This is the only word I can come up with to adequately describe my thoughts today.

I got the e mail we have been waiting for, yet once I saw it in my inbox, I nearly deleted it.  If I ignored it , it “might” go away???  no, I had to open it, and it had my daughters Job Corps start date in it.

{sigh}

Monday September 14.

again  {sigh}

I guess that means we have about 16 days to have FUN before we need to get down to business.   I have the ultimate faith in my daughter now, that she will do exactly what she promised  ”give it her best shot”.  I can not ask for more.

But then there are those days that she will not be home at 3:30, or late night after work or late night after being out with friends.   We can visit for hours at those special times!!!

{sigh}

But to see the rewards at the end of the ONE year commitment??  it would be SO worth it.  She will be ready to take on the world that she has been so anxious to jump right into!!

As my mother taught me so well.

“In the end, when it is all said and done, everything will be JUST FINE”

God bless her soul.  I want my OWN mom  here right now, so she can reassure me in person.  

Now……I have a going away party to plan, a few shopping days together,  and some other REALLY fun stuff to schedule in the next two weeks.

and my daughter is due home from a Friday night with her friends, and I want to be right here waiting for her.

Thanks for listening.

Does anyone remember last week when I said the Oskaloosa Herald was coming to interview me???  oh, heck who knows, maybe I was just thinking I told everyone, but actually didn’t .   I have been SO scattered lately (for good reason, of course) but it has been hectic here.

So, anyway, they did come interview me.  I was thinking, no problem, a little square blurp in the paper.  Who I am and what I am about, right??  no.  Instead a THREE page spread and the front page as well.   YIKES!!!!   ok.  I began to get suspicious when the gentleman needed to get “plenty of pictures”.  Now it all makes sense.

I know it may be hard (or impossible) for you out of town readers to actually READ it, but you get the idea.  :)    click on each image to see if  it is possible to enlarge them enough.  I am not sure.

I need to go back and read it all again for myself, for like…..the tenth time!!!  

{sigh}

front cover (LARGER than life) haha

Page 2

Page 3

Page 1

a new adventure awaits...

I have done an update on my son, with all his unique qualities when it comes to back-to-school shopping etc etc, now is my daughter turn.

We did our back to school shopping Round 2 this weekend, but with a little different twist.  She is venturing out  to try Job Corp and finish her high school education in a slightly unconventional way.  Fits her personality perfectly.  I have mentioned before, that she flies by the seat of her pants, and has never been afraid to try new things and meet new people.  To her, every stranger, is nothing but a potential friend.  :)     maybe we all need to have that attitude?

So, she will be leaving for Job Corp soon.  We do not have a specific date just yet, but it will more than likely be within the next couple weeks. Until then, she and I get to spend some quality time together as her brother is in school.  I will certainly treasure the time, and we do have some fun things planned before she goes.   She will be there about 12 to 18 months.

She will finish high school there, and begin some college courses at the same time.   I am getting a taste of sending a child off to college, but a few years earlier  than I had anticipated.  It is nothing short of bittersweet for me.  She will come home on weekends, or we will go visit her.  She will be living in a dorm, and experiences life away from home.  I hope and pray each day that it is a positive experience for her, and one that she will fully embrace.  We toured the campus a couple weeks ago, and left VERY impressed!!!!    I feel it is a good fit for her.   I loved everything about it, except that it is three hours away from us, but it is doable, as long as she (or I ) can get past the homesickness pangs, and there are SURE to be some of them.   {sigh}

If anyone has personal experience with Job Corp in any state, I would LOVE for you to e mail me directly. k.breuklander@mahaska.org my emotions would appreciate some reinforcement!!!

Now, with this house trying to get back to schedule, I need to turn in earlier than usual.  The school bus will be picking up my son at 7:48 am, promptly.  :)     I need to also be ready.

all this and more from owensacres.com (click on highlighted link below)

I gotta share this with you AGAIN.

For all that know me well, or have seen me out and about, KNOW full well how much Diet Vanilla Coke is consumed into my body in a days time.  Alot.  Trust me, it is too much for me to openly admit, but it was a LOT LOT LOT!!!!!!  enough to make most people sick, but not me, I would have preferred Coca-Cola over food anyday if given the choice.

Not to mention unhealthy, it was getting to be a very expensive habit / caffeine addiction.   Until I stumbled onto the world of Organic Tea thanks to Toni, my faithful blog reader!!!.

I am in LOVE with it.  I am HOOKED on it, I can not get enough of it!!!!  As far as vices go, this one is GOOD FOR ME!!!

It comes in a variety of “flavors” and “tastes”.  So many options how to prepare and enjoy it, and so easy to get it delivered right to your door.    Do you know how many rainy nights, snowy days I had to go to the convenience store to get a 12 pack of Coke???  many!!!!  or how many times my poor daughter went to get another 12 pack because I was out??   now, one  website visit, and Laura from OwensAcres has me all set up.

You MUST visit her.  She is wonderful and has the BEST customer service.   They even offer different teas to treat a variety of health concerns.   I have not looked too far into those YET, I was just looking for something that I actually like to drink besides Coca-Cola products.  I have certainly found it.

As a personal recommendation, some of my favorites are Summer Berry Bliss, Summer Sunset and Organic Sun Tea.   I drink all of these ICED.  Takes about 15 minutes to steep the loose tea through my copper strainer, cool, add ice and DELICIOUS!!!!

There will be another REALLY SPECIAL tea added soon.  I sent a combination of random ingredients to Laura at Owensacres , and she not only recreated the taste, she IMPROVED upon it!!!!!   I will alert everyone when it becomes available, but take my word, if you order Afaka tea, be sure to order plenty!!!!   you are gonna FALL IN LOVE with it.  100% delicious and VERY refreshing!!!  (and be sure to tell her that I sent you)

I am doing Round 2 of school shopping tomorrow.  Guaranteed to be a fun-filled day!!!!   and always ends with a visit to Olive Garden  :)

Have a great weekend!!

…and the winner is

“Jules”

Please send your shipping information to my e mail account  k.breuklander@mahaska.org

I will forward the info on to The Henkel Corp and ALL the supplies will be delivered straight to your front door.

CONGRATULATIONS   !!!!!!!!!!!

(and thanks to all who submitted the many many good words, to not only help to inspire myself, but all the other readers as well)

I will update later, but I just wanted to get this info out as soon as I could this morning.

it is here......

The day is upon us, and I will take entries THROUGH the entire day of August 19th and draw after midnight, which is NOT a problem for me.  My night is just getting started at midnight!!  

The 19th is actually a very big day for us.

I have the Laundry Soap drawing…..

We get the start date for my daughters school….anxiously awaiting that call.

And…. the local newspaper is coming to my house for an interview!!  An article is being done on Recession-proof living and someone gave them MY name!!!  imagine that.  haha.

Yes, it is a day full of events.  Watch for my update early morning on the 2oth.  (hopefully)

Get your favorite words submitted, time IS running out!!!!!!!

some Monday morning humor.. (click to enlarge and read all the details)

All good things must come to an end.  This summer is one of them.   I have thoroughly enjoyed the time at home with the kids, I really have, but I also know it is HIGH TIME to get this family back to a routine.  Even my son told me yesterday as we were labeling all his school supplies  ”Yeah, mom, it IS time”.

My own mother taught me that God has a reason for all his timing.  It is great to see summer break begin and it is nice to see it end as well.  There is a reason why God lets you have children while you are young, and there is a reason you can not have them too late in life.  Just a few examples of her many words of wisdom.

And the best thing my mother taught me?  at the end of the day, when all is said and done, everything WILL turn out “fine”.   I have to remind myself of this very often.  To have faith that all will be fine in the end.  Our big changes ahead regarding school is a perfect example.  My son will go on his way in a normal routine, as he is definitely a creature of habit in every sense of the word.

My daughter has a bigger challenge ahead of her as she will be going to a new school in an unconventional way, which really does suit her personality.   She being the more adventuresome child and  flies by the seat of her pants.  I am confident, just like my mother taught me, it will all turn out “fine”.

So, the image pretty much wraps up the humor my SON gives me each day.  I have to laugh as I looked at it. 90% of this image is HIM to a “T” . He is such a pack-rat, particular and full of quirks just like his mother!!!  You never quite know what will end up in his backpack!!!   and he will be equipped from head to toe on the first day of school!!   He will be ready and waiting 15 minutes before the bus arrives on the first day .

….and I will be ready as well.

the steeping process...

the concentrated form...

ready to chill and ENJOY...

My newest favorite drink!! 100% all natural, 100% certified organic leaf tea.  YUM  !!!   One of my blog readers (Toni) was so gracious and sent me some samples back when I posted that I was unable to make a decent glass of sun tea!!!  She hooked me up to the gal who sells this tea, and now I am completely hooked ON IT  !!!!!!

It is very easy to make and smells SO delicious and refreshing, it is simply unbelievable.  My daughter says just the smell of it, “makes me smile”  . (if you click on the last image, you can get a tiny glimpse of my hammock in the backyard!!)  that makes ME smile.  :)

Ok, back to the tea, it is sweetened in another natural way, by adding steeped raw Stevia leaves.   It is a sweetness like no other  (can also be sprinkled on fresh fruit / cereal etc)

You can find all the goodness and MORE  at www.owensacres.com  and tell them I (and Toni) sent you!!  :)

(remember, deadline for the laundry supply giveaway, is fast approaching August 19!!!)

myself in statue form...

This is literally how I feel tonight.   We shopped, we ate and we can consider the day a success.  I tried to multi-task, and this is the way I feel afterwards!!!   I should have known better.  I am a single-tasking sort of gal, and research DOES now prove that multi-tasking is NOT a good idea, and I agree.

For starters, I decided to get my car EXTENSIVELY serviced today while we were in Des Moines school shopping.  (FOUR hours worth of service work) which meant my son and I were dropped off at one point for FOUR hours.  That worked well for the 1/2 hour we were in the mall.  Other than that, we had to WALK everywhere we went.  Walking is good.  Right??  but not with new school supplies, salon supplies, new shoes, clothing and a new backpack!!!  and I think it HAD to be 100 degrees today with 100% humidity.  Right??  it certainly felt like it.  We walked for what seemed like MILES to go everywhere within walking distance and some places that should have NOT been considered walking distance.

And before all of this started, my son began the BIG day with taking his Learners Permit test.  He passed it.  Whew!!!  so……..I must be getting easier with age, but about 12 hours later and on the way home (on the interstate, mind you)  I finally told his he HAD to drive the rest of the way home.  My legs were cramping, restless leg and I think I have something severely wrong with my left foot (anyway that is a whole other story!!)….he had no choice.  He was flattered.  He has always had a very keen ability to drive most things, so he passsed MY test with flying colors!!!  He did a great job and we arrived home safe and sound.

Next weekend, I am going to do this all again, with my daughter and her best friend (might as well be another child of mine)     it will be a GREAT time, and this time…..we are going to have a vehicle the whole time!!!!

Good night.  I am TIRED.

I love this vintage- looking image. Especially the cello, which my son plays!! :)

Summer feels like it slipping out of my hands as I make this post.  {sigh}

I am not ready for it to end.  This has possibly ranked as one of the BETTER summers we have ever had.  What have we done???  really not much, or actually maybe we have done ALOT ?   alot of relaxing, enjoying each others company, and we have SIMPLY enjoyed all the unstructured days and unscheduled activities.  Maybe that is what I have been after all along, only looking in the wrong places?  who knows.  Either way, I am not certain I am ready for what lies ahead.

My son will be in his last year of Middle School this year, and my daughter will be going to a different school all together.  Many changes lie ahead for us.

So, tomorrow, I am diving straight in and beginning the Back to School routine.  Supplies, clothes, shoes, etc etc etc…….  I am taking turns with each child separately this year.  Cushions the shock factor a little  ($$$$)  as well as provides for some one on one time with them.  Amazing the conversation that can take place in the car together for a solid hour as we drive to Des Moines.  I love it.

and a stop at Olive Garden is our reward at the end of the day.  Yum.!!!!!!

Remember something else that is fast approaching???  the deadline for a YEARS supply of laundry soap ingredients!!!!   don’t hesitate if another (or more) special words come to your mind.  Who knows, I might even have a few to add after our shopping trip.  :)  hopefully they are good / positive ones.