Mosque at Ground Zero

This is an interesting clip I watched this morning.  I must qualify it by saying I agree with a lot of it, some I don't agree with, and some I just don't know enough about to have an opinion one way or another.

So have fun watching it and post a comment on how you feel about it (if you want to).

Back to School

Okay, I would like to apologize.  I have not been a very good blogger this week.  It may stay that way for the next few days -- I don't know yet, how long it will take to get back into the routine of things. 
As you know it is back to school time.  For me this time of year is additionally complex, as some of you can relate to, because my two youngest daughters are coming home from spending the whole freaking summer with their dad.  I picked them up at the airport yesterday (late afternoon, got home by evening).  School also started yesterday for my high schooler so she missed the first day.  I actually also let her stay home today too.  Heck, the girl needs more than a couple of hours to re- adjust and unpack, etc.  I better stop now before I start a venting rampage. 
Needless to say, I'm sooooooo happy to have them home, but the blog posts will be short for a few more days until we get settled and back to some semblance of normalcy (school starts for my youngest this coming Monday).

Thank you, dear viewers for your patience, love, and understanding!

I will give you some hints of what may appear in the future though . . .

Really, I had decided to stop crocheting for a loooonnng while, but that is just not happening.  I am making the cutest pair of slippers I've ever seen (sorry for the lack of humility) and will post them soon (hopefully).

I also want to conjure up a crocheted ear-warmer headband for the upcoming cold months and to start getting some Christmas present projects done.

I also want to share my very most favoritest cheesecake recipe.

If I get really ambitious I'll be sewing up some cute skirts for my girls for school too (I'll have to be pretty darn ambitious though for this one!).

James Madison

If President Madison came through a time machine and saw what has happened to our country now, I wonder what his reaction would be . . .

"But ambitious encroachments of the federal government, on the authority of the State governments, would not excite the opposition of a single State, or of a few States only. They would be signals of general alarm... But what degree of madness could ever drive the federal government to such an extremity."

                     --James Madison, Federalist No. 46

Hot August Cooler

It's hard for me to get very motivated to cook when it's so hot.  In the heat my mind and body want something fruity, refreshing, and cool.
Well, I made my 2nd ever batch of yogurt on Tuesday and decided today to make a smoothie with it.
I also had another motivation to make smoothies.  I had too soft to eat apricots on my counter, a few scraggly strawberries in the frig and a couple of un-crisp (not mushy, just not crisp and juicy) apples.
Smoothies are perfect for fruit that has not gone bad yet, but no one wants to eat it because it isn't exactly good and fresh either.

One more thing I did that I've never done before is I froze over ripe bananas. I got a whole bag of them for free from the store (they were just giving them away, instead of throwing them away) and the lady said you could freeze them. So, I took them home, peeled them, cut off any bad parts, put them in a big ziplock bag, and stuck them in the freezer. I hadn't used any of them yet, so I put a couple of them in my smoothie too.

Whatever old fruit you have (still good but no one will eat it fruit), just wash it and cut off any bad parts and toss it in your blender.

I used bananas, apricots, strawberries, and apple.  Use whatever you have sitting around: oranges, any berries, pineapple, mango, peaches, pears, plums, etc.  Oh, btw, the apple peels didn't puree completely so if you use apples and you want your smoothie completely smooth you might want to peel the apples.

Then I added a 1/2 c. milk and 1 c. of my yogurt.

If you want the smoothie super cold add ice.  It is creamier without the ice though.

Blend it to your own smoothness preferences and then enjoy your summertime cooler!

And if you want your summertime cooler even colder, the smoothie mix makes superb creamsicles. . .

YUMMY!!!

Finished Apron

I did it! I finished the apron!  I'm so glad this project is done (well, almost, I still have to hem the dress).  I've been thinking about doing the tea party dress and apron for years and now it's about done -- yippee!!!

I ironed the edges of the pockets in about a 1/2"(excluding the top of the pocket), then I pinned them on the apron.

Then the pockets got sewn in place.

The apron is now done!

I tried to take pictures with the camera timer and none of them turned out.  They were either totally washed out or very blurry.  I need some daughters home to help model for me!

Here is the finished (un-hemmed) tea party dress with the puff sleeves finally sewed on!

Apron Pockets

Remember the apron I made last week?  Well, I decided it would be nice to give it some pockets.
Then, I decided I should spruce up the pockets and embroider on them a little bit (this is how my little projects get turned into BIG time consuming projects, but I'll keep telling myself it will be worth it!).

Here's what I did today:

First I thought it would be cute with a little gather on the top middle of the pocket, so I hemmed the top of some of the left over sheet that I made the apron out of, then did a large straight stitch about 1 1/2" down from the top and gathered it.  Then I sewed over the gathers with a small straight stitch to hold it in place.  I actually cut the pockets out AFTER I did the gathers, because I knew the gathers would pull in the sides of the pockets a little bit, then the pocket wouldn't be square anymore (it'd be off).

I used a brick red floss (4 strands) and did a chain stitch to make flower petals.

I just put the little red flowers wherever I wanted and this is where they ended up.

Then using an outline stitch I sewed on some flower stems (with 4 strands green floss).

Then using a chain stitch again (same as the flower petals), I sewed on leaves.

This is where the stems and leaves ended up.

Then I added some yellow french knots just because . . . I don't know why, maybe I felt like the pockets needed a third color?  I don't know.

This is where the french knots ended up.

Well, there you have it.  I didn't have enough day to sew the pockets onto the apron, we will see what tomorrow brings. 

Needful Changes

As I mentioned on yesterday's post, we need to make some changes to keep our country free and constitutionally sound.  The changes I found are from the 9.12 Project website.  The 9 is for the following nine principles:

1. America is good.
2. I believe in God and He is the center of my life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred.  My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty.  Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, libert, and the pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to.  Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me.  I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

And the 12 is for the following twelve values:

1. Honesty
2. Reverence
3. Hope
4. Thrift
5. Humility
6. Charity
7. Sincerity
8. Moderation
9. Hard work
10. Courage
11. Personal responsibility
12. Gratitude

I think this is a good starting point for all people, but I would probably change a few here and there. 
For me personally and for our country as a whole, I need to be more faithful and I don't think it would hurt if America in general had an increase in positive, light giving faith.

Another item that me and my hubby are currently working on that I feel is sooooo important for everyone is to work on getting out of debt and staying out of debt.  The whole world economy is going downhill fast and we can help save ourselves by getting out of debt.


My hubby and I have chosen "Wake Up Now" to help us accomplish our financial goals.  Whether you become financial self sufficient through "Wake Up Now" or through other means -- just do it.  Get started on climbing out of the debt hole and start climbing a hill of financial security.

Philosophical points of government

I was listening to a guy named David Barton (Wallbuilders Founder) the other day.
He talked about the five philosophical points of government brought out in the Declaration of Independence.

The 5 Points of Government are:

• There is a Creator
• He (God) gives unalienable rights
• He (God) has a moral law which governs men
• Government exists to protect the rights He (God) gives
• Below God given rights, you rule by consent of the governed

I've been studying up on the beliefs of the Founding Fathers and have found that in later history books the Founders have been labeled as "Deists". After reading several quotes directly from the Founding Fathers, I have found this to be untrue. Most of the Founding Fathers were Christians.


Here is a quote from Congress, U.S. House Judiciary Committee, 1854:


"Had the people, during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle . . . In this age, there can be no substitute for Christianity . . . That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants."

And another quote from John Adams,
"It is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand." --John Adams 1776


I'm worried for our country. I'm concerned when I hear about banning prayer, taking God out of schools, off of our currency, out of the Pledge of Allegiance, etc.

"Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot. Religion is much more necessary in the republic which they set forth in glowing colors than in the monarchy which they attack; . . . How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie be not strengthened in proportion as the political tie is relaxed? and what can be done with a people which is its own master, if it be not submissive to the Divinity?" -- Alexis de Tocqueville


To read some of the Founders quotes concerning religion and Christianity click HERE

To watch the video of David Barton on a Glenn Beck video clip, click HERE  (after you have viewed the video, if you want to come back to Mom of 5 Daughters, click the back arrow button several times)

Let's get off the fast track to destruction and make some needful changes. I'll go into some of those changes tomorrow . . .

Jambalaya -- Mexicali Mix Up

In thinking about what to fix for dinner tonight, anything with spicy sausage sounded good, so I came up with a toss between a jambalaya recipe and taco salad.
This un-named dish is the result, and boy it is good!

First of all jambalaya has rice.  I just had rice the other night so I used pearl barley instead, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The first thing I did was chop up some celery and onion, then I half cooked and drained the sausage, then I combined the celery, onion, and sausage and cooked it until the celery was tender and the sausage was fully cooked.  I added some salt, pepper, and garlic too.

Then I cooked the barley (al dente, because it will cook some more with the meat).  I used 2 c water, 1 c barley and a chicken bouillon cube.

Then I put the barley in with the meat mixture and added a can of stewed diced tomatoes, a can of corn, a half pkg of taco seasonings, and some brown sugar.  Let it simmer together for a few minutes.

It can be served by itself, or with corn chips.  It can be topped with sour cream if you want and I know my hubby will also top it with cheese (I personally don't want the extra calories . . .).

Enjoy!!!

An 1800's apron

Here's what I made today.  I will possibly fine tune this tomorrow, but here are some pic's of the project.  It's late, so it's just the pictures and no instructions ;-)

Life, Liberty, and Property

Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness is what is in the Declaration of Independence. The Founders believed that government and law were properly created to protect life, liberty, and property.

I don’t think the Founders intended the ownership to mean that half of all your income had to go to a mortgage that you paid for most of your adult life!!!!!!!
Then to top it off even after you have your mortgage paid off you still MUST pay property taxes for the rest of your life or you could lose your property!!! I guess that means we Americans never do own property, the government owns it for everyone.


To quote Scott Bradley,
“The necessity of private property to liberty is often not understood in modern societies that have become steeped in the socialistic traditions espoused by educators, political leaders, and mass media, but application of a little common sense and logic will bring the honest truth seeker to the understanding that if one lacks the means and control of production and distribution (property, tools, transportation, etc.) to support and sustain one’s self and one’s family, that person is not truly free.”


Alexander Hamilton wrote:
“In the general course of human nature, a power over a man’s subsistence amounts to a power over his will. In the main it will be found that a power over the man’s support is a power over his will.”


I don’t want to live in a socialistic nation with the government taking care of and controlling me, my subsistence, my support, or my will!

“A lack of private ownership results in a form of serfdom reminiscent of the squalid conditions under which most people lived during the so-called Dark Ages”
                                                                          --Scott Bradley


I will be free from the shackles of poverty and government power when I own some property of my very own--free and clear (okay, I guess I’ll still have to deal with the property taxes, but one thing at a time :-).


I’m so excited to own an acre or two and have an orchard and large garden, I can hardly stand it. And I’m finally in a place where my dream will become a reality very soon.

A company called “Wake Up Now” will be doing a soft launch next month and then will be going public toward the end of January, five or six months from now.

My hubby and I have already joined the company and met the founders of it. We joined before it goes public so that we can already have all our ducks in a row to be making around $10,000 per month starting in November. This will enable us to buy (with cash, no mortgage) a house on some property very soon (it’s not magic, it will take work, but it IS TRUE).


Watch the 7 minute video:   CLICK HERE

For more detailed information:  CLICK HERE (overview webinar)


To participate in rising above the recession call or email me and my hubby:  CLICK HERE


My daughter sold home security systems this summer to pay for college this fall. This is the first summer she has done this. She got the job from my son-in-law who has been selling these systems for years. I was thinking how in most sales businesses you have to keep selling to receive any income. You stop selling, you stop making money and this pattern goes on with most employment, you stop working, you stop making money.

This is not the way Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” suggests you live your life. He says, “The main reason people struggle financially is because they have spent years in school but learned nothing about money. The result is that people learn to work for money . . . but never learn to have money work for them.”
This is the beauty of Wake Up Now; money is working for us!