Time for another giveaway!! Boo!!

One of my favorite all time authors is Stephen King. He has kept me awake many a night unable to put down a scary book. I remember one occasion camping and reading Misery by flashlight in the tent and I had to finish the darn thing. And every sound I heard outside...yikes...I jumped out of my skin!!
And who could forget Cujo....and Thinner and of course Firestarter! The list goes on and on.
So tell me your favorite scary movie, story, poem...anything that has made you feel the hair stand up on the back of your neck! Are you like me and still have to have the shower curtain open an inch or two thanks to the movie Psycho? Oh, how I was traumatized by it.......and the movie The Bad Seed...I still love to watch it at late night. Or are you more of a current move genre like Saw or Final Destination.....wooooo I loved those too!!
I will use my random number picker on Sunday night....and you will win the above Firestarter Movie Collection, which contains the original Firestarter and Firestater 2, Rekindled....just in time for fright night!!!

Wow!! I won another award from my friend Lorie at rice, beans and other fine things (this is where I should link her blog....but I can't figure out how to do that...sorry Lorie) her blog is one of the first that I discovered when I entered the blogging world and I have always admired her writing skills, recipes and photography. Thank you Lorie!!
So now I get to talk about me which I always feel really uncomfortable about...so I will try to not embarrass myself or other family members. So here we go....

Seven things I did before...

1. I used to be a licensed hairdresser for a couple of years...and quit when I had my oldest daughter (who will soon be 28...yikes!)
2. I used to work at a flight training school.

3. I used to work for a medical doctor who believed that he could cure arthritis with cocaine. I think he might have eventually lost his license.

4. I sold photo packages on the phone for Olin Mills.

5. I used to work for a County Recorders officer processing birth and death certificates.

6. I worked as a maid for a large Hotel when I met my husband.

7. And most recently I was the manager for a title and escrow company for 24 years, and was laid off when the real estate market here sank...and my office was closed.

Seven things I do now...

1. Please don't hate me..but I listen to Howard Stern on the radio every day. Of course he is shocking, if it gets too bad I change it....but I love that he is outspoken and he does great celebrity interviews.

2. I adore my grandchildren. They are the greatest little human beings, they are hilarious and they have the best manners better than most adults.

3. I talk to my daughters every single day...several times a day. I can honestly say that they both are my best friends. We do everything together.

4. I cook everyday and love it. I sometimes wish I had more people to cook for, it's kinda boring just cooking for 2 (that's why I love the holidays!).

5. I start alot of projects, but have problems finishing them. there still just aren't enough hours in the day.

6. I don't sleep much...typically 5-6 hours a night. I am a night owl by nature and you will find that most of the posts on my blog are at night. But as a creature of habit, I am typically out of bed by 7.

7. I never turn on the tv during the day. It only comes on at night after the hubby gets home...and at 8:00 he automatically hands the remote to me.

Seven things I would like to do...

1. Learn to paint. I had hoped to take some classes when I had some free time...but so far haven't been able to work it into my "busy" schedule.

2. Sew more...I have never been much of a seamstress, but would like to maybe sew some doll clothes for my granddaughter or a sock monkey or two.

3. Find a way to make money, yet stay home and like...not really work.

4. Be a better photographer and figure out how to use Photoshop Elements.

5. Be motivated to lose weight....but deep inside I think there is nothing wrong with being fat and happy.

6. Be better organized. I am afraid that if (heaven forbid) something happened to my husband and I, and my daughters had to go thru our belongings....there would be a whole lotta cussing going on.

7. Learn how to crochet and knit. I kinda have the crochet thing down a little...but can't follow a pattern. And I have bought many books and even a dvd on how to knit...but still can't figure it out.

Seven things that attracted me to the opposite sex/my husband...

1. His good looks....after 30 years the man still takes my breath away.

2. His close relationship with his family, especially his mom.

3. He is all man....he is stronger than anyone I know. He loves to hunt and fish and when he works in the dirt....he used to make his tractor look sexy ~

4. He is not afraid to show his emotions.

5. I know that he loves me just as much as I love him.

6. He loves to surprise me with a bouquet of flowers nearly every Sunday morning. And he buys the absolutely best cards for my birthday, anniversary and valentines day. He really puts alot of thought into it and he never forgets a holiday.

7. He's a great father and an awesome Grandfather.

Seven favorite foods...

1. Pasta, Pasta, Pasta.

2. Pies or anything pie-like...i.e. cobblers, fruit tarts...etc.

3. Sushi...yum, my favorite dinner out

4. Seafood of any kind...kinda goes with #3 I guess.

5. Cakes and cookies.

6. Polenta...one of my favorite side dishes.

7. Ice Cream....but I am a snob about it...must be good quality (in other words most fattening) like Ben and Jerry's or Hagen Das

Seven things I say most often...

1. Will you dogs knock it off (they fight like kids).

2. I need to turn my computer off and get some stuff done.

3. I hope I don't see anyone I know...I don't have any makeup on.

4. Please don't ask me what I did today.

5. Do I really have to go back to work eventually?

6. What the heck did I walk in this room for?

7. Now I know I saw that somewhere.....where did I put it?

Now I am supposed to tag seven people. But this is always the hard part for me. First, I am fairly new to blogging and probably only have about 7 followers. Second, it is kinda like picking your favorite child....I just can't do it!!!!
So here is what I am gonna do...you are all winners to me....I want everyone that reads my blog to pick this award up...take it, grab it...it's yours. You deserve it!!

Wordless Wednesday.....

To stop the bleeding.....put a bandaid on it!!

I don't know if anyone else saw this article that was on the internet http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27311840/
but these are words that I have preaching for sometime now.
I saw first hand how the mortgage mess happened...I was there, saw it happening and saw it fall.
I think that the only way for the mortgage mess to stop bleeding is for all lenders to reduce the interest rate on every one's loans to a low fixed rate...say 4 or 5 per cent. I know that this is going to cause them to lose alot of money in interest, but it will stop the massive amounts of foreclosures across the board.
I don't think that this reduction should only be made to those borrowers in trouble, I think it should be made on ALL loans, across the board...with every one's values dropping it is too easy for alot of people to walk away from their homes, this would give everyone a more affordable payment and the incentive to stay in their homes.
When values come up again, and they will...then everyone will begin to refinance again to pull money out. Unfortunately that is the American way now, since it is the only tax deduction for most of us. Most people will never accomplish paying their mortgage off, and never really work towards that.
It always reminds me of the bumper sticker...he who dies with the most toys wins...that pretty much sums up our society, we want what everyone else has only newer, bigger and nicer. And we have all learned the last few years that all you have to do is tap into the gold mine that you live in...your home.

Ahhh....back to reality and a day making jam

We got back last night from a weekend of fishing....ahhhh there is nothing like it!! No phones, no mail, no tv, no cooking, no cleaning...heck you don't even have to shower if you don't want too!!
Just me, my hubby, my dog (only the wienie dog got to go), my fishing equipment and my satellite radio....nothing else needed....oh and food, drink and my self contained 30 foot travel trailer.....I wasn't gonna rough it now, was I?
At this particular trout derby...they plant 500 fish, 50 of which have tags on them...3 of them have big money tags...one is worth $3000.00 and the other two are worth $1000.00..the remaining tagged fish split the remaining pot of money.
A couple of years ago I caught a tagged fish and walked away with almost $200.00.
But this weekend, no one caught any of the big money fish....and only 2 tagged fish were caught the entire weekend. So the two people that caught the fish split the entire pot....my guess is that they probably walked away with at least $2000.00 each! Not bad for a weekend of fishing!!!
It was a beautiful weekend with weather in the 80's and a low of 50 at night...purrrfect!! We stayed up Saturday night and did some night fishing until about 1:30...when we couldn't hold our eyes open any longer. I think this is the last tournament of the year, until spring.
So....when I got back I had forgotten that I had picked a bucket of figs at a friends house, that were waiting for me in the garage. And today I made a batch of fig jam.
It is absolutely delicious to serve on crackers, over cheese...maybe drizzled over your morning oatmeal or even ice cream. Here is the recipe...courtesy of Ball Blue Book of Preserving
Fig Jam
5 lbs. figs
6 c. sugar
3/4 water
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
Rinse figs and trim stem off. Place figs in a large roasting pan and cover with boiling water and let stand 10 minutes. Drain and finely chop.
Combine figs, sugar and water in large heavy pot over medium heat bring to a slow boil, stirring constantly. Cook to gelling point. Add lemon juice and cook 1 minute longer.Ladle into hot prepared jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process 15 minutes in a water bath.
Enjoy!!!