City vs Country

Fellow Bloggers

Have you ever considered whether living in the country is better than living in the city or vice versa? There are obvious benefits to living in either place and depending on where you grew up tends to dictate which you prefer.

Living in the country brings clean air. There is no smog but there can be definite ordors in the air in the country. It is also much quieter. No sirens, cars racing past, horns or just ther normal city sounds. Country sounds include birds, wind/breezes, leaves blowing and at night crickets and tree toads. Country living allows you to grow your own produce in gardens. Something that can also be done in the city, but in the county it's typically on a larger scale. Neighbors are definitely not near as close to you as they area in the city. You can run and holler in your yard and not worry about offending anyone.

Downsides of living in the country are that you aren't as close to the stores as maybe you would like to be. Every thing requires that you have to drive a distance to get to it. There are also different types of wildlife that like to visit your yard. Deer will come and eat your flowers. Turkey, squirrel, rabbits and possum are just a few of the critters that will travel through your yard. Racoon like to make themselves at home in your garbage cans or anywhere they can cause a little mischief.

Living in the city puts you near everything. Movie theaters and stores, schools and libraries; everything is typically within just a couple minutes from you. There is always something to do and neighbors are abundant.

Living in the city also allows for noise. There is always a car racing by or an amnulance/police car with a siren going, a neighbors dog barking or other city noises that many get used to hearing. Crime is always something that one has to be concerned with. Locking doors is a must in the city.

A case could be made for either country or city living. It seems though that the harder, safer life is in the country. You work hard and sleep heavy. The easier, more dangerous life is in the city. Things are there are the touch of a finger, but you need to be leary of people you meet and make sure to protect everything you have or own. There is no right answer to the question, It all depends on your preferences and maybe how you were raised. For me, it's all about the country but not so far from the city that it's a pain to go to town. How about you?

Childhood :)

Time to blog again...

When you were little, did you believe in Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy? Or did your parents just keep things on the up and up and tell you that there was no such thing and just give you the gifts themselves. Where did these tales come from; how did they get started? Do you remember your favorite Christmas?

I'm not sure of the origins of Santa Clause but I was told that it had a religious background and that the Dutch originally brought it to the America. I'm glad they or whoever did. Christmas has always been a favorite holiday of our family. I remember how I wondered and wondered for the longest time about how Santa could bring all those presents into the house and put them under the Christmas tree when we didn't have a fireplace and chimney for him to come down. It was also a favorite tradition to bake a batch of cookies and leave out a place full of them with a glass of milk for him to have when he came.

He always brought the right presents too. My brother and sister and I would sit and go through the catalogs circling the things that we wanted to get for Christmas. We'd tear out the pages and send them to the North pole about 2 weeks before Christmas. The hardest part was having to be good for two weeks without any slips in order to get all the presents on the list that we sent.

The Easter Bunny always came as well and he brought gifts as well. We couldn't figured out how he could bring the gifts because he was so small and didn't have a sleigh like Santa. Then our parents took us to the mall once to meet the Easter Bunny and then it all made sense. The Easter Bunny was big and could carry the presents to our house. He would come on Easter morning and leave eggs all over my grandma's yard that were filled with candy and money. After we opened our presents at our house, we would go to grandmas and find the eggs.

The Tooth Fairy was even more sneaky. Each of us had a pillow with a small pocket on the front of it. When we would lose a tooth, we would put the tooth in that little pocket and then the pillow would go under our pillow. Then, in the middle of the night, the Tooth Fairy would sneak in and take the tooth out of the pillow and leave money in its place. How the heck did that happen without us knowing! However it happened, we were always so excited to look under the pillow. As soon as we realized that one of out teeth were slightly loose, we worked and worked until that tooth came out so we could get the tooth pillow out and have more money to put in our piggy banks.

Funny the things that little kids believe in. Sad when we all grow up and those beliefs go away. Things were so much more fun when we were nieve little ones. Sometimes I think it was a happier time.

Politics (AKA annoying)

Hello blogger friends....

Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservative...are you tired of hearing about it and seeing it on TV? The ads...the ads...the ads....ENOUGH!! The sad part of it all is that the majority of what is said is only half truths to make things suit their needs.

For those of us who aren't old enough to vote, or maybe even the ones who are going to vote for the first time this year, it makes it difficult to even want to vote because of all the badgering of the parties. My mom has a rule about commercials. If the product in the commercial bashes a competitor, she won't purchase it. If the company has to stoop to the low level of talking bad about the competitor then it's not worth buying. Both companies are in the business of selling their product. They sould sell their product based on it's merits.

The same should go for the political field. The commercials just get so depressing. Each of the candidates should just give the facts and allow the public to make their choice on their own individual merits. If the have to stoop to the low blows, what are they showing us really? Does this show us that they will do a better job than the other if elected President? It doesn't and personnaly, I think they should stop already. The election is still over a month away. Allow us the time to see the positive things that they have done. Maybe put some ads on about that without bashing their competitor.(259)

-Ardeeemilla :)

Hello bloggers...

Ever watch Little House on the Prairie and wonder what life would have been like for you if you had lived back in those days. Laura Ingalls Wilder is an inspiration for many and her true life stories and books she wrote about them have taught many life lessons to many.

Growing up in the middle of the big woods had to be hard. But families back int those days didn't know any different. They lived by themselves with neighbors miles away and created their own entertainment. Their belongings were their prized posessions and meant the world to them, and in some cases, life or death. Now a days kids spend more time at their neighbors or friends homes than they do at their own. Spending time is borning and the only things to do by yourself are things that most don't want to do like clean your room. :)

People work hard to make money and buy things. But the difference now a days, especially with kids is that if it breaks, it's not a problem. We can always buy another one. It feels like unapreciativeness. We are a wasteful people now. Back in those days, things lasted from generation to generation.

If people had to milk a cow every morning by hand just to have a glass of milk, would they. If children had to walk to school for miles now adays, would they? Chopping firewood at night, cleaning the horse stalls, eating stew more than once a week...would you do it?

A life of simplicity has advantages. It teaches one true work ethic. It makes you appreciate the real things of value in life such as family. Things have changed drastically over the years. Things today are hectic and … electronic! No electricity back then. Could you have survived?

-Ardeeemilla

Blogger Friends...

Did you know that Wisconsin is the state that is referred to a “gods country”? It's beautiful there. It's one state in this country that truly has and changes through every season. In spring, the weather is wonderful. It stays between 40 and 60 degrees. It rains often which starts the grasses and trees growing. It's also the time that many women start to make plans for the flowers that they are planning to put in their flower beds for the year. It's fun to see all the different vendors get their green houses up, knowing soon the flowers will be shipped in and ready to be sold.

Squirrels and rabbits start to play in the fields and birds start to build their nexts. It's the time of the year when everything everything is reborn and everyone is playful from the long winter that just ended.

Summers in Wisconsin mean field work, baseball and camping. It's fun to load the car up, fill the tank with gas and go until you run out. When you get to that spot, that's where you pitch your tent. Camping in Wisconsin brings all kinds of excitement. Deer are plentiful and sometimes like to wander into your camp. Summer weather can be warm, and not much different than Iowa, just slightly cooler.

The end of spring into summer is beautiful due to all the flowers popping up, but truly fall is is one of the most colorful seasons in Wisconsin. Unfortunately it doesn't last long. It's the end of September into October when the leaves on the trees turn to most gorgeous colors. Thousands of people travel down the roads of Wisconsin just to see these colors. It's also a time of harvest. Apple orchards, gardens and corn fields prove to reaffirm all the work that has taken place through the spring and summer months. Moms can their produces and get ready for the winter months. Dads harvest their fields and store the rewards for the animals to have during the winter as well.

Winter is cold in Wisconsin. This is one tihng different from Iowa. Wisconsin gets more snow than Iowa, lower temperatures and can be somewhat windier. However, the people who live in Wisconsin know how to enjoy winters too. Snow skiing, ice skating, fort building...all things you will see everywhere. Wisconsin...a favorite place to go.

-Ardeeemilla

Homade Flour Tortillas :)

Hello bloggers!

Tonight, my mom and I made home made tortillas. Ever had them? They are the best. Nothing like what you get in the store. And they are really easy to make. There are only 4 ingredients needed to make them. Let me tell you what to do.

Flour, Salt, Water and Oil...that's all you need. When my mom cooks, she really doesn't use recipes. It's all by sight and feel. If I had to guess, I would say that she puts about 2 cups of flour on the counter. She doesn't use a bowl to do this. She takes about a half a teaspoon of salt and sprinkles it all over the salt. She makes a hole in the center of the flour and puts about 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in the hole. She then starts to work the flour into the oil. Using her fingers, she incorporates the oil into the flour. Once the oil is well incorporated, she then pours warm water, about ¾ of a cup into the flour which she has made another hole in the center of. She starts working the water into the flour. This forms the tortilla dough. She can feel from the dough whether it needs more flour or a little more water. Once the dough is just right, she breaks off pieces of dogh and makes small balls. Each dough ball will make one tortilla. She sprinkles a little flour on the counter and uses a wooden down as a rolling pin to roll out the tortillas.

The tortillas are cooked on a comal which is a heave metal flat pan. The cooking of the tortillas is the hardest part of the whole process. There are three flips to each tortilla and it's important thats all you do or they get hard. So once the tortilla is rolled out, it goes to the comal. It will start to have amall bubbles. Once the whole tortilla shows bubbles, it's time to flip it. The bubbles that were just created will now really blow up. If your tortilla doesn't have the bubbles, it's not going to be very good. Sometimes you can help the bubbling process by pressing on the tortilla. My mom uses a towel to press in just the rights spots softly. Where she presses, a bubble forms. Sometimes, she flips it back to the first side just to make sure that it's cooked al the way. When it's done, it goes to a rest on a towel an cool. Then the next tortilla goes to the comal! That's it other than to make something to put in the tortilla! Sometimes I like to butter the the tortilla and sprinkle sugar on it. Home made tortillas are the best.

-Ardeeemilla :)

Whooping Cough

Hello blogger friends...

Today I brought home a form from school for the Whooping Cough vacinnation. My parents want me to get it. I have shots! But my grandfather had whooping cough this year and it wasn't fun. It took the doctors a long time to finally figure out what he had. He knew he had a cough and thought it was just a cold. So he took cold medicine from the store. But then his cough got worse. So worse, that when he he would start coughing, he would cough and cough until he would pass out. The problem was that my grandfather is retired and doesn't work. So he would be home, start coughing, and pass out when no one was around. So he went to the doctor. The gave him some antibiotics. He thought this were going to get better. They didn't.

Still coughing, still passing out, feeling terrible. Finally one day, he passed out and when he woke up, he couldn't remember what had happened. It scared my grandmother so much that she made him go back to the doctor. They ran more tests and again, told him that it was just a cold. So as he was getting ready to leave, he started coughing, with the doctor in the office. Just as you would expect, he passed out right in front of the doctor! But this time he really did it good. When he went down, he went face forward. He broke his glasses, cut his head open and gave himself a black eye. He had to have stitches in his head and he tore the retina in his eye. But the doctor saw what happened and ran him through more tests. Whooping cough was the ultimate ruling. They gave him different medications and it took a while, but he finally got better. Trust me...I'm getting the vaccine!

-Ardeeemilla :)

Farmers Market

Hello Fellow bloggers!

Today, Was the last of this years Farmers Market downtowm. My mom and I have been looking forward to it for two weeks. It'll be the last time that we will be able to stock up on vegetables and produce that is fresh and home grown. So last night, we made sure to get to bed early so we could be ready to start buying when the market opened at 7:30 am. That was our goal anyway...


At 6:45, we were up and getting ready. We decided to take our dogs Bailey and Toby with us as they love to see all the other dogs that usually are there and they both needed the exercise. However, it was a brisk morning and Toby is a Chihuahua and Bailey is a Papillon...both small dogs. So we got each of them our an outfit to wear. Once we get them dressed, we went to put bows in Bailey's hair. That didn't go very well. She wouldn't sit still and Toby was really restless, so we finally just decided to leave them at home. Off we went. There were a few things that we knew we wanted to buy for sure, butwe were excited to see all the other things that would be there as well.

The biggest problem with going to a Farmers Market of this size (several city blocks) is that there are several vendors selling the same things and at different prices. So you need to make sure that you remember where you see things in order to get the best deals and not purchase from the first vendor you see. If you go the market every time they have it, most vendors are typically in the same place each time. If you have a vendor that you have purchased from in the past and their prices is good and their produce is great, you cand just go directly to them and not have to shop ot he other. Thats what we did. There is a Menonite group that sells fresh grown produce and its really nice produce. So we went there and got what we needed right away. That left us with time to just look at all the other things other than produce for the rest of the time that we were there.

We found a candy vendor and picked up some for my dads 'sweet tooth'. We also found a pasta vendor and purchase a 10 pound bag for $10. There was music for all to listen to, so we bought some breakfast burritos and sat and listened while we ate.

It was still cool by the time we finished up and headed back to the car. Hanging out at the market with thousands of peope and sun beating on you can make it not a fun time, but because we were there early enough, there was no heat to deal with. And now...home to make lunch....with some of our produce. Stuffed peppers for lunch...YUM! It's the best part of the Farmers Market...eating what we bring home.

-Ardeeemilla

Chickens

Hello Bloggers!

Did you know that raising chickens can be very exciting? Yep...who would have guessed. Chickens can actually make great pets. Every year, going to the store to pick out chicks is the highlight of spring. Picking out chicks can be very difficult. Think about it...how do you tell with something that small whether is't male or female?? Fortunately, the store takes care of that for you. The problem you will have is deciding which of the little cuties you want to take home with you.

There are hundreds of different kinds of chicks. One way you can choose is to look at the information that the store provides on what kind of eggs it will lay when it grows up. That is, if you are choosing chicks for layers. If you are getting chicks that you know you will butcher, then there are chicks specifically for that. However, one thing to keep in mind is that you will not want to get too attached to them as they are growing up if in fact you intend to butcher.

Once your chicks grow up, you will start to see how smart they actually are. Like clockwork, the chickens will go to their coop to settle in for the night as soon as the sun starts to set. You rarely need to search for them if they are free range chickens. Free range chickens means that they are 'free' to go where ever they want in your yard and are not kept in a cage. According to scientists, free range chickens have less stress causing more egg production or more tender chickens.

 

If you spend time with your chickens as they grow, they will not be afraid of humans. They will also become friendly and like to be held. In fact, they may even sit on your lap, follow you around the yard and even wake you in the mornings. Oops...that's the roosters that do that! :)

(327)
Bye, Bye
 -Ardeeemilla :)

How to raise kittens

Hello fellow bloggers! :)

I love animals so today i thought i would write a blog about raising kittens. A few years ago, my mom and I found a newborn kitten that had lost it's mom. Let me share with you the trials of raising a kitten and learing now to become a mother cat without having had any experience.

This kitten was so small that it could be held in the palm of your hand. It's eyes were not yet open, so it was important to try and figure out it's age in order to start off on the right foot. You can try books and online information, but your best bet is to talk to someone at a pet store or a veternatian. When you think of newborn kittens, what do they do all day long? Sleep and eat. Usually there is more than one kitten in a litter and when they sleep, they get all piled up on one another in order to stay warm. They usually also have their mother all curled up around them. When yo u only have one kitten, you need to come up with a way to recreate that same warm environment. If you are keeping your kitten in a box, you can put a heating pad in it and keep it on low. Then take a towel and lay it over the heating pad. It's also a good idea to put some small stuffed animals in the box so that the kitten can curl up with them. Make sure that the box you are using has tall enough sides so that as the kitten grows, it is not able to jump out. If you don't have any stuffed animals to put in the box, you can use some small towels and roll them up and put in the box. This is extremely important if its only one kitten because they dont have their brothers and sisters to keep them warm.

When feeding a kitten you can go to any pet store and buy kitten formula and it will say on the back how much and how many times a day to feed them according to how old they are. The milk has to be warmed up just like you would for a human baby. After you feed your kitty or kittens they will probably have to go potty. When baby kittens are born they don't instinctively know how to go potty so there mom licks their bottoms as a stimulation to force the urge to go potty. You will need replicate this stumulation too. The best way to do this is to take a luke warm damp wash cloth and just continuously wipe there bottom until they go potty. It is best to do this with a white wash cloth so you see that they have gone. If you don't to this, they will get sick.

If you follow all of this soon enough you will have a full grown healthy cat. (506)

See ya later

-Ardeeemilla :)

Flowers

Hello Fellow Bloggers! :)

Have you ever gotten that urge sometime around the end of January where all you want to do it plant flowers in the yard. It happens ever year. Spending tons of time shopping and money on some of the coolest flowers is a great way to spend your money and time and to also makes your yard look amazing!

You probably have different flower beds in your yard, some in the front, some in the back and maybe on the sides. One of the things you need to remember or think about though is what colors you want where. Flowers come in many colors, but sometimes not in the colors you want for the areas you want to plant them. You also need to know what kinds of soil you have as well as how much sunlight you are going to get in that area. When finding plants usually on the back on the tags there is information on what helps the flowers to grow to its full potentialand you always want to pick the flowers thats needs best mach the kind of area you are putting the flowers in. Yards that have flower beds with all different kinds of flowers and colors all mixed together are not very attactive. It's a good idea to plant the taller flowers toward the back of the bed and the shorter flowers in the front. Making one bed full of pinks and reds and maybe another full of yellows and oranges is a great idea.
 
 After they are planted, all that's left is the water! They need to be watered every day. If you dont like just soil around the flowers you can also add rocks to your flower bed or even wood chips. Wood chips come in a lot of different colors and you just have to choose by what looks better with your house. And voila! You have a beautiful garden for every one to see, and your neighbors will definantly be super jealous. (356)

See ya laterzz!! (:
-Ardeeemilla :)

Scrapbooking

Hello fellow bloggers!(:

One of my favorite pasttimes is scrapbooking. Have you ever done it? Once you start, it can become addicting. For those of you who have never scrapbooked, let me give you a quick tutorial on how to get stared. Once you get going, maybe someday you could join me and my mom at a scrapbooking event.

To get started, you are going to need a couple supplies. You'll need post it notes, small paper bags, a pen or marker, and maybe some cardboard dividers. For the bags, they don't need to be anything special. You could purchase those paper bags that kids use to take their lunches to school, or better yet, recycle some bags like gift bags, shopping bags....any bag will do. Then you need to find yourself a long table and of course...your pictures. The hardest part is going through all the pictures. You will need to split them up depending on what they were taken for. Let's just say for example, you have photos of your birthday party, a family wedding, a school event, your sisters graduation.... Each of these is a different event and get each gets a bag. Label the front of the bag with the event and put the photos in the bag. Depending on how may events you have, you could have a lot of bags.

Now comes the fun part...shopping! There are tons of things you can purchase to help you create your scrap books. You can purchase items at Walmart, specialty scrap booking stores, Hancock and JoAnn fabrics or even on line. There are may different assortments of scrapbook colors and sizes. You'll need to get a couple of them. They come with a colored cover and plastic page protectors on the inside. Then you'll need to get the sheets of paper that you put your photos on. They too come in different weights and colors, some with patterns and some with glittery designs on them. You might want to purchase them based on the event that you are going to use it for. For example, if you were going to make a baseball scrap book of your brothers games and awards, you might want to pick our a book that has the colors of his team, and sheets that are baseball related. You can also purchase stickers and there are many many stickers to choose from. You will need a special tape that is used to put the photos on the scrapbook page. They come in all different sizes and costs. That should get you started.

So, sort your photos. Then pick the event that you want to start with. Then get your book and you are ready to go. You can put your photos on the sheets however you like. You can put any stickers on the pages with the different photos to make it look neat. Once you have a page done, put it in your book and move on to the next page of photos. (501)

-Ardeeemilla :)

About Me

Hello fellow bloggers! (:

So my AP lang teacher gaves us the assignment of writing our first blog to let our readers know a litlle bit about who we are. I've been sitting here a little while really trying to think about how to answer this question. Who am I and how do I live my life? When I think about this question the quote that comes to mind is,

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey

I am a daughter, a sister, a friend, a neighbor, and a lover of animals. I am kind, conciderate and caring. I am very shy but around family and friends I am crazy. I am the girl who doesnt like when people are mad at her or dont like her. I am the girl to run around singing and dancing all hours of the day and night. I am the girl to run through my house with my brother wearing superman costumes. I am also the girl who wants to go to college, get a good job and have the thing most important to her, a family and a husband to kiss me when I come home from work at night. I the kind of girl who will sit at home with my hair up, no make up, and sweats and not care. However, when it's time to go out on the town, I am also the girl in a great dress, face and hair all done up. People will say what they want to say but it doesn't bother me. No ones opinion matters unless you let it.

I am in love with showchoir and love to be on stage. I try to do my best at every practice and especially when we are at a competition. I love to compete. I am the girl that hates to fail and will never give up. I always try hard in school and will do my best at anything I try. When I graduate from high school, my goal is to have a career in the medical field. I'm not exactly sure what yet, but I love to help people. I really hate the cold weather of the MidWest, so I am hoping to go to college somewhere really warm.

 

I am who i am.  If you like me good; if you dont go away and have a nice life.

Thanks for reading my blog (: (328)

Bye, Bye (:
-Ardeeemilla :)