Teen Wolf season 6 winter finale.......

Its time..........

Here are a few great links for help with writing your college admission essay.

Princeton Review
Blog Prep Scholar
Big Future College Board
Professionals College Board

TWD..............

"INAUGURATION DAY" — A Bad Lip Reading of Donald Trump's Inauguration

TWD returns.....

For realz Friday. My 2 cents...........

You might not want to take advice about college and living in a dorm from a college graduate who is completely-dependent on their parents and has been since graduation.

I mean clearly going to college and living in a dorm did nothing for them.

Vampire Diaries and Sleepy Hollow. Fridays are hot...........

~

Breaking Bad.....

Check out Irish writer Peadar O'Guilin's book........

The Call.  This book will take you to the darker side of Irish mythology and surviving.  Check out Peadar's website here.

He is also one seriously nice guy.

We were lucky enough to meet him on his book tour to promote this awesome book.  You can read about that here.

Young adult or old adult, this is a must read!

Find Peadar on Twitter and Facebook.

Thursdays are Supernatural.......

Homemade cleaners, tips, and tricks no one told you about.............

While the girls had friends over to spend the night, I replenished our cleaning supplies.  I gave up harsh chemicals years ago and opted for all natural, homemade cleaners instead.  The ingredients cost next to nothing to make these cleaners, they are easy to make, they work, and they are environmentally friendly.










First up, citrus cleaner.  This smells amazing!  A neighbor brought us back hand-picked tangerines from California so we saved the peels while we worked our way through them all.  It did not take long, they were so delicious.

Basically, whenever you peel oranges, lemons, tangerines, or whatever, just save the peels in a baggie and put them in the freezer until you have enough to fill a jar.

Put the peels in a jar and cover them with apple cider vinegar, put the top on tight, and place the jar in a dark place for about ten days.  It helps to give the jar a shake every day but not imperative.

After ten days, strain the liquid from the peels and throw the peels away.  I use a 2:1 dilution with water but 1:1 dilution is also effective.  I just like a little more because we have pets, and we cook a lot.  This cleaner is great for cleaning stove tops and kitchen counters.

My favorite all natural ingredients, and I usually always have on hand.

~Dr. Bronner's castile soap.  I am totally addicted to this!  I love this way too much!  You can use this for anything and everything.  Here are some of the amazing things you can do with this soap.  It is a little expensive but it lasts forever.  I have tried most of the scents, citrus is my favorite, however, I do love the Tea Tree scent too.

~Seventh Generation dish/hand soap.

~Apple cider vinegar and white vinegar.

*This reminds me of my grandmother.  She always smelled like vinegar and Rose Milk lotion.  I did not know you could still buy Rose Milk lotion. She was such an awesome person. Good grandparents are so important.  Look at me going off on another tangent.  Back to the topic.

 *It is insane how many things you can do with vinegar, the list is endless, literally.

*Vinegar is the French word for sour wine.

*Vinegar has been proven to kill bacteria.  Did you know that back in the day Hippocrates used vinegar to cleanse wounds, that was over 2000 years ago.  He was the father of modern medicine in case you did not know.

*Vinegar also lowers blood sugar levels and fights diabetes.  Two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar at bedtime has been shown to reduce fasting blood sugars by 4%.  It does not win any taste tests but hey the benefits are worth it.

*How about lowering your cholesterol with vinegar.  You got it!

*Vinegar is also an effective heartburn remedy.  I know this for sure.


*Vinegar is used for household cleaners, hair condition, fabric softener, migraine remedy, anti-fungal, allergy reliever, soothes irritated skin, helps remove toxins, and so many more things I cannot even list them all.

Check out my Pinterest board Au Natural here for more great uses of vinegar and everything else I have listed above and below.  Here are more Pinterest vinegar boards.

~Essential oils.....Love!  My favorites are Tea Tree, Jasmine, and Peppermint.  These go anywhere and everywhere.

~Baking soda.  Can use for so many things.

~Check this out.  Mule Team Borax.  Anything is possible.

~Hydrogen peroxide 3%.  Great for mouthwash, kills bacteria.

~Fels Naptha laundry soap.  Greatest soap for homemade laundry detergent.

~And my favorite store bought cleaner is by Method all purpose Cucumber.  Can't get enough of this!

So there you have it.  Making my own cleaners is a win/win.  Doing this saves me money (and as a single mother with two kids to provide for all the time) that is key. It is also better for us and the environment.  Since Pres. Trump has made it clear his stance on saving the planet, every little bit helps so we are doing our part to save the planet.

Teen Wolf Tuesday.........

Two things......

First, we have amazing neighbors and secondly, those amazing neighbors all have Costco memberships!!!  We benefit two ways.  I love living in this complex!  I have never seen a box of 54 Rice Krispies treats.

ACT round 2 coming up......

Even though C17 got a great score the first time around, she is going to take this test one more time in February.  Some students take the ACT three or four times before applying to college.  The nice thing about this is that the tests are super-scored so only the highest scores will be used by the colleges.  

Spend the night party.........

without an ice cream bar, no way!

Marshmallows, toffee chips, graham cracker pie crust crumbles, crushed Oreos,
brownie bites, sprinkles, marshmallow topping, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, and whipped cream.

School today, American government in action..........

Its Friday...........

Congrats to a few of our choices..............

People's Choice Award winners.

Johnny

Vera, Freddie, and Bates Motel all winners!!!  Love this show!

Of course TWD won.

Another fav, fav, favorite.

1D's Niall....always adorable.

TWD............

~

Georgia State Lunatic, Idiot, and Epileptic Asylum......

What a mouthful that is!  And more of the history of Georgia uncovered.

That was the original name of the largest psychiatric hospital in the nation; Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, GA in 1842.  The name was changed to Georgia State Sanitarium in 1897.

Georgia's most haunted asylum sits on a massive two thousand acres with 200 buildings!

Quite a few of the 2000 acres hold the graves of more than 25,000 of the patients that checked in but never checked out.

Basement mortuary

The hospital was also equipped with a mortuary as many of the patients were dropped off and abandoned by their families.

The grave markers were metal stakes with the patient's medical record number carved into the stakes; no names; no birth dates.  These stakes proved to be a pain for the grounds keepers so they pulled up over 10,000 of those stakes and tossed them in the woods.  These poor, nameless, lost souls.  No wonder the place is haunted.

Surgery suite

People were admitted to the asylum for any number of reasons which include being rather idiotic, domestic unhappiness, ill health, jealousy, intemperance, and religious excitement.  I should have said "white people" were admitted to the asylum because until exactly one year after the Civil War in 1865, only white people were admitted.  By 1870, one-sixth of the patients were African-Americans.  The majority of these patients were labeled "Negro man or Negro woman" and were segregated from the "white people" in the hospital, as well as the cemeteries for another 80 years.

Actual ECT in progress

The asylum did not have a good track record of keeping the patients alive.


Twenty-nine of the first fifty patients who checked in, did not check out.  Eight out of the first fifty were "cured" and sent away.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) was a regular occurrence and was performed without any anesthesia.  In other words, have small electric currents sent to your brain to trigger a seizure.

Lobotomies were also being performed on a routine basis by inserting long metal picks into the brain to sever the fibers which are connected to the frontal lobes from the rest of the brain.

The hospital also participated in forced sterilization of patients who they believed would be released and have children at some point in time calling it a "progressive cause."  This is known as the eugenics law but it sounds a lot like genocide to me.  Apparently, this was considered humane and scientific; eradicating the world of any future human beings that might be mentally, or otherwise, defective or grow up to be "poor white trash," (direct quote).  After the sterilization of more than 3,200 feeble-minded, insane people in Georgia, the practice was ended.  This was in 1963.

The Whittle Bldg

In 1959,  reporter Jack Nelson from The Atlanta Constitution exposed the negligence and abuse going on inside of this human warehouse.  Doctor-to-patient ratio was frequently 100 patients for 1 doctor.

Nelson exposed many of the corrupt acts and goings on within the hospital's walls.  Some of the patients tried to escape, some committed suicide, a few were beaten to death by other patients, many died due to lack of medical attention, a few unsupervised patients chocked to death on food, and there were several suspicious deaths.

He also discovered nurses were performing surgeries without doctors around, the hospital used experimental drugs, any children there were locked in metal cages like animals, some of the adult patients were in straight jackets all the time, none of the staffed doctors were actually psychiatrists and one-fourth of those doctors had histories of abuse and alcoholism, and if your mind is not completely blown by this point, a few of the staff "doctors" were hired from the psych wards after they had completed their own treatment.  No medical training required........(((((WHAT)))))

5-year-old boy in a cage

After the article was printed in the newspaper, the hospital's response was, of course, Mr. Nelson must be mental as well and made it all up but he must have been convincing since that article won him a Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting on a Deadline.  Mr. Nelson also covered the Watergate Scandal but I am sure he made all that up as well. Wink!


The first patient was Mr. Tillman B. from Bibb County, Georgia.  He arrived at the asylum on December 15, 1842 chained to his wagon accompanied by his wife and other family members.  Can you even imagine that?  A 30-year-old man chained to a wagon being dumped off?  He, apparently, was a "lunatic" with violent/destructive behaviors.  This poor unfortunate man died six months later from "maniacal exhaustion."  First to be checked in and the first to die.  Sad legacy!

Fortunately in the 1960s, new drugs were developed that proved to be beneficial to many of the patients and due to this, the hospital's population declined.  Jimmy Carter and Carl Sanders (governors of Georgia at this time) began to empty out the hospital out of concern for the patient's well-being.  The majority were moved to community clinics and homes for people with disabilities.

Many of the 200 building were turned in to prisons.  One of those prisons is still up and running on the property today.  At last count, there were 180 +/-  "forensic patients" still on the property.  A forensic patient is a person found to be of unsound mind and have been found guilty by the courts.

Today, Central State Hospital operates as a facility to treat criminal defendants with mental illness. There are 184 beds available.

With a history like this, how could this place not be haunted?  All those abused, neglected patients sprawled out across six cemeteries.  Reports of screaming and moaning have been reported as a frequent occurrence by nearby property owners.  Others report visually distorted images, voices, and an eerie feeling while in the area.

Back then a threat to be sent to Milledgeville for misbehaving meant a lot!  The  quotes goes, "If you don't behave, we will send you to Milledgeville" which was pretty much a death sentence.

Bronze angel, supposed to be a guardian angel but I guess he did not do his job.

You can find a complete registry from 1842-1861 here.

Want to take a tour?  Click here for the official website.  Check this and this out before you visit.

Teen Wolf Tuesday.......

~

Bring it on Negan and Lucille...bring it on.................

Spaghetti Sunday/ mange mange.............The only thing missing is TWD but we will wait.

Organic ancient grain, whole wheat loaf, olive oil, and Italian spices.

Veggie spaghetti with Mario Batali marinara sauce (recipe below), fresh sauteed mushrooms, with shredded Asiago Parmesan cheese.  Not the imitation powdered wood chip blend!   Gross!

Food network.
Recipe courtesy of Mario Batali
Total Time:
1 hr
Prep:
15 min
Cook:
45 min

Yield:4 cups
Level:Easy
Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 medium carrot, finely grated
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
Salt
Spaghetti, cooked al dente
Whole basil leaves, for garnish
Grated Parmesan, (optional)
ADD CHECKED ITEMS TO GROCERY LIST
Directions

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot, and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.
When ready to use, the cooked pasta should be added to a saucepan with the appropriate
amount of sauce. Garnish with basil leaves and cheese, if using.

The collection grows........

C17 got another personally autographed book last night.  YA author, Becky Albertalli, showed up to book club last night to join in on the critiquing of her book; Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, and she stuck around for 2-1/2 hours talking and hanging out with the book-clubbers and eating cake and cookies.