dirt don't hurt

By Karrie McAllister Part of me thinks that the reason Christmas is celebrated in December is so that we can eat all that we want and make resolutions to lose the weight one week later when New Years rolls around. And this year, as we all hang up our new calendars that we got for Christmas, is no different. We spent our holidays indulging in cookies and other goodies. (Note to faithful readers: my husband actually bought the tur-duck-hen and we ate it! Delicious!) Now that the traditional pork and sauerkraut from our New Year’s Day meal is officially digested, it’s time to sit down and think about the upcoming year, the changes we’d like to make and the goals we set for ourselves. I think the object of making New Year’s resolutions is to make them obtainable. It seems every year I make the same promise to myself—to wash, dry, fold and put away the laundry all in one day instead of living out of clothes baskets in the laundry room for weeks on end. And every year I break my resoluti...

By Karrie McAllister Living in our little part of the world, my family is fortunate enough to fully experience the full range of yearly seasons. Our spring months are soggy, stormy and muddy. Our summers are hot, dry and green. Autumns are cool, brisk and colorful. And winters are cold, crisp and snowy. (Well, some of the time…) I am thankful that my children can see the beauty in each season. Generally speaking, the change of seasons changes our time outdoors. Weather seems to decide what our days will be like more than we do, and as much as I love the easy days that don’t require special gear, I cherish the harsh weather days just as much. This is one of the many reasons that my family and I look forward to winter. My own childhood winters were spent outside. Living at the end of a street, snowplows were constantly providing us with winter’s greatest playground equipment, and the lake effect snow off of Lake Erie was constantly providing us with plenty of it! I can remember...