Happy Thanksgiving!!

I know, cheesy. :) Seriously though... I am thankful for so many things, I'm not sure there'd be space here to list them all. We are so blessed. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Love and hugs,
jamimania

This is what 300 looks like!

Yup... 300 small fresh snow lotions

This was in addition to 200 fizzy bombs


And it's all for one customer! I've been busy, as you can see. :) It's great to have so much work and my new retail outlet in Hays is doing lots of business for me too. So... as we approach this time of Thanksgiving, I'd have to say that I'm thankful that God is blessing my business and work is steady. I seem to finally be reaching a place that's a bit more manageable - even though I'm worn out and ready for time off for the holidays! :)

"Chicka Soup" ala Dr. mom...

Well, Ciara's had a nasty, wicked cold for about 10 days, she'll see the Doc tomorrow to find out if she needs to be drugged, I mean... medicated. :) And Luke had to cancel his flight to Atlanta on Tuesday, because he woke up and had the flu. Extreme stomach cramps and body aches. YUCK. Then today I got a call from the school that Brandon had vomited. So... YAY! I'm thinking, "wow, I'm the only one left that is healthy in this house, wonder how long that will last." So I was working in my soap shop, made 150 of the 300 small Fresh Snow lotions that are due for an order next week... and I start getting huge knots in my stomach. OH NO! I keep working... I must have thought to myself a thousand times how bad my stomach hurt, but I just kept going. I called it a day early and came upstairs for a little rest. Barely sat down and Ciara was home so I talked to her. She felt fine, other than her barky cough, thankfully. I decided that some homemade chicken noodle soup was in order. (or as Brandon used to say when he was a little guy, "chicka soup". I didn't make the noodles myself though, picked them up from the grocery store - some lady in Schoenchen makes them. I also snagged myself a couple bags of oyster crackers and some Sprite for the sickies.

Brandon slept all afternoon and woke up feeling quite a bit better. He was able to eat my scrumptious soup, as was Luke who is feeling much better today... and surprisingly, I felt a bit better this afternoon. We'll see what tomorrow brings. *sigh* I guess there are some nasty bugs going around right now. 'Tis the season eh? I hope this note finds you all well, and if you are... stay away from the sickies. :)

Love and hugs,

jami

Yeah, this is how I roll...

So, I'm adding all the new Christmas products to my webpage at jinnycrickets.com. Just mindin' my own business, thinking about how I want to list the product descriptions and prices, etc. and along comes little Shoogie-Woogie-poo-kins. (That's for you, Morgan!) ha ha. Anyhoo... she is older now, almost 10 months and like any independent, stubborn "child" she has decided that she will let you know when SHE wants to be held, which is usually only when she is very tired. So she keeps wanting to be held and I can't resist the sweet, little fuzzy baby so I pick her up and start huggin' on her. She does this thing when she's tired where she crawls up on my shoulder and likes to lay across my whole chest and rest her head on my shoulder. It's actually really adorable, but that makes it pretty tough to work on the computer. Finally I put her down on my lap and got her settled in there and she was sleeping. I guess once she was zonked I didn't think much more about her being on my lap, I mean I felt her fuzzy face on my hand and her adjusting herself, but then I couldn't press the space bar. So then I figure out why...


Take a look at Shoogs!

Oh my goodness, too cute, and check out her little "wave-do" she has goin' on there with the bangs. :) I couldn't resist so I had to snap a few pix. She just kept sleeping.






What a little angel. Do you think she might possibly be part of my time management problem? Hmm.... Nah! :)

New Background

Just tryin' this one on for size... whatta ya think?? Me thinks me likes it. *grin*

Everyone's Friend?

Recently I was saddened when I came to the realization that there's a person in my life that I will never win over. They will never be my friend in the true sense of the word. This person, for whatever reason, just doesn't want much to do with me. I keep asking myself what I've ever said or done to have earned such disdain by this person... and I can't for the life of me think of anything that would make this person have such ugly feelings about me. I go out of my way to be friendly and kind... but it just doesn't seem to make a difference. Even when they are the nastiest, I repay it it with kindness and a smile to try to turn the situation around. The people that really know me, and know my heart understand that I am a tender person, thin-skinned even. It just doesn't take a whole lot to hurt my feelings, I am easily wounded. Now before you get all paranoid... just know that it's probably NOT YOU!! :)I'm not sure this person would even want to read my blog. So anyhoo... as I came to this realization, lots of old buried feelings resurfaced.


When I was in gradeschool I wanted to be everyone's friend. If I thought for a second that someone didn't like me it would send me into a tizzy. This was particularly tricky because as luck would have it... my mom gave me my haircuts until I was in upper grade school and into jr. high. I remember being told by the old ignorant woman at the historical society fashion show that "the boys restroom is that way." Yes... I looked like a boy. My hair was very short, I wore glasses, had crossed teeth that stuck out in the front and to make matters worse... was tall, skinny and dorky. Kids are cruel and the ones at my school were no exception. Ever see the movie "Mean Girls"? I'm not sure exactly how many days out of the week I returned home from school in tears because of the kids that made fun of me. Me and my hair and my glasses and my ugly clothes. The girls in my class all wore designer jeans from the department store and mine were purchased on sale from Alco or K-mart and usually had some kind of ugly alligator emblem or other hideous thing on the pocket. It seems so insignificant now, but then it meant everything. Mom would say, "you're beautiful, if they can't see that then that's their problem." That was easy for her to say, she wasn't the one that endured verbal lashinsg on a daily basis. One girl actually (amongst a group of giggling mean girls) actually had the nerve to ask me why I wore such ugly clothes. I can still recall the hot tears that followed that question and I still remember the names of those girls like it was yesterday. Seems like after episodes like the one I just described, too numerous to mention, I would have eventually quit trying to be liked by everyone, but I never stopped.

I carried my wounded pride and hurt feelings around with me for a long time. I felt paranoid all the time that someone was sizing me up and judging my appearance and that as usual... I fell short of their ideal. Why that was so important to me, I'm not sure. Thankfully my physical appearance improved drastically in Junior High when I was able to grow my hair long and get contact lenses. In high school I got braces, and a job so I could buy "cool clothes" and actually wound up being moderately popular. Still... I sought the approval of everyone around me... friends, family, people that I barely knew or had just met. Because I was such a people pleaser, I got hurt a lot. It seems I was always disappointing someone or letting someone down. I tried and tried... but somehow it was never enough.

It wasn't until I was in my late 20's that I learned I didn't have to be liked by everyone and that I didn't have to try to win everyone over as a friend. I read a bible verse that went somethin' like this, "Do I now live to please man or God, for if I live to please man, I am not a bondservant of Christ." Whoa! I only have to please God? REVELATION!! I was very freed by this verse and enjoyed the new life I discovered once I quit trying to please everyone and allowing myself to be guilted into things in an effort to gain someone's approval. Afterall... in an effort to please these people, I made myself miserable.

I still catch myself playing the "approval game" sometimes, ya know the one I've been describing where I try to turn everyone into my friend? The simple truth is that there is always going to be someone that doesn't like you for whatever reason, and that you should seek to please God first and if you please others in the process that's just a bonus. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not suggesting that people be self-centered and ignorant, but I'm just saying that we don't HAVE to be EVERYONE's friend. In the process I also learned that "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Sam 16:7)That verse means a lot to me, because I'm just so thankful that God looks at my heart and knows my heart. His love is unconditional and doesn't depend on what kind of clothes I wear or how my hair looks. I have God's approval! (because I am His, he looks at me through "Jesus colored glasses") He is my friend!! "I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you." (John 15:15-16)

So when someone is not my friend... it's ok. God knows my heart and he CHOSE to be my friend. Guess I just needed the reminder.

I mean no disrespect Mr. President...

but I felt inclined to post a picture that expressed how I'm feeling this morning (minus a couple of horns)



I felt anxious as I switched on Fox News and saw that Obama had been declared President. Sick actually. But my vote was cast and the voices that are the loudest (those of the large, liberal eastern states) were heard and so I hope that President Obama is everything these people wish for him to be. Now his wife can FINALLY "be proud to be an American" for the first time ever. (note hint of sarcasm - and yes, she actually said that, and I quote, “for the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change.” Michelle Obama) *sigh*

I, for one, will be seeking God's face on the matter and begging him to intercede on behalf of this great nation. It's totally in his hands.

"Ahh Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm... NOTHING is too hard for you." (Jeremiah 32:17)

Popcorn Balls

Oops I nearly forgot... to share my popcorn ball recipe! They are so easy and delicious. I made 3 batches for Halloween and they turned out great, I thought maybe some of you would like to try some, so here goes:

Jami's Popcorn Balls

1 - 16 oz. bag of miniature marshmallows
1/2 stick margarine
1 small box of jello
8 1/2-10 cups plain popped popcorn (I make it in a kettle, but you could use microwave)

Directions:

Place margarine in large microwavable bowl (a huge tupperware type bowl works best)Place in microwave for approx. 30 seconds or until melted. Add bag of marshmallows and stir to coat the marshmallows with melted margarine. Place back in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir until all marshmallows are all melted down and well blended. Add package of jello powder and stir. I used "Melon Fusion, Blackberry Fusion, and Orange" for mine. At this point you will add your unbuttered popcorn 2 cups at a time and stir to coat. Keep adding 2 cups at a time up to 8 cups and mix well. If your mixture seems really wet and gooey with lots of marshmallow left in the bottom of the bowl - add remaining popcorn until all is coated. Not dry and not dripping. Lay sheets of wax paper on table or counter top. Butter your hands with stick margarine and grab a handful of coated popcorn. Shape into a ball however small or large you like and press firmly, but don't smash. Place popcorn balls onto wax paper until cool. Wrap individually in plastic or cling wrap until ready to serve.

Each batch makes approximately 20 small popcorn balls or 12 - 15 medium size. ENJOY!! :)

What a difference a year can make!!

November 3, 2007

November 3, 2008

Praise the Lord! After a gruelling year of recovery from his double broken leg, my husband is back up on his feet walking, running and once again doing all the things he enjoys doing. He pheasant hunted with my dad and brother this last weekend and last month played paintball with his brother Marshall, and some of my cousins. Besides a bit of swelling in the ankles and some achy-ness where the hardware is in his leg... he is doing great. Tonite the kids are at an MCL music competition for school, but we still celebrated with a candlelit flat iron steak dinner and a delicious bottle of sweet rose South African wine given to us by our dear ole friends, Dan and Kristi. (Thanks guys!! We loved it!) :)

"The prayer of faith will save the sick person and the Lord will raise him up..." (James 5:15)

So we just wanted to share the joy with you all about Luke's recovery and thank you all for your prayers. Peace out. :)

Voting..."Done Didder!"

My parents went to the courthouse to register their vehicles last week and discovered that people were voting early... so of course I thought I should save myself the hassle of voting when most everyone else is and I went and voted today. It was fairly painless really - I just went into the Ellis County Clerk's office and gave my name. They had me sign a paper and take it across the hall where there were 2 "paper booths" and 3 "computer" booths. I opted for the computer and within 45 seconds had cast my vote for President of the United States! Pretty nifty. Not so nifty is that every election year it seems I have to choose the lesser of 2 evils (not that I'm calling John McCain evil, I'm just sure there has to be a better choice out there... somewhere)For me... when I don't think either of the candidates are the "perfect" choice - I then begin to consider their values and see how they line up with my own. What else can a person do, but this? Certainly Obama's values are not even in the ballpark.

The thing I've found most interesting is the number of die hard democrats that have put the proverbial blinders on this election year. They act as if Obama is the Messiah and meanwhile I wanna flip those big ears out to see if there is a "666" stamped back there. Ok... I apologize, that was maybe goin' a little too far - but I can't help the way I feel. You start talkin' about babies that never had a CHANCE because their Momma had a CHOICE and I start gettin' a little indignant. Ok, nuff said.

Funny how many folks castin' a vote this election year don't even know the basics about what the candidates stand for. I wanna share with you something I read in our local newspaper. It simply blew me away!! Mind you, I can't stand Howard Stern, but I gotta kick outta this:

"Howard Stern sent his team into harlem to interview voters. Three people were asked who they support and all said "Obama." They were all asked if it bothered them that he chose Sarah Palin as his running mate; all said "no." They were all asked if it bothered them that Obama was anti-abortion. All three of them said "no" and on of them had the gall to say she didn't support McCain because he was uninformed. Now give me a good argument why voters shouldn't have to pass a simple civics test!"

Seriously... these people are choosing the next leader of our great nation. *sigh* God help us. All the way around... God help us!

Vikings and ladybugs and bunnies... OH MY!

So... the kids had their costume dance Friday nite at school and it was pretty fun gettin' all dressed up. Once Brandon and Ciara were ready, I got Shoogie dressed and we took some photos to commemorate the fun before heading next door to Grandma's to show off our costumes. The kids were vikings:


And Shoogie was a ladybug



Trixie even got in on the fun... she was a bunny




Here are a few more fun photos from the evening











My kids have always loved to dress up... Halloween is just a good excuse to take their "getups" out in public. :) Hope you gotta kick out of the pix.