Can anyone??

So, I have wanted to make jam for a long time (it has always been a dream of mine LOL) so Tuesday morning, I loaded the kids in the car and we went to the farm. We hand picked the six pounds of strawberries, the kids loved it, and next we headed to Wendi's house. My friend Wendi is the canning expert. She lent me this wonderful pan to water bath my finished jam and answered my 100 + 1 questions that I had during the process.


And this is the fruits of my labor. YUMMY! It was so easy and the jam was so wonderful that I repeated the whole process again on Thursday. I didn't hand pick the strawberries this time but the result was the same..........jars and jars of strawberry jam. It is heaven when you have a warm roll with strawberry jam.
I am so proud of myself because with Wendi's help, I realized that I can play domestic. My next domestic endeavor, applesauce in the fall after I go and pick apples.

What do you do in the summertime?

We have played at the park
We have taken naps
We made sugar cookies
Tried the batter to make sure it was just right
And had fun decorating the little men with M&M's and chocolate chips

I finalized my summer history class by finishing my 18 page paper that was due by midnight tonight! YES! 18 pages. It was double spaced so that takes up some room but geez, it took me like 4 days to finish this paper. I can't complain too much because I truly do know everything there is to know about the Chinese dynasties, Greek culture, and the mythological beginnings of Rome. I bet after writing that paper I will dream about being raised by she-wolfs tonight.

I am not kidding when I say that life is moving slowly. Have you ever felt like you were stuck in time? I feel like June 2008 is just repeating over and over again. This month will NEVER end. Since we decided on a moving date out of Jersey, I am counting down and I predict that the next 11 months will go by very S-L-O-W-L-Y. I do not want to offend any of my Jersey friends but I am ready to leave. I can appreciate that it is home to some people and I appreciate their "Jersey" pride but I am homesick for the West. And to those people who will say, "Just quit complaining then and get out of Jersey" believe me when I say, I wish I could. (again, nothing personal against New Jersey) I just need to finish nursing school. I am too far into my program to quit now.

This week promises to start out wonderful since Jaxson developed a hacking cough and runny nose this morning. I love Jaxson because not only is he my overly affectionate child but he can also be my very moody child. Especially when he is not feeling well. I kept him busy tonight by making sugar cookies which I plan on delivering to my "friends" LOL, LOL (don't say I didn't warn you if you receive a plate of cookies from the Borowski's tomorrow)


****I was totally kidding about the cookies!*************************

Summer has arrived in the Borowski home. Connor is out of school, I am out of school, the weather is perfect, and the ants have arrived. We have just started looking forward to the arrival of the ants when summer comes. They have come every summer that we have been in this neighborhood. Speaking of my neighborhood, I woke up at 6:45 AM to the neighbor screaming at her kids. I love the ghetto.

I have been quiet.....I haven't been posting as often as I usually do. The reason?? I don't really have a lot to say right now. Life is moving a little slow right now. So, I will finally play this "tag" game that my friends want me to play. Here goes.....

8 things about me that you don't know..........

1. I do my best thinking while driving. If I ever became a writer, I would be forced to drive around in my car to come up with my novels. While driving to school I come up with wonderful ideas for things to blog about but by the time I get home, I sit in front of the computer screen trying to remember.
2. I am terrified of snakes. I dream about them on an average of three times a month. I do not have nightmares of strangers chasing me or terrorizing my family, I have nightmares of rattlesnakes. Baby rattlesnakes usually hanging from trees, swinging down and biting me. CRAZY!
3. I hate fighting. I know that people think I am rough and tough but when it comes down to it, I am the biggest wimp. I cry over the drop of a hat and conflicts just eat me apart. I could never be in a profession that required arguing or conflict. When someone is angry at me, I play it in my head, over and over and over again. I will think about it for months. So to all my enemies, it appears that I do not care- that I am stone, but inside, trust me, it is eating me apart.
4. I do not like love stories. I don't know why. I just think they are cheesy.
5. I LOVE medical shows and mystery. You know the shows that tell you about some crime or murder and then you watch the autopsy and put the clues together trying to figure out what happened? I would LOVE to go into forensic nursing BUT.......
6. I am overly paranoid. After watching the above shows I will triple check that all my windows and doors are locked at night. I become suspicious of everyone and everything.
7. I can pinch with my toes. When Jade is snoring extra loud at night I will slide my foot over so gently and just give him a little pinch. I can also use my toes to pick up toys or things that have fallen on the floor. I suspect this means I am part monkey?????
8. I hate the beach. I will go, but I hate the sand and the water is always too cold and the salt burns my skin. Most people in New Jersey just love the shore but I will always be a Utah girl at heart. I would take hiking, biking, or camping over going to the beach any day.

My sister and her boyfriend Jon have been out visiting. We have visited Six Flags, Avalon beach, and Maryland. It has been a VERY busy week and we have enjoyed having them!

We have been busy swimming during this HEAT wave!!!!! It has been HOT in New Jersey

The Bug Party

Connor finally had his bug party and it was wonderful. The kids had fun and Connor was a great host. The hit of the party was the "dirt" cake.

Jaxson is full of spirit. If you have trouble, he will find it. Jade took this after the boys made a mud puddle outside and played in it for an hour. You know the motto, if you don't have trouble, go out and look for it. Ok, that is just a motto I made up but it summarizes Jaxson perfectly. BTW, a friend bought this shirt for Jaxson because it was just made for him.

Dinner at the Borowski's....this is what we had for dinner last night....it is yummy!

Asiago Cheese Pasta

Sauce:
Heavy Whipping Cream
Chicken paste
1-2 cups of Asiago Cheese
1 TBS corn starch
2 oz of cold water
Stir the whipping cream in a sauce pan on medium heat and heat until right before a boil. Add the chicken paste (I use about 1 TBSP) and stir together. Add the shredded Asiago Cheese and stir until creamy. Mix the corn starch and the water together and mix into the cream sauce until it is the consistency you desire.

I cook chicken breasts, bacon, and green or purple onions on the stove top. When they are finished I put them into the cream sauce and I pour the cream sauce onto bow tie pasta!

This dinner is FABULOUS!

The Jersey Devil

The Jersey Devil......real or myth? A story that has been told around Jersey for years, and years. Well, I am here to tell you that the Jersey Devil is real and he has a wife. Now, I know you are asking how I know this........because I live next door to them. My name is Shannon and I live next door to the Jersey Devil and his Devil wife.

Ok, all silliness aside. We have a terrible neighbor. TERRIBLE! We moved into this house three years ago. When we first moved in, D was friendly. Our kids played together out front and we would socialize outside. One day during conversation, D's family asked where I was from and I replied "Utah" which was followed by the question, "Are you Mormon". Suddenly, D built a huge fortress like fence around his yard and the neighborly exchanges stopped. When we said hello we were met with silence and eye contact was never met. We started coming home on Sundays with a driveway full of dirt because he would mow his yard while we were at church and then use his leaf blower to blow all the leftover mess into our driveway. We were honestly baffled at what had happened. We knew that he was upset about something but we didn't know what we had done.

While this has been a really rough situation we have found some peace in making a decision for our future. We have both decided to move out of New Jersey next May. I will finish nursing school the first week of May and will go out to Utah to take my NCLEX. I will take the kids and stay with family while Jade stays to sale the house. Jade takes his exam in October to be a professional engineer and we are just going to pray for the next year that he will be successful in finding a good job out West.