Well, here it is the end of summer, and it has been a very hard last 7 weeks for me. I have had several health issues within the last month and 3/4. Even had a "BIG C" scare thrown in there just for good measure.
No one wants a doctor to say cancer to them. I have had my share in my family. My Mother, her sister, my Grandmother, a great great aunt, 2 aunts and 2 very special Uncles all died due to cancer. So especially for me the "C" word is especially dreaded. So after waiting on tests the Doctor was proven wrong ~ THANKS BE TO MY GOD!!!! But still there was the issue of the "odd" tumors in the womb, and cysts in the ovaries. Total hysterectomy was my only option offered. Ok, well, I'm not planning on having any more children, the pain had made everyday life totally unbearable...so after taking antibiotics for 6 more weeks, into surgery I went July 17th. The surgery went smoothly, and my dear sweet husband and 9 year old son have waited on me hand and foot for the past 5 weeks. So today back to the doctor for the OK to go on with my life....until the next surgery. While worrying about my reproductive issues, a breast exam was also done, and a relook at my Mammogram from earlier this year...the doctor was very straight forward with me...double mastectomy as a preventive measure against breast cancer. With my family history, and the mess he just cleaned out of me, he advised I was sitting on a time bomb, and I was running out of time...scary thought...but it has always been in the back of my mind. I had already come to the conclusion breast cancer was the way and the how I would leave this world. With My Mother, her sister and my Grandmother all dying with breast cancer, well, you know where I have been the past 20 years.
So I know I am not finished yet with surgeries. But I'm ok with it...I will heal up real good from this situation, wait a year or two, and get free boob jobs...yes, the ultimate optimist!
I didn't know how bad I felt til I felt better. I must have been in a hormonal, premenopausal,
tumor, cycst, endometriosisal half crazed mess....
I feel 15 years younger, even with the hot flashes, alligator skin, and no appetite, I feel WONDERFUL!!! Still not 100% physical, have to wait for the insides to completely heal, but already feel so so much better! And I am glad he took everything except the cervix. No worries down there later...
So glad to be back bloggin', but may kick back a little because I plan to be busy, too busy to blog, as least until it gets cold outside. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
By the way, any sweet lady out there having to have a hysterectomy in their near future I have the most wonderful website for all their questions both pre and post surgery, it's called hystasisters.com. It covers EVERYTHING and just about every question you may have, and many you haven't even though of. It is set up forum style. And members have went through or going through hysterectomy issues...it was a life saver for me...and IT'S FREE!!!!
Well, gotta go, beans to pick, supper to get on, and a boy to love...
MAKE ALL YOUR DAYS COUNT~IT'S CALLED THE PRESENT FOR A REASON!

Cooking with the crockpot when the temps are in the 100's!

Cooking with the crockpot when the temps are in the 100's!
Good grief it sure is hot...temperatures here in Kentucky have been in the 100's for about 589 days (at least it seems that long). I dread cooking in the evening around 5pm when the thermometer on the back porch, in the shade, reads 107.3. Well my little brain in the middle of cooking hamburgers and hot dogs on the George Foreman last night went ding ding ding~why not drag out the crockpot and cook that way. I am already thinking at 9am what am I going to cook tonight, and man it's going to be hot in this kitchen...

I was already making a watermelon cake for supper and it was in the oven, wasn't waiting for it to be too hot before I got the baking done.
So out came Mr. Crocky. Now, what do I have on hand to stick in it...chicken breast (frozen) seasoning, my favorite~because you don't have to mix it with oil, or water, just sprinkle on top of the frozen chicken breast and the oil and broth mix with it and make a marvelous sauce.
Now for the sides, being I was already making a mini-oven for the chicken~ in went some potatoes to bake too, yes, you can bake potatoes in the crockpot. The centers don't stay a pretty white, but if you're going to put butter on it anyways, who cares. And microwave taters just aren't quite as good as old fashioned baked ones. I leave off the foil because I like to sneak a little seasoning off the chicken while they cook;
Bake it for anywhere from 6-8 hours, it really doesn't matter. I use mine on high for about 5-6 hours, but it's a big crockpot and it gets hot really really fast. If you are using a smaller older one it may take longer, or take less time. Crockpots are just like their owners, very different from each other :). Try it with whatever, meatloaf (use whatever recipe you wish) and don't top with anything and stick your taters right on top. Whole chicken is absolutely WONDERFUL in the crockpot. Season however you wish, turns out like a rotisserie  chicken. Pork chops are great bar-b-qued in the crock. Use your imagination. Anything you can bake, you can crock. Monkey bread is wonderful~! Just may want for sanity sake use some cooking spray just in case, but I have never had anything stick to my crock. HAPPY COOLER COOKING FOLKS. :)

Toothpaste to clear foggy headlamps IT WORKS!

USE TOOTHPASTE TO CLEAR FOGGY HEADLAMPS ON YOUR CAR!

This is what started me blogging in the first place. Our nephew in law came down from the big city of Louisville, Kentucky for my husband to work on his car and teach him a few things on how to fix it himself. If you have ever had to pay a mechanic at a shop or dealership to fix something ~ you understand why. I am VERY fortunate to be married to an extremely generous man who in his Christian heart HELPS just about anyone who needs it ~ the way we all should be!
Anyways ~ Gerald who inspired me to write these posts commented about his foggy headlights. I sitting nearby watching them both with fascination ~ love to watch my hubby work ~ said I can fix that for you in 10 minutes. Gerald just grinned at me, never really knowing if I'm pulling his leg or not. I went into the house got the toothpaste I had on hand, and viola~ clear headlamps. So here ya go folks pictures and all~

As you can see my Toyota headlamps aren't that bad (did this about 2 years ago and hadn't redone them since) but still needed to be done. Get whatever toothpaste you have on hand, or if you need to get some anyway, or have some just for this the plain ole white paste any brand will do. Cheaper ones tend to work better don't know why maybe the amount of abrasives is higher in them. Baking soda paste works too, but tends to be higher and I am cheap anyways. I had gel paste because I like the texture better in my mouth, just sayin' not going to run to Kroger for special cheap paste for this, gas is way too high.

Get a rag, and soak it real good, dripping is best to activate, put a dab of toothpaste about the size of a dime on the rag and scrub in circular motions til it feels like your arm will fall off, (joking won't take that long), then rinse really well. I take a bowl and pour some water over the headlamp to rinse well. Then dry it off. Looky at the difference;

Scroll up then back down. Cool huh? And it's dirt cheap and unless you have dentures you will use up the toothpaste anyways...
Go over it with a car polish to help reduce the oxidation and can be repeated as needed. Like I said before it had been a couple of years since I did this the last time...so it will last a while, depending on where you live and weather conditions of course. A plus, the smell won't over power you like those expensive kits to do the same thing, and again IT'S CHEAP AND EASY!
God Bless your day! Thanks for reading and I read all replies... :D

Suz's Blog beginning

I was told the other day I should blog. Simple compliment I guess~but in my brain it started a discussion with myself. WHY? Why did he say that? What do I have to share with anyone. Well, what started this you say? His headlights were foggy and I told him to take some toothpaste and scrub on them and viola~ clear headlights again...of course all I had was the gel toothpaste, and it works better with plain ole paste, but still he saw the huge difference. Thus he complimented me by saying "You should blog."
I know it was an off the cuff comment, but it got me to thinking.
What little tidbits have I always taken for granted that everyone knows but possibly don't. With the internet all you have to do is type in your favorite search engine (dogpile.com is mine by the way in case you wondered) and you have an answer for everything from removing splinters with baking soda, to how to change your oil in your Toyota.
But what about people who didn't grow up in the country the way I did. I grew up with limited funds (poor if you prefer), we grew most of what we ate, killed what we didn't grow, and God bless my Mother scrimped for the rest. Dad burned off copper wire in the fall for our Christmas money (EPA would track him down now for that) and cut our wood for our winter heat. We kids wore yard sale clothing most of the time, except for right before school started we got 2 pair of jeans, a couple of shirts, a NEW pair of tennis shoes, and socks and underwear. Back then there weren't places to go to get free school supplies (Mom wouldn't have taken them anyway because we EARNED what we had~NO HAND OUTS~she would roll her eyes with society today) so school supplies were very basic. My Dad worked at a land fill (dump) and when stores would overstock, or order the wrong thing, or whatever, we would occasionally get a pair of Nike shoes or expensive jeans. When the local Colgate factory closed many Colgate products went to the landfill by the truckloads (literally) and we had dish soap, bar soap, toothpaste, for months and months. People down the road actually broke into our basement and stole a lot from my parents. The idiot kids left the empty Palmolive bottles in their parents front yard about a week later...Dad paid their Daddy a little visit...well you can imagine...

Well some people may think this is something to be ashamed of, growing up poor. I on the other hand am quite proud of it. I learned to fix what I had when it broke (don't run to Wal-Mart and get another one) or do without. Sounding like my Maw now~ kids today say, can't we go get another one...I say nope~you didn't care for it properly~do without. I still have my teddy bear from when I was 3 years old. I still have my first Red Rider BB gun. I still have my Fisher Price toys and little people. Why because I took care of what I had. Knew if it broke, or I lost it, I was not going to get another one. As I grew up, I was frugal. Some of my friends who were busy keeping up with the Jones' made fun of me saying I lived like the Amish (not true we had TV). Now with the way things are EVERYONE is refurbishing, fixing up, re-purposing, canning/freezing, gardening.....and I think oh,ok, what's the big deal been doing that since I was a kid. That's what poor people did. I was in Wal-Mart the other day and overheard a young couple discussing the musty smell their house had due to the carpeting. The young man was looking at those carpet dust you put down right before you vacuum the floor, but he was telling his young wife they were just too expensive. I was looking for washing soda to make some laundry soap (I will tell you how to make it later~save huge $$$), but I digress, back to the couple. I told them to get baking soda and sprinkle it on the carpet, wait about 4 hours then vacuum and the smell would be gone without all that overpowering flowery smell in the house. They were shocked. The young wife said why didn't I think of that. They followed me down the aisle and I showed them what to use, how to use it and how often if needed. I guess I caught the attention of another lady in the aisle because she came over and asked me how to get the weird smell out of her washer (yes I knew the answer) and down the other end of the aisle~then I sent her over to the food section to get vinegar. By this time my 9 year old was whining he was hungry, and I knew I had to get out of that aisle quickly before someone else asked me something else...
Well, that is the beginning of my blog. Nothing really special about it, but I think it may be helpful in the future to you, if I don't forget I started it while freezing and canning and crocheting. I am just a country gal, but I would be happy to help out with my country knowledge on how to make a peach cobbler or clean your sinks out that stink. And to Gerald~this is all your fault! :D