My wee angels!

My readers may or may not know, but I am a VERY proud mother! I mentioned to my mom today, "I've had twenty kids and I still have my girlish figure!" You scoff? Well I AM the mother of twenty...Granted nearly half have moved on to that large world in the sky, hopefully I'll see them again...The only real difference in my motherhood, and the motherhood of others is that my children aren't human! I have no human children, but in my life have had MANY beautiful animal children! To break it down easily I've been the mother to, five cats, three fish, two rabbits, three crabs, two snails, two dogs, and at least three frogs. I wonder if those reading this will think me a bit of a whore for having so many species of children! Obviously they do not all share the same father! ;) Truly I can not remember EXACTLY when I had my rabbits, it was a while back and was likely before I had my first cat. Anyway, I had one brown velvet feeling rabbit named Easter. She was a sweet little thing, and I can't put into words my joy when we went to Bucheit and saw the little spring rabbits and I said half hopefully, "I want one...". My true shock came when my dad looked at me and said, "Pick one out!" I thought I'd heard wrong! Did my dad ACTUALLY say pick a bunny out?! I looked the variously colored balls of fur over, and fell head over heals with a little brown ball of fluff. I named her Easter because she was one of my Easter gifts. We brought her home, but soon after my sister became sullen...She wanted a rabbit as well...What was crazier was when we all got back into the van, returned to Bucheit and Michele picked out her own rabbit, an all black ball of fluff she called Alex. So we had Easter and Alex, unlike Easter though, Alex was a bit rough...She wasn't fond of people in general and before I knew it, my wee sweet Easter bit me...Alex had made her an angry rabbit and we had to give them both away, luckily my mom, who worked as a dialysis nurse at the time, had a patient who raised rabbits and happily took our wayward children in. Months later we heard the lovely news! Easter was a mommy! She had successfully mated and given birth to babies, while Alex had attacked and I believe killed the rabbit she was to mate with...In turn she had to be put down...That was the end of Easter and Alex. Though I can't know for certain if we had Easter and Alex before Boots or not...

Boots! His full and proper name is, Boots Patches Creampuff Sorrill. Creampuff because the little spot on his forehead looks like an overstuffed creampuff!

Boots was I believe, my next child! I had wanted a little kitten for so long, and one day my parents brought home information from the vets office about how to care for cats and what they needed, that was how they broke the news that we were getting a kitten! We bought the food dish, water dish, play things, and a litter box. Most of the items for the kitten were in my room, and before bed I would play with a stuffed cat, pretend to feed it, water it, use the litter box and go to bed at the foot of my bed. On a nice summer day, we drove to the country to retrieve my kitten! The little one they brought out was literally a little one! He looked as though he couldn't have been weaned long, and the collar we had bought him was far too big even when it was shrunk to its smallest size! He fit in the palm of my moms hand, and the palm of mine, and he was a little ball of black and white fluff! He was a bit sick, ear mites, fleas, and worms, but I loved him deeply! I had thought of some names but mom offered the name Boots, I thought it fit and Boots was born to us! We went to Midland, the farm supply store, and bought a carrier for our new addition, and some flea shampoo! When we got home, Boots had his bath, and the poor little dear looked like a drowned rat! Of course Boots didn't stay little for long! He's now a rather massive cat...He's still my sweet little boy, and thankfully came out of his terrible kitten age where no toes were safe hanging off a bed...
For now I'm on my cat children, and will post about them in order of age, and then my other children as I don't remember exactly when I got each one.

Muffy! Full and proper name, Muffy Tina Tiger Lillian Sorrill.

Next came Muffy! Muffy was NOT at all an expected addition to our family...In 2001, my mom, sister, grandparents on my moms side, and I all went to Nebraska for a family reunion. We made about a week of it, going to the family reunion and staying with family for a few days in Colorado which was a LOT of fun! Well apparently my sister had a horrible feeling in her gut one day that she told mom about but not me...Apparently again after that horrible feeling dad had called to say Boots, who was about a year old then, had run out on him and had been lost for a day or two...Well this was kept from me until we arrived at my grandparents house. I looked that the wee kittens and enjoyed them, and said I wish I could have one...Then they broke it to me saying, "Pick one out..." I was shocked, and then learned this kitten was to be a replacement...I had noticed Muffy before we left for our trip because my mom said, "That one looks like a cat I had called Muffy Tom." Well if I were to pick a kitten, I wanted the one that reminded mom of her childhood cat Muffy Tom, so I chose a fluffy yellow and white kitten, grandpa looked it over and said, "This is a girl". So I called her Muffy Tina instead of Muffy Tom. I cried almost the entire way home...I had my hand in the little box Muffy was in and she let me pet her and cry, she has always been my little furry rock, she knows when I'm down and tries to help. I fell asleep before we got home and woke up at home and cried more...The next morning with Muffy getting acclimated, we began to make LOST posters for Boots...About two days after that, and right after putting up the big posters on the poles around the neighborhood, my dad was working on checks, Muffy was by the water dish in the kitchen, and Blondie our dog was relaxing, the windows were open and dad heard a little meow...There was Boots sitting on the steps wanting in...But of course dad, not being a cat person, wasn't thrilled that he now had two cats...But he dealt with it and I was thrilled!

Sox. Full and proper name, Sox Prince Moonbeam Starboy Sorrill.

Soxy came about from the cat that up until about two years ago, lived where my dad worked. He was part of her first litter inside, and after dad gave away my favorite kitten Acrobat, I pleaded that he not give away Sox! On the way home from Springfield one day, I twisted my dad's arm and mom finally agreed that we could have Sox! We went to dad's work and picked him up, he was a glorious little addition to our family. He was quite laid back, and very gentle, but he's also a bit goofy...He likes to get into odd positions and he has a patented "cute and innocent act". This cat KNOWS he's cute...So when he's in trouble, he flops onto his side and rolls around giving this look that says, "I'm so cute! You won't hurt me!"

Cleo. Full and proper name, Cleopatra Melinda Shemelba Donshea Sorrill.

Cleo was another unexpected addition to the family. She is also Sox's half sister, she was born to that same cat where my dad works. Cleo's life did not start with our family, she went to one of my dad's bosses. Sadly it would seem she wasn't given proper attention, and her littler box was in the garage, and she also wasn't let out enough to use it consequently she peed around the house...Being fed up with her, the boss brought her back and tossed her in with her mother...Who hates animals...Dad brought her home until we could find her a home, because Scruffy, her mother, would have likely killed her...Well she worked her charms on us, and dad thought she'd been through enough and we kept her!

Sweet P. Full and proper name, Sweet Peter Holstein Moo Cow Sorrill.

We have no idea about Sweet P. he was a stray that showed up at our house, and simply never left...For months he didn't fully trust us, and though he wanted attention he was afraid to approach...In time, I was able to calm him enough that he approached one Christmas Eve, we played in the door, he entered, and the next day he came in and never left! He is our little clown, and for the LONGEST time no one but me could come around him or hold him, he would let me do things he wouldn't allow from other people. He loves to follow when given any attention, I'm the only one he rolls over to his back for, and he has the tiniest little meow! Which we hardly ever hear...We call him our little cow.

That is all for my cats. After we gave away Easter and Alex, we acquired another Easter and Alex from the same man who took our other rabbits. This time however, Easter was male and was consequently fixed after trying to impregnate Alex on my sisters lap...We built them a lovely hutch, open in the front with chicken wire, enclosed on the other sides with closer chicken wire on the bottom and a lid on top. I hate to go into detail about them because their demise still hurts me to this day...One night, some very, very, abused dogs got loose...They went to a neighbors house who fed them, but their hunger was not satisfied...They ripped open the bottom of the hutch pulled one of our rabbits out and killed it, and the other may have died of fright...Its still hard to think about them, I felt horrible for them and the dogs and was horrified and angered by the owner for treating the animals that way!

I also had two snails, Gary and Selena. I found a snail shell one day and decided to bring it home, later that day when I went into the kitchen I noticed my shell had moved across the table and was still moving down the edge of the table...There was STILL a snail in it...I kept him as a pet and named him Gary, Selena was found by my dad later and I kept them both for over a year before they passed peacefully. 

With my snails gone, my sister thought a perfect gift for me for my 15th birthday was to take me to Springfield for a movie and trip to the mall. While there we found painted shelled hermit crabs! I fell in love! She bought me three, one with a tye dye shell, one with an Asian motif, and the other I can't remember well...Gary was the biggest and scariest...He was the tye dye one we thought was pushed onto use because he was mean and they wanted to rid themselves of him...Anyway I brought Gary, Selena, and Squishy home, within a week Squishy and Selena were dead by mysterious means...We think Gary killed them...But Gary, the evil one that pinched me and always scared me lived on and on...He died a few years ago and though he was evil, I cried...

Edward. Full and proper name, Edward Oliver Robert Pattinson Sorrill.

Later I became mother to a beautiful blue Beta fish named Edward. Edward had quite a fine personality, he liked watching his food before attacking happily. He loved playing dead...to my dismay...I learned a lot about caring for Beta's with Edward, but he lived with us about two years before passing on...I believe he was ill and old and the combination just took him...

Ferdinand. Ferdinand has no real fancy name, he's just Ferdinand Sorrill.

Ferdinand joined our family a little over a year ago, and he is a bit flashy and thinks a lot of himself! He expects royal treatment, and delights in puffing out his cheeks to show mommy how manly and scary he is! He's an all around sweet fish and I love him to bits!

Nemo is another of my children who has gone on...She was a red platy fish and was born in our fish tank. Dad gave her very little chance to live because he back was completely crooked...She lived a good life and even had children. I named her Nemo before I knew she was a girl, and she was named for Nemo from Finding Nemo because of her crooked back.

I don't really have any good pictures of Comet...She's my chocolate brown pup that lives at Grandpa and Grandma Staff's house. I named her Comet because of how fast she ran around the house! She's a sweet puppy and has had several litters. Grandpa had her fixed free when a place in Quincy was fixing animals for free. She has since plumped up, but she's still me sweet little girl. She was hit slightly by grandpa when she got behind his truck so she is blind in one eye, but she follows me on ALL my adventures! The best part is if she runs ahead of me, she stops when I stop and waits for me! She's too sweet!

Lily is another of my girls, she is Comets sister and lives with Comet, she also just had her first litter of puppies. She, like Comet, is a stray that just showed up one day. Poor thing was so skidish, but with time she's allowed us to pet her. She has incredibly long legs, a slender body, speckled and black fur, and ears that are constantly cocked.

My last children were three frogs! I raised them from wee tadpoles! When I was in fourth grade I believe, we went to a farm that was owned by the ex husband of our former teacher. We were allowed to catch tadpoles and take them home, I caught a bunch and brought them home to raise. My sister and I shared them, and though most of them escaped after they became frogs and consequently died...the others were later freed at the lake here in town.

Well that is the story of my children! They may not be human, but they are mine and I adore them!

Love,

Christina

Carnival's and Circuses, these are a few of my favorite things!

In this blog, I shall delve into two of my favorite things! These are things I enjoyed in my childhood, and into my current age.
I'm often flabbergasted when I hear people say, "I've only been to one circus..." "I've never been to a circus..." "I've been to one or two carnivals..." I nearly fall over and grab my chest! Something many may not know, and something that may explain why exactly I'm insane, is that carnivals and circuses are in my blood! If I had to estimate, I'd say I've been to at least thirty circuses in my life, possibly more...and likely twice as many carnivals...Back to circuses though, my family would religiously go, as it was a tradition my grandpa Sorrill passed down to my dad, and my dad in turn passed it onto my sister and myself. Our family has been to the birthday of a circus owner, we've eaten with the performers, watched setup and some tear down, and I have played with the performers children.
Some of my HAPPIEST memories were going to the fair grounds and watching with my dad and sister as the large trucks unloaded their precious cargo. I can remember the way the heavy tarp tent was pulled and stretched and laid out. The smell of the elephants as they pulled the poles to bring the tent to life! It was majestic to see something flat and unmoving come to life before my very eyes! With the tents set up, we'd always visit the animals, and an elephant ride was a MUST! In the evening the show would start, and my eyes would behold magnificent acts from around the world. People in glittering costumes, women, slender and beautiful perched upon the back of the magnificent elephants with feathers perched in their hair! It was mesmerizing. Even today when I hear the tired old story "This is the FIRST time we're doing this!" brings a smile to my face! This old story that was supposedly new every circus, pertained to the selling of peanuts, and in those bags one had the chance of finding a glorious ticket! Whenever we opened those bags and found a ticket, it was reminiscent of Willy Wonka! With that ticket, the children were called to the middle of the tent to claim their prize! A ginormous circus balloon! Usually the balloons didn't make it home, but the glee of having that masterful piece of rubber in my hands was like holding the Holy Grail! Of course no circus was complete without goodies! The smell and taste of the fresh popcorn, the sweet warm cotton candy melting into my mouth, the cold delicious snow cones that would drip down my hand and chin leaving me with a colored chin and tongue! It seemed magical under that giant tent. I still remember being given knicknacks from the circus, generally a light toy, my all time favorite was a plastic tube with a plastic snowglobe type object on top with silver glitter inside and an elephant on top, when one lit it up, the colors would change and bounce off the silver enchanting my young mind! After the circus, and before heading home, we would go hunting for circus posters and circus arrows! These were our spoils of war! Taking them from fences, and the outsides of buildings after the show was over was glorious! If we made it home early, my sister and I ALWAYS headed straight to the swing set after a circus to work on our own circus. We were quite good, especially me having no formal training. I like to say I was the youngest circus owner ever! I would watch with glee The Greatest Show on Earth! I would then climb onto the back of the couch, grab a blue blanket and pretend I was riding an elephant. I would smile and wave to my imaginary audience and move as though I really were riding an elephant. After becoming bored with that, I would take an extra wand from the blinds and pretend to be a lion tamer! Its easy to see why I'm the way I am huh? 
Now that I have jabbered on about circuses, I think its time to move onto carnivals! Dad would take us to almost every carnival within sixty miles of home. In a year we would generally go to New Berlin, Sangamon County, Morgan County, and the State Fair. Being an odd child to begin with, I was a rider! I loved trying the new rides. My first favorite was The Dragon Wagon! Yes the Dragon Wagon, the children's version of a terrifyingly wonderful roller coaster! I almost NEVER left that ride...The feeling I would get as we started, and hit the first bump and slid down was something I can never fully describe. It seems so silly now, but I believed that ride was the epitome of the carnival!

The Dragon Wagon!

Though my sister had outgrown this ride, I still loved it! Now that was NOT the extent of my riding career though, oh no! My sister and I's other favorite ride was The Hurricane! A ride whose arms would rise slowly into the air, with one car at the end of each, and once in the air the entire ride would spin gleefully! Most young children would be horrified by such a thing, but I ate it up!

The Hurricane!

Another Michele and Christina favorite was The Octopus! It has been SO many years since my sister and I were able to ride The Octopus, I've almost forgotten what it's like...I believe the arms go up and each one spins on its own but I could be wrong...

The Octopus!

Now for the rider with some stones, Wipeout was INCREDIBLE! This ride was GREAT! It started flat, then slowly began to spin, picking up until it was completely on its side!

Hahaha! Wipeout!

The Ferris Wheel was a cool down ride that dad, Michele and I always rode! The line was always long but so worth the wait...Gliding up slowly and being able to see the entire fair from the top was an incredible feeling! I assume everyone has seen a ferris wheel so I won't post that.

Michele and I loved 1001 Nachts! Now that is a classic! But you've got to ride in the front! You are locked into your seat which is positioned on a giant fiberglass magic carpet. The ride begins by swaying to one side, then the other, until eventually its going in circles!

1001 Nachts!

The Scrambler is another personal favorite! The ride that spins and pushes the cars to the very brink of the gates! I have advice though, if you ride this be sure to have the largest person riding on the OUTSIDE, gravity forces the riders to the outside of the car.

The Scrambler!

Tilt-A-Whirl is another FANTASTIC ride! If you have the chance though, and love spinning, make sure to ride with a larger person...If you have someone who is heavy, or a heavy car you'll spin like a top! When spinning, you'll feel like you're glued to the back of the seat and it is incredible!

Tilt-A-Whirl

We have the wonderful swings! Not really a thrill ride, but a wonderful way to cool down, and enjoy a breathtaking view!

I now come to the GLORIOUS Gravitron! This is INTENSE! You walk into an alien space craft like ride, and stand against a wall. Eventually the ride begins to spin, pinning the rider to the wall, and honestly, it feels like the floor gives out as you spin into oblivion!

Now the Tornado ride is hard to explain. One can spin if they like, I prefer to not spin. Anyway, the rider is whisked into the air and swung in their car and as they come down, they are whipped around making it seem as though the car will crash into the very ground!

The Tornado!

There is another ride I thoroughly enjoy! This ride I can't name, and can't find a picture of...The main premise is that the rider lays down on their tummy, and the simulation is that of parasailing. The ride flies up and comes back down making the rider feel as though they are flying!

There is ONE ride I will NEVER ride again...I chose to ride this when I was young and was scarred for life by it! It was Michele's favorite ride...::Ominous music plays...:: The Zipper...

 I have NEVER gotten sick on a ride, but THIS ride, this ride almost made me sick...I had to take a little nap in the van after riding this evil thing...

I think its obvious now, that I'm an insane carnival rider and I LOVE IT! Carnivals have a special place in my heart, a way of bonding with my dad and sister while screaming at the top of my lungs!

Well I'm getting a little sleepy, and feel as though I'm babbling so I'll cut this post off before I'm told to shut up hehe. Hope you enjoyed delving into my insanity!

Love,

Christina

Yummy Cinnamon Sugar Flaky Biscuits!

This morning I posted on Facebook what I had done earlier, which was to make some yummy cinnamon sugar flaky biscuits! I've had a few "likes" for the update, and a dear friend wants the recipe so I shall share my wisdom! Haha!
The recipe is too simple for words...Its also a pre-made item that I add a little magic to, so don't be too disappointed ;)
First you need a package of layer biscuits. Now I only use one kind so I'm not sure who all makes these, I prefer Pillsbury Grands! Jr. Golden Layers Buttermilk layer biscuits that come in a can. 
Next follow the steps on the package, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and when that is almost done pop open your can of yummy biscuits! But before cooking one needs to perform MY step which makes them the yummy cinnamon sugar biscuits!
Take about equal parts cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Next take your biscuit dough and cover it with the cinnamon and sugar, if you like a caramelized bottom, or you prefer darker bottoms, put the cinnamon sugar on the bottom of the biscuit as well, if not leave it uncovered. Cover the top and the sides of the biscuit with the cinnamon sugar.
Next place the covered biscuits onto a baking tray, the label says an ungreased tray, but I like to grease mine just to be safe. Spread the biscuits so they won't melt into one another, then pop them into the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. 
The next step is crucial! Stay in the kitchen and enjoy the smell of warm cinnamon and sugar as it fills the air!
When the biscuits have fully cooked, remove them from the oven, and place on a plate.
Eating them is another crucial step because they are BEST when HOT! Take a small bowl of plain sugar, or for the adventurous, cinnamon and sugar, I prefer just sugar, and pull the biscuits layers apart! With each layer, dip the biscuit into the sugar, or cinnamon sugar and eat! It is ABSOLUTELY delicious!

Hope each of my readers has enjoyed this rather short blog, I'll update it with pictures the next time I fix these yummy biscuits!
Love,
Christina

Roadblock...

I'm afraid, dear friends, that I have hit a roadblock...I'm not sure WHAT to blog about...That is why I'm asking for YOUR opinions! I have a few options, but of course if you don't wish to hear about any of them, you can certainly add some ideas! 
Ideas for blogs:
Ghosts
My houses "friends"
My day to day life
Historical musings
Movies
Randomness...


Please let me know what YOU the reader want to hear about! I'm so curious to hear your thoughts!
Love,
Christina