Differences

Ok, so......
I am watching a movie, well a TV show on Netflix, its called Switched at Birth.  Obviously its about babies that were switched...at birth!  Lol. So the girls are actually sixteen now, and its a typical tv show, full of who did what and who knew what, and you did that and etc etc...
well one of the girls is deaf,  and I have found it interesting to watch for many reasons,  one being that I like seeing how much ASL I remember :)   
In this show it obviously shows how the deaf girl is different and it shows her struggling with typical things that a deaf girl may deal with. 
Last week I went and saw a play (that my niece is in!) it's called Side Show.  Its a play about a side show at a circus in the depression era. so in short its about a bunch of freaks!  I seriously loved it!  I cant wait to see it again, (I'm going again on Saturday)!!  you know what a side show is right?  I didn't really know, I kind of did, but anyway, they would take people with abnormalities (elephant man, the 4 legged woman, conjoined twins, midgets... etc!),  and show them as freaks, on the side of the circus!  how was I to know?  I've never been to a circus and I wasn't around back in the day when they did that....so....you learn something new everyday! 
so, why am I telling you these two things?  Because I am re-learning the art of not judging!  I have never really been one to judge people....so I thought.  But as I thought about it after watching these two things I have realized that I need to pay a little more attention to what I am doing.  because I don't want others to judge me or look at me like I have horns or a tail...I can look past their "abnormalities"  and see the person!
I am different! I pride myself on being different!  I don't like doing things that is the norm.... I bought a bag/purse that was kind of the in thing a few years ago...I bought it because I liked it...but so did everyone else!  I saw it at church, a saw it at school, I saw it everywhere!!!  there is no way I was going to use it!   I still see it around, not as much but my cute little bag is still brand new!  one day I'll use it...and it will be  old news to everyone else... oh well! 
so?
what is "normal"?  conforming with the accepted standard or norm.
what is "norm"?  a standard or model for  a group.
so if something isn't accepted its not normal? 
So my niece and I dipped animal crackers in our super duper homemade frysauce!  it was delicious!  and we did it again...not accepted...therefore not normal...
my nephew was born almost totally deaf and blind...(smartest kid ever)!  not like the majority of kids born hearing and seeing....therefore not normal
my nieces wears clothes that don't match...one is 7 one is 16 they don't care! ....not normal
who says we need to be normal? who says we have to stick to a standard!  ok so probably no one has actually said that.. I don't know?   but for the sake of this writing.... we don't have to be normal!! 
we can be different and we can stand up for the sake of someone else who is different from ourselves, different from the "norm".........
my normal can be a different normal than yours. 
my different can be a different different than yours. 
nothing can ever be the same as something else!  millions (to the millionth power) of snowflakes fall and not one is the same as another!  I like to take that and say...I can always be different! I wont have to conform with what someone else says is accepted and normal!
We don't have to be accepted by the "in crowd".  If I want to be in the in-crowd and I change my ways and my beliefs to do it..thats wrong.  I make my choices and those that matter to me will accept me for me and for who I am.  I don't have to be like this or like that.  I have to be me and live up to what I know I can be and become!
some of the differences we see around us aren't caused by natural causes...obviously you don't choose to be born without hearing, you don't choose to be born conjoined...... however some differences are chosen.  like me eating animal crackers and frysauce with my niece! there are obviously bigger differences and bigger choices but you catch my drift.....
so...the point of all this....is that I need to just pay attention to those around me and not judge them, and help them where I can.  I need to remember that whether by choice or not, that person is who he is, and I am who I am!
  what goes around comes around...
  treat others how you would want to be treated...
If I want to be loved for who I am   than that's what I will do for you!!!

This is me:
I have a foot wall(a wall with a bunch of feet pictures)
I like peanut butter and grapes(together)
I have a blue ceiling in my kitchen
I take pictures of food I think is pretty, or cool, or sometimes just because.
I have a red wall in my family room
I love musicals, watching, being in, listening, singing
I wear striped socks with my sunday clothes
I do things(or don't do them) just because someone else didn't(or did)
I am just different! and proud of it!!!

me, my niece and my sisters feet in the limo!

first night in my house!!

 

pretty parfait breakfast on the blue moon day!(yes I also find excuse to have dates and do cool things with food)  :)

canning salsa...it's really yummy, I had to get creative I didn't have hot peppers or a lot of onions... I also added cinnamon! :)

 

Homemade Laundry Soap! like this:

Out here in the sticks with "lots" of extra time on my hands, I tend to try new things!  not only does this laundry soap save money it also is healthier!  its not full of who knows what!  here it is, try it out!

1 bar Fels Naptha
1 C Borax
1 C Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
4 C hot water(more as needed)

here is a picture of tools I used:

ok directions: 

Heat the 4 cups water in a BIG pan...like this:

then you grate/use a food processor/use a knife to make the fels naptha really small! I used a knife and just shaved it like this:

 

then when the water is hot you add the soap to the water. you don't want to boil it because apparently it will get really foamy.  I didn't ever had that problem so I wouldn't know...anyway add the soap and it'll get kind of lumpy, I didnt think about it till now but you can probably add it slowly and melt it in small quantities.  I just added it all and it got lumpy like this:

 

just keep mixing it till the lumps are all gone :)

 

once its melted take it off the heat and add the borax and washing soda...like this

and stir it till its all dissolved, you'll know because you will hear and feel the little grainy things on the bottom of the pan. 

stir stir stir:  like this:

mine never got more foamy than this ^

ok now pour evenly into two quart jars like this:

then you add hot water (I just used hot tap water, don't worry about heating it on the stove) to the top of the jar....correction till you have about a 1 - 1 1/2 inch head space...like this:

then you put the lids on and flip them over, like this:

then they will start separating like this:

let them sit for 4-5 hours

luckily I started at noonish and I could take this picture between 4 and 5 lol

awesome clock huh!?

after the 4-5 hours it will have separated more kinda like this:

so...flip them back over and take off the little grainys that have settled..like this:

also wash off the lid, as it will have little grainys too.. like this:

 

 

ok so this next part I have only done one way but you can experiment and try your own way or i'll tell you the ways that were suggested to me....you can scrape everything out of it and mix it with a electric mixer or kitchen aid...or you can maybe try a food processor or if you have a blender that attaches to a mason jar you can put it on that and blend it or you can do what I did:

first stick a knife in it, to get it to drop and so you don't make a huge mess (yep I learned that one by experience!) ok so knife in it like this:

then you use a stick blender and blend it all up!  don't over heat your stick blender but its so easy to keep it all in the jar! like this:

keep blending like this:

 if you want you can add essential oils to make it smell!  I added some cheapy lavender oil

then when you clean off the stick blender you may get something that looks like this:

 

frosting? mayo? etc...

just scrape down the sides and wipe around the top and put the lid back on

then label it!  I wont be held responsible if you eat it!!!  :) 

 

use one tablespoon per load isn't that cool?

this recipe can be doubled to make a whole gallon

also it will store indefinitely, it will get harder but it will still dissolve or melt in hot or cold water

 

have fun with it!! 

 

What am I cut out for?

If you look to the right>  it says that I sew...
If you know how to sew you  know what the process is...
If you are like me you like analogies... 

Here is my analogy for the day:

 Before you make a dress, pants, PJ's, skirt, bag, etc  you first know what you're going to make, what you're going to use it for, how you want it to look.
after you have that you need a pattern (or you make a pattern)
using the pattern you cut out the pieces you need.
then you follow instructions and sew here and sew there and then do this and that then ding! you've got a...whatever you were making!

so it is with us! 

before I was made God knew what he wanted me to do and what he wanted to use me for.
he made me with a pattern
and He cut me out.
and did a little of this and that and then
Ding!  I was here. 

here's the catch?  He knows what I was cut out for....  I am still learning

this is what I think:

If I am having a low moment, I cook, clean, sew etc 
If I am having a high moment, I cook, clean, sew etc

what is that? it is the rare makings of a woman who LOVES being a woman, I could totally be a perfect fifties wife!  I LOVE cooking!  I LOVE doing laundry!  I LOVE doing the dishes!  I LOVE taking care of my husbands dirty socks!  I LOVE sewing things!

I feel like I was cut out to be a wife, a homemaker, and a mom!

I LOVE being a wife!  I love talking to my husband, helping him with his work, I love learning from him.  I love telling him the good things that happen each day and I love getting advice for things I am struggling with.  I love it when he leaves his clothes laying around so that I can take care of them.  I love it when he teases me.  I love writing notes to him.  I love talking to him on the phone when I am away.  I love it when he holds me when I cry or when life just isn't right!  I love it when he tells me stories of before we met.  I love it when I can tell were thinking the same thing. I love it when he holds my hand.  

I am a homemaker!  what is a homemaker? no I don't build houses. but yes I make my home!  have you ever thought about the power a woman has over her home!  I set the tone of my home!  If I am sad, mad, upset, blue, then it will rub off on whoever is in my home. mostly my husband.  If I am mad and he leaves to work.  neither of us are gonna have a very good day and those same things are going to be there when he gets back.  on the other hand, the better hand.  If I do all I can to make our home the very best and I have the happy, positive, healthy things about me, then those will rub off on him and he can have a good day at work, with the people he interacts with and I can have a good day at home!
I Love both the physical and non-physical aspects of being a homemaker!  I love vacuuming!  (I have a dyson!) I love sweeping, I love doing laundry and folding socks!  I even make my own laundry soap!  I make really yummy dinners(and even yummy breakfasts and lunches!)  I love making my house pretty and presentable whether I am presenting to my husband after a long day at work. or company, or the neighbor kids coming to borrow a movie.  I love it!  love love love!

I am not a mom yet (in the traditional sense of the word).  I have many children in my life that I hope I can be an example, strength, friend, and "mother" to, and I Love them so much! 
In the mean time while I am waiting for our own children.  I am wondering what God has in store for me?  Am I doing what He wants me to be doing?  Am I doing what I am meant for?  Even if all I want right now is a baby...Am I doing what I need to be doing to be a good mom?  A mom that my babies are proud to come to! 

I found a song that I really like!  It was written about the singers adopted child, but as I was listening to it, it made me realize that I to am meant to be doing what I am doing right now!  I have things to do and I can do them well, and learn to do them well.  I need to focus on my duties right now. 
 
I also must not lose hope and faith that I will have children.  because I will!  that day when  God is ready for me to be a mom then I pray that I have done my job at preparing to be the best mommy I can for them!

here is that song:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ksMpwqjXQ
its from a veggies tales movie lol!
my prayer tonight is that I may be content with the life I am meant to be living right now! 
God cut me out and has a plan!  I am so thankful for it!

a little more about me

Here is my life story in a pistachio shell!  Why a pistachio shell?  So you've all heard the phrase "in a nut shell"?  well what kind of a nut?  A brazil nut can still be a long story...a peanut shell could be like two parts...and crumbly...  and a pistachio shell its like small, easy, and its like "here it is"! 

I was born, in December,  to two AMAZING parents!  I was their youngest child...  They talked before they got married about having a perfect child...well I finally came along and they stopped having kids :) 
I have six older siblings.  2 brothers and 4 sisters.  they like to say I am spoiled I like to say I am loved!  after all they are the ones that spoiled me :)
I grew up in the country/city I suppose its called sub- urban....  we had a few neighbors it wasn't a subdivision with cookie cutter houses.  I had room to roam and play and make some great memories and some awesome friends. 
I always wanted to live in a farm house and have a farm!  cows, chickens, horses, a dog, a cat(NOT a house cat...only for catching those nasty little vermin called mice!)  a garden, a porch (with a swing) to swing on in the early mornings with a book or in the evening with my honey!...well....we didn't have that I was just always a country girl at heart! 
so from our room to roam house in the semi country...we moved to a cute little farm house, with a white picket fence, an acre and some stables!  I was in heaven!!  I was about 15 when we moved there.  I was out of town when my parents bought the place but I had a few things I wanted, if I had a say in anything :)  I wanted a door bell, a porch, and a livingroom window for a Christmas tree. 
well our cute little farm house had it!  so adorable!  It was a hundred year old house (added onto a bit) but for mom and dad and me it was perfect!  the only thing is...it was even closer to a city..ok it wasn't like NYC or anything just a small little Utah town but closer to neighbors and not as much room to roam....and no animals (except our trusty black lab mix that we got shortly after we moved in)
BUT....that was all ok because I was really into my extra curricular activities at the time...
I was home schooled all through High School (loved it)  and I was in lots of community plays, a homeschool choir, a girls choir, plus my schooling, and of course friends to hang out with. 
by the time I was sixteen my mom was THRILLED that I could drive and she no longer needed to drive me everywhere under the sun!  Plus I was thrilled because my dad had a cute little black VW beetle that I got to take sometimes!! 
when I was 17 I graduated my friend and I did the cute little ceremony with the UHEA(Utah home educators association) 
I couldn't start college with out a bunch of paperwork and stuff because I wasn't 18 and didn't have a "diploma"  whatever! 
My sister was diagnosed with colon cancer in the spring of 2005...after a long 11 months, she passed away.  She was only 32 and she had 4 young children. 
she died in February 2006 and the January of 2006 my dad was hospitalized for a few different things a heart attack being one of them.  Then with other health issues he was still in the hospital when my sister died.
My dad died the next year in September (2007) 
in November of 2008 my grandma died. 
needless to say it was a long long 3 years for my family
In the summer of 2006 I started college! yay I was an adult! summer school?  yes but only two classes....easy peasy!  math and computer
my first full semester was that fall of '06!  of what fun I had in college!  it was such a new experience! but a great one!
I started just with general studies but I had every intention of being a dental hygienist! 
through HS I wanted to be a chef!  own a restaurant, be a famous chef, be a chef on a cruise ship and travel!  yah well by the time I "grew up"  I realized I wanted a family and those things I wanted in a career weren't matching with my bigger better goals of being a wife and mother!  I wanted to be a stay at home mom.  stay at home moms don't need degrees you say? well this one does!  I wasn't just going to sit around and wait for my prince charming!  I was going to school!!  I wanted to stay at home but I know there are times where work is scarce or an extra income is needed so for my college major I chose Dental Hygiene! good money if I needed to work and fewer hours and etc. etc.
well I started my generals and saw the cute little other girls in scrubs and with there little dentist tools...I was really excited! 
So cute little college student that I was, ha ha- I was getting pre reqs done...well since dental hygiene is a science field the pre reqs were things like anatomy and micro biology...fun!  yah well after a couple other science classes I was taking a big bite and I took anatomy and micro biology (and both their labs) in 1!  yes ONE semester!!!  no no no that was not a smarty pants move!  I had never studied so hard in my life and I was still getting D's!  My sister needed the micro bio class and she took it with me...a single working mother...who never had time to study...getting A's and B's!  what the heck!!! 
SO  after a lot of thought and prayer, in the middle of that semester I decided to change majors! 
mom said my attitude change was like night and day!    I  was not cut out to do those things and God knew it!    I didn't know what I was going to do major wise at that point so I finished out that semester. I'd think about it later.  well I looked into a few things and I came back to being a chef!  I figured its what I wanted to do! and I could still be a wife and mother I just tweaked my chefing goals!
so I started the culinary program!  a 4 year program!  I LOVED it!! 
when I was in my second to last semester of Culinary arts I met my dream boy! and during spring break of my last semester I married him!!!  (clarification, I didn't meet him at school)
I have been married almost 3 year now....(I love him SO much!!)
And guess what that man had?  a ranch, and  guess what I have??  A cute little farm house, a yard fit for a family and a dog and a garden! plenty acres!!  a 40 mile dirt road to get to my house!  and we have cows!!  and horses!!!  I got my dream!  I live in the country!  My heart is happy!  I no longer have to be a country girl at heart!  I am a country girl! 
I have a house with a porch, where I can sit with my sweetheart and drink lemonade and talk of...anything!  I can see millions and millions of stars every night!  and I cant hear anything!  no cars, sirens, honks, etc only coyotes, cows, dogs, etc! 
Guess what else I have?  boots, my cow girl hat, and a pair of overalls! 

and that my friends Is my life in a nut shell....a pistachio shell!
song to go along??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueLZ3i83N4I

to begin with...

Well, I did it!  I created a Blog!  Now the question is... what to do with it?  I tried answering millions of questions before I created it......like what should I write about?  Should it be a specific topic?  Do I really want to?  Will people like it?  Will people read it?  What if I say too much about myself on the internet!!? ;) 
   So in answer to all that....anything and everything and things in between,  no, yes, who cares, I'm sure,  you wont!
  (I really answered those questions in order, in case you're wondering?) 
So to finish this post, my very first one ever!  I say to you...be prepared!  this is what you should be ready for:
humor
quotes, and more quotes
drama
advice (if you're blessed enough to see it)
family
music
movie quotes (of reference to movies)
friends
food (yes including recipes!)
health
things you may or may not want to know about me
run on sentences, no commas where they should be, and "words" like ginormous and funner, spelling errors, etc I'm not a typing or english perfectionist!
this list can go on! you never know what you're gonna get!(just like a box of chocolate!)----there you are, first movie quote(ish)

all I ask from you?
be patient, like I said I just created this, I'm still learning how to use it :)
but most importantly!  have fun reading, watching, listening....