ___parties, ___pageants, ___cookies and replace with the more anemic "holiday" and you're politically golden.



Well, call me a rebel if you will, but I'm not drinking that Kool-Aid. While I absolutely 100% believe it is wrong for the majority to force its religious views and practices on those who don't share their beliefs, I also think it is equally wrong to villify those of us who wish to publicly celebrate our religious holidays, just because ours is a majority view. If it is right to not just tolerate but welcome the celebrations of others, it is right to allow the celebrations of the majority, as well.



How can we hope for tolerance and acceptance of all cultures and religions if we try to sweep a selective few under the rug and pretend they don't exist?



As for me, I hope to learn about your religion, your culture, or at least enjoy the ways in which you celebrate what is important to you. I hope you extend the same courtesy to me.



Merry Christmas.......






















Cartoon courtesy: savagechickens.com



************

Read it.
Like it?
Follow it.
Please?
Thanks.
(Follow my blog by adding yourself as a follower with Google Friends Connect in my sidebar!)


***********

Don't forget, I will love you forever if you throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs. You know the drill by now, don't you? Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!



***************

In case you didn't know it, I'm like the queen of blog-hoppin' lately. It's kind of like square dancing but without the dated outfits, smelly gym, and elderly caller.  Check out my full schedule in my sidebar, and come join the fun!


****************

Rudeness disclaimer:

I love all your comments,
I read every one!
But I can't hit 'reply',
I've no time for fun.
Please don't judge me,
Please don't hate.
If you have a question that just can't wait,
Send me an email at farmbeachgal@yahoo.com,
And I'll answer right back because I'm, you know, the Mom.