Sayin Howdy There

First of all, Howdy Sherry. Yes, I remember you... and miss you I might add. I read the comment you placed about my blog. Thanks for the compliments. I actually will be adding to the 50. I didn't realize there was so much about me worth recording until I started doing it. (I'm such a humble person). By the way, I don't have heartburn as bad tonight so I won't be up all night.

Now to clarify a question about my last names. When I was married the first time I was so angry with my husband, who after only 5 months of marriage came home and told me he wanted a divorce. He said he was going back to his first wife. Turns out I was just used to get her back. Nice guy (yeah right), stupid me. Anyway, I told him there would always be another Oxford wife out there that he had screwed over... ME! I refused to take back Kauffman even though he wanted me to. I was just a bit bull headed. When I married Fred, I went with "Oxford-Lopez." Obviously I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life writing that, so I dropped the Lopez when we got divorced. Now I could care less because a name doesn't define who I am.

To Steal An Idea

I read Jamie's entry "100 Things about Me" a little while back. It got me thinking and wondering if I could come up with as much. I don't think I can, however, I do think I've got 50 things worth recording. Here goes.

1. If you were to take all the names I've had, it would go something like this.. Brenda Lee Starr, Kauffman, McManus, Kauffman, Oxford, Lopez, Oxford. Ask, I'll explain. (Wouldn't it be fun trying to put this on my headstone)
2. I was born on June 7, 1964 in Chambersburg, PA. That's all I know. I don't know the time or my vital stats because of being adopted.
3. I was the youngest of 8 in my birth family.
4. I'm the next to the youngest in my "real" family. I have two older sisters and one younger brother.
5. I attended 19 schools between K-12. No, I wasn't a military "brat." We just moved around way too much. Stability..... what's that?
6. I write poetry... sometimes.
7. My first job was at 13. I hand painted Kachina Dolls in Arizona.8. My second job was as a waitress at Sandberg's Family Restaurant. I lied to get the job by saying I was 16 when I had just turned 15.
9. I've been to see Montezuma's Castle. This is a VERY small section of it. It's in Cottonwood, Az.10. I get heartburn A LOT! I have it now, which is why I'm typing this at 1:44AM.
11. I attended Yavapai College in Prescott, AZ. My major was Administration of Justice/Police Science.
12. I became an Arizona Certified Peace Officer. Yes, that would be a police officer.
13. I gained too much weight to stay a police officer.
14. I AM FAT!!15. I HATE BEING FAT!!!! IT SUCKS!!
16. I "self medicate" with food. It's my "drug of choice."
17. I don't smoke, drink, have sex, or take drugs. I eat.
18. I worked in a lay-midwifery program as an apprentice for 4 years. I attended many home births. All were incredible.19. I firmly believe in a woman's right to birth however and wherever she chooses. I think too many doctors have taken a "natural event" and turned it into a "medical condition." Shame on them.
20. I always wanted to have a baby girl with lots of hair. I had two.
21. I lost three other babies before having Emile and Gabrielle. It was the saddest, most devastating period of my life.
22. Someday I'll work full time assisting women as they give birth. I feel it's a calling to do so.
23. I am terrified of heights. I don't even like being on a ladder.
24. I am a procrastinator.
25. I believe in taking the "scenic route" through life.
26. One beautiful scenic route is through the Navajo Indian Reservation. Give it a try sometime.
27. I always wanted to be a Brownie when I was little. It never happened.28. I always wanted a kitten when I was little. That didn't happen, either.29. Both of my girls are Girl Scouts, and I've had pets my entire adult life. Right now I have two cats, Kitty and Angel. Life is good!
30. I'm very disorganized. I want to become better organized.
31. I feel like I'm a lousy mother a lot of the time.
32. I also feel my greatest accomplishment was becoming a mother.
33. I enjoy doing hand crafts.
34. The older I get the more I like country decor... you know, old distressed stuff.
35. I LOVE TO READ!! My favorite author is Richard Paul Evans. I have all but 3 of his published works (children's books)and my copy of the Christmas Box was from his original first publishing before he was famous at all. I cried my eyes out. I could relate so much, having lost three babies of my own. He's a wonderful author.36. I started scrapbooking 2 years ago. It's been so much fun. I never thought I'd enjoy it as much as I do.
37. If I could do anything, I'd like to dive to the wreckage of the Titanic. I've always been intrigued by the disaster.38. I have little patience for lazy people who won't get a job and feel the world owes them. There are a lot of these type of people in this area.
39. I always tell my daughters, "Failure is not an option."
40. I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
41. I hope my daughters someday serve a mission for our church. I would like to do the same.
42. I was scared of thunderstorms when I was a child. Now I enjoy them. Nature's energy amazes me.43. I love to get a massage. They're wonderful and I always feel so good afterward.
44. I think it would be cool to spend a night in a castle.45. I have some very special friends in each of the states I've lived in as an adult. They are: Pat and Lark (AZ); Kristi and Diane (UT); Cheri and Lesa (PA).
46. I became and Emergency Medical Technician in 1988.47. I worked as an EMT at Kennecott Utah Copper for 8 years. That's where I met my former husband. He still works there. I now work as a Home Healthcare Provider.48. I know a little bit about quite a bit.
49. I don't know much about a lot.
50. Part of me died on September 11th.
To be continued at another date.

Em's School Play

Emile's school play was performed this past Friday and Saturday (Feb. 23 and 24). They did "Johnny Brooke: A Ghost Story." The story was about a 16 year old boy who died in the 60's. His death was incorrectly ruled a suicide. Johnny has "haunted" his house ever since. When another new family moves in, he finally receives the help he needs to prove his death was an accident so he can move on. The students did a fantastic job. Emile played the part of the Police Chief. She did well, too. My only disappointment was how few attended the play. These students worked very hard and there weren't a lot of people at either performance. Maybe next year it will be advertised better. Great Show Guys!!

Library Time

I LOVE TO READ!! How many teachers wish they would hear their students say this? I'm not sure if I enjoyed reading when I was in school as much as I do now. My love for reading really began when I became a mother. I wanted my children to develop the ability to read well.. and to enjoy doing so. When the girls were younger we'd spend hours reading. One of their favorite things to do was go to the bookstore and sit in the children's reading section. We'd read to one another. Emile is at the point where reading isn't "cool" because she has to do so much of it for school. Brie, on the other hand, still loves reading. She checks out library books and we read them together through the week. It's great fun. Here are three of the books I read this past week. No, I'm not a speed reader. I had read a few very "deep" and intense books recently. I decided to take a break and go a bit light for a few books. Here they are. Light, but incredibly wonderful! Happy reading.



This book is about a young girl who has a preacher father and her mother abandoned the family. She feels isolated and alone in a new town. She meets a dog in a most unusual way and she falls instantly in love. She and the dog end up doing everything together while learning lessons and making friends with people you'd least expect. It's a story of understanding and forgiveness.





This story is about a young boy who lives a very simple life. His family doesn't have a lot, and his parents seem detached and caught up with just tryng to survive themselves. He isn't very popular at school. A girls moves into the house next door and a bond begins to form. She is not the typical girl he's used to. She has imagination and courage. They build a "kingdom" together. Tragedy strikes which will shake the core of the boy. He learns valuable lessons and strengths from his new friend.








In this tale we meet Despereaux. He is a very tiny mouse with VERY large ears and a deep love for light. His entire family thinks there's something wrong with him right from birth. He also has the ability to read and refuses to eat the paper in books. We also meet a very troubled rat, and little Mig, a girl who was sold by her father. This is a story of hope and courage in the most impossible of settings. Anything is possible if you really try.

SWEETHEART STORM

Here it is, SNOW!!! We finally got our first real snow of the season. The weather guys are calling it the Sweetheart Storm because of its arrival on Feb. 13th into the 14th. We got 7.3 inches of snow but that wasn't the problem. The ice is. It's terrible. We started out with snow which turned over to sleet, then freezing rain for 6 hours or so, then back to snow. It's been SO HARD trying to clean the walks and driveway because of how hard the crust is and how heavy everything is.
Emile and Brie worked most of the day trying to get snow cleared. I made sure they had hot cocoa and a hardy lunch and supper for their efforts, not to mention the money Emile earned. Brie gave out much earlier than Em did. I can't blame her. I tried going out a few times at which point Em reminded me of all the progress made with my back. She's right. If I were to fall or strain my back I'd be back to square one. For those who don't know, I had 3 pelvic fractures, left hip and lower left back injuries as well as permanent nerve damage to my left side due to a serious car crash we were in 4 years ago last month. When the weather is like this I still walk with a cane . I can't afford to fall.











Here's Brie catching a snowflake on her tongue on the 13th as the storm was just getting started, and Em taking a break from shoveling on the 14th. Aren't they just the cutest things you've seen!! Now you can see why I love them so much. They really are wonderful daughters, even though I get irritated with them at times I wouldn't trade them for anything. Thanks for all your hard work today. I truly appreciate it.
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!

Brie's Corny Cooking

Brie's class is studying a section in school about the midwest states. Each student had to select a project to do and present to the class. There were over 20 ideas to choose from. Brie decided to bake something using corn. She made Baked Corn Casserole and did it entirely on her own (I received some harsh criticism when some friends and I helped Brie make a covered bridge for a project back in Dec. This time she had NO help at all). She even had to go to the grocery store (ok, I did drive her there) for the items we didn't already have here at the house.For a practice round, she baked one batch on a Thursday evening when we had company coming for dinner. She would be presenting the next Monday so this was a good way for her to make sure she was doing everything correctly. She went through each step of the recipe and did exactly what was said.The finished recipe was delicious!! Brie was a little scared about the hot oven, however, with my encouragement she did just fine and didn't burn herself at all. She was so pleased when she got to serve it to all of us for dinner. It really was good. We all had a second helping in addition to the pork and sauerkraut I had made. It was actually a nice compliment to the main meal.

Both of the girls are becoming really good cooks. Who knows maybe the next time you're over you'll be able to sample some the the food they've cooked. You won't be disappointed. GOOD JOB BRIE!! Oh, and by the way, her presentation went just fine. The students liked the food and Brie got an "A." Here's the recipe for you to enjoy.


BAKED CORN CASSEROLE

1 can cream corn
1 can whole kernal corn, drained
1 stick margarine, melted
1 c. sour cream
1 egg
1 pkg. Jiffy cornbread mix

Mix all ingredients. Bake in a buttered or sprayed casserole dish at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Brie's Room Make Over

Once upon a time there was a young lady named Brie. She lived in a not so pretty bedroom in a house in PA. She wanted her room to look nicer... much like any other little girl. Her mom asked her how she'd feel about having a garden in her room. Brie thought this would be pretty cool and so the magic/work began. First of all an artist had to be found. Someone who would be able to make the garden come to life. Along came Jen. This fine lady said she'd love to help on this project. After a delay due to the pregnancy and birth of a child, as well as two surgeries in Jen's family, she was able to get started on the garden last fall. It was so much fun watching the flowers "grow" as the garden took shape. At long last the painting was complete.




And here you have it, Brie's Garden!Now you know I think it's darling, but more inportantly, so does Brie. I have many other garden items to put in her room to complete the look, such as tools, a wind sock, watering can, boots, etc. And what would a garden be without a few bugs? Yep, I have them too. Not the ones that will really get ya. The cute friendly type.




Now comes the part that I have to finish up with. Painting the rest of the room and putting it all together. I did a heavy texture on one wall, (thus learning how to repair a huge crack running the length of the wall in the process). Peach paint and watermelon for the trim is what Brie picked for the rest of the room. It should be GREAT when it's all finished. I hope to have everything wrapped up by the end of this coming weekend. I'm sure Brie wants to be in her own room too. We all need a place to call our own. Brie's Garden room should bring her many hours of solitude, peace and comfort in the days to come. Thanks a million Jen for all the help you gave us. You were wonderful!!!