Giving Up FB, temporarily

I am cleaning off my FB as I am thinking I may want to stop looking there for awhile and see if my productivity increases.

How To Videos for Crochet or Knitting:
How to change colors without a knot
Mystery Crochet A-long 


Patterns:
Links for Fantasy Patterns
Grandmother's Pattern book for Frozen Inspired knits
Log Cabin Crochet Afghan


Books:
9 Mystery Books that are like Downton Abbey
12 Books to Read in 2015
Modern books with Classic ties
Snow Reads for 2015
100 Year old middle School Reading lists
30 Literary Mean Girls
Railway Mysteries
2014 Banned Books List
23 Books Coming to TV 2014
24 Books You Should Read Before they Show on TV
30 books by authors under 30
Books over a 100 years old

Recipes:
Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies
Pineapple Cream Cheese Cobbler
Wickedly Delicious Chocolate Cake
Homemade Chicken Dumplings


Homeschooling:
30 ways to teach history without books
David Bowie narrating Peter and the Wolf
Rescued Film Project (WWII photos found)
Must See Museums in Cincinnati, OH

More from the FB files

Time to clean off my FB pages as I can't find anything again.

25 Cool Winter Hats - some have patterns, some don't and require a search

Patterns:

Happily Hooked Amigurumi - some links for pay patterns and some free
Lion Brand Glitter Gummy Bear
Lion Brand Ice Cream Scarf
Lion Brand Turning Blocks Blanket
Lion Brand Circle to Square Afghan
Moogly Crochet Abbreviations
Moogly Blong Crochet Gift Ideas
Moogly Hedgehog Pattern Links
Moogly Blog Men's Hats Pattern Links
Moogly Blog Hooking on Hump Day - slipper pattern on this one
Moogly Blog Balaclavas Links - another cold, cold winter makes these more practical
Crochet Crowd Amish Puzzle Balls
Crochet Crowd two tone granny
Crochet Crowd Crystal Ice Hat
Crochet Crowd Entrelac Afghan
Crochet Crowd Mikey's Patterns
Repeat Crafter Me - Drowsy Owl Hat
Crochet Cheat Sheet
Double Helix Mitts
African Flower Crochet
All Day Chic Baby Booties


Books to read before they become movies:

38 books that will be made into movies in 2015
21 books to read before they are made into a movie (could be some cross over between the two lists)


Recipes:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark
Rustic Crusty Bread
Skinny Shake - supposed to be like a Wendy's frosty
Lunchroom Ladies 50 year old brownie recipe
Depression Era Home made bread
Peasant Bread - No knead
Amish Cinnamon Bread
Fudgy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Fudge Recipes


Homeschooling:

8 Winter Science Activities
Play Doh Recipe
PARCC Practice Tests

I Want to Do Math

My girls are funny. They hate to do math, for math's sake. But they love to play computer generated games that help them practice their math skills and get better. They will ask me if they can play the math games from their lessons. I will tell them, "Sure." I love that they love those games, I just wish they could play the games and then take the tests. I  feel that if they got to play the games first, they would do better on the tests.

Reading Challenges 2015

I love to read and I love to find new reading challenges to do every year. Last year, I did an Alphabet Reading Challenge, but I didn't finish it. I did read over 140 books in the year, but I didn't finish the alphabet. I didn't read anything that started with X or Z in 2014. I got sidelined. I try to read everything my girls read and that takes a lot of time as some of the books they are reading are quite long and I have little time to read. I compiled the list of books I did complete over the year and I found a new challenge to try this year. I know that there will be one book that I will not read. It says to read one book that scares you. I will not read many of the books by Stephen King as I never finished reading "Pet Semetary" by him because it scared me too much and I woke up screaming one night while reading it. I will attempt the rest of the list and find out how close I can come to finishing it in a year. The 2015 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge is what I am going to attempt this year.

Here is a link for books to read before Visiting New Orleans and a list of books Neil deGrasse Tyson feels intelligent people should read.

Also, my girls have loved books written by Lauren Brandenburg, they started a fan page for her and her books. Books of the Gardener Fan Page Come check it out.

My List of 2014 Read Books. This is incomplete as I read some books with the kids and didn't log them into Goodreads.

Name of Book	Author
200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix and Match	Eaton, Jan
A Diet of Treacle	Block, Lawrence
Abraham Lincoln	Osborne, Mary Pope
American Revolution	Osborne, Mary Pope
Amusements in Mathematics	Dudeney, Henry Ernest
Angora Alibi	Goldenbaum, Sally
At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much	Pearl-McPhee, Stephanie
Beginners Guide to Knitting Socks	Thompson, Chloe
Believing God Day by Day	Moore, Beth
Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin and His Good Mouse Amos	Lawson, Robert
Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs: 144 Circles, Hexagons, Triangles, Squares and Other Unexpected Shapes	Eckman, Edie
BigIQkids Book #1: Ugh…You Again!	Marcionette, Alexis
Blackberry Pie Murder	Fluke, Joanne
Bones are Forever	Reichs, Kathy
Boone, The Sanctified	Brandenburg, Lauren
Boone: The Forgotten	Brandenburg, Lauren
Boone: The Ordinary	Brandenburg, Lauren
Chemo Caps & Wraps	Ellison, Connie
Cherry Cheesecake Murder	Fluke, Joanne
Chicken Soup for the Soul Kids in the Kitchen: Tasty Recipes and Fun Activities for Budding Chefs	Canfield, Jack
Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop	Penzler, Otto
Conform: Exposing the Truth About Schools	Beck, Glenn
Crochet One-Skein Wonders	Durant, Judith
Death of a Mad Hatter	McKinlay, Jenn
Dinosaur Cat	Allen, Garrison
Discovering Joy in Your Creativity: You Are Made in the Image of a Creative God	Women of Faith
Division Math Skills Challenge	Math4Math Games
Don Quixote	Brook, Henry
Down with Big Brother: The Fall of the Soviet Empire	Dobbs, Michael
Duck Dynasty - Hunting for Spiritual Truths, Season 1	Franz, Alisa
Easy Knitted Socks: Fun and Fashionable Designs for the Novice Knitter	Trotman, Jeanette
Entrelac: The Essential Guide to Interlace Knitting	Drysdale, Rosemary
Fahrenheit 451	Bradbury, Ray
Fried by Jury	Bishop, Claudia
Fun Learning Facts about Egyptian Gods and Goddesses: Illustrated Fun Learning for Kids	Roche, Jess
Funny Things I Heard at the Bus Stop: The Complete Collection	Girous, Angela
George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution	Kilmeade, Brian
George Washington's Spy	Woodruff, Elvira
Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape	McKellar, Danica
Glazed Murder	Beck, Jessica
Grammar Nazi: Words You Should Be Getting Right	Burns, Antonio
Headband - Quick and Easy Knitting Pattern	Taylor, Sarah
Henry Huggins	Cleary, Beverly
High Time for Heroes	Osborne, Mary Pope
Hilda Hopkins, Murder She knit	Fagan, Vivienne
Hot X: Algebra Exposed	McKellar, Danica
Illegally Iced	Beck, Jessica
Kate Middleton: Our Princess	Bell, Irene
Killer Crullers	Beck, Jessica
Killing Cupid	Levine, Laura
Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss	McKellar, Danica
Knit Your Socks on Straight: A New and Inventive Technique with Just Two Needles; 20 Original Designs	Curtis, Alice
Knits of Tomorrow: Toys and Accessories for your Retro-Future Needs	Culligan, Sue
Knitting Circles Around Mittens and More: Creative Projects on Circular Needles	Gillingham, Antje
Knitting for Intermediate Knitters: How to Knit the Complete Guide on Intermediate Knitting with Step by Step Instructions with Detailed Pictures to Expand…Knitting Skills and Knowledge	Wilston, Kathy
Knitting Nell	Roth, Julie Jersild
Knitting with The Color Guys: Inspiration, Ideas, and Projects from the Kaffe Fassett Studio	Fassett, Kaffe
Knitty Gritty Knits (DIY): 25 Fun & Fabulous Projects	Howell, Vickie
Last to Finish: A Story About the Smartest Boy in Math Class	Esham, Barbara
Little Boy Lost	Hobbs, Eric
Macaron Murder	Lin, Harper
Magic Tricks from the Tree House: A fun Companion to Magic Tree House #50: Hurry Up, Houdini!	Osborne, Mary Pope
Middle School: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill	Patterson, James
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life	Patterson, James
Monday Morning Motivation	Jones, Monica Marie
Multiplication Math Skills Challenge	Math4Math Games
My Morning View: An iPhone Photography Project about Gratitude, Grief & Good Coffee	Strobel, Tammy
New Prayer Shawl Companion, 35 Knitted Patterns to Embrace, Inspire, & Celebrate Life	Cole-Galo, Victoria A.
Nutty as a Fruitcake	Daheim, Mary
Odd Ball Knitting: Creative Ideas for Leftover Yarn	Albright, Barbara
One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Stories You Solve With Science	Yoder, Eric
Operation Cowboy: The Secret American Mission to Save the World's Most Beautiful Horses in the Last Days of WWII	Talty, Stephan
Owls Well That Ends Well	Andrews, Donna
Paleo Bread: Easy and Delicious Gluten Free Bread Recipes	Anderson, Aimee
Paleo Dinner Recipes: Gluten Free, Grain Free Recipes for Dinner	Stone, Martha
Pilgrims	Osborne, Mary Pope
Please Do Feed the Cat	Babson, Marian
Qi	Stephen, Elizabeth Svigar
Red Velvet Cupcake Murder	Fluke, Joanne
Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos	Andrews, Donna
Rumble Fish	Hinton, S.E.
Rush Revere and the First Patriots: Time Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans	Limbaugh, Rush
Samantha Loses the Box Turtle	Griffin, Daisy
Scooby-Doo! And the Ghostly Gorilla	Gelsey, James
Sea Monsters	Osborne, Mary Pope
Shawls, Wraps, & Ponchos	Weiss, Rita
Snakemaster: Wildlife Adventures with the World's Most Dangerous Reptiles	Stevens, Austin
Spider Woman's Daughter	Hillerman, Anne
Stashbuster Knits: Tips, Tricks, and 21 Beautiful Projects for Using Your Favorite Leftover Yarn	Leapman, Melissa
That Was Then, This is Now	Hinton, S.E.
The 7 Day Prayer Warrior Experience	Omartian, Stormie
The Alpine Yeoman	Daheim, Mary
The Benjamin Carson Prayer Breakfast Speech: An Unauthorized Guide to Dr. Ben Carson's Confrontation with President Barack Obama	Jessop, K.
The Colossus Rises	Lerangis, Peter
The Crocheted Prayer Shawl Companion: 37 Patterns to Embrace, Inspire, and Celebrate Life	Bristow, Janet
The Demigod Diaries	Riordan, Rick
The Demigod Files	Riordan, Rick
The Dragon Prophecy	Stilton, Geronimo
The Duck Commander Devotional	Robertson, Alan
The First Eagle	Hillerman, Tony
The Journey Through Time	Stilton, Geronimo
The Kingdom of Fantasy	Stilton, Geronimo
The Lemonade War	Davies, Jacqueline
The Mystery of Falcon Falls Lake	Sanford, L. Parks
The Orphan	Lerangis, Peter
The Outsiders	Hinton, S.E.
The Penguins Who Knew Too Much	Andrews, Donna
The Perks of Being a Wallflower	Chbosky, Stephen
The Prayer Shawl Ministry, Volume 2	Leisure Arts
The Promise of Security	Moore, Beth
The Specialists: At Any Cost	Wells, P. B.
The Story Shell	Repp, Gloria
The Testing	Charbonneau, Joelle
The Ultimate Crochet Guide: Entangle Yourself in the Colorful World of Crocheting	Moore, Kara
The Whole Enchilada	Davidson, Diane Mott
Thea Stilton and the Prince's Emerald: A Geronimo Stilton Adventure	Stilton, Thea
Tony Hillerman's Landscape: On the Road with Chee and Leaphorn	Hillerman, Anne
Twenty Four Edgar Degas's Paintings	Cesar, Stanley
Twenty Four Edgar Degas's Paintings	Cesar, Stanley
Twenty Four Marc Chagall's Paintings	Cesar, Stanley
Twenty Four Rembrandt's Paintings	Cesar, Stanley
Unhappily Ever After	Hobbs, Eric
Unlucky 13	Patterson, James
Vogue Knitting the Ultimate Sock Book: History Technique Design	Vogue Knitting
War Shots: Norm Hatch and the U. S. Marine Corps Combat Cameramen of WWII	Jones, Charles
Why Are Farts Stinky? And Other Human Body Questions Kids Ask!	Brooks, Jem
You Called 9-1-1 for What?	Konig, Dave

MINE!

When my girls were little, I would have to buy identical gifts for them, the only difference being, colors. The reason I had to do this was because they were so territorial over toys and clothing. They still are quite territorial. They want different toys and games and clothes, now, but they still will take each others toys and things. Then I get to hear the MINE fights. and leave MY stuff alone and WHO Said YOU could Touch MY things. I often wonder when they will stop fighting, but then I realize that they do tend to share what they have and they do tend to be way nicer to each other. But what is interesting is that when they start saying, "mine" they then begin to say, "Mine, mine, mine, mine." It reminds me of the birds on "Finding Nemo." But they are just playing at it when they do this, rather than when they say, "WHY DID YOU TOUCH MY THINGS!" I would rather hear the, "Mine" repeated constantly.

That's My Sister

When I was little, I loved my sister and brother very much. When my youngest sister joined us (and I was 17), I loved her also. One thing I learned though was that as much as I loved them, they hated me. They told people that they were not related to me. In one instance, one of my sisters pulled a knife on me and threatened to kill me. I spent a lot of time away and hiding after that. I was always so proud of my sisters and brother. I loved having them, but they did not reciprocate. To this day, one sister has informed me she wishes I was dead. Interesting that at this point, I just don't care and can really enjoy the thought of cutting her out of my life. She doesn't want me and I don't need her. So I have adhered to her wish, I am dead to her, but by the same token, she is also dead to my family (my children and husband). Because without me, she would only have 2 nieces. Without me, she would not have 2 brothers-in-law, only one.

I am hoping that I am doing better with my girls. I don't want them to ever say to a sister, I hate you and I wish you were dead. Or I hate you and I am going to kill you. Both of those things have shaped my feelings towards my sisters. I don't deny them, but I also don't really trust them.

I can remember when my girls were little, they didn't have a lot of interaction with my family. Part of it was they wouldn't come up to where I lived. Part of it was when they did come up, they didn't come by to see us. When the girls were younger, we tended to stay closer to home, it was hard to go places with them because there were three of them and one of me. After so many years of being on our own, we don't wait for people to visit and we go where we want, when we want and we don't tell anyone where we are going or if we are even going to be in their area. But my girls are different. They talk to each other. They laugh with each other and they share secrets with each other. They are tight. They love each other. They may fight a little here or there, but they get along very well. They stand together and they show a united front. I feel for anyone who tries to break them apart. They are going to find a united front. A group of girls who love and are loved.

December FB saved pages

I have saved quite a bit on my FB page this month so far, but I haven't had time to move them, so I will do it a little here and a little there. I was really amazed at how many things I had saved this time and how long it has taken me to find them. There are recipes, patterns and just fun things and educational things. Enjoy.

Recipes:
Red Velvet Cookies
Peanut Butter Potato Candy
All Star Holiday Cookie Recipes
Meatball Sandwich Casserole
75 Cookie Recipes
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
Christmas Vanilla Roll Cake
Italian Christmas Cookie Recipes
More Italian Christmas Cookies

HomeSchooling:
Netflix Educational Movies
Math High School Games
Mystery of OH's Serpent Mound
Website Design Workshop Free
Free Math Worksheets

Patterns:
Hobbit Inspired Knit and Crochet Patterns from Lion Brand
Two Tone Granny from the Crochet Crowd
Moogly Links for Crochet Slippers something for the whole family
Quick Mini Garland
Magic Griffindor Scarf
Moogly Links for Quick Crochet Gifts
Daddy's Simply Easy Mittens
30 Free Christmas Amigurimi Links
Moogly Links for 10 Free Last Minute Crochet Christmas Presents
Christmas Penguins
Crochet Holiday Joy Hat
Reindeer and Penguin
25 One Night Crochet Patterns
Crochet Owl Candy Cane Holder
Starburst Flower Mandala Square

Just for Fun:
Christmas Knitting Bingo
12 Days of Homeschool
99 Texting Acronyms Parents Should Know
40 Famous Authors on Reading
Creative Ways to Say Goodbye - my kids said these every day at the end of preschool day.

Chocolate Cake For Breakfast Defense

Bill Cosby one time told the story of feeding Chocolate Cake to his children for breakfast. His excuse, the children wanted it and it had some breakfast things in it - eggs, flour, etc. His wife got on his case about feeding the children inappropriate food for breakfast.

When our children were young, I was taking care of something else and my children had followed their Dad downstairs to get a drink and food. Notice, I don't say breakfast because I don't consider ice cream breakfast food.

I asked why the girls had ice cream for breakfast? His response, "They helped themselves." I became Bill Cosby's wife - "You are the Parent, tell them no!"

I truly believe that working Dad's cave to their children's demands for the wrong foods because they don't want to be the bad guy and also so they don't have to take responsibility too often.

It's like when you see your child eat cold left over pizza for breakfast, to hear them say, "What? It has all the food groups! Dairy, meat, vegetables, etc." But usually they are older and sometimes in college. When they are in preschool you would hope they eat better than ice cream or chocolate cake for breakfast.

But his little slip up doesn't get him off the hook. He still has to feed them breakfast. If I let him off that easy I would never get all things completed, and just stress myself out more than necessary. So I'll just have to make sure he knows that the Chocolate Cake Defense doesn't work with me.

Special Place in Hell

This may come off as insensitive, but there has to be a special place in hell for people who abandon, abuse or throw away an animal(s) that they took in to be their friend. On Monday, this beautiful, sweet, loving, very ill, white cat showed up in my garage. She was covered on her back half with something that stunk. After she had been in the garage for awhile, she tried to clean it off herself. But she just couldn't get it all. She was starving (what you see is a plate with canned cat food) and very thirsty. She was needing medical care. I posted her picture all over FB in hopes that her owner (the cowards) would reclaim her. I didn't realize at that point how very ill she was. But as the day progressed and the next morning, I knew she was very ill. I had dreams all night long that she was dead. We fixed a very large carrier up with a blanket and we set her up with a temporary box to use for potty. We named her Ursula.  But she was not able to make it to the box. A very wonderful woman with a group that helps to rescue cats, contacted me and had me bring her to their favorite vet office. They took her from us and checked her out. She had Feline Leukemia and they loved her and fed her some really good food and they put her down, so she would not have to suffer any longer. Her last 24 hours on this planet were good ones, but they could have been better and the people who dumped her are cowards and idiots. Taking care of these sweet gifts are a blessing and one that should not be taken for granted. My girls and I are heart broken, she was such a sweet, loving little girl. We really just wanted her to have a chance at a good life, like the one that our sweet rescues have enjoyed over the last 14 years that my husband and I have been together.

My Birthday Date

Last night (Saturday), my husband and I went to Macaroni Grill for supper. This was his gift to me, to take me to a restaurant to celebrate my birthday, belatedly. We were waiting for a table and I was knitting and we were talking. I was also watching the people around us.

There was an older couple. You could tell they were dating. They were so cute together. They were paying attention to each other, cuddled together, and holding hands. They were talking about every day life and things that were happening to them and their families.

Next to them was a younger couple. They had their cell phones out, looking at the screens and texting other people. After awhile, they put their phones away and talked a little. But then a phone buzzed and they were back into their phones.

There was a group of women, who were wearing what looked like pj pants, it was a mixed group of older and younger ladies. The older ladies did not have their phones out and they were just sitting off by themselves. On the same bench were the younger ladies and they were a little more animated. But they had phones out.

Now, as I stated, I had my knitting with me. But I was talking with my husband and we were talking about what was going on around us. We also noted that it seemed that the buzzer that they gave us, was not working as they came into the area looking for us, asking us if we were "Mary." Then we went and sat at a table. I did put the phone out. That was so that if it rang we knew it was ringing, but I didn't stare at the screen and I didn't play on it. When you are parents or you have someone who is ill, you carry your phone everywhere. You use it to make sure that all is well. But, yes, I did have my phone and yes it was out. But I didn't sit staring at it or texting with someone else. My priority was being with my husband.

Now, I will also state, that due to food allergies and the menu, the place used, I needed to use my phone to look up ingredients in the food. If I had ordered the wrong thing, I would not have been able to eat or if I had eaten, I could have had a severe allergy reaction. I think there is a time and a place for phones, but I do like how that older couple did it. They were more interested in each other than in their phones (if they even had them with them).