Well, I caved. My kids have been begging for a dog. I've wanted a dog for 22 years. We decided to rescue a sweetie from the animal shelter yesterday. We named her Shadow because she won't let me out of her sight. What a beautiful heart!

I've really enjoyed watching the three girls interact with Shadow. The 8-year-old loves to run and play and then brush and brush. The dog almost fell asleep, but that's a little hard to do with two other girls vying for attention. The 5-year-old got down on the floor with a whole stack of her artwork and told Shadow all about her art. The 2-year-old has pulled her tail, whacked her in the head with a ball, hugged her so hard I thought she would turn blue, poked her eye, and hand-fed the dog one piece at a time, and Shadow just takes it all in stride. If only people could be so loving and accepting!

For anyone planning to adopt a pet as a Christmas present, I'd highly recommend petfinder dot com because it has many great resources and is quite helpful. I would not recommend an animal as a surprise gift. Meeting to see if everyone is compatible and ready for the transition will make the decision more likely to be a forever home.

Well, I have a little white shadow curled at my feet and lots of new products to review!

During this Thanksgiving season, I have been reflecting on things for which I am thankful. After working as a cancer nurse since 1993, I have learned more about how much we often take things for granted. It is so easy to get focused on the things that do not really matter at all in the long run. It is very humbling to care for people who must face their own mortality much sooner than they ever planned. Two of my aunts were diagnosed with breast cancer this year. My heart aches for them because they both live in other states. Treatments for breast cancer have improved over the years, but I do not think that any cancer treatment is "easy." My nephew just recently received an award for jumping into a raging river to save another boy's life. He had just become a certified lifeguard, but it's quite a challenge to swim out in a fast current that looks like chocolate milk to try to save another teenager that's about 6 feet tall and trying to grab anything that looks like it might keep him afloat. I think that God was truly with both of those boys as they both made it to shore alive. My own kids and I have been amazingly well during this time of year that usually causes numerous problems with our allergies. The 8-year-old just finished making a model house for a colonial village project for her class, and the 5-year-old has been writing "books" that she staples together and reads to anyone who will listen. Do I see a future writer???? The 2-year-old has a nickname of "Fingers" and probably think that "You'd better get down from there" is her middle name...yet another climber in the family. All three of my kids have had colic and I feel for anyone else out there who is in the midst of getting through that. It's tough, but it does get better with time. Anyway, I have lots for which to be thankful--family, friends, health, a job, compassion. I only hope to improve throughout the years.

Well, it seems as if the change of seasons has begun around here. I've already broken out the long johns. Brrrrrrrrr....... Did I mention that I'm cold natured?

I'm still trying to post as many reviews as I can but I've also been doing quite a bit of writing for Suite 101. I recently became the featured writer for Senior Health/Medicare issues, but I also write about a variety of other subjects, so look me up over there if you're interested in floating ghosts (craft, of course!) or learning about bats or even looking up info on vaccines for shingles, flu, or pneumonia or want to learn about chilblains, frostbite, or Raynaud's: http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/katrenakorner

Getting published without even trying

Well, I got a surprise phone call the other day. I wrote a short piece for Capper's about seven years ago. I got my first contract for a re-print for "At Home in the Garden," which is a Guideposts publication. I've tried unsuccessfully for years to submit a story for Guideposts magazine. How ironic!

These last few months have been a whirlwind of activity with teaching two hybrid classes and school finishing. With rain nearly every day, our grass is growing like a Chia Pet, not to mention the weeds in the flower beds.

I've recently begun a new writing endeavor on Suite 101. Feel free to check out my profile and articles. I welcome any feedback:

www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/katrenakorner

There's a bit of a nip in the air in Pink Flamingo Country!

Well, we've had two dustings but we got about four inches out of the last snow, so the kids got the chance to go sledding, make angels, and they even decided to hide and hunt Easter eggs (huh?)! This weather actually cancelled school for two days and also left us without power for a day and a night. I was certainly thankful that we have gas logs because the temperatures dipped into the teens last night!

I've been reflecting on how things were last year at this time. We had a family tragedy and my immediate family had the flu, including me. This year has been much calmer so far.

I decided to go out on a limb in the middle of December and go off the allergy shots that I've been getting for over ten years. After getting sicker and sicker last Fall only to realize that they either mixed the serum incorrectly or contaminated it, I thought a sinus infection would be preferable to being covered with hives and having breathing problems for weeks. I'm too busy raising kids to be sick. Then again, who does like to be sick?

Thanks for stopping by to catch up on my blog and I hope you'll want to check out a few of my reviews!

What's at the end of your rope?

Perhaps when we near the end of our rope, it brings us much nearer to the hem of His garment.

I have found that the valleys in my life tend to refine me, but I usually cannot see that improvement until I am looking back.

Happy Birthday Dad 

Today would have been my dad's 70th birthday. He was killed in an automobile accident while driving home from a fishing trip in 2006. How I miss him! But I do hope to honor his life by living mine in such a way that he would have been proud. He was such a loving father and grandfather, and I know that heaven became a bit more wonderful when he arrived.

I posted two reviews today with Dad in mind: one about his favorite fishing spot called Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area and one about the Rowan County Military Honor Guard, which provided honors at his funeral service.

To all of you who miss a loved one, may you feel peace and love today and every day until you see him or her again.

Getting organized after the holidays

Well, one of my resolutions this year was to get better organized. I still have a few days left this year, so I've been hard at it, trying to sort, donate, and discard items around here.

We had an uneventful Christmas with times with the families and nobody in the hospital! Now that the holidays are over, I've come down with a virus and am staying close to home, if you know that I mean. I'm enjoying extra time with the girls and REALLY hoping that they do not get this stomach bug!

You probably wouldn't believe it unless you've seen it

It's not every day that I feel compelled to stop my car and snap pictures. Not of a product I want to review (although I have taken pictures of various and sundry things at strange times) but of BIRDS and lots of them. There were so many birds that cars were stopping because they were like huge black clouds right in front of them. Check out my pictures if you don't believe me, but the pictures don't really do this awesome sight justice.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm pooped after last week. Cooking. Baby sick with HIGH fevers for six days straight. Curriculum that I've been developing due. Need I say more? Thank goodness I was scheduled to teach yoga Tuesday evening!

SURPRISE...We've got dust!

A dusting of SNOW, that is. OK, I know all of you up North wouldn't think twice about a dusting of snow, but around here, it's cause for celebration! From past experience, I've learned to enjoy every little snowflake because they may be the only ones we get for the season. It was such a joy to see three happy faces who were taking it all in at the window bright and early. We dragged out the sleds and made a few dashes down the back yard before heading off to school this morning. Nothing on the roads, which is great because we tend to get ice rather than snow on the roads when we do have winter weather.

Decorating the church... 

Last night, our church decorated Chrismons for one of the Christmas trees at the church. These are ornaments that depict various symbols of the Christian faith. One of my favorite parts of celebrating Christmas as a child was looking at all the beautiful Chrismons that adorned the tree at my parents' church. I'm so excited to see this idea brought to life at my church now!

Miracle Trail and Trick-or-Treating... 

We had a whirlwind week last week. We took the kids to a Halloween alternative called "Miracle Trail" and they got to see Bible characters acting out various Bible stories. It was dark and in the woods--very interesting.

We took the girls trick-or-treating at Aunt Cyndi's house, where she wisely gave the two younger ones apples (all the kids have multiple food sensitivities). The 4-year-old decided to eat hers on the spot while the 1-year-old loved having a ball that she could chew on. The 7-year-old was just excited to get some Skittles. This is the first year I haven't made costumes for the girls. They wanted to be princesses and they already had costumes that fit, so I gave up on the idea of making them into the French Fry guys and making my husband the Hamburgler. Maybe next year...

I've been pretty swamped creating a new online home companion aide curriculum for a community college, but I do plan to post some more reviews soon.

Doing lots of writing in lots of places... 

Well, I got up the guts to submit a play I had written. I actually got one accepted and printed ("After the Rising" in a 2007 Easter program book through Standard Publishing), but I haven't sent one in quite a while.

I'm also working on creating an online curriculum for a home aide class that will begin at our local community college and I'm creating PowerPoint games for both of my daughters to help them study for school, so I've been in front of the keyboard a LOT lately.

We broke down and turned on the heat the other day, and the leaves are beginning to change around here. I love the beautiful Fall colors. It's also a good time to plant, so I sneaked over to my sister's house and dug up some of her red hot pokers when she wasn't home--sis, I hope you don't mind if you're reading this!

Halloween photos up! 

Well, I finally searched through some old shots of Halloweens gone by and thought I'd share some of the costumes I made for the girls (except for princess ones). Enjoy!

I had a REALLY rough September because I was quite sick after receiving allergy shots that were either mixed incorrectly or contaminated. Four weeks of rashes, not being able to breathe well, and fevers was about enough for me! I mustered up the strength and guts to get my shots again the first week of October (after they re-mixed my vials) and I'm slowly but surely turning the corner. Thanks to all of you who sent nice messages my way. It's not fun to be sick and I definitely do not have time to be sick...but who does?

Welcome to my neck of the woods and I hope you like it here!

I'm a mom of three delightful daughters (ages 7, 4, 1), a cancer nurse, an educator, and a group exercise instructor. Perhaps I get bored easily...

Bernie Siegel, a famous oncologist, spoke of the healing power of laughter. I may try my hand at a bit of humor in my reviews. It could boost your immunity and it also expends more calories to smile than to frown!

I hope to post information that may be helpful to people with celiac disease and allergies because I and my three daughters all have multiple food sensitivities and allergies. I've learned a LOT about going gluten free since 2004 and want to share what I've learned. I've also posted some information in the discussion boards, so feel free to join in the discussions under "community" at the top.

I try to stay in shape and quickly discovered that it's hard to skip an aerobics or yoga class if you're the instructor! There are perks to being an instructor. I get paid to work out. Not bad, huh?

I'm always searching for a bargain. I grew up in a family where it was understood that we did not turn on the air conditioner until the weather was in triple digits or if special company was coming. Regular company that came daily had to suffer like the rest of us. I went part-time on all my paid positions so that I can spend time with the beautiful children in my life who will not stay that way forever. That means stretching a shoestring budget as far as it can go. I've only gone dumpster diving once, promise.

I'm always looking to meet new people and learn new things, so drop me a line!