The Week In Review

 Every time I've moved I've said the same thing: this is the last time I'm gonna do this. I hate packing, I hate the mess, I hate the work, and I don't want to do it again. Famous last words.

Guess what I've been doing all this week? That's right, packing. My house is filled with boxes. It's the kind of chaos that feels overwhelming and gives me anxiety. At the same time, I'm filled with hope for what God has in store for us in Central Florida, and that's what keeps me going even though I'm exhausted.

This is what you see whenever you first come up the stairs to my house. I took down all the decor from the walls except for the large clock, so I can see the time. I emptied out the bookshelf, then put some of the boxes in the cubbies for two reasons; 1 - to get them off the floor and out of the living room, and 2 - to see how well they fit. My plan is to fill the spaces with boxes once it's in the Pod container, so we can use every bit of space that we can. There's a lot of boxes and furniture to load, and we have to use the space to our best advantage.

Since I moved those boxes the living room doesn't look near as bad. I could barely get in and out of the living room thanks to all the boxes on the floor. This gives me a better idea of how it'll fit into the Pod.

Boxes in walkways, boxes on counters...

Boxes and bags and rolled up rugs in the dining room. The dining room table is leaning up against the mirrored wall, legs removed so it takes up less space as well. The bags are filled with throw blankets and pillows. I like using throw pillows to decorate, since it's an easy way to change up a look. I didn't realize how many I'd accumulated till I started packing them up. And here I thought I didn't have more than a few. 

I actually have two Pod containers coming, a large one and a small one. The small one will be the last to be loaded and the first to be unloaded. It'll contain all of our essentials: the beds, bedroom furniture, bathroom and kitchen necessities, things we need right away. I'm keeping these items in the master bedroom so they don't get loaded onto the first Pod.

The kitchen cabinets have been emptied out, and on top of the counters I've just got the toaster oven and some cleaning supplies. The cookie sheet is old and will not be making the trip. The pantry has some food items but those will be going to my daughter's house.

I've confirmed the first Pod for tomorrow, when we will start loading boxes from the garage and inside the house. Then Tuesday we'll have church volunteers helping us load the heavy furniture. I can't begin to express what a blessing it is to have this kind of help. My son E and I could never get this done on our own. 

The tiles came off the balcony. I was sorry to see them go, especially when the workmen confirmed what I already knew: the tiles were not the cause of the leaks in the neighbor's unit. It was a structural issue. I could tell just from the look of the slab whenever they removed the tiles. No cracks, no water damage, nothing to indicate any seepage of water anywhere.

Now the workers have to come back to smooth out the concrete so it doesn't look like this. I've emailed the management letting them know they have this week to get the work done before we close on the sale of my home.

My neighbor was in an uproar whenever he saw the men working on my balcony. He made all kinds of noises all weekend long, then stayed home from work on Monday just so he could slam doors, bang on the walls, throw things, play loud music and television, and make a general nuisance of himself. I emailed the management to let them know what was going on so they could tell him the work was being done for his benefit, not mine. He calmed down a little after that, but the noise hasn't stopped entirely. It's affecting my health in a negative way. I feel my anxiety rise whenever he starts with his ruckus. Add to that my allergies and asthma, and I can't wait to get out of here.

I have to remind myself constantly that, no matter how bad my circumstances seem, I have a lot to be thankful for. I was able to sell my home in just two days. I have my daughter who has opened her home to us so we don't have to pay for a hotel or a short term rental. We have food, clothing, and help from our church family. God has provided just as He always has. He is so good! It reminds me that I have nothing to fear because my God goes before me. He has a plan and a purpose for all this, and will use it for His glory. 

What's Been Going On

It's amazing what can happen in just a couple of weeks.  Life can take some crazy turns.  Thankfully ours have been pretty positive!

One of the teachers at the tutoring center recently got a job at a Christian school teaching high school math.  I was sad to hear she was leaving but happy for her new job, especially since she's getting married in October.  Little did I know how her new job would impact my family!

My daughter A has been under her father's health insurance ever since I stopped working.  She turns 26 the end of this year, which means she will no longer be covered under his insurance.  Her father has been hounding her ever since her birthday back in December, telling her she needs to get health insurance before her birthday.  She has looking, but health insurance is expensive, especially for a young single woman.  For those who think that government insurance is the answer, think again.  Even Obamacare is costly.  Since she was working two part-time jobs and neither one offered health benefits, she knew she would have to come up with a way to get affordable healthcare, and her options weren't very promising.

Her dad called her about a month ago asking once again if she had found insurance yet.  When she told him she hadn't, he told her not to worry about it, he had found a way to keep her on his insurance and she'd only have to pay him $100 a month.  Now, if I know anything about this man, it's that he can't resist a scam.  I didn't know what he was up to, but I did know one thing for sure: whatever it was, it was illegal.  He doesn't care; as far as he's concerned, it's not illegal unless you get caught.  Well, that was NOT what I wanted for my daughter.  Of course, with J, it's his way and that's that.  But he doesn't know the power of my God!  My daughter and I began to pray that God would provide her with insurance that would be more affordable than what J was insisting on offering.  Seems impossible?  Ha, nothing is impossible for our God!

A week after we started praying, I got home from grocery shopping to find my daughter extremely excited.  It turned out that the girl who was leaving had contacted her.  The school where she was going to start working needed an English teacher, someone with a degree in English, and they needed someone right away.  She immediately thought of A and asked if she was interested.  The school would take care of getting her certification.  The part that had her most excited?  The job would pay her double what both her part-time jobs paid, and she would receive 100% paid health benefits!!  She could hardly contain her excitement!  She was happy and nervous at the same time, and asked me what she should do.  I said hey, go for it!  God is sending you this opportunity, you'd best take it!  She interviewed that same day, and they offered her the job on the spot.  Turns out they'd been needing someone since the school year had finished, and no one - absolutely no one - had applied for the position.  She was the first person to apply, and school was going to start in one week.  The thought of it made her even more nervous, and she said she needed to pray about it.  She spoke to her pastor, her friends, and of course mom.  We looked into the school and the church.  This church has been instrumental in planting many of the churches in South Florida, and their ministry is extensive.  All her friends (many of them teachers themselves) told her they'd be there with help and advise.  We all agreed, this wasn't a coincidence, it was a God-incident.  So she accepted, got her training and certification, and this week started teaching 9th and 11th grade English (including an AP class) along with middle school journalism.  She is the happiest she's been in ages!  Everything has fallen into place so perfectly, that we know it has to be the hand of our ever faithful God!  We are so thankful for this new step in her life!

Of course my bosses weren't as happy as she was.  They were left without two teachers for the fall session which starts next Monday.  But once again, God has provided.  We have three new teachers coming in that got trained this week.  It was rough for my daughter, because she doesn't like to disappoint, but the opportunity was too great to pass up.  It's been hectic with her church job too, but she's such a trouper.  She's getting the work done, and getting all her school assignments done as well (she's working towards getting certified as a pastoral counselor).  God is blessing her hard work, and I can't wait to see what else He has in store for my little girl!

As for me, I've been on an organization kick - or more like a frenzy ;-).  It started in the master bedroom, moved into the kitchen where I've been organizing the pantry and cupboards, and now it has continued into the bathrooms.  I've been throwing out anything that is expired (you'd be surprised what you find hiding in a medicine cabinet) or that doesn't get used, and putting things away properly.  I've shopped at Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree and Amazon for organization tools and containers.  I've also done some deep cleaning before school starts up again, which is on the 24th.  I'm off from work this week (yay!) so I've been able to get loads of stuff done.  I'm very much a type A personality, and having everything streamlined and organized makes me feel relaxed.  I'm loving it!

I took my youngest son E for allergy testing.  Not only were his allergies getting out of control, his eczema was spreading.  Both his arms were covered, his eyes were dry and irritated, and below his chin it was starting up.  It seemed the medicines the dermatologist had ordered weren't enough, so I had to take the next step.  He had to get off his maintenance medicines for 5 days so the tests could be accurate.  It was the most miserable 5 days of his life!  He literally needed a trash can next to him to drop all the tissues he was using because he was sneezing so much.  When we finally got to the doctor's office for the tests, they got delayed because E was having a mild asthma attack.  See, the day before we'd gone to see Hillsong United in concert, and it was held outdoors in a park.  The outdoors are my son's enemies, unfortunately.  He was coughing but he wasn't wheezing, at least not heavily, so I hadn't detected it, but the doctor noticed right away.  Once he was breathing normally, the doctor proceeded with the tests.  Thankfully my son has no food allergies.  He does, however, have a ton of other allergies, all environmental.  Trees, grass, mold, plants...let's just say, he's allergic to Florida.  The doctor put him on prednisone and gave him an inhaler, along with eye drops, nose drops, and instructions for taking care of the eczema.  He also suggested I get an air purifier, which I ordered the very next day.  I'm happy to report that his eczema is almost completely gone thanks to the creams he's using (Vanicream is the best, I highly recommend it), and I haven't heard him sneeze in days.  Oh, thank You Jesus!

We found out he's also allergic to pet dander, particularly dogs and cats.  This has created a dilemma for us, because we can't get rid of Molly.  Not only because we love her, but because she has cancer, and she's dying.  The second tumor on her belly has started to grow, and we don't think she has very much longer to live.  We know no one will take her in her condition, and if we take her to the humane society they'll put her down.  We've decided to keep her until the inevitable, which J is against (he's wanted us to get rid of Molly since day one), but honestly I don't believe we will have her for much longer.  It breaks our hearts to even think about it.

Sorry to end on a sad note (I didn't realize it till I looked back) but life is like that; it has its ups and downs.  We thank God for the good, and we thank Him for the not-so-good.  In all things we praise our God and Father and trust in His decisions.  Hope you do too.

What I've Been Up To

It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted, busy and productive weeks.  Let's see if I can remember what all I've been up to.

I'm on an organizing kick.  Spring cleaning so to speak, except in the summer.  I've been getting rid of clutter and putting things in order.  I hate clutter; I avoid having things I don't need or having things in the wrong places.  But with work and home and church and everything in between, things have fallen to the wayside and been pushed back on the priority list, until one day I looked and said, "Enough is enough!!"  It started in my bedroom closet.  I'd bought some clothes and was having trouble fitting it all into my closet.  It was starting to look messy and out of control.  One day I decided to go through my clothes and pull out anything that could be donated so that my closet wouldn't feel so cramped.  That was all that was needed to get me motivated.  I not only got a donation pile going, I organized all my clothes, shoes and purses.  I decided to take any "winter" clothes out (winter clothes in South Florida means a few long sleeve shirts) which meant I had to organize some of my dresser drawers to fit them in.  When I was done I felt like a load had been lifted off my shoulders (when in fact it had been lifted out of my closet).  There's actually room to move in my closet now, and I can see the floor again!  It got my adrenaline pumping for more.

This week it's been the kitchen.  I reorganized the pantry: there are bins to put bagged items in, canisters for snacks, pastas, flours and cereals.  The slow cookers were moved to the storage cabinet in the garage to make room for food containers.

The shelves outside the pantry were organized as well.  To make it easier for us to find things, I labeled everything with chalk labels so that the information can be changed at any time.  Now we can easily see where everything is without having to move everything or having five items fall on the floor trying to reach for one item.

Today I emptied out several kitchen cabinets, then put things away so as to make the kitchen flow better.  I moved all my spices to the cabinet on the left of the stove.  This was where I used to keep my spices originally, until we remodeled the kitchen and J insisted that cabinet should have a glass door.  I didn't want to keep my spices there anymore, because I was concerned it would look messy, so I put glassware there and put my spices in the cabinet on the right of the stove.  Problem is, I was using the left side cabinet as more of a display cabinet, which ultimately meant my cabinet space was reduced.  I'd already lost cabinet space when J decided that one of my cabinets should be converted into a trash bin (why do people who never cook or spend more than 2 minutes in a kitchen think they know better than the folks who actually use the kitchen?).  My kitchen was so cramped.  I had to move so many things around just to get my spices out because of the way the cabinets were made; the right side cabinets are corner cabinets, but they were not built as corner cabinets.

The cabinet on the left goes all the way back to the wall, but the one on the right has no access to that space, so if I need something from the back of the cabinet I have to empty the entire shelf to reach it.  Many of my spices ended up back there; cooking became a hassle of moving things in and out of the cabinet, creating more of a mess.  As you can see, I took the spices out of the cabinet and put canned goods there instead.  I had some of my canned goods in my kitchen and some in the storage cabinet in the garage; again, every time I needed something I had to go out of my way to find it instead of having it nearby.  I decided to put my glasses, mugs, and all our drinking cups in the cabinet above the sink.  I've ordered a 3-tier spice shelf/rack for my spices from Amazon.  It's bamboo so it'll match the color of my cabinets, and it'll keep my spices neat so I won't worry about what my cabinet looks like.  I'll have to remember to take a picture once I've got it all done.

I also cleaned out my refrigerator and freezer.  It's amazing how many things are hidden in the back of the fridge - items that have expired but we've forgotten they're there.  I found some file folder holders at Target for $3 that work perfectly for holding onions and potatoes.  I have to keep these in the fridge because, with our heat and humidity, they would go bad in no time.  This works much better and keeps them longer.

Speaking of heat and humidity, I don't know about the rest of the country but it is H-O-T in Florida!  Granted, it isn't as hot as it was last year, but it's still sweltering, especially in the afternoons right before the thunderstorms start.  We are in the rainy season now, getting hammered with rain every afternoon for about a half hour.  I cut the grass and it grows back in no time.  Allergies are on the rampage thanks to this weather.  My boys are especially susceptible; they are sneezing all the time, and while R has the itchy, watery eyes, E has eczema.  E has an appointment to see the allergist for testing on August 3rd.  He has to be off all allergy medicines for five days before he can be tested.  I'm not looking forward to that - he's gonna be miserable.

My daughter has been busy with work and school.  She is taking online courses to get certified in pastoral counseling.  Nothing like having a child who can tell you everything that's wrong with you :P.  Actually, she's learning a lot and has a strong desire to help teenagers and young people.  Her dream is to work with the A21 Campaign, an organization that helps victims of human trafficking.  I pray God would use her to help many suffering people to know they can have hope in Christ.

Of course, I did some shopping for beauty products during Bare Escentuals' Beauty Rush sale.  I actually wasn't going to get anything, and I didn't even place my order until late that night because I kept debating whether to place an order, but ultimately I got a Complexion Superstars set containing two mineral veils (one loose and one compact), a bronzer called The High Dive which is in a compact, a gorgeous highlighter called Bare Radiance, and a blush that I've been wanting for a long time called Vintage Peach.  I like peach colors more than pinks on me, and this one is a soft peachy tone that is very feminine.  It also has a blush brush.  All for $21 - just the blush retails for $18.  I also got a brush set that contains 5 brushes (2 face and 3 eye) and a gold-toned case for $18 (original price was $49). I decided to get these because we are going to Disney World in September and I wanted makeup that would be easy to bring along.  A lot of the Bare Minerals products are loose powders which makes them a little tricky to travel with, though I still plan on taking a few items.

Those have been the highlights of the past couple of weeks.  I'm going to continue focusing on organizing and purging.  I know, I've got to blog about it!  I'll keep it in mind ;).  Have a blessed rest of your weekend.

Monday, Monday

How quickly our time off ends, how slowly our work week progresses...

It's back to school today, and no, my son isn't looking forward to it.  While he much prefers homeschooling, he hates the fact that his friends are off from school this week for spring break.  I'm sure it won't be as bad as he thinks; thanks to technology, he's able to play games and chat with his buddies without having to leave the house.  Boy, it sure was different when I was growing up!  The most I could do was talk on the phone, and since there was only one line (no call waiting back then) my dad would get mad if we were on the phone more than 10 minutes.  His logic was, phones should only be used in emergencies.  If you want to talk to people, go see them in person.  I don't think my dad would approve of the texting generation.

My face was still broken out on Saturday despite taking Benadryl the night before, which was weird, but it wasn't spreading or getting worse, so I did my normal morning routine.  The only thing I left out was the Mineralixer oil from Bare Minerals I've been trying out; I figured it was the newest thing I'd added to my skincare regimen so I should leave it out.

I woke up with a ton of energy.  I started cleaning the hallway bathroom and looked at the walls.  When we remodeled the bathrooms back in 2009, I'd painted the hall bathroom in an olive-y kind of green.  I love color, and I'm not afraid to use darker tones on the walls.  It looked pretty when I first did it, but after 6 years the paint was looking dull and dirty.  Add to that the fact that this is the room where my daughter does her makeup, and she complains that there isn't enough light in the bathroom.  I tried doing my makeup in there, and I had to agree.  So I looked through the paints I had in the garage, and found some leftover tan color paint from my bedroom.  It's a color I like to call "cafe con leche" (coffee with milk).  While it isn't necessarily a light color, it is lighter than the green, and any amount of lightness would help.  It's a tiny bathroom, so it neither needed much paint nor time, but it's hard to paint because it is so small a space.  Getting the ladder around was tricky, and the paint tray had to stay in the hallway because it wouldn't fit in the bathroom.  Still, it got done in about an hour, and it looks nice and clean.  The color isn't bold like the green was, but I think my daughter will appreciate the brightness a lighter color brings.

I got both bathrooms cleaned, then went back to Pep Boys to get my tires balanced.  I'd gotten new tires last Sunday, and when I got on the expressway Thursday for my hair appointment, the car was shaking like there was an earthquake.  Scared me a bit, I've got to say.  So I had that taken care of, then headed over to Payless Shoe Source.  I had a 15% off coupon so I figured it wouldn't hurt to see what they had.  Lately I'd been disappointed with the selection at Payless; the shoes were overpriced knock-offs that weren't comfortable or even pretty.  This time I had a much better experience.  They've got their summer sandals and shoes, and I found two pairs of wedges that are not only cute but very comfy to walk around in!  The selection at this particular Payless was slim - I don't know if they haven't received the newer stock or if they sold out - but I got a pair in black with brown straps and a pair in a nice cream color with espadrille heels.

  
I especially love the black ones!  I wore them to church yesterday and they are super comfortable to walk in!

Sunday morning, very first thing in the morning, I got a visit from my monthly friend.  There went my energy level, down the drain.  I was dragging my feet all day yesterday.  My stomach felt like it had rocks in it, my back was achy and I sat around doing nothing - well no, not exactly nothing; I did a bunch of laundry.  I still have to fold it, though.  But at least the day wasn't a total waste.

One thing I did notice this morning - the breakout on my face has almost completely disappeared, which means it wasn't an allergy like I'd thought.  It was purely hormonal.  It's rough being a girl, let me tell you.

It's just about time to start school, so I say farewell for now, and to all, have a blessed week.

The Week In Review

It's Friday, and this is the first chance I have to sit down at my computer to do something other than schoolwork.  Yes, it's been a crazy busy week.  Let me tell you all about it.

This week was my son E's last week of school before spring break, so I knew we'd have a lot of work to do before he could sit back and relax.  His allergies have been acting up lately, what with the weather being wacky, and he'd been scratching his eyes quite a bit, especially at church on Sunday.  His left eye looked irritated, so I did most of the reading to him so he could rest his eyes.  He had portfolios due this week for science, hope, music, and English, plus he had his unit test in algebra.  I worked with him and he got quite a bit done, but not everything.  I came home from work and we did some more school, but he wasn't feeling well due to his eye bothering him, so he went to bed.

Tuesday morning we got up early to work some more, but his eye was looking pretty bad.  It wasn't red but it was crusty.  He said it hurt, only not his eye.  What hurt was his eyelid, the outer part of the eye.  I found some eye ointment and put it on him, and we continued doing school.  I have to admit, I was starting to get stressed.  My son was falling behind in his schoolwork, his eye was getting more swollen, and my boss told me she'd be taking the day off on Thursday.  I was praying the ointment would alleviate the irritation in my son's eye; if it didn't I'd have to seek medical attention, and quick.

Wednesday morning, it became clear that my son needed a doctor.  His eye looked positively awful, and he wasn't able to sleep because his eye kept crusting over all night.  Thankfully I was able to get him an appointment for 10:30 am.  We did an hour and a half of school before we left.  Wednesday is his busiest school day, because he has 3 live lessons to attend.  I knew he'd miss his science class, but at least he could attend music.  I was so glad the doctor was able to see him.  The office was so packed, but there are several doctors at this practice, and I wasn't going to be picky.  His regular doctor didn't see him, but the one that did is great.  She examined him thoroughly, then said he had an eye infection, most probably due to all the scratching he'd been doing.  The eye is so delicate, and scratching it (especially with dirty hands) can easily bring on an infection.  She was concerned, however, that he might possibly have eczema on that eyelid as well.  E had eczema as a small child but never on his face; it was always in the back of his elbows and knees.  She gave me an appointment to come back today (Friday) to have it looked at again.  Meanwhile she sent him some eye drops, an ointment, and Zyrtec for the allergies in addition to Allegra.  I about passed out when I saw the pharmacy bill for the meds:  $130!  And I have insurance!!  So much for affordable healthcare :P.  It took an hour waiting at the pharmacy for the medicines, which got me to work late.  Talk about really stressing out!  Good thing I only work 3 hours on Wednesdays, because I go to church and serve in Awana.  This Wednesday, however, we didn't go to church.  E didn't have youth group anyway (they'd gone on a trip the day before) and I wasn't going to take him with me to be around the little kids with his eye all swollen.  Besides, there was lots of schoolwork to catch up on, so that's what we did.  I missed my girls, but I'm glad I stayed and took care of my son who needed me more.

Already Thursday he was feeling better, even though the Zyrtec made him sleepy.  We got lots of schoolwork done in the morning, then I went off to work.  I wasn't sure if my boss would be there or not; she wanted the day off, but I don't think her husband knows what to do without her there.  He really depends on her a lot!  I walked into the office, and MM was nowhere to be found.  I said a short prayer, then got to work.  It actually went pretty well!  My daughter said I looked like I had it all together and was more relaxed than I'd been all week.  The other teachers were so helpful, too.  They pitched in if I asked them for help or if I had any questions.  MM did finally show up about an hour before closing; I think when you've been at the helm for so many years it's hard to let go, or believe someone else can do the work.  I hope that, as she sees the work I do and that things are running smoothly, she can trust me to work on my own without having to check on me constantly.  I have always worked independently, so it's weird for me to have someone looking over my shoulder, but I also recognize I've been there for less than a month.  Obviously there's still much I don't know, and much I need to learn.  With God's help I'll manage, I'm sure.  After work I sat down with E and told him we would finish school.  Spring break would begin on Friday, and he needed to have all his work turned in by Thursday night.  I'm pleased to say, he did it!  The only thing left was a report on Beethoven's symphony Eroica, and he sent it in at 10:30 at night.  We won't have to think about school till March 23rd.  Hallelujah!

This morning (my "day off") found me back at the doctor's office with my son.  He had to be there at 8:00 for his recheck.  When I woke him up in the morning, he let out a yell and said, "My eye isn't stuck together!"  Poor kid, he'd been waking up to an eye that was sealed shut every morning, and now the medicine was doing its work and he was looking considerably better.  There's flaking around the eye where the rash is drying up, but the swelling is almost completely gone.  Praise the Lord!  The doctor was pleased to see how much his eye had improved in such a short amount of time.  It was a huge relief for me as well.  I trust God, and I know He will always do what is right and best for me and my family, but I won't deny, when one of my children is sick it's like the life is drained out of me.  All I want is for them to get better.  I guess I'm no different from every other mom in the world.

After we'd finished at the doctor's office, I dropped him off at the house and began my journey into grocery shopping.  I started off at Winn-Dixie, hoping to find some good deals on meats.  I got a package of steak and a London broil that were on sale, but the ground beef was ridiculous.  $4.53 a pound?!  Gimme a break people!  I skipped on that, but did get my canned goods, pastas, breads, those sorts of things, spending a total of $93.18.  Not bad, considering my total budget is $300.  I dropped that food off at the house, then headed out to Walmart.  I picked up whatever I hadn't gotten at Winn-Dixie, like dog food and breakfast foods, plus I got some ham steaks and frozen foods, and spent $97.70.  I left there and stopped off at Pep Boys.  I was in need of tires - bad - but I'd had to wait till I had my income tax return.  Now that I had the money (and the time) I went and scheduled my tire replacement appointment for 4:00.  From there I went to Costco to get my bulk items, including ground beef.  I don't particularly care for the ground beef at Costco (it's very fatty IMO) but it's $3.79 a pound, a large cry from the $4.53/lb at Winn-Dixie.  My total at Costco was $70.87, bringing my total to $261.75, $38.25 under budget.  That's great, because this week I bought pizza from Little Caesars and KFC on Wednesday when I was running around with my son, so I'm still within my budget.

I got all the groceries home and put away with my daughter's help.  After lunch we made a trip to the bank so I could finish opening a checking account.  I wanted a separate account for myself now that I'm working, and I'd tried doing it online so I wouldn't have to visit the branch.  It worked - but when I tried using online banking, I found out I'd have to go to the bank to get a special pin number.  So much for not having to make the trip :P.  To give you an idea how crazy our weather is in Florida, we got to the bank as it was starting to look like rain.  We were there for about 20 minutes, in which time it rained pretty heavy and steady, but by the time we were done the sun was out and it didn't look like it had rained at all.  That is so typical in Florida, it surprises none of the locals.

I came back home to drop my daughter off (she'd gone with me to the bank), then went to get my new tires.  While I was there my daughter made one of my all-time favorites, spaghetti carbonara.  Boy was I thankful for that!  After a non-stop day it's really nice to come home to a delicious meal.  I'm so blessed.

Bare Escentuals had another Beauty Rush on Wednesday (my very insane day), and I was gonna skip it because I didn't think I'd have time to even look at what they had.  But while we were having lunch I took a peek to see if they had any skincare on sale, and they did.  I went ahead and placed an order for a kit containing neck cream, toner pads and body lotion; then I found an eyeshadow duo for $7 and another kit for $21 and I snatched them both up.  That was before I found out that my son's medicines were $130.  Part of me wishes I'd waited and not placed the order; part of me can't wait till it gets here!

There's more to add to my "fun" week, but I'll leave it for the weekend.  Right now I think I'll take a shower, then relax a bit before bed.  I think I've earned it.  Good night ya'll.  Pleasant dreams.

Thoughtful Thursday - Is It Winter Yet?

We woke up to a chilly 55 degrees this morning.  Considering that our temperatures have been in the low 80's for the past couple of weeks, this is cold.  Compared to the rest of Florida, however, this is a heatwave.  Temperatures in the 30's and 40's for Central and North Florida, and we're only in the 50's?  That's kind of weird.  Or, as my kids would say, unfair.  My windows have been open all day and a cool breeze has made our home pleasant, except for the allergies.  My youngest son was sneezing up a storm this morning.  He's doing better now, praise the Lord, but I almost wondered if we'd be able to get any schoolwork done.

We actually accomplished a good chunk of work, meaning algebra.  That's what we worked on most of the day, reviewing and completing his unit 5 exam which was in 2 parts.  He actually did really well on the multiple choice: he has a 91% so far, and there's one answer the teacher has to check which could potentially give him a slightly higher grade.  Part 2 was emailed to the teacher so he's gonna have to wait till she grades it, but I think he did well on that too.  The only other thing he worked on was studying for his Hope DBA.  Hope is his physical education class; DBA's are discussion based assessments.  It's where the teacher calls him directly and asks him questions about what he's learned during the course.  He called in and left his teacher a message, but she didn't call back, probably because there are so many kids calling in for their DBA's.  I had him send an email with his phone number as well, in case she didn't understand his phone message since he tends to mumble (all my kids do; wonder where they got that from?).  He has his online Hope lesson tomorrow, plus he has to finish his English thesis and send it in.  It's actually complete, but he's waiting for his sister to review it and make any recommendations before he submits it.  It's one of the perks of having a sister who's an English tutor :-).

I took out some country-style ribs last night and put them in the crock pot this morning.  In case I've never mentioned it before, the crock pot is my favorite appliance of life.  Whoever came up with the crock pot is an absolute genius and should be president.  I mean, can it get any easier and more cost efficient?  I fill up my crock pot in the morning with most or all of the ingredients for the meal we're gonna eat in no more than 15 minutes.  I then set it, and walk away.  I can do whatever else needs to get done, even leave the house to run errands, and be assured that our meal will be perfect every time.  I've even set it at night (like a pot roast for instance) and in the morning the house smells divine.  And how much electricity does a crock pot use?  About the same as a standard light bulb.  I guarantee the oven isn't that energy efficient.  I've made chicken, turkey, beef, and pork in my crock pot, but it isn't just for meats and stews.  We made apple butter in the crock pot and it turned out amazing.  We also used it for hot chocolate on my daughter's birthday; it stayed warm all night and everyone enjoyed going back to it.  Country style ribs are so incredibly easy it's almost embarrassing.  Take 4 - 6 pounds of country style ribs (with or without bone, either works).  Salt and pepper them liberally, and place them in the crock pot.  Then in a bowl combine 1 bottle of chili sauce (I like Heinz but any will do; the bottle is about 12 ounces), 1 cup packed light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of Worchestershire sauce and half a cup of water.  Mix well and pour over the ribs.  Set it on low for 5-6 hours, then prepare yourself for tender deliciousness.  I served these with roasted potatoes and carrots.  They disappeared pretty quickly.

My son woke up feeling a bit better today.  I think he has a sinus cold because he says his chest isn't congested, just his head and nose.  Tylenol Sinus seems to be working for him, and I'm glad.  He's working from 5:00 till midnight tonight and there's nothing worse than working when you're sick.  

My daughter shared a story she read online.  She found it on Facebook.  Granted, it's from The Daily Mail, a tabloid from the UK that's notorious for printing not-so-true stories, but I think the information is pretty spot on.  I'd mentioned how I was trying different moisturizers because my skin is dry and the wrinkles under and around my eyes have been more pronounced lately.  Yes, I'm 51 years old and I should expect it.  But hey, I can also try to prevent it, right?  Well, the story is about a 42 year old woman who went to see her doctor about headaches and poor digestion.  Both her neurologist and nutritionist recommended the same thing:  drink more water.  According to the article, she started drinking 3 liters of water per day, and in 4 weeks she not only felt physically better (no more headaches and better digestion), but her wrinkles were gone, as were the dark circles under her eyes.  The pictures show a dramatic difference that could easily be photo-shopped, but the article does make sense.  All too often women think about moisturizing to hydrate the skin from the outside, but what about hydrating from the inside?  I have to admit, I don't drink nearly as much water as I should.  It's not that I don't like water; as a matter of fact it's my drink of choice.  I have one cup of coffee in the morning with my breakfast, then drink water anytime I'm thirsty.  Even when we go out to eat I have water with my meal instead of soda (though I do occasionally indulge in my favorite sugary drink, sweet tea).  My problem is the amount of water I drink, which usually is about 32 ounces a day.  That's half of what is recommended, and frankly, the recommendation falls short.  Why don't I drink more water?  I forget.  Plain and simple, I forget to drink water.  That's a lame excuse, I know.  So I've made it a point to keep a cup with me and try to drink 48 ounces in the morning and another 48 ounces at night.  I started building up my water intake a couple of days ago and already I'm seeing the effects:  I spend more time eliminating toxins from my body (read: I'm peeing more).  I do feel like my skin feels somewhat more hydrated but it's too soon to say how much.  I don't expect the results the woman in the Daily Mail article claims, but if I do get them that would be awesome!

At 5:00 I remembered that tomorrow is trash day, and there was lots of debris in the yard that needed to be picked up - specifically, palm fronds.  We have lots of palm trees in our yard.  Too many, in my opinion.  I like palm trees, they're beautiful and all, but the branches are enormous and have to be cut down to fit them into the trash can.  When I had the SUV I could pack them into the trunk and take them to the dump myself, but there's no way I'm gonna fill up my sedan with branches, twigs and dried up coconuts.  So I grabbed my gloves, my machete and the trash can and went to work cutting up and throwing away about 5 branches.  There's still 7 in the yard that didn't fit.  As I was working my son R came out to tell me he was leaving for work, and that E was on the phone with his teacher!  She'd called him just minutes after I went outside.  He says he did well, was able to answer the questions she asked, and that she didn't even ask all of the questions on the questionnaire, meaning he answered satisfactorily.  I was so glad that he could cross that off his list!  He'll be able to relax the rest of this week, but next week...that's a different story.  He's got semester finals for 5 classes next week, and no, he's not looking forward to them.  We'll probably be studying over the weekend to be sure he's up to speed on everything.  The good thing is, after next week he'll be off the 19th, 22nd and 23rd, so he'll have time to recuperate before the new semester starts on the 26th.  Mom will get some rest too.

I'm going to assume that's all the excitement for today (at least I hope it is!).  I'm gonna snack on some chocolate covered cookies, then shower and relax before bed.  Good night and God bless.

2014 Comes To An End

It seems like this year went in a blur.  I know, everyone says that every year, but there's something about getting older that makes it more real.  My babies growing up, my hair growing whiter, my waistline growing in the wrong direction...well, at least I can work on some of those items.  One thing I can say with a big smile on my face:  I did it.  I blogged everyday this month.  I didn't think I'd do it, because I couldn't figure out what I would blog about.  In the end I decided to use my blog for what I'd originally intended it, which was a daily diary.  I would write about what went on during my day, and if it was a boring day I would write that.  Instead, I found that there was plenty to write about.  Life isn't all that boring ya'll!  There are always funny stories, mini-adventures and minor mishaps to write about, even on the quietest days.  I think I'm gonna enjoy looking back at what was going on during December 2014.

After my daughter had returned the Bare Minerals Starter Kit I'd bought her and gotten her store credit, she wondered about what she would get with the $45 left on the card (she had purchased a brush but Ulta was out of stock on almost everything because of the Christmas rush).  This morning as I was waking up and thinking about it being the last day of the year, I remembered I had reward points with Ulta which I could redeem for a $3 credit.  I know it isn't much, but they expire today (hence why I remembered them today).  I told my daughter she was welcome to use them since I wasn't going to be ordering anything from Ulta today and I didn't want the points to go to waste.  (She'd had points too, but she used them the day she bought the brush).  My daughter then went online and for the next 3 hours looked over and tried to decide what she wanted to purchase.  My daughter is a very intelligent young lady, but she doesn't do well with options.  She will second-guess herself and go back and forth trying to make a decision.  She called me over several times to look at this or find out about that.  I think by the end she was mentally exhausted, but she finally came up with a shopping bag with $58 worth of products.  As she went through the checkout process, she came to the payment section and keyed in the number on the card the store had given her.  It asked for a pin number.  We looked all over the card but there was none.  She hadn't been given one at the store either.  We both checked the website looking for where this infamous pin number was found, but to no avail.  Finally, I called Ulta's customer service number that was on the card.  It was a wrong number :P.  So I looked up the number on the website and called.  Finally I got through to a customer service rep, who explained that store credits cannot be used for online orders.  Gee, thanks for telling me.  Three hours of searching gone down the drain, along with my $3 worth of points.  Oh well.  Ce la vie.

For the last day of the year I went with a traditional meal:  roast pork.  Or as my son calls it, roast beast (a la Grinch).  It spent 3 1/2 hours in the oven.  I hope that the whole house smelled delicious.  I don't know because I woke up with a stuffed up nose.  Allergy season, ugh!!  I know several people have been complaining about the same thing.  It's not supposed to be this hot and muggy at the end of December.  It throws everything off.  The whole day was cloudy and gloomy, too.  No rain, just clouds and gloom.  It's like I'm not really in Florida.  This isn't what Florida is supposed to look like.   Anyway, getting back to the pork; let me just say the taste was off the charts!  It took me back to my childhood.  Yeah, that good.  We had the pork with white rice, pinto beans, and french fries, because I forgot to make salad or anything else.  That's what allergies do to me.  They mess up my brain.

I decided that, even though we weren't going anywhere or doing anything special, I would still fix myself up.  I showered and washed my hair, did my makeup using the Dazzle colors from my Bare Minerals kit, and blow dried my hair.  It turned out beautiful!  Why is it my hair always looks best when I have nowhere to go?!  I used the eye primer from Bare Minerals that I'd used Christmas Eve, the Gold Nugget one, but this time I used a teeny tiny amount.  It was about the size of a pinhead.  The amount was perfect.  It went on like a golden bronze color all over my lid and above the crease.  Once again I realized that when it comes to Bare Minerals, less is more.  I did a smokey eye but not a very dark one.  Getting older means smoked out eye makeup looks aging.  Along with the gold nugget, which can be used as a primer and an eye color, I used Tantalize which is sort of a charcoal brown colored powder eyeshadow.  I put it on the lid and blended it up just above the crease, then used it as a liner on my bottom lashes.  I lined my top lashes with the black eyeliner that came with the Dazzle kit.  It looks gorgeous!  I've always liked bold eye colors, but I find I'm more drawn to neutrals now.  This color is a cross between a neutral and a bold look, and I'm quite pleased with it.  I will remember 2014 as the year I was introduced to Bare Minerals and fell in love with makeup all over again.

We're staying up late to await the arrival of the new year.  We couldn't go to sleep if we wanted to; our backyard neighbor is doing some really loud fireworks in their yard.  Poor Molly is scared to death with all the noise :-(.  I guess it's not a bad thing.  I can stay up watching past episodes of the Tonight Show - that Jimmy Fallon is a funny guy!  I watched the episode with Carrie Underwood where she sang her newest hit, Something In The Water.  The lyrics to that song really touched my heart!  She's an amazing singer with incredible talent and a heart for Jesus.

That's gonna be it for 2014.  God bless our nation, my family, my friends, and you, whoever and wherever you are.  Jesus loves you.  Have a safe, happy, and blessed New Year.

The Last Sunday of the Year

Ever have a lazy day?  One where you just hang around and don't do anything but rest and get waited on the entire day?  Yeah, me neither.

I was kind of running slow this morning.  My nose was stuffy, my throat was kind of sore, and my sinuses were somewhat inflamed.  What is it about Sundays that I wake up feeling under the weather?  Speaking of which, what is up with our weather?!  Ours has been in the 80's.  I'm not even kidding.  It is winter and our temperatures get into the low 80's in the afternoon.  The humidity comes and goes, but just the other night the fog was so intense my son says he couldn't see 5 feet in front of him when he was driving home from work.  Thank The Lord he got home safe!  I think the weather has affected my allergies, because I don't feel sick like I'm getting a cold.  Whenever I cough it's because my throat feels dry or irritated, and I wake up with post nasal drip (which I HATE!).  I'm hoping we get some cooler weather in the next few days to counteract all these allergens, but gauging by the forecasts it doesn't look like that's gonna happen anytime soon.

So anyway, my morning started out sluggish.  I showered, washed my hair, then went into the kitchen to get something to eat.  Once again this week we weren't having our regular Sunday school class, instead it would be one combined class.  Again I knew I would miss it, because I wasn't feeling up to being in a large room full of people and me with my drippy nose.  I took my time getting ready, and I looked really nice if I do say so myself.  I put on my new skirt with the tank top, then went into my closet to see what I would put over it.  First off, I put on a light sweater in black that my daughter gave me because she doesn't like wearing it anymore.  I thought it looked nice, except that it's kind of long.  I asked her what she thought, and she shook her head no.  So I went back and pulled out a white sweater with green polka-dots that matched the skirt.  Again my daughter responded in the negative.  So I pulled out a short sleeved jacket that I normally wear with its matching navy blue skirt.  The blue of the jacket matched the blue of the skirt.  I figured she wouldn't like that one either but I didn't know what else to try.  The minute she saw me she said, "That's the one!"  It was my least favorite look, in my opinion, but she convinced me it looked nice so I went with it.  For makeup I did the same look I had yesterday.  I used my Pretty Wild kit from Bare Minerals which has matte eye colors in lavender and moss green, but I perked it up by using an eye primer with some shimmer to it.  It livened up the look a little without being overpowered in glitter.  I also used a new eyeliner pencil in brown, one of their Round The Clock liners.  It went on smooth as butter, and it was so velvety!  I couldn't believe how pretty it looked.  My hair also looked nice, though I knew what would happen the minute I walked out the door:  frizz city.  I put some anti-frizz serum when I styled it, and hoped for the best.

Pastor Ray continued last week's sermon on The Original Christmas based on Luke 2:10-14.  He was on fire preaching The Word today!  Whenever I hear him preach, I am challenged to give God my very best.  That's what His Word should do for all of us - give us a desire to do more and be more like Him.  Even though I didn't feel great health-wise, spiritually I felt renewed.  I had thought about staying home because I wasn't feeling my best, but I'm glad I didn't.  His Word revives me.

When I got home I felt like I wanted to eat something comforting.  I threw a frozen pizza in the oven for E and made myself a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and cinnamon.  That there is comfort food for me.  It warms my tummy and makes my heart smile.  Something that simple can make me feel like new.

My daughter got home early from her church.  She works at the church so she usually stays later, but the youth group didn't meet today because of the Christmas/New Year holiday, so she was able to leave earlier.  After lunch we went to Ulta to get credit for the starter kit I gave her for her birthday.  I had ordered the set online, so before leaving the house I got the packing list from the shipment and printed off the invoice so that I wouldn't have any trouble getting the credit.  Ahead of us was a lady who was trying to get credit for a cream she'd purchased, apparently she felt the price was wrong or something, but she had no receipt.  She left in a huff because they could not give her credit without the receipt.  I was kind of wondering if they'd give me a hard time too, but not at all.  When I told the lady I wanted credit because I'd ordered the wrong color and showed her my paperwork, she smiled and said, "That's everything I need."  They offered to credit my card or issue a store credit, and my daughter opted for the store credit, which was fine by me because that way she could get what she wanted and I wouldn't have to keep tabs of how much I owed her.  She quickly went through the store, but we found very little.  Turns out they were sold out on a lot of items because of Christmas, and are waiting for a stock shipment to be delivered tomorrow.  My daughter was looking for some makeup brushes but all she found was one.  Since she has the store credit I'm not concerned; she can buy something another day, or she can place an order online.

From there we went to the mall.  Her dad gave her a beautiful Michael Kors purse for her birthday, but the style isn't what she would have picked out for herself.  It's a sort of messenger bag with a drawstring at the top.  The problem is, the drawstring doesn't open completely, so it's hard to get anything inside the bag.  She wanted to see if there was any bag she could exchange it for that would work a little better.  I parked where we always park, next to Sears.  I totally forgot that Macy's is on the extreme other end of the mall :P.  That's how often I shop there (which is never).  We went to take a look at the bags to see what was available.  I was taken aback; these purses are ridiculously priced!  I mean seriously, the cheapest bag we found cost $198 ya'll!!  Her dad had some sort of coupon because he only paid $157 for the bag he got her (it has a return label that they scan and it shows the price that was paid).  Still - $157?!  It's not like the bag is gold plated!  We looked at other bags but none were in her price range, so she decided she would make this bag work.  Can't say I blame her.

Later on my kid's cousin came over with the kids, bearing gifts.  This cousin is actually my children's second cousin, and I've known her since she was 4 years old.  Now she's a mom of 3, and I got to babysit her kids over the summer.  The kids brought me a belated birthday gift, pink nail polish in a pretty set.  They also brought me electronic Yatzee, which I thought was cool since I'd taught them to play the old style Yatzee over.  We played tons of board games when I was sitting them and they learned so much, especially about good sportsmanship.  We had a nice visit, even though it went on till pretty late.

It's almost midnight now, and I'm ready to hit the sack.  Lord willing I'll post more about our visit with family.  For now, all I can say is, good night.  

364 More Days Till Next Christmas

Is it too early to start the countdown again?  I love Christmas, and it feels to me like this Christmas season was shorter than usual.  I guess it's because Thanksgiving was later.  Anyway, I still have my tree lit because it's too pretty to keep it in the dark.

And speaking of dark, I woke up to a gloomy day.  Looked like even the sky was sad that Christmas is over.  (But we don't need to stop celebrating Jesus.  We can celebrate His coming every single day of the year).  The day started in the mid 60's and cloudy, with a chance of rain in the air.  The cold weather we experienced in November has calmed, and our days have been pretty mild, though this week it's been warmer than usual. I sat down with my bowl of cereal and coffee, and my mountain of pills.  (Well, not really a mountain, more like a small hill.  There are no mountains in Florida ;-)). I take One A Day Vitamins for Women because they have iron, which I need because I tend to become anemic very easily.  I've tried taking just iron but it causes severe pains in my kidneys and legs.  I do eat pretty healthy and make sure I get iron from foods, but apparently it isn't enough, or my body doesn't absorb enough.  If I have too much iron it's bad, and if I don't have enough it's also bad.  My doctor recommended taking the iron with a vitamin supplement, and that seems to be working well for me.  I also take 2 Omega-3 pills per my eye doctor's instructions.  I suffer from dry eyes, which is why I wear glasses and not contact lenses.  I tried contacts for years but my eyes ended up burning by the end of the day and no amount of eye drops would sooth them.  Turns out it's because of the dry eyes.  I can take prescription meds, or I can take omega-3 fatty acids.  My eye doctor explained that dry eyes is caused by insufficient oil in the eyes.  Omega-3's replace the oils that are missing.  Taking Omega-3 has helped greatly, though I'm sure if I took more it would be even better.  Honestly, I forget to take one at night.  I also take additional vitamin C per my doctor's instructions.  The multi-vitamin I take contains vitamin C, but I take 500 mg more because I'm prone to bronchitis whenever I get a cold, which leads to asthma and could lead to pneumonia.  To help boost my immune system I take the extra vitamin C, and it really has helped me a lot.  The last pill I take is Allegra for my allergies.  I've tried other maintenance medicine but for me and my family Allegra works better than any of the others.  E was on prescription medication for his allergies, and it didn't work as well as Allegra which is an otc medication.  That's not to say the other medicines aren't good; each person's body and metabolism are different, and what works for me may not work for everyone.  I had tried Claritin, Zyrtec, and some others, with disappointing results.  A friend who has severe allergies recommended Allegra because it works so well for her.  I'm thankful to God that she did; it has worked wonders for my family.  My advise to anyone would be, find what works for you.  Your needs are not the same as everyone else's.  We are individuals.  No "one size fits all".

My kids all slept in today, giving me a chance to do some clean-up.  Blog clean-up.  I was "following" some 57 blogs, many of which were inactive for 2 or more years.  I decided I wanted to start fresh.  There are some blogs I follow and enjoy reading whenever there's a post to be read.  I've kept those, and stop following the rest.  No offense to anyone, but if you're not blogging then there's no reason to follow, right?    

The kids were on their own for lunch.  That's because my best friend IV invited me to Ruby Tuesdays to celebrate her getting a new job.  She's been working through an agency for the past year and a half while she looked for permanent work.  She's a pharmacist with plenty of experience, but thanks to Obamacare she lost her job at Walgreens and has been job hunting ever since.  Pharmacy costs have gone up because of the government healthcare and many have lost jobs; the entire department where she was working was either let go or relocated.  It has been really difficult for her, especially because she has health issues; IV suffers from multiple sclerosis and can't be on her feet for extended periods of time.  This new job calls for lots of phone work which she can do sitting down, and that's a great blessing.  I'm glad we were able to have some girl time, talking, thanking God for His goodness, brainstorming ways to help the youth in our church, and looking for ways in which we can serve our great and wonderful God.  I currently serve in children's ministry, but IV has served in youth ministry a few times.  She wants to be more involved now that financial woes have caused us to lose our youth pastor.  It takes a lot of work, but our kids are worth the effort.

When I got home I started munching on the chocolate cookies my neighbor dropped off yesterday.  Ya'll, I need to get a grip, otherwise I'm gonna gain back the 5 pounds I worked so hard to lose, and then some!

Today was also laundry day.  I usually do a load on Thursdays, but not when Thursday is also Christmas Day.  We all need a break sometimes, and holidays are not for washing clothes.  Two large loads, one dark and one lights.  How do four people dirty so much clothing?!

One of the games the Wii U consoles the boys got for Christmas brought was NintendoLand.  My oldest son was showing it to me.  It's like a giant Nintendo amusement park, and every attraction is a game.  He asked if I wanted to play one of the games.  I gave him "the look".  He knows perfectly well I'm terrible at video games.  As a matter of fact, the only times my kids have asked me to play a video game is when they want a laugh, because that's how bad I play.  R insisted it would be easy enough that even I could play.  Hmm, yeah, okay.  He had me play Yoshi's Fruit Cart.  I actually did pretty good; I got 429 points.  Considering he got 445 on his first try, I would say that was a success.  I gotta say, I'm quite impressed with my new-found abilities.

I gotta be honest.  The rest of the day I pretty much vegged.  I wasn't feeling like my usual self today; the ladies will understand what I mean :P.  My daughter picked up Dominos pizza for dinner (yuck, one of my least favorites) and I watched some videos while soothing my back with a heating pad.  After my shower I tidied up the kitchen.  Once I'm done with this post I'm gonna put some clothes in the dryer, then just veg some more.  Tomorrow is a very important day:  my two youngest babies will be celebrating their birthdays, and I need to be feeling my best.  So, good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.  God bless.

2 More Days - Happy Christmas Adam!

That's right, Christmas Adam.  You know, Adam came before Eve?  I'll let ya'll think about that for a minute.

I have a cute stuffed snowman on my bed, dressed up in overalls with a bag on his arm filled with snowballs that count down the days till Christmas.  Only I lost the last snowball, the one that has 2 on one side and 1 on the other.  Here he has been counting down the days since December 1st and he can't finish his job.  What a bummer.

Last night I downloaded a new app, Errands.  It's a to-do list to help me keep track of what needs to get done on a daily basis.  I had Any.Do for a while but it wasn't working properly.  Half the time it wouldn't let me put anything in that was too far in advance, it wouldn't repeat tasks, and sometimes would erase stuff.  I'm liking Errands so far, but since I just started using it yesterday I can't give it a proper review.  I'll see how I feel about it a week from now.  I was going through Facebook before going to sleep, and saw that Bare Escentuals has a contest/sweepstakes type deal going on, where someone can win free product, up to $575 worth.  I tried over and over to sign up but I guess there were too many people on the site, so I went in this morning and registered.  I told my daughter about it and she said, "Sign me up too!" so I did.

My day started with my trusty crock pot.  I knew I had outdoor work to do today, so I planned on jambalaya that I could set and forget.  It was in the pot cooking by 8:20 am.  I had my breakfast, 2 slices of bacon and some leftover cornbread with my coffee, then I made the brine for the turkey.  I decided to make a good sized turkey for Christmas Eve dinner that would carry over to Christmas Day because, who wants to be stuck in the kitchen on Christmas?  I like making a big breakfast on Christmas morning, pancakes or waffles, sausages, bacon, the works.  But I don't want to have to be in the kitchen roasting a turkey and making all the fixin's too.  I want to be able to sit back and watch The Christmas Story and Miracle on 34th Street and all the other classic Christmas movies with my kids.  Though I suspect they'll be busy with all their new goodies to be bothered with anything else.

So, lunch in the crock pot, brine on the stove, I got to work in the yard.  I haven't mowed the lawn in about a month.  It's been dry so there hasn't been a whole lot of growth, but the grass was starting to look messy and in need of a good trim.  In the summer, when the heat and humidity are at their highest, it will easily take me 90 minutes to mow the front and back yards.  Today, with the air so dry and a cool breeze blowing, it took an hour.  Instead of coming inside red as a tomato and drenched in sweat, I was covered in dirt that blew up from the ground, and I was pretty dry.  It was nice not having to fight with the lawn mower because the ground was soggy from the rain and humidity.  While I was at work in the front yard my neighbor's little girl came over and gave me the cutest Christmas card with a picture of herself inside.  She's 4 years old now, and just as sweet as they come.  Her grandma told me she was making out her Christmas cards and the little one told her, "Grandma, don't forget the neighbor!"  God bless her, she is a real doll.

Once I was done I came inside and showered.  There was still plenty that could be done, but my nose was not having it.  I take Allegra daily, and it has kept my allergies well under control, but even maintenance medicine can get overwhelmed when there are that many weeds and dryness in the air.  I figured I'd better play it safe and come back inside the house before a severe allergy attack came on.  As it was I was sneezing quite a bit.  My body was trying to get rid of all the allergens.

Yesterday I mentioned that I baked an orange streusel loaf for my daughter's coworkers.  She works at the church office where she attends church.  There is one other girl that works in the office, and all the rest are men.  Nine of them.  She says they attacked the cake.  I can't lie, it made me smile from ear to ear.  I am extremely gratified knowing I put some joy in their tummies ;-).

After my shower I had lunch, then vegged out for awhile.  I watched some videos on youtube, then my daughter and I watched The Biggest Loser on Hulu.  While I was having lunch, a package arrived for my son R from Think Geek.  He loves all the wacky stuff they sell.  When my daughter and I sat down to watch The Biggest Loser, we noticed a new present under the tree.  We were pretty intrigued; who was this for?  I got up to read what it said on the wrapping, and we both laughed:  "To R From R.  No, I don't have to justify buying myself a Christmas present."  My daughter and I both agreed that was a great idea, and we should do the same when our Bare Escentuals order came in.  I went to check the tracking number to see when it would be arriving.  I had received an email last Thursday stating it was shipping that day, but FedEx only showed that a label had been created.  I decided to call and find out if the error was at FedEx or at Bare Escentuals.  Let me just say, they have the nicest customer service people I have spoken to in a long time.  They were polite, helpful, and looking for ways to help me as best as they could, considering the shipping warehouse is not at the same location as their offices.  The lady thought it was very strange that I hadn't received this order, especially when a second order that I'd placed after this one had already been received.  She asked if I would be willing to call FedEx and find out if they had the package.  I agreed, and called FedEx.  Total contrast!  The customer service rep at FedEx literally yawned in my ear as she asked me my name.  How unprofessional is that?!  It annoys me when customer service reps are not at the top of their game.  So many people out of work would love that job!  Appreciate what you have!!  *Rant over*  The woman told me that they'd never received the package from the shipper, so I called Bare Escentuals back.  This time I was told that the label had been created but for some reason the package had not shipped.  Since I placed the order before the deadline I was guaranteed delivery by Christmas (I placed the order on 12/15, and I believe the deadline was either 12/16 or 12/18).  The woman promised to look into it, and have someone call me about having it shipped to receive by the 25th.  Within 20 minutes she called back, but unfortunately she didn't have good news.  She isn't all together sure if the package was picked up by FedEx and not scanned, or if it never got picked up.  The offices are in San Francisco, and the shipping warehouse is in Ohio.  The warehouse had already closed for the day so she couldn't contact them, and there was no way they could ship Wednesday and still receive the order on Christmas because FedEx is closed.  So we are looking at Friday or Saturday delivery, IF there isn't any weather problems.  I could have gotten mad, but what would that do?  It wouldn't get my order here any faster.  I told the girl we'd manage, and that it was alright, and she was so apologetic and grateful that I was being so understanding.

I've put the turkey in the brine and tidied up the kitchen.  My son R is at work, and my daughter A is at the Christmas Eve Eve church service.  There will be another service tomorrow which I plan to attend with my son E.  She has to attend both because of work.  To be perfectly honest, I have done nothing productive after calling Bare Escentuals.  I pretty much just lay around the house.  So really, there's nothing else to tell.  Tomorrow is a new day, an exciting and fun day, and we're all looking forward to it.  Good night and pleasant dreams.