To my Sister

Several years ago, when I moved away for college, my sister, Jolene, gave me a daily calendar that was filled with quotes for Sisters. I have kept several of those quotes to remind me how blessed and lucky I am to have her in my life. Since then, I have also gained several more sisters (sister-in-laws) and I am reminded each time I read these how much God has played an amazing role in each of our lives individually and as a family.

If you have a sister, whether you speak to her or not, I hope these will remind you how wonderful she is.

"A sister is a gift of GOD, sent from above to make life worthwhile here below." - Anonymous

"Every sister has a fund of embarrassing stories she can bring out at the most effective moment." - Pamela Dugdale

"We acquire friends and we make enemies, bur our sisters come with the territory." - Evelyn Loeb

"Write your sister's weak points in the sand and her strong points in stone." - Anonymous

"Sisters may share the same mother and father but appear to come from different families." - Anonymous

"You should never look down on a sister except to pick her up." - Anonymous

"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child." - Linda Sunshine

"What's the good of news if you haven't a sister to share it?" - Jenny De Vries

These are two of my favorites that resonate so much with my sister and I. 

"The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend." - Cali Rae Turner

"You can kid the world, but not your sister." - Charlotte Gray

My beautiful sister, Jolene.
Life wouldn't be worth it without you Jo!

You can't tell we're sisters at all can you?
We get mistaken as twins quite frequently.

Bucket List - Donate Hair

Yesterday (Thursday, June 28th, 2012) was nerve racking and exciting. I have been growing my hair out to donate since July 2008 (when I first met Ben). When I decided to grow my hair out to donate, I had just cut my hair as short as ever. They shaved the back of my head all the way down. Within the first year it grew like crazy, 5-6 inches, so I figured that I would be able to donate it on my 25th Birthday and still have rather long hair still... I wouldn't wait any longer. Between the extreme heat this week, the prospects of the same next week, and finding out that I only need 8 inches for donation prompted me to get it done now.

Getting ready to cut it all off!

They cut off about 8.5 inches to donate to Pantene's  Beautiful Lengths!

The finished cut! So excited to brush my hair without tangles, straightening it in under 15 minutes, and being 10 degrees cooler next week on our vacation!

Memorial - James Wulf

Wow, I didn't expect to add a memorial post so early in the life of this blog. 

I would like to dedicate this remembrance blog to Jim Wulf, my fellow co-worker so recently passed away rather unexpectedly. Jim was our I.T. specialist for our entire office and handled the job with a smile on his face. He helped our office be a more enjoyable place to work. He did this by always helping an extra hand when needed (whether he was asked or not) and always putting a smile on someone else's face. I can only remember, and vary faintly at that, a few times he was ever cross at a person or situation. He was always finding the brighter side of the situation and showed compassion to everyone he met. He was very knowledgeable in so many areas and would enlighten you if you just asked. Jim was one of just a few people from work to ask about me and my life, not work related, but personally. We would frequently share our weekend stories, especially those having to do with our gardens and the challenges that come with having them. He was not only an avid gardener, but also raised honey bees, and enjoyed shooting.

This will certainly be a difficult transition to make as I've never had one like this. Even though I have lost many family members before, I have almost always had the chance to cope/ prepare myself with the idea of not seeing them tomorrow. This is different, not only did we part ways after work on Friday talking about our weekend plans and goals for the coming week, but he is the first person that I have lost that I saw/ spoke to almost daily. Even this week, I have found myself on several occasions, typically after another "frustrating, yet hilariously funny" situation that happens at home. I start to tell my husband, "Jim is gonna get a kick out of... oh wait, he's not there anymore". 

I gladly call him my friend, and will continue to pray for his family and loved ones. He will truly be missed, but will always be remembered.

Homemade Applesauce

It must have been the fall of 2010, before my husband and I were engaged. We went to my hometown in hopes to go apple picking to make some applesauce. Unfortunately, because it was rather late in the season and it was a rather mild season none of the orchards that my family frequented over the years were offering "pick your own" apples. We did get lucky that an orchard in the Ganges/ Shiloh area, Spring Hill Fruit Farm, had 2nd hand apples already picked for us! Now, before you write this off, 2nd hand doesn't mean they are rotting, or have bugs in them. Second hand simply means that they have a few blemishes (discoloration, uneven skin, maybe a small bug hole, etc.) but they work great for applesauce or apple pie fillings since you'll be peeling/ cooking them anyways.

The best way to make applesauce is to have at least a sweet and a sour/tart variety of apples. Below is what we mixed into our batch.

1/2 bushel mixed of Jonathan and Jonathan Gold ~$8

1/2 bushel mixed of Jonathan Gold and Yellow Delicious ~$8

We got about 15 quarts of homemade applesauce with minimal costs. My family has been canning for generations so we have a good stash of mason jars. After we bought more lids (we always use new lids to ensure a proper seal, but do reuse the jars and rings) at about $4.50 a dozen we only spent a total of $22.00 for 15 quarts ($1.50 a quart) of homemade applesauce that is so much healthier and tastier than store bought!

Spring Hill Fruit Farm

5646 Ganges 5 Point Rd.

Shiloh, OH 44878

P: 419.896.2866

If you have any questions/ comments, please let me know!

~JLS

Time Management - By John Tesh

Here is some advice from John Tesh on Managing Your  Time

(Short notes from John Tesh - via www.Mystar933.com)

• Finish what you start: If you're writing a report, stopping in the middle is like turning your computer off and on between paragraphs.
• Break them into small pieces: Breaking them into pieces makes them easier to start and easier to get back to if you are interrupted.
• Get other people what they need when they need it: If you provide your deadline on time, others will provide theirs to you on time.
• Analyze your output: If you're productive in the morning, maximize that time. Do more distracting things in the afternoon.
• Stop multitasking: Multitasking actually produces inferior results in a longer amount of time.

Welcome!

Welcome!

This is my first attempt at blogging so we'll see how it goes. The tabs at the top of my blog may seem rather random, but to me they are not. Several of the tabs will be filled from a "junk drawer" that I keep with anything from quotes, stories, fun facts, "ism's", and more. This is a chance to consolidate those items and to help make them more useable for myself and for all of you.

The other purpose for this blog, besides spring cleaning, is to help me in examining my life. Socrates said that "the unexamined life is not worth living". That is a great reminder to examine who we are, the path we are on, where we've been, and where we're going. Another common phrase is "if you don't know where you're going, you'll never know if you're there". This blog is meant to help me move forward in life, to learn from my past, and to grow into the person that God wants me to be. I hope that you will be able to examine your life through catalysts from my posts and that the topics presented will help you in moving forward and to make the most of what God has in store for you.

Enjoy,
~JLS