Delicious RAW orange Salad Dressing

Into a strong blender drop
3 peeled whole oranges
1/4 cup olive oil or milder natural oil
1/3 - 1/2 c fresh pineapple
touch of Celtic salt
1/4 - 1/2 c water or thin to desired consistency
small amount of stevia to taste
1 T or so of young coconut pulp (optional)

Blend on high till smooth and pour over a spinach, red pepper and papaya salad. Yum. What a way to celebrate the arrival of spring and summer weather. Raw food dressings are so easy to make up on your own. If you have a great one, would you share it with us all? We would love to hear it! I'll make it, photograph it and post it and give you the credit! (unless you already have a picture, then I'll let you send me your picture)

Sheer Raw Cookie Delight

If you love macaroons, and I do, these will satisfy the
craving, naturally and they are raw. The key is letting
them dehydrate long enough before you eat them!
The ingredients are a little expensive, but they are a
treat and I have been splurging upon occasion.
Besides I'm not buying other treats that cost me in
health issues later so I feel like I can totally justify
these cookies every now and then.
They are taken from Carol Alt's second book,
The Raw 50: 10 Amazing Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, Snacks, and Drinks for Your Raw Food Lifestyle


Mac Macs

1 cup dried coconut
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
(I put them in a blender to pulverise)
1/2 cup almond flour (again pulverise soaked almonds)
1/4 cup agave nector
1 T vanilla extract
1 T coconut oil
1/4 t celtic or Himalayan (pink) salt

Mix the ingredients with your hands, or a spoon, in a large bowl. Form the mixture into 1 inch balls, flatten and place them on a teflex lined sheet to dry at 115 degrees for 12 hours or more. (Don't eat them all yourself. Please learn to share!)

Make Your Own Vanilla!

I found this recipe in one of my raw food recipe books and decided to try it. It doesn't sound like it should work. Surely the real vanilla that you pay a fortune for in the stores must be a whole lot harder to make than this. NOPE! This is so easy and it works great. The liquid (vanilla extract) is fragrant and flavorful and always ready.

I estimate it to cost about half of commercial extract and it is alcohol free, another bonus.
I get the ingredients from my home delivery coop, Azure Standard, who only delivers on the Pacific coast right now and some inland states as well, but you can also order for UPS delivery if your order is over 40.00. For those of you regular Azure people I've included the order codes and prices for your convenience.

Here is the "recipe"

Cut up (or leave whole) 2 or 4 whole vanilla pods.(HS664 $4.40 oz.) These are dried black long pods and are somewhat rubbery to cut. Don't be confused by the "instructions" on the Azure page. I have not found the beans they talk about being inside the pod. I just use the whole pod.



Add them to a pint of food grade glycerine (NS075 $4.40 pint) and leave overnight. By morning the thick, clear glycerine liquid will have extracted the powerful flavor of the pod and is ready to use. I just leave the pod pieces in the liquid or I guess you could take them out. The liquid will not be dark like the commercial vanilla. I'm not sure why. Perhaps manufacturers puree the pods making the liquid dark, but your vanilla will be perfectly clear and flavorful.

That's it. The pint will cost you $8.80 total and I've even reused the pod pieces in another batch of glycerine with almost the same results. The flavor does seem a little weaker though.
Add to raw smoothies or baked goods. The flavor seems to last either way. Enjoy!

A delicious, easy, fast, and inexpensive and RAW salad dressing.

This seems to be a dressing that everybody likes. It is gluten and dairy free, of course, and so I often take it to pot lucks and shared meals.

Leslie's Salad Dressing
Leslie is a friend of mine from about 25 years ago.)

3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup (fresh squeezed)lemon juice
or apple cider vinegar
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp salt (celtic salt)
2 tsp honey (or more)
1 tsp black pepper
red onion chunks,(maybe a 1/4th cup) or
2 Tbs dried onion flakes

Blend all and serve in a shakable jar. Enjoy!


Live a Lifestyle of Learning daily!

Thank You for Making Me a Mother!

My grandmother used to come to visit us every year or two when I was growing up and she frequently seemed to be visiting on her Birthday in August. She always did something that was rather confusing to me as a child. On HER birthday, she gave everyone ELSE presents.

That gave me an idea!

This Mothers Day, I want to give my children a gift, a blessing to show my gratitude to you (my children) for making me a mother.

I was born a woman (female), choice made me a wife, but I became a mother when I gave birth. Yes, some in the more modern world might say it too was a choice, but I call it destiny. Each child has a purpose and placed in time for HIS purpose by God. And more importantly never is any child an "accident."

I have had the privilege of raising four precious children. Each one has touched me and made me a different person. Each one created for me different challenges and many, many times I would fall on my face (knees) and cry out for wisdom knowing full well I could not do this alone. Many times I would have the victory and many times I failed. My self centered nature would rule and my flesh dominated when it should not have. But what do hope to have taught you all is that you too will need God's grace in your life as well, as you too will fail! Cry out to HIM as you are raising your precious ones. You cannot do this alone!

Ryan, my son, my champ. My sweet boy, so seeking approval and so tender hearted in his love for his Mommy. You softened my heart and opened it full to the sensitive nature that you have been given. You are the first part in the matching set of boy and girl twins- my pride and joy. You have grown up and are tall and a man and I'm so proud of you. You actively love your wife and lead your family gently, with wisdom and firmness. You weathered the storm in your health with a stature that I'm sure I would not have.

Thank you for being a good example (most of the time) for your brothers. They look up to you and admire you and you have modelled for them manly leadership in your home.

I love your convictions. I love the theocratic conversations that we have had and I know I can bounce things off you knowing that you will give me full hearing and that you will offer advice based on earned truth and your wisdom.

Thank you for giving me Stephanie, another daughter (we have so much in common!) and to top that off, you both have given me two beautiful grandchildren. Abbie is the light of my life, and Caden is quickly becoming an image of the memories I had of you as a baby.

Amy Joy, the second half of my pride and joy. How I loved having a daughter. Some of the best memories I have of you growing up is you always being in the the kitchen with me, chopping and talking, stirring and chatting. You always seemed to be there and I miss you terribly. I respected your advice on color and style and you were the one I could depend on to be a girl in a house full of boys. (not that that was all that bad) Your sweet nature shines and I love your love for your husband. I delight in seeing you love and raise your sweet baby boy. What fun. What delight to see him challenge you and to see you rising to the call and practicing the art of motherhood.

Thank you for loving your brothers so much. You are looked up to and respected by one tall brother and two getting taller brothers.

Thank you for giving me Tim, another son in a long line of boys. (and I love it) He is so dedicated to his family and I feel relief and trust in his care and manly protection of you and your children. Thank you, Tim for being a man in a man-absent culture.

Jonathan, my sweet tender boy. I saw a drawing of a little curly tussle headed two year old boy and my heart filled with desire to have you. You are that boy, (curls and all) sweet, tender and kind. You used to twirl your curly hair around your finger until it got stuck, and you used to jump off your top bunk at three years old, and then increasing numbers of stairs and who knows what else if we weren't looking. And yet your heart is tender and your ability for relationships is well formed. Your grasp of scriptural principles is good and I love your wit.
Your art and vision with wood is wonderful and I love all the wood presents I have and will be receiving.

I love seeing you love your "little" brother, who was gift for you. You compliment each other well.

I am praying for God's choice for your life companion and one day will have to give you up to her....not without a gentle fight)

Graydon Isaac William, the tiny little baby with the long name. I delighted in seeing you tucked in the corner of the couch as a two week old baby on Christmas day, always checking to see if you were alright. Another beautiful baby boy, and for Christmas! How I loved you. And how quickly you learned to compete with your brother....and how you got into things... like Vaseline!
You are self motivated and love learning and love making up games. I love your sense of humor and find it amazing that we choose the name Isaac, which means laughter for you truly make me laugh!Thank you for being my son and being who you are. (Hug your Mawther!)

I am praying for your future help meet as well. Develop vision for your life, my son and she will compliment you well. I will not give you up without a fight either. She is going to have to be someone pretty good!

Some children come into our lives for only a short time and we share in their struggle for life but it ends prematurely. We would not have planned that short life but the pain and grief of that loss touches us and we will never be the same again.

To my sweet little girl, Jenny. You will always be in my heart. A year and a half was way too short but oh, how you changed my life! When I get to heaven I will be looking for you. Please look for me. I want to hold you again. I want to see you healed and happy and a beautiful young woman! Will I recognize you?

It took me a while to realize that you were the completion of the five children that had in my heart. You were first but, I had not counted backwards till recently.

Thank you, my children for making me a mother. I love you and pray for you and I give you a charge now to carry the baton. Don't drop it, but carry it on and pass it well until we (together) complete a 200 year plan of Godly redemption in our family line. Remember, you are now raising your grandchildren, while your children are young, so walk accordingly.

Go ahead and make me a Mom and Pop Herd! (if you do not know what I mean-ask me!)

Where did I learn to be a Mother? From my Mother, of course. So this is also an honor for my Mother this Mother's Day. "Thanks, Mom." You really taught me how through example and though words of wisdom. I learned so much from you. (and still do)

Have a great day everyone!
Janet, Mom, Mommy, Grandma

Give Your Children a Gift this Mother's Day!

When my grandmother was alive she did something every year on her birthday that confused me as a young child. On HER birthday, she gave everyone else presents!

What a great idea! (More on this later in Sunday's Post)

This Mothers Day, I give you applause, Moms for being that selfless person that is always there, nurturing, praying and guiding your children. No, we are not perfect and far more times than not we do blow it. But getting up again is our second nature because even after we blow it we still have sweet children to keep raising, and their forgiveness seems to motivate us on.

When my children were young we went though a phase of turning eveything into an acrostic. I remembered that time when I came across this poem for Mother FOR our children. (I may just use this poem as a model to create one individual poem for each of my children)

M- Is for Multi-tasking. Though our hands are always busy, we always listen to you.

O - Is for Overworked. We've got a lot to do - for you! - so it's OK and good when you kids pitch in without being asked.

T - Equals Task-master. We make you work because we love you!

H - Heart of the home...that's us! Keep us happy and everyone's happy.

E - We're Exciting!!! We try to make life and learning interesting, even when it's long division.

R - We Remember everything wonderful about you, our kids, even when you're being "little beasts" and not living up to who we know you are. We remember, no you remember...you're our kids, and we love you!!

Hats off to you, MOMs. Keep up the good and faithful work. Never be weary in well doing for there is a reward in heaven for you if you faint not! (my paraphrase-the best way I remember scripture principles.)
Have a great Mother's Day!

Wacky Wednesday

Jonathan found this licence plate in a Goodwill store and thought it was the funniest thing. "Hey, Mom. Isn't this an oxymoron?" Sure seems like it, doesn't it?

The Five Worst Foods You Can Eat!

My whole family sat around the table one evening and I asked each person if they could come up with what they think would be the top 5 worst foods that you could eat. Each one had a different list and some foods they did come up with I might have agreed. Commercial ice cream was one common item,and doughnuts did come up as well. Check out this list and then give your family the test and see if they can list the real baddies.

The Five Absolute Worst Foods You Can Eat,
By Dr. Joseph Mercola and Rachael Droege

There are no "bad" foods, right? Only food you should eat in moderation? Well, not really. The following foods are so bad for your body that I really can't see any reason to eat them. Not only do they have zero nutritional value, but they also give your body a healthy dose of toxins, which should make the idea of eating them really hard to swallow.

Doughnuts
Doughnuts are fried, full of sugar and white flour and most all varieties contain trans fat. Store-bought doughnuts are made up of about 35 percent to 40 percent trans fat.

An average doughnut will give you about 200 to 300 calories, mostly from sugar, and few other nutrients.

It's too bad that Americans view doughnuts as a breakfast food as, nutritionally speaking, eating a doughnut is one of the worst ways to start off your day. It will throw off your blood sugar and won't stay with you so you'll be hungry again soon. You are better off eating no breakfast at all, or better yet grabbing a quick glass of Whey Healthier.

Soda
One can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites. I can't think of any good reason to ever have it. The diet varieties are also problematic as they are filled with harmful artificial sweeteners like aspartame.

Studies have linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay and heart disease, yet the average American drinks an estimated 56 gallons of soft drinks each year. Plus, drinking all that sugar will likely suppress your appetite for healthy foods, which pave the way for nutrient deficiencies.

Soft drink consumption among children has almost doubled in the United States over the last decade, which is not surprising considering that most school hallways are lined with soda-filled vending machines.

Schools often make marketing deals with leading soft drink companies such as Coca-Cola from which they receive commissions--based on a percentage of sales at each school--and sometimes a lump-sum payment, in exchange for their students' health. School vending machines can increase the consumption of sweetened beverages by up to 50 or more cans of soda per student per year.

If you routinely drink soda--regular or diet--eliminating it from your diet is one of the simplest and most profound health improvements you can make.

French Fries (and Nearly All Commercially Fried Foods)
Potatoes are bad enough when consumed in their raw state, as their simple sugars are rapidly converted to glucose that raises insulin levels and can devastate your health. But when they are cooked in trans fat at high temperatures, all sorts of interesting and very unpleasant things occur.

Anything that is fried, even vegetables, has the issue of trans fat and the potent cancer-causing substance acrylamide.

Foods that are fried in vegetable oils like canola, soybean, safflower, corn, and other seed and nut oils are particularly problematic. These polyunsaturated fats easily become rancid when exposed to oxygen and produce large amounts of damaging free radicals in the body. They are also very susceptible to heat-induced damage from cooking. What is not commonly known is that these oils can actually cause aging, clotting, inflammation, cancer and weight gain. You can read the article "Secrets of the Edible Oil Industry" for more information.

It is theoretically possible to create a more "healthy" French fry if you cook it in a healthy fat like virgin coconut oil. Due to its high saturated fat content, coconut oil is extremely stable and is not damaged by the high temperatures of cooking. This is why coconut oil should be the only oil you use to cook with.

I am fond of telling patients that one French fry is worse for your health than one cigarette, so you may want to consider this before you order your next 'Biggie' order.

Chips
Most commercial chips, and this includes corn chips, potato chips, tortilla chips, you name it, are high in trans fat. Fortunately, some companies have caught on to the recent media blitz about the dangers of trans fat and have started to produce chips without trans fat.

However, the high temperatures used to cook them will potentially cause the formation of carcinogenic substances like acrylamide, and this risk remains even if the trans fat is removed.

Fried Non-Fish Seafood
This category represents the culmination of non-healthy aspects of food. Fried shrimp, clams, oysters, lobsters, and so on have all the issues of trans fat and acrylamide mentioned above, plus an added risk of mercury.

Seafood is loaded with toxic mercury and shellfish like shrimp and lobsters can be contaminated with parasites and resistant viruses that may not even be killed with high heat. These creatures, considered scavenger animals, consume foods that may be harmful for you.

Eating these foods gives you a quadruple dose of toxins--trans fat, acrylamide, mercury and possibly parasites or viruses--with every bite.

If you have a taste for seafood, there's an easy solution. It's best to avoid your local fish fry and try the only fish I now eat--the delicious wild red Alaskan salmon that was proven through independent lab testing to be free of harmful levels of mercury and other contaminants.

A prodical's return - a moms' story

The importance of keeping your child's heart is so important BUT life happens and we are not perfect and we do offened and put distance between us and our precious children. When that happens we may not even know it has happened as many of us chalk distant behavior as normal growing distance that is supposed to happen between us and our teens as they mature. NOT SO. The emotional connection is meant to continue and grow in intimacy thoughtout the years so that the most important years of their lives, the teens and early twenties, are not left to chance or worse peer influence. Our children should not be without a guide, confidant or words of wisdom when they need them.

Moms- do not let your children go. DO not loose their hearts but if you do here is a story of a sweet mom willing to face some difficult issues in her own life and the fruit that came out of it. She regained her son's heart! (This email is in responce to an inquiring email on a yahoo group that I belong to.)

Dear Susan,

I wanted to give testimony of what the Lord has done in our family. You have written a perfect description of my son up until a couple years ago when he was 13. He is also second born, just like the son described here. I read your e-mail to him as well, and he said, "That sounds just like how I was!"

He's 15 now, and he is sooo changed. I have his heart completely, and he is willingly and eagerly attentive to my every instruction and influence. He's become affectionate and loving toward me and all his siblings. (I have 5 kids all together). He's become very focused in fully directing his own education with self government, and valuable purpose, with the only curriculum being his math book.

So, how did this happen? That's what I want to share and encourage others with. I've been trying to think of how to express what happened in a brief e-mail, but truthfully, I could write a book about it if I had the time. So I'll just try and hit some of the main things I learned.

He's not the only one who's had major changes. It began when I started to learn from a friend who was loving enough to tell me the truth, that I was motivated by my desire to be accepted by the people around me, in all that I did. I cared more about my image, than about my children and my home. A couple years ago, I would not have agreed with her, but now I see, she was totally right.

Part of what frustrated me the most about my son, if I was really honest, is that he wasn't conforming to my image of how my homeschooling family was supposed to be turning out. Even though no one around me really even knew about it. From the outside my family was quite perfect looking. I'm not talking about a life of pretending to be one way in front of people and being another at home. My desire for my image of the perfect family was carried out in my everyday life, whether anyone outside the family could see me or not.

I started listening to my conscience about how I was treating my family members. I started changing, and I soon began to speak with my children about listening to their consciences, and how our conscience will always lead us toward acts of love, and away from acts of self-centeredness. I noticed that my younger children were quite sensitive to obeying their consciences, but my 13 yr old son was not. I came to realize the truth, that he did not want to obey his conscience. I let him know, and I admitted as well, that he had not surrendered his heart to the Lord. Up until that time, I had thought he prayed the sinners prayer, that means he's a Christian, just like the rest of us.

At that time, I had been frustrated with him not taking up the smallest of disciplines. I wanted him to wash his face, clean his room, keep his school records. He was regularly avoiding these small things, and sometimes even lying about doing them. At that time, the Lord showed me a principle, that Love enables us to obey.

With this understanding, and by the leading of the Holy Spirit, I required my son to meet with me at 8:00 each morning for a few minutes. In these minutes, I sat close to him, and put my arm around him. I told him I loved him, and ran my hand through his hair and touched his face. I brought up anything I could encourage him with about the previous day. I prayed for him, and then asked him to remember the 3 small things I wanted him to do. I kissed him, and then asked him to go do them before breakfast. I was doing this in obedience to the Lord, and it was a sacrifice. He had not been an affectionate son for many years.

I thought this was just the Lord's solution to getting him to do these 3 small things, but He had much more in mind. Over the days, my son was easily able to do the tasks, but something else was happening. He began to look forward to being loved on. He loosened up, and began to lean into my affection. He began to ask me about small relational problems he was having with his siblings. Actually, he began to ask me lots of things, just to be able to stay longer in my arms. Even though he showed no indication of returning the affection.

I didn't really know it at the time, but his heart was being turned toward me. One night, there was a big storm, in which my dog disappeared. We began to search for him, and my son was the most concerned. I thought at the time he was concerned about the dog, but I later learned, he was concerned about me, because he knew how much I loved my dog. The next afternoon, he found my dog, killed in the ditch. I cried, and my son comforted me. The Lord had been speaking to his conscience, and as we prepared to bury my dog, he felt compelled to confess his hidden sexual sin to me. He was afraid that his sin had caused my dog to die. He came to me trembling and weeping, and asking my forgiveness. I showered him with forgiveness and hugs, and I assured him it wasn't true, but the Lord was allowing him to understand in a kid understandable way, that our sin did cause His son to die. The Lord was allowing my son to be broken over his sin, and the hurt that he thought had caused me, even though I didn't know about his sin. He told me that he felt very guilty about his sin, and he had tried often to stop, but he was always afraid to tell me. He thought I would get really mad. But, he said, now he knew that I loved him enough to help him get out of the sin, instead of just getting mad about it. I was stunned, but I knew it was the work of the Lord. I began to cry again, but this time it was in gratefulness to the Lord, that the death of my dog brought my son's heart to me.

Since that time, my son has continued to meet with me every morning at 8:00. I no longer require it, but he wouldn't miss it for the world, and neither would I. He sits with me, often for an hour. Sometimes I have to tell him to leave, so that he'll have time to get some breakfast. All those little tasks, he eagerly does and more, before he meets with me. Now we talk about his projects, and how he can overcome the challenges he's having with them, and how he can make them more well rounded by including some self generated writing projects. We talk about his relationship with each of his siblings, and how he can purposefully improve them, with self-sacrificing love. He's learned to say nice things, which he could never bring himself to do before. I hold him accountable, and ask about his conscience regularly. He looks me square in the eyes with a big beaming smile, and tells me his conscience is clean. He often speaks about how he never wants to go back to hiding sin, and the horrible feelings of living in guilt and hidden shame. He talks candidly about how his fear of my disapproval lead him to become a liar. He speaks with teary eyes of how the Lord has set our family free.

He is right. It was my disapproval, which was actually being formed by my own fear of being disapproved of. I wanted to be perfect, and have the perfect family, so I was quick to discipline my children into conforming to my image of the perfect family. I put it to another young mom this way, if you want your kids to be obedient, and to excel so that you will look good, then they will become what you are, a user of others for self-centered gain. Those days are long gone. I only need to love them, and truthfully show them the way toward obeying their conscience, and always choosing to love, as the Holy Spirit leads, first and foremost toward their siblings and parents and never using others for anything, even for seeking approval.

My story is not a formula to get your teenager's hearts. But I did learn several principles that are always true. Love enables us to change, and we can't help our children to change if the reason we want them to change is for our own image, for then we are only using them, not loving them. Everyone has a need to be known for the wretches that we truly are, and still be loved. The Holy Spirit knows what is needed, but His way will always include doing things we'd really rather not do. I thought it was only my adolescent son who's heart I did not have, but after coming to see what it was like to truly have someone's heart, I saw that I didn't have my older daughter's hearts either, even though they appeared to be much more compliant, and wanting the things of the Lord. Our family is totally changed now. Praise to the Lord!

I know I haven't been able to express all of the aspects of our total family transformation in this e-mail, but I am open to questions that can draw out more principles about what I have learned about the way the Lord works.
Susan, please be encouraged, the Holy Spirit knows what to do, He's only waiting for your co-operation with His ways. I have been praying for you.

Barbie

If you have any questions or discussions for Barbie, post them here and I will pass them on to her for her for reply, or email directly at bpoling@aol.com

"Don't buy stuff you cannot afford"

I love this skit. Steve Martin is the perfect guy to act so dumb. This wouldn't be so funny if it were not so true in much of our society today. I did have the actual YouTube video posted but it was removed from Youtube due to copywrite infringes, or something like that. I happen to find it again elsewhere but all can send right now is the link. You gotta see this and show it to your kids!

Enjoy a good laugh!

SNL Skit: Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford

100th post- Whoo Hoo

In keeping with blogging tradition, I’ve written 100 things about myself, since this is my official 100th post! Aren't we cute?



1 I love night snow in early December,
2 I love Christmas.
3 I love to organize anything,
4 but hate to tidy things up.
5 I think flowers are candy for the eyes.
6 I married Elvis and he is still in the building.
7 I have four awesome children,
8 and one sweet little girl waiting for me in heaven.
9 I'm a interior decorator in a former life.
10 I have home educated all my children through several paradigm changes
11 and they still love me.
12 I spent my teenage and early adult years mastering my passion for sewing
13 and then burned out.
14 I struggle to hem pants.
15 I buy my clothes at Good Will and garage sales.
16 And they look great!
17 My childhood passions were decorating cardboard boxes with Sears catalogue furniture and carpet pictures.
18 I loved to play school.
19 I was always the teacher, librarian and Mom - always
20 -hey nothing has changed!
21 In my next life I want to be a concert pianist and do ballet.
22 I love healthy eating and learning new things.
23I hate commercial TV.
24 I hate TV commercials even more,
25 but do love a good movie now and then.
26 I was saved and baptised at 17.
27 I am grateful for His grace in my life.
28 He is the only one who really knows me.
29 I love my Bible and the life that springs from it in my quiet times.
30 I love to keep a Bible notebook.
31 I never went to college and I'm glad.
32 I would not have survived.
33 The only thing I ever wanted to be in my life was a wife and mommy.
34 Hey again - nothing has changed!
35 I already have 3 of 25 grandchildren.
36 I adore my grandchildren;
37 they seem like they are my own.
38 I learned much of how to be a grandmother by my mother 's example.
39 I love to cook but not bake cakes.
40 I am rediscovering the beauty of raw chocolate.
41 I love being a woman.
42 I love to dress like a lady.
43 I'm a hopeless romantic, in my dreams only.
44 I'm actually quite choleric.
45 I'm glad one of my four children was a girl;
46I would have at least had one of my boys in pink ruffles, if I didn't.
47 I had my dream came true when I had boy and girl twins.
48They are my pride and joy
49 They were what held me together during some hard times.
50 They were my morning shift
51 Then I had a 10 year gap.
52 I love having two boys last.
53 They were my afternoon shift.
54 I never had a midnight shift,
55 -wish I had.
56 My favorite music is by Frank Mills.
57 My baby and I used to dance to it before she died.
58 I'm Canadian,
59 Eh?
60 (I do not know anyone who actually says that)
61 We live in Washington State.
62 Some say my "accent" still gives me away
63 My school yearbook said I wanted to travel after grad.
64 I have never gone anywhere.
65 My children have gone all over the world.
66 I love my reformed church.
67 I have an insatiable hunger to learn;
68 Computers are not logical.
69 I can't type.
70 I can and do order more books than I ever could possibly read
71 I used to play the baritone but now I don't.
72 I'm a budget believer and get a charge out of saving money
73 My mother is a garden guru,
74 I'm not.
75 My father played pool with Gandhi,
76 I didn't.
77 My children grew up too fast,
78 I didn't want to grow up at all.
79 My husband is a engineer manager,
80 and a very good one.
81 I'm a domestic engineer,
82 and getting better.
83 I love tropical fruit.
84 I should have grown up in Hawaii.
85 When alone I love to turn up the music loud and dance my heart out.
86 Nobody knows that.
87 I love health and vitality and have fought for it all my life.
88 My oldest son had cancer last year.
89 I wanted to throw up instead of him.
90 I kept seeing him as a little boy holding my hand.
91 I wanted to protect him;
92 but he was too big.
93 Music fills my lungs with hope
94 One day I will see my Saviors face
95 and He will say by his grace alone,
96 "Well done, good and faithful servant"
97 I can trust Him for that.
98 I obviously cannot count to one hundred...
99 very well...
100 at all!


Sigh, "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"
"No, not really"