Week In Review

The saying "Never a dull moment" certainly described this past week. 

Monday was a pretty good day. My back was feeling much better, and I was able to go grocery shopping and get some errands done. My daughter, who hadn't been feeling too well, stayed home from work. The previous week she'd had a stomach bug which no one else in the family caught, so it might well have been food poisoning, but now she had a stuffy nose and sinus congestion. Not unusual for this time of year; it's pollen season in Florida and allergies are running rampant. Others at her job were also sick so she wasn't entirely sure it was just allergies so she decided to stay home. She hadn't slept very well either, thanks to all the congestion. We all figured some rest would do her good.

Tuesday morning she was still all stuffed up and still hadn't slept more than a couple of hours. She decided a trip to the minute clinic was in order; Mucinex didn't seem to be enough. Since she works at a school she also went to get tested for Covid just to be safe. The week before, with the stomach bug, she'd gotten tested twice and both times tested negative. The doctor at the minute clinic told her she had a lot of fluid in her ears and nasal passages, common with bad allergies. He prescribed Zyrtec along with the Mucinex and a round of antibiotics to kill any bacteria that could cause infection. Then she got both the rapid and PCR tests for Covid and came home. About an hour later she got the rapid test result: Positive. Can y'all say panic?! I hate to admit it, but my first thought was, "I'm closing in 10 days, we can't get Covid!" I know I should have been worried for her first, but the truth is she didn't have fever, loss of taste, breathing issues (other than her nose was stuffed up), all her symptoms indicated a simple head cold, not a pandemic virus. The only reason she got tested was because she works at a school. If she'd worked anywhere else she wouldn't have bothered because she'd tested negative twice just a few days earlier. 

Within a couple of hours she got a call from the health department to take down her information. Since she'd also gotten the PCR test which, according to the CDC, is a more accurate test, she asked if it was possible for the PCR to come back negative. "No", she was told, "you can get a false negative but not a false positive. If you got a positive result it's because there's something there and the test detected it." So the quarantining began. We all stayed far from each other, she stayed in her bedroom with a mask, and the three of us went to get tested. All our tests came back negative, praise the Lord. She called her boss, while I emailed my realtor. We prepared for whatever might come.

Wednesday I went back to our old neighborhood - not the one we just moved out of, the previous one. My son has his favorite barber there, and I wanted to go see some friends and the new sanctuary that our church recently inaugurated. I had coffee with my best friend and realtor, then went by our old house to see our neighbor and catch up. It was such a nice day, but the Covid thing was always on the back of my mind. I was praying that my daughter's next test would come back negative even though she'd been told it was unlikely. I also prayed that neither my son E nor I would catch it.

Thursday morning I awoke to glorious news: her PCR test did in fact come back negative. Praise Jesus! I was over the moon thrilled! She was more confused than anything. She called the health department and asked how it was possible that she'd gotten a positive rapid result but a negative PCR. They told her the PCR was the more accurate test, so if it came back negative then the first test was a false positive. She argued that she'd been told she couldn't get a false positive, but this person told her that information was incorrect. Then she spoke to a doctor who said she should get tested again because one of the tests was wrong and the PCR might be the false negative. Honestly, I don't think anyone really knows what's right and what's wrong. By Thursday she was feeling 95% back to normal thanks to the meds the minute clinic doctor had given her. I'm still of the opinion it wasn't Covid; it was a head cold or really bad allergies, and either way it's gone. She's back to her old self, none of us has gotten anything, and we are just thankful that God spared us. Can we still catch the virus? Of course. But I don't dwell on that. We are happy and healthy and for that I'm grateful.

The next few days were project days. I wanted to help my son-in-law out with some to-do's before I left. Thursday and Friday we worked on the laundry room refresh that I posted about last week. Then Sunday I helped him put up window blinds in the dining room. They'd had some old vertical blinds that had yellowed with age and didn't look good at all. The new bright white blinds not only look better, they make the whole room look bigger and brighter. I'm so happy I could do this for them. They've been so good to us, it was the least I could do.

This week is the big week. Lord willing, we close on our house on Friday. I have a virtual walk-thru scheduled for 9:00 am. Since I won't have a mortgage, I can sign all the documents online and send them in via email. Within an hour I can be done and on my way to our new house. My, how times have changed! It's so much easier now to do things, what with the internet and all. I'm not gonna lie, I'm excited, nervous, and sad all at the same time. Excited to be moving in to a new house; nervous because I'm a planner and I keep going over everything, trying to make sure I have all my ducks in a row; and sad because I know how much I'm gonna miss my daughter and it hurts my heart that she won't be a 3 minute drive away. This move is bittersweet for that reason, but I know God has a plan and a purpose for everything, and that He works all things together for good for those who love Him. I'm resting in that knowledge and praising him along the way. 

A Typical Breakfast

We've all heard the saying, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." I know I look forward to my morning meal everyday, even though it hardly ever varies. I might do something fancy over the weekend, like pancakes and sausage, or waffles and bacon with a side of hash browns (yum), but during the week I like to keep it simple. This is my typical breakfast most days.

I like having a hot breakfast. Yes, I sometimes will have Special K cereal if I'm in the mood. My favorites are the vanilla almond and the cinnamon pecan flavors. But 9 times out of 10 I will have a bowl of maple and brown sugar oatmeal for breakfast. I make mine with unsweetened vanilla almond milk instead of water, and I add dried cherries to it.  

I put it in the microwave for two minutes, then sprinkle some cinnamon over it. It is so delicious! It might come off as the perfect fall breakfast, but honestly I eat it all year round.

We never had oatmeal when I was growing up. Whenever my mom mentioned oatmeal it was to tell us how sick of it she was. Growing up during WWII, she told us that there was rationing and shortage of food. There were many mouths to feed in her house, and the one thing they could count on finding in abundance was oatmeal. So everyday my grandma would prepare oatmeal with powdered milk until my mom got so tired of it she preferred skipping breakfast altogether. I got to try oatmeal in Puerto Rico at a cousin's house. She made some for breakfast, and I absolutely loved it. There was no convincing my mom, though. She couldn't even stand the smell of it. Maybe that's why I like it so much, because I missed out on it as a kid.

Along with my oatmeal I have my one and only cup of coffee of the day. Once again, I like my coffee hot. I realize that iced coffee is the rage now, just like overnight oats (also known as muesli). But I do not like iced coffee. At. All. I like my coffee hot and my iced tea sweet. My coffee preference is Kirkland's Pacific Bold from Costco. This is an extra bold coffee, dark and rich. I don't like the medium blends, and I hate the lighter breakfast blends. They don't taste like much of anything to me. This is a delicious, strong coffee, and the price (especially when it's on sale) is cheaper than most places. Aldi's has good priced coffee but I find the taste of this brand to be superior.

I then prepare my vitamin cocktail:

My vitamins are also from Costco because again, price and quality. Every morning I take fish oil pills for my eyes. I suffer from dry eyes, and my eye doctor explained that it's caused by a lack of oils in the eyes. Taking fish oil has definitely helped me in that department. I take a multi-vitamin with iron, along with extra vitamin C. After having worked several years at a tutoring center, I learned the importance of taking vitamin C everyday if I didn't want to be sick all the time. Y'all, kids are germ magnets! School would start in mid August, and by mid September every single one of them had some sort of virus. I don't believe in taking vitamin C when I start to feel sick; I take it everyday as a preventative measure. The last thing I take isn't a vitamin; it's a Zyrtec knockoff that I need for my allergies, especially now in the fall.

I like having a piece of fruit with my breakfast as well. Most of the time it's a banana, but I do enjoy having half a mango whenever I can get my hands on one. I add some sugar and powdered creamer to my coffee. I don't like flavored creamers, and since I'm the only one that drinks coffee (and only one cup a day) it doesn't get used up fast enough and ends up spoiling. So powdered creamer it is.

And that's it, my breakfast of champions! It's filling and healthy, and for me it's the best way to start my day. Have a blessed and restful Labor Day y'all!

 

Week's Review - Is It Over Yet?

My week has been like the weather - hectic and all over the place.  We've had hot days, humid days, rainy days, stormy days...it was more like summer than spring.  Then this morning, the sky was clear and blue, and there was a sweet breeze blowing.  Everyone was shocked at the change!  Life is kinda like the weather; it can change from one day to the next.

My days are busy, busy, busy.  School in the mornings, work in the afternoons, church on Wednesdays.  Meals, laundry, housecleaning, dog tending.  It's a never ending cycle, but I'm getting the hang of it.  I think.

This week E took his unit exam for algebra.  Quadratics have been a headache for him and for me as well, because I don't remember doing them.  His exam was two parts; part one was multiple choice, and part two was 5 questions broken down into 3-4 parts, which meant it was really 16 questions.  He finished part one and got a 64%.  That really upset me, because he did study for the test, but the questions were tricky.  There were times when he would say, "it's either A or C," and invariably he'd pick the wrong one.  I was stressed about the second part of the exam more than he was, because a) the second part is always harder, and b) this material will be on his semester exam and he doesn't seem comfortable with it.  He did part 2 Tuesday night, and it took him 3 hours to complete it.  I decided he needed more help than what I was giving him, so I got him a tutoring session at work.  The tutor he got is a great teacher; he's studying finance at the local university, and is a brilliant young man.  I'm so thankful that E got the session.  He feels more confident now.  And today, when the scores were posted and I saw my son got a 94% on part two of his test, it made me feel so much better!  I really shouldn't have stressed so much.  If I'd given it to God from the start I would have saved myself a lot of internal frustration.  I hope I've learned this lesson.

Molly has continued to improve.  As a matter of fact, she's been behaving like a puppy again, so we were very optimistic.  Then I got the dreaded call from the vet this morning.  Our suspicions were confirmed: it is cancer.  The tumor that was removed was a stage 2 mass cell tumor, and this type of tumor will continue to spread.  The vet told me he would refer me to an oncologist, and I thanked him but explained that we'd already discussed it and decided we would not put our beloved dog through chemotherapy.  I just feel it's cruel to make an animal suffer through that horrible treatment, and honestly, each time I've heard of pets that have been put through chemo, it's always been the same outcome.  They end up dying of cancer anyway.  I simply cannot do that to Molly.  The doctor said she might do fine for another two years, or she might last six months.  Either way, we will do whatever it takes to keep her comfortable and happy, and when the time comes, we will say goodbye and be thankful to God for the time He allowed us to have her.  She has been a joy for us; I don't regret taking her in and caring for her.  She has been the best dog I've ever met, the most loving, affectionate, sweet dog in the world.  There is a dreary cloud over us today, but the silver lining around it is the reminder of all good times we've had.  She's been a rare treasure, and we are oh so thankful for her.

Our women's bible study group this morning was a real thought provoking study.  We were challenged to study the bible, not to gain more knowledge, but to know God better.  A challenge to read scripture, not for what I can get out of it or what it can do for me, but to see God in its pages and understand my Father in a more intimate way.  I hadn't thought about it, but how many times don't I pick up the bible to look for guidance for me, to seek answers for me, to feed me spiritually.  Me, me, me.  What I should be asking God is, "What do You want me to learn about You today?"  Because in knowing Him better, I will desire more of Him.  And as I desire more of Him, I will want to be more like Him.  And when I am more like Him, I will have all the answers to those questions that I usually go to scripture for.  It was such an eye-opener.

That has been my roller coaster week.  Ups and downs, spinning this way and that.  The ups have been exhilarating, the downs have made my stomach ill.  There is so much change in our lives, but I've learned that I'm tallest when I'm on my knees.  God has gotten me through rougher times than this; He will see me through again.  Have a good night, y'all.  God bless.

Recapping the Past Week

It's been a long and busy past week...but thankfully, a less stressed one.  Not completely stress-free, but let's be honest, does such a day exist when there is absolutely, positively, no stress?  Only after we die.

Molly is healing nicely.  She's in her normal mood again, cheerful, playful, happy.  Since she isn't a complainer, it's hard to determine when she's in pain or distress; now that we see her so full of pep we realize she was not comfortable with the tumor.  At all.  There was never any whimpering or crying, just lack of energy and no desire to play, though her appetite was never affected.  She is so totally different from Tobey, our first dog, who let us know when he was not feeling well.  I guess the male of the species aren't so different, one creature from another.

My son E, on the other hand (or should I say on the left hand?), had me running from doctor to doctor trying to figure out what in the world was that nasty rash on his hand.  The rash was first detected by his doctor around his left eye.  She said it looked like eczema and gave him medicine for it which took care of the problem.  Then a similar rash took over his left hand.  It looked awful; first it started as a slight rash, then as it got more intense I had him put the medicine from his eye on his hand.  It didn't do much of anything.  Since E has had eczema before, I was able to recognize similarities in this rash, though he'd never gotten it on his hand.  It was always on his elbows or behind his knees.  Still, I thought that's what it looked like, so I went to the pharmacy and got him some Neosporin for eczema.  The itching stopped, but the rash got worse - I mean really bad.  I took him to the doctor (his doctor wasn't in so an associate saw him), who determined it must be a fungus, since the eczema medicine wasn't working.  The doctor honestly admitted he didn't know for sure what it was.  He gave E another cream, and said if it didn't get better we should see a dermatologist.  The cream seemed to work for the first couple of days, but soon after it started making matters worse.  E complained every time he put the on medicine because it burned.  That was not good.

His father showed up that Saturday after not having seen or spoken to his son in two weeks.  All of a sudden he decided he needed to be a dad and take care of the situation because I hadn't done enough.  He wasn't around when the rash started, nor did he know what I'd done, but he started putting on a show, telling me I should have taken him to see a dermatologist from the start, and taking pictures of E's hand to "figure out" what it was.  I was angry and annoyed for hours.  How can one human being disrupt a household the way he does?!  He doesn't fool anyone; we all see through his act, including E.

As I saw the rash not improving, I went ahead and made the appointment with the dermatologist for the following Friday (this past Friday).  Tuesday I got a call from J asking how E was doing, and that he'd been trying to get in touch with the dermatologist to make an appointment for him but was unable to get through.  He claimed he was extremely concerned because the rash looked "dangerous". I told him I'd already made an appointment, and had gotten through to the dermatologist just fine.  Once again, I was convinced he was just putting on a show.  E spoke to his dad on Wednesday because it was his dad's birthday, and once again his father asked for a picture of his hand to see how it was doing.  Friday couldn't come fast enough, as far as I was concerned.  I wanted to get this thing over with once and for all.

Finally the dermatologist was able to see him, and guess what?  It's eczema.  No fungus, no "dangerous condition", just eczema.  The medicines I had weren't strong enough to take care of the problem, so the doctor prescribed a stronger hydrocortisone cream and told us that, just as in the past, this would eventually go away on its own.  In the meantime we would treat it, and there was nothing to worry about.  After the doctor, I took E home and went to do some grocery shopping.  I was at Walmart when J called asking what it was E had because E had told him but he didn't understand.  When I told him it was eczema, he didn't know how to respond.  His first comment was, "But that's just dry skin."  Which of course it isn't, but I just said uh-huh.  Then he asked about the blisters on E's hand.  What blisters?  E didn't have any blisters at any time.  His skin was dry and cracked, but it never blistered.  He claimed there were blisters in the pictures E sent him.  I know there were no blisters, and he was being a drama queen as usual.  Here's the interesting part: we haven't heard from him since.  He didn't show up on Saturday to see his son or take him out, he didn't even call to ask if his hand was better.  Once he realized the show was over, he disappeared.  And then he wonders why his kids don't ever reach out to him.  

The rest of the week went by fine.  E finished his schoolwork a day early, which was great since he had to be at the doctor's on Friday.  He's got straight A's so far, and we are praying that continues, since finals are going to be coming up in the next few weeks.  His hand, by the way, has improved dramatically.  I expect the skin to be back to normal before weeks end.  Thank You Jesus!  Weather-wise, it has been scorching.  Yesterday we were in the 90's.  Thankfully the humidity hasn't been as high as in the summer, but still, it felt like we were in the 100's.  I don't even want to think about what the summer will be like.  Praise God for air conditioning!!!

Saturday I stayed home all day getting the house cleaned up.  We were all suffering the effects of allergy season this week, and I was finally feeling better, so I didn't want to go out and provoke my sinuses to shut down.  Yesterday we went to church, then my daughter and I went to the outlet mall for a little shopping.  There's a Bare Minerals outlet there, and since I had a $20 off coupon I decided to get some concealer.  The small sample I got back in November is finally running out.  I also picked up a neutral lip liner and a gorgeous blue eyeliner.  Then we went to the CCO (Cosmetic Company Outlet) and I picked up a Mac Face And Body foundation for $19.  It usually goes for almost $30 so I was thrilled to get it so cheap.  My daughter got some too.  Can't wait to try it out!  She had gotten a Forever 21 gift certificate back in December for her birthday, so she decided to bring it along and see if she could find something she liked.  She got a really cute handbag that was on sale, so of course she was excited - I thought she'd start dancing in the store!  We also stopped at Teavana for some herbal teas.  She got a ginger coconut tea that is delicious!  We had some last night, and while it doesn't say it's relaxing, I can tell you I slept like a baby.  I could get used to that stuff!

That's my recap for the week.  I'm hoping and praying we have a stress-free week, but if not, it's okay.  God's got my back.  Blessings to everyone!

My Week In Review

It was my intention to post more frequently this week, since it was spring break for my son.  So much for good intentions...

For some reason (that no one seems to understand), schools in South Florida all have different weeks for their Spring Break.  Homeschool students were off this past week, while public school students are off next week.  Since many students have dual enrollment, taking certain honors classes online while still attending traditional school, I have to wonder why they couldn't come together and agree on having Spring Break at the same time?  While it's true that homeschooling is flexible, Florida Virtual School has changes to the curriculum that often don't happen till the day before an assignment is due, or at the beginning of the school week.  Trying to get ahead can be tricky; an assignment might be cancelled or an alternate given, in which case the student would have worked for nothing.  I just think it would have made more sense to have both take their breaks at the same time.

Now add to that the fact that private schools don't have the same Spring Break as public schools.  Some private schools will be closed next week, same as public schools, but Catholic schools are off the week after Holy Week.  That's another change I don't understand; traditionally, Catholic schools were closed during Holy Week.  Anyway, our tutoring center decided to close during the time the Catholic schools close since we have so many students from Catholic schools, and because some of the Protestant private schools will be open but the kids will be taking their SAT's so they won't be coming to tutoring.  That would have meant way too many absences, so it's better to close.

This week I spent a good amount of time adjusting next week's schedule.  With public schools being closed next week, we've had dozens of parents calling in to let us know their kids won't be coming to tutoring because they're going out of town for Spring Break.  Unfortunately it's not possible for the center to be closed for two separate weeks, so we'll be open next week even though it might resemble a bit of a ghost town.

I've also been doing a lot of work on my own.  Tuesday marked my one month anniversary working at the center, but I've already been left to take care of the front desk by myself twice.  I've come to the realization that my boss, MM, is burned out.  She and her husband have owned the tutoring center for over 11 years, and in that time she's take one break.  She's run the front desk on her own for a long time; she's had people working there with her, but they've been tutors, who have to leave as soon as their students arrive.  I think she wants to be able to take some time off once in awhile, without worrying about whether everything is being taken care of.  She wants to walk away and spend time with her kids, with her mom who is getting up in years, with friends she doesn't see too often.  I totally get it, and I'm honored that she trusts me enough to leave me in charge, though I know she's a bit of a control freak and won't let go completely.  She still looks over my shoulders a lot, which I have to get used to.

One thing that unnerved me this week, though, was having to tutor a couple of kids.  There's a stomach flu going around, and one of our teachers had to go to the hospital because she became so sick.  She had some students that needed homework help, and there was no one else available to tutor them.  I was "volunteered", which I didn't mind since they were both elementary school students.  What upset me was that I was pretty much thrown to the lions, so to speak: I received no training on any of the programs, no instruction on what to do, and I had no clue what I was supposed to be doing.  Thankfully the first student was eager to explain everything his teacher does with him, and another teacher (who is an absolute doll) showed me where the material was, and I was able to work with the two boys.  They assigned another teacher (she's a wonderful young lady as well) to train me, but that wasn't until the next day.  I think in their minds tutoring would be a no-brainer for a homeschooling mom.  I had to explain what the big difference is: when I homeschool, it's my kid.  If I mess up I don't have to answer to anyone, I just have to fix it.  The kids that come to the tutoring center are paying customers.  Their parents expect a certain level of instruction that I am not qualified to give.  I'm all about being a team player and helping out whenever I'm needed, so long as I'm properly prepared to do the task.  I didn't feel that I was at that time, and it made me feel uncomfortable, which I let them know.

The rest of the week went smoother.  Since I didn't have to homeschool, I polished some of the floors that had gotten dulled from moving furniture boxes around.  Thursday I got a haircut - I went back to the short bob I'd gotten back in October.  My hair had been chin length at that time, and it had grown past my shoulders.  I debated whether to cut it short or not, but since my hair grows so much as so quickly, I decided to go for it and had it cut chin length again.  This way all the dull and damaged ends are gone, and I'm left with healthier hair to grow out.        

I've been having some breakouts this week.  I hadn't had pimples like this in ages, but Wednesday I had three - THREE! - on my face, two of them plainly on my chin.  I scrubbed them good, and two of them actually popped.  Then yesterday after lunch I started noticing a different kind of breakout.  I have several spots on my face that are not zits.  These look like hives, like when I have allergies.  My allergies have been running rampant lately thanks to the warmer weather, but I suspect this may have been from the fish I had for lunch yesterday.  I made it myself, and I've had tilapia before, but reactions can happen at any time.  I took a Benadryl last night but this morning they're still there.  At least there aren't more, nor has it spread to any other part of my body.  Not that I like having them on my face :P.  Yesterday they were a bit itchy; that isn't the case today.

That was my week, in a nutshell.  I'm off to clean bathrooms now - thrilling, huh?  Have a blessed weekend everyone!

Monday, Monday

I'm sitting here enjoying a piping hot bowl of chicken and dumplings in hopes that it will counteract the cold that wants to take over my chest.  How it invaded my body I don't know, but I will do whatever it takes to defeat it.

A quick recap of my goings-on:  Saturday's wedding was absolutely gorgeous (as weddings typically are).  The theme of the wedding was taken from the Disney Pixar movie Up.  The bridesmaids were dressed in '40's style dresses and hairdo's, and the groomsmen wore tan pants and suspenders.  They used the music from the movie to walk down the aisle which was precious.  The table centerpieces were hot air balloons with flowers in the baskets.  I really should have taken pictures, but as usual I didn't think of it.  My daughter took some, though.  She was enthralled with the decor and the theme.  The only drawback was the weather.  It was supposed to be an outdoor wedding, but we had the worst rainstorm I've seen all winter.  It wasn't raining, it was monsooning.  The Lord protected us, because the rain didn't start till about 15 minutes after we arrived.  You couldn't see outside it was coming down so hard.  The poor bride was in tears; it was her dream to have an outdoor wedding, and it was just impossible to do.  What's surprising is that we hadn't gotten much rain the entire month of February, yet it rained on and off all day long with such a vengeance.  Still, the wedding went off beautifully despite the little setback, and now the bride and groom are in Tokyo for their honeymoon.  I don't think I've ever seen the groom so happy, and I've known him for years.  What a joy to be able to share such an important day with the family.

I was already starting to feel the effects of a cold coming on, but it wasn't until yesterday afternoon that I was uncomfortable enough to take some Mucinex.  I've started the next big project here at the house: organizing the garage.  I threw out a bunch of stuff already, and my son R took 2/3 of the rotted wall unit to the dump.  I spent several hours cleaning, moving, trashing and taking the wall unit apart.  I left only the section with the food.  Although I have a little pantry in the kitchen, it's just that: a little pantry.  Some of the food has been moved out to the garage, and the storage is not right for what we need.  My plan, Lord willing, is to rent a pick-up truck from Lowe's and get the storage units from there as well.  That will have to be done Friday, since we have school and work all week.  The garage looks neater already, and it's still a mess!  I'm really looking forward to having everything in its proper place.  The other thing I'm planning on getting is a small freezer, so that I can buy meats on sale and have a place to put them.  Back in 2000 when we moved to this house, it seemed so enormous.  Now we're busting at the seams.  Even with all the junk I threw out there's still a ton of stuff in the garage.  Time to purge, purge, purge!

That's it for this edition of My Life.  I'll try to get a more detailed post in later.  For now, God bless and have a lovely day :-).

Finally Friday

Fridays are usually filled with activity at our house.  Whether it's school, shopping, laundry, or cleaning, something is always going on.  But not today.  Today I may as well have filmed an episode of Veggie Tales because that's all I did all day.  I vegged.

I wasn't feeling well; not sick, just yucky.  My head was achy, my back hurt, and I felt nauseous all day.  No, I'm not pregnant.  Quite the opposite.  There's certain times of the month when a girl just doesn't want to do anything but sit around.  So that's what I did.

The kid's dad came over looking for his mail.  He had the nerve to ask why the kids hadn't approached his mother at the funeral.  The same man that ignored his children the whole time we were there, wanted to know why his kids hadn't gone over to his mother, who has basically ignored us for the past 3 1/2+ years.  I told him that, and said we weren't there to make a scene, just to honor his grandmother.  He quickly changed the subject, but it irritated me even more than I already was.

Thankfully, I have my Beth Moore bible study to lift my spirits.  I'm already on week 1 day 3 and I only just started the study yesterday.  I'm certain I'll be caught up by the time Thursday rolls around if I keep up this pace.  It shouldn't be too hard - this book is almost impossible to put down!

My friend IV was extremely excited today, because she found out what artist is going to be performing at the Dade County Youth Fair this year during Christian music night.  It's Brandon Heath!  We love us some Brandon Heath!  I loathe going into Miami (the traffic is exasperating) and I'm not a fan of the fair, but I will put up with it just to go see Brandon Heath.  It was some much needed good news for the day.

Another highlight of the day: I got a 20% off coupon from Ulta.  This is great, because it means I can buy the Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue with this coupon and the $3 off I have on my membership card.  A sample is supposed to be included with the eyeliner pencil order that shipped today from Bare Escentuals, and I am really excited to try it out!  I've used a tinted moisturizer sample that I got from Ulta and it works well under my foundation; Complexion Rescue is a tinted moisturizer, but it's also a BB and CC cream, and it's supposed to be hydrating.  All the things my skin is craving!

I put a nice piece of London broil in the crock pot with some onions, carrots, and beef broth.  This is set on low to cook overnight.  It takes anywhere from 10-12 hours to cook a roast in the crock pot.  The nice thing is, when we get up in the morning, the whole house smells delicious!  Heck, it's smelling wonderful already!

That's gonna be it for today.  Hoping for a better day tomorrow; trusting God for all my needs.  Good night ya'll.

Middle of the Week

It's Wednesday.  Only Wednesday.  Why does it feel like Thursday?  Why is this week taking so long?!

I woke up at 6:00 but it was so dark out I just rolled over and went back to sleep till 7:30.  I didn't know why it was still kind of dark, then I checked the weather on my phone.  Dense fog for our area, it said.  I looked out the window; it wasn't what I would call dense, but it was foggy.  I had wait for my son to get out of the bathroom, so I spent some time in prayer.  Once he got out I went in, then I heard him leave shortly afterwards.  Turns out he did go to see the eye doctor that saw him at the store yesterday.  Pink eye, both eyes.  Who would have known?  Oh yeah, an eye doctor :P.  He still had to work, though, because there was no one to cover for him.  I don't think he even told the store manager that he had pink eye.  R is very responsible at his job and he always gets good reviews because of it.  I'm really hoping he'll get hired full-time.  It would make a world of difference for him.

I let my youngest son E sleep till 10:00.  I thought he had to report to his science class, but it was a collaboration class and he's already done the two he needs for the semester.  He started school at 11:00 with his algebra lesson.  While he did that I cleaned the master bathroom and put away laundry.  Lunchtime came and I hadn't taken anything out.  Honestly, I had nothing on the menu for today.  I guess I messed up when I did the menu planning for the two weeks, because I have nothing planned for tomorrow either.  There's stuff I can make but I'm running out of staples quick.  Friday will be a grocery day for sure.  I just have to plan out what I'm gonna need.  Anyway, I made E a frozen pizza (no problem for him, he loves them) and I had some Tyson popcorn chicken with fries.  My daughter took the leftovers from yesterday so it wasn't an issue that mom took a day off from the kitchen.

After lunch I had E watch an algebra review from last week, then he did part one of his final.  He scored a 72 so far, with a couple of questions still needing to be graded.  Two of the questions he got wrong were silly errors; not reading the question through or copying the equation wrong.  I feel bad for him because I know how hard he's trying, and because he has an 89% in that class.  He wants to get an A so badly.  I'm praying he scores higher on the next two parts of the exam.  Part 2 looks like it's gonna be the hardest part, but we'll have to see.

Oh yeah, that burn on my hand?  It blistered.  Like, ugly.  There's this big old blister on my hand that I'm afraid of popping because I know the minute it pops it's gonna hurt like crazy.

Tonight was Awana.  I love my third grade girls.  They are a bit competitive but in a good way; they want to excel, but they're willing to help each other too.  They are so sweet!  I showered but didn't blow dry my hair because according to the weather forecast it was supposed to rain and be muggy tonight.  I figured, why straighten my hair just to get the frizzies the minute I walk out the door?  So I left my hair in its natural form, curly like a rat's nest.  I stepped out the door and wouldn't you know it - it was cool and dry out :P.  As a matter of fact, it seems the temps are going down tonight.  I was so upset, because I absolutely hate wearing my hair curly.  Of course I got 100 compliments on how great my hair looked.  Go figure.

I got home and went to the bathroom to change into my jammies and wash the makeup off my face.  The minute I turned on the bathroom light I saw it.  In the sink.  A palmetto bug.  Any Floridian would immediately know what I'm talking about: they are giant cockroaches that fly.  Now, I usually take care of these myself, so long as I have a can of Raid handy.  This time, however, the odds were stacked against me.  The can of Raid was in the cabinet under the very sink where the palmetto bug was, and I was not about to take a chance at that thing flying on me.  I'm not "afraid" of them, but I am ridiculously disgusted by them, like sick to my stomach disgusted, and I was not about to have it get on me.  Ugh!!   So I called out for the boys to get the other cans of Raid from the garage and come take care of this ginormous bug.  My son R came and I told him to look in the sink while I stood outside the bathroom (where I was safe).  He didn't see anything; then I saw it on the wall inside the bathtub area.  When he saw it, even he said it was huge.  He had to stand on the bathtub rim to reach it because I have a garden tub, so the bathtub area is deep.  The moment he sprayed it, it flew towards him.  He almost fell off the tub, poor kid!  Once it landed on the floor he was able to spray it directly and it died almost instantly.  This thing was about 2 inches long, I am not even joking.  It was totally gross, and I couldn't even be in the bathroom until I knew for sure it was dead and I could sweep it out of there.  I guess I could say that was today's adventure.  I can also say I'd be happy to live the rest of my life without another similar adventure, though I'm sure that's not likely in Florida.

I finally did get ready for bed, so I bid everyone a good night, pleasant dreams, and blessings to all.

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.

Wacky Wednesday

Why is today a Wacky Wednesday?  Because this morning the weather took a strange turn.  Yesterday it was in the 80's, hot and muggy.  Not overly muggy like in the summer, but after our run I felt stickier than I had the past month or so.  This morning when I got up it was 70 degrees, but the humidity was gone.  In its place was a cool breeze, cool enough to turn off the a/c and open the windows.  What's more, it's supposed to get down into the low 50's tonight after weeks of warm weather.  You just never know what to expect!

Our weather in South Florida has remained warmer than the rest of the state.  North Florida has freeze warnings in effect, and Central Florida has wind advisories.  My kids lament the fact that we don't have the different seasons like in other parts of the state, but I have no problem staying in the warmth.  I did the cold weather all my growing up years, and I have to say, I don't miss it.  I don't mind a little bit of cold; mid to upper 50's is fine with me.  The lowest I can accept is 49 degrees, and that's pushing it.  Not that I enjoy the heat and humidity; heat is fine, but humid weather I can do without.  I like it when it's warm and dry, and my hair looks fantastic.  Like today!

I woke up at 6:30 this morning, spent some time with The Lord, then got moving in the kitchen.  I remembered to take out some chicken tenders (yay!) so I got the crock pot out and started on my chicken taco chili.  This chili is loaded with beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, green pepper, and garlicky goodness.  It's healthy and tasty, and the best part is that I throw it all in the crock pot and walk away!  It takes 10 minutes to get all the ingredients in my slow cooker, 4 hours to cook, 5 minutes to shred the chicken, and before I can say, "Man that smells good!" our meal is ready :-).  I serve this with tortilla chips and nothing else.  It's a complete meal all in itself.

My son E spent the morning either on the computer listening to his classes or in the bathroom.  His colon was overly active today (yeah, I know, TMI.  Realities of life).  His music class is done, so all he had this morning was science and algebra.  Only his two most important classes :P.  E is really good at math, but he's not good at taking tests.  He gets overwhelmed really fast.  Science is a tricky subject: as in, the exams have lots of trick questions.  My son doesn't think in those terms; he's very black and white.  Multiple choice is fine with him, so long as there are 3 clearly wrong answers and one clearly correct one.  When there's 2 wrong answers and 2 possible answers, he gets exasperated.  The best thing he can do is be as prepared as possible, so that's what we're trying to do.

While he was doing science I did some cleaning and putting away laundry, then when algebra started I took a shower and washed my hair.  I knew that, with his tight schedule and Awana starting back up tonight, I might not have time to get myself ready.  While he ate lunch I did my makeup and dried my hair.  I've been considering whether to get my hair cut again or let it grow out some more.  My hair has been looking amazing.  It's responding really well to the OGX products.  I find that it doesn't get greasy as quickly as it used to, and when I dry it there's not a lot of frizz.  It also still has a lot of body the next day after I've slept on it.  Thanks to my amazing hair stylist, my hair is growing out beautifully.  It almost seems like a waste of great hair to get it cut.

Another thing I've noticed, is that I'm not taking nearly as long getting my makeup done, and it's looking better every time.  I think with all the products I got I was having a hard time deciding what to use, and I was going back and forth on whether to use this color or that, or this powder or the other.  I'm getting a good feel about how I want to look and the steps to achieve it, so makeup application is much smoother.  In all my experimenting I've found out things I never knew about myself.  For instance, I would never, ever purchase products with a peach undertone.  I was certain I needed pink undertones because that's what my mother uses and my skin is like hers.  Well, with some of the kits I've gotten from Bare Minerals there have been peachy tones, and I went ahead and gave them a try.  They work 100 times better on my skin than the pinks!  I made the erroneous assumption that whatever works for my mother must work for me because, hey, she's my mother.  The reality is, I have some olive in my skin which I inherited from my father.  I realized this when I got color-matched for foundation, and the color that works for me is medium beige, which is a neutral.  The pink foundation would have looked ridiculous on me, but the golden is too yellow.  I'm in between.  My daughter made the same mistake; she got medium beige because that's what I got.  When she went to Macy's with her dad to get her Christmas present, she got color-matched at the Bare Minerals boutique in the store.  She's a golden medium.  It works wonders for her rosacea because the yellow counteracts the redness in her skin.  Lesson learned:  always get color-matched.  Don't assume anything.

My oldest son texted me just after lunch.  He is so sick.  He's achy all over and has a fever.  Unfortunately he took Aleve, which he can only take every 8 hours, and the fever was back after 6.  I know he's a grown man (he'll be 28 years old in March), but he is still my baby, and knowing he's sick puts me in mom-mode.  Except when he's at work there's nothing I can do for him.  It's times like these I wish they were all little again and I could take care of them like a mommy should.  He got home and told me he'd taken ibuprofen.  I told him to get some rest, but he was sure he wouldn't be able to because he hadn't been able to fall asleep the night before thanks to the aches and pains in his body.  E and I left for church, and when I came home he was fast asleep on the recliner.  *Sigh*  When are they gonna accept that mama knows best?

Awana was great tonight.  I had a new girl join my group; her mom is a sweet friend of mine and I was excited to see her daughter moved up to T&T.  Unfortunately, most of my girls didn't come today.  There was the new girl and one other girl, and that was all for the third graders.  We joined the fourth grade girls and had book time with them.  After that it was our welcome back ice cream party!  The kids were so happy to get ice cream; I wonder if the parents were equally enthused about their precious little ones getting loaded with sugar?  Those kids will be bouncing off the walls for next few hours, LOL.

As we were leaving I noticed that it was cooler outside than when we'd left.  It's already 69 degrees.  It'll be interesting to see just how low our temperatures get tonight.  Guess it's time to break out the warm jammies ;-).  Good night, sleep tight.

Monday, Monday

Another week starts, and life goes back to (semi) normal.  School, work, home...it's our routine, yet it's never exactly the same, is it?

Folks don't like Mondays.  They see it as the end of the weekend, the beginning of the work week, back to the old grind, etc, etc.  I don't know why people look at beginnings in such a negative way.  Yes, you will go back to work, or school, or whatever it is that you do when the week begins.  Why is that bad?  Most people like habits, whether they be good or bad.  Your "day off" is over?  Another one will come.  We have to try and be more positive.  Be thankful that you're alive.  Look forward to what can be accomplished.  Set goals, make lists, try something new.  Mondays can be wonderful with the right perspective.

I got up bright and early, knowing that our school week was starting up again and that the semester will be over in less than 3 weeks.  There is plenty to be done, and I'm ready for it (I hope!).  I made breakfast, then went over my son's schedule again.  It was pretty full - 5 classes for today.  We started with music history.  It was a review for his unit exam on Renaissance music.  He actually did pretty well, considering he hasn't even thought about the Renaissance for the past two weeks.  We then went on to English, where he's finishing up his thesis on Letter From Birmingham Jail.  There was a tutorial to watch first, and again he seemed to remember everything that had been taught in the last month.  Yay!  From there he went to his Algebra class, where the teacher was doing a review for his unit test.  He admitted that he didn't remember anything.  Nothing.  I couldn't believe it - math is his favorite subject, especially algebra.  Hmm.  That would require some review time.

While he listened to his algebra class I made smothered pork chops and buttered noodles for lunch.  I like making things that are quick and easy, and this is one of those recipes.  While I had lunch I was looking up ways to reduce the bags under my eyes.  I've been noticing them lately, not dark circles but kind of baggy eyes, and no, they are not attractive.  One video I watched talked about the reasons why we get bags under our eyes:  lack of sleep, and not drinking enough water.  Well, I can understand lack of sleep; having been sick the past few days I wasn't sleeping as I should.  And yes, thinking about it now, I realize I haven't been drinking as much water as I should.  So I'm going to make some adjustments to make sure I get back into a more steady routine.  I think with the holidays, Grandma's passing, and all my sinus congestion (which is greatly reduced today, praise The Lord) my routines have kind of gone out the window.  With school starting back up my hope is that I can schedule myself better with my meals, water intake and sleep.

As my son and I got back to his essay, I got a text from my sister.  My brother was in a car accident.  He's fine, but he says his car was totaled.  It was one of those moments when your heart stops for a split second even though the words "He's fine" are staring right at you.  My brother hasn't been driving very long; he's lived in New York all his life, and with public transportation in the city it's really not necessary to own a vehicle.  He's moving to Ohio in the next few months, though, so he got his license and purchased a car, which he will now have to repair or replace.  I'm just thankful the car took the brunt of the hit - a truck side-swiped him, then left the scene.  I'm sure he's shook up, but he's alive.  That's what matters.

School took 7 hours today, partly because there was a lot of work to be done, and partly because my son was having trouble getting back to the swing of things.  I'm hoping tomorrow is better.  He took a pretest for algebra and got a C.  Not very good, but it showed him where he needs work, and why it's important to check your work.  We will most likely work on math and science the most this week, along with finishing his PE wellness plan assignment, due on the 16th.  For now, I'm gonna shower, then I'm gonna give myself a mani/pedi.  It's been a busy day, and I need some relaxation.  Good night!

Saying Goodbye To Grandma

This year started on a sad note for us.  Having to say goodbye to a loved one is never easy, but it does help us appreciate the moments we had.  It reminds us of how precious life is.

I woke up feeling a bit better this morning.  It was 7:30 and for the first time in days I felt well rested.  I showered and washed my hair.  It was my intention to wash my hair last night, but my son's friend left later than originally planned, and once the Benadryl kicked in there was no way I was gonna start blow drying and styling my hair.  I ran a bit late today; well, more than a bit late, but part of that was E's fault.  He's a turtle most mornings.  I got to Sunday School after the class had started, which I hate because everyone turns to look at the late arrival.  My SS teacher has been sick with bronchitis so our class combined with the young adult class, making it even more awkward.  Since I was late I couldn't tell everyone about Grandma; I did tell a couple of people from my class who had been praying for her, and they were very compassionate.  After class I went down to a very moving service.  Pastor Ray had all the men come up to the front of the church, where he prayed for them to be good leaders of their homes in the new year.  It was such a special time, watching these men of God commit to being leaders in all things, the home, work, community and church.  He then spoke about the vision for 2015: to be a church of disciples that makes disciples.  The emphasis is to train people, to mentor them, to help them grow in their walk with God.  It was so encouraging!  We want to see our church grow, and to do that we all have to do our part.  Lord, help me do mine!

When we got home I was starting to feel stuffed up again, so I made a pot of chicken and dumplings, because ya'll know, nothing makes a body feel better than comfort food.  Chicken and dumplings makes my mouth dance and my stomach smile.  I hoped it would help me feel better, since I had to finish folding laundry as well before we headed out to the funeral, but I was feeling short of breath and was dry coughing, an indication that asthma is coming on.  Much as I hate it, I used my inhaler, and that did alleviate the breathing problem.  Once my nerves settled, we headed for the funeral home.

I should explain the circumstances with the family.  Since my husband and I separated, his immediate family has basically forgotten that we exist.  I have not heard from or seen my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law or brothers-in-law in almost 4 years.  There are family members that still talk to us, but his parents and siblings have chosen to ignore us.  So going to this funeral for his grandmother meant that I would have to see them, and I didn't know how that was going to go over.  I prayed about it, asking God to help me deal with this situation in a way that would honor both Him and grandma.  We arrived at the funeral home and my daughter was texting some friends from church who had said they would try to come, when we looked up and saw one of the pastors and a couple of the guys from her church, one who works with her at the office and another young man.  They'd come to accompany us and encourage us, which really meant the world to me.  It made going inside a little less daunting.

We were met by my cousin's husband, who has come to my daughter's church a few times.  He quickly went to get his wife, who was in tears but so glad to see us.  She was even happier when she saw the pastor was there.  We were able to go in and spend time with her and her mom, and one of the guys prayed with us and with them.  The whole time we were there, my kid's father stayed as far from us as possible.  His siblings also kept their distance.  Other family members came over and greeted us, but his mother and siblings looked at us from afar and then ignored us.  Honestly, I think it was for the best.  I didn't want anyone making a scene.  Grandma deserved better than that.

We stayed for about an hour and a half, then I told them I was sick and needed to go home.  It wasn't nearly as awkward as I thought it would be, and for that I'm thankful.  What bothered me most was the fact that their dad stayed away from his kids, then when we were leaving the kids went over to him and he said, "Thanks for coming."  Really?  Thanks for coming?  It disappointed my daughter tremendously, which in turn upset me.  But seeing as that was the worst part of the night, I feel like it didn't go off so bad.

So now we're back home.  My nose is stuffed up again.  I'll have to do something about that.  School starts up again tomorrow, so I need to be alert and rested.  I'm gonna wash my face, get into my jammies, and hopefully get a full night's sleep so I can be ready for homeschooling.  Good night everyone.

Saturday, Busy Day

I'm starting to think this nasal congestion is beyond allergies.  I can't feel this lousy just from pollen.  I must have caught something.  Ugh.

I went to sleep early last night thanks to Benadryl.  After having a sleepless night all I wanted was rest, but I couldn't fall asleep without breathing.  My nose was that stuffed up.  The Benadryl was wonderful - it unclogged me and got me sleeping, both of which I desperately wanted and needed.  I woke up at 7:00 but didn't get out of bed till 8:00.  I was checking my phone, then spent time praying for all of Grandma's family.  I feel for them.  This is a difficult adjustment.

As I made and ate breakfast I went over the menu plan and looked through my pantry to see what I needed to buy.  Today was grocery shopping day.  I usually like to do my grocery shopping on Friday, but since I had the little kids here with me, and I felt terrible with all the sneezing, I decided I'd do it today.  I didn't feel much better, and the stores were all packed.  I went to Winn-Dixie first since they had country style ribs on sale, and I went ahead and got a few other items from my list, specifically produce which is always better there than at Walmart.  I spent $39 out of my $300 budget.  I had been budgeting $175 per week, but since I'm shopping for 2 weeks worth of groceries I try to stay at or around $300 to save some money.  I headed to Wally World next.  I tried really hard to stick to my shopping list, and for the most part I did.  The total was $112.  My last stop was Costco.  I walked in and headed towards the back of the store to get eggs (by the way, what is up with the price of eggs?!  I used to get 3 dozen eggs for $3, now they cost $6!).  I saw a large, comfortable, beautiful sectional sofa for $999.  Now, I am not a fan of sectionals; never have been.  I like moving the furniture around, and sectionals limit the positions you can put furniture in.  This sectional, however, is designed so that the shorter end of the sofa can be changed from the right side to the left.  That's convenient!  My only issue with this piece of furniture is the color:  it's a cream color fabric.  I fear it getting filthy and full of dog hair.  Still, it was pretty.  I can't afford it, so I moved on.  I got the items I needed, and spent another $39.  So, all in all I spent $190 for 2 weeks worth of groceries.  Granted, the only meat I bought (other than a couple of bags of Tyson chicken) was the ribs.  I still had meat from my last shopping trip.  That's where a big chunk of my food budget goes.  I have to feed this family of carnivores, and right now beef is extraordinarily expensive.  I'm so glad I was able to stick to my menu and my budget.  I have more than enough money to spend from now till my next shopping trip if I run out of anything.

My cousin texted me while I was at Walmart.  She told the kids about their great-grandma.  The 8 year old cried.  She's old enough to understand that she won't be seeing grandma anymore.  The 5 year old also cried, but I suspect he was crying because everyone else was crying.  He's too young to fully understand the concept of death.  The 7 year old is the most troubling; he has not cried, and refuses to talk to anyone about his feelings or about anything.  He told his mother that he is sad, but he doesn't want to talk about it.  I think he's in shock.  He was very attached to his great-grandma, and I don't think he fully accepts that she's gone.  I told her everyone expresses their grief differently, and to give him time.  He may want to grieve privately, or he may not be ready to start grieving yet.  It's so hard trying to explain death to small children, but it has to be done.  It's a reality of life.

Lunch today was Tyson popcorn chicken and curly fries.  Yeah, I was tired when I got home.  I think I'm tired because I'm not breathing properly; this congestion has me blowing my nose constantly, only to end up more stuffed up than before.  Darn sinuses!

My son E had a friend over.  This was one of his few buddies from school.  E has invited his friend to youth group and he's enjoyed it.  I'm so proud of my son for reaching out to others as Jesus would.  I pray he will always be a faithful believer in Christ.

*Post Script:  I fully intended on finishing this blog post last night, but I was so congested and feeling so yucky that I took a Benadryl before doing my facial cleaning and exfoliation.  I fell asleep and remembered I hadn't finished my post at midnight, when I had the full effects of the medication and was pretty sure I wasn't getting up.  So here it is, a few hours late.

Throwback Thursday

I don't typically do Throwback Thursdays on Facebook, or Flashback Friday for that matter.  I've put up a couple of pictures of myself with my kids, who then proceed to chide me for posting their childhood pictures on Facebook.  Today's throwback is more about remembering.  No pictures needed.

I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night.  Between a stuffed up nose that barely let me breathe, and a couch that, while comfortable, isn't my normal sleeping arrangement, it was 1:30 in the morning before I was finally able to lie down (not completely flat, or my nose would get all stuffy again) and get some sleep till about 7 am when the orchestra in my yard started their morning chirp.  I don't hear the symphony in my bedroom, but in the family room...my word, are those birds loud!  There was no way I was going to get anymore sleep, so I got up and checked on the kids.  They slept like angels on my bed.  Little sweethearts who had no idea that their beloved great-grandmother, whom they've lived with all their lives, is now in heaven.

I thought about Great-Grandma Maria, a woman who always cared about the needs of others before her own.  She raised her 10 children, plus several orphans that she felt sorry for.  She helped raise grandkids and great-grandkids.  She rarely complained about anything, and always had a good disposition.  Sad as it is to say goodbye, I can't help but celebrate her long life.  She is no longer in pain, no longer suffering.  For that, I can rejoice.

The middle child got up at 8:30 looking for breakfast.  Thank God I always keep a box of Cocoa Puffs in the house, because he has lots of allergies and is somewhat of a picky eater.  The other two kids got up an hour later.  My son R was playing on his Wii U and he let them play along - boy were they excited about that!  As they played I put away some more Christmas decorations, but I was moving slow.  I'd taken some Tylenol Sinus which states that it's a non-drowsy formula, but that never is true with me.  All sinus medicines make me drowsy, or at least leave me feeling drained.  Add to that my lack of sleep and it's easy to understand why everything I did was in slow-motion.  After playing video games for a little while, the two older kids did some homework.  I think it's ironic that so many parents say they could never homeschool their kids, meanwhile my niece, who is in third grade, got two homework packets plus assignments on Reading Plus and Reflex Math, both programs on the computer.  Her brother is in second grade, and he also got two homework packets.  Their mom says the kids come home each day with no less than 6 pages of homework, each.  I'm so thankful I get to be my son's teacher, and his assignments are nowhere near as overwhelming!

Their mom came to pick them up just as they were sitting down to pizza.  She told me that the funeral for Grandma will be on Sunday, and the burial on Monday.  She looked like she was running on auto-pilot; there are so many preparations to take care of, that she hasn't really sat down to grieve.  I know the time will come, the realization will hit, and the grief will manifest itself, but for now she is trying her hardest to be calm, for the sake of her kids.  I admire her resolve to protect her children.  I also feel for her and her mom.  They've been Grandma's primary caregivers for as long as I can remember.  They will feel the loss most profoundly.

After they left, I finished making lunch.  White rice, pinto beans, ground beef and tater tots.  This is my family's favorite meal of all time.  It's also really simple to make, which is good when I have lots to do, like today.  I wanted to finish getting as much done around the house as I possibly could so I could get some rest.  I finished eating, and began taking the lights off the Christmas tree.  I heard a truck stop in front of my neighbor's house across the street: it was FedEx.  Molly began growling at the door, and I laughed at the fact that FedEx can't even deliver a package to our neighbors without her getting upset.  I was actually calling her away from the door, saying, "That's not for us, Molly!" when my daughter says, "He's coming this way."  Sure enough, the FedEx guy was coming to our door.  "Hmm," I wondered, "what did R order?" Because if it had been my daughter's package she would have said so, and I knew it wasn't mine.  I hadn't ordered anything.  I was sure it wasn't mine.

It was mine.

My daughter got the box and said, "It's for you, Mom.  It's from Bare Escentuals."  I couldn't figure out what they were sending me, unless...the sweepstakes?!  But no, it couldn't be, because they would have advised me first, not just shipped a box to me.  Then my daughter says, "Maybe it's that order that you called to cancel."  No, couldn't be that either.  The duplicate order was caught in time.  That's what the customer service rep had told me.  Well, there was only one way to find out.  I had to open the package.

There it was, all the product that I'd received on December 24th, the shipment I'd called to cancel.  It had shipped anyway.  What's more, the packing list showed the order total: $0.00.  My daughter quickly told me I had to call them, but I checked my credit card statement first.  Maybe they'd charged me after all.  I wouldn't complain; after all, I'd be paying for one order when they'd shipped two.  But no, there was no charge on my credit card.  So, I called and explained to a new customer service rep what had transpired since December 23rd.  She listened, read the notes on the order, then told me that, while they had tried to cancel the second shipment, it had obviously not been cancelled.  Since this was a replacement shipment it went out as no charge, so therefore, Merry Christmas, the order was free!  I could not believe it!  That's two shipments of $116 that I got FOR FREE!!!  We were elated! Once again, I raved to the rep about how much I love Bare Minerals and how happy I am to receive so much great product!  Since the original order was half mine and half my daughters, and since we'd both already gotten our half the first time, we decided to swap.  She got what I'd ordered, and I got what she ordered.  Oh, I am so thrilled!!  The first thing my daughter said to me was, "Now you really don't need to be ordering anymore makeup!"  I have to agree.  I have enough to last me for quite a while.

It was a whole lot easier getting the house back in order after receiving that wonderful little gift.  I believe God sent that to us to brighten our day just a little.  We are still kind of in shock about Grandma, even though we knew this day was coming, and that it would arrive sooner rather than later.  And while we are saddened by her loss, there is also relief.  Grandma was very ill the last 9 months of her life.  She'd always been an energetic, independent woman.  In the end she was bedridden and miserable.  She had multiple bowel perforations that could not be operated on due to her age and her ailing heart.  She had 3 heart attacks this year; how she survived them is nothing less than a miracle.  She was too weak to walk, too sick to eat, and all she could do all day was sleep.  Now she is in heaven, where there are no more tears, no more sadness.  She can walk again, dance even.  How much better she must feel!

I stopped for dinner, but I can't say if it tasted good or not.  That's one of the things I hate most about being congested - my taste buds don't function like they should.  My nose has been stuffy on and off all day.  The sneezing has been powerful too.  I'm almost afraid of sneezing and my nose flying off my face.  Of course, that might bring some relief :P.

There are still one or two items that need to be put away, along with all the outdoor decorations, but I'm too tired to finish that today.  I took a hot shower hoping it would clear up my sinuses.  I should be able to get everything done tomorrow, along with grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning...I sure do hope I feel better tomorrow so I can get everything done.  My kids are asking that I watch them play their NintendoLand video game.  I think I'll do that for a little while before I head off to bed, Benadryl in hand.  Good night everybody.

2015, A New Year Begins With Cheer, Ends With Sadness

The year ended with a bang - or rather, a whole lot of bangs.  Man those fireworks were loud!  I wish I could say we were partying and celebrating with lots of horns and streamers.  Nope; we were home, my 2 youngest and I, and we hugged and said Happy New Year, then went to bed.  R, my oldest, did go out with his friends, but the rest of us relaxed at home and tried to keep Molly calm.  All the noise made her jumpy.  We ushered in the new year the way we'd like to live the rest of the year:  quietly, peacefully, joyfully.

I slept later than usual this morning.  It was 7:30 before I opened my eyes.  There's only one reason that ever happens: I'm not feeling all too great.  My allergies and my sinuses are not working well together, and it seems the allergies are winning.  I've had to take my allergy medicine twice today which is unusual this time of year.  My eyes are itchy too; I wondered last night if it was the makeup that was making my eyes itch, but I'm not wearing any now and still they are itchy and watery if I don't take my sinus medicine.  I'm really praying the weather makes a change.  It's warm and humid out, and that's making the pollen happy and me unhappy.  I've heard others are suffering as well.  If only it would rain, and the temperatures would drop, we'd all feel a whole lot better.

Today has been "put away the Christmas decor" day.  I need to get it all packed up before Monday when school starts up again.  I've gotten a lot done, but I'm not nearly finished.  I started at 10:30 this morning, after having breakfast and watching Shelbey's new video on her 2014 favorites.  The first step is to put away all the ceramic music playing figurines in their respective boxes.  This is probably what takes me the longest.  I have kept each of the boxes and packing material that my collectibles have come in.  This not only keeps them protected, it helps them retain their value.  Not that I'm selling them anytime soon; I don't think their that valuable yet anyway.  But to me they are.  I began selling Christmas Around The World before my son E was born, almost 20 years ago, and each year I added on to my extensive collection.  Each piece has memories attached to them, and I want to preserve them as long as I can.  So I bring the boxes out and get to work packing them away.  Once that's done, the tree has to be put away and the furniture put back in its place.  My daughter wants me to leave all the furniture the way it is; she thinks it's pretty comfortable.  Besides, she and her brothers do most of the moving, and I'm sure she's trying to get out of having to do it ;-).  I said I'd think about it.  The biggest issue is the furniture that's in the living room.  That's the first room in the house, the room everyone comes into when they enter our home, and the furniture in there right now is what the kids had when they were in college up in Central Florida 3 years ago.  You'd think that furniture that's only 3 years old would look pretty decent, but these were purchased at a furniture outlet store at a cheap price.  The furniture is all saggy and uncomfortable.  It isn't dirty, but because it sags it looks dingy.  I'm not in a position to buy new furniture right now, so I've covered the sofa with a blanket to try and hide how bad it looks.  It's not working too well.  That's why I prefer to have the sofa and love seat in the family room, where it isn't seen.  That isn't very accurate, though.  Whenever we have people over, they all congregate in the kitchen and family room anyway.  My dream would be to get Laz-Y-Boy furniture for the living room.  We got Laz-Y-Boy for the family room about 12 years ago, and that's the furniture we have there now.  It is the most comfortable furniture I've ever sat on, even after having it all these years.  It has been our everyday furniture, too, not the fancy stuff that nobody sits on.  This furniture has taken a beating, yet it still looks nice.  Maybe I need to start saving for that.

My daughter volunteered to bring pizza which was welcome since I was tired from working.  We took a break to eat, and afterwards I decided I'd put as much away as I was going to for the day.  So I started cleaning up the kitchen, and my phone rang.  We had been waiting for this news, but it's still painful to hear.  Grandma Maria has gone to be with Jesus.  She lived a long and fulfilling life; now her pain has ended, and she can be at peace.  For the family it is very difficult, even though the news was expected.  She was and will always be much loved.  Saying goodbye is never easy.

My niece and nephews will be coming to stay overnight, since their mom has to take care of the details.  So tonight's post will close a bit early as we grieve our loss and rejoice at heaven's gain.  Remember to hug your loved ones today.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow.  Good night.

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.