Reviews: Norbit & Cloverfield

From watching the previews of Norbit, I expected it to compare with Martin Lawrence's Big Momma's House & Big Momma's House 2. Well it didn't...at all! It was MUCH more vulgar and degrading of women (particularly women with curves). The rating of PG-13 wasn't correct, in my opinion. It should have been rated R! With adult relations, A LOT of cussing, violence, lying, cheating, stealing, and adultry this movie is definitely not a family movie! And it wasn't even that funny!!!! I wouldn't watch it again if you paid me!

Cloverfield reminded me ALOT of The Blairwitch Project that came out in 1999. At the time I was pregnant with Bruce and saw BWP in the theaters. I ended up leaving because the "documentary feel" of the movie made me sick. So did Cloverfield. I had to look away for 1/4 of the movie...watching someone running with a camera tends to do that to ya! The story-line kept you on the edge of your seat, squinting to see what exactly was attacking New York but as with any drama documentary, the ending WAS HORRIBLE! You're left going, "that's it"????


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Magic Medicine

One night as we were getting ready for bed, our youngest son said, “I don’t feel good. My stomach hurts”. We looked in the medicine cabinet and couldn’t find any children’s medicine, so we did what every parent does. Fake it.


My husband quickly thought of the perfect remedy. He took his two hands and rubbed them together quickly (friction causing heat). Then he blew into his cuffed hands, sort of like you do on a cold winter day to keep your hands from becoming numb. Back and forth a few times he repeated this process. Our son was standing there wide-eyed, watching intently.


Daddy finally asked our son, “Are you ready?”


My youngest son nodded, yes.


“OK, lift up your shirt.” Daddy said


The wee one complied and Daddy put his warned up hands on his stomach, gently rubbing.


“There!” Daddy exclaimed. “That’s it, it is all better now”.


My son laid down and we overheard him telling his brother, “My stomach really does feel better! Daddy has Magic Medicine!”


Tonight, my other son isn’t feeling good and he requests “Daddy’s Magic medicine.”



Isn’t it great how you can just kiss away the boo-boo’s and give “Magic Medicine” and it really works? It’s wonderful how much faith, trust and love a child puts in their parents. What great joy and responsibility!


Wouldn’t it be great if we had some “Magic Medicine” that could make anything from an upset stomach to a heart break go away?

Well there is...



To keep reading, visit me at Heart of the Matter.


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Rock N Roll

As I sit here, I hear the boys in their room playing.

Nemo yells, "Rock on drummer man!"

Then I hear various bangs and booms coming from the room.

I walk in there and ask, "What are you doing?"

In a very matter-of-fact voice I'm quickly told, "Mom! We're in a pirate rock band!"

Okay... they never fail to amuse me.


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Wordless Wednesday - Home Grown Goodness

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Tomorrow all of the fun begins!

I am so excited about the Heart of the Matter First Annual Virtual Conference! All the fun, chatting and information sharing starts tomorrow!


There are several amazing speakers talking on various subjects from"Homeschooling for Beginners" all the way to "College Preparation" and everything in between! Check out the schedule for which topics you'd be most interested in!


In addition to getting a wealth of knowledge from our speakers, there are freebies and door prizes!! WOO HOO!




Here's a sneak peek at a few of the freebies:

• Author's Project-Pak: five projects rotating around twenty four 19th and 20th century authors from Home School in the Woods.


• Bees Project Pack Lapbooking Unit written by Hands of a Child, provided by CurrClick.


• Teaching and Evaluating Writing audio from The Institute for Excellence in Writing.


• Dr. Funster's Creative Thinking Puzzlers A1 from Bright Minds BRAIN-athon Emporium.


• 8 Great Ways to Save on Groceries from Simple Journey Ministries.


• What Really Happened During the Middle Ages from Knowledge Quest.

In addition to this, you have a chance to win one of more than 25 fabulous door prizes!

Here's a sneak peak of just some of the door prizes:

• A set of Creation to Christ timeline figures or an Activity-Pak of choice from Home School in the Woods.


• An autographed copy of Heather Paulsen's book Emotional Purity.


• An autographed copy of one of Kelli Crowe's books…Designing with Details: A scrapbooking idea book or DW Recipe Book: Recipes for great scrapbook pages.


• One of five signed copies of Luke Holzmann's children’s book Time for Friends.


• A $25 Amazon coupon gift certificate from Tiany Davis, founder of The Homeschool Lounge.


• A $50 gift card to Blue Thistle Book's online store.


• A $50 Amazon gift certificate from the team here at Heart of the Matter.

You get freebies, chances to win door prizes, PLUS motivational information from fabulous speakers all for one low price! Just an FYI-this is the last day that you can get the tickets for the price of $29.95. Starting tomorrow (Wednesday) the price will go up to it's official price of $39.95 and will remain that cost for the duration of the conference. So order today, it's well worth it!



I'll see you there!



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A Mabel's Labels Giveaway!

One of the many blogs I frequent called From Dates to Diapers and Beyond... is having a great giveaway. You know me, can't pass up winning stuff!


Anyway, go check them out!


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Through the Lens Photography 101: Assignment 3

In Assignment 3, we're learning about Better Composition. The composition of the picture makes it pleasing to the eye, easy to follow and likable.

In Hallie's explanation, she provided 8 guidelines on how to improve the composition of your photos. We are to provide at least 8 photo's showing each guideline put-to-use.

Enjoy!

Rule #1-Rule of Thirds


Rule #2-Backgrounds (uncluttered)


Rule #3-Viewpoints


Rule #4-Filling the frame


Rule #5-Lines


Rule #6-Details


Rule #7-Know your subject


Rule #8-Break the rules (sometimes)

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What a joke!

You may laugh, but my grandmother taught me at the "ripe 'ol age of 13" to start taking care of my skin. This includes anti-wrinkle products. We don't go by the saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"-we go by, "prevention is the key"! If you don't take care of it today, don't be shocked when you don't have it tomorrow!

So yes, I do use wrinkle creams and have for the past 14 years. (Maybe that's why I've been told that when I'm barefaced, I look 12...) In my quest to find products that fit my changing skin type (due to surgery induced menopause), I like to try new things. In general, I stick to the same major brands that work for me-but as you know, each brand has different products within itself. I'm an "Olay" girl. I love Olay (formerly Oil of Olay) products and this is the majority of what's in my skincare bag. (along with Clean & Clear, Mary Kay, and Arbonne)

So it was a good surprise when I found one of Olay's products from the Regenerist line on sale recently. Of course, I scooped it up! I couldn't wait to get home and try it! This particular product is the Regenerist Micro-derm Cleansing Cloths

After all, it boasts:

Olay Regenerist regenerates skin's appearance without serious measures such as
chemical peels, cosmetic surgery or laser treatment.

Regenerist micro-derm cleansing cloths

• Exfoliate to improve skin's tone and texture
• Condition to soothe and hydrate dry skin
• Remove dirt, oil and makeup (even waterproof mascara)

Well the package is nice. It's a black plastic box with an Olay emblem on the top. Sits nicely on the bathroom counter to hold the stack of dry cloths. You wet each cloth and wash your face. One side is supposed to have raised bumps (I couldn't feel the difference in sides) to scrub your face and then there was supposed to be a softer side.

So I'm expecting little scrubbies, granules or something to "regenerate" younger skin and perform a mini microdermabrasion...wouldn't you think? After all, it even says Mirco-Derm! To me, it was basically a thick paper towel with dehydrated soap on it! I can't believe they could even pass this off as ANYTHING regenerating or microderm. I am highly disappointed...

Don't get me wrong, the actual cleanser is great and I absolutely LOVE their moisturizers. But, don't waste your money on these-or I should say, don't expect an at-home mini microdermabrasion!


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Geoza Goodness

Today, I made Geoza! It took a few hours from start to finish, but it was sooo worth it! To show you the steps, I took pictures. I hope this helps and inspires you to try the recipe yourself. If you do, let me know how it turned out!

Ingredients:

Start wrapping:

Fry:

Boil:

Serve and Enjoy:

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I admit it...I'm Twisted!

Today, my Twisted Silver came!

This time, I got "Funky Silver" earrings...it goes perfectly with my "Beatnik Bracelet".



Share the love, go check them out!!!

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Heart of the Matter Friday Meme - How Do You Meal Plan?

Welcome to the Heart of the Matter Online meme. Every Friday they feature a different topic for the meme. Today, they're asking "How Do You Meal Plan?" Go check them out to participate and even sign the Mr. Linky to link to your blog!


(Also, the schedule for the theme of the homeschool meme is located in the right column of HOTM under "Blog With Us". Please check it out to view upcoming themes.)


I've tried the whole meal planning thing and it doesn't work to well for us. Well, I take that back-it works FINANCIALLY. It saves us money because I know what all I need for a certain meal & I'm not likely to forget an ingredient. (Matter-of-fact, I went last night & forgot my wonton noodles!) But we don't stick to the meal plan. We eat based on our feelings and what's on sale. What we might have thought would be a good thing to eat on Monday-don't seem so satisfactory when that time comes. So basically, we don't make out a menu to stick to, but we buy a variety of things & I absolutely LOVE creating new dishes (without reading a cook book). For some reason cook books bore me completely!


I have several tried and true recipes that I stick to and tweak. Also we try new things all the time, especially if it's on sale! When shopping I buy what's on sale or I have a coupon for. The only exceptions are if we absolutely need it. (We are faithful followers of The Grocery Game!) We don't buy red meat at all anymore because it's getting so expensive (and it's not very healthy). What meat we do eat is either chicken or turkey. I'd like to think our meals are well rounded with lots of vegetables, 1-2 starches and a meat (I could go without this but my highly carnivorous guys of the house would have a fit!)

As far as a schedule, we have "scrounge" night once a week-usually on Friday nights. This night, you find whatever you want for dinner (within reason-no junk). We often have breakfast for dinner, too. This is a family favorite!


I'm going to share my recipe for geoza (what I forgot the wonton's for!). This is a Japanese dish that my mom learned by working for a Japanses shipping/receiving company. One of her best friends/co-workers taught her how to make it and it's AMAZING! (She also taught us how to use chop sticks-it's not that hard, really!)

Geoza
(all amounts are approximate, as we don't measure anything)

For meat mixture:
1 lb of ground beef (we use turkey)
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 TBSP minced garlic (we use the garlic out of the jar in the produce
dept)
1-2 TBSP soy sauce (we only use Kikkoman)
1 tsp Lea & Perrins (worchestershire sauce)
salt & pepper to taste

For Noodles:
1-2 pkgs (depending on how many you want to make) of won ton noodles (also
found in the produce dept)
1 cup of water & a paper towel

Sides:
rice (for a side dish)
soy sauce & vinegar (for a dipping sauce)

-Mix your meat, cabbage, garlic, soy sauce, salt, pepper, & Lea &
Perrins in a large bowl.
(I usually do this the day before so that the flavors really
merge)

-Prepare won tons by separating one, lay it flat on the table. Take
approx. 1/2-1 tsp of meat mixture and place in the center of the won ton. Dip
your little finger in the cup of water and moisten the 4 edges (don't soak) Pick
up the filled won ton & press the edges together to seal and finally fold
over to create a pleat (usually two pleats per noodle). Set aside on a platter.
Continue with entire pkg(s). There is a diagram on the won ton wrapper showing exactly how to do this. Also, this is the longest step, taking about 1-2 hours to wrap 1 pkg.

-Once you're finished filling your noodles (won tons) lightly fry them in
oil (approx 4-5 TBSP) Being extremely careful not to over handle them-they'll
break. Fry them until they're light brown. It's not important to cook them
thoroughly at this point, just "set" the noodle.

-As each one is browned, place them on a paper towel to drain off
the grease. After you've fried all of them, drain out all of your oil, put them back into your frying pan. Fill the pan with water and approx. 1/4 cup of soy sauce, turn it down low & cover for approx. 20-30 minutes until the noodles are soft and the meat inside is done. DO NOT stir and try not to disturb them, they'll break easily.

-This is a good time to cook your rice.

For the dipping sauce:
Combine equal parts soys sauce & vinegar in a coffee cup (adjust for
taste) for dipping. This sauce is supposed to be sour but not unbareable.

Once your won tons are ready, place them on a clean serving dish. Serve the
dipping sauce and rice as a side item.

This is my FAVORITE dish that my mother use to make. Of course, it's never as good as hers-but we love to practice! If you're going to be making this, let me know how it turns out!


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Get your Knowledge House Academy button

I've finally created my own button! Let me know what you think and feel free to link to me.

<center><a target="_blank" href="http://knowledgehouseacademy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" alt="Knowledge House Academy" src="http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa127/nlneill/KHAButton.jpg"/></a></center>

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Wordless Wednesday - Java Bliss

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Reaping the rewards

Along with having tomato plants in the garden, we also have 2 in planters on our front stoop. (one on each side of the door). One plant is a Better Boy and one is grape tomatoes.

With plenty of love and care, we're beginning to reap our rewards.

Délicieux!

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Our weekly art project

Yesterday, I decided that we should paint! I bought some raw wood birdhouses for the boys at the beginning of our year. I had a raw wood flower planter to paint.

The boys birdhouses are finished and we'll hang them outside today. My flower planter isn't finished yet, but it will stay in the house. Here's a picture of Bruce's (left) and Nemo's (right) artwork!

My planter has two faces with different pictures. The ends haven't been painted yet.

Face 1: Freehand mural

Face 2: Old Glory

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Tip of the Day

It's not a good idea to wear a floral print dress and stand in front of a wasp nest... especially if you're allergic to bees!


Sick, swollen, & itchy,


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Hubby Tag

My good friend Marsha had this tag on her blog and I wanted to do it too!

1. Who is your man? Kevin
2. How long have you been together? We've been married for 2 years in October.
3. How long dated? Started dating in January '06, engaged by April '06 and married 10-14-06.

4. How old is your man? Shh...don't tell him I told ya! He will be 37 this October.
5. Who eats more? Him (and the boys) go back for seconds and sometimes thirds! I'm a big girl but they definitely eat more than me!
6. Who said "I love you" first? He did..I'm stubborn. (Don't tell him I admitted to that either)
7. Who is taller? He is! He is 5'11" and I'm tall (for a woman) being 5'8".
8. Who sings better? I'd say he does. His deep voice sounds a lot better than my off pitch one! Except when he sings, The Devil Went Down to Georgia...I wouldn't care if I never heard that song again...ever!
9. Who is smarter? There are so many "ways" to be smart. He knows more about a lot than I do. He's very "common-sense" smart and definitely mechanically smart. Me? I'm "book smart" I can tell you the classifications of animals (in order) ex. Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species...but I have to remember "Righty Tighty Lefty Loosey.
10. Whose temper is worse? I'd say it's pretty even. He has more patience than I do but once he's "miffed" that's it! He'll be in a bad mood for a little while.
11. Who does the laundry? I do and the boys help.
12. Who takes out the garbage? Bruce (8yo) takes it out of the house and into the commercial-style canister in the garage. Then hubby takes it to the dump on Saturdays.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Which is the right side? When you're laying in it or when you're standing at the foot of the bed looking at it? Either way, when I'm laying down-Kevin is to my right. So right side when I'm standing at the foot and left side when I'm laying down.
14. Who pays the bills? I do. He works a lot and I plan ahead weeks in advance, so when he looks at Quicken, he gets a bit confused.
15. Who is better with the computer? I'm better with short cut keys, surfing the web, etc and he's better with fixing the stuff I mess up on it :)
16. Who mows the lawn? I cut the grass and he weed eats and trims the hedges.
17. Who cooks dinner? I usually cook dinner. He's been known to cook breakfast on the weekends and he makes the BEST homemade chocolate cheesecake that I've ever put in my mouth!
18. Who drives when you are together? I do almost always. I told him when we were dating that I like being in control. Now don't get me wrong-I'm not some crazy control freak. It's not about POWER-type control. Maybe I should say it this way, I don't like feeling helpless. His driving scares me and he gets tired of me "co piloting". It's not just HIS driving...I don't like riding shotgun in any vehicle. When driving, the not being in control is what gets me. So he lets me drive (unless I'm sick).
19. Who pays when you go out? He does...like Marsha said "it's the gentlemanly thing to do"
20. Who is most stubborn? OK, ya got me....ME definitely. Well except when it comes to #21.
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me, definitely. God definitely knew what He was doing when He put us two together! We compliment each other's personality perfectly. He doesn't like admitting that he is wrong and I'm very quick to point out that he is not always right...lovingly of course. (We joke around A LOT, so this is honestly not as harsh as it sounds)
22. Whose parents do you see the most? His because his lives about 8 miles away and mine live about 60 miles away.
23. Who kissed who first? I love our first kiss story. He tried to kiss me on the first date (and the second) and I'm old fashioned that way. NO WAY!!! So finally on the 3rd date it became "that" goodbye time (in the parking lot of Barnes & Noble) and I was so nervous I thought I was going to be sick! Well after about 30 minutes of waiting, I did it. He started crying. Not a tear-in-my-eye but running down his face BAWLING! I was thinking that I've kissed a lunatic! He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box.(I'm thinking, I KNOW this man isn't about to propose!!!!) I open it and it's a gold diamond necklace (WHEW) He said that at Christmas, he'd prayed to God to show him the woman He wanted for him to marry. God told him to go out and buy that necklace and He'd provide the woman. Faithfully, he bought the necklace and he "knew" I was the one by the magic of our first kiss. Wow, who knew my kisses could bring a man to tears! :)
24. Who asked who out? It was actually a set up. My friend from work (his cousin) set us up on a double date (with her and her hubby). I almost backed out several times!!!
25. Who proposed? He did!
26. Who is the most sensitive? I'm definitely more emotional. Although just as with our "always right" issues, we compliment each other's personalities perfectly. He's my rock.
27. Who has more friends? Most of our "friends" are actually family. I have online friends, where he doesn't...so me?
28. Who has more siblings? Definitely him, I'm an only child.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? We both do, really! We don't make decisions without consulting each other. We agree on almost everything-we share the same views about almost everything. We've never argued, although we've had disagreements (if that makes sense at all) and we didn't even do that until we were married a year!
30. How did you meet? My friend from work set us up on a double date. It was a blind date and it was my first (and last). I almost backed out SEVERAL times. I was SO nervous. Thank God I didn't.

Like Marsha, I'm going to leave this open for anyone that would want to participate. And if you're a gentleman (Arby), you can tell me about the love of YOUR life.

Let me know you're participating so I can read up on ya! :)

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Lyrics for my heart.

I was blog surfing and stumbled upon Yvonne's blog and discovered the wonderful music (located at the bottom). The lyrics touched my heart -it explains exactly how I'm feeling today! I truly believe that the Lord wanted me to find this blog (and this song)...as added in irony, my mom's middle name was YaVonne. The Lord works in mysterious ways.




It's called Praise You In This Storm by Casting Crowns.

Amen...Amen.


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Through the Lens Photography 101: Assignment 2

In Assignment 2, we're understanding white balance. Pretty simple really-items, in different light (like morning vs mid-day) will require different white balance settings on your camera.

For the second part of your assignment, take your best shot with a
white balance that you feel is correct for the particular lighting you are
shooting in. Experiment, but more importantly, have fun!

My submitted photo is of our long stem rose bush. The only changes are in white balance (because of the assignment). I adjusted for Sunlight. Enjoy!




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Mystery of the 3-in-1 Phantom

Do my eyes fail me? Surely I must be going insane!

I go into our flower garden to refill our empty hummingbird feeder. To do this, I must pass by the English ivy and the butterfly bushes. While I'm traipsing around barefoot, I notice a bumblebee in the butterfly bush. Recently discovering that I'm allergic to bees, I back up to wait for it to leave. I notice this doesn't look like any bumblebee I've ever seen!

I can't wait until Kevin gets home to tell him of my new discovery! It's about 1-2 inches long, flying, obviously pollinating insect. It has the upper body of a bumblebee with a furry black "lobster-like" tail! Seriously! Then looking at its head, it has a hummingbird-like (kinda magnified mosquito) needle nose to drink the nectar! Three animals in one!

So I Google it of course! This is what I found:

(photo courtesy of Dennis)

Yes, it's a real animal-I'm not going crazy after all! (at least not yet)
It's called a Bee Hawk Moth. I feel a Science study coming up!

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A Musical Give-Away

My friend is having a give-away on her blog, Mustard Seeds! I must admit, I'm a sucker for a give-away!

Anywho, go check out the details!


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In a hurry much?

Last night we went to the grocery store and thanks to The Grocery Game, saved over $100 by using coupons and buying stuff on sale. I had my coupon notebook, (which I always take) my list and my envelope FULL of coupons that I'll use today. I know I had to have over 20 coupons! (a lot of them providing food for FREE)

When we got to check out, there are only two available cashiers. We start unloading and our cashier was amazingly quick! He was 3/4 of the way done scanning everything before I could go through my coupon envelope (to verify that I DID buy what was on my list).

Well then there was this guy behind us. He put his 5 items on the belt and I heard him say (to the woman behind him), "I guess this isn't the express checkout." My first thought was Oh no! Did we accidentally get in the express checkout with our overflowing mass of a buggy? I checked the register light/number. Nope. No sign saying it was Express Only. Then I'm hearing sigh after sigh, the man is noticeably in a hurry-shifting from one foot to the other. Looking around. I'm thinking, There ARE 4 self-check-out lanes; if he's in that big of a hurry, he can go to one of those!

The cashier is then done with scanning all of the food and I hand over my coupons. This obviously didn't make the guy behind us happy. He starts sighing even louder, if this is at all possible. Then I hear, "Do you remember how much this was?" I reply to the cashier laughingly, "Uh, no". The cashier then has to get the receipt which is still printing and see how much this product was-this was one of my many FREE coupons. I'm half expecting the man behind us to start cussing! In my mind I was thinking, when I leave, I should tell him "God bless you".

I give the cashier the check to pay and my id. The computer wouldn't take it. He gives me a tiny paper that came out of the computer that says, "Exceeded". Um, what does this mean??? I have money in the bank, the check is good, exceeded what -coupons???? I look over at my overflowing buggy full of bagged food thinking how mortified I'd be if their computer was broke or something and I had to leave ALL that food there!

They end up calling the manager over (you should have seen the guys face behind us) to fix the problem. After ALL that, before we leave. I apologized to the guy behind us (even though it wasn't MY fault) and I told him "God Bless You!"

We get to our Mountaineer, which we always park kinda far away and are half way done unloading our groceries when we see "him" walking out. I tell Kevin, "He only had about 5 items-he should have been out way before then. Oh look, he's NOT in a hurry, he's actually walking pretty slow. And who's that woman with him? She wasn't with him in the line."

About that time, he's reached us and gives us the dirtiest look! As he hops in his brand new Range Rover with the mystery woman, Kevin replies, "Well one day he'll have a big family and then he'll realize what a feat it is to shop for groceries!"


Um...


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God's Pharmacy

A friend sent this to me and I just had to share! It's absolutely amazing - and makes perfect sense!!

Psalm 46:10 'Be Still and Know that I AM GOD'

It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners...God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocado's, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. The y even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Neat, huh? All the more reason to GO VEG!

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Review: We Are Marshall

We just finished watching We Are Marshall (with Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox). I read the synopsis, so knew what the story entailed-tragedy and triumph; much like Remember the Titans.

In my opinion it was a very good movie, worth purchasing and watching again! Get out the tissue box!

Keep in mind that this is an adult movie with language, violence, and drinking. Parental guidance is suggested.


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Our first "fruits"

Well they're actually vegetables, but we have our first mini-harvest out of our meager garden!

The corn is a bit short, as our soil isn't the best with all of this red Georgia clay and granite. But we were SO excited to see our fresh homegrown corn! Tonight we feast on these two little ears!

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ
Jesus. ~Philippians 4:19

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So cute!

I saw this commercial today and loved it! It's a commercial for father involvement...check it out! (I put it on my Blackberry)

Isn't it so cute!?



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The light is still on...

It was time to go to bed once again and we were met with,

"Can we stay up a little while longer?"

"Not tonight", I replied.

So we get settled and notice that the boys' light to their room is still on. Kevin (DH) gets up to tell them to turn the light off & get in the bed. He peaks around the corner and stops.

He sees both boys side-by-side kneeling down on their knees with their hands clasped and eyes closed, praying. He waited patiently until they were done. The boys said,

"We wanted to talk to Nanmaw". (this is what the called my mom)

He got them settled, came back to bed & told me of his discovery. I cried...


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Review: Eat, Pray, Love

I read the reviews and was so eager to read Elizabeth Gilbert's book: Eat Pray Love.

Unfortunately it was not at all what I expected. I can't really give a very accurate review of the book, since I couldn't even stand to read 1/2 of it. I got about 3/4 of the way through Italy (the Eat part of the book) and it lost my interest. I tried to continue reading it, but I'd rather sleep.

So take my opinion for what it's worth. Eat Pray Love was a disappointment for me.


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The ABC's of my life...

I found this over at Marybeth's blog and it looked like fun so I had to participate...

A is for age.
27
B is for burger of choice.
Grilled with cheese, onions and ketchup!
C is for what car you drive.
'02 Mercury Mountaineer
D is for Dog's name.
Gizmo (from the Gremlin's movies...Gizmo was the cute furry one. Our yorkie's ears stood straight out just like Gizmo's)
E is for essential item you use every day.
my computer, definitely
F is for favorite tv show at the moment.
Lost-hands down, none better!
G is for Favorite game.
Monopoly. As an only child, I never got to play board games and never learned to play Monopoly until after I was married!
H is for Hometown.
Somewhere in Georgia...
I is for instruments you play.
None unfortunately
J is for favorite juice.
Pineapple!
K is for who you'd like to kiss.
Babies, any babies...baby kisses are the sweetest!
L is for last restaurant you ate at.
Starbucks...mmm (does a latte count as a meal?)
M is for your favorite Muppet.
I never really learned their names, and always confused them with the Sesame Street characters, but I like the honkers. They would stand next to each other and honk their noses to various tunes.
N is for number of piercings.
6 (3 in each ear)
O is for overnight hospital stays.
Too many to count!
P is for people you were with today.
My two sons, the vet, people at Starbucks and Wal-Mart
Q is for what you do with your quiet time.
What's that???
R is for biggest regret.
Not having initiative earlier in life.
S is for status.
VERY happily married. And no, that's not an oxymoron! :)
T is for time you woke up today.
4:30 a.m.--due to a sick nightmare stricken child-I seriously need a nap!
U is for what you consider unique.
My name-Nikowa...
V is for vegetable you love.
Onions...mmm
W is for worst habit.
Worrying
X is for number of x-rays you've had.
Many...
Y is for yummy food you ate today.
Still not eating very much...for breakfast I had a biscuit, I haven't eaten since.
Z is for zodiac sign.
Pisces. (which is one of my tattoo's)


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*Sigh*

It's amazing how much has to be done upon the death of a loved one! I'm sure this is "common knowledge" but for someone who's never lost anyone close to them or had to handle the minute details, I was shocked...and it's not over! Other than cremation arrangements, which was the strangest conversation I believe I've ever had, there are still a lot of other things to do.

To name a few:

• credit card's/debts cancelled
• doctor's appointments to be cancelled
• name removed from all accounts such as checking account, savings accounts, life insurance (beneficiary), automotive insurance, etc.
• Thank You notes to be written and mailed, some with corresponding Obituary's as requested
• new furniture (mattress, bedding, etc)

I visited my step father yesterday and the whole visit was emotionally draining. Now that every thing's starting to settle down, we had time to chat just-the-two-of-us. I made him a large crock pot full of homemade vegetable soup & a whole pan of cornbread~he was most appreciative. I read his mail to him, showed him how to delete names off his cordless caller-id phone and I am now in charge of two adult male Siamese cats (a new home is required for both).

As soon as we came in, he took me and the boys to see the urn. (and the picture of the two of them that he's sat on top) He explained to the boys that she loved them very much. As they ran off to play, he showed me that he'd received a bag with her jewelry and a hair barrette she was wearing at the time...all bloody.

This was the first real evidence that I've seen of her death. It hit me...like a brick wall.

In my mind, maybe to protect myself, I sort of "pretended" that she'd just gone on vacation or something-she just "left". Now this might sound very strange & I really don't know how to explain it to where it'd make sense, but on one side of my mind is the analytical mind. Almost like CSI, I wanted to know details...where I could picture "the scene" in my mind. But this side is almost "away" from the situation, almost like an outsider (an investigator agent per se) looking in on the situation. No feelings-"don't get personally involved" type thinking.

On the other side of my mind, I know my mother died and how it happened. And I was sad because I'm going to miss her. I was/am lonely-I've caught myself a few times picking up the phone to call her and tell her something or to ask her how to do something, only to know that she's not there. The two sides of my brain weren't thinking/feeling in unison. Until I saw her bloody hair barrette. I lost it. It was overwhelming, but also very cleansing. I feel like I can let go now. Yes I miss her and yes I'd give anything to be able to talk with her (conversationally) but I know that I'll see her again one day.

Now I'm getting started back on my routine: school work, writing, blog reading/writing, cooking/cleaning, etc. It's almost as if I expected life to stop-it sure felt that way, but I know life must go on...

Now, I just gotta get rid of these cats!

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Review: 10,000 B.C./National Treasure: Book of Secrets

I've tried to keep busy and thought that watching movies would keep my mind occupied. So in the last 2 days, I've watched the movies below.

Yesterday I rented 10,000 B.C. on Pay-per-view and it was good~to us anyway. The critics haven't given it good reviews, but hey, it's entertaining and the main characters are easy on the eyes! The boys loved the special effects (saber tooth tiger & mammoths) even though it's historic accuracy was very lacking. Overall it was a very entertaining movie~and I can't resist a love story!

Tonight we got our Netflix order of National Treasure: Book of Secrets. This movie did not disappoint! It's what you've come to expect with the edge-of-your-seat drama and historical references and then ending leaves you wanting more! There has to be a part 3 in the making! This is my favorite type of movie since I'm very analytical and a conspiracy-theorist at heart.


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Let go and let God...

Due to technicalities, I will not be able to pursue legal action regarding my mother's death. Not because I don't have a case-I do according to two different lawyers, but because of a particular law of limitation.

Here in Georgia, the next of kin would have to file the lawsuit on behalf of the entire family, immediate and extended. Because of this, it names my step-father as next of kin and he doesn't want to pursue legal action. He's in his mid 80's (you read that right & they were married for 15 years) and can't even read so I'm sure the idea is overwhelming to him. With a lawsuit that could take up to 5 years, I think that it'd be harder on him to drag it all out.

So I'm at an empass. I guess I'm just going to have to "let it go" but it is SO hard! This doctor (and pharmacy) keeps prescribing medicines to patients that they was sworn to help. They get to keep their jobs, their cushy lifestyle and I'm sure they're sleeping good every night. While we're not eating, we're not sleeping and we're spreading the ashes of my mother! I know life's not fair and everything is in God's hands. I truly know and trust Him. He's in control and He will judge...I'm just so lonely without my mother. I haven't heard her voice in 6 days now. I know time will make it easier...I'm waiting...because her loss is still ripping at my heart right now.

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Stayin' busy.

We took the boys to the park, to keep our minds and bodies busy. Well, they wore themselves out! I wish we had something like this to add to our Noah's Ark swing set!

Then, we ate dinner at Truett's (a diner-style version of Chick-Fil-A). It's owned by Mr. Truett Cathy and he's got a wonderful book that I've read called: "It's Better to Build Boys than Mend Men". I recommend this to anyone with children, boys or girls-same principle applies. Anyway, we got our picture with "him".

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Happy 4th!

I hope everyone had a safe and blessed holiday!

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Made with love...

We all love (and prefer) "homemade" gifts. I guess this goes along with growing up in a frugal household. It saves money plus the gifts come from the heart.

Well my mother was making our Christmas gifts before her untimely death. She made each of the boys their own throw blanket (crocheted) and was working on Kevin (DH) a crocheted Bible cover. The blankets were complete, but the Bible cover wasn't. We're going to keep the Bible cover and place it in a shadow box, for safe keeping.

The boys were very happy to have their blankets early. They loved them! I about cried when I heard Bruce(8) saying to Nemo(5)...

"Each stitch is made with love."

I couldn't agree more.




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I Was Green Before Green Was Cool

You often hear of these oh-so-easy small changes that if each one of us made in our everyday life, it’d make a huge impact on preserving the world for our children and even our children’s children.

Growing up with a very frugal mother, I learned first-hand how to reuse common household items and make those things that we did have last longer. I recently watched a television show about small changes that we could make and it made me realize that I do 90% of the things they were listing. Not because it was cool or the “it” thing to do; I did it because I grew up doing them!

I thought I could share what my mother taught me about reusing, so you can save time and money and even help save the world!


To keep reading, visit me at Heart of the Matter Online...

***In loving memory of my mother, Sheila. 10-20-62 - 7-1-08***

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Thank you for your prayers!

10-20-62 - 7-1-08

Thank everyone SO much for your comments, thoughts and prayers. Your kind words mean more to me than you could imagine. I wanted to give you an update on what happened.

As most of you know, my mother died late Sunday night. She committed suicide by a single gun shot to the head. Harsh words, I know but I don't feel it can be said "nicer". I apologize if this offends you-but I am not in the mood to care right now.

My mother was an alcoholic and she suffered from anxiety and depression, as most of us have suffered from at one time or another in our lives. She, like most people, went to the doctor for treatment. We trust our doctors to provide the best care. After all, they went to school for 12 years to have this knowledge, as did the pharmacist. I am sad to say that this is another "Anna Nicole and Heath Ledger" incident. If you're unfamiliar with this, let me explain.

The combinations of drugs given to my mother made her "bonkers". Even the coroner when he came out, told my step dad that she shouldn't have taken these medicines together, much less in the dosage amount that they were prescribed in. He wanted to know where she got them, he (step father) showed him the prescription bottles-all from the same doctor and the same pharmacy. Along with the wrong combination of medicines, the doctor knew my mother was an alcoholic and she did in fact, mix alcohol with these already lethal doses of prescription med's and it made her lapse in judgement, even for a split second.

To give you a "heads up" on just what the doctor had my mother on:

in the morning:
Seroquel anti anxiety
Ativan anti anxiety
Paxil anti anxiety
along with blood pressure medicine and the medicine that makes you not want to drink alcohol

In the evening:
Seroquel
Ativan

AND he prescribed her to take Oxycontin as needed, which she did take on the night of her death because her shoulder where she had surgery was hurting.
(Even while taking these other medicines)

This could have easily been prevented by BOTH the doctor AND the pharmacist. Like I said ONE doctor prescribed all these and ONE pharmacist filled them all. ALL knowing that she was an alcoholic, after all, she was on the anti drinking medicine!

I am contacting a lawyer today to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the doctor and the clinic (which is at the hospital) so I'm sure this will include the hospital too. I apologize, I cannot say which hospital, but if you knew my mother & where she lived, you can guess which one I'm talking about. I am NOT after money. Money is NOTHING-It will not bring my mom back to me. I can never call her, I am devastated. I just want my mother back!!!!

I've heard more and more stories about doctors prescribing medicine to everyone that doesn't go together. LITERALLY I went to the doctor about my weight and they tried to put me on Prozac! I will NOT take anything! I want to save families from the heartache of this and it's worse that I know it could have been prevented!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't trust your doctor or pharmacist, but do your own research! The web is a powerful tool. They even have those drug interaction books! PLEASE educate yourself on anti-anxiety medicine. I understand that TRUE anxiety is from a chemical imbalance of the brain. But #1 doctors are too quick to pass these drugs out and #2, anxiety and depression are a natural part of life. Yin & Yang. You can't have happiness without sadness, excitement without anxiety. People shouldn't be medicated they should be taught how to deal with it! (if it's not a chemical imbalance) Doctors don't even TEST for a chemical imbalance, not sure ANY do!

Today my mother will be cremated. My step father wanted to see her to "talk to her". I could not. I want the last memory of my mother to be in the kitchen cooking. There will be no service and it's not possible for there to be a viewing. My mother "didn't want people standing and crying over her dead body". She told me that herself.

Thank you SO much for all of your kind words and prayers. Please please continue to pray, as it is so hard on me and the boys.

I heard a great quote that truly fits my life right now:

I know that God will put more on you than you can't handle.
I just wish He didn't trust me so much!

He definitely thinks I'm stronger than I feel!

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RIP

I'm sitting here numb, in shock and somewhat in denial. I get awoken at 12:30 am by a police officer banging on my door. He tells me what every child never wants to hear...your mother is dead.

I can't sleep. I have so many thoughts racing through my head. How am I going to tell my children? But...I just talked to her today, three times! She was fine! I'll never get to call her again-when I need advice, reassurance or just a laugh. How do I tell my father?

I love you momma and I'm missing you already...

Please pray for me and my family,

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