Category: Life

Responsibility & Other ‘R’ Words

By: Hallee

This guy didn’t fit in there. His hair was too long, his clothes were too wrong, and his attitude didn’t fit. I blew him off, and I guess he didn’t like it. At some point, somehow, he cornered me and dragged me into an empty room.

And he raped me.

I’ll spare you the horrific details. At some point, he choked me. Years later I realized that I passed out for a space of time. When I could breathe again, I thought he’d kill me, but something stopped him. I had bruises on my neck for days and wore every turtle necked sweater I owned in an attempt to hide them.

Pinkalicious, Head Injuries, Romance Writers & Teen Drivers

By: Hallee

His pediatrician looked at him and did not like the way he acted or looked, so he sent us to the ER for a CT scan. About 5 minutes after I got there (our doctor had called ahead and immediately triaged him and put us in a room), Gregg arrived from his office, and about 5 minutes later, our pastor arrived. He annointed Scott with oil and prayed over him. (I love our pastor.) Scott was a trooper during the CT scan, even though he was scared. The results were clear – no bleeding on the brain — but he definitely has a concussion.

A Sweet Sixteen

By: Hallee

A follower on my Hallee the Homemaker Facebook page asked me, during my hectic week last week, if I would blog about Kaylee’s birthday party and what I did. The problem is, during party planning, I get immensely busy and don’t stop to take pictures. I have this weird hangup that if I can’t take a picture, then I can’t blog about it because it’s almost like the picture validates what I’ve done. Silly, I know, but nevertheless…

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Just Feed One

By: Hallee

I am so busy this week. It’s non-stop, every single day and night, culminating in Kaylee’s Sweet 16 Birthday Party Friday night.

My to-do list would scare the sane. I have two cookbooks coming out in the next two months, a fiction book that has “something” not quite right plot-wise and is going to require just a gutting and story-boarding, party planning/food prep/cleaning, learning how to make cake-pops, meetings, volunteerism, and life.

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Life

Survey: Not Valued

By: Hallee

According to a Gallup poll stay-at-home moms are more likely to be *this* than moms who work outside the home. What is it?

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Old School Housekeeping

By: Hallee

I’m so curious about it. This was an era before television, computers, some phones, mommy groups, play dates, working remotely, etc. I’m curious if women just felt like they had to fill those hours in the day with housework, or if there is truly something to be said for being that thorough every single day in your home. If it was done daily, and a good rhythm was established (note in the order of cleaning that the steps in and out of the room are even given), my entire house could be cleaned in just a morning. Instead, I do a room or a group of rooms a day, do my daily chores, and spend the rest of my (kid-free) time in front of a computer, working.

A Cultural, Spiritual, & Emotional Loss

By: Hallee

Over the last few decades, the majority of our society has moved away from fresh, whole foods and into packaged, prepared, preserved products. We’ve lost something very fundamental as a result. Opening cans and dumping, slicing a vent hole into a plastic sealed microwavable tray, “just add water” – those things have taken away from something that, I believe, is an inherent desire within us to make the process of growing, preparing, cooking, and serving a joyful experience. We’ve taken something that should be a very basic delight and turned it into a tedious chore that has us seeking any time-saving product that will get it done faster and with less hassle.

But at what cost?

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MSG on Fresh Produce?

By: Hallee

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is baaaaaaaaaaaaaad. Bad, bad, bad, bad. Don’t consume it. Read labels and make sure that nothing you feed your family contains MSG. Among other horrible things (along with damaging the retinas in eyes, causing obesity, messing with the reproductive system) is that it’s a neurotoxin. That means that it’s poison for the brain.

With Fear & Trembling

By: Hallee

So here it is. Here is my proclamation for the entire world to see forever and ever and always. HERE is what I have to say to every group in this world who feels it necessary to judge how well we are living our lives, running our home, raising our children, and “doing religion” all within the context of our beliefs:

A Testimony & Carbon Monoxide

By: Hallee

There was no reason for me to smell gas – ten minutes after calling the company, there was absolutely no natural gas in the air. I believe, since you can’t smell carbon monoxide, that God was warning me about the dangerous levels in a way that would get my attention. Smell gas, call the gas company, someone arrives with a meter to read the air. Attention got, message received, thank You, God.

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