Swimmer Eaten by Shark at Galveston Beach

We went to Galveston for the first time today.  Look at what we stumbled upon!  

So stinking clever!  I love it!

Fingerprint-a-phobic

Glass doors, glasses, screens, drinking glasses, ATM machines, public counter tops, TAPE, glue, windows, cell phone screens, mirrors, remote controls.... what do these have in common?  FEAR! One of the worst fears is using tape at work! How do you use tape without leaving your fingerprints on it?  You can't.


Perhaps I am the only person on this earth with the fear of leaving behind fingerprints!  I have searched for information on this subject for several years.  I have never committed any crime so fear of getting caught is not the issue.  I fear people retrieving my prints and using them for... something?  I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre Law/Justice Studies with emphasis in Criminal Justice I understand about fingerprints.


I admit I do have several OCD tendencies.  I have admitted it here on my blog as well, well I kinda make fun of it.  As I was doing research on this and I realized I have not always been like this.  


I think it began with a traumatic event. I was married for 17 years and then divorced.  After the divorce he began stalking me. He broke into my home on a daily basis, peeked in windows and doors, knocked on windows and doors at night, unscrewed light bulbs outside, placed kitchen knives in my children's rooms, put a baby monitor under my dresser (and would stand next door at night listening to the receiver) sawed bolts off the windows I had bolted shut, unlocked windows and left them cracked so he could gain entrance, went through our dirty laundry and caller ID daily and followed my every movement at work and around town. 


I came home for lunch from work one day and discovered him crawling across my kitchen floor on hands and knees with the window cut open, screen off and blinds pulled down. Scared the crap out of me! I called the police as he crawled back out the window to the back yard.  He tried to jump over the fence but finally stopped.  He begged and pleaded for me not to call the police and please "don't do this to" him, Really?? He stripped off the surgical gloves he was wearing, tucked them behind the fence post, and sat  on the ground begging me to let him go.  


When the officer arrived and cuffed this man pointed out the gloves.  The officer made me SWEAR to never ever ever drop that restraining order ever - the officer said that "that man" would eventually kill me.  After all, what kind of man would wear surgical gloves when breaking into a home if he did not plan on some kind of bodily harm.  Especially since his fingerprints were all over the house he had been living in, with whom I share four children.


Why didn't I think of this before?  That HAS to be it. I used to LOVE wrapping presents.  I lacked one art history class in college to minor in art and fingerprints are all over art.  It never bothered me before. I sure am not going to let "him" win out by me continuing with this fear.  So I am deciding right here and now....this phobia is over!  Right now.  Now that I know what caused this fear I can control it right?  


Lord Jesus give me strength to not allow fear to have control over me.

2 Timothy 1:7- For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Psalm 56:3-4 - When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

My review of my youngest daughter Kiera

I was typing up some review posts the other night and the youngest (5) of our six comes up to me and asks why I "do that". I told her that I like to tell other people about things that I like.  She pulls up a chair and crawls up and says, "Mommy, you like me. Put me on there." ..... Hugs and cuddles took over.  Okay, come on, sweeeeet!

Swimming Pool Games

I have been scouring the Internet for more swimming pool games to play with the kids!  Here are some:

Atomic Whirlpool - Have everybody get in the pool and line up single file along the edge with very little space between him or her. Have everyone walk for a couple of minutes, then jog another couple of minutes. Then take a ride on the carousel of water! Or REVERSE IT!

Battleships and Submarines - Divide the group into two teams. Each team has a “base” against the wall of the pool, opposite each other. The battleship team comes off the wall and taunts the submarines into chasing them. The submarines push off when ready, swimming underwater and try to touch/tag the battleships before the battleships reach base. If the sub is successful, the battleship switches sides and the sub gets a free walk/swim back. If the sub is unsuccessful, the sub must swim back to its side. However, if the sub has to come up for air and the battleship splashes the sub, then the sub switches sides! The point of the game is to try and get everyone on your team.

Belly Flop Contest - Kinda self explanatory!  Get your contestants, find a prize for the winner, and have the audience judge by applause, according to:  Judge on 3 categories: Form/Creativity, Pain and Air

Bottle - You’ll need a clear plastic 2-liter bottle. Make sure the wrapper is peeled off the bottle! Leader fills the 2-liter all the way to the top with pool water and puts the cap on. The game leader divides the group into two teams and assigns each team an “end” of the pool. A chair is placed on either end of the pool as the “goal.” Have the teams lined up on different sides of the pool. The players need to be facing away from the pool WITH their eyes closed. The game leader then throws the bottle into the pool. When it splashes in the pool, players can turn around, open their eyes, and jump in after it!  The object is to get the bottle to the other’s teams’ chair. If they can put it in the chair, they get a point. First team with 3 points wins.

Bumper Boats - Have about 5-6 sturdy tubes – “Bumper Boats” - for as many players as you have in the pool. This is like Bumper Cars at a fair or carnival, only in water. Tell the kids to kick off the sides of the pool and try to knock as many people off their “boat” as possible. Last one floating wins.

Chicken - In Chicken, you need at least 4 players, but it can be as many as you want as long as it’s an even number. Have all the players pair up, with one sitting on the shoulders of the other. When the game leader says go, it’s every team for themselves. The team’s objective is to knock the other teams over. The last pair standing is the winner.

Crocodile Hunter - Get a big inflatable croc and choose 3 volunteers who will each have 60 seconds, by themselves to do the best show of croc wrestling in the pool. Give points for creativity, death rolls, etc. 

Rubber Ducky - Put 3-4 players at one end of the pool and give them one rubber duck apiece. When you say go, they must use their nose to push the duck to the other end of the pool. They can also “blow” the duck forward; they just can’t bite the duck and swim to the other end with it in their mouths, hands or feet. Feel free to distract the other players by splashing water in their faces or splashing water toward their ducks to knock them backward. They just can’t actually TOUCH the other players or the other players’ ducks. The first one to get his duck to touch the other end of the pool (obeying the rules) is the winner.

Gator - Have one person designated as the “gator.” He or she treads water in the DEEP END of the pool while all other participants are standing on the side. The leader will then yell “gator!” and at that point, the players standing on the side of the pool have 30 seconds to successfully jump in, swim to the other side of the pool, and get out without being tagged by the gator.  Anyone who is tagged in the first round has to join ranks with the “gator” and try to tag the swimmers in the next round. The game goes until there is only one person who has not been tagged.

King of the Tube - Each team selects a champion who can stay on a tube the longest. One at a time, a champion sits in a tube, and when the timer starts, the opposite teams all try to tip over the champion WITHOUT TOUCHING HIM, only the tube. Time each champion; see who stays on the longest.

Noodle Joust - Have two players to sit on a raft in the middle of the pool. Each player has a pool noodle and they joust with the noodles to try and get the other player off the raft. When one player can get the other player off the raft, they are declared the winner. The winner then jousts the next player.

Pool Volleyball - Play this swimming game just like regular volleyball, but in the water. Divide up teams into 3-4 players per side. The back player serves the ball over the net and the other players on the opposing team must hit the ball back over the net. If the ball is not hit back, then that team serves.

Water Freeze Tag - One player is “it”. This “it” tags players and the player must freeze where they are. Other players can unfreeze them by swimming under their legs, climbing out of the pool and doing a cannonball, or anything else you may think of to get them “unfrozen”. When all players get tagged “it” can then choose another player to be the new “it”.

I got these pool games from all over the web.  Many of them were on multiple sites so it is very hard to give credit.

Always remember to have adult supervision and the most important aspect of any swimming pool party or swimming games is swim safety.

World's Best Chicken Fingers

So simple really!

Breading Mix:
1 box of Jiffy Cornbread mix
2c flour
desired amount of Cajun seasoning
desired amount of salt

Dip thawed chicken strips into flour mixture then an eggwash (eggs, milk, salt (and dash of hot sauce if so inclined) then back into the flour mixture.

Flash fry at medium high on a burner then place on a wire rack on a cookie sheet and finish cooking in the oven at 350 for about 25 minutes.  I have to double this for my tribe!  I always cook five pounds at a time too.  It comes out crunchy and tender as can be.  Serve with honey mustard salad dressing,of course.