Karen

Jayco 2007 322FKS Travel Trailer For Sale

As much as I really really don’t want to, we have decided to put our travel trailer up for sale. We have had so much fun, and made so many memories while traveling in this RV. It may not mean the end of traveling, but it does mean we are not going to have an RV for a while.

So, here are the particulars: This RV is a Jayco Eagle 2007 322FKS. It has a large bedroom in the rear, with wardrobe closet across the entire rear end of it. The bed is between queen and king size, so you’ll have to get king size sheets and bedding for it. There is an overhead cabinet over the bed, and one over the dresser. The dresser has 4 large drawers. You can see floor plan and specs here.

The bedroom

Another photo of the bedroom showing wardrobe and dresser

The living area has a sofa bed, with overhead storage above the sofa. There is a large cabinet across from the sofa that is where the TV goes. It has space for a satellite TV tuner and a DVD player. We kept extra linens for both beds under the TV in that cabinet.

The living area with sofa and pantry closet. The living area is separated from the bathroom/sleeping area with a pocket door.

The TV cabinet

The pantry with the doors open. It holds a lot!

The kitchen is in the front. It has counter tops all the way across the front. Lots of cabinets. It has the larger RV refrigerator, too.

The dinette folds down to provide a sleeping area big enough for two kids. Drawers underneath hold lots of stuff.

jjSeparate potty room

Shower and bathroom sink can be separated from bedroom area with a folding door.

We’re also throwing in this dorm size electric refrigerator with the sale.

That electric hitch jack and solar battery charger also come with the trailer.

If you know anyone who is interested in buying this trailer, you can email me at fabgrandma@gmail.com. It retailed new in 2007 for $33,831. The NADA Blue Book values it at $19,000. We are asking $18,000 for it, and that includes a new electric hitch jack ($250), an Equilizer Sway Control Hitch ($800), and a solar battery charger ($175)’ and whole unit serge protector ($600). There is still a lot of fun and adventure left in this old gal. Make us an offer we can’t refuse! MORE PICTURES

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May Day May Day

Karen · 1 Comment

Since today was Mother’s Day, I celebrated the fact that I am still here to be a Mother to my children. Each one of them called me or contacted me in some way, and let me know that even though I don’t see them or hear from them every day anymore, they still love me and think about me. That is enough to celebrate.

My Mother’s Day started yesterday, with Becky taking me and Fabgrandpa out to lunch at Wallace Barbecue in Austell. After that, we went to a junk store, and an antique store. Fun! When I got home, Becca called and we talked for an hour. I love talking to her. She just got a new puppy, and she told me all about him. He sounds like such a smart little guy. He is catching on really fast to “stay” and “sit”, and is already letting them know when he has to go outside.

Today, Emily shared a video of Parker tasting applesauce for the first time. How sweet was that! Then, Seth commented on my Facebook Wall to let me know he was thinking of me.

It is so nice to know I am still loved and needed by my adult children.

This was about three years ago now. Amelia and Parker weren’t born yet. Becca, Ken, and Rafe were not there with us, so they are missing from this photo too. I do not know how we would get everyone in one picture now!

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My Favorite Gluten Free Products

Karen · 22 Comments

This post has affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a commission. Thank you!
May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month, so I decided to write about my favorite gluten free products. In the beginning, in 2007 when I started eating gluten free, I had never even heard about gluten free. It took me a long time to figure out which products were worth buying a second time. Since then, I have found several things that are good, and that I buy over and over again. So, here is a list of my favorites, and what I use them for.

Udi’s Gluten Free White Sandwich Bread

I think this bread is the best tasting gluten free bread on the market. I use it for toast for breakfast; for sandwiches; in casseroles; and in my southern style corn bread dressing. You can get it on Amazon.con in a case of 8, but sometimes you can find it in grocery stores. If your local supermarket doesn’t carry it, ask them to. Also try Udi’s Cinnamon Raisin Bread. Soooo good for French toast.

Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix

My husband who is not gluten free, loves pancakes made from this mix. It is the only one he likes. I also use it to make biscuits that taste a lot like the ones you get at Red Lobster; for sausage balls for parties; cobblers; and for making muffins. My favorite gluten free product.

Pamela’s Cornbread & Muffin Mix

This gluten free cornbread mix is the only gluten free cornbread mix that I have found that does not have sugar added to it. No southern cook puts sugar in her cornbread, at least none that I know of. If you want true southern cornbread, this is the one for you! I have also used this mix for breading catfish and okra before frying, and it is the main ingredient in my Gluten Free Southern Style Cornbread Dressing. My non gluten free husband loves this cornbread too. He asks for it by name. It is really really good. I buy in a 6 pack.

Chocolate Chex

This cereal is my favorite snack. I eat it right out of the box, no milk. I also use it to make Chex Treats, much like Rice Krispie Treats. Sometimes I add crushed peppermint candy to it, to make Chocolate Peppermint Crunch. I also make trail mix with it. Actually, all of the Chex Cereals except for Wheat Chex are gluten free now.

Tom Sawyer Gluten Free Flour

Tom Sawyer All Purpose Gluten Free Flour is a flour mix that can be used cup for cup as a replacement for regular wheat flour. It is a blended flour of rice and tapioca flours, xanthan gum, and kosher approved unflavored gelatin. The flour is prepared in a dedicated gluten-free environment, using gluten-free mixing and packing equipment and is then tested for gluten contamination. It makes a pretty good gravy. I use it for breading things like chicken, liver, and pork chops for frying. If you like onion rings and fried cauliflower, it makes a terrific beer batter using your favorite gluten free beer.

Cookies

Cookies are a whole separate category. There are so many good gluten free cookies out there, that it is really had to choose just one. However, here are some I have tried that are really good, and worth buying a second time. These are my favorites:

Udi’s Snicker Doodles (soft and chewy)

Udi’s Chocolate Chip (soft and chewy)

Lucy’s Sugar Cookies (crunchy)

Lucy’s Oatmeal (crunchy)

Lucy’s Gingersnaps (crunchy, and makes a great cookie crumb pie crust)

Glutino Lemon Wafers (wafer cookie)

Glutino Chocolate Vanilla Creme (Oreo type cookie)

Katz Colored Sprinkle Cookies

Miscellaneous

These products are just good. They don’t really have a category:

Comstock Raspberry Pie Filling, makes a great cobbler. It comes in other flavors too.

Fischer & Weiser Raspberry Chipotle Sauce. I marinate pork roast with this yummy sauce.

New Grist Beer. It’s hard to find it in the southeast, but it is a pretty good gluten free beer.

Goodbye Gluten Flour Tortillas. I found these at a grocery store about 45 miles away from my home, and the next time I went back, I bought all they had on the shelf. They freeze well, and make terrific wraps, breakfast burritos, and quesadillas. I have even thought of making chocolate tacos with them for dessert.

Rudi’s Gluten Free Flour Tortillas. These are just as good as the Goodbye Gluten tortillas, but they are smaller in size.

Kinnikinnick Crumbs

Gluten Free Graham Cracker Crumbs.

This product is worth it’s weight in gold if you want to make pies with a graham cracker crust. They taste just like regular graham cracker crumbs to me. No one will ever know it is gluten free if you don’t tell them. I use this to make my Banana Split Cake. Yum!

Cedarlane Frozen Dinners. I received some of these to do a review a couple of years ago, and now I buy them all the time. My husband likes them too, and he is not a gluten free eater. His favorite is the Enchilda Pie.

favorite gluten free product — My favorite is Eggplant Mediterranean

Look for Cedarlane Gluten Free Frozen Entrees in the freezer section of your grocery store.

If I think of other things I’ll update this list. What is YOUR favorite gluten free product?

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Thrifty Thursday: I Can’t Believe They Think This Is An Antique

Karen · 10 Comments

We saw this stroller in an antique shop in Cedartown

When we were out shopping the other day, we stopped in at an antique shop on Main Street in Cedartown. There, we saw this baby stroller that had a tag on it dated 1950. That may be old, but I can’t wrap my head around “antique”. I mean, really!

Me on the right in 1952, Fabgrandpa on the left in 1949

That’s Fabgrandpa on the left in 1949 and me on the right in 1952. I don’t feel antique yet!

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May Day May Day

Karen · 1 Comment

My celebration today is for Becca, my oldest daughter. She was a beautiful baby, don’t you think? She was a crier==she cried ALL. THE. TIME. Whether she was hungry, wet, lonesome, awake, anything was a reason for this baby child to cry. She cried until she was about five years old. When she was two, we lived in a neighborhood of retirees. I was giving her a bath and washing her hair. The neighbor across the street called me to ask if everything was alright because she was screaming so loudly. She did not like to get her hair washed.

1976 11 rebecca age 3 years — 1976, about three years old

She could also be sweet and cute, and often said things that made me smile or downright laugh. She helped me put the milk bottles on the porch one night (yes, we had milk delivered). The next morning, she was awake already when I went to bring the milk in. She looked up at me with eyes filled with wonder, and said “Look, Mama! The cows came!”

1978 rebecca 01 — 1978 Rebecca Who Fixes Her Hair

When she was in kindergarten, the other kids called her “Rebecca Who Fixes Her Hair” because it was so curly. Just combing it in the morning looked like she had had a perm.

1983 11 14 rebecca 01 — Becca on her birthday in 1983

When she was 10, she asked for a tape recorder for Christmas. That gift was the hit of Christmas that year. All three of the kids played with it, making up skits and silly commercials, and taping them, then playing them back. I could hear them laughing all day long for months! One night, after they all went to bed, I picked up the tape recorder to listen to what they had been up to all day. It was hilarious. The skits were all original, and witty, and down right funny. At the very end of the tape, I heard Becca’s voice loud and clear “You can turn off the tape recorder now Mom, this is the end.” She KNEW me too well, even way back then!

1993 01 Rebecca at Fitts Hall University of Alabama 02 — Freshman year at University of Alabama

Although she earned a four year academic scholarship to the University of Alabama, she wanted to live at home and go to West Georgia College. I said NO! I wanted her to have the experience of living in a dorm and all that going to college entails. About half way through the first semester, she called me and asked if she could come home and go to West Georgia. I told her to wait until the end of the semester, and if she still felt that way, she could go to West Georgia after Christmas break. By the time Christmas break got here, she had made friends and changed her mind. She graduated from U of A with a degree in Fine Arts.

1993 03 01 rebecca karen on the steps — Becca and me during Spring Break in 1993

This was taken during Spring Break in 1993. She came home from school for the week, and helped me and Fabgrandpa plant flowers in the back yard.

1993 12 25 02 rebecca snow — A rare snowfall in Georgia on Christmas Day 1993

Just because I like this photo of her, here she is on Christmas Day, 1993 during a fluke snowfall.

1996 10 20 karen and rebecca in tuscaloosa — In May 1996, I stopped by to visit on my way to Texas to visit Seth.

Becca chose to stay in Tuscaloosa after she graduated. She had a job there, and that is where her friends were. I stopped by to visit her when I was on my way to visit Seth in Texas in May 1996. It wasn’t long after this picture was taken that she moved to Norfolk, Virginia to go to grad school at Old Dominion.

2003 08 01 rebecca and sarah fishing — On a family vacation in 2003, teaching Sarah to fish at R Ranch in Dahlonega

No matter where she lived, she always tried to come to wherever our family vacations were, and also tried to visit us at whatever place we were working at for the summer. This was taken at R Ranch in Dahlonega, GA in 2003. She was teaching Seth’s daughter, Sarah, how to fish.

Here we are on the bridge over the Rio Grande River on a day trip into Mexico when Fabgrandpa and I were working in south Texas in 2004.

2003 12 07 rebecca with howard dean — Becca with Howard Dean in 2003

I am especially proud of her because she doesn’t just talk about politics, she gets out there and gets her hands dirty. She volunteers for candidates she believes in, and doesn’t care what others think of her choices. She is one of the very few people I know who actually DO something for what they believe in.

Last year when I was in the hospital, we knew I would need some help when I went home. Becca came from Canada to stay with me for 16 days. I was so glad to see her, and glad that she was able to come take care of me.

Because I love her, and she has made me proud of her, I celebrate her today!

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May Day May Day

Karen · 4 Comments

Today I am celebrating my son Seth. He was not always an easy child to raise, but he has always been a good and loving son. I used to tell people he could hear the sun hit the window in the morning, because he was up every day at the crack of dawn, even if he didn’t go to bed until two in the morning.

By the time he was a year old, he was walking and into everything, just like every other baby. But he was also inquisitive, taking things apart to see what made them work. He asked for an alarm clock and an aquarium for his fourth birthday. He took that alarm clock apart and put it back together just to see if he could. Then he took a picture of two boys on a raft off the wall and put in the aquarium, because rafts belong in the water, Mom.

He could read at two years old. I found that out because we were watching a game show together called “Concentration”, where contestants had to pick two squares to turn around and match a prize that was on the back of them, in order to solve a puzzle and win all the prizes they had collected in the process. When both of the chosen squares turned around, they said “Cat Food” on them. Before the announcers on TV said anything, Seth said “CAT FOOD! Why would anyone want to win Cat Food?”

My son grew up doing all the things most boys his age do, like playing baseball and football, and going hunting and fishing. He quit going hunting, though, after he actually shot a deer, because he didn’t like the way it made him feel to kill an animal.

This boy child of mine never did well in school. I really think he would have been labeled as ADHD if he had been tested back then. He was found to have a genius IQ but did not apply himself at all. And it was not for lack of me trying. By the time he got to high school, I was just exhausted from trying do all the things that teachers and school counselors suggested for all those years. He quit school when he was 16, and went to work at a grocery store. He went through a string of jobs until 1994. No, this boy was not easy to parent.

Seth joined the air force in 1994 and went to boot camp at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. He went to tech school in Witchita Falls, and then had his first duty station back at Lackland. He spent about three years total in Texas, where he was on the volunteer color guard, and attended many funerals for retired service personnel. He was on the tarmack with President Clinton landed at Lackland.

Seth and MIchael in 1996 — Seth and Michael in 1996

Seth and his wife have four children. Michael, the oldest of my grandchildren, was born in San Antonio. Sarah was born in Guam, and Owen and Amelia were born in Maryland where they live now. They will probably stay in Maryland until September 2014, when Seth will retire from the Air Force.

Seth has been in the Air Force for nearly 18 years now, and has traveled all over the world. He spent time in Texas, Guam, England, and Andrews AFB. I love him so much, and am very proud to be his mother.

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May Day May Day

Karen · 4 Comments

The biggest celebration in my life is for my husband, Jim. I usually call him Fabgrandpa here, but to honor him today I have used his real name. He is a real man, one I can depend on and trust every day of my life since I met him. Before we met, I had been married twice, and divorced twice. Although I was leary of men since the last divorce, I was lonely and wanted someone to go out to dinner with. We have been going out to dinner together now for more than 21 years.

This man does everything for me. He takes car of the yard and the car, and since my surgery in May of last year, he has taken care of ME and done all the housework, laundry, and other household chores. When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. He changes my ostomy bag. That is the most intimate thing you could ask anyone to do, and he has never complained or indicated that he would rather not do it.

When I say we have been together for 21 years, I really mean together. Before we sold the house and lived in a 32 foot travel trailer for thirteen years, we worked together at several different jobs for several years. I was the secretary at a construction company where he worked. We drove a pick up truck as independent contractors for hot shot deliveries. It was simple for us to switch to working together in campgrounds around the country.

Besides working at the same places, we have so many interests in common. How many people find someone who loves doing the same things they do? We both love to go fishing, to travel, to go out to dinner. We enjoy the same type of music, and like the same type of art.

Kissing the mother of the bride at Becky’s wedding in 2011

He is constantly asking me if I need anything, or if he can get me anything. He tells me every day that he loves me, and it is not just words to him. He means it. He tells me I’m pretty when I know for sure I am not. He helps me fix my hair when it won’t lay down no matter what I do to it. And he makes me laugh at least once a day. I hope we get to have at least 21 more years together. Thank you, Jim for all you do for me. What would I do without you?

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Pajanamals DVD Gift Set Giveaway

Karen · 85 Comments

pajanamals 03

Do you have a Pajanimals fan in your house? Jim Henson Pajanimals is giving away a Pajanimals DVD Gift Set in celebration of The Week of the Young Child, which was April 14-20, which recognizes that the early childhood years lay the foundation for children’s success in school and later life.

Pajanimals Play Date

The theme this year was “Early Years Are Learning Years”. We know more than ever before about the importance of children’s earliest years in shaping their learning and development. Now more than ever, the needs of young children and their families are pressing. The Week Of The Young Child is a time to recognize that children’s opportunities are our responsibility, and that we need to commit ourselves to ensuring that every child experiences the type of early environment that will promote their early learning.

Good Night Pajanimals

The Jim Henson Company believes in the value of developing skills in early life to encourage the youngest a life long love of learning. Their live action puppetry series “Pajanimals” features the adorable quartet of Cowbella, Apollo, Sweetpea Sue, and Squacky, and is a fun way to teach skills that preschoolers need.

Meet The Pajanimals

Sprout’s kid-safe online platform, Sprout.com, offers printable Pajanimals Bedtime Activity Cards to help parents teach young children about healthy sleep habits and bedtime routines, and Pajanimals Routine Reward stickers which positively reinforce children’s bedtime achievements.

There’s also the new Parent’s Choice Recommended Pajanimals App, Pajanimals Light in the Sky, an interactive adaptation of the Pajanimals episode of the same name. Developed specifically for two to five year olds, this fully 3D mobile app sells for $3.99 and brings engaging activities, charming music and adorable animation to your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

To help celebrate The Week of the Young Child, the Jim Henson Company is giving away a Pajanimals DVD Gift Set that includes a copy of each of the Pajanamils DVD’s, which are available to purchase at Toys R Us. The DVD’s included are Good Night, Pajanimals; Meet the Pajanimals!; Pajanimals Playdate.

To enter the giveaway, use the Giveaway Tools form below:

Entry -Form

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