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If you're curious about the random ramblings of a redheaded mom whose goal is to take over the world by producing a bunch of redheaded minions, then stop and by and take a read! Heck, if I actually get enough people reading and commenting here I might throw out some Merit Badges, Awardicons, or GPs. 
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Seems the further we get into the year, the slower I get with writing. Still, I managed to get most of May's Goals accomplished.  June To Do:  Write a story for "Invalid Item"    Read and report on at least 4 books at "52 in 52" . Enter "I Write in 2018" once every week. Pick a contest at "The Contest Challenge" and enter. There's chocolate at "Holiday Short Story Contest - closed" ! STILL need an origin story for the Masked Momster at "Invalid Item" Anything else I'm able to enter will be gravy! |
I find a moment when the kids are playing nicely and sit in front of this white screen. And wait. And wait. And wait. I have ideas for stories but no matter how hard I try to let them flow from brain to fingertip, they refuse to be jostled loose! I still have to write something so I can enter I Write this week. I still need to get a story done for 12-in-12. And there goes the baby crying again. Just when I thought she was down for the night. Looks like another day passes without writing anything... |
 I was perusing the interwebz the other day and the idea of blogging for money caught my attention. I knew people did that—made money from blogging. But I was perplexed as to how. So I did a little research and I'm still a little confused. It seems it basically comes down to how many people you can get to come to your blog. And ads. I hate ads. Especially when they pop up in the middle of something I'm reading. However...if I could make 1000 bucks a month blogging? Ads would be my new best friend! The only problem is I don't know if I could keep up with a blog. Here at WDC, despite my best efforts, I only get a few posts a month written. And what would I actually talk about? What would draw people in? How do I advertise? How do I get advertisers? Ug. Part of me thinks that the risk isn't that big. It's, what? $5 a month to run a blog? I could test it out and see what happens. But then the other part of me is afraid of failing and, of course, it's a job. And I already have a job homeschooling, cleaning, cooking, sewing... I'll have to think about this some more. Have you thought about blogging for money? Do you already blog for money? Have you been successful? |
 May Goals   I felt so sloooow last month. I never got a story into the Historical Fiction, Holiday, or Sci-fi contest. Nuts. That last one especially got to me since I've written a story every month since it started. It was my own, personal goal to enter something there, every month. However, it was down to the last minute and while I had an idea for that contest, I couldn't get it down!  On the plus side, I won a the Writer's cramp twice. Woohoo! Soooooo... To Do: Write a story for "Invalid Item" Teleport a story into "The Science Fiction Short Story Contest" Create a script for "The Monthly Script Writing Contest" Pick a contest to enter at "The Contest Challenge" Enter a little something at "Invalid Item"  Shoot a photo into "WDC Photo Contest"  Read and report on 4 books at "52 in 52" Enter "I Write in 2018" once every week. Write something for "Invalid Item" Pick a badge and write at "Merit Badge Projects" — Not running this month.I've also got a NEW contest I started called "Invalid Item" . Every week I throw out a prompt based off of something a person would see in the newspaper. And LJ, Abby Gayle, and I are brewing up a BIG idea for summer...more on that later!Personal Goals:  Trying to lose weight. I'm just eating less and trying to get more active without hurting my back more. Goal: Lose 15 pounds by Baby G's first birthday (July!). This is the last month for "official" school and then we'll have 3 months off! This mama is ready for a lesson break! Goal: Make it through the next 20 days without pulling my hair out, screaming, and running like a mad-man down the street! Get the chicken coop torn down. I worked on it some today. Used a screwdriver and dismantled some of the framework that the guys in the family said couldn't be taken down without a sledgehammer. My hands are sore but it's getting done!! Goal: Have the coop down and out by the end of May.Let's see how this month turns out! Ready...set...GO! |
| Oy, this is awful. Have I really let 20 days slip away without writing here? Yikes! Welp, things have happened, as they often do when days and days and days pass:  I sold our chickens. Turns out, the city requires a backyard inspection and a $50 fee to keep chickens. Not a huge deal except that our backyard is NOT ready for visitors. We're tearing down an old crappy chicken coop (pun intended!) and the shed needs siding, so it looks pretty horrendous right now. We don't have a lawnmower (yet) so we're currently wading through a jungle out there.Which is why I wanted a sheep or a goat. Or both. One to mow the grass and the other to mow down the blackberries that are starting to grow. I normally love blackberries and at our old house we had a huge bush of'em. My daughter used to pick them and sell the berries, in fact. However, these blackberries are growing in the middle of the yard and that is unacceptable. To have a goat or sheep (or both) we're back to getting permission from the city and paying that fee. I've also discovered that our backyard isn't big enough for a backyard farm unless we dry lot the animals...and that could be expensive. Right now we're trying to save money for sensible things like energy efficient windows, siding, and better wiring for the house. So no goats, sheep, or chickens until we're able to fling money into the wind. Sheesh. I would SO love to win the lottery about now! Had my birthday! Since I sold the chickens Mathman got me couch and loveseat, instead of a chicken coop. We've desperately been needing more seats for all the rears in the family, so I was thrilled with the furniture! Homeschooling is close to closing. Only 1 month and a couple of state testing left and the kids will have summer off. Well, off from worksheets, etc. They'll still have projects to do: sewing, building, creating, swimming lessons, etc.Of course, I'm already prepping projects and lessons for the 2018/2019 school year. After a couple of months of the whole family being healthy (quite a feat for a large family like ours!), the kids caught a cold. Dang it! We're still in the midst of sneezing and snot-worms. Lovely image, eh? Another birthday has come for one of the redheaded minions kids! They're all growing so fast!! (sniff-sniff!)Well, I need to get my goals ironed out. I'll probably post'em tomorrow. And hopefully I won't be so tired and lazy that I can't keep up with this blog! |
** Image ID #2155155 Unavailable ** Two of my redheaded minions recently had birthdays. I always get a little...overexcited...when it comes to birthdays. I want to buy them everything they've squealed about for the past year. I usually end up spending too much money but it's worth it, wrapping those presents and watching the glow in the eyes of the birthday boy or girl. They love everything they open. Until the next day. And then, all of a sudden, the glow is gone. The new baby doll or Batman figurine lays discarded on the floor. "Pick up your toys," I tell them. "We don't want to," they whine back. "We don't like this toy anymore!" Really? After less than 24 hours you're done with this toy? Sheesh, I remember getting toys when I was young. I cherished them. Appreciated them. Played with them until they broke or got lost. Needless to say, I'm a bit peeved at the ungrateful attitude of some of my kids. And the more I think about it, the more I realize something needs to change! So instead of a pile of presents I think we'll tone it down to one special gift. I'll also be adding a certain amount of moolah to their savings account and I'm debating about putting "x" amount of dollars into a Family Birthday Fund. We never have the money to go on vacation as a family, so this could give us the funds we need to do at least one special thing together every year. And, of course, they'll get  and  .Any other ideas on how to simplify birthdays and/or create a more appreciative attitude in children? |
48-HOUR CHALLENGE: Media Prompt  In Your Arms by Kina Grannis  I listened to this song three times. The first time I was too caught up with the graphics to really hear the words. The second time I was halfway through the song, listening with my eyes closed so I wouldn't get distracted, and had to pause so my kids could watch the video. The third time I finally got to hear the lyrics.  288,000 jellybeans were used to make the video! That's a lotta beans! I wonder, did they eat them all after? Donate them? Save them for future videos? As to the actual song, I really enjoyed the sound of Miss Grannis' voice. My first thoughts were not so much romantical notions toward another human being, but meeting Jesus in a park and being held by Him. Forever. Also, maybe it's just my ears but it sounds like she's saying, "Anything for the garden". I know, I know. It's "anything we've forgotten" but still...! I'm probably going to sing it wrong forever, now that it's stuck in my head! |
** Image ID #2154346 Unavailable ** Last Saturday the redheaded minions kiddos and I let our 9 chicks outside for the first time in their lives. They're somewhere around 6-8 weeks old, so it was time. Although a bit leery about the grass and the big, wide world, they seemed to be enjoying snapping up bugs and scratching in the dirt until my 3-year-old got it in his head to try to "catch" them. Off they ran, squawking and fluttering their gawky little wings — right through the wire fence in our backyard! Nooooo! I didn't realize they were still small enough to fit through those gaps. With help from the minions kids, we rounded up 6 of the ladies. One frantic chick paced back and forth on the wrong side of the fence before flying over the wire, back to her friends. That brought us to 7 of our original 9 chickens. The other two disappeared into a tangle of blackberries and ivy. I warned our neighbor about the escapees and was promised their return, should they show up for a visit. But I didn't expect them to be found. I figured the raccoons or feral cats would get'em. Or maybe they'd reveal themselves to a homeless person and become dinner. A day passed. I kept hearing the cheeping of a chick but assumed it was one of the 7 down in the basement. Every now and again one of the chicks would get noisy for no explainable reason. Except...it sounded like the noise was coming from the front door. Minion, er, Child A opened said door and, lo and behold, one of the chicks was on the front porch! I immediately snatched her up and carted her downstairs to her mates, where they surrounded her and listened to her frantic chirping. I could just imagine the story she was telling them about surviving all night long in the great outdoors. Alone. We were back to 8 chickens. The next day (a little less than 48 hours later), my 3-year-old, F, looks out the glass partition on our front door and says. "Mama. Me. See. Chicken." I jump up and race out to find chicken #9 darting under our van. With a bit of finagling (this hen didn't really want to be captured again), Child F helped to grab her before she could run back into the blackberries and ivy. Our prodigal chickens had returned! Now what gets to me is, how did they know where their home was? They'd never been outside except the day they'd gotten loose. And they'd NEVER been in the front! Yet, somehow, they seemed to know where they were supposed to live! Was it instinct? Could they sense the other chicks were nearby? Or was it coincidence? What do YOU think? |
Last month felt so slow and I kept thinking I wasn't accomplishing much, writing-wise. Yet, when I look at March's Goal List, I see otherwise. I checked off everything except: Writing a story for Thrice Prompted (it seems this contest has "ceased to be"...wonder what happened?) Cliff Hanger Contest Writer's Cramp. I tried entering twice but didn't win. I was so busy with other contests, even when I saw an interesting prompt at the Cramp, I could never find the time to enter anything after those two attempts. I didn't blog as much as I intended. Dick Casey's current tale is still untold.On the flip side, I got a story into "Invalid Item" , one story at "Invalid Item" , a poem at "Invalid Item" , a "tweet story" at "Invalid Item" , a story at "Adaptive Writers Contest " , and another poem for "The PET NEWS CONTEST" !Whew! I was busier than I thought I was! April To Do: Write a story for "Invalid Item" Write a script for "The Monthly Script Writing Contest" Go down with the ship at "Historical Fiction Short Story Contest" 5 stories for "Invalid Item" Dick Casey story for LJ (also use as 1 of Fistful stories) Enter "I Write in 2018" once every week.  Read and review 4 books at "52 in 52" Enter "Holiday Short Story Contest - closed" Beam a story into "The Science Fiction Short Story Contest" Anything extra will be the frosting on the cake. Speaking of which, April is my BIRTHDAY MONTH Woohoo! My daughter already gave me a gift: a WDC SuperPower Reviewer signature that she drew herself.   And Mathman let it slip that he's getting me a chicken coop for our chickens. Yay! I'm getting a tad tired of hosting the hens in the basement. They gossip waaaaay too much down there and their hygiene leaves much to be desired... All write. Time to get crackin' on these goals! |
 This last month, in an attempt to force the family into eating healthier, I bought a butternut squash. Being the procrastinator that I am, the poor gourd sat on the counter for a couple of weeks until one of the kids carted it out to the living room and started treating it like a baby doll. "Look, mom! It's Jimmy Gourd from VeggieTales!" Hmmm. I whipped out a permanent marker, gave ole Jimmy a face, and then the fun really began. Someone brought out a somewhat squishy tomato and transformed it into Bob. They had a blast playing with the food until someone decided to turn Jimmy into a soccer ball and I had to end the game. That night, I finally got around to slicing Jimmy into pieces, tossing him into a pan, and eventually blending him into a butternut squash. The kids were thrilled that I was "cooking Jimmy". We sat down to dinner, giggling over the gourd's demise, and discovered that butternut squash sauce is rather disgusting. The meal was an utter failure. But, hey, at least we got a bit of entertainment from the vegetable fruit before it was slaughtered.  Fun Fact: Pumpkins, gourds, and squash are all considered fruits, not veggies! So, technically, Jimmy and Jerry Gourd shouldn't be on VEGGIEtales, right?So, who is YOUR favorite VeggieTale character? |
...spit it out! I've been having the hardest time trying to switch our family over to eating healthier. I know we have inflammation issues. I also know that some of my redheaded minions kids are triggered by things like wheat — Fun fact: Did you know gluten can cross the blood brain barrier and that the proteins in wheat are converted into shorter proteins, “polypeptides,” called “exorphins", and that those exorphins act like an opiate?— and sugar — Fun fact quote: “Research shows that sugar can be even more addicting than cocaine,” says Cassie Bjork, R.D., L.D., founder of Healthy Simple Life. “Sugar activates the opiate receptors in our brain and affects the reward center, which leads to compulsive behavior, despite the negative consequences like weight gain, headaches, hormone imbalances, and more.” — but despite the countless hours I've spent online looking for "wheat and sugar free, kid friendly meals", I can't seem to find anything that the minions kids find appetizing. Even the stuff that looks good to me ends up tasting, well, blah. Not to mention that with seven underlings kids, each with their own taste buds and picky habits, it's nigh on impossible to find a recipe that everyone will eat. sigh. Everything I've tried — Paleo, The Whole30, Grain Free — they all cost soooo much in ingredients. And then nobody will eat what I've made. They'd rather starve. What does that say about these so-called "diets"? So I think I'm going to just cut out as much wheat as possible and try to limit the sugar — Fun fact: We're celebrating two birthdays tomorrow so bring on the sugar-loaded cake and cartons of ice cream! — and incorporate as many fruits and veggies as I can into simpler meals (which, oddly enough, is the type that the minions gush about). Now if I can just calculate how many fresh fruits and veggies we need for the week without them going bad. . . |
Well, I haven't achieved any of my goals yet this month. I've tried entering the Writer's Cramp twice but struck out both times.  So sad. I'm working on my 12-in-12 story but it's taking a lot longer than I thought it would to get it done. On the other hand, I entered a poem into "Invalid Item" and a short story at "The Dialogue 500" . My activity, Alien Invasion! ends on  St. Paddy's Day so maybe I won't be as distracted from writing. Though I suspect it's real life that's keeping me from being able to sit and write. As for real life, I'm trying to figure out which is cheaper: building a chicken coop for our 9 soon-to-be-hens or saving some time and energy and buying a small shed for them. I found a plastic shed online that would be the perfect size. It looks nice and has a door, window, and a vent for air flow. All I'd have to do is put in some nesting boxes and roosts and we'd be set. We have birthdays coming up this month for two of the redheaded minions kids. Lots of presents, cake, and ice cream to anticipate! |
I've recently found some of our fruit sliced in half or stabbed and left for dead on the kitchen counter. Kiwi, oranges, lemons...  Nectarines have been slaughtered and apples have been impaled. There can be only one logical explanation: I have an infestation of Fruit Ninjas! |
 I am having the hardest time getting anything written so far this month. Well, besides grocery lists or the occasional blog post here. It seems every time I sit down to write, someone gets hurt or is hungry or I have to add another log to the fire or...or...or! It doesn't help that my husband, Mathman, is recovering from an injury caused by the villainous villain, Bursitis. Since he can't walk, much less fly, due to that foul evil-doers evil touch, he's missed several days of work. I've had to take Mathman to SuperDoc several times and the redheaded minions kids and I have been running back and forth fetching ice packs, drugs, or food for him. I don't mind pampering him. It wasn't too long ago that I was bedridden and in pain (thanks a lot Sciatica!  ). He never complained when I poked him awake at 3am to get me meds because I was about to die from the pain. Mathman was patient for the entire 5 months it took me to recover. And when I had a flare-up several months later that had me back in bed for 6 weeks, he cheerfully took up my mantle and became both dad and mom until I could walk again.But I digress. Besides Mathman being home during the day, our routine is basically the same. So why is this month different than February or January? Why can't I get one blankety-blank story written? Gah! I'm starting to suspect my list of goals for the month might have been too ambitious! |
 I don't play the lottery but I often imagine what it might be like to win the jackpot. I have a list of things I'd do with such a payload: Start a couple of businesses. Create a scholarship fund for over-30 fathers that want to go back to school. Buy each of my siblings a house. Random acts of kindness. Big ones. Host skill-contests for kids to earn money.There's more but the list would be ridiculously long... Yesterday I had a new idea: A get-together for folks here at WDC!! If I had a million dollars, I could rent a hotel for a weekend. If I had a million dollars, I could buy plane tickets for WDC members and one guest to fly out. If I had a million dollars, I could pay for transportation to and from the hotel, catered food, and a bit of "mad money". If I had a million dollars, we could have our own live writing contests with physical prizes. We could chat and gab (or stare awkwardly at each other) and drink (or not) and eat (or not) and get to know each other face-to-face. Alas, I don't have a million dollars and odds are, I never will. But if I did, I would gladly blow a good chunk of it on y'all! Tell me one GRAND idea you'd implement if you had a million dollars and earn 1000 GPs. If I get at least 5 ideas, I'll put y'all's name in a drawing and hand out a "Finance" Merit Badge to one lucky winner! |
| Well, our adventure into the Whole30 has come to an abrupt halt. Our first day "on" I messed up twice on accident--there was sugar in my chewable vitamin D and sugar in the ketchup I slathered over my meatloaf. Today I realized, as I looked into the fridge and basically found a bag of carrots (the kids had eaten 'most everything else in the house!), that not only did I need to go to the grocery store (again!) but I needed to have a menu plan or this Whole30 thing was never going to work. So we're a no-go until I get this thing figured out. Which, hopefully, will be soon. We have a lot of issues to cure, here! |
GOALS! Yeah, yeah. Y'all will probably find this boring. But this is my way to keep track of what I want to do here, so there! Last month I was nearly successful in completing all my goals. There were just a couple of bumps in the road: I technically only won 4.5 times at the Writer's Cramp and I never found the time to enter Thrice Prompted. sigh. So much to do and so little time! On the flip side, I entered a rant essay into "The 4 Controversies Contest" , a story at "Mumsy's 3 Day Yellow Celebration Contest" , an, um, drabbleat "Invalid Item" , and a poem at "Word Pictures Contest" ! All-in-all, I'd consider February a successful month! Now, on to: March! This month I'm in charge of:  "Character Flaws Contest" (Contest) "Daily Snapshot" (Activity) Alien Invasion! (Activity) "Invalid Item" (Contest)I also donated a package to "The Four Seasons Auction and Raffle" so I'll want to peek over every now and again and see how things are going.Writing Goals: Write a story for "Invalid Item" Write a script for "The Monthly Script Writing Contest" Enter "Invalid Item" Post a story and review every week at "I Write in 2018" Get at least one story into Thrice Prompted - cancelled? Enter the "Historical Fiction Short Story Contest" Blast a story into the "The Science Fiction Short Story Contest" Earn a badge at "Merit Badge Projects" Win at least 5 times at "The Writer's Cramp" Write a Dick Casey story for LJ! Read and report on 5 books at "52 in 52" Blog at least 3x a week!Personal Stuff  Starting today, March 1, (most) of the family and I are jumping into The Whole30. The little kids will still get cheese (at least until it runs out) but Mathman, the three eldest kiddos, and myself will be trying to lesson the amount of inflammation in our bodies and improve our health via Whole30.I'll be using this blog to keep myself accountable. It's sooooo easy to slip and have a cup of hot cocoa or snack on a cheesestick or to just give up entirely. But! I need to take every precaution to keep my sciatica at bay and cutting the crap from my diet will probably help lose the stubborn poundage that Baby G helped me pack on, so onward we go into that dark night! Get the redheaded minions kids on a stricter schedule! This means I will have to get up earlier (ug) and drag them out of bed (double ug). But in the long run, I think it will be worth it. Especially if I'm going to have to cook breakfast this month (thanks to Whole30) instead of tossing cereal at their mouths!  Get a coop built for the special ladies we're holding captive in the basement...I'm talking about our , folks. Sheesh! |
I bite my thumb at thee, foul student loans, and with one broad strike of my sword I vanquish thee from my hearth and home!  After eleven long years our student loan debt is gone. We slaughtered, burned, and buried it so that not a single piece will remain in our lives. Now comes the fun part: paying off our mortgage. sigh. The debt never ends! |
 Our home stays warm with a good 'ol fashioned fireplace. I love watching the flames flicker and dance behind the glass. My redheaded minions kids and I "ooh" and "ahh" as the blaze changes from orange to blue or green and back to yellow. Fire is beautiful. It's also hard to get started! Every evening we pile on what we pray is enough logs to keep the fire alive until morning. And every morning I find myself desperately searching for an ember or two to get the fire going again, while the children huddle under blankets and wait for me to become successful in my mission. After ten to thirty minutes of babying that greedy maw with kindling, loose papers, and logs, I can usually get the thing roaring again. Not yesterday. Or today. (Thankfully the last two days haven't been too cold!) This evening, with help from my hero husband, Mathman, we finally got a fire started...and kept it going! And as I stared into the hungry flames I wondered...why is it when you want to get a fire going, the flames ignore the chunks of wood and die out; but when you don't want a fire, the flames eagerly grab hold of the nearest flammable object and burn your house down? Elements! They're so fickle! |
My redheaded minions children are ever-so-slowly becoming competent little people. That fact hit home today when the wooden toy kitchen I ordered for our 6-year-old arrived in the mail today. Of course, assembly was required and, of course, I'm horrible with an electric drill. So I asked my 11-year-old son to put the kitchen together.  He was happy to comply...especially since it meant he could put aside his math and grammar lessons! Hey, shop is a class, too! With his 8-year-old brother as his "nurse", he spent the next hour or so following the directions and piecing the project together. He hit a snag, at one point, that forced him to wait until dad could get home from work and exert some brute, caveman strength. But after that, he was able to continue on his own. And now his sister (and the other kiddos who're totally enamored with the kitchen) can cook up a storm! Between his growing carpentry skills and his ability to prepare meals, I'll soon be out of a job! Ah, the benefits of training kids to be helpful members of the pack family is finally starting to pay off! |
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