The Week In Review

 You know the holidays are approaching when I keep thinking I want to get a post up on my blog but it doesn't happen. I like the busyness of the season but it can distract me and stress me out.

And this week has been stressful. After Tropical Storm Eta literally blew in from the Gulf, my allergies went into overdrive. It always happens after a big storm, especially one as windy as this one was. All the dust and tree debris gets blown everywhere, and even though we got massive amounts of rain, it wasn't enough to totally clean all the allergens out of the air. Hence I've been dealing with itchy eyes, stuffy nose, and worst of all, asthma. I'm feeling better today but the dry cough persists. Which is annoying whenever I go anywhere because anyone coughing gets people's attention. I want to scream out, "Y'all, it's not coronavirus okay?!"

On Tuesday I put up the shelves I'd bought the week before from Ross. The guest bathroom went from this:

To this:

And finally to this:

I haven't really decorated it because in a couple of weeks I'll begin decorating for Christmas so I wasn't too concerned about getting it perfect. 

By the way, I'm so excited to begin decorating for Christmas! Now that my oldest son is married I needed a stocking for my new daughter-in-law. I checked Amazon first but I didn't find anything I liked that didn't cost over $20 or came in a set of 4+ stockings. So instead I went to Hobby Lobby. They have such a good selection of all different styles, and right now everything is 50% off which is right up my alley. This is the stocking I settled on.

The stocking I have for my son R has a reindeer on it. I wanted something similar but this was the closest I could find. It's super cute, and was only $5. I thought about getting all matching stockings for the whole family but that would be an unnecessary expense in my opinion. I'd rather spend that money on gifts.

Since I was already at Hobby Lobby I looked around and found this very pretty poinsettia arrangement for $6.99.

It's kind of hard to see against the granite but it's white and gold, which I think will look beautiful in my bedroom.

I wanted to get a few more small picks for the Christmas tree. I like using them as fillers and to make the tree look a bit more realistic since our allergies don't allow for a real tree. These were just $.99 so I got 5 of them.

They're small pinecones and greenery that's flocked. My tree isn't flocked but I like adding some little accents like this.

Finally, I found the cutest little pillow:

I got a red and black buffalo check throw for the sofa last year, and I think this will look adorable with it. I wanted to see how it looked with my new Costco pillow as well:

I love it! Then I remembered: the big pillow in the back is reversible! So I tried that out too.

Now I'm really itching to start decorating! I'll have to see how the three pillows look against the red and black throw but this is just so stinkin' cute! 

I was looking at some tutorials for Christmas villages on YouTube. I'm wanting to up my village game this year. Miriam's Manner gave me some really good ideas for adding more snow to my village and how to put it on so it looks full and realistic, and I knew that's what I wanted to do. So I took a trip to my local Super Walmart because the artificial snow on Amazon was ridiculously expensive. I'm not paying $25 - $30 for fake snow. 

This value size bag of Buffalo Snow was $5. I've used it before and it lasts. I also got some snow flurries to sprinkle around for more effect. While I was there I did my grocery shopping and picked up a few more items for Thanksgiving dinner.

Yes, I can make pie crusts. I've done it before. It's not rocket science. But when you've got a turkey to roast, plus mashed potatoes, dressing, green beans, salad, crescent rolls...y'all, I will take shortcuts wherever I can! Boxed pie crusts it is, LOL! I'm thinking of making a pecan pie and maybe an apple pie. My boys will all want a chocolate pudding pie I'm sure. And the day after Thanksgiving I like making turkey pot pie. It's pie season y'all!

I also went ahead and bought the Stove Top stuffing mix. I'd gotten a couple of boxes of the Aldi's brand but even though it's pretty good, it doesn't compare to Stove Top. This twin pack box was $2.97, and the other boxes of stuffing will get eaten, trust me. We love us some dressing with our fried chicken.

Ladies bible study was on Friday. We studied the parable of the Great Banquet found in Matthew 22:1-14. It was an impactful study. This coming Friday is our last session, and I'm going to miss having this study time with my group.

Then Saturday our new church has a Friendsgiving day brunch for all the children's ministry volunteers. E and I had such a sweet time of fellowship! We both sat by ourselves because with our allergies we didn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable if we sat near them and started coughing or sneezing. Well, a couple of ladies came and sat with us and we had some uplifting conversations with them. It was like God was showing us that this is where He wants us right now, and I'm thankful for the confirmation.

That was my week! I hope y'all had a blessed week as well. This coming week is Thanksgiving prep. I'm so excited!

Freaky Friday

Okay, maybe freaky isn't the right word.  How about hectic?  My jam-packed schedule for today made it just a tad frazzled for me!

First thing in the morning, was the women's Bible study breakfast.  I don't attend this Bible study; the women meet on Friday mornings at 8 am, and that's the time I'm making breakfast before school.  Now granted, I can modify my schedule and we can start school later, but while I'm a morning person, I don't like feeling rushed.  I like to take my mornings easy, have my prayer time, my devotions, my leisurely cup of coffee, and to get all that done and still be at church by 8 am would mean getting up at 5.  And I'm not that early of a morning person.  However, the lady hosting the breakfast is my Tuesday night running partner, and she was so sweet to call me last night to remind me about the breakfast, that I knew I had to go even if only for a little while.  There was a lovely brunch style menu, 3 different quiches, biscuits, finger sandwiches, fresh fruit, oatmeal cookies, two different types of coffee, ice tea, and orange juice.  The fellowship was sweet too.  I'm not what anyone would call a "people person"; I'm an introvert, and I get tongue-tied in large groups.  I end up off in a corner watching the others and listening to the conversations.  I did that for awhile, close to the Christmas music that was playing, but then we moved to the dining room for our meal.  It was still really nice to get to chit-chat with a couple of ladies that I don't often get to speak to.  A couple of women shared devotions and stories, there was laughter, and before long it was 9:30 and I had to leave.  I was sorry to go but glad I'd gotten up a little early just to be there.

After that was done I ran home and got there just in time to pick up my daughter for her leg ultrasound.  Thankfully the place is close by so we got there exactly at 9:45; her appointment was at 10.  They got the paperwork processed super quick, and we anticipated it not taking long.  Of course things never go the way we think, do they?  At 10:30 a technician came to get my daughter, to explain that they'd had an emergency and were running behind.  They were so apologetic that we couldn't get upset.  Within about 15 minutes they took her in, and informed me that it would probably take 45 minutes to an hour.  I could have gone home but I decided to stay in case she needed me.  While in the waiting room I found out what the emergency was: an older gentleman had also gone in for an ultrasound, and they'd found several blood clots.  His doctor was informed and he was being taken to the hospital.  I was so thankful that my daughter had the right attitude and didn't get upset about having to wait.  It was pretty obvious this gentleman needed medical attention more urgently than she did.  Once she was done we came back home.  The technician said there were no blood clots (thank You Jesus!) and that her doctor would have the results in 2 days.  That means Tuesday, since today is Friday.  We're gonna have to be patient till then.

When I got home I was excited to find my second Bare Escentuals order had arrived!  I quickly opened it and was absolutely thrilled!  The eyeshadows I got are called 7 Steps To Bare, and they're 7 neutral shades ranging from very light beige to really dark brown.  The colors are so pretty, and so perfect for everyday!  I also got a lipstick/lip gloss combo in a neutral pinkish color that is totally gorgeous!  I can't wait to get these on and start experimenting with the colors!  

Since we were gonna be out for the morning I told my son to watch a documentary on animal life.  Thank God we have Netflix!  It means he can watch what he wants when he wants.  Today's school schedule called for only 2 assignments, but I forgot he had a live lesson at 11 am, which is when he finally got up (can you tell mom wasn't home?).  The advantage once again, is that all his live lessons are recorded, so whatever he misses he can still go back to.

Tonight was the Christmas concert at the church my daughter works at, where we used to attend.  My daughter was playing with the youth band so she had to be there early.  I was supposed to take my cousin's kids to karate, so I took a shower right after lunch to make sure I would be ready.  Turns out the kids were all sick so they weren't going to their karate class.  That made it a bit easier for me to get ready, which was nice since my schedule had fallen a bit behind.  I decided I wanted to get dressed up really nice; after all, this wasn't just a concert, it was a church service, too.  So I put on a pretty black pencil skirt with a white floral design, and an emerald green tank and sweater.  I took my time doing my makeup (which turned out really pretty) and put on a pair of high heeled sling-backs.  At least I was smart enough to take my white jean jacket with me because when we got there, MAN was it cold!  It was 63 degrees - yeah, for me that's super cold.  I was so thankful that the church was serving hot chocolate and cookies.  The hot chocolate was really really hot which was really really nice.  I was able to stop shivering after that.  I'd invited some friends from the church were we worship now, and we all sat together and enjoyed great music and teaching.  The only hiccup for me was that my daughter invited her dad to see her play.  It was awkward having him there; we've been separated for 3 years now and he has never once acknowledged having done anything wrong, even though he's still living with his girlfriend.  I decided to let him have his time with his kids, and I stayed with my friends.  When they left I went around saying hi to people I knew, then joined my kids once he left.  It was so uncomfortable for me.  I want my kids to have a relationship with their father because he is their father.  I just don't want to have a relationship with him myself.  I pray for him, and ask God to work in his heart.  I know that God can do miracles, and he wouldn't be the first person whose life turned around because of an encounter with God.  I pray that for him.  It's very difficult, but I have to remind myself that Jesus died for him too.  My problem is, he has hurt me terribly, and I've struggled with anger and bitterness because of him.  I've found that the less contact I have with him, the more I can heal.  It's a sad situation but it's the reality I am dealing with right now.  I pray God would have mercy and heal my heart.

Once I got home I cleaned up the kitchen.  We'd had dinner and left for the church shortly after so all the dishes were still in the sink.  I wore one of the Moxie lipsticks that I'd gotten from Bare Minerals, a lovely deep pink color along with the lip pencil.  I ate dinner, had hot chocolate and a cookie, yet when I got home my lips were just as colored as when I'd first put the lipstick on.  I couldn't believe it!  It really has staying power!  It was so great to have several people tell me I looked so nice and so young - that's when you know the makeup is working, LOL!  Now it's time to get ready for bed.  Tomorrow promises to be another busy day, as usual.  Have a good night.