Proud moments!

OK, y'all know that Stacey and the boys came for a week long visit up here and if you've been following our activites on Facebook, you know that we've been really busy. In fact I think I might still be recovering from all the fun. But before I share all the fun, I have to share this story. I was cleaning up today from the visit. Cleaning sheets, vacumming, cleaning the bathroom, etc. As I was taking down the chart that I made especially for thier visit it hit me. This thing actually worked! Lemme give you the details.

Long before the visit I decided that I needed to set some "Aunt Cissy's House Rules" and go over them with the boys once they arrived. I knew that there might be some rules that I would have and enforce that Stacey might not have set up in their house, so I put together the chart. I get comments all the time like, "You don't have kids, you don't know what it's really like." Maybe not, but I do know one thing...Jo Frost. AKA-The Super Nanny! I love that show and think that she has no-nonsense advise and tips. I know that she is always talking about "Reward Charts". So I added rewards to my House Rules list and this is what I got: Pretty good kids. Perfect kids? Nah! Didn't think that would happen, but the rules stuck while they were here. That is all an Aunt Cissy can ask for!

Two of my big things were no screaming in the house and always do good towards the animals. In fact, screaming, for me, was an automatic time out. The first time Nicholas screamed just to scream Aunt Cissy said, "1-2-3, Time Out!" and pointed to the pre-determined mat. No fussing, Nico sat down and waited for his "release". Henry, got one too shortly after that. And if memory serves, I think Nico had zero more (in the house) and Henry only one more (in the house).
The rewards I set up were either very low or NO cost rewards like: help Uncle Charles with the burning barrel, help Aunt Cissy decorate the house for Halloween, take a hike to the wind turbines, star watching with Uncle Charles, make ice cream with Aunt Cissy, game night, you-pick-dinner night or the very popular cash to spend at the candy store. Actually the most popular reward was the burning barrel. Charles didn't believe me beforehand, but I was right! They both picked that one first! Too funny!
So the rewards were for excellent behavior and/or extra help around the house. Nico figured this out right away and whenever I called out, "Who wants to help Aunt Cissy?" he was right there saying, "ME!" Every time I loaded or unloaded the dishwasher he was there. Whenever I had stuff to put away he was there. Whenever I had a house chore to do he was there. So he earned more rewards than Henry who was way more interested in video games or cartoons than helping out! But Nico sure "got it"!
On outings they were reminded about earning rewards and mostly would modify behavior to work on those rewards. Both of them lost and then re-earned a reward when they were pretty bad on an outing, but all-in-all, I am pretty proud to say that it worked!

What I learned: House Rules are very important, but consistency and follow through are key. Reward Charts are very useful tools. But, note to self, make sure that you create and set up "Car Rules". D'oh!

Important News on Women's Health Issues

* Do you have feelings of inadequacy?
* Do you suffer from shyness?
* Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?
* Do you suffer exhaustion from the day to day grind?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist about Margaritas.

Margaritas are the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident about yourself and your actions. Margaritas can help ease you out of your shyness and let you tell the world that you're ready and willing to do just about anything. You will notice the benefits of Margaritas almost immediately and with a regiment of regular doses you can overcome any obstacles that prevent you from living the life you want to live. Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past and you will discover many talents you never knew you had.

Stop hiding and start living, with Margaritas.

Margaritas may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use Margaritas. However, women who wouldn't mind nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it.

Side effects may include:
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Incarceration
- Erotic lustfulness
- Loss of motor control
- Loss of clothing
- Loss of money
- Table dancing
- Headache
- Dehydration
- Dry mouth
- And a desire to sing Karaoke

WARNINGS:
* The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you are whispering when you are not.
* The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.
* The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to think you can sing.
* The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting.

Please share this with other women who may need Margaritas.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

(Photo to come tomorrow when I have company over eating it!)

Here is your directive my foodie friends: If you do not already own an ice cream maker, go directly to your local WalMart and get one. They have the small(ish) Rival ones on special for about $20. $25 at the most. It will be a fantastic investment, I promise! Then get the ingredients to make this ice cream. Double the recipe if you are smart.

Homemade ice cream is so lovely, that it should be harder than this to make. But here you go, a simply divine cinnamon creation! The recipe calls it "ice cream", but I beg to differ. Mine turned out like custard.

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com and it has a 4 1/2 (out of 5) star rating with 243 people writing reviews!

1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I used the Pampered Chef "Cinnamon Plus" which has a bit of nutmeg in it)

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the sugar and half-an-half. When the mixture begins to simmer, remove from heat, and whisk half of the mixture into the eggs. Whisk quickly so that the eggs do not scramble. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, and stir in the heavy cream. Continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside to cool. (I put mine in the freezer until it was cool enough.)

Pour cooled mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufactures instructions. (If you are using the Rival, the smart machine will actually stop it's own self when it is done!!)

Enjoy!!

(Stole this from an email...)

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans..

5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.


CONCLUSION:
Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

JEN'S CONCLUSION:
My sister started losing tons of weight when she started taking French classes. Hummm....do you think ManU offers French for Dummies!?

A family of Nay-sayers!

I'm here to tell you that I married into a family of Nay-sayers. That's right, those negative folks who are contrary and contradictory when presented with evidence they don't really believe.

Case in point: The changing of leaves in Pennsylvania. IE: FALL

The evidence: Photographic, 'cause that's very good proof indeed!

Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:

How it all went down: Last year in early September I noticed some leaves changing color in the front yard. I am a Florida native and had not yet witnessed the changing of leaves. I noticed these leaves and mentioned to Charles (gleefully, I might add) that I spotted some leaves changing. Without even glancing at said leaves, he replied, "Nah. It's too early for that." Disappointed, I still watched those leaves and soon there were more in the same spot. I approached Charles again and asked him to look for himself. He did and remarked once again, "Too early." Not buying it I snapped a photo (Exhibit A) and presented this to my Facebook friends who all quickly called Charles a moron. Well, they were kinder than that, but I am taking an artistic licence here. The date stamp on that photo is August 11th. We watched that area change colors throughout the fall and the spot that I had seen first actually HAD been Fall leaves starting to go early. Finally a month later and after many "told-you-so's" from yours truly, he admitted that he was wrong and those leaves were changing color.
Fast forward to a visit from the in-laws. Date of arrival, oddly enough, August 11th. We are driving around town and I spot some of those same trees (Exhibit B) from our yard that had turned early last year and (once again, gleefully) point these out to my in-laws. Johnnie, Charles' mom, quickly points out to me that, "They are not changing. It's too early." Hummm...I've heard this one before. I politely explain that this particular tree had done the same thing around the same time last year. She simply wasn't buying it. See, she grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, and their trees didn't turn this early. Well, I try to reason that they might not have had this particular tree on or near their farm. Nope. Still I was wrong. But, unlike Charles she provided scientific evidence that I was wrong. Some trees are fragile and die off. Or perhaps it was exhaust from passing trucks. It all sounded good to her as a rebuttal to my theory. But when we kept seeing trees with not only brownish leaves, but yellow, orange and then fiery red her science was failing! Sorry, but evidence is evidence. Finally after many "look at that tree"'s from me said in my best "told-you-so" tone of voice she finally admitted that I might be right. I think it took the wisdom-filled voice of her very clever son to convince her, when he said, "Mom. Jen's right."

Moral of the story: You may have been raised as a "Nay-sayer", but good old-fashioned evidence and being married to an "I-told-you-so"er will quickly re-learn 'ya!

Tioga Fair

Charles and I missed going to the Tioga Fair last year and from the fun we had this year, I wish that we hadn't. It is a week long, classic state fair. There are the 4H exhibits, Grange exhibits, a midway, rides, food vendors and all the rest. This year, we were only able to go once and we waited until Charles' mom & dad came up for a visit. We looked over the event list and we all settled on the Demolition Derby. We made our plans for the day, and since Johnnie wasn't feeling all that great, she had to skip our day of fun. We had hoped that she would feel better by the time the derby started, but she didn't and GL didn't want to go without her. So it became a "date night" for Charles and me! We had a blast! The weather was spectacular. Cool, not chilly. There was so much to do and see. Imagine the movie State Fair with the classic livestock pens, the food vendors, the auctions, the tents full with food entries, etc. You get the idea. The two things that stood out from the movie-there were the campers and RVs set up for folks who drove from far and wanted to stay right there and there was no band to dance to. There were plenty of bands, but I just remember from that movie the romance of the dancing in the evening. Oh, well. I was happy...there was polka music!
Next year we have promised ourselves that we'll buy week passes and go as much as we can. Maybe, just maybe I'll enter something in one of the contests!
Gentlemen....Start your engines!! They crashed, spewed mud, sparked, smoked, rammed, got caught on logs, had red flags waved at them, lost pieces of their cars, stalled...but most of all were cheered on by screaming fans!
There were all kinds of competitions and of course, I was loving the canning competition. Just wish that I had seen it in action and not just on display. There were some pretty cool entries...
Veggies. Quilts. Jams, jellies, pickles, etc. Goats. PS-Goats LOVE Charles!! And I'm pretty sure Charles loved them back!
Flowers. So cute in an antique, blue bottle!
Best in Show! This pumpkin and blue ribbon reminded me of a "State Fair" replica that they have in Disney World. It is so funny to see that there is still true Americana out there and not just "replicated" versions!
To ride or not to ride that is the question. We decided to act our age and not go on any of the rides. HA Not really, we just didn't feel like going on anything. Heck! Maybe we were acting our age, 'cause I can remember my mom and dad sitting rides out when we kids went on. Yikes! We ARE old!!
Charles checks out the midway. I really wanted him to win me something dorky, but neither of us really felt like playing any games. Funnel Cake. For me an essential for any fair!!

Although Fried Oreos could be interesting....

Puts things in perspective

This is from an email that Charles sent me the other day. This is so cool!

This is fascinating-it's rather dazzling to see it presented this way.

I CERTAINLY THOUGHT THIS WAS ENLIGHTENING.
BEYOND OUR SUN IT'S A BIG UNIVERSE.

ANTARES IS THE 15 TH BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE SKY. IT IS MORE THAN 1000 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.

NOW, HOW BIG ARE YOU?

NOW, TRY TO WRAP YOUR MIND AROUND THIS....

THIS IS A HUBBLE TELESCOPE ULTRA DEEP FIELD INFRARED VIEW OF COUNTLESS 'ENTIRE' GALAXIES BILLIONS OF LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.
BELOW IS A CLOSE-UP OF ONE OF THE DARKEST REGIONS OF THE PHOTO ABOVE.
HUMBLING, ISN'T IT?

NOW,HOW BIG ARE YOU?

AND HOW BIG ARE THE THINGS THAT UPSET YOU TODAY?


KEEP LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE.