tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28005517332164097582008-07-01T23:13:18.294-04:00w3bsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11926018172574808162noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-7162333315770906902008-06-29T18:02:00.004-04:002008-06-29T18:48:03.261-04:00

We want things, and we want them now. We want our rewards now, our accolades. We want intimacy, and we don't want to wait or commit or be uncomfortable at all for it. We want homes, cars, couches, vacations. Now. Not tomorrow, not a year from today. So the credit companies, the mortgage brokers, the ad agencies... they cater to us. They have built an empire of wealth on our fickle needs and

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-18201142352077660642008-06-26T18:17:00.005-04:002008-06-26T20:54:46.183-04:00

Ahhhh.... it's Farmer's Market season here again. Michigan has a shorter growing season, so our Market doesn't open until late June, but we try to take full advantage of it! Here are ten reasons that your local Farmer's Market is the best food option anytime: 1) Meet The Source. Instead of the pimple-faced kid randomly dropping your tomatoes on the floor before they get wedged into the stand,

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-74984850181912447832008-06-19T21:51:00.004-04:002008-06-19T22:32:17.282-04:00

Children learn what they are taught. This point is driven home to me every single day of my life lately. Sometimes, its good. Michael and I have a very loving discourse, and the kids have picked this up for us as well. There's an awful lot of hugging, loving, and pet names in our home. They learn the other side as well. Just the other day, I was struggling to start my brother-in-law's

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-7662006010761552952008-06-19T10:30:00.002-04:002008-06-19T11:50:48.198-04:00

I found something extraordinarily cool on the internets the other day- it's called What I See Out My Window. Anthony McCune, writer, photographer, artistic soul at large, has made this blog solely for people to see the view from each others' windows. I love this idea so much! Here's my 'window view', which you can see on the site, along with others'. Check it out, submit your view, and let's

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-32733552700014169732008-06-16T23:15:00.003-04:002008-06-16T23:36:33.137-04:00

I was cursed with this fine, limp, oily, stringy hair that I despise most days. I must say it is soft, and very shiny all of the time. It is so healthy that, on the rare occasions I pay someone to highlight it, they often have to go back and reapply because the cuticle will not break down. So, I guess I can't really complain, but I do anyhow, because I'm a woman. I have struggled with dandruff

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-42047889592240014962008-06-16T01:17:00.002-04:002008-06-16T01:53:37.569-04:00

So there we were, barely twenty, newlywed, poor, and sweating it out at a 'tent show' Renaissance Faire in Hollywood, Florida. We'd been sent down there by my dad to run the little booth and make him some money while we earned a tiny living and attempted a honeymoon as well. He didn't make much money, we had to live off of our wedding gift money, and it all ended badly. But we did have some fun.

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-72406907819171518682008-06-16T00:51:00.003-04:002008-06-16T01:13:42.140-04:00

We wanted to get married right away. Nearly eleven years ago, I was proposed to in a not-so-conventional way and I, of course, said yes. That was Labor Day weekend, or thereabouts, and our joy the next day was somewhat circumvented by the tragic news of Princess Diana's death. We were young, we were hormonal, we were invincible, and we wanted to get married very soon. I knew that we couldn't

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-69467712085817024702008-06-14T23:20:00.002-04:002008-06-14T23:29:12.335-04:00

I love, love this pic of NYC. Found it on flickr, courtesy of Rick Elkins, he has some other great photos of the crown jewel of American cities. In early 2006, my husband's job moved us to NYC. Being a family of five, with not-perfect (or even remotely good) credit, we wound up in smelly, trash-ridden Jersey City, NJ, with Michael commuting to work via the PATH most days. One night, he was

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-61352694873583180932008-06-13T22:13:00.006-04:002008-06-14T07:08:50.619-04:00

Up the road from me a bit stands a rather normal, smallish, 1950s build mint-green house. This house was, for many years, unremarkable. Then, one day late last summer, a lovely deck sprouted up as if planted there- rails in perfect symmetry, clean white pine boards marching away from the front door. I drive by this house every day on my way into work, and I remember seeing their sudden prosperity

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-11205816732445366482008-06-06T05:06:00.004-04:002008-06-06T05:53:01.351-04:00

When I was ten years old our family purchased a 28 foot RV with scratchy red curtains and we headed west. Winding up in Tucson, AZ, we settled on a pleasant little place called Town & Country Mobile Estates, out on Benson Highway on the south end of town. We were the only RV in the trailer park, to the best of my memory, but that's the way the Roncari family rolled. I remember stopping by a few

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-82643301542862908222008-05-31T23:51:00.002-04:002008-05-31T23:56:45.740-04:00

A friend sent this our way today, and we found it amusing, if a little too close to home.

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-62833030531371196812008-05-31T09:02:00.003-04:002008-05-31T09:36:05.805-04:00

My youngest is enamored of liquid soap lately. When she is sent to wash her hands, we often have to go rescue the sink ten minutes later. I know its a phase, and they've all gone through it, leaving me slightly poorer in the household goods department. I'd rather have them with clean hands than filthy. But I got an insight last week into what spurred this interest for her. I had, once again,

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-42192380516869674772008-05-28T21:54:00.002-04:002008-06-04T02:36:00.059-04:00

I am one of those people who rent. I have never actually owned a home of my own, just moved from place to place, paying my landlords' mortgages. It kind of sucks, but it is nice to be able to uproot and go when we need to. Someday we'll own, but only when the time is right. The house that we are currently renting is very nice, but is becoming more than we can bear financially. We are in the

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-82978543524202754602008-05-27T21:35:00.005-04:002008-06-04T02:49:31.297-04:00

"Waiting for marriage!" People snort derisively, "Wouldn't buy a car without test driving it first, would ya?!?" I have heard this often over the years, and never really had an answer ready. I would merely shrug, happy in my own choices and standards. I waited until marriage, and so did my husband, Michael. We are the blessed in the fact that we have a wonderful marriage, love life, and ongoing

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-37233724678824730782008-05-23T23:12:00.003-04:002008-05-24T06:51:02.036-04:00

When I was about 17, I went with my dad to Kansas in order to help him build a Renaissance booth. It was a miserable three weeks- sticky heat, hard work twelve to sixteen hours a day, and only my schizo dad for company. I learned how rice smells when you accidentally leave it, closed, out in the summer heat for three days (really, really bad). I learned how to put up a roof truss, and how it

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-32046755840558609062008-05-20T09:31:00.005-04:002008-05-20T09:57:17.901-04:00

When the weather warms up and the kids clamor for lemonade, we have come up with a way of fixing lemonade that is fun for them! Requirements: Mason jar with tight-fitting lid, quart size is good. If we run out of these, we use old pasta sauce jars, just so long as that lid fits well!! Citrus fruit, any kinds, cut into quarters. Our favorite mix is: one half of a lemon, one half of a lime, and

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-6523352658746966862008-05-17T19:18:00.004-04:002008-05-17T22:46:16.490-04:00

I had to be dragged to this, the latest installment of C.S. Lewis' epic series. Once again, I have to thank my dear husband and children for their stubbornness. Disney seems to have outdone themselves in translating Lewis' work. Despite a few badly timed jokes, the movie rolls smoothly and has a very grand feeling. For characters, we are treated to the Pevensie children again: darling Lucy,

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-20320152649894533162008-05-14T21:17:00.000-04:002008-05-14T21:18:46.622-04:00

63OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-26240980495028672922008-05-11T01:50:00.003-04:002008-05-11T02:19:01.657-04:00

The dress I married in rests in a cedar chest at the foot of our bed. It is there as a reminder of our beginnings, but we seldom think about it as go about our daily lives. Ten years ago. Well, ten years and a few months now, as I meant to do this post sooner. We were young, so very young. People told us we had no idea what we were getting into- and really, we didn't. But we knew that we loved

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-29553943401869110262008-05-08T09:30:00.002-04:002008-05-08T09:57:50.856-04:00

While driving my wife to work today I was listening to the normal classical music, trying to wake my mind up for the day. It usually works, but sometimes my mind spins off in unexpected directions. Today my mind wandered from realizing how simple the piece I was listening to was, to wondering how certain bends were noted in the music sheets back when it was composed, to remembering my own

w3bsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11926018172574808162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-18105515844544880312008-05-07T23:27:00.004-04:002008-05-08T00:17:33.844-04:00

I'm breathing slightly heavy now. Trying to calm down so that I can go to bed. Why am I breathing heavy? I tend to forget to breath when I'm concentrating on a complex or unusual task. It's the concentration that makes me forget; no stress is involved. I just finished such a task. Locking the doors up for the night and getting ready to do the dishes that I'm too tired to do now, I heard the

w3bsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11926018172574808162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-59612019089263640242008-05-07T08:18:00.002-04:002008-05-07T08:48:50.442-04:00

I have a theory. I know that not every woman is going to be rational when picking a tiny LEGO brick out of her foot, but bear with me here... LEGO: Causing foot pain to millions of parents worldwide. Our kids are just payback. Remember the times you dragged out all of your mom's steel pots and banged away for hours? Now your own kids have a heavy wooden spoon and have figured out that the stair

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-15182748238910884142008-05-04T22:58:00.002-04:002008-05-05T00:21:48.390-04:00

Lake Mitchell ~ Cadillac, MI So, it's not officially summer yet, I know this. But until recently we hadn't seen the sun in nearly six months, and there is no snow on the ground, and you can no longer walk across the lake successfully, so- we're calling it summer. Summer in Northern Michigan is nothing short of glorious. People from the Detroit area (downstaters, we call 'em) have been apprised

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-31716998185097250412008-05-02T21:22:00.004-04:002008-05-04T22:54:56.097-04:00

I hate my inhaler. Not only is it ugly, it is a reminder of an internal flaw, an inherent (and inherited) weakness in my body. The albuterol burns my tongue and leaves a foul taste in my mouth for twelve hours afterwards. The chemical makes my heart race, my temples throb, and my hands shake. I use it only when I feel that I am at death's door. Or- as often as not- I leave it at home, and

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2800551733216409758.post-46300627711371630942008-04-29T23:07:00.004-04:002008-04-29T23:43:55.796-04:00

Kid #1 is, like many other young girls, enamored of the American Girls books. In one book, some WWII kid doesn't want to eat her mashed turnips (who would?). Someone- obviously desperate or evil- dresses them up with cinnamon and sugar, and the kid is transported to happy eating once again. This uncanny combination struck my oldest child as so completely novel that she had to try it. She would

sarah janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07257436108455798763noreply@blogger.com