I have some left over syrup from canning some blackberries today. Can I freeze it to use another time? Thanks!

I use this recipe: http://linhart.blogspot.com/2009/03/whole-wheat-bread-machine-recipe.html I start it in my bread machine but finish in the oven. I also add 1 tbsp. dough enhancer. I use Prairie Gold Hard wheat. I do not like hard red. I also sometimes will add some soft wheat berries. Usually 2 parts hard to 1 part soft. Try adding some dough enhancer or vital gluten to your recipe. Wheat can be affected by the weather. Commercial flour is processed to compensate for the weather in the area in which it is sold. The flour sold in the southeast has a different gluten content than the flour in the southwest. You may just need to do some experimenting to see what you have to do. Generally, I add the soft wheat in the winter.

Gosselins Without Pity. Does anyone else think those Crooked Houses look like old props from the movie Beetlejuice? Those poor kids have surreal playthings to match their surreal lives.

I am just so worried that they will be documenting the whole divorce thing for the show and the kids will have to live with that. It's bad enough that both parties felt compelled to tell their sides in People magazine. I have a lot of Kate in me and my dh is an IT guy. A quiet, get along guy, but he definitely has more backbone than Jon. He just chooses his battles. I don't know what may have caused Kate to be so controlling, but my dh stuck by me while we worked through it all. It was not nice, but he helped me, sometimes by just not leaving. I look at them and think, that could have been be. I also think, things can work out. I also have to say, as a Christian, that this hurts, because this is a dumb reason for your marriage to fall apart. There may be more, but egos and drifting apart don't seem to be Biblical reasons to split. Last I saw, their website still had devotions on it. Not trying to be judgmental, but this is a horrible witness.

The whole thing disgusts me. We stopped watching the show months ago. I am amazed these people are so blind they thing their kids are oblivious to the problems between the parents. I shudder to think what trouble these children will have later in life. Hopefully they are going to quit the show to put their family back together.

Well, yes. It may have changed since I got my credential in the early 90's. but we learned how to arrange the furniture in our classroom to make the best learning environment, I took bulletin board classes (not the whole thing but we did have sessions on it) classes on how to use office equipment like the ditto machine. My continuing ed requirements were met by taking make and take workshops put on by The University of Phoenix. We spent the entire time (usually all Friday night and all day Saturday) making themed bulletin board and learning centers. They provided the materials and we chose from their selection. This all was in CA. I don't know what other states require. The school district I taught in grew rapidly and they recruited from colleges in Washington, Minnesota and OK. People from those states got more classes, but still covered what I did in addition to other things. BTW, I did take some meaty classes, but I felt some of this stuff was just thrown in so I could meet requirements somehow.

and I was originally horrified by this. However, there are some things that I did not know because they are not being reported. 1. The ambulance did not have its lights or siren going. 2. The police car was driving with its lights on. 3. The other EMT got back in the car when the police officer told him to. 4. The police officer needed to get control of a traffic stop. How many times do we NOT hear of officers injured or see the dashboard camera shots of officers injured or even killed when they did not take control of a tracffic stop. You do not mess with officers when they have pulled you over. They are in a potentially very dangerous situation. There are several minutes of video which are NOT being shown. This reminds me of the Rodney King situation. The people I know who saw the whole video say it gave a completely different picture of the situation than what was seen on TV. I would wait until all the evidence is out there. The officer may have been in the wrong, but the EMT did not respond the way he should have. And again, traffic stops can be deadly for cops.

Thanks. We are back from the wilds of Weatherford OK and have the van in the garage. We looked at the Yukon. It is a Denali, 4wd, leather, sunroof, satellite radio. We did not put a deposit down because I didn't want to feel rushed, but if it hasn't sold, we will be having the mechanic check it out. I hope it all works out. ann

Ditto.

Ouch!!

Teaching was a second career for me. I found my real world experience to be much more helpful. While some classes may help with technique, so does a teacher's manual. I did take classes on how to arrange my classroom, bulletin boards, the history of education, and a class on teaching whole language reading using a book written by a man who wrote that he taught on the college level because he did not like teaching small children (so why are you writing books on how to teach young children?) I believe being a good teacher is a gift you are born with, not something you are made into. I believe the idea that only professionals can teach is bunk. finally, I talk to so many classroom teachers who point out they don't teach. They are paper pushers, use no creativity because the curriculum in mandated and they have to get those wonderful test scores. We went on a trip with our church group yesterday to some caves. A gentleman who came with us is a retired high school geology teacher who would take his students to these caves as a field trip. The trips were eventually canned., Not enough money, the info was in the books, they were deemed unnecessary. He has student he had 25 years ago say the spelunking trips were the highlight of their science studies. And now thst opportunity is gone. He can no longer teach the way he wants to. How sad.

We have put off sending our faithful Odyssey to pasture, but now it is time. It is sitting in a garage 3 hours away. It died on a church field trip and I had someone else's kid with me. Fortunately dh had a friend from the town who recommended a mechanic and we got a ride home. We are looking at a Yukon or a Suburban. We found 2 used ones here in town, a 2003 and a 2004, both with low miles (we buy used to let someone else take the depreciation.) One is at a Ford Dealership and the other at CarMax. I have found websites that say there are some problems with the cars, but if you get the right year they are great. OUr mechanic here loves them. The mechanic in Woodward, where the van is, loves them. Do you like your truck? 2003 seems to be a very good year, but 2004 looks to be the better of the two. I just want your experiences. I know some of you hate the gas mileage and would buy newer, but this is unexpected, so we need to buy accordingly. Thanks, Ann

I'm Ann, married for almost 16 years to a great guy. His engineering traits drive me crazy, but they keep me steady when I need them. We are both in our mid 40's, although he is about 15 months older. We have 3 beautiful, headstrong girls and live in the OKC area. Curriculum choices are in my sig line. My oldest fences (as in swords, not stolen property) and the 2 younger ones swim. I am a conservative Christian (Lutheran) but can't stand legalism. I was running this morning and thinking my songs on my MP3 describe me - a mix of Newsboys, Aerosmith, Ringo Starr, Prince, Switchfoot, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and a bunch of one hit wonders from the 70's and 80's. I'm just all over the place. I was born in Baltimore, moved to NC at the age of 8, left there to go to college in Atlanta at the age of 20, moved to Los Angeles in 1991, moved close to Edward AFB in 1992 and then met my dh. We miss the mountains and desert but have enjoyed our 7 years in OK. We love science fiction. We are currently making our way through FarScape thanks to netflix. We also are huge fans of "The Prisoner", Monty Python, James Bond and Babylon 5. And the original Bob Newhart Show will always be a favorite here. My kids can read heavy duty books, but by the end of the day, I just don't have it in me. My indulgent secret - I love Twilight. Poorly written, predictable plot, overbearing male character, wimpy female. But I'm a sucker for romance. Now, my youngest wants to put in a smiley (or 2).:banghead::party:

It basically means her airways react violently to irritants. As I said, some doctors consider it a form of asthma, others don't. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/reactive-airway-disease/AN01420 http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/441/main.html

My oldest dd suffered from a barking cough that was aggravated by allergies, crying too hard, laughing too hard, smoke, anything in the air that could be an irritant. We did take he to the dr. and she prescribed codeine, which didn't work, albuterol, which hyped her up and made her impossible to live wiht, and breathing treatments. A Chiropractor didn't help. About 3 Christmases ago we had a breakout of wildfires and there was smoke everywhere. She never really recovered. Someone on another board suggested treating it as a fungal problem. I got a very good olive leaf extract (oregano is stronger) and a good probiotic (Dr. Ohiros) and gave it too her. She cleared up within 3 days and has been basically symptom free since. I did give her too much and she went through a die off period and was sick for about 12 hours. I felt horrible and was afraid I was making her worse. And then suddenly, she was better. I have since had our new dr. tell us that she was actually suffering from reactive airways, which some consider to be a form of asthma and others don't. We like Gaia herbs. We like Dr. Ohiros probiotics because they do not have to be refrigerated. Although most probiotics have to be refrigerated, you can't be sure if they were treated properly during shipping. If you do go with a refrigerated one, I would recommend Healthy Trinity. Also, if you can find a good Nature's Sunshine rep, they carry all this stuff and their products are quite good.

We have noticed a world of difference here since going to raw milk.

Kefir is just another way to ferment you milk and give you something like yogurt. The advantages to kefir are that you do not have to heat it - just add the grains to the milk and let it sit covered in a cool dark place for 24-48 hours, and it not only puts the acidopholus in the intestines, it encourages the growth of the colonies. Great stufll, and you can share the grains because they just keep growing. Or you can eat them when the get to be too much and you get an extra probiotic boost. I think there may be issues about using it with soy or other non dairy milks as far as the grains growing. There are kefir websites out there. I kept kefir until last year. I had some stuff come up and my grains died. But we had a smoothie every day. And you can use it in place of buttermilk.

It is still homgeonized and ultra pasteurized. Even skim milk is not completely skim and has some homgeonization. You can buy non homgeonized milk at some health food stores. It is also vat pasteurized, which means it is sanitized at 140 degrees, which is recommended, not close to 200 degrees,w hich the large dairies use. You can also check the raw milk website for places to look. I would go non-homogeonized over the pasteurization thing. Homogeonization can also increase mucus production over what cows milk normally causes.

Are you talking about just a school planner or a planner for life in general? If it is the latter, I was a long time Frankin user. I finally entered the 21st century and got a Blackberry.

This may be controversial and I know many of you will call me crazy. Milk, epecially pasteurized, homogeonized cows' milk is not the wonder food people think it is. All humans, to some extent, are lactose intolerant. Pasteurization, especially the ultra pasteurization practiced by larger dairies, kills most of the nutirients in the milk and it cannot be replaced adequately. Homogeonization breaks down the molecular structure of the milk and releases an enzyme that is a contributor to heart disease. (I'm not a big fan of any food that is not in the state nature intended it to be in). Hormone in the milk can add to weight gain. the dairy lobby is one of the most powerful entities in DC. Isn't it strange that the US has one of the rates of milk consumption but we have a very high rate of osteoporosis? We live in a state where we can get raw milk and that is what we drink. We have never gotten sick. DDs allergies cleared up. In fact, all of our allergies got significantly better. We drink both cow and goat milk.

I like the Speedo bags. My girls have the largest Speedo backpacks. They hold their fins, boards, everything. My oldest also has a larger Speedo sports bag. I'm not sure which one it is. It looks more like a gym bag. She uses it for meets. I have a Nike bag which I do not like as well. It doesn't have as many compartments to keep wet items separate. Ann

I love to go running at night. It is my high energy time. It doesn't really get dark here in the summer until around 10. I just love it. I am running a 10K race at 8 tomorrow night and doing a 5K at 10:30 pm next month. When my dh worked 2d shift, he'd go to the gym after work at 11:30. The biggest thing to worry about is sleeping. Exercise at night can interfere with melatonin production, so if you have sleep issues, keep that in mind. I like to get a shower, get a book and a glass of wine and go to bed about 2-3 hours after I finish. Unfortunately, my schedule now dictates that I be less of a night owl.:sad:

I wear their base. I still prefer bare minerals for blush and eye makeup (think they have better colors) and I love their mineral veil. However, I just don't like the loose powder foundation of Bare Minerals. Pur Minerals also lasts longer because it is pressed. I will say Bare Minerals gives a more refined look, but I think that is because I was studying the Pur Minerals for flaws. I still get compliments on my skin when I wear it just as I did with Bare Minerals. Ann

We have it easy. The pool is 5 minutes from our house.

I should probably add another issue that I have not brought up to my dd. My niece is the world record holder in whowent to the Olympics. She is all over the Speedo catlaogs. While this is common knowledge on the team, we do not talk about it. In fact, my sister doesn't make a big deal about it. With my niece, it has always been that she could quit whenever she wanted to and she needed to acknowledge that her ability is a gift from God and He gets the glory. We try very hard to instill in all our girls that, although their talents may not as flashy as the next person's, they are still worthy talents. I cannot help but wonder if there is some feeling that my dd must have a sense of entitlement, even though she doesn't. In fact, she does not like to talk about her cousin for that very reason.