July 17, 2013

  • xanga blue

    I wrote out my thoughts about Xanga on WordPress. Link to that here>> Xanga Blue

    I want to tell everyone thank you for the good times on Xanga and all the support and encouragement. I hope to see you somewhere online again. I wish you well and all the best in the future. I will be closing down at the end of the week.

     

    Ahaaw Migwetch giibinwsschiweyin!

    Okay, Thank you for visiting with me.

July 2, 2013

  • life bumps along

    I have not been on here a whole lot due to I am still trying to learn my way around wordpress. >Neegee

    I want to invite anyone who is not sure about that site to come on over. I am afraid that I will not see some of you anywhere else since I can only do a few things online at a time. I will be on wordpress and facebook exclusively. But I am also on Instagram as Judimartin43. Not lot to be said on there, LOL, but I do share pictures there I don’t always share at other places.

    I have been busy again with projects. I made homemade canned salsa for the first time and it was killer! Husband said he doesn’t see any need for me to buy anymore store salsa ever again since he loved mine so much. He wasn’t kidding he bought me a whole bunch of tomatoes again. LOL

    I also today I made a stack of corn tortillas. Hubby bought me a press to make them so I have been doing homemade ever since for Taco night. We like the taqueria style tacos anyway. MMM. I am enjoying this summer of food experiments.

    Have you had any experiments lately? Let me know.

     

June 26, 2013

  • Not too much

    I have not  much going on at my house other than I have been cooking and crafting up a storm. I made canned beans, pickles and dried beans. I sewed some hems and made some pants into shorts. I am working on making wings for my sister cosplay outfit of a Moogle from Final fantasy. It failed miserably making the wings twice and am trying it again. I was making a pair of earring for a friends birthday but lost my jewelry tool. I am so mad at myself about that.

    Otherwise I am a boring mess. :) LOL Got addicted to a few online games on facebook and am playing the new animal crossing on 3DS.

    I have been watching Korean series called Vampire Prosecutor. I just finished the second part and have to wait for the third. It is pretty good and it is on Hulu.

    Oh and I am working at making moccasins and was going to do a video of that style beadwork. I did my nails and then they kept chipping or not drying nicely. I think my polish is too old. I am at the point I might just do it all chipped snaggly nailed. I want to finish it already but I really also want to make this video since there isn’t on one Youtube.

    I am checking my garden every few days for a crop of peas and beans. I get them in by the handful and it is small but tasty.

    Cats are getting along and being cats. Chasing never stops in the  house of those two crazy cats. With teen boys and silly cats, I also have neighbor kids over everyday too, I am really tired  by evening.

    So That is what is up with me, How are you?

    S’up on word press

June 21, 2013

  • Catness

     Repeat from wordpress….

     

     

    I have to show some pathetic cat pictures. LOL Poor kitties on there way to the Vets office.

    Memow was Microchipped and Eevee got a free check up through he SPCA where we adopted her.

    Eeevee in her box that I took with my iphone while peeking in a hole. She Mewed the whole way there and back. The only major thing they did to her was she had her nails clipped.

     

    Where as Memow was very quiet like usual and he was scared out of his mind but had reason to be. They really put a huge needle in his neck to tag him. He was a trooper though and never made a peep. I love that silly cat. Poor baby but if he didn’t always try and escape when the front door opened I wouldn’t worry so. I would be lost without my baby. I have grown so very attached to him my sweet lil’ buddy.

    I love Eevee too but she is so skittish. She will warm up I am sure.

    When we got home Eevee ran though the house meowing. She ran up to each of us rubbed up on us to get a pet on the back. She was so grateful I think to be brought back to our house I believe. She was first given up by her first family then once adopted only to be returned. I wonder if she thought we were going to leave her. Sweet little girly I felt a spark for her in my heart.

    I am slowly becoming a crazy cat lady. Well not so much since they said they had a little of kittens at the clinic that need homes and I said NO to my begging husband and son. I cannot stand the smell of too many cats. I mean I probably would have a hundred cats if they didn’t poop so STINKY! Gag! My kids handle the litter now once a week because it gets so ripe! I have been thinking about an automated cat box but they cost and I heard they break.

    When we were kids we had kittens but our litter box was in the basement. We hardly smelled it since no one really went down there except to clean the box and do laundry. Mom did both. She should have made us do that but I think she didn’t mind the smell so much since she grew up on a farm. I on the other hand have a super sensitive nose and can’t deal with foul odors.

    Dad told us most Native homes never allowed animals in the house since it was considered a bad thing. He said it was a bad omen or something. Whatever?  I think he said that to try and keep us from having an animal.  He didn’t take to well to indoor pets. Mom always wanted one pet so I guess since it was her insistence that we had pets indoors, she took the responsibility on herself the most. Oh we helped feed and water but the litter I just don’t remember doing it much. Dad wasn’t fond of pets at all. Not once did I see him warm up to a dog or cat. Too bad for him I guess. I think it was because he harbored a hurt form childhood about the dogs my Grandfather kept.

    My grandfather had Sled dogs and my dad often said that his dad liked the dogs better than he liked his kids. I guess I get some of my animal love from that side. I have no clue what happened but I know it was my dads responsibility to look after the dogs. He hated a lot of things because of something that happened growing up. Like swimming because my Grandfather worshipped the water spirit they were not allowed to swim. This I was told by my dad so I have no idea why other than I do know it was blamed on one of my uncles deaths. Apparently that my uncle laughed at my grandfather in prayer once and then drowned the next week. True story.

    Anyway I love pets today and swim. I am kind of an Agnostic so I do not believe my uncle died because a water spirit drowning him. What really happened was he got drunk, went in a boat on the lake, and feel off. That is science. The coincidence of that happening was great since they lived by water and boated often, oh and my uncle was an alcoholic. The Odds?? Pretty strong on drowning I think. I do foster a healthy respect for nature though thanks to my dad. I know not to approach wild animals and not to tempt fate with swimming too deep. Oh And I do not drink. Something My dad was very clear about he hated, Drunks. Another story….

    Wow I went on a tangent!

    So back to cats, I am glad they are healthy and safely in my home. Hope you enjoyed my weird family story.

     

    http://neegee.wordpress.com/2013/06/21/catness/

     

June 18, 2013

  • When I first blogged

       When I first came to Xanga was soon after my father had died in 2007. I was grieving hard but Xanga really gave me a place to cry and say my innermost thoughts to those who cared for me. I had much more family on xanga at first than new acquaintances. I had a life that was up to that point all about everyone else around me but me. I love that Xanga gave me a place to reflect on who I was as a person and not just stuck in a role as a mother, wife, and a caregiver. I wish everyone could have that epiphany for themselves. I could have friends outside my small life’s circle I lived in as a stay-at-home mommy.  I blogged even when I got no replies and even when it seemed no one cared because honestly blogging was for me and me alone. I heard it was therapy for a lot of people but it grew to be more than that.

        I meet wonderful people here I might not have in real life since I was a recluse. I loved that feeling when I got someone new who liked my blog. It was like a new window opened in the universe where I could peer in on that person’s life and I learn how they felt and thought. That helped me because it made me more aware socially on the feelings of others. Before that I would come off on the internet as rather mean. I spoke my mind and was never thinking about another persons feelings. I saw how my words had an effect on people. How a kind word went further than a cruel one. I did this in real life since I was shy but online life is a whole different world. I at first had a license to say anything without a personal consequence. I went through a few relationships here on xanga too that ended badly. It helped me gain true perspective on how to treat and care for others on line as well as in person. It taught me to be kind. A very valuable lesson.

     

    The small community of friends that grew because of connections here on Xanga will be missed so much. The next chapters of my blog life is going to be written elsewhere. I have to leave due to my finances. I am not working right now and to ask for one more expense when I can get a blog for free elsewhere seems silly.

    Thank for all the love and support Xanga friends!

     

June 15, 2013

  • New Kitty

    So today Hubby and I went and got a new Kitty. it was half price adopt a cat month but that is not why we went. We went because Memow was lonely.

    Picture Here  >>>>New baby

    I wrote more about it on Word press. I hope I get more people over there. :)

     

June 13, 2013

  • cleaning up

    I decided this week to clean my kids rooms. Someone on Facebook asked me if that wasn’t a kids job. In short yes,  BUT my first son has ADD and the second son wanted to rearrange furniture. Having ADD makes Leif less likely to stay on task. I think it is why his room was so freaking messy. I did send them to clean before and would just look in the door and say OK. Yeah I didn’t think to look under his bed, in his closet, in his drawers, or behind his bookshelf. YIKES I was sure I was going to find a dead animal or something cleaning that room. Aaron is so much neater but just more cluttered with all his things. I weeded out old clothes and toys we got rid of so many things. We had 3 garbage bags full of just trash. Yeah I am embarrassed that I let them live in such squalor. I didn’t find too many dishes, dried food, and other gross things like that just a lot of trash like old homework, cardboard boxes, crafts he had made but were damaged, and old broken binders. We also packed up a lot of goodwill things to donate. I thinned out books and toys while he cleaned under his bed. He had to empty the vacuum twice. I made him vacuum his room last month but you know a boy, only down the middle. We found at least 20 pencils, 30 nerf darts, and 5 dollars in change, he was happy about that. Aarons room we took his bunk bed apart and now he has the top part of the bunkbed on the floor. He loves having a single bed where he can get out of without a ladder. :)

    I was exhausted! So were they but it feel like a huge burden has lifted off their shoulders to have a clean room to enjoy and keep up. I do expect them to keep it up all summer. I will probably clean again in the fall to make sure the past doesn’t get repeated.

    The last few years I really focused on my job as babysitter, cook, and laundry maid. I must confess places in my home were ignored. I always kept the Kitchen, bathrooms and my living and dinning room cleaned up but I have junk everywhere stuck in corners. I am cleaning it out one room at a time this summer and purging.  It is really hard but I had to let go of some things that were my parents. I had kept all my dads old suits he wore to church. I had a whole bunch of things that my mother collected. I just have to thin things out and be less hoardy. (Yeah I like to make up words.) My next big cleaning project is the basement laundry room. I know what I have to do. SIGH* I have I know a can of buttons, cans of nails and old paint a lot of weird things like that.

    Ok anyone else understand this? I feel sinful on how I let things just accumulate. But I do give myself a break since last year I had major surgery. I also tore my knee and needed therapy then helped move out my sister and family to Canada. I got depressed over the winter missing my babies YES MY BABIES LOL and really am just getting out of that WHOLE funk right now. I had an increase in my happy pills and I can tell. I am keeping busy with more craft projects, gardening, baking, and other things I like to do. I feel more well rounded in my life and less sitting around mopey.

    I feel so much better telling this to someone. Thanks for caring a tad about my silly life.

    Part of cleaning things up is I need to start migrating this whole blog. I cannot afford the cost to stay. Sadly my husband is going to be furloughed next month and things will be tight. I am moving my bloggy to wordpress,Here is the Link>>> neegee cleaning out the old….

    I will be printing duplicates until I clear out in July.

     

June 10, 2013

  • New Jersey powwow

    Yes there are Natives everywhere, apparently! :)

    We went last minute to the powwow because the weather report said rain but it was actually a nice day. You can see some rain  clouds and it rained a drop or two but no down pour. The sun came out and it got warm.

    It was fun but I didn’t dance. My husband wore his new ribbon shirt I made him and I wore my old one I took in from losing so much weight from last time I wore it.

    I bought a nice new pair of bone earrings in the shape of a turtle.  I like to buy from the Native traders I know are not buying imports. I love that they make their own wares and it wasn’t mass produced in a factory somewhere. My husband bought a new wedding band of silver since he cannot wear his old one since losing weight too. The Elder who made them offered me a discount if I bought one too. I declined since I couldn’t find one I liked that fit. :( I was thankful anyway for the offer.

    They have a good bunch of dancers I must say.

     

    I was busy pointing out to my oldest son the girls there that were checking him out! Powwow is one place that being NDN makes you popular LOL.

    He is so shy that he just got embarrassed. HE-HE So much like his momma! Hubby said at his age he would have gotten numbers. I think hubby wished it was him getting the attention, Stinker. But who can blame him it was fun to see them ogling my handsome son. Made a person think how fun it would be to be young and snagging again. LOL Poor Leif isn’t popular in school so I hope it was a small ego boost since he has low self esteem issues…like his momma! :)

    When I go to powwow it so remind me of dad. I remember all the things he taught me about what he knew about old powwows back in the day when they were outlawed. It was very strict then and only adults were allowed to dance since it was a dangerous thing to do. They did it at night and in secret in case the authorities would find out. I find that fascinating and appalling that it wasn’t so long ago.

    So many memories of things he said about how the circle needed to be unbroken that in a way it bugs me now how some don’t know the old ways. Oh well things change.

    I am honestly hoping Xanga gets saved. I am really thinking about buying my membership.  I like it so much and if they make it better it will be wonderful. We shall see.

     

June 9, 2013

  • Gen BS

    I call BS on all the people who think their generation is better that the one before or the one after. Just saying that because I heard this as a kid how my generation was inferior and currently mine is saying this to kids now. It is Bull Sh..!  Each generation deals with things that are unique to their growing environment. To hear GenXers talk you would have thought the 70s and 80′s were the golden age in American history. What a pack of self inflated made up crap. I hated those years and love this newer one. I guess I want see my kids as a hope for the future not doomed for failure because of the age they are growing up in is different than mine.  

    So before you start thinking you’re superior because you had it harder, each previous generation has said that to the one before to make themselves feel superior. Not on merit but timing? Yes that is purely junk science.  Each has their own struggles and we all have the same brain and feelings to deal with these obstacles. 
    Makes me wonder how any previous generation is better when you read about their problems that were unique to that time. History teaches us that even ancient civilizations had real health problems and changing social norms. Why does one think it is superior to the next is beyond me. 

June 7, 2013

  • Bojagi

    Don’t even ask me how to say that Korean word HA! But I made one this week for my friend who is having his wedding next month. Patrick married a pretty Korean girl named Hanna from Korea and they have had a time working at getting her OK’d to come live in the states. They meet in China while working at teaching English to classes there. That was the only way they could communicate at first was in Chinese. :) They have been married since last year in Korea but they wanted something for us here in the states to celebrate with them. She only could get a visitors visa for a short time at first so they were waiting for her immigration status to come through for her to live in the USA.

    I cannot wait for that wedding! It is going to be held in a castle in Alexandria NY. OMGoodness! A castle? Yep I said that right. They are a young couple but both graduated from college. Smart and educated they have a lot going for them.

     I used to babysit regularly for him back in Minnesota for his mom who is a doctor. I developed a very strong relationship with that whole family since I often accompanied them as a nanny to work, meetings, and conferences. Also on trips when she went to in the cities. His dad was a historian who taught me so much about the histories of the American Indians in the USA. I love them so much.

    The family came to my wedding and I had him as a ring bearer. :) So I want to see his wedding and reception since I am included on their small list of family and special friends only. WOW I felt so blessed when they said that to me.

    One of the things they are is very socially and environmentally aware. They asked we do not use gift wrap and would rather have gift cards in place of items since they travel a lot. I got to thinking about the Korean style of gift cloth wrappings called Bojagi.~Wiki linked.

    I had some fabric scraps of when I made a baby quilt years ago so I thought I would make a very small one for a gift card and a dreamcatcher (which I plan to make.)

    I came up with a cute adaptation.

     

    HA it looks like a dishcloth but it is really pretty in person.

    Here is what it looks like wrapped up….

     

    a small multicolored Burrito.

    HA!

    Sorry the pictures are so small but that was taken by my iphone.

    I cannot wait to give it and see what the bride thinks of my attempt. :)

    I will take pictures of that wedding and Castle so hopefully I can share them here before the last day.