He guilted me into it...

God really does use children to make us do the things we should do, you know. :-) Yesterday Little Mark and I had to help with the concession stand at the local Jr. Stock Show. It is a requirement for each club to help, because it is a fundraiser for the 4-H clubs in the entire county. So, we did our part. Our shift was 7:00 am -2:00 pm. And I could BARELY walk when it was time to leave.

I can't believe I used to waitress given how much I hurt when I left yesterday. I came home, managed to get from the car to the couch and promptly fell asleep for an hour. I then awoke, stood up for about 2 seconds and immediately got Charley Horsesin the calf and shin. At the same time, and in the same leg. Can we say "painful?" I hurt so bad I even missed Bible Study last night. Thankfully, I am still doing my Beth Moore Bible Study "Breaking Free", and I can lay in my bed to do that. :-)

Anyway, this morning I was still REALLY stiff and I did not want to go to water aerobics. But, Little Mark wasn't having any of it. He said, "You'll feel better once you're in the water. Isn't that what you always tell me? WORK IT OUT!"

Yes, I was duly guilted into exercising, and I did feel better. I hate it when he uses my own words against me. And he's right. :-)

I heard from "Angel's" Mom today, and she informed me that "Angel" wants to drop out of school, "because she wants to go back to Aunt Wendy's house forever and forever".... her Mom's reply? "Just what I need, a 4 year old dropout." LOL... I reminded her that there is always homeschooling. LOL... :-)

Love,
Wendy

Will I get sued if I call them "Fakesters"?

Oh sweet mercy, y'all. I made a cookie the other day (and yesterday) that I have to share with you. :-) My brother bought some of those Oreo Cakesters, and they were good. But, I thought "I bet I could make these for less money."

SO, I bought a cake mix and tried out my theory. OH. MY. WORD. Y'all have to try these. I even included pictures of the process, just like REE. :-) So, without further ado...

Ingredients:

NOT the Pringles, OK? :-) Just these 4 ingredients. Very easy.

Now, you want to mix the cake mix, two eggs and 1/3 Cup of oil together VERY well. I used a beater, and it does become difficult after a bit, so you may want to just do it with a spoon, which is what I plan to try next time.. The dough will be VERY stiff. Like this:

Then you want to scoop out even sized balls of the dough and place on a cookie sheet. Like this.

Now, I usually line my pans with parchment paper, but I didn't realize I was out when I did this, so I had to make do with Release. It worked fine, but I still prefer parchment paper.

You then bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. They will look like little cakes when they come out.

As they cool they will "deflate." Let them cool on the pan for 2 minutes, and then transfer them to a cookie sheet. Allow to cool completely. Then you will place about 2 tablespoons of the fluffy, white frosting on the back of one cookie. Like this:

Then sandwich it together with another cookie, and you have these:

Don't they look YUMMY?! :-) Enjoy!!

Love,

Wendy Darling

As sad as I am to see it end, I thought the final episode was very good. (Except for all of the darn commercials!! I mean, could you have anymore?!) I love the use of the flag. :-) Did anyone else watch? What did you think?

Love

Wendy Darling

Allow me to be shallow today...

OK, to you this may not be a major travesty. It has nothing to do with politics, hunger in third world countries, war, or anything major like that. No my friends, today's post truly saddens me and I must talk about or go insane. I don't even know how I will make it through the rest of the day knowing the impending doom that is most assuredly coming later.


Tonight the final episode of Jericho will broadcast, and I am distraught.

If you remember this post, then you remember that I admitted to not watching Jericho for most of the first season. (I am still ashamed) But, y'all, I waited VERY patiently for the second season to FINALLY air. I have watched EVERY ONE, and now they are cancelling it, again. It is a tragedy.

Yes, CBS is stupid.

I did something this week that I have never done before. I actually read the message board for Jericho to see what other fans are saying. Believe me when I tell you that they are saying A LOT, and CBS might want to listen.

So far, the two most popular comments/beliefs are 1) (cue "Twilight Zone" music) The cancellation of the show is actually a conspiracy by the US Government. Uh... yeah... whatever.... While I do believe a situation like this might could actually happen (in theory) I seriously doubt this is the reason they are cancelling the show. If you want to get technical, Stephen King's "The Stand" could happen, in theory, and no one banned him. For which I am glad, because Gary Sinise totally rocked in that show! :-)

OK, you can forget the "Twilight Zone" music now.

2) Most people agree on how the show should end. Most believe they should drop the last nuke on CBS studios. While I admit this would have some sort of " ironic justice", I don't see that happening since they are taking the bomb to Cheyenne, WY.

CBS says that the shows ratings "dropped" this season, and that is why they are cancelling it. The fact that it suffered the same as other shows due to the writer's strike, and that when they did bring it back they changed the night and time slot had nothing to do with it.

Whatsoever.

Nothing.

Don't even blame yourself, CBS, for putting it in the "killer" time slot.

It had nothing to do with it.

I'm just sayin'.

I do hope that perhaps Sci-Fi will pick it up and make new shows. I have no idea how that will work, but I for one would watch it.

So, tonight at 8:45 I will be sitting my hiney in front of the TV. I will not move, answer a phone, or respond to anyone's questions until at least 10:00 pm, and that depends on how the show ends.

I may be too speechless to talk for a few minutes.

I look forward to the 2 season DVD boxed set we all know they will end up putting out for sale, because although CBS is stupid for cancelling the show, they recognize a good marketing ploy when they see one. OR, we hope they do. They will make a bundle selling it to the fans.

So, how many of you will also be watching tonight?

Love,
Wendy Darling

Graphics and Myspace Layouts at pYzam.com

Love,

Wendy Darling

Hi, Y'all :-)

I found out about this guy today, and OH. MY. WORD!! He is so amazing. Just give him a listen, and I promise you will be so blessed. My favorites, so far, are "Going Home", "I Can Be Glad", "One More Stone."

Love,
Wendy Darling

"The boy knows what he likes..."

When we were running errands this afternoon "Little Mark" had his Ipod plugged in and we were enjoying the music. His uncle has placed some different appropriate music on there, some that we enjoyed growing up. :-) (You know, so he will know that there is other music besides Hannah Montana and such.)

One of these "gems" is titled "The Thing." Do you remember this song? Here is what Wikepedia has to say about it: "The lyrics take the form of a first-person narration, describing the discovery on a beach of a box with an unknown contents. Whatever is in the box is never revealed, nor is it called "The Thing" in the lyrics. When the lyrics call for The Thing to be named, the vocals simply pause for three percussive beats. For example, the first verse ends, "I discovered a [three-beat pause], right before my eyes!" (The listener could "substitute" any three-syllable phrase his imagination might invent, such as "dog-gone thing".)

Initially, the narrator is overjoyed by his discovery and immediately goes to sell it. He is thrown out by a shopkeeper, who threatens to call the police. The narrator takes The Thing home but is thrown out by his wife as well. He attempts to give The Thing to a hobo, who runs away from it. As the years pass, the narrator fails to get rid of The Thing. He dies and arrives in Heaven with The Thing, but Saint Peter tells him to take it "down below" to Hell. In the final verse, the narrator warns the listener not to open boxes on the beach like he did."

About half way through the second verse "Little Mark" questions (rather irritated) "What is IT?" I reply, "Listen to the song. It's a fun song." He listens, and then replies, with a complete straight face, "That. Is . The . Stupidest. Song . EVER. Written." I explained the song to him and said, "It isn't stupid, it's silly. You have to use your imagine as to what is in the box. It's a silly song." (Figuring he would understand, because he knows EVERY "silly song" from VeggieTales ever written.) Nope. He replied very seriously, "Silly is not stupid. This song is stupid."

I guess we will have to agree to disagree. :-)

Love,

Wendy Darling

What These Roses Say About You

You are a classic romantic who believes in true love. You often experience deep emotions and feel warmth toward almost everyone. You are a bundle of positive feelings and sweetness.

What Do The Flowers You Pick Say About You?

Math Doesn't Suck....

I have to say it... I really like Math.

There. I said it. It's out there.

When I was in 6th grade I enjoyed Math. I tested at a 9th grade Math level. Once in the 9th grade I entered my own personal hell known as Pre-Algebra. I have no idea what happened. I couldn't get past the concept of putting numbers with letters. Then, they started throwing out words and phrases like "formula" and "algebraic equations." The fact that I was shy/self-conscious did not help matters at all, because I would not ask questions. Everyone else seemed to get it so easily, so obviously the problem was with me.

OH, and don't even get me started on how long it took to do ONE problem, and how much paper that one problem used. My teacher made us show EVERY step. One problem could literally last 3 pages. She must have been getting a kickback from the notebook paper companies.

I received my first "F" that year. For the next 2 years of my school career Math would be my downfall. However, I did do better in college. I still never quite got the concept of formulas. I could solve them, but I never got the hang of knowing when to use what formula. I did really like quadratic equations though, because you just plug in the numbers. They were actually fun, but now I can't remember how to do them.

So, this morning came quite as a shock when I found myself finding the area of a trapezoid.... for fun. Clearly, I am either becoming a math geek or I seriously need a life.

How has this new fondness for math developed you ask? The nephew. "Little Mark" is actually pretty good at math. Thankfully, he inherited his mother and uncle's Math skills. He caught on fairly quickly to formulas and such. :-) I think it is the program we are using.

Let me just state now how much I LOVE Math-U-See. If this curriculum had been around when I was in school I think I would have done a lot better in Math. Seriously. Check it out.

** I do not get paid to promote Math-U-See, but if they would like to give me the Epsilon curriculum for such a positive review I am not above taking it. :-)**

OH, and regarding the title of my post? Check out this book. I have read most of it, and I have to say...

..... I like it. :-)

(You expected me to say "It didn't suck" didn't you?) :-)

Love,

Wendy Darling

Tagged, again...

I know that I already posted once today, but I was tagged by Princess Ladybug and if I don't do it now I may forget. :-) So, here goes...

The rules as I understand them are as follows…

1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.

2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name or your mother's maiden name).

3. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person (or blogger of another species) for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged.)

Is that clear as mud? Then let's begin. :-)

S- Sue. I was named after one of my Daddy's cousins. He really liked her name, obviously, and so he named me when I was born. I have never met her, but I would like to one day. :-)

U- Underdog. I used to watch the cartoon when I was little, and I LOVE movies/shows where the underdog wins. :-)

E- Educator. I love teaching children, and I have for years. Whether it be Sunday School, public school, or homeschool. I have been thinking about expanding my comfort level and teaching an adult Sunday School class, in a year or so. (I know this comes as a shock Cleggy, since I haven't mentioned it.) :-) Right now, it is still in the THINKING stage. I also still love to learn new things, so I am being educated as well. :-)

Now, I have to tag 3 people. I tag Sarah, Terry, and Julie. :-)

Love,
Wendy Darling

Where has the time gone?

Oh my goodness, y'all. I can't believe it has been 6 days since I last posted. Everyday I intended to post, but something happened and I didn't. OR, nothing happened and I didn't have anything to post. So, hence the 6 day absence.

However, the last few days I have wanted to blog about some things, but time got away from me, and since I actually do need rest I went to bed instead of post. So, let's talk briefly about those things. :-)

First, let's discuss the time change. LEAVE IT ALONE!! I know why they did originally, but my goodness does it mess up the internal "clock."

Secondly, I had A LOT I wanted to say about the California court of Apeals decision regarding homeschooling, but DeeDee said it so much better than I that I am just going to refer to her post here. All I can say is, "You go, girl!! I agree with you whole hearted." :-) Thankfully, I got this statement from HSLDA today, " State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell comes to the defense of homeschool families. "The California Department of Education policy will not change in any way as a result of this ruling. Parents still have the right to homeschool in this state," he said. That is encouraging. :-)

I was also going to do a post about duct tape and rubber mallets. My brother says, "You can fix anything with duct tape and WD40. If it moves and it isn't supposed to use duct tape. If it doesn't move and it is supposed to use WD40." I would like to add rubber mallets to that list, because for the last few months that is the only way we got the blower to work in our van, and it got the right window to go up when it was stuck. BUT, we no longer have to worry about that, and you can read all about it here.

Don't you love how I am writing about all kinds of stuff, but making you go read it elsewhere so it sounds really intelligent and stuff? :-)

I am so excited about a new movie coming out. I cannot wait to see this movie! And, since the site says it better than I can I am just posting the info they sent down below, and... you got it.... I'm sending you over there. :-) You get to watch the trailer. Enjoy!!

In 2006, Sherwood Pictures and Provident Films released a movie about a high school football team discovering that with God, nothing is impossible. Produced by a church on a shoestring budget, FACING THE GIANTS became the surprise hit of the year, touching the hearts of more than 1.5 million people in theatres. In 2007, the film came out on DVD and was the best-selling entertainment product (DVD or CD) in Christian stores for the entire year!
Now it's 2008 and ...
Welcome to FIREPROOF, an action-packed love story that will have audiences laughing, crying, and on the edge of their seats as they are drawn into the world of a firefighter, his wife ... and a marriage worth rescuing. FIREPROOF is the third movie from Sherwood Pictures, the hope-filled, heartfelt moviemaking ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church that continues to touch the world from Albany, Georgia.

Love,

Wendy Darling

Awwww....:-)

I don't know about you, but until last week we had a bunch of rolls of film and throw away cameras that had not been developed. 36 to be exact. We had them for so long that I honestly forgot what was on some of them.

I won't even bother getting into all of the reasons why we didn't get them developed. Let me just say, again, how much I LOVE my digital camera. The pay off of being able to see the picture immediately is extraordinary, and we won't even discuss how much cheaper the developing of the photos are in the long run.

Anyway, last week we took all of the film to be put on CDs, so we could then decide which ones were worthy of actually being developed into photos. Once I got them home it was like Christmas seeing all of the photos we had forgotten we had taken!! :-) It cost us around $140 to this y'all, but this one picture, in my opinion, was worth every penny. :-)

That is "Little Mark" at 6 years old reading to his little brother while he is sleeping in the Crib. The book is called "Time for Bed", and he LOVED that book at the time. He had it memorized. :-) Now, I don't usually post pictures of the children on the Internet, but this one was just too cute. I did ask permission (thank you Queen B), so it's all good. :-) Isn't that just the sweetest picture ever?!

Love,

Wendy Darling

Update on "Little Mark's" missing Nintendo...

If y'all remember the little "incident" with Little Mark's Nintendo DS on Sunday, then you know things have been "interesting" around here. :-)

Well, it took the boy about 10 minutes yesterday morning to ask me if I had seen it. My response was, "Where was the last place you left it?" After a moment of hesitation he replies, "It was on the top of my dresser the last time I saw it." (Uh, yeah. OK.) "Well then, it should still be there." I then proceeded to walk back in to my room when he asks me point blank "Did you take it to teach me a lesson?" Right to the point isn't he? :-)

I stood there for a moment and said, "Well, if I took it that means it was not where it was supposed to be, correct?" He just looked at me. "I know this because I found hidden in a bathroom drawer. What was it doing in there?" He proceeded to tell me some story about "I was tempted to play it, and I even took it in the bathroom, but the then I felt guilty and put it in the drawer so I wouldn't play it. Then I forgot to take it out."

OK. It may have even happened that way, but the boy just lied to me about it being on the top of the dresser. So, I said, "Yes, I took it. Clean your room and you'll find it." It took the boy ALL DAY to clean his room, because he followed me around the house most of the day crying and screaming wanting to know where it was. I never gave in. (You'll be proud of me Queen B.) :-)

By the end of the day he was a basket case. I asked him, "Did you clean your toy box?" He said, "No." I asked, "Did you clean your CD boxes?" He responded "Yes." I asked did you clean your dresser drawers and hang what needs hanging?" He said, "Yes." (Remember, it's hidden in the dresser drawer. Not very well I might add." So, I just said, "Well, finish your room and you'll find it."

He just knew I had hidden in my room, or somewhere around the house. Well, around 7:30 last night he finally found it. In the last place he cleaned. :-) He is still grounded from it, but I think it taught him a lesson, and I told him "You would have found it a lot sooner if you kept your room neater." He actually agreed with me. :-)

So, we'll see how the Responsibility Chart goes, and see if he actually earns the privilege of playing with it back. At this rate he may be in college before he gets to play with it again. :-)

Love,
Wendy Darling

Obama update:

So, You remember the other day when I mentioned the e-mail that I sent Obama, and I posted his response. Well, I got a reply to my second e-mail (y'all remember, it was reiterating my original question that he didn't answer) Would you like to know what it says? THE EXACT SAME THING THE FIRST ONE SAID. WORD FOR WORD! This just goes to show that the people he is paying to read the e-mails are NOT earning their money.

So frustrating... I'm not even going to bother with a third e-mail.

Love,
Wendy Darling

It never pays to be dishonest...

I have to tell y'all what "Little Mark" did today. I almost feel a little guilty about it, so I am going to confess here, to you, my dear friends. :-)

We have instituted a new "responsibility chart" for him, because he was not completing his chores/school work. The new chart is spelled out for him, and I am not going to "nag" him to get it done. He either does it or he doesn't. But, if he doesn't then he gets NO privileges that day. No TV, Computer, electronics of any kind. If he does not have the weeks worth of school work finished by 3:00 pm on Friday then he does not get ANY electronics for the whole weekend. If it needs a plug or battery to work, then he better not even think about touching it.

Well, this morning his uncle realized he was spending a lot of time in the bathroom . So, after he left the bathroom I went in to fix my hair for church. I opened the drawer to grab my hairbrush, and guess what I found? That's right my friends, I found his Nintendo DS "hidden" in the drawer. He had been in the bathroom playing it.

SO, he was busted, and I almost opened my mouth to call him on it. But, then I had a better idea. I quietly went into his room and put it under some clothes in the second drawer of his dresser. The drawer that has clothing shoved into it that should be hung up. The one he rarely cleans out. Yeah, that one.

I didn't say a word to him about it all day. A little bit ago we heard him get out of bed and go to the bathroom, again. His uncle went to see if he was OK, and he replied that he needed to use the restroom, again. His uncle questioned him on why he still had on his glasses. "Little Marks" reply? "I have a little diarrhea, so I may be in here reading for awhile." Uh... yeah. Okay.

So, we left it at that. Then, we heard drawers being opened and closed, as if someone was looking for something. About 10 seconds later we heard the toilet flush and "Little Mark" went back to bed. I guess his tummy problem was suddenly healed. (Miracle!)

So, now I am wondering how long it will take him to 1) ask if we have seen his Nintendo, 2) admit where it was, 3) actual clean his room enough to find it.

As I said, I feel a little guilty about the whole thing, but I am praying this will be a good lesson in not only honesty, but responsibility for taking care of his things and keeping his room clean. And, the punishment? Well, he was supposed to get the Nintendo DS back tomorrow. All he had to do was wait 24 more hours. Now? Well.... we'll see how long it takes him to finally clean the dresser..... Tough love hurts.

Love,
Wendy Darling

It's stuck in my head....

Well, I was going to blog tonight about the things that happened today. This morning "Little Mark" and I helped out at the delivery for "Angel Food Ministries." I always enjoy helping with that, and this was "Little Mark's" first time to help. He did well, and I was very proud of him. :-)

This weekend is something special at our church. They are doing "D-NOW" (Discipleship Now) for the Youth group. This year's theme is "True Love Waits" and their will even be a "purity ring" ceremony for the student's and their parents tomorrow evening. I have never seen this ceremony, but I am excited to witness it. :-) I think it is a great idea. :-)

The kids were all so excited, and seem to be having a great time. I had an opportunity to hear some of the band while I was helping serve the dinner tonight. They are pretty good. They reminded me a lot of Third Day, or the Newsboys. The music was loud, but the kids loved it. :-)

However, the title of my post actually came from a result of reading Big Mama's blog. :-) She referred to a Mac Davis song "It's Hard to be Humble" in her post today. Oh my word!! Y'all, I not only know every word to this song, but we still own it on 45. (For you young'ns that is larger than a CD, but smaller than an album and you play it on a turn table.) :-) SO, naturally I had to go to YouTube and look for it. For the last half hour I have listened to "It's Hard to be Humble", "Texas in the Rear view Mirror" and my favorite "Don't Get Hooked On Me." It keeps playing in my head now, over and over. And you know what? I don't want it to stop. :-)

I always thought Mac Davis was so cute. He had the nicest smile, and the look in his eyes always made you think he was up to something. :-) I swear, I feel like a kid again. :-) Thank you for the memories Big Mama!! :-)

Love,
Wendy