I Bought a Canner.....

This is the Presto 16 qt with the weighted gauge. It's received good reviews so I went ahead and bought it. It was on sale. It's small but it'll be good for me to learn on plus you can use it as a water bath canner too. Now hopefully one day I'll actually use it. ;-) I'm still a little chicken.

My garden is growing good so I'm sure I'll come up with something. I'll definetly be making lots of pickles with all the cucumbers I have and probably some watermelon rind preserves when we get drowned in watermelons here soon. I've already put all my beans in the freezer but I'll be planting again in August and I plan to do a major expansion. I just wish my tomatoes would do better. I have more cherry tomatoes than I know what to do with but my big tomatoes aren't producing enough to do much with. Maybe a couple pints of salsa. I have lots of peppers too.

Stay tuned while I experiment. I'm sure I'll come up with all kinds of creations.

A friend suggested I do some Cajun recipe tutorials on here. I think that's a good idea. However, I'm not cooking much right now since Bubba can't eat. Once he's better and I get back into the habit of making his favorite meals, I'm going to post some on here. And maybe I'll do some canning ones too. Ya'll can learn along with me.

Isn't this the cutest thing ever???

A pile of 3 day old baby kitties.

What's Wrong With So Many Young Adults Today??

Something came to my attention this morning that makes me so mad I could spit! The attitude of so many young people nowadays frustrates me to no end.

Wasn't there a time when someone who made it through high school by the skin of their teeth was grateful for a job?

Now, I know not ALL young people are like this. Some are being raised right and have good values and work ethic. But, I have to admit that I am seeing this trend of entitlement more and more. I'm trying to raise mine with a good attitude. I sure hope they don't turn out like little snots.

What prompts an 18 year old, barely educated, new to the workforce, still living at home in a low(er) income rural area kid, to say, "F-you. I'm not sweating for $9 an hour?"

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME????? Seriously? Did I hear that right????

There are grown men here who are having to raise families on that, who are grateful just to have a job. What an ungrateful little brat! Oh my goodness.

People who actually make the sacrifice to go to school or learn a trade don't even get to start at the top of the ladder. What the hell did you do to deserve to? Hang out with your friends all night and sleep all day???? I guess I'm too old fashioned but I just don't see the logic. What has happened that so many people, young and old actually, think that they can have everything for nothing? How can you have the world without ever making any sacrifices and working hard?

True, there are some people in this world who SEEM to be getting a free ride. But the way I look at it, is it really free??? They've paid in some kind of way. We see alot of those people in the media. Look at the things that they do. The way they portray themselves. I'm sorry but I'd rather sweat and keep my soul than to sell it for a "free" ride.

The Beauty of Life

I read this quote from somewhere today and it really, really made me think.

"The beauty of life does not depend on how happy you are but on how happy others can be because of you."

As a Christian, as a wife and mother who strives to be that Titus 2/Proverbs 31 woman, this quote really speaks to me. It's even hard to write the feelings that I have about it. I have so many things going through my mind but am truly at a loss for words. I need to think about it some more.

Leave me a comment. Tell me what you think. What comes to your mind when you read and think about this quote??

One of My Favorite Places

We took Kaleb to Baton Rouge Saturday to celebrate his birthday. We went to the Rural Life Museum and to the BREC Zoo.

I'm sure you all know about zoos so I'm not going to bore you with that.

I'm going to tell you about one of my favorite places in the world. http://appl027.lsu.edu/rlm/rurallifeweb.nsf/index

I love, love, love this place. I would live there if I could. But, only if it were never dark. Bubba and I both agree that it might be kind of creepy in the dark.

These are all real places. People actually lived in these houses. Not all at this exact place. Alot were brought in from other places and they just put them together like a typical plantation but still.... They were once someone's home.

I don't know if it's because I'm such a history nut or if I've just studied the early Cajuns way too hard, but it's like I can imagine them there. I can almost feel them there around me.

If you ever have a chance to visit Baton Rouge, I highly recommend taking a couple of hours to walk around this awesome plantation.

I'll leave ya'll with some pictures.

This is the kitchen to one of the bigger Acadian houses. The kitchen was built away from the house back then.

Can you imagine having to wash your clothes with this stuff?

Or even worse, with this!

The School

The Church

Sugar Mill

A barn

Acadian House(this is the one that the kitchen goes to)

Just another day.......

So the oral surgery went fine. He bounced back quick. He doesn't let himself stay down for anything. By today, his mouth is sore and the inside of his lips are a bit irritated from the bars.

He traded in his rubberbands for wires today. The doctor lied. It's not anymore comfortable than it was before! lol He's actually having a harder time eating now than he was before. He has to go back once a week from now until the time he's healed. Anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks. It's too soon to tell.

I do know that I will be the blended soup queen by the end of this! Last night he had a very yummy, creamy asparagus and chicken soup. He's not big on any of the nutritional drinks so I'm having to be creative. Did you know that plain yogurt and peaches in heavy syrup make an awesome smoothie???

On a different note, tomorrow is my boy's 10th birthday. He is so excited.

Instead of doing birthday presents we always do something fun. This year he decided that he wants to go to the zoo. He's been planning his day for several weeks now. The weather is supposed to be good......but hot! So long as everybody remains healthy we'll have a fun day. We'll have to remember to pack up daddy's blended smoothies and soups so he'll have something to eat for the day.

Oral Surgery......

How fun! Bubba goes in tomorrow to have his jaw repaired.

Think of me please.

Do you realize I have to put up with another 2 months of man whining???

Man whining is not cute. Especially when your not allowed to whine back.

I think he'll get really grouchy not being able to eat real food. It's already getting to him.

Maybe I should have my jaw wired shut while I'm there?? ;-)

I'll update tomorrow.

My Poor Husband

So, I blogged Friday about my feelings on softball. Well, wouldn't you know it. That same night, the dreaded thing happened. Bubba got hurt. Ugh....

So now I have a husband with a concussion, a broken jaw, a broken tooth and split gums.

This man is the most accident prone person. I should have known it would happen sooner or later. I know it was an accident and I didn't give him a hard time. I would never bully him into not doing something he loves just because he might get hurt. Not something like softball especially. It's not supposed to be dangerous! lol

Anyway, I had words with my mother over this situation Saturday morning. She was more worried about wether or not he'd be able to go to work than if he was ok. She's of the mind that you rule your man with an iron fist. Make him sit in a recliner 24 hours a day (unless ya'll are getting stupid drunk somewhere) as to not be exposed to any kind of potential injury in case, God forbid, he can't go to work and pay YOUR bills!!!! ***GASP***

Even if Bubba couldn't go to work, I would not turn to her to pay my bills so this makes it her business how????

And for the record, he DID go to work. After we got back from the hospital we slept for about 3 hours and he got up and went did some work for a senior couple in town because he knew they'd be waiting on him. I begged him not to but he did anyway. I sent Kaleb with him just in case. He could at least call me or 911 or something if he needed to. He ended up coming home within a couple of hours and going back to bed but still. It takes alot to keep this man down. He keeps me on my toes that's for sure. I just don't know what I'm going to do with him. It's a good thing he's so cute and I love him so much. ;-)