Welcome to another thrilling edition of “Questions. And their answers.”
Please.
Try to contain your excitement.
1) From Amanda:
Lets see…. what curriculum are you using for homeschooling? I was thinking of doing a combination of $1 store finds and abeca.
What are you doing for your next birthday? If you had to choose between spaghetti and lasagna for life which would you choose?
Such a grand smorgasbord of questions, Amanda!
Ok, curriculum: I am using a variety of things and you can read all about them here. I am basically using The Well-Trained Mind, which is a guide to classical education at home.
What am I doing for my next birthday? Probably crying. I am turning 30.
Lasagna all the way.
Hence, my pudge.
2) From my sweet sugar pants friend, MindyLouHoo:
Would you rather….lose 15 pounds forever and never gain it back but could never wear makeup anywhere again, OR..would you rather…gain 15 pounds but have the most lovely peaches and cream skin ever?
This is a horrific question.
Horrific.
I seriously can’t decide. I would probably want to go with the losing of 15 pounds, but then if people wanted to see me, it would have to strictly be only in candelight, which would most likely prove itself inconvenient over time.
Fun Fact about MindyLou:
MindyLou and I were acquaintances before the age of Facebook. Then we became Facebook friends.
Facebook. It unites people, you know?
I firmly believe that if I were to delete about half of my Facebook friendships, not one of them would notice.
We are that tight.
But that is neither here nor there.
MindyLou and I do talk on Facebook. And she would notice. But anyways, she started reading my blog, so then she asked if we could hang out.
So, we did.
And then she never asked again.
Oh, The Lumberjack will never let me live that one down.
“Looks like you aren’t as fun in real person, huh?”
“Boy, you sure scared Mindy off!”
“Man! What did you say to Mindy?”
Darn this blog.
MindyLou! MindyLou! I am sorry I am so lame in real life.
Another fun fact: A different and completely unrelated reader asked me to hang out with her and we are doing so tomorrow.
I am preparing myself to never hear from her again.
3) From Heather.
Heather goes to my church.
That was a fun factoid, was it not?
My question is: Knowing what you know now, do you regret moving out to Ruralville? If you could do it over would you choose a place closer to town? The reason I ask is because my husband would love to move us out of town too and I don’t know how I feel about that. I think I’d miss not being 5 minutes from Target, or the grocery store, or civilization!
I am not sure I am emotionally stable enough this week to properly answer this question.
But answer it I will.
I don’t know yet. I know that my husband truly needed to live on acreage and he is happier and I am happy that he is happy. But I am still getting used to it.
I used to live 5 minutes from the lake.
Now I live 5 minutes from deer, trees, and a nudist resort.
So, at least I have options!
4) From Ada. Ada magically found my blog from who-knows-where and she knows my dearheart friend Bimlissa!
So, Ada is a kindred spirit in my book.
What kind of gravy are you making? Biscuits and gravy or chicken and gravy?
I am not making any kind of gravy.
I have a few “homeschooling” pounds to lose, I can’t eat food items high in cholesterol, and I simply don’t know how to make gravy.
5) From Mindee. I don’t remember how Mindee and I found each other in blog-land.
But it was a match made in heaven, I tell ya.
Mindee is a very good blogging friend who always leaves thoughtful, funny comments. And her blog is awesome, too!
Will your many and assorted relatives come to your house for a painting “party” and relieve you of your peach oppression?
Well. No.
They all think we live too far.
Perhaps if we handed out gas vouchers?
6) From Martha.
A question, hmmm. Do you LIKE homeschooling? Forget about whether you think you’re any good at it, but do you like it? I’m quite jealous and often think it would be nice to spend all day home teaching and learning with my daughter… but then I remember how crazy it makes me.
I do like it.
Here’s what I don’t like:
1) Dealing with the boys and homeschooling.
2) Laundry+ housework+dinner+groceries+bill paying and homeschooling.
3) Having my dog die and homeschooling.
4) Living super far, therefore rendering playdates super hard to coordinate and homeschooling.
But, the actual teaching of the children and such: Win!
Even if Daisy Mae wrote the number thirteen like this today: E0.
7) From Rebecca D. Rebecca was the first person to win a COW!
Do you know what the COW is?
You should.
Question: What is your favorite brownie recipe? I used to think I had a good one, but I’m just not feeling it right now…
I have found the bestest brownie recipe ever. My husband dislikes homemade brownies and perfers brownies from a mix. But he did say these were his favorite homemade.
True.
He still prefers them from the box that costs 99cents and requires no effort.
But it makes me feel better if I make these.
I found this from AllRecipes.
Brownies:
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 3 cups white sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in the chocolate morsels. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting
Let us fool ourselves into believing they are low in fat, shall we?
8) From Kristy.
And my question is…Do you ever wish you would have waited until you were older to start having kids? The reason I ask is because I had my first one when I was 22 and my second at 24 and I love them so so dearly. But sometimes I wish that me and my husband would have spent more time with just the two of us before the hustle and bustle of kids started. Just wondering what you thought!
Sometimes. Because me and my husband were, and still are, clueless.
I’d like to think we would have fared better with age.
Nevertheless!
We can do math and we have discovered the kids will be All GONE whilst we are still in our 40s.
Win!
9) From The Lady of the House.
What is the reason you homeschool…? Some say because they know they can give their kids a better education, some say they are worried about today’s craziness at public schools – so just curious, what your reason is…
Because I live too far away to take them to school.
That’s it.
Are you inspired?
Ha! I also mentioned a few more reasons in this post, if you are feeling frisky and want to click on this link.
10) From Charming’s Mama:
When Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water why did Jack fall down and break his crown? Was he a klutz or was he pushed? (queue dun, dun, dun, music) A mystery that may never be solved.
Well.
I haven’t the foggiest.
But I do know that when Lumberjack got Lumberjill stuck on top of a mountain, Lumberjill was super awesome and did not complain as she trudged 10 miles down a mountain to find refuge in shady, small-town bar.
Again. If you are feeling frisky, you can read about it here.
***
Thank you for all the questions!
I appreciated it so very, very much.
Did anyone notice that I didn’t talk about the same thing I have been talking about?
I am really proud!
I didn’t talk about her once!
Not once, I tell ya!
Come on.
You’ve gotta admit . . .
You didn’t think I could do it.
Later, Dudes!
Ok, the comment about Daisy Mae made me laugh out loud and my family looked at me like I was crazy!! And didn’t you have Mindy AND her hubby over for dinner? Maybe Lumberjack is the reason you guys haven’t reconnected? =)
Thank you for answering my question. I hope your relatives read it and feel small twinges of guilt and come paint anyway. 🙂
Still laughing about the number 13, cried at the end pictures, and it is much better to be fun on a blog than in real life. In real life you can only entertain a few people at a time unless you set up a stage and lights and speakers in Ruralville (and I could hook you up with some if that’s the way you want to go) When you are funny on a blog it reaches and cheers hundreds of people, and the posts can be revisited and tweeted and twittered and facebooked and featured and the happiness just goes on and on. If you look at it that way, you should basically run for Mrs. Blogging America and promise to bring about peace on earth…..
I feel all warm and fuzzy now. I mean, you are good times times three to the fourth power.
I would totally notice if I was deleted and I mwould miss you. 🙂
Thanks for answering Heathers question, my man too wants to move us away to acreage and thus resulting in a longer drive for me to everything… including work, yuck I dont like to drive but I LOVE the area and the idea of being around no one unless I wanted to be, and its soooo pretty where we looked, we would have acreage and build a house, decisions 🙁 Let me know what your real answer is when your not so emotional! 🙂 I am having trouble deciding, because I am like you I just want him to be happy and this would do it… /sigh
And you can talk about her all you want, nice pictures 🙂
I have no idea where you live but I detest my peach kitchen and if provided gas vouchers I would happily drive to you to assist you in de-peachifying your house. No one should have to endure a whole peach house.
How’s this for confused…I am not sure we are fb friends but I sometimes comment on your lj fb page. I hope you are on board with all my abbreviations…I’m on my iPad and thus am not my usual technically savvy self. teehee. If we met in real life I am quite sure I would like you.
I missed the q and a this week. I need to get with the blogging program but life keeps getting in my way. I would totally pick the fifteen pounds forever as my answer. Oh and FYI 30 needs to be celebrated big so you best start dropping some hints to lj now!
Well, I wouldn’t expect you to talk about Mabel. It would take an act of God to keep me from lamenting the loss of a family member… which is really what our dogs are.
I so feel you on number 8. I am 44 and all three of mine are over 18 now! It’s a wonderful feeling. I do have 3 step children that are under 18 but that will all change in just 3 short years. So before I’m 50 they’ll all be grown!
and I meant I WOULD expect you to talk about Mabel, not wouldn’t… stupid fingers!
I feel like I have really made it in this life now as I had my name mentioned on your super fabulous (and famous?) blog of which I love! Just to correct one item though: We do in fact go to the same church but have yet to find each other in the mass of people (plus you don’t know who you are looking for). Small details! But Taylor, I know you are a stickler for the facts so I must confess I am not the same Heather that is your precious little one’s nurse. I’m afraid my job is much less exciting than that. That is all except that I wanted to tell you that I bet if I met you I’d still like you afterwards!!
~Heather
PS. Thanks again for answering my question. Still not quite sure what the right answer is for us as far as moving out of town but I must admit I do enjoy it when my hubs is happy.
Iam sorry! I got my Heathers mixed up! I changed it!
One of these days I’ll think of some clever, witty question for you. Ok, really I probably won’t but it makes me feel better to think so.
I don’t know what the COW is, and now I feel sad.
I want a COW.
Of course, since I don’t know what it is, maybe I don’t want a COW.
Do I want a COW? I will defer to your judgement on that.
Talking about Mabel is okay. So are pictures. Grief is a process and it takes time.
The COW is the Comment of the Week, which I think I have forgotten to do amidst all my mourning.
I will try to get back to it soon!
🙂
You are precious. You really, really are.
That said. Couldn’t your in-laws come have a big camping party in your Ruralville ranch and spend the whole weekend painting? After all, you do have to endure Huckleberry picking.
Thanks for answering my question! Me and my husband did the math a long time ago too and were super happy to know that I would only be 40 when my daughter graduates from high school and 42 when my son graduates! That sounds like winning numbers to me! So even if they lived in my house until they graduated college they would still be gone before I turned 50! We always said we would be done having kids before I turned 30. And I am now only 26…so I am thinking we could squeeze one more bundle of joy in there in the next 3 1/2 years!
I run out of energy now trying to take care of them and keep up with them. I cannot imagine trying to take care of toddlers in my late 30s! I just don’t think I would have the energy!
laughed all the way through the post until the pictures at the end. sigh. maybe the saying will change to “the lucky number EO”.
a nudist resort? really? and the relatives don’t come streaming in? wow.
I have a plan that will make you feel better about your body. Go hang out at the nudist colony for a few hours! I promise, that will make you appreciate your sexy bod! (I feel like I need to put “no homo” after that last bit.)
It’s totally normal to miss Mabel. Really, it is. She was a family member for ten years. Just know, it will get better with time.
And I never need to comment on blogs while under the influence of cough medicine again.
Marla @ http://www.asthefarmturns.wordpress.com
Thanks for the recipe… My husband has been asking for brownies… Now his chances of getting them are up to 50/50!
I forgot I was your first ever COW… Why is that being my “fun factoid” both flattering and a little not… I guess only if someone doesn’t know what a COW is…
Next question… What do I have to do to earn a coveted spot on your blogroll?
I found your blog through Bimlissa. Just so you know. 🙂
I should thank her for now I double love you.
Um, I would like to clarify that my gravy questions was because you said you couldn’t figure out how to make a decent gravy and I was going to help with the gravy if only I knew what kind of gravy you were making. It wasn’t because I am addicted to all things gravy, which I am, but that is neither here nor there.
I can’t believe I missed the q and a! Well, obviously I got to the a because I’m commenting on it, but I totally missed the q. And to answer the Jack and Jill question, Jack fell down and broke his crown because he refused to help carry the full pail of water and I have it on good authority that Jill pushed him! : )
Taylor.
That is all.
Okay, so I’m not trying to be a know it all or anything, but I noticed that The Lady of the House’s question included an explanation that music needed to be played. She said, and I quote, “queue dun dun dun dun music.”
It’s cue music.
Queue music would be like on a phone tree. They have queue music while you wait in line for some person (or some fake lady) to pick up your call.
You would use the word cue for music and the word queue for anything technologically related.
Well, I suppose it could be both. The queue music playing on the phone while you are waiting for an answer could be dun dun dun dun music!
I meant Charming Mama, not the Lady of the House.
WHAT??? OUCH!!! I want a rebuttle, please! I love you, but you are not telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you!! 🙂 We have totally hung out multiple times, thank you very much! Just because there was a long lapse after the first time, which reflects nothing on you, by the way, there was just scheduling issues. Honestly, telling people I didn’t want to hang out with you. Not true, people, not true!! 🙂 And, Bimlissa, we are getting together, husbands and all, this weekend! See?? And we had so much fun last time! Or so I thought…. *Gasp* could it be that I AM the problem?? Taylor, hello?? ……… xoxo
You are awesome. Your answers made me laugh and kick myself that I forgot to ask a question!
I forgot to post a question.
If your husband asked you the following question, how would you reply (for I am stumped and know not what to say):
Would you rather be stationed in Alaska or Hawaii?
Thanks!
You mean I was famous and mentioned (even if in error???) for a moment and didn’t even get to see it? Bummer. Funny that both are last names begin with D! Sorry I have been such a loser and not leaving too many comments! I have been super busy and just not had much time for the computer. But I do love your blog as always 🙂