Thoughtful Thursday

My second work week is done.  I'm really getting the hang of it.  There's plenty to do in the short amount of time I'm there.  I think I'm gonna like it.  God knew what He was doing when He put me there :-).

I'm still trying to work out my schedule and make sure everything gets done in a timely manner.  It's been working out great, which I'm thankful for.  I get up most mornings at around 6:30, wash up, get breakfast ready, wake up my son E, then sit down for my bible study in the book of Daniel.  At 9:00 we start school, and go straight through till noon or 1:00.  When it's time for my son to take his online lesson, it's time for me to get some housework done.  I do laundry, sweep, mop, dust, cook, whatever needs to get done.  At lunchtime we sit down to eat, then it's off to makeup and wardrobe to get ready for work.  Once I'm set I sit down with my son for more schoolwork before it's time for me to leave.  I pack my dinner - usually a sandwich and a box of vanilla yogurt covered raisins, along with a bottle of water - and head out the door.  It literally takes me less than 5 minutes to get there, and I work from 3:00 to 8:15pm.  Then I head home, finish cleaning up anything that didn't get cleaned up earlier, shower, and I'm ready for bed.  Sounds simple, right?  Except nothing ever goes exactly according to plan.

Wednesdays are the only day I get off work early - 6:00pm.  We agreed when I started working at the tutoring center that I would leave early on Wednesdays for church and Awana.  I love the girls I serve with, and I also love the opportunities to teach.  Our leader asked me last week if I would like to teach this week, and I said I would.  All week I wondered, "What was I thinking?!  I just started a new job!  I can't get ready to teach this Wednesday, I have too much on my plate!"  I prayed and went through the lesson book.  Only one lesson stood out to me.  It was a pretty sad story, which I don't particularly like telling, but it was the only one I could see myself teaching.  All week I wondered if this was the lesson God wanted me to teach, because I felt like I wasn't learning it the way I should.  Ultimately I just gave it to God and asked Him to speak through me.  Did He ever come through!  The kids were excited, the leaders were excited, everyone enjoyed the teaching, and I was amazed at how God put it all together!  As I told the leaders, it was definitely a God thing - no way could I have pulled that off by myself!  To God be the glory!

This morning should have been smooth sailing, but I woke up late.  Or rather, I woke up early which made me wake up late.  For some reason, I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, then I can't get back to sleep.  Last night was one of those nights.  I woke up at around 3:30 in the morning and didn't fall asleep again till 5:30, so of course I didn't wake up till after 7am.  Still, I was able to get back on track quickly.  E had a few lessons to do, and he got them done in 3 hours.  After that he worked on his community service hours.  I was right on time, till I stepped out the door.  My neighbor's mother stopped me to talk.  Her daughter is selling her house, and it was supposed to be purchased by the neighbors on the other side of her house.  Turns out the deal didn't go through, and they're back to looking for a buyer.  I felt bad for them, and I especially felt bad having to cut her off (politely of course) so I could get going.  Thankfully I got to work right on time.  I hate being late anywhere.

It was a non-stop kind of day.  Phones ringing, appointments coming in, students testing...we had a little bit of everything.  I told my boss it's a good thing I only work 4 days a week - I need 3 days to recover!  Actually, it isn't that bad at all.  I like the work, I really like the people, and I feel comfortable working there.  I cannot express how blessed I feel that God would give this gift to me.  It still blows my mind!

Tomorrow is a school day but not a work day; at least not at the office.  I have grocery shopping to do, then I have to color my hair.  I can't believe how quickly my roots have sprouted!  No way do I want to get dressed up for a wedding with all these gray hairs creeping out.  Funny, I've been taking biotin pills to help strengthen my nails, but it looks more like my hair is getting stronger and growing faster.  As if it didn't grow fast before!  My hair grows like a weed, and now it's really shooting up!  I'm gonna have to buy stock in the hair colorant business.  Our women's bible study group meets tomorrow as well, at 8:00 in the morning.  That means I don't get to sleep in tomorrow either.  I guess it's true what they say, a woman's work is never done.  Off to sleep I go (or at least try to!).  Good night ya'll, pleasant dreams.  

What's Been Going On

I really did want to post about my wildly wonderful weekend, but it was nonstop every minute of every day, and I just wasn't able to sit down long enough to post.  Even yesterday and today have been busy, but I figured if I didn't post now I might forget everything I want to include.

Thursday night our church started its yearly carnival, but none of us went.  It was in the 30's - yes, here in South Florida! - with winds making it even colder.  Floridians don't do well in 35 degree weather.  We weren't even going to take a chance.

Friday morning I went to the women's bible study group at church.  I'd been attending on Thursday nights, but with my new job there's no way I can make it there on time.  Thankfully there's a group that meets Friday mornings, but they're a week ahead of the Thursday group, which means I missed chapter 6!  I'm hoping there will be a makeup class like they've done before, so I can watch the classes I missed.  My youngest son went to the carnival that night while my daughter, best friend and I headed to the Chris Tomlin concert.  It was the first stop on the Love Ran Red tour, and we were excited to be there!  Unfortunately we missed the first act, Rend Collective, thanks to the insane traffic (which is why I make it a point to never go into Miami).  When we finally made it to the venue, Tenth Avenue North was on.  They're a local band, from West Palm Beach, so they're always enthusiastically welcomed back home to South Florida!  We had floor seats so we were able to watch up close and personal.  It was totally amazing!  I love the idea of spending eternity in heaven worshiping God with Chris Tomlin leading worship!

My son went back to the carnival on Saturday, but I took that time to get some housework caught up and run some errands.  I went to Target to find myself a belt for my jeans, and some ballet flats like a pair I'd gotten a couple weeks ago that were really comfortable.  I got 3 belts, 2 pairs of shoes, 4 tops that were on sale, a wallet, and a nail polish.  That's the problem with Target.  It's like Lay's Potato Chips: you can't get just one (item).

Then Sunday, after church, we ran home and got ready to see Tim Hawkins.  He is my all-time favorite comedian, the funniest man on earth in my opinion.  I would highly recommend anyone who hasn't heard Tim Hawkins to check him out on YouTube.  I love the fact that he's a Christian so none of his comedy is raunchy or inappropriate.  My son was happy to miss the last day of the carnival for Tim Hawkins!  I'm thankful that I can cross that off my bucket list - though I wouldn't hesitate to see him live again!

Work is going really well.  I'm slowly getting the hang of how everything works, though I still get some of the teacher's names confused and I don't know most of the students.  Everyone is being patient and helpful, which helps me feel more relaxed.  Today I was brought in to see a couple of students being tested.  The school director/owner wants me to become familiarized with the testing procedure so that I can administer tests in the future.  Tests are given to new students to determine their grade levels and choose the appropriate curriculum to work with.  There's reading and math tests; the reading test shows whether the child can read and what their level of comprehension is, while the math test is very detailed and intricate.  Most kids who come into the center are having trouble with math, so that is a big focus.  There are students as young as kindergarteners, all the way up to college and everything in between.  I'm enjoying the kids as well as the environment.

My dress arrived today!  I ordered a gorgeous little black velvet dress from New York and Company last week for a wedding my daughter and I are attending on Saturday.  I wasn't sure how it would fit, even though all the dresses I've bought from NY&Co. lately have been size 10.  I don't like ordering clothes online because I hate the hassle of having to ship it back if it doesn't fit, especially after waiting a week for it to arrive, but this dress was only available online.  It was on clearance too - originally $79.99, I paid $23.98 for it, a deal I wasn't going to find at the actual store.  I nervously tried it on, and I'm thrilled to say it fits perfectly!  It's the right length, right on the knee.  It's also my favorite style, fit and flare.  I'm so relieved it fits, because I couldn't find anything at the stores, and there's no time to go out looking for another dress.  This one worked out splendidly!

Homeschooling is also going well.  My son is working on polynomials, ocean currents, and learning all about classical music.  It's diverse and interesting.  He's also working on his community project hours by preparing plastic eggs for the church's Easter Egg Hunt.  They put out thousands of eggs, some with prizes inside, and they also give out candy to all the children.  We're probably going to help with the candy bags as well, when Easter gets a bit closer.

That's my recap for the weekend.  Tomorrow I'm teaching at Awana.  I'm kind of nervous, because I don't feel like I've prepared enough, but Lord willing everything will go smoothly.  I've been keeping to my schedule and managing my time wisely, so that, even though I'm busy, I'm able to get everything done.  Until next time, good night and God bless.

Thoughtful Thursday

What a week it has been!  I didn't realize how "out of it" I was in respect to being in the work force.  So much I've forgotten, so much I need to relearn!

I began working again this week after 6 1/2 years of being a stay-at-home mom.  I knew it would be different, but I didn't realize how different.  I felt a little like a fish out of water, even though my bosses are dear friends of mine who love the Lord and have great patience and understanding.  I had to admit to MM today that I had to get used to the phone.  I haven't had a land line in 3 years.  I haven't answered a work phone in twice that.  So the phone rings, and I honestly don't hear it!  I try to pay attention to it, but I get busy doing something and my mind blocks out all other sounds.  I have to make a conscious effort to listen for the phone so I can help get it answered.

It's also a very different industry than anything I've worked in.  For my last two jobs, in which I worked a total of 20 years, I worked in manufacturing.  I was a purchasing manager for 10 of those years.  Yes, it was office work, but extremely different from the service-type of industry I'm in now.  I didn't have to deal with customers.  I was the customer.  People came to me offering me products and prices, and I got to shop and get paid for it (every woman's dream job).  Now I have to work with the public, learning the names of the teachers and the students, their curriculum and needs, and it's gonna take me a while to get everything straight!  I pray each day that I would please my Heavenly Father by doing the best job I can while treating others the way I'd like to be treated.

The perks of this job are simple: I work 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday.  I work from 3:00 to 8:15, which gives me plenty of time to homeschool, take care of the house, and make food.  I've timed my drive to work:  3 minutes, unless I get caught by the traffic light, in which case it takes 4 minutes.  All the teachers have been super nice to me - they all like my daughter, so it's easy to see why they'd be that way, but I do believe they're just all really nice.  Most of the teachers are college students, though one is in high school and another is an older guy that's been there for years.  They're very professional and polite.  It's a great environment to work in.

Of course I've had to really buckle down and keep my commitment to managing my time efficiently.  It hasn't been nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, though.  In the mornings I make breakfast, then I have my bible study time while eating.  I make sure E gets up early as well; no more starting school at 10 am I'm afraid!  We start school at 9:00 and go straight till either noon or 1:00, depending on what classes he has.  I've used the crock pot to help me, so I don't have to stop and cook, though I have done that as well.  Today for instance, I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  Meatloaf is a quick prep, then it goes in the oven.  The potatoes take longer because I make them from scratch, but I didn't make a huge batch so I was able to get them in the pot fairly quickly.  Recipes that are quick and simple are my go-to's now (think: 30 minute meals).  After lunch I get dressed and put on my makeup, so that we can get some more schoolwork done before I have to leave.  While E is doing an online class, I'm doing laundry, preparing the meal, sweeping up dog hair, whatever needs to get done.  After work I come home and finish anything that didn't get done earlier, including any pending schoolwork.  All in all it has worked out quite smoothly, I'm glad to say.  I think I can relax a bit now.

I got a couple of shipments in from Bare Escentuals this week.  The palette arrived yesterday and I immediately started to use it.  I'm in love!  The palette has 4 color groups: pinks, plums, golds and greens.  The pinks are a nice neutral, with a brown shade that is really pretty.  I used that one yesterday, and the plum colors today.  They go on smoothly, blend really well, and last the whole time I'm wearing them.  I'm dying to try the greens!

I also received my skincare order, with the Active Cell Renewal Night Serum.  I'd used several samples the company had sent me on previous orders, and I could clearly see and feel a difference in my skin.  I've also been using the Purifying Facial Cleanser which is gentle on my sensitive skin, and the moisturizer that accompanies it.  I love the mild smell; I can't use products with fragrances because they make me break out.  This moisturizer doesn't irritate my skin at all.  It's been nice using products that are helping my skin rather than harming it.

Of course my weekend won't be very relaxed.  My best friend IV got us tickets to see Chris Tomlin in concert tomorrow - it was her Christmas present to us.  Our church is having its annual carnival starting tonight, though we passed on it.  Our temperatures have taken a bit of a nosedive.  It was 50 degrees this morning when I got up, but thanks to the wind chill factor it felt like 43.  Tonight the temps are going into the 30's.  It was already cold and windy out there when I got off work, and I knew it wasn't going to get any better, so we chose to stay home.  Tomorrow my son and his best friend will go to the carnival while the ladies go to the concert.  I don't like going without him, but he wants to hang out with his friends, which I totally understand.  Saturday will probably be more carnival time, then Sunday we have tickets to see Tim Hawkins, my all-time favorite comedian!  My daughter got to see him live years ago, but I wasn't able to go.  I'm so excited to see him this year!  

That's my wrap up for the work week.  I'll do my best to get a post up before the weekend is over.  It's gonna be a busy one!  God bless and good night.

Thoughtful Thursday

God has given me much to think about, courtesy of our women's bible study.  The book of Daniel is fascinating, but hearing it taught by Beth Moore is just plain mind-blowing!  I still have goose bumps!

My day started off slow.  My son had no live lessons today, so he was taking it nice and slow.  I had a list of things I wanted to take care of, but my focus was elsewhere.  I've got a stye on the lower lash line of my left eye, and it is driving me nuts!  It itches, but when I touch it, it hurts.  It's not extremely swollen, and since I wear glasses it isn't very noticeable.  But I notice it, because I feel it constantly, and it's annoying!  I tore the house apart looking for the ointment I'd bought awhile back, but it was nowhere to be found.  I decided, since today is Thursday, and this week is grocery shopping week, I'd just take myself over to Winn-Dixie, check out the sales, and pick up some medicine for my eye.  So that's what I did.  Thankfully, I was able to find the ointment.  Sadly, the sales weren't as easily found.  I was hoping they'd have some good meat sales, but there was nothing.  I got a large package of ground beef, then went back for a smaller one so that we could have tacos for lunch.  I did buy a few things we needed, but I'll have to figure out the menu for the next two weeks based mostly on what's in the freezer now.  That was a bummer.

E worked on music, leadership, and algebra.  We went over the algebra lesson after he watched the last two videos.  He's studying statistics now, which can be tricky.  When the teacher had taught the lesson, he was totally confused, but after hearing the videos it seemed like he was understanding the material.  I guess I was wrong.  He got a 70% on his test.  It was especially upsetting because there were only 10 questions, and he got 3 of them wrong.  All three were on the difference between the mean and the median, so that's what we're gonna have to go over again.  I'm really glad that there's online tutoring available, so he can go to the tutoring session and ask about these examples.  The resources available to homeschoolers is greater than what was available to him in public school.

My son R put the computer tower together, but for some reason it's not working.  It's off the dining room table for now, but he's gonna take it apart again and try to put it back together, which means my space will be taken over again.  He's so frustrated, because he doesn't know what he's doing wrong.  His buddy is coming over tomorrow to help him out.  I'm betting it's something really minor that he missed.  It usually works out that way.

So after school I showered and got ready for bible study.  I put on a pair of khaki green jeans, thinking it would be cold out again like it's been the past few nights, but it wasn't that cold at all.  From the forecasts it looks like our temperatures will be going up and down the next few days.  I had to be really careful with my makeup so I didn't irritate my eye more than it already is.  The ointment is helping but it's still sensitive.  All the ladies who came were on time - a pretty unusual feat!  The study today was on Daniel chapter 3, where Daniel's three friends are thrown into the fiery furnace.  When Beth Moore started comparing being thrown into the fire with our trials, and how God sometimes will deliver us from it, sometimes He'll deliver us through it, and sometimes He'll deliver us to Himself, I had to put my jacket on.  I was shivering!  At first I thought I was cold, but then I realized it was the teaching that had me trembling!  I took plenty of notes for my study this week.  At the end all we could say was, "Wow!"  Every woman there was feeling the same way.  It was a powerful study, with plenty to meditate on during the week.

What else happened today?  Oh yes - I ordered the Complexion Rescue, and the shade I settled on was...natural.  As pretty as the tan looks, it's too dark.  Not by a whole lot, but even a little bit isn't going to look right if it doesn't match the rest of me.  I ordered from Ulta with my discount coupon and reward points, so that the $29 tube ended up costing me $21.62, tax included (shipping is free for this product).  I'm really looking forward to adding this to my collection.  I love the way it looks and feels, and for a "no makeup" makeup look, it's perfect.

Well, it's just about time for bed.  I'll be praying for my poor eye to feel better tomorrow.  Have a blessed evening, and pleasant dreams.  Good night.

Thursdays Post...On Friday

Yep, I'm late with my post again.  I was pretty busy yesterday, and by the time I remembered to blog I was already in bed, half asleep.  It happens.  Certain times of the month, it happens.  Girls know what I'm talking about.

No school yesterday or today - teacher service days, meaning my son's teachers are still grading papers and getting calls made.  My son still doesn't know his algebra grade.  He's got A's in all his other classes, but I suspect he got a B in math, just because he had an 89% before midterm finals, and he got C's in 2 of those.  We don't know what his score was on the last portion of the exam, but whatever it was, it wasn't going to be high enough to bump his grade back up to an A.  Still, I'm pretty satisfied.  His grades are improved from last year, and I'm sure they're better than they would have been had he been in public school.  His science teacher called him to say he'd gotten one of the highest grades on his exam: an 87%.  He was so thrilled about that; he'd always worked hard in science but his grades would never reflect it.  Last year his science teacher was very disorganized, and she had zero control over her class.  She spent 70% of her time disciplining or yelling at the students, then the end of the grading period would come and she was behind in all the lessons.  I was the one that ended up teaching him from his book.  She was always behind in posting grades in his grade book, so I didn't know what areas he was having trouble with.  I would email her but her answers, when they came, were vague.  It was so frustrating, because I wanted to be involved in his schooling but it seemed some of the teachers were working against me.  Not the case anymore.  His teachers are on the ball, even though they have more students.  And I'm his primary learning coach, so I have full access to all his lessons and can help him better.  Homeschooling may not be for everyone, but it's been a win-win situation for us.

Since there was no school, my son asked for a haircut.  E had initially said he wanted to go to a hair stylist and get his hair styled, but in the end he realized he doesn't want his hair to be too long.  Most styles now are fades, with the hair on top of the head long and the sides short.  The problem with that for my son is, he has wiry hair.  The hair styles that are popular for men now are for straight hair.  He'd have to let his wiry hair grow out long enough to blow dry, and he's not going to do that.  He can't stand how it feels.  So I cut his hair, then cut R's hair as well.  My boys appreciate the fact that I'm cutting their hair: E because he can jump in the shower right away afterwards, and R because it saves him money.  Another win-win.

I made jambalaya in the crock pot.  It was spicy and delicious; so much so that there were no leftovers.  After lunch I went to pick up some dried up coconuts and branches from the yard, and saw that my little pepper plant, which looks more like a weed than a plant, had 4 more peppers on it.  I haven't even been attending to these plants, but they're producing.  I figured it out: this is the time to plant in Florida, not in the summer or fall, but in the winter.  So I cleaned up my garden area (which had become overgrown with weeds), threw away everything that had dried up, and moved my pepper and tomato plants closer to the house.  I then got some of the larger containers, added more soil to them, and planted green beans, green peppers and cucumbers.  I was going to trim the raspberry bush, but I saw a bunch of buds on the branches.  Who knows, we might finally get some raspberries from this bush!  I'm excited to see if I have better results from my garden this time around.

I was debating whether or not to go to the ladies bible study at my church.  The group started up again last week, and I missed it because of midterm finals.  My son E was actually encouraging me to go, so I did.  Boy, am I glad!  We're doing Beth Moore's study of the book of Daniel, my favorite Old Testament book.  Let me just say, this is not a study for wimps.  She goes into this book deep, both biblically and historically.  I'm super excited now!  I have to catch up in my workbook since I didn't attend last week's class, but I'm determined to do 2 lessons per day so I don't miss any of the information.  Can't wait till next week for our next class!

After that I came home, cleaned up the kitchen, then went to bed.  I had a slight headache, which hasn't gone away yet.  I'm gonna take some Tylenol, then get started with my day.  Catch up with you later!

Thoroughly Thursday

"One of the most important things we adults can do for young children is to model the kind of person we would like them to be."

Carol B. Hillman

My kids aren't young anymore.  My youngest is 15, a full-fledged teenager, and the other two are adults.  Still, I think it's important that I be the person I ask them to be.  Kids can spot a hypocritical parent a mile away.

I tell my kids that I'm a morning person, but this week I've been anything but.  It has been so hard getting out of bed in the morning!  I was going to bed at about the same time, and I couldn't figure out what the problem was, till this morning.  I actually woke up at 6:00, but it was so dark out I just rolled over and dozed off again.  The mornings have been dreary, cloudy and foggy.  Who wants to get out of bed on days like that?  No one.  At least not me.  I've been dragging myself out of bed at 8:00, then wishing I'd gotten up earlier.  Maybe tomorrow I'll make a bigger effort?  Maybe.

It was cooler out today; 63 degrees when I got up in the morning, and it's supposed to follow that trend the next few days.  Yippee!  Even though it was still kind of humid, it didn't feel nearly as bad thanks to the cooler temperatures.  As I went to the cupboards looking for what I was going to make for breakfast, I remembered that I have grocery shopping to do this week and I hadn't worked on the menu.  I hadn't worked on the menu because I had no clue what I was going to make.  I had no clue what I was going to make because I couldn't find any good sales in the circulars.  Since E didn't have any live lessons to attend today, I decided he could start school in the afternoon and I'd stop by Winn-Dixie and see meats what they had.  I like going to Winn-Dixie on Thursdays for meats.  Since it's almost the weekend, they need to stock up the freezers.  They don't want anything in there that has a sell date of that weekend, so they reduce the price of meats to about half just to get them sold.  I got to the meat section just as the butcher was stamping the new prices on.  I didn't want to hover around him too much (don't want to look like a stalker) so I checked around the store for some other items I needed: canned and frozen vegetables, canned beans, Gatorade, and canned tomatoes.  When I came back I had a field day.  I found one pound packages of ground turkey, buy one get one free.  They had the same deal for chicken tenders and chicken wings, so I was set with poultry.  Then I checked out the red meat.  I got a nice piece of London broil which I like to make in the crock pot with potatoes and carrots, reduced from $12.99 to $7.21.  There were also a couple of packages of steak, big thinly sliced steaks, at $3.95 and $4.81.  The last thing I picked up was a package of boneless pork chops, 10 chops for $5.92.  I spent a total of $122.33, and saved $73.28.  Now I can prepare my menu!  There are still staples I need to pick up at Walmart and Costco, but that'll be tomorrow's adventure.  I'm very satisfied with my grocery shopping trip today!

After getting all that food, what do you think I made for lunch?  Frozen pizza and breadsticks, LOL!  They were on sale as well, and my kids like them.  I ate, then kept repeating the food over, and over, and over again.  I finally had to take a couple of Tums to try and calm my stomach because the taste of the food was not better the second time around, believe me.  

After lunch I sat down with my son to go over every review class his algebra teacher posted.  We took a million notes on every example she did, pages and pages of notes, so that he would be ready to take part 2 of his test.  He felt ready; I felt he was ready.  He took the test and got a 72%.  There are still problems the teacher has to check, but I was floored.  I was sure he would get a way better grade.  I looked over the exam, and noticed one problem that he'd done.  He'd done the math and it looked right, but it was marked wrong.  I sat there and did the math myself.  I got the answer E got, which the computer says is incorrect.  We've had the computer mark things wrong before that were right, so we emailed the teacher.  I know she probably won't answer right away, since she's grading tons of papers, but I was so upset at seeing that score because we had just spent 3 1/2 hours going over everything.  I voiced my frustration, but remembered how important it is to keep my cool.  After all, it's my responsibility to be a good role model (see quote above).

While we were studying, my Ulta order came in.  I'd ordered some primer because mine is running low, and the Stroke of Light eye brightener, which is a concealer as well.  Ulta was having some promos and I was sent some pretty nice extras.  I was most curious to see the Too Faced samples I'd received.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that two of the items were deluxe samples, and the third looks like a full sized lip product.  They call it a melted liquified long wear lipstick (though I don't think it can legitimately be called a lipstick once it's melted, but that's just me); it comes in a tube with a sponge applicator.  The color is called Peony; it's a light pink sheer color.  It's very creamy, but I didn't put enough on to determine if it's really long wearing.  I'm gonna test it tomorrow when I go finish my grocery shopping.  The two deluxe samples are a mascara and bronzer.  The mascara is called Better Than Sex; rather awkward, in my opinion.  My daughter doesn't care for the name either.  I will say this: it made my lashes really long and curly.  What I didn't like is that it transfers to my upper lid and under eye area, which my Bare Minerals Flawless Definition mascara doesn't do.  Still, I did like how my lashes curled up.  I'll have to try it with eyeshadow and see how it looks.  The last item, the bronzer, is called Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer and it's a light to medium shade.  I feel like it's a bit light, but I have to try it out.  I like the fact that it's matte, because along with my order I got a sample of the Bare Minerals matte foundation to try.  It's a good sized sample, too, and while I like my Original foundation for its luminosity, I'm curious to see how I look in a matte foundation.  Who knows, I might like it even better.  

I'm hearing my daughter exercise.  She's trying the Daily Burn app for a month to see if she likes it.  I believe its $13 a month and they have all kinds of daily exercises, recipes, and other stuff that she's still looking into.  Her leg is still sore at times, but she has an appointment to see a sports doctor next week to see if maybe what she has is shin splints.  In the meantime she's working her abs and upper body, and it sounds like it's quite a workout.  I can hear her huffin' and puffin'.

My son R got medicine for his pink eye, and already today the difference was noticeable.  I am so thankful for the doctor that cared enough to tell him what he needed to do and saw him the very next day.  Praise God, he is feeling much better from his cold too.  He's started purchasing components to build his own computer.  It's his new project, and he's really excited about it.

Well, that's been my day.  I'm looking forward to the end of finals tomorrow: part 3 of algebra, and science.  It's been a good semester, but I'm so glad he's got 3 days off next week.  Time to get caught up on other projects - stay tuned!  Good night and God bless.

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.

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.

The Countdown Is On - One Week Till Christmas!

It seems so hard to believe that we are just one week away from Christmas.  The time has flown!

I went to bed early last night; I was totally exhausted after our Awana evening.  So I was in bed by 10:30 and awake by 4:00 am.  Don't you just hate that?!  I stayed in bed, though.  If I got up I'd wake the whole house, and that certainly wouldn't be thoughtful.  I eventually dozed off (like an hour later) and woke up at 7:00 am with my stomach doing all kinds of flips.  That's what I get for eating pastries at 8:45 in the evening.  I know myself only too well, that eating at that hour of the night will give me a major stomachache and won't let me sleep.  I guess I'll know better next time.  Yeah, right.

My ancient computer has been acting up again, so I asked my son R to take a look at it.  He found a lot of junk going on in the background that needed to get deleted.  This computer was my daughter's.  She got it a year before going off to college.  She graduated in 2012.  So this computer has been with us since 2007, making it an antique.  When she gave it to me she didn't delete a bunch of school programs she'd downloaded, and they were taking up precious computer space.  Add to that the Norton Antivirus that we haven't used in like, forever, that was still running in the background, and it's no wonder my computer was slow.  He got to work on it, and I went to the grocery store.  I have to do my 2 week shopping trip this weekend, and I was trying to figure out a menu plan for the next two weeks, but it's difficult if you don't know what's on sale.  So I went to Winn-Dixie to pick up meats.  I purchased 3 packages of ground beef at $3.99/lb.  I know that last time I said I wasn't going to pay that much for ground beef when it was $3.79/lb at Costco, but the Costco ground beef was so fatty!  When I would brown the meat I'd have all this grease to get rid of.  Better to pay a bit more and get better quality beef.  I got pork chops and a pork shoulder as well, and a few staples that I knew I needed like onions, potatoes, rice, etc.  In all I spent $79 but the only meat I need to get now is the turkey for Christmas Eve.  I still have plenty of shopping to do but I'll leave that for Walmart.  Much as I hate going there, the prices on canned goods and frozen foods are cheaper for the most part.  The turkey I'll get at Publix.  Theirs is the best.

I took E to the park for his PE assignment.  He has to do several tasks to show how he has improved in his exercises since the semester started.  Well, I'm pleased to say he shaved off another 19 seconds on his mile run!  He was huffin' and puffin' but he finished in 10 min 48 sec.  This was better than the times he'd had when he had daily PE in school, so we are very happy about it.  He won't be turning in this assignment till Saturday, since he has to show 3 days of exercising, but it's okay.  The teacher says this assignment isn't due till January 18.  I'm having him do it now because he needs to finish his hours for the week, and he's done with all his other classes.  We took our time doing the science lab (translation: dragged it out as far as we could) and that got turned in today; it was the only assignment he had left to complete.  With exercising and watching documentaries on ocean life he was able to complete his hours for today, but I'm at a loss as to what we'll do tomorrow.  He has one live lesson that he has to attend, and his PE.  He'll be doing lots of reading and documentary watching I guess.

We had sandwiches for lunch and dinner today.  I kept it simple because I just didn't know what to make.  I have those days sometimes, when nothing sounds appealing.  Thankfully my kids don't make a fuss.  As long as there's food to eat they're happy.

I remembered something today:  I have some outdoor penguin decorations in the shed that hadn't been put outside!  How in the world did I forget that?!  Penguins are my favorite Christmas decoration.  I have all kinds of decor for Christmas - villages, musical and animated figurines, Santas, Nativity scenes, and enough items in storage to make the North Pole come alive in South Florida.  I could live without any of them, except for my Nativities and my penguins.  Oh, and my rabbits.  I have the Lloyd family from back when I sold House Of Lloyd, and I love them.  Anyway, after dinner and before the sun went down, I got my two penguins out of the shed.  One is made of metal and is holding a hot cup of tea, and the other is a light up cutie pie that is now on the pavers next to the front door.  Both were gifts from my dearest friend DPP.  I have to give her a call soon.  I really do miss her.  She'd moved out to Arizona at the beginning of the year, but thankfully she's back.  I don't have many friends, and she is one that I truly treasure.

Oh!  I got my Ulta order today!  The gift set I got so the kids could give to their dad...is a lot smaller than I expected.  I'm glad I got a bunch of stuff to go with it.  It was all freebies but it makes it a much nicer gift which makes my kids happy.  I also got my Bare Minerals Delight and Dazzle set that I'd ordered for myself.  The original price was $49; it was on sale for $34 and I had $8 in reward money, so I ended up paying $26 for it.  It's wonderful!  All the products are full size.  I have 2 new eyeshadows, 2 new blushes, 2 eyeliners and 2 lip glosses.  I'm debating which set I'm gonna try first!  The Delight set is for daytime, and the Dazzle set is for night.  I like that the Delight set has peachy colors.  I don't have anything in those tones so it'll be a nice change once in awhile.  

My daughter got home from work, then headed straight to the store to pick up supplies for her birthday celebration, happening tomorrow.  Her birthday is actually December 27, but since it's 2 days after Christmas and so many folks are out of town, she decided it would be best to do it 2 weeks before.  I'll have all the details to her festivities here on my blog either tomorrow or Saturday.  She did make something she calls reindeer bark, with crushed Oreos, pretzels, and more goodies, topped with melted almond bark and M&M's.  It looks pretty tasty, but it has to go into the fridge to harden.  It'll be interesting to see what everyone thinks!

I sat down to relax and watch some videos, and I kept dozing off.  I'm tired because I was awake at 4 am.  I'm gonna try to stay awake, but no guarantees.  I think I'll be snoozing before 11:00 rolls around.  Oh well.  Good night.

Thursday's Thoughts

Today we are like Winnie the Pooh, starting out with a cold, blustery day.  Once again it was 47 degrees this morning, and the expected high is around 68.  For us, that's pretty chilly.  To all those Northerners out there thinking, "That's not cold at all!  That's springtime weather for us!", yeah, whatever.  Haters gonna hate.

My daughter wanted me to go with her this morning to get the ultrasound done on her leg, but the appointment was at 9:00 and I was running late.  I'm glad I didn't go; the place where the doctor sent her doesn't do the ultrasound she needs.  She spent an hour and a half there for nothing.  Thankfully, the people there were extremely helpful and not only found her another place that actually does the ultrasound she needs, they made the appointment for her.  It's too bad she didn't know this beforehand: the place she went to today is two cities north of us.  The place that she's going to tomorrow, that has the equipment to do what she needs, is in our town, about a 5 minute drive away.  That's annoying.

Once again my son's school day is light.  The biggest assignment he has today is math.  He has to do the work for the lesson that was taught yesterday.  He finished his music portfolio and did his leadership reading, so once again he's ahead of the game.  I'm hoping this trend will continue.  No one (especially not my son) wants to do schoolwork during Christmas break.

The menu for today is the quinoa turkey chili, which I will post the recipe for.  It is so simple to make, full of good stuff like veggies and lean meat, and it is so filling!  You can spice it up if you like, or keep it mild.  I don't go overboard on spicyness because my youngest son will complain, but it does have a tiny bit of a kick.

After schoolwork was done my son and I headed to Old Navy to return a hoodie.  My son had gone to Old Navy with his sister and had seen this blue hoodie that he loved.  My daughter told me he wanted it, and I told her to go ahead and get it for him and I would give her the money.  Well, somehow the message didn't get related correctly, and he was unsure of the size, so he didn't get it.  He wouldn't stop talking about this hoodie, and when I told him he could have gotten it he was upset.  He kept telling his sister he wanted to go back and get it, so she just went after work and picked it up.  Problem was, she got it in a large.  My son had tried on the medium and insisted it was too snug, so she got him the next larger size.  It was huge.  That hoodie looked like it was swallowing him up.  So of course he then kept begging to go back to Old Navy to exchange it.  We don't have any malls in our small town.  All we have is Main Street with a few shops, and a few restaurants around there.  To go to a mall we either have to go south to one city or 2 cities north.  The mall south of us doesn't have an Old Navy; it used to but for some reason it closed.  I don't particularly care for the mall south of us anyway.  It's small and always super crowded.  The good thing is, we live right off an expressway, and the Old Navy is also off the expressway, so it's normally a quick trip.  The not-so-good thing is that there's road construction going on, and the traffic to get to the expressway is ridiculous.  Honestly, it took longer to get to the store than it did to get the exchange done, and there was a line when we got to Old Navy.  I was so glad to get home.  I hate traffic, but it was nice to see my son so happy.  He hasn't taken the hoodie off since we got out the store.

It was my intention to switch out the Christmas lights today, but it was already starting to get dark by the time we got back from the mall, so it's gonna have to wait another day.  Let's just hope I get them fixed before it's time to take them down again.

My son just reminded me that my birthday is just 3 days away.  He asked me if I'm excited.  I said, "Did you get me something nice?"  He answered, "I think you'll like it."  To which I quickly responded, "Then I'm excited!"  LOL!  It made him chuckle.  Then he said he doesn't remember what he got me for Christmas.  I guess that gift isn't quite so memorable.

I watched one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies, definitely my favorite Lifetime Christmas film, Comfort and Joy with Nancy McKeon.  My oldest son got it for me for Christmas last year and I was so thrilled because I can watch it over and over.  I've gotta go clean up the kitchen now.  There's enough chili left for lunch tomorrow, so we'll have that and sandwiches.  A mini vacation from the kitchen, woohoo!  I'm gonna shower early and then maybe watch another Christmas movie.  My collection is calling out to me :-).  Have a great night!

Thoughtful Thursday

Hey there!  Remember me?  I've been gone for a while, I know.  Life gets busy.

Let's see, what new things have been going on?  Well, for one, school is out.  My son E got good grades this year.  C in science, B's in all his other subjects.  His rest this summer is well deserved, though it won't last forever.  I'm letting him get some video game time in, but he'll be reading soon.

My daughter has 2 new guitar students.  She started giving guitar lessons to a 6 year old girl from church, and now she has a couple of sisters who had started taking lessons with a friend of ours who can't continue to give lessons because of her work schedule.  I'm glad my daughter is getting to do this.  I think it's a great opportunity for her to share what she's learned and make some money while she's at it.

My oldest is still working at the grocery store, but is looking for full-time work.  Publix has been great, but they only give him part-time hours, which isn't enough to pay his bills.  I'm praying he can find something soon.

Our pastor is doing a series called Momentum, that is excellent and convicting at the same time.  I've been taking lots of notes and going over them.  I'm doing a personal study on the book of Revelation and end-time prophesies, but that's on my own.  VBS is next week, and I'll be preparing for that starting this Saturday.

As for blogging?  I've been taking a break.  I was spending a lot of time on my blog, on other people's blogs, on blog hops, and I realized that time could be better used in other areas of my life.  Not that I don't enjoy blogging, because I do.  Not that I don't love reading other blogs, because I definitely do.  Just that there's a time for everything, and blogging was taking away too much of my time.  I will come back and update whenever I can, but I won't be here as often as before.  Check up on me once in a while.  I'll do the same for you.  God bless.

Thoughtful Thursdays

I have a couple of thoughts to share today, because it's a special day in 2 different ways.

First off, today is the National Day of Prayer.  While I believe it's important to pray everyday and often, I think we get into a rut sometimes.  I know I do.  It's good to set a day to remind everyone to pray and what important issues we need to pray about.  Pastor Greg Laurie has asked that we pray for our nation.  Boy, do we need it!  The farther away we turn from the Lord, the greater the messes we make.

I read this simple guideline for praying that I wanted to share, because I thought it was a good way to remember to pray regularly.

The 5 Finger Prayer


1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a 'sweet duty.'

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all - which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, 'The least shall be the greatest among you.' Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

******

The second reason this is such a special day is because it's Take Your Child to Work day.  My son will be staying at home with me.  Contrary to what some believe, being a homemaker is hard work!  Keeping everyone well fed, well dressed, attended to; keeping the house in tip top shape; keeping the outside of the house equally clean; and many times we do it without so much as a thank you.  No one notices what homemakers do until it doesn't get done.  I think it's important for my son to see what it's like to keep a home running smoothly.  He's 13 years old now, not a baby.  He's old enough to understand and appreciate what gets done around the house, and hopefully by joining in and helping he will appreciate his future wife and be a helper to her as well.  We have to train our boys early on, or they will be boys forever instead of growing up to be men.

Speaking of which, my oldest son blessed the family this week by making fried pork and crab wontons.  I'm not fond of crab, but I did enjoy the pork wontons a lot!  They were absolutely delicious.  He bought all the supplies himself, and even cleaned up the mess afterwards.  It was a wonderful treat, and set a good example for his little brother.  We were able to enjoy the meal along with a scrumptious bread pudding my daughter made.  How nice it was to be treated like a guest in own home!

I hope you spend your day praying and appreciating your family.  That's where my heart is today.

Thoughtful Thursday

I've had so much going on and such a busy schedule lately I haven't been on the computer.  There's moments I think of all kinds of things I could blog about if I could just get a moment to sit down.

I think I'm gonna take a break from some of my favorite blog hops.  Not all, just some.  As it is I barely have time to update my Facebook status - not that it matters.  I'm getting bored with Facebook.  Too much politics, too much nonsense, not enough keeping up with people.  There are a few family members I enjoy keeping up with, but mostly there isn't anything worth spending time on.

There's construction going on in my neighborhood.  We live in a town that used to be dairy farms.  Behind our development one still exists, which we really love.  It makes it feel like we're living in the country.  Our street is a dead-end because of the dairy farm, but it won't be for much longer.  They've decided to open up the avenue, going through the dairy farm.  The mayor and town council have been trying for a long time to get the street opened, but it wasn't possible because it used to be an Indian burial ground.  Some kind of ceremony had to be performed before the construction could continue.  Now the dust and mud is taking over, our cows will have to be moved, and the quiet of our neighborhood will be no more.  See, since the road was a dead-end there was no thru traffic, which kept the noise level at a minimum.  Once the street is done, it will be a 4 lane road, and the amount of traffic will increase exponentially.  It's something I'm not looking forward to, nor are my neighbors.

My youngest son has been taking his FCAT exams this week.  FCAT is the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.  E had the math portion on Monday, and the reading portion today and tomorrow.  This is the second year in a row that he's done the reading portion on the computer.  All 6th and 7th graders get the computerized version of the exam.  Unfortunately, they have to take the test in the computer lab, and there not enough computers for the entire grade to test at once, so they are taking turns.  Testing will continue throughout the next week, during which time my son goes to one class per day.  The school cannot have students in the hallways during testing, so students can't switch classes.  He stays in the one class, does a little work, then they watch movies or play board games till it's time to leave.  School sure is different from when I was a kid.

I stepped on the Wii Fit scale this morning, and became very upset.  It's time for some re-evaluating of what I'm eating.  I'm back on MyFitnessPal trying to get a grip on my calorie intake.  I hate the fact that the older I get the harder it is to keep my weight where it should be, but it's the reality of life and I need to make sure I'm eating right if I don't want any serious health issues later.

I have to be honest here: I was multi-tasking.  I just finished watching Wreck-It Ralph while getting this post up.  I love that movie!  Disney/Pixar films are the best.  This movie is a definite winner, but my all-time favorite Pixar film is still The Incredibles.

Time to get everything ready before bed.  The saying is true, a woman's work is never done!  Good night friends.

Thursday Thoughts

I'm sitting in my dining room, sticky and uncomfortable after having given Molly her much needed bath.  If it was hot and humid before, now that we had that tropical storm roll through it feels like a sauna outside.  Just taking the dog for a 15 minute walk leaves me feeling weak from the heat.

 - Here's something to be thankful for:  while we were focused on Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac, tropical storm Joyce, Hurricane Kirk and TD #12 all formed, and all stayed in the Atlantic Ocean.  If they all go on the same path, this could be a much better hurricane season than anticipated.

 - I joined my daughter this morning for what was supposed to be a 40 minute oil change on her car.  It turned into a 1 1/2 hour wait.  It bothers me when my schedule gets knocked out of whack like that.  Oh well, at least we got to have Chick-fil-A for lunch :).

 - We stopped off at the library to return some books after school.  Only the library is now closed on Thursdays.  Or maybe it's always closed on Thursdays and it's the other library that's closed on Mondays.

 - I also made a trip to Barnes and Noble this week, to purchase The Adventures of Tom Sawyer for my son E who will be reading it in school.  As I looked at the books in the Required Student Reading section, what should I find but volume one of the Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes!  I am a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, Tommy and Tuppence, Hercule Poirot and all those classic English whodunits.  I've been wanting to buy Sherlock Holmes to add to my own library instead of always borrowing it from the public one.  Now I can pick up volume one whenever I want.  I'm a happy camper :D.

 - We started our first official night of Awana last night.  I get to work with the third grade girls.  These are the girls that were Sparks last year and have graduated to T & T so it's a new experience for them.  My girls from last year have moved up to fourth grade, and they were begging to stay with me.  It made me feel so loved!  I still see them every week, since T & T, which runs from third to sixth grade, all meet together.  We just split the girls up for book time, but even then we're all in the same room.  Still, it was sweet to have the girls ask for me, and to know that I made a positive impact in their lives.

 - I'm gonna have to get my son yet another pair of uniform pants.  Before school ended last year I bought him 2 new pair of pants to replace 2 pair than no longer fit.  A couple of weeks before school started again I told him to try on all his pants to see if they fit.  He brought me 2 pair that no longer fit, and said the other 3 were fine, so I bought him 2 new pair.  Last week, he put on one of the old pair, and to my surprise it looked like he was gonna walk through flood waters.  This kid is growing faster than I can keep him in clothes, and he's only 12 years old.  Not to mention, his dad bought him a pair of sneakers at the beginning of the summer size 8 1/2.  I bought him new sneakers for school, size 9.  I think he's gonna be a big boy.

I'm sure I can think of lots more things to share, but I can't concentrate right now.  I want a shower.  Molly is now inside after her bath.  It's my turn.  Good night.

Thursday Thoughts

 - If you haven't been watching the news, and the weather report in particular, then you may not know that a tropical storm has formed in the Caribbean and it is headed this way.  My way.  Towards Florida.  Tropical Storm Isaac is currently south of Puerto Rico and is headed west at 13 miles per hour, over warm waters which will nourish it into a hurricane sometime tomorrow.  We are preparing ourselves, though we've gone through category 1 storms in the past, and in South Florida we refer to them as "kite flying" weather.  I'm more concerned about the people in Haiti.  There was that earthquake that left hundreds of thousands of families homeless, who are currently living in tents, and I can't help but wonder what will happen to them if this system goes through like all the computer models show it will?  Please keep the people of Haiti in your prayers.  Haiti is the poorest nation in the entire Western hemisphere.  This weak hurricane could leave them completely devastated.

 - My oldest son brought home something that has me smiling.  Eggo has come out with a new seasonal flavor of waffles.

Pumpkin Spice.  Can I get a "Whoop Whoop!"  I love pumpkin spice anything, and these waffles are A-MAZING!  The smell in my kitchen just from putting them in the toaster oven was enough to get me excited, and I loved the taste - pumpkin and cinnamon together are the perfect combination!  These aren't going to last in the stores or in my kitchen, so I'm gonna have to stock up (or figure out a recipe to make them myself!).

 - School started this week.  My baby boy is in seventh grade.  I'm still not sure how that happened.  He seems to have grown overnight.  I look at old pictures of him, just a couple of years ago, and the difference is astounding.  He had such a baby face!  Now he's almost as tall as me, wears a size 9 shoe and is rapidly turning into a teenager.  I don't know if I'm ready for my baby to be a teenager.  Has anyone figured out how to slow down time?!

 - Our Awana pizza blast was last night.  We were jam-packed!  It was wonderful to see familiar faces, and even more exciting to see new ones!  One of the churches in our area dropped their Awana program this year because it was too expensive :'(.  We expect kids from that church to sign up with us.  It makes me sad when churches cut programs like Awana because they think they can't afford it.  In my opinion, you can't afford NOT to have programs like this for the children.  Remember Proverbs 22:6?  "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is grown he will not depart from it."  God commands us to teach the children so that they will follow Him in the future.  When we eliminate programs that help instruct the children in the ways of the Lord, we can't complain later on because these children turn into adults who no longer care about going to church or living godly lives.

 - On the menu for today:  meatloaf, mashed potatoes, veggies and salad.  I have to make enough food so that we can all three of us (my son R, my daughter A and myself) can have it for lunch, my two oldest can pack some to take to work for dinner, my youngest son E and I can also have it for dinner, and maybe, just maybe, have some left for E's lunch tomorrow.  It's just four of us in the house but I feel like I cook for an army.  All because I'd rather have them eat a home cooked meal and not fast food.

 - I'm also gonna make what Alton Brown calls Pocket Pies.  I buy pastry discs:

and fill them with fruit.  I love fruit pies, especially apple, but my kids are not big fans of them.  My daughter loves blueberries, but I can't have berries because of my allergies.  This way I can make different flavored pies and we all get to eat what we like in small portions.  I hope everyone enjoys them.

Well, I'm off to finish cooking, then start some serious hurricane planning.  I have furniture in the backyard that will need attending to, some items that need to go to the dump and can't wait till after the storm, and of course what meals to prepare if the electricity goes out and my electric stove doesn't work.  Dear Lord, please keep this storm far from Haiti and far from us!  Have a blessed day.

Thursday Thoughts

 - I was looking at the weather.com story on the drought the other day, and was surprised to see South Florida listed as extremely dry.  That must be a mistake.  We have gotten rain regularly all summer long.  Not light drizzly rain, oh no.  Heavy duty thunderstorms and downpours no less than 3 days a week.  Maybe the weather people should take another look at their maps.

Despite this inaccuracy, I follow the weather reports diligently because we're in hurricane season (one of the four seasons here in Florida; the other three are tourist season, love bug season, and summer).  Tropical Storm Gordon has formed in the Atlantic, but thank the Lord it will stay in the Atlantic and cause no threat to land.  There's a tropical wave coming off the coast of Africa that we need to keep an eye on, but thus far we've had no hurricanes threaten our borders.

I know some folks think of living in Florida as too dangerous because of the hurricanes.  The way I see it, no matter where in the United States you live, there will always be some sort of weather phenomena that needs our attention.  It could be hurricanes along the east and Gulf coasts, or it could be earthquakes on the west coast.  It could be tornadoes or severe drought in the Midwest.  Come winter, it might be blizzards and freezing temperatures.  Honestly, I'm quite content living in Florida.  The hurricanes give plenty of alert time to get ready, and praise God we haven't had anything come near us the last couple of years.  We might get hit this time, or maybe not.  We'll just have to keep our eyes open.

 - I'm wondering if I should try my hand at extreme couponing.  Food prices keep going up, and now with the drought they're only gonna get worse.  I've watched a couple of the coupon shows but I'm not impressed.  Not that getting all that food and stuff for almost no money isn't a great accomplishment; it's just that I can't see stocking my house full of things I will never use nor eat.  One episode had two sisters getting anything and everything they could for free or almost free, including shelves filled with diapers though neither sister had any children.  Another episode showed a family of 5 with a stockpile that could easily last for over a year, if it didn't expire before that.  If you ask me, that's just as wasteful as buying the items and throwing them away.  What good does it do anyone to have all these things just lying around instead of being used or eaten?  I would applaud them for giving the extras away to a food bank, a nursing home or an orphanage, but to keep it, and worse yet, to continue to add to it, just because it's free?  I don't see the benefit of it.

 - The other day I was looking at my living room trying to figure out where I want to put the Christmas tree this year.  What, you think Christmas is that far away?  Let me remind you we are already halfway through August.  Time goes by very quickly.  Besides, if I think of Christmas, the heat won't seem so oppressive.  Did you know that's how The Christmas Song got written?  During an excessively hot summer (much like the one we're experiencing now) Mel Torme decided the best way to stay cool was to think cool thoughts.  He started writing on a piece of paper, "Chestnuts roasting...Jack Frost nipping...Yuletide carols..." and shortly thereafter the song was born.  Nothing like Christmas to make us feel cooler and warmer at the same time :).

 - I finally started a book on my Nook again.  It's called Sixteen Brides, and I decided to start reading it because I downloaded it August 2011 and after having it for a whole year I should be ashamed at not having read it yet.

 - Oh look, another thunderstorms approaches.  I should get off the computer and read for awhile.  Once the storm passes, I'll work on next week's meal plan.  Have a blessed day everyone!

Thursday Thoughts

I've been awake now for a little over an hour.  That's not normal for me.  I'm a morning person; typically I'm awake by 6am and out of bed before 7am.  It gives me time to eat my breakfast and read my devotion in a leisurely manner.  My day feels more productive the earlier I get up.

This day has been different.  I awoke at 3:20am needing to use the bathroom.  I was fine when I got up.  Then, out of nowhere, my nose started leaking, I was getting stuffed up, sneezing, eyes tearing...major allergy attack, and I don't know what triggered it.  Figuring whatever it was would leave my body eventually, I went back to bed, but kept having to wake up to blow my nose because (a) I kept sneezing and (b) my nose was constantly dripping.  I finally realized I had to get up and take some meds or else I'd end up ripping my nose off my face.  I took a Benadryl and administered nose drops.  The first round of drops did nothing; I had to blow my nose and add more nose drops which took at least another 20 minutes before I could breathe again.  The last time I looked at the clock it was 5:20am, then slowly but surely, as I chatted with my Father, I fell asleep.  Oh, what bliss!  I heard my daughter get up to feed Molly which gave me even more comfort, since I didn't have to get up and do it myself, and I dozed off again.  I finally got up at 9:15 this morning, still feeling groggy but unable to stay in bed any longer.  I've had my breakfast and coffee but I still feel like the anesthesia hasn't worn off :P.

Here are some more happenings from the past week:

 - I didn't mention what happened last Saturday as I was desperately trying to forget.  Friday night my daughter gotten the call that the orphanage was hiring her.  She asked if we could go shopping for jeans the next day.  I saw no problem with that; she works in jeans and a polo which the orphanage gives her, and her jeans looked a bit worn, and anyway she deserved it!  So the next day after lunch I ask which mall she wants to go to, and she mentions an outlet mall in our area which is very large and has great prices.  I thought it was a good idea.  There are over 300 stores (and the mall is still expanding) so I was sure we could find whatever she needed.

When we arrived, I was surprised to see the parking lot jam packed and cars roaming around looking for someone to follow back to their parking spaces.  I was puzzled as to why the mall was so full.  Then my daughter tells me, "Oh, it's tax-free weekend."  What?!?!  I'd forgotten all about that!!!  I NEVER schedule shopping trips during times like this when I know the malls will be overflowing with people.  How could she not have mentioned that to me?!  This mall has the largest parking lot I've ever seen and still there was no place to park.  It took 20 minutes and 2 stolen parking spaces (it annoys me to no end when people see you're going for a parking space and they rush to get there first) before we found a spot way out in Timbuktu.  Of course, that wasn't the worst of it.  Despite how large this mall is, it was wall-to-wall people, and the air conditioning couldn't keep the place cool enough, so my very sensitive nose was picking up body odor all around.  I wanted to leave so badly, but I didn't want to do that to my little girl.  She was on cloud 9 thanks to having received an internship from our old church and her new job within days of each other, and I couldn't ruin her excitement by saying, "Mama's having an anxiety attack and we need to get out of here."  I measured my breathing, spoke as little as possible, and pushed on.

Thankfully she wasn't as thrilled as she thought she'd be, surrounded by crowds like we were.  We went to a couple of stores, including the Gap store where she didn't find anything to her liking.  Then we reached the Levi store.  As she said, "If I can't find jeans here I might as well give up."  She did - two pairs of really good quality jeans at $49.99 a pair.  We walked around a little afterwards per her suggestion, but it wasn't long before both of us said, "Let's get out of here."  I'm glad our little expedition turned out successful, but it's a reminder to me to check what day it is before I rush to the mall again :P.

 - I ordered bowling shoes for myself and my son E which shipped yesterday.  Once they come in we'll be visiting the bowling alley often.  With my daughter working now she won't be able to join us as often, which is too bad, but E and I can enjoy a couple of games a day.  School will be starting soon, so we may as well make the best of the time we have left.

 - We had our Awana leaders meeting last night at church.  Lots of fun activities are in store!  My son is done with Awana; our church only does the program to sixth grade, and he'll be entering 7th this month.  Still, he wants to help out, so he joined me for the meeting and suggested a family movie night as an activity for after the Christmas recess.  The pastor loved the idea, and E was so happy he'd made the suggestion.  I love that our children's pastor loves the kids so much.  He really takes their ideas into consideration.

That's the "interesting" stuff going on here with us.  Hope your week is just as fun!  God bless.

Thursday Thoughts

I think for my Thursday Thoughts post I'll give a recap of my day.

 - I got up early this morning and made a batch of buttermilk pancakes.  I love making those!  I love how easy they are, I love how good they smell when they're cooking, and I love how delicious they are.  It was a perfect start to my day.

 - I try to give my car a washing once a month, and since it was so clear outside I figured today's the day.  I brought the vacuum out, cleaned the inside of my car, cleaned the inside of my son's car, then washed them both (my daughter left for appointments early so she missed the free car wash).  It was SOOO hot out, and the mosquitoes were biting, but both cars look great.  I finished drying them and brought all the supplies in.  I was already outdoors so I decided I'd pick up some of the palm fronds that had fallen the last few days thanks to all the rain and wind.  When I finally came inside it was close to lunch time.  I washed my hands, threw a ham slice in the oven real quick, and jumped into the shower.

That's when I heard it.

Thunder.

God has a funny sense of humor.  He always sends rain when I wash the cars.  Only today He was just teasing me.  We've had thunder all day long, but not one drop of rain has fallen.  He makes me smile when He does things like that.

 - After my shower, I fixed my bed, cleaned the kitchen, threw a load of laundry in the washer, finished making lunch, put the clothes in the dryer...then the allergies started acting up.  They've been annoying me on and off for the past couple of days.  I can feel the post-nasal drip and my sinuses are sore.  Being outside most of the morning doesn't make matters any better.

 - My daughter came home and sat to chat with me, then I invited her to a game of Scrabble.  She beat the pants off me.  What made me think that playing Scrabble with an English major was a good idea?

 - My oldest son left for work shortly after lunch.  My daughter's gone to a friend's house.  My youngest is home with me, but I just took a Benadryl, so who knows how long I'll be functioning ;).  I hope you all have a pleasant evening and a good night's sleep.  God bless.

Thursday Thoughts

I'm sure we've all heard the expression, "The Lord works in mysterious ways."  I've come to realize this isn't true.  It's no mystery to Him; He knows exactly what He's doing.  And if we pay attention, we can see His hand at work and understand the reasoning behind His actions.  We've had some experiences of late that have proven this.

 - My daughter A graduated last May and got her degree in creative writing with a minor in religious studies. It has always been her desire to work in ministry, preferably music but wherever the Lord leads her is fine.  She'd been looking into different churches to see if any were looking for worship leaders or anything to do with music, but she found that most churches don't want to hire women for those positions.  Even as she spoke to some folks in the church, they discouraged her from going into those kinds of fields which broke her heart, because she feels that God gave her this talent so that she would use it for His glory.

 - When she came home after graduation, A began applying to all different companies looking for work.  Her biggest disadvantage is that she has absolutely no job experience.  Zero.  Zilch.  Nada.  Her father wanted her to focus on her studies and keep her GPA up so she wouldn't lose her scholarships, and quite frankly no job was going to pay enough to cover the costs her scholarships were paying, so it was best she not work.  Unfortunately this has had a negative effect on her job hunting now.  She couldn't even get a job at Chick-fil-A.  She went on several interviews but nothing came of any of them.

 - There was one place she was thinking of applying - a local children's home/orphanage that is a Christian ministry.  She'd volunteered there in past summers and really felt led to this place.  I told her to volunteer first and pray about it.  Many of the children at this orphanage aren't orphans in the true sense; they are in this home because they've had to be taken from their homes, either because their parents can't or won't care for them.  These are children who already feel rejected and unloved, their futures uncertain.  I explained to my daughter that  taking a job there just to get a paycheck would be the wrong attitude; if she decided to leave and the children had become attached to her, what would they conclude?  That they aren't worth anyone's time.  I wanted her to be sure this was what the Lord was calling her to do.

 - We watched as A went to interview after interview, applied for job after job, and the doors kept closing.  In the meantime she did volunteer work at the orphanage and continued to be drawn to the work that was being done there.  A friend of hers from our old church who works there now encouraged her to go ahead and apply for a position.  After discussing it with her friend, with me, and praying about it, she decided this was where God was leading her, and she put in an application.

 - A week went by with no answer.  She commented to another friend, a girl who worked at the orphanage but now works at our old church's office, that she'd applied but hadn't gotten a call.  This friend spoke to someone at the orphanage and told them about A.  Lo and behold, my daughter was called in for an interview.  She was told she'd get called for a second interview, and that call came before she'd even gotten back home.  She had her interview with HR, then interviewed for yet another position, and before she left she was given an address to a lab to get her drug testing done.  As I told my daughter, they don't send people out to have drug tests done unless they intend to hire, since drug tests cost money.  Basically she's "hired pending test results".  We are so excited, because one of the things she was told was that they need someone with musical talents to help with their music program.  See how nicely God worked that out?

 - But it doesn't end there.  I had been planning, since the beginning of the week, to take my youngest son and daughter to Lion Country Safari today (my oldest son has to work).  I found out yesterday that A has to take some paperwork to the orphanage today.  The offices open at 9am, so by the time she got out there, turned in the papers and got back home, it would be close to 10am.  Lion Country Safari opens at 9:30am, but it's a good 1 1/2 hours drive.  We'd miss out on so much, it didn't make sense to go today.  So we decided, maybe tomorrow will be better.

 - As I thought about it, I checked their website and found that Lion Country Safari has a water park area.  I hadn't seen that when I first looked on the website, but it changes things.  My son E doesn't have sandals - typically when we go to the parks he wears sneakers.  That gives me today to get to the store and get him some sandals, plus I can do my grocery shopping for the week and not have to worry about that either.  Once again, my plans got changed, but I see how God did it so that we can enjoy our time at this park even more.  Isn't the Lord sweet in His dealings with us?

Stop and look, listen, pay attention.  God's ways aren't all that mysterious.  He does what's best for us, even when we don't know what that is.  Have a blessed day.