Our Cat Jake

My Sister

2008-05-10T02:52:00.000-07:00

I have the best sister in the world. She is the most energetic, inspirational person I have ever met. Her world is so hectic and somehow she always manages to stay happy and hopeful. I love her blog and she is very good at expressing her thoughts and a lot of her recipes! She makes everything from scratch and can whip up something new out of almost anything. Again my sister is amazing and you should visit her blog. You will love it...... Bread and Love.

The Jealous Bully Strikes Again

2007-10-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

If you read my first post about the girl who threatened my daughter, this is a follow-up. Less then a week later, 2 more threats came to my daughter from this "girl". We in fact did end up speaking with the police and also with the school. We are not pressing charges yet because we want to give her one more chance. How do other kids and students deal with this type of ridiculous, life-ruining behavior? Do you try to ignore it? Do you confront the kid yourself as a parent? In reality, we just want her to go away. We are not vengeful people and do not wish the worst on her but if she doesn't stop then we will have no choice but to press charges. Any suggestions?

What's for Dinner?

2007-10-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

My least favorite question from my daughter and husband is "what's for dinner"? No matter what my answer is, one of them usually either makes a face or a noise...signaling that they don't think it is worthy to be their dinner. My daughter used to eat almost anything until the past few years. My husband is less picky but is still not the easiest to satisfy.
I would love to get some suggestions for new, easy cheap meals that I can offer my family that they WILL ACTUALLY LIKE!!!

How to deal with a jealous bully.

2007-10-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today my daughter (in picture) received a threat (in writing - not very smart) from a jealous bully. She told my daughter that she is going to "curbstomp" her. Now, my daughter isn't a wimp by any means but she is not one who has any interest in fighting... She is a good student and a nice girl. She is not perfect by any means but was not looking for trouble. She has been trying to ignore the silly comments and childish taunts from this girl and I give her a lot of credit for it. It is very apparent from the incidents that have occurred that the girl is extremely jealous and comes from an extremely dysfunctional family and does not know how to deal with her emotions properly. She used to be a friend of my daughter and became jealous because of the normal teenage thing....a boy. Now for someone to be upset is one thing but to threaten her is another thing. At first we felt that we didn't want to get the girl in trouble but enough is enough.
How would you deal with this situation? Going to the school is the first thing that I am going to do because I don't want this to affect my daughter's good grades. Should we go to the police? Any advice??

Another murder in Spencer...

2007-10-05T19:02:00.001-07:00

Once again, not even 6 months after the first murder/suicide in Spencer this year, another has occurred. What is this world coming to? Are we living inside of a Stephen King horror story?

Great Christmas Gift Idea...

2007-09-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

I have discovered Stamps.com where you can design your own real postage stamps. Just download your own photo on their website and you can order postage stamps with any picture that you want. What a great gift idea! I don't know if this is something new or not but I love it!

Christmas is coming!!!

2007-09-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

People think I'm crazy when I tell them that I have started Christmas shopping already!! But I like to find bargains and if I see something I know someone will like, why wait until right before Christmas? You know what happens then...you go to the mall...forget it. Trying to get through the mall any other time of year is bad enough. Fighting my way through crowds of crazy Christmas shoppers is the last thing I want to do.
So why not shop online? Shopping on Ebay is a great way to get great deals and you can find almost anything that you are looking for. I will start posting links to my favorite places to shop online for Christmas. I also find some neat things on Etoys. Need any ideas? Let me know I have many of them!

Lynette's Macaroni and Cheese

2007-09-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

Here is one of my favorite recipes from my mom. It is the best mac-n-cheese ever!
Boil one pound of elbows (or whatever pasta you like) then drain it and set it aside.
Melt 8 Tbsp. butter or margarine in a large pan.
Add 8 Tbsp. flour and seasonings such as garlic salt, season-all, etc... whatever you like to the butter. Stir to make a thick paste.
Add 6 cups of milk and be ready to stand and stir for a while. Keep around medium-high (or a little lower) and stir until it starts to bubble.
When it does start to bubble, add 1 pound velveeta cheese. It melts faster if you cut it into pieces before you add it. Keep stirring until the cheese is melted and then remove from the burner.
Add the cooked pasta into the pan and stir it all together.
I usually make this dish after I have cooked a ham and add in some cut up ham. I have also added sausage and have thought of adding broccoli but have not tried it yet!
I put it in 2 - 2 quart casserole dishes (one big pan would work also) and bake them at 350 covered with foil for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes. You can also sprinkle some bread crumbs on top before the last 15 minutes if you want.

Any thoughts on MS Medications?

2007-09-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

I would like to know your thoughts on MS medications. My biggest worry is that the medications to treat MS such as interferons, have not been tested for long-term side effects. What will happen after taking such medications for say 20 years? Does anyone else think of this and/or do you know of any research on such subject?