I had my open enrollment appointment this morning before work. I had to drop K off at my mom's house then haul on up to the school board building.
I left a half hour and got there in 15 minutes. That's good to know travel-wise for school here in a few weeks. It is a few exits ahead on the expressway. 15 minutes early is good. It shows them that we take this seriously.
I get to the building, get buzzed in and see someone at the window. I stand there for a few minutes and finally figure that perhaps I should take a seat. I hear a lot of, "Well, did you do the online enrollment?" "Well, I did it on my tablet." "Do you have this, do you have that?" It seemed as though this visitor was a bit unprepared.
She steps away and the woman next to me looked to see if they needed her next. (She was there before me.) "No, I need Amy now." I'm up. :deep breath: We went over the paperwork. All the online enrollment was successfully completed. All of the paperwork they needed for enrollment was sent in back in February. They just needed to verify all of it.
-- The official birth certificate that we purchased from the county for the bargain price of $22 and had the official embossment on it wasn't good enough. They needed the original in order to verify it. Since the original birth certificate took 11 1/2 months to arrive, it is dated almost 2 years after K's birth date. I figured that they would question it. I was armed with the actual adoption decree, but it turns out that they didn't need it.
-- Immunization records needed updated. (There was one shot in April that wasn't on the copy they had.)
-- Residency needed verified. I had a copy of the house deed, the city utility bill and the electric bill. Since I sent the city utility bill in February, they just verified that.
Since I was responsible and followed all instructions, I was back out of there in probably a lil over 5 minutes. The lady thanked me profusely for having my papers in order and having everything handled. (Adopt a county kid and you become proficient at inches of paperwork very quickly.)
Then she said something that will stay with me forever. With a smile on her face, "Welcome to S-."
:hand on my heart:
Hoping that this venture in schooling is a wondrously positive change for K. I pray good things for her. I pray that she gets past her nervousness about being the "new kid." I pray that her teachers teach. I pray that she learns. I pray that it is a positive atmosphere, as last year definitely was not.
I just want good things for her.
Showing posts with label Cha-cha-cha-changes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cha-cha-cha-changes. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Eating and not wasting.
I am embarrassed to admit that I cleaned out our freezer today and threw away far too many things. I had meat that looked freezer burned, so that got flipped. I had leftovers that were well intentioned on the freezer front, but moved their way to the back and were forgotten.
Never again.
I cleaned and restructured the freezer today. Hubs wanted a Nutri Bullet, so we purchased him one with Christmas money. I found that the grocery had frozen fruit on sale BOGO, so we've stocked up on that and the Greek yogurt that they had on sale. He and K- can continue to enjoy their smoothies in the morning and at night. Our freezer can accommodate their healthy snack choice.
I have basketed the meat.
I have basketed the vegetables.
Everything is well within sight.
I shall never freeze leftovers again. They just get wasted. :(
The grocery ad comes in Friday's mail. We're going to sit as a family to map out the menu for the following week. We'll take into account what we have on the downstairs shelves and in the fridge and freezer.
No more waste is our motto.
We had spaghetti tonight. We enjoyed garlic butter crescent rolls and have some left for tomorrow. Not only are we trying not to waste, but we are being more mindful of serving sizes. I made the entire box of spaghetti noodles knowing that we wouldn't eat all of them, but I would have enough of everything left over for the following recipe. It has been in my file for years and I decided that we shall try it tomorrow. As I type, Hubs and K- are building a doodling robot and the Spaghetti Pie is baking for tomorrow. Here goes:
Spaghetti Pie
8 oz. spaghetti noodles (we had whole wheat linguini noodles)
2 eggs, well beaten
2 T butter (or Smart Balance)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups Ricotta (Cottage Cheese for me!)
Mozzarella and Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated (whatever you have would work)
Spaghetti sauce
Boil noodles as directed on package and drain. Return to pan and add the 2 T butter; stir until butter is melted; add the well-beaten eggs and grated Parmesan. Pour into a well-buttered (or Pam) large deep dish pie plate; spread around bottom and up sides making your "crust." Spread Ricotta (or Cottage Cheese!) over all the noodles. Top with your spaghetti sauce; top with grated cheese (as much as you'd like.) Bake at 350 F for approximately 20 minutes.
We've reused our leftovers before we could forget about them. I have baked it already so that all I have to do tomorrow is to heat it up.
I'll continue to report our success and :gulp: failure, if we have any.
Ding! Spaghetti pie is ready!
Have a great night!
Never again.
I cleaned and restructured the freezer today. Hubs wanted a Nutri Bullet, so we purchased him one with Christmas money. I found that the grocery had frozen fruit on sale BOGO, so we've stocked up on that and the Greek yogurt that they had on sale. He and K- can continue to enjoy their smoothies in the morning and at night. Our freezer can accommodate their healthy snack choice.
I have basketed the meat.
I have basketed the vegetables.
Everything is well within sight.
I shall never freeze leftovers again. They just get wasted. :(
The grocery ad comes in Friday's mail. We're going to sit as a family to map out the menu for the following week. We'll take into account what we have on the downstairs shelves and in the fridge and freezer.
No more waste is our motto.
We had spaghetti tonight. We enjoyed garlic butter crescent rolls and have some left for tomorrow. Not only are we trying not to waste, but we are being more mindful of serving sizes. I made the entire box of spaghetti noodles knowing that we wouldn't eat all of them, but I would have enough of everything left over for the following recipe. It has been in my file for years and I decided that we shall try it tomorrow. As I type, Hubs and K- are building a doodling robot and the Spaghetti Pie is baking for tomorrow. Here goes:
Spaghetti Pie
8 oz. spaghetti noodles (we had whole wheat linguini noodles)
2 eggs, well beaten
2 T butter (or Smart Balance)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups Ricotta (Cottage Cheese for me!)
Mozzarella and Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated (whatever you have would work)
Spaghetti sauce
Boil noodles as directed on package and drain. Return to pan and add the 2 T butter; stir until butter is melted; add the well-beaten eggs and grated Parmesan. Pour into a well-buttered (or Pam) large deep dish pie plate; spread around bottom and up sides making your "crust." Spread Ricotta (or Cottage Cheese!) over all the noodles. Top with your spaghetti sauce; top with grated cheese (as much as you'd like.) Bake at 350 F for approximately 20 minutes.
We've reused our leftovers before we could forget about them. I have baked it already so that all I have to do tomorrow is to heat it up.
I'll continue to report our success and :gulp: failure, if we have any.
Ding! Spaghetti pie is ready!
Have a great night!
Sunday, November 11, 2012
We're still here.
We've been working through our kitty mourning.
I don't wake up to the vittles hitting the metal bowl.
Hubs doesn't have something furry looping in and out of his feet and around his ankles. Well, if he does now, we need to phone an exterminator!
My laundry buddy is gone. I would talk with her. Scratch her on the head. She'd beg for more vittles.
Walking through the kitchen, the pots hanging on the pot rack made the exact same "ting" that Smudge's collar did when it hit the bowl.
Hubs comes home from work and I have nearly yelled, "I didn't feed the cat!" I've caught myself though.
I think that Spike (our iguana) misses Smudge. He probably wonders where his partner in crime went to.
Yesterday and today were grand days for leaving the windows and doors open. The sun was pouring in. Smudge would have been found on the slate pad at the door in a block of sun. She would be on top of the couch (on a towel, of course) sniffing the breeze that came in the window.
I miss her doing the kitty-scooch shuffle on the couch to shimmy in next to me. Rare were the times that she did that with Hubs. She did that with me most of the time.
Whenever K was sick, she would come and hang out in her bedroom with her. No bites, I promise. She liked to hide under K's headboard. She would shimmy through the backside hole for the trundle. Occasionally we would have to sweep her out with the dust buster. She hated getting the sweep. Normally she would hiss, then she would leave you a very disapproving poop surprise later. Good times.
On the other hand, my house doesn't smell like cat butt. No matter how much we scrubbed and cleaned, it seemed as though it always smelled of kitty bottom. The litter box was always changed, but Smudge suffered from some issues and she was a butt dragger. No matter when we took her to the vet and had that tended to, she'd come right home and do the kitty shuffle.
The hair tumbleweeds in the basement have almost all been found. As a long haired cat, she would leave tumbleweeds everywhere.
I don't miss the kitty litter on the basement steps that fell through the open risers and onto everything below. I don't miss the kitty litter dust.
K doesn't miss the bites. Neither do Hubs or the neighbor. She didn't bite me. I told her that I'm mom and no bites. For some reason, she listened to that.
It's been a week. It's hard to believe. For a critter that was with us for 14 1/2 years, it has been a bit of an adjustment. We've made a deal with K. She wants a dog. Longs for a dog. Has been begging for a dog- for years. On her Christmas wish list? Number 1 is "A real puppy." We will get her a dog the spring after she turns 10. That will be about a year and a half. In that time, we'll be able to get together a good game plan. We want her to work on being responsible, since the dog will be mostly her responsibility. She'll be old enough to be able to take good care (with supervision, of course.) We also want to be certain that we can afford a dog. We've explained to her that dogs are not like cats. They take a lot of work and a lot of money. We only want to bring a dog into the family if we have the cash flow to do so. This will give us time to do some doggie research with her. We told her that we'll have her do obedience training. We'll have her scoop poop (we're planning on having a pea stone strip that we hope to train puppy doggin to use for bath rooming, as I don't want a lawn full of puppy land mines.) I'd like to see if we can score a border collie for her. We had one growing up and Pepper was wonderful. K is a high energy kid who would pour her heart and soul into a dog. She would love to have a dog love her and to love on her. She would love to have a dog sleep in her room or at the end of her bed. We have things to work out. We have time. Plenty of time.
Until then, I'm sure that she'll continue to ask to go to the animal shelter. It'll be soon enough.
I don't wake up to the vittles hitting the metal bowl.
Hubs doesn't have something furry looping in and out of his feet and around his ankles. Well, if he does now, we need to phone an exterminator!
My laundry buddy is gone. I would talk with her. Scratch her on the head. She'd beg for more vittles.
Walking through the kitchen, the pots hanging on the pot rack made the exact same "ting" that Smudge's collar did when it hit the bowl.
Hubs comes home from work and I have nearly yelled, "I didn't feed the cat!" I've caught myself though.
I think that Spike (our iguana) misses Smudge. He probably wonders where his partner in crime went to.
Yesterday and today were grand days for leaving the windows and doors open. The sun was pouring in. Smudge would have been found on the slate pad at the door in a block of sun. She would be on top of the couch (on a towel, of course) sniffing the breeze that came in the window.
I miss her doing the kitty-scooch shuffle on the couch to shimmy in next to me. Rare were the times that she did that with Hubs. She did that with me most of the time.
Whenever K was sick, she would come and hang out in her bedroom with her. No bites, I promise. She liked to hide under K's headboard. She would shimmy through the backside hole for the trundle. Occasionally we would have to sweep her out with the dust buster. She hated getting the sweep. Normally she would hiss, then she would leave you a very disapproving poop surprise later. Good times.
On the other hand, my house doesn't smell like cat butt. No matter how much we scrubbed and cleaned, it seemed as though it always smelled of kitty bottom. The litter box was always changed, but Smudge suffered from some issues and she was a butt dragger. No matter when we took her to the vet and had that tended to, she'd come right home and do the kitty shuffle.
The hair tumbleweeds in the basement have almost all been found. As a long haired cat, she would leave tumbleweeds everywhere.
I don't miss the kitty litter on the basement steps that fell through the open risers and onto everything below. I don't miss the kitty litter dust.
K doesn't miss the bites. Neither do Hubs or the neighbor. She didn't bite me. I told her that I'm mom and no bites. For some reason, she listened to that.
It's been a week. It's hard to believe. For a critter that was with us for 14 1/2 years, it has been a bit of an adjustment. We've made a deal with K. She wants a dog. Longs for a dog. Has been begging for a dog- for years. On her Christmas wish list? Number 1 is "A real puppy." We will get her a dog the spring after she turns 10. That will be about a year and a half. In that time, we'll be able to get together a good game plan. We want her to work on being responsible, since the dog will be mostly her responsibility. She'll be old enough to be able to take good care (with supervision, of course.) We also want to be certain that we can afford a dog. We've explained to her that dogs are not like cats. They take a lot of work and a lot of money. We only want to bring a dog into the family if we have the cash flow to do so. This will give us time to do some doggie research with her. We told her that we'll have her do obedience training. We'll have her scoop poop (we're planning on having a pea stone strip that we hope to train puppy doggin to use for bath rooming, as I don't want a lawn full of puppy land mines.) I'd like to see if we can score a border collie for her. We had one growing up and Pepper was wonderful. K is a high energy kid who would pour her heart and soul into a dog. She would love to have a dog love her and to love on her. She would love to have a dog sleep in her room or at the end of her bed. We have things to work out. We have time. Plenty of time.
Until then, I'm sure that she'll continue to ask to go to the animal shelter. It'll be soon enough.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Church homeless.
For the second time in our married life, we have left our church home. In both instances, it was a matter in the making over several years.
The first was in support of our pastor. Our church had dwindled down to 30, people were being all judgmental, up in everyone else's business and when the final straw came, we left along with another couple and the pastor and his wife.
We searched a few churches and after a month and a half, we settled on the church that had been our home for the past 7+ years.
Our pastor at this last church retired 4 1/2 years ago. He is a wonderful man with a kind soul and an ability to tie the bible and current life issues altogether.
We wish he had never retired.
Our current pastor kind of hit us off guard from the beginning. There were things that we didn't agree with, but rolled with the changes anyhow because we figured that everything would mesh a bit eventually.
They never did.
Recently, there has been a lot of rush to judgment going on and instead of embracing members in times of challenge and strife, there are members beating them down. Why wouldn't they want to reach out to them? One of the "them?" She is one of our extremely good friends. What has happened to her was the straw the broke the camels back.
We are at a place that we don't like to be, yet look forward to the opportunity to explore. Neighbors had us visit their Episcopalian church with them a few weeks ago. The church is beautiful and the people are absolutely wonderful. The church service is conducted in a very Catholic manner and while that is certainly not a bad thing, I've grown up Baptist (since the age of 7) and Hubs has been going to the Baptist church with me since we were engaged. We've both been out of it for so long. It was a culture shock of sorts.
K- and I will be hanging at another Baptist church with friends of ours for the next few weeks. They are a small, tight-knit but welcoming congregation that we met at a cook-out this summer. Their pastor is very down to earth. At least we know that these next few weeks, K- and I won't be the only ones bringing a bible to church with us.
In the weeks that follow, we're going to be visiting the Methodist church up the street. They have fantastic children's programming and a Sunday school specifically on CURRENT SOCIAL ISSUES! Hubs was even excited about that! We've been to the church for kids events and are excited to see what a Sunday holds.
We'll be checking out some non-denominational churches. One thing we know is that we aren't in a rush to settle in. We want to find the perfect church home were all of us can feel at ease again. Still, the idea of being church homeless is one that brings me much anxiety. It brings Hubs excitement to see homes that will be a better fit for us and K-.
Pray for us, will you?
The first was in support of our pastor. Our church had dwindled down to 30, people were being all judgmental, up in everyone else's business and when the final straw came, we left along with another couple and the pastor and his wife.
We searched a few churches and after a month and a half, we settled on the church that had been our home for the past 7+ years.
Our pastor at this last church retired 4 1/2 years ago. He is a wonderful man with a kind soul and an ability to tie the bible and current life issues altogether.
We wish he had never retired.
Our current pastor kind of hit us off guard from the beginning. There were things that we didn't agree with, but rolled with the changes anyhow because we figured that everything would mesh a bit eventually.
They never did.
Recently, there has been a lot of rush to judgment going on and instead of embracing members in times of challenge and strife, there are members beating them down. Why wouldn't they want to reach out to them? One of the "them?" She is one of our extremely good friends. What has happened to her was the straw the broke the camels back.
We are at a place that we don't like to be, yet look forward to the opportunity to explore. Neighbors had us visit their Episcopalian church with them a few weeks ago. The church is beautiful and the people are absolutely wonderful. The church service is conducted in a very Catholic manner and while that is certainly not a bad thing, I've grown up Baptist (since the age of 7) and Hubs has been going to the Baptist church with me since we were engaged. We've both been out of it for so long. It was a culture shock of sorts.
K- and I will be hanging at another Baptist church with friends of ours for the next few weeks. They are a small, tight-knit but welcoming congregation that we met at a cook-out this summer. Their pastor is very down to earth. At least we know that these next few weeks, K- and I won't be the only ones bringing a bible to church with us.
In the weeks that follow, we're going to be visiting the Methodist church up the street. They have fantastic children's programming and a Sunday school specifically on CURRENT SOCIAL ISSUES! Hubs was even excited about that! We've been to the church for kids events and are excited to see what a Sunday holds.
We'll be checking out some non-denominational churches. One thing we know is that we aren't in a rush to settle in. We want to find the perfect church home were all of us can feel at ease again. Still, the idea of being church homeless is one that brings me much anxiety. It brings Hubs excitement to see homes that will be a better fit for us and K-.
Pray for us, will you?
Friday, December 31, 2010
The new year list of tweaking.
I actually did fairly well on last year's list. I have another new year post of listish things.
1. Cook more. I love to cook. There are times I've held back on cooking particular things because Hubs can't eat it. He's fine with having something different, so we'll just have to ride that one a bit. I made my very first pan of lasagna the other evening and it is lovely. Actually, I made two loaf pans and froze one.
2. To go with number 1. Menu plan. Don't just pick things up that are on sale. I have a pretty great shelf in the basement where I have extras. (My house is too small for an actual pantry in the kitchen. Someday I'll have the steps enclosed and we'll be able to build my dream pantry under there.) Have solid things in mind.
3. It's okay if the grape tomatoes are $1.79. K- loves them and don't hold back because they cost more than usual.
4. Now that the studio is bailed out, make things. It would be nice if I could get my act together and start earning more money to be able to put some cash away for college. We have a savings of sorts, but not nearly what it should be.
ETA: I did the budget, we're good for saving for college there, so I'll be able to use any money made from the sale of my work towards purchasing a new set of dishes. (Fiesta Ware, if you were wondering.)
5. Exercise. I hate it and look like a skating cow when I do it, but it must be done.
6. Budget more. Spend less. We always give the budget a re-do in January and June, but we need to pull that in even a bit more. We'll need to buy Hubs a truck in about a year and a half and my goal is to be able to pay half down. I have a savings, but I promise that it is not currently even close to half down.
7. Say no to flying through the drive thru. I won't start and neither will K-. A couple of bucks here and there do add up.
8. Look at the gardens. What works? What doesn't? Plant tomatoes, but not 4 plants. Growing beautiful plants that give pounds of tomatoes is lovely, but having them fall all over the ground and waste away isn't mindful of what we have. Plant only grape tomatoes (Sun Golds) and don't fiddle with the others. Thin out some plants in the butterfly gardens. Register the yard as a Monarch Waystation.
9. Thin through the things that we have. Use what we have. The bed bug thing has really kept me from visiting the thrift store, so that has helped.
10. Continue to think about how we can be more environmental. I would love a rain barrel. Perhaps that would be a nice birthday gift suggestion.
That is my list of goals for the year. I'm hoping for good things. Happy New Year!
1. Cook more. I love to cook. There are times I've held back on cooking particular things because Hubs can't eat it. He's fine with having something different, so we'll just have to ride that one a bit. I made my very first pan of lasagna the other evening and it is lovely. Actually, I made two loaf pans and froze one.
2. To go with number 1. Menu plan. Don't just pick things up that are on sale. I have a pretty great shelf in the basement where I have extras. (My house is too small for an actual pantry in the kitchen. Someday I'll have the steps enclosed and we'll be able to build my dream pantry under there.) Have solid things in mind.
3. It's okay if the grape tomatoes are $1.79. K- loves them and don't hold back because they cost more than usual.
4. Now that the studio is bailed out, make things. It would be nice if I could get my act together and start earning more money to be able to put some cash away for college. We have a savings of sorts, but not nearly what it should be.
ETA: I did the budget, we're good for saving for college there, so I'll be able to use any money made from the sale of my work towards purchasing a new set of dishes. (Fiesta Ware, if you were wondering.)
5. Exercise. I hate it and look like a skating cow when I do it, but it must be done.
6. Budget more. Spend less. We always give the budget a re-do in January and June, but we need to pull that in even a bit more. We'll need to buy Hubs a truck in about a year and a half and my goal is to be able to pay half down. I have a savings, but I promise that it is not currently even close to half down.
7. Say no to flying through the drive thru. I won't start and neither will K-. A couple of bucks here and there do add up.
8. Look at the gardens. What works? What doesn't? Plant tomatoes, but not 4 plants. Growing beautiful plants that give pounds of tomatoes is lovely, but having them fall all over the ground and waste away isn't mindful of what we have. Plant only grape tomatoes (Sun Golds) and don't fiddle with the others. Thin out some plants in the butterfly gardens. Register the yard as a Monarch Waystation.
9. Thin through the things that we have. Use what we have. The bed bug thing has really kept me from visiting the thrift store, so that has helped.
10. Continue to think about how we can be more environmental. I would love a rain barrel. Perhaps that would be a nice birthday gift suggestion.
That is my list of goals for the year. I'm hoping for good things. Happy New Year!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Signs that Fall has arrived.
1. We went from flip-flops, shorts and tank tops to sweatshirts and jeans in less than a 24 hour period and haven't left those sweatshirts for tank tops again.
2. We bought a new furnace filter and fired the furnace on up.
3. It is no longer comfortable to leave the windows open over night.
4. It is almost no longer comfortable to leave the windows open after the sun sets.
5. I pulled out my new slippers and am wearing them.
6. I've abandoned the outside lines for the inside ones. Laundry will no longer be washed, dried and put away on the same day.
7. The neighbor pulled up the hibiscus trees and "put the rhubarb to bed."
8. Butterflies are far less and less. K- did manage to catch a Buckeye on Friday, though.
9. I've shelled out cash for soccer and school pictures. I had to have alternate outfit combinations for each-- one for hot weather and one for cold.
10. K- and I spent about an hour and a half going through all of her clothes. Saturday was Happy Hand-Me-Down Day for K-'s friend, A-. All of the new clothes that we had for K- were de-tagged and put in the drawer. Summer clothes and left overs from a cold spring were gone through and bagged to go.
11. K- and I went through the left over snackies in the console and re-upped our storm food supply.
12. We've all had our flu shots and only K- is the last one on the wait for full coverage.
13. The fall festivals are happening.
14. The leaves are turning faster and faster these days.
15. The winter boots are ordered and I've checked on the wearabouts of the winter accessories.
16. I'm stock piling Oscillococinum. Flu shots don't cover everything you know.
17. I just made my Christmas season schedule with Leona at work. I've decided to shift my schedule one hour to give me time to restock and tidy up before folks arrive at 10 AM.
18. Speaking of, we've been going over Christmas display ideas for the last few weeks.
19. My sheets are in the dryer and won't have that outdoor fresh smell or the on-the-line stiffness. :(
20. Hot chocolate has made a come-back.
21. I can wear light weight sweaters or long sleeved shirts at work all day and not be uncomfortably hot. (That's saying something since we have to run the air during the Christmas season.)
22. The fleece jammies have come out.
23. I'm okay that my toes aren't painted. They'll be locked into socks and shoes/boots/slippers for the next 7+ months anyhow.
24. I wore a fleece hat last week along with my winter coat and a wool blanket over my legs while sitting at K-'s soccer practice/game. This week I might bring gloves.
25. I need to dust my hiking/snow boots off and give them a good coat of mink oil. This will be their 12th winter (no kidding) and they just keep plugging along. In case you are wondering, they are oil tanned Timberland's that we bought on a ridiculous $40.00 clearance because they were missing the insoles. The insoles that I bought were $10.00, but they've lasted all these years. I've walked, hiked and snow shoed plenty of miles in them. Here's to plenty more winters.
What about you? Any signs of fall in your area?
Smiles in my weekend:
- It was a lovely 48 F and sprinkling while at the soccer field and K- was the only girl on the co-ed team that showed up. She wasn't intimidated by all the boys, rolled right on in and held her own.
- My nephew was able to do a fly-by for his birthday and thankfully, I had brownies left over from the church luncheon earlier.
- We were able to go to a park celebration of fall on Saturday night with friends. The husbands were in different directions, but we pulled together, made a shared dinner then walked to the park and enjoyed the outing in the cold sprinkles. The kids had a good time and I'm really glad that I brought the rain coat along for us to sit on while on the hay ride!
Have a great day!
2. We bought a new furnace filter and fired the furnace on up.
3. It is no longer comfortable to leave the windows open over night.
4. It is almost no longer comfortable to leave the windows open after the sun sets.
5. I pulled out my new slippers and am wearing them.
6. I've abandoned the outside lines for the inside ones. Laundry will no longer be washed, dried and put away on the same day.
7. The neighbor pulled up the hibiscus trees and "put the rhubarb to bed."
8. Butterflies are far less and less. K- did manage to catch a Buckeye on Friday, though.
9. I've shelled out cash for soccer and school pictures. I had to have alternate outfit combinations for each-- one for hot weather and one for cold.
10. K- and I spent about an hour and a half going through all of her clothes. Saturday was Happy Hand-Me-Down Day for K-'s friend, A-. All of the new clothes that we had for K- were de-tagged and put in the drawer. Summer clothes and left overs from a cold spring were gone through and bagged to go.
11. K- and I went through the left over snackies in the console and re-upped our storm food supply.
12. We've all had our flu shots and only K- is the last one on the wait for full coverage.
13. The fall festivals are happening.
14. The leaves are turning faster and faster these days.
15. The winter boots are ordered and I've checked on the wearabouts of the winter accessories.
16. I'm stock piling Oscillococinum. Flu shots don't cover everything you know.
17. I just made my Christmas season schedule with Leona at work. I've decided to shift my schedule one hour to give me time to restock and tidy up before folks arrive at 10 AM.
18. Speaking of, we've been going over Christmas display ideas for the last few weeks.
19. My sheets are in the dryer and won't have that outdoor fresh smell or the on-the-line stiffness. :(
20. Hot chocolate has made a come-back.
21. I can wear light weight sweaters or long sleeved shirts at work all day and not be uncomfortably hot. (That's saying something since we have to run the air during the Christmas season.)
22. The fleece jammies have come out.
23. I'm okay that my toes aren't painted. They'll be locked into socks and shoes/boots/slippers for the next 7+ months anyhow.
24. I wore a fleece hat last week along with my winter coat and a wool blanket over my legs while sitting at K-'s soccer practice/game. This week I might bring gloves.
25. I need to dust my hiking/snow boots off and give them a good coat of mink oil. This will be their 12th winter (no kidding) and they just keep plugging along. In case you are wondering, they are oil tanned Timberland's that we bought on a ridiculous $40.00 clearance because they were missing the insoles. The insoles that I bought were $10.00, but they've lasted all these years. I've walked, hiked and snow shoed plenty of miles in them. Here's to plenty more winters.
What about you? Any signs of fall in your area?
Smiles in my weekend:
- It was a lovely 48 F and sprinkling while at the soccer field and K- was the only girl on the co-ed team that showed up. She wasn't intimidated by all the boys, rolled right on in and held her own.
- My nephew was able to do a fly-by for his birthday and thankfully, I had brownies left over from the church luncheon earlier.
- We were able to go to a park celebration of fall on Saturday night with friends. The husbands were in different directions, but we pulled together, made a shared dinner then walked to the park and enjoyed the outing in the cold sprinkles. The kids had a good time and I'm really glad that I brought the rain coat along for us to sit on while on the hay ride!
Have a great day!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
I did it!
The Community Building Meeting this evening confirmed that all of my hard work got the school board and senior staff to add 3 more classrooms! I am so excited!!!
It was a great meeting. Not only did they give more classrooms, but by taking 15 sq ft from each classroom, they were able to make our LRC bigger, so maybe we can still have the Little Theater that we presently have. (They use the Little Theater for harp practice and the librarian uses it to read to the younger children.)
The speech therapy room is bigger.
The community bathrooms are bigger.
The OT/PT rooms are bigger.
The mechanical room is smaller and that suggests that they are going geothermal as they were discussing.
Oh, my heart is smiling! I was only involved in the classroom additions. Hooray for everyone else that spoke their mind to get the extra spaces added!
Smiles in my day:
- Hubs is feeling much better!
- The building meeting.
- K- went to bed nicely this evening. Monday night, a bit of over tiredness was involved and bedtime was a tad ugly.
So tired. Happily ready for bed.
'Night! Have a great day!
It was a great meeting. Not only did they give more classrooms, but by taking 15 sq ft from each classroom, they were able to make our LRC bigger, so maybe we can still have the Little Theater that we presently have. (They use the Little Theater for harp practice and the librarian uses it to read to the younger children.)
The speech therapy room is bigger.
The community bathrooms are bigger.
The OT/PT rooms are bigger.
The mechanical room is smaller and that suggests that they are going geothermal as they were discussing.
Oh, my heart is smiling! I was only involved in the classroom additions. Hooray for everyone else that spoke their mind to get the extra spaces added!
Smiles in my day:
- Hubs is feeling much better!
- The building meeting.
- K- went to bed nicely this evening. Monday night, a bit of over tiredness was involved and bedtime was a tad ugly.
So tired. Happily ready for bed.
'Night! Have a great day!
Friday, January 1, 2010
More goal oriented, less resolutionary.
Resolutions bum me out. I mean, the initial creation is exciting. "Look what I'm going to change this year!" Then you slip and you feel as if you should be put in the corner without your supper.
I don't like the feeling of thinking that I should reprimand myself.
So! I've decided to create some goals for the new year.
1. Paint the kitchen and give it the proper redo. Y'all might recall that I purchased the paint this past summer. Well guess what? The summer came and went. The fall came and went. The winter will not come and go with off white eggshell paint on the walls. If I can dedicate 1 day each week that K- is at school, it will take me several weeks to get the job done, but it will be done. Oh my heavens, I can't stand my ugly kitchen for one. more. second.
2. Get the studio rolling again. Okay, okay. You've got me. This was on last years list. K- wasn't in school until the end of August and I was still busy doing the many hours a day mommy gig. She was more important to me than the creation of work. I did make children's bracelets and sell them. Believe it or not, I sold quite a few. After goal #1 is completed, I'll treat myself to goal #2.
3. To make at least 4 new meal items a month. It could be a new side dish. It could be a brand spankin' new roast recipe, like I'm trying out today. Does it slightly frighten me that I just put nutmeg and cloves in my crock pot with my evenly seared roast? Certainly. It could be, and I hope that it is, good. I'm just tired of eating the same stuff. I've managed to eat healthier than last year, but I need to dust off the crock pot festival and see what new things I have in there, too. I think that it is reasonable to do one new thing a week. I can't go do a Julie/Julia here, but a bit of new stuff will never hurt.
4. Keep walking K- to school. Obviously, in terribly inclimate weather it isn't reasonable to drag her the mile there, but it is good exercise for us both. My hope was to lose 13 pounds last year. While my weight went down a little, I've been walking and making more muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat, therefore takes up less room, but weighs more. I'm not going to harp on the weight, as long as the getting a bit more lean is happening.
5. Purge more stuff. I've been good at purging this year. Actually, a bit better than I usually am. However, more needs to go. Already just in the kitchen, new pans will be arriving. The old pans will go to my mother. When the kitchen is painted and complete, as a reward, I will buy some new dishes. (Probably IKEA or Target. If I get them at IKEA, I can at least run an occasional piece replacement if need be.)
6. Positivity. Less stress. More planning. Smiles.
Smiles:
- I'm still in my pajamas and it is 11:45 AM.
- Dinner is in the crock pot and cooking away.
- Calling sauerkraut balls "party balls" to K- so that she would try them. She didn't like them, but at least she tried them. To note, I didn't like them either.
- We were able to complete the Christmas family celebrations. K- was able to have her own special time with the grandparents and that was good for her. It still didn't feel the same, but at least the redo was done with snow on the ground.
- The snowplow came through last night and K- and I were so excited! Hey, we live on a dead end street. We don't get top billing when it comes to snow plowing. We had gotten probably 6 inches total, then it rained, snowed and sleeted a little on that. The roads in our neighborhood were way mooshy and I knew if they didn't plow, it would be like driving on broken hunks of iceberg. (The temperature was slated to go down quite a bit.) They went up and down and up and down and sprinkled salt along the way. Then, of course, I politely asked Hubs if he would consider freeing the end of the drive of the road hunkage so that we would be able to get out without feeling like we were backing over someones house. Having the driveway sealed shut with solidified hunks of road gunk is awful. Hubs happily went out to free the end of our tiny driveway.
- A new year. Hooray!
Have a wonderful weekend!
I don't like the feeling of thinking that I should reprimand myself.
So! I've decided to create some goals for the new year.
1. Paint the kitchen and give it the proper redo. Y'all might recall that I purchased the paint this past summer. Well guess what? The summer came and went. The fall came and went. The winter will not come and go with off white eggshell paint on the walls. If I can dedicate 1 day each week that K- is at school, it will take me several weeks to get the job done, but it will be done. Oh my heavens, I can't stand my ugly kitchen for one. more. second.
2. Get the studio rolling again. Okay, okay. You've got me. This was on last years list. K- wasn't in school until the end of August and I was still busy doing the many hours a day mommy gig. She was more important to me than the creation of work. I did make children's bracelets and sell them. Believe it or not, I sold quite a few. After goal #1 is completed, I'll treat myself to goal #2.
3. To make at least 4 new meal items a month. It could be a new side dish. It could be a brand spankin' new roast recipe, like I'm trying out today. Does it slightly frighten me that I just put nutmeg and cloves in my crock pot with my evenly seared roast? Certainly. It could be, and I hope that it is, good. I'm just tired of eating the same stuff. I've managed to eat healthier than last year, but I need to dust off the crock pot festival and see what new things I have in there, too. I think that it is reasonable to do one new thing a week. I can't go do a Julie/Julia here, but a bit of new stuff will never hurt.
4. Keep walking K- to school. Obviously, in terribly inclimate weather it isn't reasonable to drag her the mile there, but it is good exercise for us both. My hope was to lose 13 pounds last year. While my weight went down a little, I've been walking and making more muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat, therefore takes up less room, but weighs more. I'm not going to harp on the weight, as long as the getting a bit more lean is happening.
5. Purge more stuff. I've been good at purging this year. Actually, a bit better than I usually am. However, more needs to go. Already just in the kitchen, new pans will be arriving. The old pans will go to my mother. When the kitchen is painted and complete, as a reward, I will buy some new dishes. (Probably IKEA or Target. If I get them at IKEA, I can at least run an occasional piece replacement if need be.)
6. Positivity. Less stress. More planning. Smiles.
Smiles:
- I'm still in my pajamas and it is 11:45 AM.
- Dinner is in the crock pot and cooking away.
- Calling sauerkraut balls "party balls" to K- so that she would try them. She didn't like them, but at least she tried them. To note, I didn't like them either.
- We were able to complete the Christmas family celebrations. K- was able to have her own special time with the grandparents and that was good for her. It still didn't feel the same, but at least the redo was done with snow on the ground.
- The snowplow came through last night and K- and I were so excited! Hey, we live on a dead end street. We don't get top billing when it comes to snow plowing. We had gotten probably 6 inches total, then it rained, snowed and sleeted a little on that. The roads in our neighborhood were way mooshy and I knew if they didn't plow, it would be like driving on broken hunks of iceberg. (The temperature was slated to go down quite a bit.) They went up and down and up and down and sprinkled salt along the way. Then, of course, I politely asked Hubs if he would consider freeing the end of the drive of the road hunkage so that we would be able to get out without feeling like we were backing over someones house. Having the driveway sealed shut with solidified hunks of road gunk is awful. Hubs happily went out to free the end of our tiny driveway.
- A new year. Hooray!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Demoting Pluto, Columbus and the school lunch
I don't know about you, but I sort of feel cheated. Poor Pluto. It was a really great planet for me for so many years. Apparently, it didn't measure up. So sad. Now I have to explain to K- that her School House Rocks songs aren't quite right. Yes, I realize that it was demoted a few years ago, but I'm going with a theme here.
Then there is Columbus. In 1492 he sailed the ocean blue, yes? Well, apparently some folks have hard feelings about Chris. I hear that he wasn't too great of a guy. He didn't do nice things. In fact, they are certain that he's not the first person to discover the new world. Since there were already folks here, I'm not surprised by that. I just always figured that he documented it first, thus the credit went to him. Right? So now, there are school districts that don't recognize Columbus Day, but it continues to be a bank holiday. Apparently, they aren't too chaffed by his dishonesty.
Then there is the school lunch. It is officially dead to me. My child decided that today was the day to give a school lunch a try again. I was fine with packing, but okay. Then I got a call from the school nurse. K- got sick at lunch. "She says that this happens 'all the time' and that she 'feels fine' so we are just going to change her clothes and send her back to class," was the message on the answering machine. Well, she ended up calling me on my cell, we talked about it, discussed that though she doesn't do this all the time, the doctor thinks that when she eats too fast, she does have a bit of a gag reflex, but also we don't eat the same foods that school lunches serve. That's when the nurse said, "And the pizza is the worst." So, yes, K- did go back to class and she did make it through the day. (Though I do have to tell Marlene that she was irritated at me for completely nixing school lunches. She wanted to do her AB pattern of lunch schedule that she worked out yesterday! Surprisingly, she wasn't mad about not getting her out of school.)
Smiles in my day:
- The school nurse telling me that though she knew that K- was going to be a bit upset when she found out that she was staying at school, she said that in a few minutes, it would all be well.
- Doing the hoof and haul to school this AM. Wow. It was a hair chilly. But! The neighbors met us in our driveway. They were ready before us today!
- Still burning candles to get rid of the broccoli soup smell that seems to have permeated every surface in my home. It is gradually getting better, but it is stinking cold out and I will not open the windows.
- The crabbies are happily decreasing by the day. Oh folks, I have to tell you that to say that I had the major crabbies is just putting it lightly. Yes, I apologized to Hubs and K-.
- My people decorated for Halloween tonight. Halloween is just not my kind of holiday. Apparently Hubs scored "movie quality" spider web for the outdoors, so he has now decided that he needs to stock up. Apparently there is a big difference between "movie quality" and dollar store quality. It's stringy stuff. I never knew.
- Earning free gift cards for Christmas gifts! I turned in $45.00 of cashback bonus money from our Discover to get a $50.00 gift certificate to Maggiano's for my sister-in-law and her family. I was able to cash in enough points from My Points to get a $50.00 gift certificate to Target to use towards Christmas gifts for K-. HOORAY!
- Hey, Marlene! It was good to see you today. :)
Then there is Columbus. In 1492 he sailed the ocean blue, yes? Well, apparently some folks have hard feelings about Chris. I hear that he wasn't too great of a guy. He didn't do nice things. In fact, they are certain that he's not the first person to discover the new world. Since there were already folks here, I'm not surprised by that. I just always figured that he documented it first, thus the credit went to him. Right? So now, there are school districts that don't recognize Columbus Day, but it continues to be a bank holiday. Apparently, they aren't too chaffed by his dishonesty.
Then there is the school lunch. It is officially dead to me. My child decided that today was the day to give a school lunch a try again. I was fine with packing, but okay. Then I got a call from the school nurse. K- got sick at lunch. "She says that this happens 'all the time' and that she 'feels fine' so we are just going to change her clothes and send her back to class," was the message on the answering machine. Well, she ended up calling me on my cell, we talked about it, discussed that though she doesn't do this all the time, the doctor thinks that when she eats too fast, she does have a bit of a gag reflex, but also we don't eat the same foods that school lunches serve. That's when the nurse said, "And the pizza is the worst." So, yes, K- did go back to class and she did make it through the day. (Though I do have to tell Marlene that she was irritated at me for completely nixing school lunches. She wanted to do her AB pattern of lunch schedule that she worked out yesterday! Surprisingly, she wasn't mad about not getting her out of school.)
Smiles in my day:
- The school nurse telling me that though she knew that K- was going to be a bit upset when she found out that she was staying at school, she said that in a few minutes, it would all be well.
- Doing the hoof and haul to school this AM. Wow. It was a hair chilly. But! The neighbors met us in our driveway. They were ready before us today!
- Still burning candles to get rid of the broccoli soup smell that seems to have permeated every surface in my home. It is gradually getting better, but it is stinking cold out and I will not open the windows.
- The crabbies are happily decreasing by the day. Oh folks, I have to tell you that to say that I had the major crabbies is just putting it lightly. Yes, I apologized to Hubs and K-.
- My people decorated for Halloween tonight. Halloween is just not my kind of holiday. Apparently Hubs scored "movie quality" spider web for the outdoors, so he has now decided that he needs to stock up. Apparently there is a big difference between "movie quality" and dollar store quality. It's stringy stuff. I never knew.
- Earning free gift cards for Christmas gifts! I turned in $45.00 of cashback bonus money from our Discover to get a $50.00 gift certificate to Maggiano's for my sister-in-law and her family. I was able to cash in enough points from My Points to get a $50.00 gift certificate to Target to use towards Christmas gifts for K-. HOORAY!
- Hey, Marlene! It was good to see you today. :)
Monday, July 6, 2009
So many things
It's a long post folks! Pace yourself!
I've made a decision! Our kitchen will be this by the end of the summer:
I purged the game closet, stood all the games upright on their sides. Okay, it is space saving but might bite me in the butt if we don't hold onto the box as we pull it out.
I freed the livingroom of all of the toys that have quietly walked in and decided to live in there. I liberated the livingroom of the many toys a few years ago. K- has her doll house and some other little toys in her bedroom. She has 90% of her toys downstairs in her play area. I've explained that they need to stay in one place or the other, not migrate to the middle of mommy's livingroom and stay there. I've washed the windows, moved the couch to sweep the clumps of cat hair from the little ditch between it and the wall. I swept the cat hair off the couch, crumbs out from underneath the cushions and flipped the cushions while I was there.
I deep cleaned the bathroom. I looked up, realized that the fan cover was dusty and on my way to stand on the counter, I realized that the silk ivy (I wouldn't normally go silk, but we have no light and we needed something plant like in our bathroom) was covered in dust. IT WAS GRAY! Ick!!! So, I took the fan cover down, scrubbed it with a brush and as it was drying, I swept the actual fan out. I then took the ivy basket down, washed each leaf by hand, dried over all of the leaves, dusted the basket, washed the top of the medicine cabinet, then put everything back. I did a good Lysol/bleach scrubbing of the floor and wiped the doors all down.
The bedroom purging has been completed. (My lollygagging lopped over to Friday a little, but I figured out why I was a lolly. Mother Nature had a little something to do with it and that's all I'm going to say, 'kay? Too bad it took me two days to figure out why I was so flippin' drained!) I'm awaiting the shelf pegs from IKEA, so Hubs' side of the bookcase isn't complete. I wiped baseboards, washed the windows, pitched & cleared items and even re-purposed the bookcase from our livingroom into a lovely clothes organizer for Hubs. Our bedroom isn't big enough to house a separate dresser for Hubs, so the new closet organizer is just going to have to be okay.
The new bookcase is in the corner where our computer used to be. Hey look! There is our new chair! Oh! There's laundry to be put away, too! Feel free to help yourself! :)
The closet. I shuffled things around. I put a lot on the upper shelf, like our winter snuggly blankets for the livingroom. We have our sleeping bags off to the right. We also have our air mattress in there, and it is on the top shelf. (It's like a shrine to LL Bean in there.) Not a perfect closet, but it's way more tidy. Look!
Hubs' new clothes sorter. For years, he has told me to skip folding his clothes and to just toss them into themed baskets. I told him that not only would I not do that, but that his mother would kill me. Instead, I decided that the little bookcase organizer I had would work.
And yes, the top of the bookcase is half his to "decorate." We have the Darth Vader figure holder thingy, the ball with the arms and legs that K- tells me to use caution because "Shhh, Mommy? The arms and legs fall off." Oh, and the winged thing that I bought Hubs for Father's Day. It's what he had on his wish list. See? I am a good wife. I did let him have his Star Wars stuff up. It's far better than that year that he decided to put a Grim Reaper up next to the bed at Halloween.
The bookcase came from here. The tray tables are there now. (Mom? Aren't you impressed?) That bookcase has been the collector of crap, dust and books that needed a better home.
Look at what I found last night as I was watering. It is a monarch caterpillar on the milkweed! Hooray! It is our third year with milkweed, it truly is doing the best this year than it ever has and we are so excited!
In other news, we did have to resort to the Bag a Bug for the beetles. I've made beetle juice and Hubs is going to start spraying that. I've left it out in the sun to cook like sun tea. I'm sure that it will smell just grand! (Before you ask, the slinky prevents squirrels from climbing the hook. But, a squirrel can jump 5 feet high, so the slinky doesn't matter so much most of the time.)
Beetle Juice (as in, to rid your plants organically of beetles)
Red pepper seeds
Cut onion
Minced garlic
Place in a gallon jug. Fill jug to the top with water and allow to brew. Place in sprayer and spray affected plants.
During all this, I even managed to make a run to the grocery for some provisions. We took a fruit tray to one 4th of July party (blueberries, strawberries, cherries, pears, apples and grapes). We were going to be there in the early part of the party where they are on appetizers. Later, we went to my parents house for my family reunion. I left the food prior to the first party, though as we were going to be late to my family reunion. Hubs' family thing was about 50 minutes away and we just party hopped. My parents were the recipients of my coleslaw (the Ramen noodle cole slaw) and some chips and salsa. Look! I didn't have to heat the stove! :)
Sadly, I forgot my camera on July 4th, so we'll just have to go with the pictures that others are kind enough to share. Ugh! At Hubs' family party, Iguana Bob was there and did a critter program for everyone. With him, he brought an African Hedgehog, a blue tongued Skink from Australia, an Alligator, a Tarantula, a house rabbit, and a Boa. K- did get to pet both the alligator and the boa. I have pictures with my phone, but I don't have a way to pull them off.
The second party, my dad's family reunion, was the latter half so most of the elders had gone. (Sad.) Nonetheless, we were there to hang out with my aunt and uncles. The boys (my dad and his brothers) set fireworks off for over an hour. The neighbor did his in between, so it was a nice show. Dad bought the big fireworks, so they were city like, just country like in locale. K- didn't want me to put mosquito repellent on her face, so she was bit above the eyebrow and near her mouth, where a dimple would be. She also has one under her arm where I missed putting repellent. Since she was so itchy before bed, I did give her a dose of Benadryl.
Smiles in my weekend:
- K's firsts. My aunt sent her a bag with a pack of Pop Tarts. (K- called them toaster strudel.) I was talking with her and asked if it had been her first. "Yes, Mommy. You wouldn't let me have them before." What can I say, we're sugar free for breakfast, folks!
- She also used a sparkler for the very first time. She was very worried and initially didn't want to do it at all. We explained that it was okay, as we were with her and keeping her safe. After that, she thought that they were great!
- Swinging on the swings at the park today.
- Hubs getting on the swings and swinging with K-.
- Hubs taking K- and me for homemade ice cream. Yum!
- Getting all of the grass stains out of K-'s brand new dress she wore for the 4th of July. Hubs' mom bought it for her and it is really cute. Either the Shout, Spray and Wash with Resolve, Spray and Wash Dual or Spray and Wash Bright and White with our regular laundry detergent added (after having soaked for 10 hours) worked. Whew!
- We accidentally hit the motherload of samples at Sam's today! Incidentally, the cinnamon rolls were my favorite.
- Sam's took the carton of Huggies back so that we could trade them in for Pampers. Seems that baby Leland's skin is so sensitive that Pampers is all he can go with.
- IKEA has called three different times with three different folks keeping us up to date with the locating, mailing and approximate arrival of the shelf pins that are missing. They get an A+++ for follow-up. Absolutely unheard of for a major company. Hooray for them!
- Having Mommy School with K- out in the driveway. We were drawing on Mike's driveway with sidewalk chalk. We were sitting toward the end of his driveway so that we could be in the shade. We did Mommy School for about an hour and K- didn't even realize the length of time that had passed.
- We went on our annual July 4th sale trip to the thrift store. Hey! They have an extra 20% off, so why not? I was on a mission for uniform pieces for K- to start school in. I was able to score 3 LL Bean uniform shirts (2 long sleeve, 1 short), 1 LL Bean turtleneck, a Talbot's long sleeved uniform shirt, a TKS (JCPenney) uniform short sleeved shirt, another school legal turtleneck, 2 pairs khaki pants, 1 pair black pants, a brand new Reese's Cup sweatshirt for myself, 2 pottery bowls that match my current dishes, 1 handcrafted pottery bowl for 25 cents!, a wall phone (a project that Hubs has taken on), and a couple pieces of street clothes for K-, all for the bargain price of $19.50. Hoorah!
- I made a consignment appointment with Children's Orchard for Thursday. Perhaps I can fetch some more uniform pieces in trade.
I hope that all of you were able to enjoy your holiday weekend. Have a great week!
I've made a decision! Our kitchen will be this by the end of the summer:
The yellow paint chip represents my countertop. Something kicked in at paint chip heaven that said, "Um, don't forget the countertop!" It's easier to select according to that. (I did the same in the bathroom with the baby blue countertop.) The walls will be the Deep Clay Red. The woodwork (cabinets, doors, chair rail, bead board, baseboards and window molding) will be the Chocolate Cherry. I will remove the cabinet hardware, give it a good spray in a nice chocolate brown and reinstall them. I'll also take our light down, spray it and reinstall it. The fan may get the same treatment. I'll also get some tile for the backsplash that doesn't exist at all. (No, there isn't a built in backsplash with the countertop, either.) I also plan on re-lining the cabinets and touching up the shelf fronts with some Chocolate Cherry. The table legs, and chairs (other than the seats) will be painted with either Chocolate Brown Spray or Chocolate Cherry paint. I'll also carry the Chocolate Cherry over to the back door, plumbing access panel and with the woodwork around both the outside and kitchen doorways. The Deep Clay Red is a few shades darker than the color that we have in the livingroom (Papaya Smoothie), so it will all carry through with harmony instead of each room rudely changing colors. (Our bedrooms and bathroom are all different, but the common areas that bleed into each other were important to me to be in the same family of color.) By the way, Hubs likes the colors that I chose. I bought the paint yesterday, so I get my rebate from Lowe's. Guess what? There wasn't even a line at the paint counter! HOORAY!
I have purged the microwave cart. I saved only the cookbooks that I will/would use. I was able to have enough space to stow one of my three crockpots underneath. (I was gifted a few and there are occasions that I have used all three.) The Kitchenaid, as heavy and large as our little Tercel, didn't fit under there. That's okay. I forgot to take a picture. Sorry.
I purged the game closet, stood all the games upright on their sides. Okay, it is space saving but might bite me in the butt if we don't hold onto the box as we pull it out.
I freed the livingroom of all of the toys that have quietly walked in and decided to live in there. I liberated the livingroom of the many toys a few years ago. K- has her doll house and some other little toys in her bedroom. She has 90% of her toys downstairs in her play area. I've explained that they need to stay in one place or the other, not migrate to the middle of mommy's livingroom and stay there. I've washed the windows, moved the couch to sweep the clumps of cat hair from the little ditch between it and the wall. I swept the cat hair off the couch, crumbs out from underneath the cushions and flipped the cushions while I was there.
I deep cleaned the bathroom. I looked up, realized that the fan cover was dusty and on my way to stand on the counter, I realized that the silk ivy (I wouldn't normally go silk, but we have no light and we needed something plant like in our bathroom) was covered in dust. IT WAS GRAY! Ick!!! So, I took the fan cover down, scrubbed it with a brush and as it was drying, I swept the actual fan out. I then took the ivy basket down, washed each leaf by hand, dried over all of the leaves, dusted the basket, washed the top of the medicine cabinet, then put everything back. I did a good Lysol/bleach scrubbing of the floor and wiped the doors all down. The bedroom purging has been completed. (My lollygagging lopped over to Friday a little, but I figured out why I was a lolly. Mother Nature had a little something to do with it and that's all I'm going to say, 'kay? Too bad it took me two days to figure out why I was so flippin' drained!) I'm awaiting the shelf pegs from IKEA, so Hubs' side of the bookcase isn't complete. I wiped baseboards, washed the windows, pitched & cleared items and even re-purposed the bookcase from our livingroom into a lovely clothes organizer for Hubs. Our bedroom isn't big enough to house a separate dresser for Hubs, so the new closet organizer is just going to have to be okay.
The new bookcase is in the corner where our computer used to be. Hey look! There is our new chair! Oh! There's laundry to be put away, too! Feel free to help yourself! :)
The closet. I shuffled things around. I put a lot on the upper shelf, like our winter snuggly blankets for the livingroom. We have our sleeping bags off to the right. We also have our air mattress in there, and it is on the top shelf. (It's like a shrine to LL Bean in there.) Not a perfect closet, but it's way more tidy. Look!
Hubs' new clothes sorter. For years, he has told me to skip folding his clothes and to just toss them into themed baskets. I told him that not only would I not do that, but that his mother would kill me. Instead, I decided that the little bookcase organizer I had would work.
And yes, the top of the bookcase is half his to "decorate." We have the Darth Vader figure holder thingy, the ball with the arms and legs that K- tells me to use caution because "Shhh, Mommy? The arms and legs fall off." Oh, and the winged thing that I bought Hubs for Father's Day. It's what he had on his wish list. See? I am a good wife. I did let him have his Star Wars stuff up. It's far better than that year that he decided to put a Grim Reaper up next to the bed at Halloween.
The bookcase came from here. The tray tables are there now. (Mom? Aren't you impressed?) That bookcase has been the collector of crap, dust and books that needed a better home.
Look at what I found last night as I was watering. It is a monarch caterpillar on the milkweed! Hooray! It is our third year with milkweed, it truly is doing the best this year than it ever has and we are so excited!
In other news, we did have to resort to the Bag a Bug for the beetles. I've made beetle juice and Hubs is going to start spraying that. I've left it out in the sun to cook like sun tea. I'm sure that it will smell just grand! (Before you ask, the slinky prevents squirrels from climbing the hook. But, a squirrel can jump 5 feet high, so the slinky doesn't matter so much most of the time.)Beetle Juice (as in, to rid your plants organically of beetles)
Red pepper seeds
Cut onion
Minced garlic
Place in a gallon jug. Fill jug to the top with water and allow to brew. Place in sprayer and spray affected plants.
During all this, I even managed to make a run to the grocery for some provisions. We took a fruit tray to one 4th of July party (blueberries, strawberries, cherries, pears, apples and grapes). We were going to be there in the early part of the party where they are on appetizers. Later, we went to my parents house for my family reunion. I left the food prior to the first party, though as we were going to be late to my family reunion. Hubs' family thing was about 50 minutes away and we just party hopped. My parents were the recipients of my coleslaw (the Ramen noodle cole slaw) and some chips and salsa. Look! I didn't have to heat the stove! :)
Sadly, I forgot my camera on July 4th, so we'll just have to go with the pictures that others are kind enough to share. Ugh! At Hubs' family party, Iguana Bob was there and did a critter program for everyone. With him, he brought an African Hedgehog, a blue tongued Skink from Australia, an Alligator, a Tarantula, a house rabbit, and a Boa. K- did get to pet both the alligator and the boa. I have pictures with my phone, but I don't have a way to pull them off.
The second party, my dad's family reunion, was the latter half so most of the elders had gone. (Sad.) Nonetheless, we were there to hang out with my aunt and uncles. The boys (my dad and his brothers) set fireworks off for over an hour. The neighbor did his in between, so it was a nice show. Dad bought the big fireworks, so they were city like, just country like in locale. K- didn't want me to put mosquito repellent on her face, so she was bit above the eyebrow and near her mouth, where a dimple would be. She also has one under her arm where I missed putting repellent. Since she was so itchy before bed, I did give her a dose of Benadryl.
Smiles in my weekend:
- K's firsts. My aunt sent her a bag with a pack of Pop Tarts. (K- called them toaster strudel.) I was talking with her and asked if it had been her first. "Yes, Mommy. You wouldn't let me have them before." What can I say, we're sugar free for breakfast, folks!
- She also used a sparkler for the very first time. She was very worried and initially didn't want to do it at all. We explained that it was okay, as we were with her and keeping her safe. After that, she thought that they were great!
- Swinging on the swings at the park today.
- Hubs getting on the swings and swinging with K-.
- Hubs taking K- and me for homemade ice cream. Yum!
- Getting all of the grass stains out of K-'s brand new dress she wore for the 4th of July. Hubs' mom bought it for her and it is really cute. Either the Shout, Spray and Wash with Resolve, Spray and Wash Dual or Spray and Wash Bright and White with our regular laundry detergent added (after having soaked for 10 hours) worked. Whew!
- We accidentally hit the motherload of samples at Sam's today! Incidentally, the cinnamon rolls were my favorite.
- Sam's took the carton of Huggies back so that we could trade them in for Pampers. Seems that baby Leland's skin is so sensitive that Pampers is all he can go with.
- IKEA has called three different times with three different folks keeping us up to date with the locating, mailing and approximate arrival of the shelf pins that are missing. They get an A+++ for follow-up. Absolutely unheard of for a major company. Hooray for them!
- Having Mommy School with K- out in the driveway. We were drawing on Mike's driveway with sidewalk chalk. We were sitting toward the end of his driveway so that we could be in the shade. We did Mommy School for about an hour and K- didn't even realize the length of time that had passed.
- We went on our annual July 4th sale trip to the thrift store. Hey! They have an extra 20% off, so why not? I was on a mission for uniform pieces for K- to start school in. I was able to score 3 LL Bean uniform shirts (2 long sleeve, 1 short), 1 LL Bean turtleneck, a Talbot's long sleeved uniform shirt, a TKS (JCPenney) uniform short sleeved shirt, another school legal turtleneck, 2 pairs khaki pants, 1 pair black pants, a brand new Reese's Cup sweatshirt for myself, 2 pottery bowls that match my current dishes, 1 handcrafted pottery bowl for 25 cents!, a wall phone (a project that Hubs has taken on), and a couple pieces of street clothes for K-, all for the bargain price of $19.50. Hoorah!
- I made a consignment appointment with Children's Orchard for Thursday. Perhaps I can fetch some more uniform pieces in trade.
I hope that all of you were able to enjoy your holiday weekend. Have a great week!
Friday, July 3, 2009
I was a lollygagger yesterday.
From the Urban Dictionary:
You know, I'm horrible when it comes to going through things to pitch/donate or pass on otherwise. It's not that I don't like giving things away, it just takes me so blasted long to do it. Internets, I'm a romantic goer-througher. It's horrible to admit, but my husband would probably tell you that it is excruciating to watch me move large hunks of things from one place to another.
I get to looking at pictures.
I get to reading parts of books.
I rearrange things.
I find things that I've forgotten long ago that I owned. Likewise, I find things that I own that I thought I had dispensed of long ago. Perhaps I did, but they liked me so much that they came back-- on their own.
I get bigger and better ideas involving another/other rooms. One room re-do's easily engulf my 1008 sq foot house. My mind wanders and runs off to partial other lands. (In the middle of everything, I decided to run a test spot on the floor with a homemade wax remover. See? For the record, it didn't work.) I have cleaning ADD. It's ugly, my friends. And clearly I'm one of those folks that is a lifetime member to the "Bit off more than I can chew in the time allowed" club. Ah yes, I believe that I'm a charter member. Though I have to tell you that otherwise, I proceed in a caffeinated-like fashion. It doesn't help that I don't find cleaning entertaining. Under the Tree (a local folk band)and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones didn't even give me the kick in the pants I needed. Ugh.
I need a healing right here at my house. At least a nice massage or a Reiki session might set me back to center. Who knows. All I know is that I have a queen sized oak rake bed in my 12' x 14' bedroom somewhere. I'm convinced of it. At least I swear that is where I slept last night . . .
Smiles in my day:
- K- is fascinated with the Food Mover that came with the Richard Simmons exercise videos that I purchased 5 years ago. Oh, don't worry. Only one video made it out of the plastic. Yes,that is exercise dedication.
- K- has been placing our pennies in the smooshed penny books. We have so many pennies that I've collected in a jar. She has been doing a good job booking them.
- I have far more books than I thought. Many interesting things to read and studies to do.
- Photo books from K- through her ages. Oh, what great fun!
- Having space to store all of the things mentioned above. That is, except for the Food Mover. I believe that K- can keep that in her kitchen stuff downstairs in her play area.
- Time is moving as slowly as I am today. That is an advantage to me!
- My 91 year old grandmother fell last night, but I'm glad to report that she is fine. She very slightly skinned a knee. She was reaching for some pop and kept on going. She listened to me last week and kept her life alert necklace on and was able to use it to summon someone for help.
-K- saw me throwing things away and she was taking a sneak walk to the trash can to see what I ditched. I busted her, though. Good thing she didn't see me bagging up all those Thomas and Dora movies. My name would be mud. She hasn't watched them in one sweet forever. Besides, I rotated stock and hoping that she doesn't even notice. I also liberated her drawers from some of the clothes that were clogging them. Hoping that I can score a consignment shop tomorrow that will happily go through my wares and pay me for them.
- After the grandma incident, my aunt sent me home with potato chips. She knows that I love them, but I don't buy them because I love them. Mmmm.
- The cleaning itch that I got helped me to free my side of the bed from all the books that I've purchased but haven't been able to read yet. I've been able to shelf my beads for bracelets. I cleaned out the little nook next to the armoire that only seemed to amass junk and found a new place to stow the sweeper. Now no one will see it when they walk in our room. Hooray!
- Crisp evening air.
:Lol'i*gag*er, a.(lollygagging); Lollygagger, The art of being extremely slow at everything; sloth like; moving a small distance in a long time; not quick in motion; tardy; to delay; sluggish; a habitually slow dude.
You know, I'm horrible when it comes to going through things to pitch/donate or pass on otherwise. It's not that I don't like giving things away, it just takes me so blasted long to do it. Internets, I'm a romantic goer-througher. It's horrible to admit, but my husband would probably tell you that it is excruciating to watch me move large hunks of things from one place to another.
I get to looking at pictures.
I get to reading parts of books.
I rearrange things.
I find things that I've forgotten long ago that I owned. Likewise, I find things that I own that I thought I had dispensed of long ago. Perhaps I did, but they liked me so much that they came back-- on their own.
I get bigger and better ideas involving another/other rooms. One room re-do's easily engulf my 1008 sq foot house. My mind wanders and runs off to partial other lands. (In the middle of everything, I decided to run a test spot on the floor with a homemade wax remover. See? For the record, it didn't work.) I have cleaning ADD. It's ugly, my friends. And clearly I'm one of those folks that is a lifetime member to the "Bit off more than I can chew in the time allowed" club. Ah yes, I believe that I'm a charter member. Though I have to tell you that otherwise, I proceed in a caffeinated-like fashion. It doesn't help that I don't find cleaning entertaining. Under the Tree (a local folk band)and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones didn't even give me the kick in the pants I needed. Ugh.
I need a healing right here at my house. At least a nice massage or a Reiki session might set me back to center. Who knows. All I know is that I have a queen sized oak rake bed in my 12' x 14' bedroom somewhere. I'm convinced of it. At least I swear that is where I slept last night . . .
Smiles in my day:
- K- is fascinated with the Food Mover that came with the Richard Simmons exercise videos that I purchased 5 years ago. Oh, don't worry. Only one video made it out of the plastic. Yes,that is exercise dedication.
- K- has been placing our pennies in the smooshed penny books. We have so many pennies that I've collected in a jar. She has been doing a good job booking them.
- I have far more books than I thought. Many interesting things to read and studies to do.
- Photo books from K- through her ages. Oh, what great fun!
- Having space to store all of the things mentioned above. That is, except for the Food Mover. I believe that K- can keep that in her kitchen stuff downstairs in her play area.
- Time is moving as slowly as I am today. That is an advantage to me!
- My 91 year old grandmother fell last night, but I'm glad to report that she is fine. She very slightly skinned a knee. She was reaching for some pop and kept on going. She listened to me last week and kept her life alert necklace on and was able to use it to summon someone for help.
-K- saw me throwing things away and she was taking a sneak walk to the trash can to see what I ditched. I busted her, though. Good thing she didn't see me bagging up all those Thomas and Dora movies. My name would be mud. She hasn't watched them in one sweet forever. Besides, I rotated stock and hoping that she doesn't even notice. I also liberated her drawers from some of the clothes that were clogging them. Hoping that I can score a consignment shop tomorrow that will happily go through my wares and pay me for them.
- After the grandma incident, my aunt sent me home with potato chips. She knows that I love them, but I don't buy them because I love them. Mmmm.
- The cleaning itch that I got helped me to free my side of the bed from all the books that I've purchased but haven't been able to read yet. I've been able to shelf my beads for bracelets. I cleaned out the little nook next to the armoire that only seemed to amass junk and found a new place to stow the sweeper. Now no one will see it when they walk in our room. Hooray!
- Crisp evening air.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
I'm going to paint my kitchen.
To celebrate the upcoming 10 year anniversary of our co-owning our home with the bank, I've decided to embrace what I have and paint. I would love to do an overhaul on the kitchen, but economically, we will be embracing a can or two of paint. Maybe I'll swing for the fences and do a little bead board with a chair rail. (Okay, yes it would be wainscoting, but seriously, we're talking pressed wood bead board. Let's call a spade a spade, shall we?)
I'm a fan of borders. I know, not everyone is. I don't go full on wallpaper, but I do think a decorative touch is good here and there. The border that I purchased is this:
Do y'all know that the purchase date on the receipt was 5/25/07? I've had this border for over two years. The economy is getting no better.
My kitchen countertop is goldenrod yellow. My cabinets are dark. Dark cabinets are kind of coming back in, so I'll just clean them up and give them a good shine. I plan on changing the hardware, but adding up the cost of hardware or the time to take it all off, paint it and put it back on . . . Cleaning the cabinets will work just fine for now. I have no backsplash, but that shouldn't be a problem to install.
The microwave cart is an atrocity. Truly, I wished that I had the wrap around countertop that I have pictured in my mind, but it ain't gonna happen so again-- I'll embrace what we have. I'm going to go through the cart (which is a lovely open oak cart, but has collected an obscene number of cookbooks that I don't use.) I'll donate the unused cookbooks and use some of that space to hold my Kitchenaid and perhaps a crock pot. Living life off the edge, as my sister would say.
The flooring is original to the house, which is 1976 goldenrod yellow linoleum tiles. Or at least that's what they look like under 23 years of the previous owners love of Mop N' Glo. (Mom said that apparently, the lady used Mop N' Glo without cleaning the floor first.) I wanted to strip the years of massive wax off of the floor when we moved in, but because it took me 4 hours to strip our tiny bathroom floor, Hubs made me promise that I wouldn't do it. After 10 years, I still have that danged floor, so I'll strip 33 years off of it and give it a nice shine.
Hubs wants as little involvement as humanly possible, so I'm going to swing this one on my own. He'll come home one day to a kitchen a completely different color. Surprise!
So that brings me to this. I'm thinking of a muted terra cotta. Our livingroom is papaya and I'd like to do something kind of cohesive with the color choices, but I don't want to paint in the same color. That also leaves me with a decision about the woodwork. Since our home has dark doors everywhere and dark woodwork, we've painted as we've gone along instead of replacing, as it is the more economical choice.
Oh, the things to do. First, I must summer clean our home. Today brings to me the cleaning of the bedroom. We've finally finished the installation of the bookcase we purchased at IKEA. Hubs was a little irritated at me for suggesting that it get done last night, but I wanted to get it all finished today. I have our wicker chest sitting in the middle of the hall-- where he left it to make room for the bookcase-- and it is driving me crazy. I'll also be purging some things from K-'s room, reorganizing the linen closet, freeing my livingroom from toys-- again, washing the windows and maybe treating myself to a trip to the paint department at one of the local stores. Oh, so much to do so little time.
Smiles in my day:
- Deciding to tackle the kitchen.
- Getting the bookcase set in place.
- Feeling the need to set the house free of some of the accumulating items. Argh with all the stuff! I swear that it is breeding.
- My friend, Kim, agreeing to bail me out and take K- to her last reading class at the university. Kim is a prof there and since Aunt Arlene's memorial service was scheduled for the exact same time as K-'s class and is an hour away, she would have missed it. That would make her sad and it would make mommy sad to miss the experience and the sweet lovin' load of money that we paid for the class. She'll keep K- on at her house to play with N- and A- til we get back. Thanks, Kim!
I'm a fan of borders. I know, not everyone is. I don't go full on wallpaper, but I do think a decorative touch is good here and there. The border that I purchased is this:
Do y'all know that the purchase date on the receipt was 5/25/07? I've had this border for over two years. The economy is getting no better.My kitchen countertop is goldenrod yellow. My cabinets are dark. Dark cabinets are kind of coming back in, so I'll just clean them up and give them a good shine. I plan on changing the hardware, but adding up the cost of hardware or the time to take it all off, paint it and put it back on . . . Cleaning the cabinets will work just fine for now. I have no backsplash, but that shouldn't be a problem to install.
The microwave cart is an atrocity. Truly, I wished that I had the wrap around countertop that I have pictured in my mind, but it ain't gonna happen so again-- I'll embrace what we have. I'm going to go through the cart (which is a lovely open oak cart, but has collected an obscene number of cookbooks that I don't use.) I'll donate the unused cookbooks and use some of that space to hold my Kitchenaid and perhaps a crock pot. Living life off the edge, as my sister would say.
The flooring is original to the house, which is 1976 goldenrod yellow linoleum tiles. Or at least that's what they look like under 23 years of the previous owners love of Mop N' Glo. (Mom said that apparently, the lady used Mop N' Glo without cleaning the floor first.) I wanted to strip the years of massive wax off of the floor when we moved in, but because it took me 4 hours to strip our tiny bathroom floor, Hubs made me promise that I wouldn't do it. After 10 years, I still have that danged floor, so I'll strip 33 years off of it and give it a nice shine.
Hubs wants as little involvement as humanly possible, so I'm going to swing this one on my own. He'll come home one day to a kitchen a completely different color. Surprise!
So that brings me to this. I'm thinking of a muted terra cotta. Our livingroom is papaya and I'd like to do something kind of cohesive with the color choices, but I don't want to paint in the same color. That also leaves me with a decision about the woodwork. Since our home has dark doors everywhere and dark woodwork, we've painted as we've gone along instead of replacing, as it is the more economical choice.
Oh, the things to do. First, I must summer clean our home. Today brings to me the cleaning of the bedroom. We've finally finished the installation of the bookcase we purchased at IKEA. Hubs was a little irritated at me for suggesting that it get done last night, but I wanted to get it all finished today. I have our wicker chest sitting in the middle of the hall-- where he left it to make room for the bookcase-- and it is driving me crazy. I'll also be purging some things from K-'s room, reorganizing the linen closet, freeing my livingroom from toys-- again, washing the windows and maybe treating myself to a trip to the paint department at one of the local stores. Oh, so much to do so little time.
Smiles in my day:
- Deciding to tackle the kitchen.
- Getting the bookcase set in place.
- Feeling the need to set the house free of some of the accumulating items. Argh with all the stuff! I swear that it is breeding.
- My friend, Kim, agreeing to bail me out and take K- to her last reading class at the university. Kim is a prof there and since Aunt Arlene's memorial service was scheduled for the exact same time as K-'s class and is an hour away, she would have missed it. That would make her sad and it would make mommy sad to miss the experience and the sweet lovin' load of money that we paid for the class. She'll keep K- on at her house to play with N- and A- til we get back. Thanks, Kim!
Monday, June 15, 2009
A Negative Spin
I'm normally a fairly positive person, but lately I've noticed that negativity has been pouring from my mouth.
I'm not happy with this.
Oh, it's a little nit-pick here, a nit-pick there. Just general crankiness about really trivial stuff. This habit has come more to light over this past week when one of my co-workers were called out on negative speak. Again, nothing major, but a little bit seems to ooze. She was talking to me about it, called something I said to my attention (with no offense, but just calling attention to it so that I wouldn't have issue with people) and it got me to thinking. How the heck did I get this way?
I've come up with a list of possible triggers. Notice that I'm not giving reasons, but triggers. I'd just like to get back to my sunshiny self. I'm not trying to defend bad behavior or negative speak.
1. I have not been sleeping as well as I used to. -- When Hubs has sleeping issues, I have sleeping issues. When K- has sleeping issues, I have sleeping issues. When there are family issues, I have sleeping issues. I internalize, then I lay awake in the middle of the night praying about things. Oh, the direct line to God is good and all, but if I could get my talking to done with Him before 3 AM, that would be super.
2. April and May are dreadful for any park naturalist. -- This is the final push for school programs. There is also the frog and toad survey that keeps Hubs up and out until after 11 PM traipsing through people's yards counting the frogs that they have. This makes Hubs tired, but wired and he can't sleep. He can't sleep, I can't sleep. See trigger #1.
3. The economy. -- For several months, out-going funds and incoming funds differed by sometimes as much as $800.00 per month. I was watching the cash in our savings plummet. We were still fine, but not as fine as we like to be. About 1/2 of what we wanted to be, actually. We've resolved that by completely banking the income tax check, K- isn't in preschool anymore, so that tuition is being banked, utility costs have gone down, we still stick to lumping a bunch of trips into one and we're just generally being mindful of our spending. We've been successful in pulling the account back around and we're trying to bank more money now to try to offset the dip we might have in the winter.
Which brings me to another point on #3. I haven't had a raise in 3 years. Hubs got a minimal raise this year (county government for parks doesn't generally give huge raises), but we were told that they will NOT be getting raises this next year. It is wonderful to have a raise, but good to be warned. They apologized profusely, but they have a raise freeze next year for the county that Hubs works for, so we certainly know that they have to follow suit. Only seems fair.
In addition, my bosses have always been wonderful in giving us a bonus each year. That bonus two years ago + money that I saved up completely paid K-'s preschool tuition in full at the beginning of the year. I didn't have that cushion this past year and the bonus only paid for one month of tuition and not the 4 or so that I was hoping for. Still very thankful, as I was surprised that we got anything at all.
The economy in general have made customers want more for less-- oh like me. They've even said this past week that it is as much or sometimes more work to sell a $30.00 item than it is to sell a $300.00 item.
5. When you are around folks that tend to spew negative, it rubs off on you. -- 'Nuff said.
6. I love my brother, but I've had to pull back from bailing him out. -- Yes, cost wise is a concern, but he has rested on enabling behavior and I refuse to do it anymore. I was pulling back before, but the turn of the new year clinched it. He needs to keep his appointments, continue to take his medications, provide for his family and GET A FREAKIN' JOB, please.
7. Road rage. -- People can't let you in. They don't want to let you out. They don't want to be nice.
8. Store attitudes. -- People are cranky there, too.
9. I worry that I'm not teaching K- enough or do enough with her. -- Don't you always feel not good enough in some way as a mom?
10. One of my biggest fears is cancer and every newspaper and magazine that I read seems like there are 12 major stories about this. I end up thinking about this, having a pain in the very spot that I was reading about and remain awake and worry about it. Hypochondriac? Um, yes.
11. Allergies have been dreadful this year, and I had a major battle for a month and a half.
Again, these are triggers, not excuses. In effort to spin myself to a sunshinier side of life, I'm going to do something that my internet friend, Rachael does. I'm going to end my post with some good stuff from my day. She calls them "Sparklies" but I'll call mine "Smiles in my day." This way, I will be thinking of and being thankful for good things.
Smiles in my day:
1. We attended a family graduation party today for Hubs' cousin. Though I'll be writing about this on Thursday, we had a lovely time and K- was very good!
2. There is a couple at church that have adopted K- as a pseudo grandkid that she makes treats and cookies for. They made M & M cookies for K- and chocolate covered cherries for me. I'm sharing my cherries with my mother-in-law and the folks at work.
3. My father-in-law has lost 8 pounds! I'm so proud of him!
4. My brother and his family stayed at my sister's house last night until about 9:30 PM. It was nice for them to get out and have a good time. (There was a birthday party-- part of Thursday post-- and they just stayed on.)
5. K-'s graduation picture came in today. So cute! So glad we ordered it since she decided to fly down the aisle to catch up with her friend! She moved so fast we didn't catch her!
6. The sermon today got me thinking about my negativity thing. The message made a positive impact on me and got me moving to make a positive change.
I'm not happy with this.
Oh, it's a little nit-pick here, a nit-pick there. Just general crankiness about really trivial stuff. This habit has come more to light over this past week when one of my co-workers were called out on negative speak. Again, nothing major, but a little bit seems to ooze. She was talking to me about it, called something I said to my attention (with no offense, but just calling attention to it so that I wouldn't have issue with people) and it got me to thinking. How the heck did I get this way?
I've come up with a list of possible triggers. Notice that I'm not giving reasons, but triggers. I'd just like to get back to my sunshiny self. I'm not trying to defend bad behavior or negative speak.
1. I have not been sleeping as well as I used to. -- When Hubs has sleeping issues, I have sleeping issues. When K- has sleeping issues, I have sleeping issues. When there are family issues, I have sleeping issues. I internalize, then I lay awake in the middle of the night praying about things. Oh, the direct line to God is good and all, but if I could get my talking to done with Him before 3 AM, that would be super.
2. April and May are dreadful for any park naturalist. -- This is the final push for school programs. There is also the frog and toad survey that keeps Hubs up and out until after 11 PM traipsing through people's yards counting the frogs that they have. This makes Hubs tired, but wired and he can't sleep. He can't sleep, I can't sleep. See trigger #1.
3. The economy. -- For several months, out-going funds and incoming funds differed by sometimes as much as $800.00 per month. I was watching the cash in our savings plummet. We were still fine, but not as fine as we like to be. About 1/2 of what we wanted to be, actually. We've resolved that by completely banking the income tax check, K- isn't in preschool anymore, so that tuition is being banked, utility costs have gone down, we still stick to lumping a bunch of trips into one and we're just generally being mindful of our spending. We've been successful in pulling the account back around and we're trying to bank more money now to try to offset the dip we might have in the winter.
Which brings me to another point on #3. I haven't had a raise in 3 years. Hubs got a minimal raise this year (county government for parks doesn't generally give huge raises), but we were told that they will NOT be getting raises this next year. It is wonderful to have a raise, but good to be warned. They apologized profusely, but they have a raise freeze next year for the county that Hubs works for, so we certainly know that they have to follow suit. Only seems fair.
In addition, my bosses have always been wonderful in giving us a bonus each year. That bonus two years ago + money that I saved up completely paid K-'s preschool tuition in full at the beginning of the year. I didn't have that cushion this past year and the bonus only paid for one month of tuition and not the 4 or so that I was hoping for. Still very thankful, as I was surprised that we got anything at all.
The economy in general have made customers want more for less-- oh like me. They've even said this past week that it is as much or sometimes more work to sell a $30.00 item than it is to sell a $300.00 item.
5. When you are around folks that tend to spew negative, it rubs off on you. -- 'Nuff said.
6. I love my brother, but I've had to pull back from bailing him out. -- Yes, cost wise is a concern, but he has rested on enabling behavior and I refuse to do it anymore. I was pulling back before, but the turn of the new year clinched it. He needs to keep his appointments, continue to take his medications, provide for his family and GET A FREAKIN' JOB, please.
7. Road rage. -- People can't let you in. They don't want to let you out. They don't want to be nice.
8. Store attitudes. -- People are cranky there, too.
9. I worry that I'm not teaching K- enough or do enough with her. -- Don't you always feel not good enough in some way as a mom?
10. One of my biggest fears is cancer and every newspaper and magazine that I read seems like there are 12 major stories about this. I end up thinking about this, having a pain in the very spot that I was reading about and remain awake and worry about it. Hypochondriac? Um, yes.
11. Allergies have been dreadful this year, and I had a major battle for a month and a half.
Again, these are triggers, not excuses. In effort to spin myself to a sunshinier side of life, I'm going to do something that my internet friend, Rachael does. I'm going to end my post with some good stuff from my day. She calls them "Sparklies" but I'll call mine "Smiles in my day." This way, I will be thinking of and being thankful for good things.
Smiles in my day:
1. We attended a family graduation party today for Hubs' cousin. Though I'll be writing about this on Thursday, we had a lovely time and K- was very good!
2. There is a couple at church that have adopted K- as a pseudo grandkid that she makes treats and cookies for. They made M & M cookies for K- and chocolate covered cherries for me. I'm sharing my cherries with my mother-in-law and the folks at work.
3. My father-in-law has lost 8 pounds! I'm so proud of him!
4. My brother and his family stayed at my sister's house last night until about 9:30 PM. It was nice for them to get out and have a good time. (There was a birthday party-- part of Thursday post-- and they just stayed on.)
5. K-'s graduation picture came in today. So cute! So glad we ordered it since she decided to fly down the aisle to catch up with her friend! She moved so fast we didn't catch her!
6. The sermon today got me thinking about my negativity thing. The message made a positive impact on me and got me moving to make a positive change.
Friday, May 29, 2009
My accomplishment for the day.
We went from one hand-me-down computer desk (from my in-law's.)
To another. This one was gifted to us by our hand-me-down neighbor, Mike. The new desk didn't fit in the corner where the old one was, but that gives us the opportunity to buy a beautiful bookcase from the nice Amish folks so that we can ditch my funky wicker "hopeless" chest from college. What did I learn in this adventure?
- Dust is attracted to electronic things.
- I can unplug the computer, move the components around and put all of the plugs back in the right place.
- The keyboard doesn't like to be unplugged, so the main shut off on the back of the computer needs hit to reset it.
- We have one big ole honkin' tower. I think that thing has grown since we got it.
- We really do need a new chair. That's on the list, too. Perhaps I can score one from a yard sale.
- I'm tired.
This is post number two today. If you didn't get to read my earlier rant, just feel free to keep scrolling down.
Have a great weekend! See you again on Monday!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
New Things For a New Year: March Update
1. I would like to lose 13 pounds. -- I've lost 6 and have kept them off. That is a step up. For the most part, that is typically the fluctuating 5 pounds.
2. We will eat better. -- We've been chugging along on this. I've hit a cooking slump. I intend on breaking out the crockpot more often. I need to meal plan and it will resolve much of my lack of creativity issue. We are eating better, though. Just not creatively.
3. We will keep a tidier house. -- We have done well. The livingroom is tidied each morning, Hubs handles the dishes and I've been making a conscious effort of keeping the laundry not only done, but put away twice a week. K- has been making her bed. We've been having the growth-spurt battle of the wills over picking up her toys. It seems as though taking many of her worldly possessions away and making her earn them back little by little has helped immensely. Thanks, Mom.
4. I will unearth the studio and make work again. -- This months goal. There is an opening at work in mid-April and I intend on having fresh, new work there.
5. I will concentrate more on Mommy School with K-. -- K- seems to be getting the true hang of her numbers, has been doing well working on sound identification, memorization and clarity of speech.
6. I will be certain that we get that bedtime story in every night. -- With the punishments and going straight to bed, the stories have not completely fallen by the wayside, but they have fallen by the punishment wayside.
7. I will begin devotional readings again. -- Okay, I haven't started reading devotionals, but I have started reading for enjoyment. That is something that I don't do often, but I have been reading before bed. I managed to finish Strange Fits of Passion and I've moved on to A Walk to Remember.
8. That TV will be turned off even more. -- K- has lost many TV privileges and will be without the box for a week. We've found that she has managed to have way more creative play. I told her that when she does get TV back, I'll be giving her a specified amount of time each day. When it is spent, it's gone.
9. We will do walking in the evenings again. -- Well, the weather has been less than walkable. But! Spring is upon us. I like to walk outside much more than walking on a treadmill.
10. It's not about me. -- It's a process. It's a work in progress.
2. We will eat better. -- We've been chugging along on this. I've hit a cooking slump. I intend on breaking out the crockpot more often. I need to meal plan and it will resolve much of my lack of creativity issue. We are eating better, though. Just not creatively.
3. We will keep a tidier house. -- We have done well. The livingroom is tidied each morning, Hubs handles the dishes and I've been making a conscious effort of keeping the laundry not only done, but put away twice a week. K- has been making her bed. We've been having the growth-spurt battle of the wills over picking up her toys. It seems as though taking many of her worldly possessions away and making her earn them back little by little has helped immensely. Thanks, Mom.
4. I will unearth the studio and make work again. -- This months goal. There is an opening at work in mid-April and I intend on having fresh, new work there.
5. I will concentrate more on Mommy School with K-. -- K- seems to be getting the true hang of her numbers, has been doing well working on sound identification, memorization and clarity of speech.
6. I will be certain that we get that bedtime story in every night. -- With the punishments and going straight to bed, the stories have not completely fallen by the wayside, but they have fallen by the punishment wayside.
7. I will begin devotional readings again. -- Okay, I haven't started reading devotionals, but I have started reading for enjoyment. That is something that I don't do often, but I have been reading before bed. I managed to finish Strange Fits of Passion and I've moved on to A Walk to Remember.
8. That TV will be turned off even more. -- K- has lost many TV privileges and will be without the box for a week. We've found that she has managed to have way more creative play. I told her that when she does get TV back, I'll be giving her a specified amount of time each day. When it is spent, it's gone.
9. We will do walking in the evenings again. -- Well, the weather has been less than walkable. But! Spring is upon us. I like to walk outside much more than walking on a treadmill.
10. It's not about me. -- It's a process. It's a work in progress.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Hello Lipitor.
Hi. I'm Amy's liver. She loves me. I've worked really well for her for 35 1/2 years. Please don't blow it. It would be nice if you take that pesky cholesterol count of 249 to a nice respectable level without any of those listed side effects, please. Amy is a busy mommy. She doesn't want to have her medication make her sick.
Thank you.
Her liver
P.S. Let's keep that good cholesterol at the good level that it is, eh?
Thank you.
Her liver
P.S. Let's keep that good cholesterol at the good level that it is, eh?
Monday, February 2, 2009
I Fell Off the Wagon, But Now I'm Back On
Oh don't worry, it's not drinking I'm talking about. In regard to that, Hubs and I don't drink, but because we both have ugly family history that we choose not to repeat.
Anyhow, I started line-drying our laundry in September. I found it therapeutic to go out to my new outdoors clothesline, hang the laundry in the morning and come home after work to it all dried. I would stand at K-'s slide, fold up all the laundry and bring it in and put it away. It was a nice system that I had.
Then winter came.
That's fine. I have a six-line run in the basement. I can hang two extra large loads of laundry down there and it is all good.
Except the fact that the washer went out.
Then the holidays were upon us.
And the basement is heated, but not the warmest place in the world.
Then I started going through Mt. St. Baby downstairs. My basement was consumed by piles of baby and toddler paraphernalia labeled for children all over the greater city area.
Internets, I fell off the line-drying wagon. I was sad that it had happened. I told myself one day I would get back on. I had a super system. I had built hanger trees for the socks, so I didn't waste precious line space on something so small. I had discovered that you don't have to fully hang the underwear, you can just hang it from one side and let it dangle down. You use one pin and a whole lot less room.
You'd be glad to know though that Saturday I pulled my line-drying love back out. I had declared Saturday an at home day. I was gorgeous with my unbrushed hair pulled back into a pony tail, wearing unmatched sweats and slippers that had blown a hole in them only earlier in the week. To tell you that I was beyond ravishing is an understatement. I couldn't wait for the Hubs to come home to see how gorgeous his wife of nearly 12 years had become. All that aside, I decided that Saturday was the day.
Can I tell you something? It felt good. My laundry lines missed me, but their forgiveness was sweet. As my damp laundry hangs on the line, I feel like I'm once again back to trying to do one more thing to help out Mother Earth. Now, if it didn't take a couple of days for the laundry to dry down there, it would be super.
Anyhow, I started line-drying our laundry in September. I found it therapeutic to go out to my new outdoors clothesline, hang the laundry in the morning and come home after work to it all dried. I would stand at K-'s slide, fold up all the laundry and bring it in and put it away. It was a nice system that I had.
Then winter came.
That's fine. I have a six-line run in the basement. I can hang two extra large loads of laundry down there and it is all good.
Except the fact that the washer went out.
Then the holidays were upon us.
And the basement is heated, but not the warmest place in the world.
Then I started going through Mt. St. Baby downstairs. My basement was consumed by piles of baby and toddler paraphernalia labeled for children all over the greater city area.
Internets, I fell off the line-drying wagon. I was sad that it had happened. I told myself one day I would get back on. I had a super system. I had built hanger trees for the socks, so I didn't waste precious line space on something so small. I had discovered that you don't have to fully hang the underwear, you can just hang it from one side and let it dangle down. You use one pin and a whole lot less room.
You'd be glad to know though that Saturday I pulled my line-drying love back out. I had declared Saturday an at home day. I was gorgeous with my unbrushed hair pulled back into a pony tail, wearing unmatched sweats and slippers that had blown a hole in them only earlier in the week. To tell you that I was beyond ravishing is an understatement. I couldn't wait for the Hubs to come home to see how gorgeous his wife of nearly 12 years had become. All that aside, I decided that Saturday was the day.
Can I tell you something? It felt good. My laundry lines missed me, but their forgiveness was sweet. As my damp laundry hangs on the line, I feel like I'm once again back to trying to do one more thing to help out Mother Earth. Now, if it didn't take a couple of days for the laundry to dry down there, it would be super.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Resolutions Revisited
I've decided that I'll update my resolutions monthly, so as to keep them fresh in my memory. Let's take a walk through January 1 lane, eh?
1. I would like to lose 13 pounds. I've lost 5. I don't think that's horrible. I'm on fluctuation right now because, well, let's just say it is about that time. I have been more mindful of what I am eating, how I am eating it and when I'm eating. That accounts for something!
2. We will eat better. A sugar cleansing of the home has been performed. Hallelujah! We've been healed! (Though, I find myself having huge cravings right now.) Now K- is asking for healthy items such as grapes, carrots, cottage cheese and the like. We've been eating more whole grain. I typed this on Thursday night and we had whole grain and barley Near East Chicken Rice with leftover center cut pork chops and veggies from the crockpot the other night tossed in.
3. We will keep a tidier house. Right now my table has been craft central, but yes, the house is drop in presentable. Again, we weren't pigs before, but we've been less of the drop and run M-W. I still have that small pile on the corner of the table though. I swear it appears there without my doing. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
4. I will unearth the studio and make work again. Nuthin' here. I have put more crap in there. Does that count?!
5. I will concentrate more on Mommy School with K-. Yep. We've been working on it. We're on project numbers right now.
6. I will be certain that we get that bedtime story in every night. More often than not, I've been successful with this one even if it has been a few pages a night.
7. I will begin devotional readings again. I bought another just the other day. Buying is not doing, though.
8. That TV will be turned off even more. We're listening to more music.
9. We will do walking in the evenings again. It's been too dang cold outside and sidewalks? I'm sure there under the 18 inches or so of snow that we have out there. We still have the treadmill though. Yup, haven't been good with this one, but I can say that I've been shoveling the driveway and sidewalk a lot. For me, I consider that pretty decent exercise.
10. It's not about me. Working on this. Trying to remember to hold my tongue and not insert something about myself in every story. Listen with my ears and keep my mouth silent. I am putting a conscious effort into this.
1. I would like to lose 13 pounds. I've lost 5. I don't think that's horrible. I'm on fluctuation right now because, well, let's just say it is about that time. I have been more mindful of what I am eating, how I am eating it and when I'm eating. That accounts for something!
2. We will eat better. A sugar cleansing of the home has been performed. Hallelujah! We've been healed! (Though, I find myself having huge cravings right now.) Now K- is asking for healthy items such as grapes, carrots, cottage cheese and the like. We've been eating more whole grain. I typed this on Thursday night and we had whole grain and barley Near East Chicken Rice with leftover center cut pork chops and veggies from the crockpot the other night tossed in.
3. We will keep a tidier house. Right now my table has been craft central, but yes, the house is drop in presentable. Again, we weren't pigs before, but we've been less of the drop and run M-W. I still have that small pile on the corner of the table though. I swear it appears there without my doing. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
4. I will unearth the studio and make work again. Nuthin' here. I have put more crap in there. Does that count?!
5. I will concentrate more on Mommy School with K-. Yep. We've been working on it. We're on project numbers right now.
6. I will be certain that we get that bedtime story in every night. More often than not, I've been successful with this one even if it has been a few pages a night.
7. I will begin devotional readings again. I bought another just the other day. Buying is not doing, though.
8. That TV will be turned off even more. We're listening to more music.
9. We will do walking in the evenings again. It's been too dang cold outside and sidewalks? I'm sure there under the 18 inches or so of snow that we have out there. We still have the treadmill though. Yup, haven't been good with this one, but I can say that I've been shoveling the driveway and sidewalk a lot. For me, I consider that pretty decent exercise.
10. It's not about me. Working on this. Trying to remember to hold my tongue and not insert something about myself in every story. Listen with my ears and keep my mouth silent. I am putting a conscious effort into this.
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