Way Back When

This is a post about my past. Part of me wishes that I had stayed in one place, but another part of me is glad that we haven't.
I love travel. I get excited when we get up early to drive to...well, anywhere besides our current residence.   ;-)   Unless it's the dentist's office or the bank. Those are no-brainers.

I'm going very far back today. Probably as far back as my first home. I don't have any pictures, but this post will be long enough as it is.   ;-)
I was born in Missouri in 1999, the last year of the nineteen-hundreds. I think that's kind of special. I mean, if I live to be one hundred and one, I could see three centuries.   8-O   Now that would be cool.
I was raised on a large farm in Missouri. My dad had built a cozy little house on the property when he and my mom got married, and they were finishing it up when I came along. It was almost completely done, with only a few things needing updates or fixing, when, 14 months later, my brother was born, and we all lived happily ever after. NOT. Here comes another baby.
We lived in that house for three and ¾ of a year, and my baby sister was born a month away from my fourth birthday. She was three weeks old when it happened. On May eleventh, 2003, our lives were changed. I'm still debating on whether it was a good change or not, because I can guess what would've happened had it not occurred. We probably would not have moved, and I would have lived there for the rest of my life. Would I have liked that? I don't know. If I were raised in a situation where our life was set in one place, never moving, it wouldn't have been a setback not to travel. But because I've had all the experiences, I feel a need to travel.
Anyway, what happened is that we were on the hit list for a tornado. A big tornado. The National Weather Service told us that it was graded an F3, but in reality it was an F4. The research on the path of our tornado was not fully executed, and therefore our fresh example of its destruction was not investigated. In other words, they didn't look into it enough, and it should have been graded an F4.
Well, amazingly, because of God's help, we were all OK. My dad saw the tornado warning on the TV, and swiftly issued a "take cover" order. I had no idea what was going on, except that I knew it was bad, whatever it was. Little kids take their cues on their parents, and because mine were riled and scared, I naturally became scared as well. My mom was a good comfort, though, because she immediately hugged me and changed her attitude. I calmed down, but braced myself for the unknown, and boy, did it come.
My mom was sitting in the bathtub, legs in front of her. My little brother (two at the time) was on her left near the wall, my sister was in her car seat at Mom's feet, and my dad set me on Mom's right. He barely had time to grab a mattress, put it over himself, and huddle beside the tub before it hit. It was over within seconds. I have no idea how long it lasted, but one second I was sitting in the bathtub with my family, the next second I was lying facedown trying to draw a breath. I later realized that my mom was laying on top of me. My brother was trying desperately to claw his way out from under the house, and Mom was trying to hold onto him. Eventually he got out, and Mom scooted off of the top of me. My dad had been flown away by the wind, and though I didn't know that then, I now imagine him using the mattress as a parachute.   ;-)
In the end, we all got out from under the house, we were all okay, and our neighbors let us stay with them until my grandparents came to take us to their place. My dad's mother and grandparents lived on the property with us, and I later found out that my great grandma had been struck on the back with a board and was rushed to the hospital, but everyone else seemed fine.

Well, that is all but a few details of my tornado story, and yes, it is all truthful. On a happier note, my blog has been up for a month now, so happy anniversary, blog.   :-)

'Til next time,
Mountain Gal

Sculpey!

As aforementioned in my first blog post, I like crafting. I like all kinds of crafting. So when we moved to a town with a Walmart in the vicinity, I went straight for the craft aisle as soon as we were settled in the new house. Guess what? The first few times, I didn't see much. My mind was focused on the crafts that I had done before (duct tape crafts, painting, sewing,) and what I knew I liked (the duct tape crafts and the sewing). So about the tenth time we went (which took around three weeks), I looked...and saw something new. Sculpey Oven Bake clay. It wasn't modeling clay. It wasn't air drying clay. It was Oven Bake clay. I thought that was pretty neat. But guess what again? I didn't get any. I figured, "Why should I spend my money on clay that I don't know what to do with?" And so I waited. And we left.
A couple days later, I remember looking at pictures of dragons on Pinterest (I love dragons, did you know? I should do a post about them), and I saw a little picture of clay model dragons. They were comical-- not the big, fierce ones I imagine in my absent thoughts. They were little, colorful baby dragons with big eyes and a tiny marble between their legs.

I remember thinking, "Those are so cute!" And I remembered the clay I had seen at Walmart.
Well, as soon as we went back to Walmart I grabbed about four colors of Sculpey clay. They are only 95¢ apiece here in Arizona, but I don't know about elsewhere.

So when I got back home, I attempted to imitate the baby dragons I saw. I didn't do too well.

And after a while, I just gave up. I took a break. I was defeated. Whatever you prefer to call it.    :-P
But I continued later, and I've been doing things with clay for about three months now.   :-)

I also made several charms and bought some little chains to make necklaces.

O-rings and eye pins are completely necessary when it comes to clay charms. Thankfully,  I can get them here pretty cheap; about half the price that I could in previous towns we've lived in.
I do have a minor problem with my clay projects, though. No matter where I shape them, no matter how careful I am, the clay always gets dirty. Like, just little dust particles that fall in the air. They completely cover the little clay pieces. And so I have resorted to using paint markers to cover the tiny specks. I just paint over the clay after it's been baked. That usually finishes it up.   ;-)

Hopefully I'll be able to correct that problem soon. Maybe I need rubber gloves. Or, even better, a sterilized room. Like that's gonna happen.   ;-)

Leaving with a smile,
Mountain Gal

Sick Days

All right, it has been awhile since my last post and I felt that it was time for another. Ugh. I'm so sorry I had to say that. I really should keep something interesting up more often.   :-\

Starting out, I'd like to say that my family has been sick this past week with a little cold. It's pretty much gone through everyone but me and my sister. Currently my dad is fighting it off, but it's slow going. These days off work might not be very eventful.   :-P

I'm gonna take this opportunity to talk about how our family system works when members get sick. If it's Mom, then the house usually gets a late start on chores, but the chores get done anyway. If it's Dad, everything is mostly normal...Except for the snoring. The snoring and growling is pretty bad.   ;-)
If all the kids get sick, it's just horrible. I mean, really. Mom and Dad do all the chores, there is always a pot of homemade soup simmering on the stovetop, and most usually there will be a movie on.   ;-)   We rarely all get sick simultaneously; however, there have been several accounts that I can remember. Most of the time it's only the little kids that are down, though.

Medicine distribution around here is usually just as often as needed, but in some cases Mom will have those of us who are not sick make a Flu Blaster tea. I love tea.   :-)   I need to make a tea post.   ;-)

Anyway, not much else happens when there is sickness in the house. Maybe I should add something interesting to the story, but it wouldn't be realistic. Sickness just isn't fun. At all.
And that's all there is to say about that.   :-)

Love,
Mountain Gal

The Battle of the Five Armies

I am so sad that I watched that movie, and yet, I loved it immensely. If you want to watch it, I suggest you bring a tissue. I held my tears back and I needed a tissue. But maybe I'm just an overdramatic Tolkien lover.
I can't stop thinking about it. My sister, mother, and I watched it last night in the movie theater, and I stayed to watch the credits. I was in shock. I cannot and will not give anything away, but it was so good I want to tell you something! Arrgh. Just go watch it.   ;-)

So that was what we did last night. The girls of the family, anyway. The guys just messed around.   ;-)   I could tell that they would rather watch an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie or look at dirt bikes for sale. Whatever boys do, they avoid emotion, I've found.

I had another something happen besides the movie date last night. On Saturday I purchased my very own pair of heels. They are three inches tall (Gasp!), so that was an ENOURMOUS change for me. I am used to minimalistic footwear. This is my first pair of non-thin sole shoes since I was a cowgirl in ldaho.   :-O   I wore them to church yesterday, and didn't fall once. I made sure that they had good traction on the bottom and a wide heel. I hate spaghetti-thin heels. And they're loud.   ;-)
Now, Noodle, before you panic that I'm changing my outlook on shoe types, this is probably just a phase for my teenage years. The shoes I got were slightly expensive (IMO), and I am not growing any more than the shoe size I am now. Therefore, if I work on keeping them nice, they will last for years. At least three, I'm betting. I keep my things nice.
So, yes, I now own a pair of three inch heels, but I am saving them for special occasions, I am not leaving them on for multiple hours at a time (except last night, but I was sitting in the theater, not walking), and I am making sure that they will last 'til I'm an adult. I feel like if I'm careful, they were a good expenditure for my money.   :-)

That is all.   :-)
My recommendation to you, readers, is to watch The Battle of the Five Armies. As soon as possible. It was well worth the ticket price for me.   :-D

'Til next time,
Mountain Gal

This Week's Summary

It's time for an update!
Well, Dad's off work, and youth group went great last night, and those are the two biggest happenings this year. Last youth group was a blast, as well. As I predicted, the White Elephant gift exchange was very fun, and I left feeling happy, as usual.   :-)   I also left with York mint minis, a chocolate bar, and a gag gift. That was hilarious, by the way. I received a package of Depends as a joke.   ;-)

All is well here in Arizona, and the temperature is at its lowest for 2015 in the daytime. Why is it that January is always colder than December? We have not gotten any more snow since the exciting dusting I wrote about. I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one hand, I love snow and the many things that you can do with it. On the other, it's nice to be able to cast away winter coats for a whole winter.   :-)   I'm sure that a lot of my friends wish they had my winter. I could call some out by memory, in fact.
But there are also gals that love snow like me. In fact, almost more than summer.   ;-)

Here is an exciting subject: I painted my fingernails yesterday!! And yes, that is exciting. For me, at least. I go through phases of not wanting any nail polish sometimes, but I gave in and put on a coat of coral.

My friend Noodle knows what I'm talking about. Her family uses nail polish differently, though. You can read about that on her blog, Too Hick To Be Square.

I know that I'm probably rambling by now, but there are two more things I have on my mind. One is that, like a seven year old, I am excited about my new shirts.

LOL. The other is that I am excited because The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies is in the local theater! I'm not sure when I'll get to see it, but hopefully it will be soon! I'm partially nervous about it. The last one ends (Spoiler Alert!) with Smaug flying down into Laketown, so, uh...Yeah. I can guess the events that occur next. I have never read The Hobbit all the way through (Yes, I know, that's a surprise to my close friends because I've never wanted to admit that, especially now that I talk about the movies like I know the book), but that's only because, honestly, folks, we move a lot. I PROMISE I will work on picking it up from the library this year.
No, actually, I'll do better. This month. OK? OK.   ;-)

And now, my readers, it's time to end this post. The next one will be quicker than nine days, I assure you. But this one pretty much sums up my whole of January 2015 so far. I can't complain!   :-)  Signing off 'til next time,
Mountain Gal   <3

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope everyone is having a great day so far! Needless to say, I slept in a bit this morning because I stayed up so late.
But I have some more exciting news. This post will be a birthday post as well.
My cousin had a healthy baby early this morning, and I'm so excited for her! I am positive she will be a good mother.  ♥

We normally have nothing going on for New Year, and this year will probably not be any different. We chill out, watch movies, play games, and generally be a family. Except this year my dad has to work. So anything is possible today! I have no idea what is going to happen.   :-)
In fact, there is a Mythbusters marathon playing on TV right now, so that's the start of our festivities.

Who else has a New Year Resolution? I am going to become more confident in myself.
Sure, I talk great when it goes to a webpage, but I need a confidence boost. This year, I'm going to be bold. Daring. Confident! I'm going to work on my happiness as well. My gratitude. And most importantly, I am resolving to be a better listener. I lose my patience quickly. *guilty*

Believe it or not, I have more exciting news. Everyone knows that Arizona is one of the warmest states, right? I'm pleased to let you know that we got snow last night.   :-D   Yep! It is already 70% melted, but it's snow! It beats the fake soap bubble snow we found people making in November.   ;-)   (Yes, that is true.)

I will sign off now and start my new year. Hope everyone has a good time!
Mountain Gal