Cheer for number 57 (Twice!)

Football has started!
We had our first football games this past weekend. Luckily for me, both my kids are number 57 even though they're on two separate teams. Lucas is number 57 on the left hand side of the picture - they just started playing the game.

Lucas plays for a neighboring high school since ours doesn't have football. This means driving him to practices every single day, waiting for him to get done, then driving him home. It gets tiresome - LOL.....

Unfortunately, we didn't win either game. The Rockets (Lucas' team) were playing against the number 3 seeded team in their division and I really think they held their own very well against a much better team. It was almost like watching David and Goliath play. The Rockets have a total of 28 kids on their team - 3 of which are seniors. The Blue Devils (the opponent) has about 70 kids on their team - 22 of which are seniors! I'm proud of the Rockets, even though I'm sure their coach will keep pushing them to do better and achieve more.


Here's Michael before his game started. He's on a brand new team in our county. As far as I know, this is the first pee wee football team in our county for more than twenty years. The Cowboys joined a league based in another county, so we have to drive more than an hour to get to their games, although our practices are right in town. This just may be a great start for getting a football team in our own high school (wouldn't that be great?)

They also played a very good team in their league. During the first half of the game, they seemed nervous and missed a lot of opportunities. During the second half, though - they really came into their own and played great! Many of these kids have never played before, although a few, like us, took their kids to leagues in other counties in order to let them play. I'm very proud of them as well.

Overall - we're off to a great start and are looking forward to the hectic, but rewarding, football season.

My Freelance Writer Site

I have soft-launched my new freelance writer website and am so excited about how it looks. I still have a lot of work to do on it - adding content, keywords and more.

I used weebly.com to create the site and it's so easy. If you're looking for an easy to use web site creator for a basic web site, check them out. For my other sites, I have always used Microsoft's Office Live, but they wouldn't take my domain name because it has the word "bank" in it. Even thought it's part of my last name, they still won't take it because of fraudulent activities committed by others in the past. I think this is a horrible policy, especially since I've used them before and still do for www.mikebankscatering.com. Evidently, that got grandfathered in.

Feel free to check it out: www.lindajbanks.com

I *LOVE* this picture

This is a picture of my father-in-law Charles and my nephew, Zachary taken some 15 years ago. I used some picture editing software to make it look like a watercolor, but I think it is so neat.

Charles is now in the hospital in ICU. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Recipe Box: Apple Butter

Can also be found here: July 2008 Newsletter

Recipe Box –Apple Butter

Ingredients:
Apples, cooked until soft and strained – need 2 ½ quarts or 10 cups
5 cups white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
½ cup lemon juice
1 qt apple cider

Directions:
Cook in oven at 350F for 3 or 4 hours or until thick stirring frequently.
Put in 7 pint jars.

Can be served with freshly baked bread, toast, bagels or crackers.

It also tastes wonderful as a side dish for most white meats and is especially delicious served warm on top of ice cream.

Football Training starts......

Football training has started.... It's not practice so they're not doing plays or anything like that. They're conditioning - jumping over the green things on the ground, running around them, lifting weights, doing calisthenic exercises and stuff like that. Lucas is the one in the red shorts with black tank top.

I usually hang around during the two hours and will walk around the school or take the kids to the pool in the school. Since the summer has started, it's just beautiful outside.

Lucas love lifting weights and here is what he can currently lift:

Deadlift 305, Bench 225, Squat 250 and Powerclean 135

His coach wants him to go up 100 pounds in every lift in one month. He's up to the challenge, though.

Teach yourself some history

I used to homeschool my children and because we're not wealthy, I would use as many high-quality free resources as possible. The other day, as I was doing some cleanup on my computer, I came across a huge list of Internet sites that I would use to help create the kids curriculum. Just for fun, I've listed the historical sites here. When I did the timeline I found out the median household income was $8,300 and I'm not even that old! I haven't caught up to my mom yet. LOL

History
Read about the Crusades. This was a time in history of great religious fighting. In fact, in the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner, he actually has just come back to England from fighting Muslims, which is why it’s so unusual for him to bring Morgan Freeman (as Azeem) back with him.
This Country of Ours: This is a story all about America and how it was founded. It almost reads like a story book instead of a boring old history book. As you read, you can actually be transported back in time and feel like you are part of whatever place is being discussed.
Year by Year timeline. Go back and remind yourself what events happened when you were born, when your hubby was born or just pick a random year in history for fun.
The Oregon Trail Learn more about a journey from Oregon to California which occurred in 1846. Imagine yourself as a pilgrim watching out for Buffalo and different Indians. English History. Many Americans can trace their history back to England. If you’re interested, this site provides information for a timeline, some information regarding historical figures and political history in the 1700’s.

Black Squirrels in Ohio

In Salem, Ohio, they have black squirrels, which is pretty strange. Most squirrels are grey in color, but these are not. They even stand still when you get close to them, so they're evidently used to humans. Here's a picture of one.