I have. And I can’t imagine a day without it.

It’s not blogging. It’s not message boards. It’s not email. It’s more. But oh-so-much more fun.

I can talk to thousands of people at once, in short blurts. Conversations are kept active on a timeline. You can see what your friends say and what their friends say to them on that same conversation post/thread (called a Plurk), and if you respond to the same one, they can see what you say and their friends can see what you say. Before you know it, the plurk topic has been changed 512 times and you now have 2 new fans (that follow your plurks if your timeline (profile) is public) and 4 new friends because you all have gotten to know something about each other in that one small plurk.

Have I lost you yet? Find out for yourself. WARNING: It’s very addicting!

Another thing I found out that I love about Plurk is each plurker can design their own page in whatever style they like using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Of course I had heard about CSS before, but that was it. I knew nothing more than it was something like html coding, but that was about it. I found a love for it. It put me one step ahead for my classes by already knowing a bit about CSS too. (Thanks to my Plurk friends who have helped me a ton with CSS and other geek related topics; jason & nethead.)

That leads me to just one more thing….Someone asks a question, and before you know it, someone has the answer or is looking for the answer for you or with you. w00h00 to wonderful people of Plurk.

There’s no drama (at least not much) like message boards have. If something starts, you can block the person. Then you don’t see them and they don’t see you. Simple.

You can also send private messages to just one friend of yours, or to numerous friends of yours so the whole world can’t read something private.

You can also set your timeline to private (in your profile) so only your friends can see what you plurk about.

I’m a member of twitter , but it is very boring and ordinary compared to Plurk. I’m also a member of facebook and myspace – nah, they don’t hold the cards compared to Plurk.

So, if you can’t find me anywhere else, join Plurk and you will most likely be as addicted as I now am.

Classes start on Monday, the 25th. I still need to get two books.

I still need to get the house cleaned:

*sort throw kids’ toys to get rid of things they don’t use/play with anymore

* clean up my desk and reorganize it

* shampoo the dining room carpet

*clean up mudroom/backporch and shampoo that carpet too

*rearrange all of my soap and candle supplies and pack up some of the unused for now

*find a sitter for the days I have too much school work to get done

*finish filling these orders I have at hand right now

With soccer games all day long, every Saturday, this takes a big chunk out of my time that Jamie could be here to help me get some stuff done – or at least have him occupy the kids while I get something accomplished.

Maybe, just maybe, I shouldn’t be blogging right now. Maybe I should be working on getting something done around here….

Honey & Spice Barbecue Sauce

• 3/4 c. tomato powder*
• 3 1/2 c. water*
• 2 tsp ground chipotle
• 5 large garlic cloves, minced**
• 1/2 c. honey
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 c. brown sugar (packed)
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1/2 c. minced onions**
• 1 Tbsp dried red peppers**
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp white distilled vinegar
• 2 tsp ground mustard

Mix all ingredients in a large pan on the stove. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower heat and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Pour into sterlized pint-sized jars. Top with lids and rings – tighten down rings. Put jars into a pot of boiling water, allowing at least 1-2 inches of water above the lids. Hard boil for 15 minutes. Remove from water. Lids should seal within 2-3 hours at the most.

*You can substitute tomato powder for 2 1/2 cups of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of tomato paste and then add in only 1/2 cup of water instead of the full amount.

**You can grind up the onions, garlic & peppers to make a pulp, or you can leave them diced and minced like I did.

Makes for an excellent marinating BBQ.

Pickled Dilly Beans

• 2 lbs. fresh green beans (w/ ends snapped off)
• 4 small garlic cloves
• 4 tsp. dill seeds
• 2 1/2 c. white distilled vinegar
• 2 1/2 c. water
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 pint-sized sterile canning jars & lids

Wash beans but do not snap them (except for the ends). Peel the garlic – mince if desired. Put one clove of garlic in the bottom of each jar and 1 tsp dill seed. Fill each jar with green beans – leave 1/2 in. head space at top of jar. Bring vinegar, salt, and water to a boil. Pour over beans, leaving 1/4 in head space. Top the jars with the lids – tighten rings down. Place jars in a pot of boiling water, covering lids of jars with at least 2 inches of water. Boil hard for 5-10 minutes. Remove from water. Lids should seal within 2-3 hours at most.

Dilly beans should sit on the shelf for at least a month allowing them time to develop their flavor. The longer they sit, the stronger their flavor.

*For a spicier dilly bean, add a bit of red pepper flakes, ground chipotle, or cayenne pepper to the bottom of each jar before filling with beans.

The garden has been beautiful. I think I have at least another 6 weeks before the plants are done producing. The green bean plants are on their third round of spitting out beans, the corn is still growing and filling out the ears, and the cabbage (I’ve cut one head out already) is looking great!

It’s full of vegetables – overflowing with tomatoes. Before this summer, I had never heard of Lemon Tomatoes. I bought a couple of plants and thought, why not? They are so delicious! So full of “meat” and hardly no acid.

I’ve had some funky tomatoes:

and a close up of that: Kiss My Tomato

A lot of not-so-ripe-tomatoes that I had to pick early and put in the window to ripen. They were getting sunburned on the vine and going bad. So letting them fully ripen in the window has worked best:

and the funny picture – on second glance we noticed the “bouncy ball tomato” in the center

With all of these tomatoes, what in the world can be done with them?

Well of course! Mix them with onions, cucumbers, vinegar, water and a bit of sugar. YUMMY!

And no doubt there has to be some fresh salsa made from them, too.

And then some cold packed canned salsa:

Now on to other photos from the garden:

Cabbage:

Banana Peppers:

Jalapeño Peppers:

Cucumbers:

Watermelon:

Zucchini:

Sweet Potato plants…will dig them up in about 6 weeks to see if they are ready:

Corn – now these plants didn’t grow very tall. The ears aren’t that big either for Bodacious Corn. But they sure were good.

And here’s my first harvest of Mint Leaves – I muddled them in the bottom of a glass of water with lime juice! YUMMY! :

I cannot even put my thoughts into complete words on this. Much like the war in Iraq. And the US tourist (family of a US coach) killed in China.

There are no words.

The thoughts are all swirling around in my head so fast that I can’t seem to bring them to a single thing to say that might sound half intelligent right now.

Do you think I can talk my sister into NOT reenlisting next month? I just want to be selfish for awhile. Keep her home. (How long will “home” be considered safe?) The 250 miles between us right now on homeland are nothing compared to the miles between us when she is deployed.

I am remembering everyday why there was a time in my life I was so scared to have children because of the kind of world they would grow up in. I don’t regret having kids at all, but I am terrified of their future in this world that doesn’t spin ’round anymore. It seems to have bounced off of a few other galaxies and landed itself in a cold world of hatred.

We didn’t start the fire No we didn’t light it But we tried to fight it……..

when the school year is set to begin. School supplies are bought, fees are paid, shoes are new, and attitudes are through the roof! We all forget how *BIG* 2nd and 3rd graders can be – ugh!

I am very happy and excited about my daughter’s teacher this year. I remember my son’s teacher from when I was in school, but I don’t know much about her now. I remember her as being strict, but not mean. That’s a GREAT choice of a teacher for him. He needs strict.

I am very much ready for school to start. (5 days and counting down) Not as much ready for the kids to be gone all day long, but more ready for a reliable schedule. I love the timely schedule of the school year. I love getting up in the morning and shipping the two older kids off to school, and then sitting here with my cup of coffee while reading the news online and checking my email before the youngest rolls out of bed. I love the peace and the serenity of being alone in the mornings – even if it’s not for that long. I enjoy the quiet!

12 days after they return to school, I start back. 13 credit hours and $551 for 4 books (that I have yet to buy b/c the school is very slow with the student loans this year) – I am going to be swamped! Three nights a week will be spent at soccer practice. Every Saturday will be spent watching soccer games. Sunday spent at church. That leaves me not much time to get my work done. Did I mention that all of my classes will be online this semester? That makes them a bit harder…

Okay, I will not freak out on all of that just yet.

This Saturday morning is the kids’ Preseason Soccer Tournament. They are on different teams this year (different divisions by age) but their games are at the same time during the tournament. That’s kinda good, kinda bad. Their fields are right next to each other, so that’s a good thing. Plus not having to spend endless hours at the park with nothing to do in between games is good too. But if we miss a play b/c we were watching the other kid – oh boy! Too bad I can’t look both directions at the same time.

My niece is being baptized (Christened) this Sunday. We were invited to an expensive restaurant to eat afterwards. We won’t be going. I cannot fathom spending $30 on one meal out to eat right now let alone $70-$100 it would cost for my whole family to eat there. (if not more) Sorry guys, we will be eating at home after the Christening.  I’ll save some of that money for the gas pump prices.

His birthday isn’t today, but we are celebrating it today. Though I do know that nine years ago today I was at the doctor wondering why my blood pressure was so high and I was so swollen. Two days later I went back and they sent my directly to Labor & Delivery because my bp had skyrocketed even higher. 190/110.

Immediately I was hooked up to an IV and petocin was started. (Of course after my doctor tried to strip my membranes.) From 2 in the afternoon until after 10 that night, I labored, walked, swayed, rocked, and hurt. By ten I was still only dilated to 1cm so they stopped the petocin to let me rest for the night. That didn’t happen.

I continued to labor all night long. Not as hard, but still uncomfortable. Quite uncomfortable! It started to pick up a bit stronger right before 6, which is when they came in to start the petocin again. Within a couple of hours, the contractions were piggybacking on each other and I was dying! Ever contraction sent painful, HOT, stabbing sensations down my legs. I seriously thought my legs were going to catch on fire and burn off!

The nurses and doctor came in and decided they needed to stop the petocin as my contractions were too close and too hard. Odd, I thought. Isn’t that what they were supposed to do?

Right away the contractions started to wither away…not completely, but a heck of a lot easier than what they were.

Around 10, they started the petocin once again. This time the contractions didn’t hit quite as hard all at once. But within an hour, here they were all over again. By this time I was in tears!! I begged for something to help the pain. All they offered was an epidural. Fine! Whatever! Just GIVE IT TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

After the epidural was all hooked up and going and I was numb from belly to toe, I fell asleep. I would wake up every couple of minutes as a contraction came and went. (Did I say I was numb? Yep, I was. I couldn’t feel my legs. I couldn’t feel my butt. I couldn’t feel my toes. But I could feel the contractions. Not enough that they hurt, but enough to make me aware of them.)

My husband sat beside me watching the Cubs game on TV. I think I forgot to mention that he had been there the whole time, trying to rub away the back labor, trying to help with what he could… I sent him outside because I found myself being mean to him and I shouldn’t have been. He was trying, I was yelling. He was helping, I was hurting. So, he went outside for a bit while I got the epidural and found control over myself again. Then he came back in the room.

A few minutes after 1pm, I was more sleepy than awake, but yet, I was too nervous to sleep. I watched the Cubs game, and saw Mark Grace (my all time fave player in the history of baseball) hit his 12th homerun of the year. At the smack of the bat hitting the ball, my water broke! And I don’t just mean broke, I mean exploded. I turned to Jamie and said, “My water just broke,” just as calm as can be. He was looking at me with HUGE eyes and said, “I heard it!” And out the door he went.

The nurse came in and changed my bed chuck, checked me and told me I was about 5-6 cm. 23 hours and I was only 5-6 cm?? Oh my goodness!

My in-laws came in to visit right after that. I told Jamie that they really needed to leave. I was uncomfortable, wasn’t sure what was going to happen and when, and I just wanted to be alone.

Right after they left, I sent Jamie out to get the nurse. I had the most awful, intense pressure and then knew what it meant to have to push without the choice of not pushing.

The nurse told me to go ahead and start pushing. Every 90 seconds the contractions would peak, but I only had about 10 seconds in between contractions. So, I pushed and I pushed.

This went on for over an hour! FINALLY, the nurse went to go get the doctor. In came more nurses and the doctor and one of the nurses was pushing a metal cart covered with blue sterile towels. When they uncovered the cart, I saw all of these scalpels, needles, etc – OH HECK NO!!!!!!! Why did I not read more and prepare myself more for this delivery?

Then started the complications. The baby was stuck. They could see his head, but they could see the back of his head, not the crown. The baby would not budge. Push after push, he was stuck. My doctor got the vacuum out and started suctioning my baby’s head, trying to move the baby into position better. Finally, it came down to the doctor just trying to suction him out of me because he wasn’t moving on his own or with my pushing.

FINALLY the head was out! Two more pushes and the shoulders were out. One more push and there was this baby in the doctor’s hands. No sounds. No movements. Then, “WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” WHEW! Then my first question came, “What is wrong with my baby’s head?”

The back of the baby’s head was a huge blue lump. It was gross looking, but it was only temporary. It was from the vacuum, and would go away. WHEW!

The doctor cut the cord, held up the baby, “IT’S A BOY!!!!” and away he went to the other side of the room with the nurses.

Come to find out, my baby was not positioned right at all. He was head down, but he wasn’t facing my back as he should have been. He was turned to the side, with his chin tucked down on his chest and his shoulders/neck were trying to come out first. That was not fun. Nor was the 45 minutes it took the doctor to stitch me up inside and out.

But in the end, it was all okay. It was all beautiful. I was finally a mommy, and I had the most beautiful baby boy in the world weighing in at 6 pounds 11 oz and was 19.5 inches long.

And now, almost 9 years later, weighing in at 55 pounds and 51 inches tall, he’s still beautiful, he’s still amazing, but he sure can be a pain in the neck at times

In 9 years we have went from diapers to undies, from a crib to a bed, from the breast to a cup, from Blue’s Clues to Pokemon, from an infant to a boy. Through trial and error on motherhood and parenting, I know that I am the best mom that I know how to be. And he was the perfect son to have for my firstborn child. If I could go back and do it all over, the only thing I would change is getting that epidural sooner!

I haven’t weighed myself yet today. Haven’t worked out yet, which I always weigh myself right before. (in the afternoon hours)

Arm (largest part between shoulder and elbow) 11.5 in

Chest (right below breasts) 31.5 in

Waist (even with belly button) 30.5 in

Hips (big ole’ booty) 38.75 in

Thigh 22 in

Calf 14

Ankle (right above ankle bone) 9.25