The Week In Review

I'm so far behind on my week in review post! I think I'll blame Thanksgiving and all the preparation for the upcoming holidays. So many distractions!

On Monday I went to TJ Maxx to see about some bottlebrush trees for my Christmas village. I'd seen some at Hobby Lobby but I wanted to see if I could find them cheaper anywhere else. I'd already confirmed that Amazon had them but for more than double the price. No bottlebrush trees, but I did find this:

I have been wanting a floor lamp for ages, but they are pretty expensive. I'd found one on Amazon for $86 but it was out of my budget for that month. I waited till the next month, when the price rose to $130! No thanks. I waited again to see if the price would drop, but it never did. I saw another one at Target that I liked, but it was $119, still more than I wanted to spend. As I went around TJ Maxx, I spotted this lamp all by itself, with no price tag anywhere. When I inquired, I was told it was $69.99. I knew that price was way better than anything I'd seen anywhere else, but there was a bonus: Mondays are Senior days at TJ Maxx, and I could get an additional 10% off my purchase. So this lovely came home with me for $62.99! It is a perfect addition to my office.

I spent the week cleaning and preparing for Thanksgiving, while at the same time placing orders for Christmas presents. As soon as they come in, they get wrapped and hidden. I've got a neat little stash, but there's still more to go.

Another thing I've been doing is applying to jobs. I haven't worked since we moved to the new house. My old job was part-time, and since I live about 45 minutes from my old digs, it didn't make sense to keep working there. It was my intention to start looking for work once we were settled in this house. Then a pandemic hit. I've put off looking for work but I really can't anymore. Of course there isn't a whole lot out there, and there's a lot of people looking for work. I'm leaving this in God's hands; He has always come through for me, and I know He will come through again.

Friday was grocery shopping day, and time to get everything I needed for Thanksgiving. I took my weekly trip to Walmart with shopping list in hand.

I'm making the Pioneer Woman's Green Beans which are my favorite, so I bought a big bag of fresh green beans. The chocolate pudding, Oreo pie shell and Cool Whip are for a chocolate cream pie, the boys' favorite. I also got potatoes for mashed potatoes, fresh herbs for the dressing, and yes, a jar of turkey gravy. I'm perfectly capable of making gravy, but with so much food to make, I'll take a shortcut here and there. This is one of them.

There were regular groceries to get as well. Most of it was salad fixings and fruit. As I run out of stuff I like to pick up whatever else I need.

I didn't buy the turkey till Sunday. I don't have a lot of freezer space and I didn't want to try and stuff a big turkey in there (pun intended). I always get my turkey from Publix, and I was so glad to see them at $.49/lb. I got a nice 15+ pounder for under $8. While I was there, I also picked up some sweet tea because Publix sweet tea is the closest to homemade I've ever had. And yes, I'm perfectly capable of making sweet tea too. Shortcuts people, shortcuts. Besides, it was BOGO - can't pass that up!

Oh, and I went to get my hair cut on Saturday. I should have taken a selfie but I didn't think about it. Us older folks forget about those things because we didn't grow up with a phone attached to our hand. My hair was getting really long - it was all the way down to my shoulder blades. It's just on my shoulders now and I'm enjoying having it shorter. It grows like a weed so it won't be short for long.

And that was my week. I've started decorating for Christmas - can't wait to share that! Stay tuned!

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!

November Grocery Shopping Haul

My big grocery shopping day landed on October 30 this month. I shopped at Aldi's and Walmart, but on Thursday I went to Costco and picked up a few things to have on hand for Thanksgiving. I also picked up some sundry items.

I like getting light bulbs from Costco because they have the best deals. I bought another couple of boxes of LED Christmas lights too. I'm really hoping these last longer than 1-2 years like the standard bulbs. Half my tree was dark last year and I wasn't happy about it.

On to the grocery haul.

The end of the month is when I buy all the meats for the following month, except this haul doesn't include the Thanksgiving turkey. I wait till we're closer to the holiday and get mine from Publix. They always have the best turkeys and hams. I've tried others. Publix, in my opinion, can't be beat. Aldi's had spiral fries and of course I had to get those too. The only item here that's for Thanksgiving is the Italian bulk sausage that I add to my stuffing. It's so delicious!

I got a lot of stuff to make salads: butter lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers. I often add some mixed veggies too. I've found that if I eat a heavy meal at night (and by heavy I mean carb heavy) I have trouble sleeping. It's like my digestive system slows down and the food will sit in my stomach for hours, causing major discomfort. A salad hits the spot, and it's helped me drop 6 pounds - bonus!

The other Thanksgiving menu item I bought is the stuffing. I buy the Stove Top knock-off from Aldi's which is not as good as Stove Top but once I jazz it up it's way better. The secret is to add fresh onion, celery, rosemary, thyme and sage, along with the ground sausage. It tastes like it was made from scratch.

At Walmart I get whatever I can't find at Aldi's, or items like potatoes because I can only get large bulk quantities at Aldi's, and for two people I don't need 10 lbs. of potatoes. I'll probably end up buying more potatoes for Thanksgiving; after all, what's turkey gravy without mashed potatoes?! I also like to get the Marketside prepared salads whenever they're on clearance. I eat them that same day and they're always fresh tasting.

I got the Blue Ribbon ice cream bars for E (since I can't eat chocolate) because at $4.99 for 20 bars it sounded like a good deal. Sadly, he says the taste is mediocre at best. No wonder they're so cheap. I bought Pillsbury Grands biscuits because last month I got the Great Value brand thinking they were the same thing and found out They. Are. Not. Not by a long shot. Pillsbury Grands taste like homemade biscuits. Great Value brand taste like something out of a box, and not in a nice way. Their Hawaiian Slider buns are really good, though. 

Aldi's has spaghetti noodles but they never have fettuccine noodles. I remembered to buy the fettuccine but not the alfredo sauce. Oops. I tried the Priano brand at Aldi's but I didn't like it much. It tasted bland. I'll have to pick up a jar of Bertolli next time I go to Walmart. Yes, I could make it from scratch, but the Bertolli sauce is actually really good and it saves me some time. I like saving time.

The only non-grocery item I bought was some nail polish remover. I do my own manicures so this is another way I save money. 

And that's it for this month's big shopping trip. So far this week I made the meatball sliders and bourbon chicken. Today it's spaghetti carbonara, one of E's and my favorites. The joy of menu planning is knowing you have everything you need whenever you need it. 

The Week In Review

 I had planned on posting more this week, but it seemed like the time got away from me. A lot of my time was spent on the phone - not my favorite pastime but sometimes it's got to be done.

The first call this week was to my internet provider, AT&T. We were having issues with the WiFi - internet worked but nothing was connecting. Thankfully they came out the same day. My son E is doing college online so having reliable internet is crucial. The guy found the problem right away. The first technician had put the WiFi extender in the wrong room and had done the connection incorrectly. I was annoyed at the guy, because he insisted none of their technicians would have done the connection this way and it must have been us. I tried to find the paperwork from the first technician but of course you can't ever find anything when you need it. Ultimately he accepted what I said, though I don't think he believed me. Anyway, he fixed the problem. That was my Monday in a nutshell.

As I mentioned in my previous post, fall decorating is an ongoing thing in my house. I add, subtract, move things around and generally change things till I feel like they look right. I added a few more things here and there, such as in the office/guest room.

I didn't make any changes to my desk other than the storage box. I don't want to have too many things on my desk cluttering the surface space.

I did, however, add a few little touches to my bookshelf (sorry about the glare, this room gets a lot of sunlight). Again, not too much, just enough to remind me that, according to the calendar, it's almost fall.

The little box of assorted pumpkins that I picked up from Hobby Lobby came in handy. I've scattered them all around the house. This one found its way here, next to the ceramic bowl my son R made for me whenever he was in middle school. He's getting married next month; I can't believe how the time has flown.

I got these gold and white pumpkins several years ago from Target. They used to be on my kitchen shelves, but this year they're making their appearance in the office. I don't like switching everything out yearly; instead, I like to buy pieces that I really like and use them year after year.

I added these pillows to my futon. I got these off of Walmart.com about three years ago I believe. They were two for $10, and they are so pretty!

I had two sets, this one and a more traditional set that would have worked for Thanksgiving as well, but I decluttered those whenever we moved. I now wish I hadn't, because they are so sweet and because Walmart doesn't carry them anymore. But I am thankful I kept these. The colors work really well with the rest of the decor in this room.

I did make a small adjustment in my master bedroom. I put this throw blanket instead of the textured one I had initially put down because the color on the first one was off. This throw is pretty much the same color as the bedspread. I want another throw but I haven't found one yet that I like enough to purchase. I've also been considering possibly upgrading to a comforter instead of a bedspread, but again I haven't seen anything I'm attracted to. I'm not in a rush; it's not a need, it's just a want. There's plenty of other things I could be purchasing instead.

Speaking of other things to purchase, I did my weekly grocery shopping for the fill in items I'd need for the coming week. It wasn't a lot of food, just a lot of money (ugh).

Walmart was my first stop:

Y'all, it wasn't even that much food. How did I end up spending $53?! I will say this, the Marketside pepperoni pizza was pretty good, and for $7 I guess I can't complain. It's not as good as the pizza from Costco but it's still good.

Next I went to Costco to pick up some kielbasa sausage and allergy medicine. That's it. Sausage and Allegra. This is what happened:

I got the sausage. I got the allergy medicine. Then I remembered my son told me his socks needed replacing so I got him a pack of Puma socks for $12.99. As I walked by I noticed they were carrying Pocky again, one of his favorite snacks, and they were on sale, so I picked up a box of those. Oh, but it didn't end there...

I love Costco sales! These Fila sneakers were just $17.99! I'd been thinking of getting some nice sneakers because my current ones are looking a bit worse for wear, but I don't like spending a lot of money on sneakers. This price is right up my alley! Of course that meant my total at Costco was $84, but I know I got good deals. The allergy medicine alone is $33 but my son has to have it. 

What else happened this week? Hmm...I dyed my hair because my roots were out of control. My son and I went to my daughter's house for dinner yesterday. We played Disney's Jungle Cruise board game and had a lot of fun. Was there anything else? Oh, that's right. I mentioned spending a lot of time on the phone. That's a whole other post in itself. Let's just say I'm not happy with the IRS. Yep, I've got a story to tell. Stay tuned.

The Week In Review

 Every week is a little different. Some are better than others. This one had its good moments, but challenges are never far behind.

As I noted on my previous post, fall decorating has been happening this week. I love any kind of decorating so I've enjoyed putting out new things and seeing how my older treasures mesh with the new to create a look that is warm and inviting. Part two of the fall home transformation is forthcoming :-).

Back in March of this year I filed my taxes, like many in America. To this day I have not received my refund. Six months and I've gotten the run-around several times. Well, that's not entirely true. The first four months I got nothing at all. The nation was on shutdown, and that included the IRS. I tried calling multiple times but was unable to get a human being on the line. I called the IRS tax advocates who'd helped me last year, but they were closed as well. I mailed in my request for them to help, in case someone was at least collecting the mail. Nothing. Finally, on July 10 I was able to connect with the tax advocates who transferred me to an actual representative at the IRS. What they said was that they hadn't received the W-2's from my employer to verify if the numbers on my return were correct. I couldn't believe it. I personally had filed the quarterly reports, and my boss had made the payments via credit card on their website, so I knew they had the numbers. There was nothing I could do on that end, because once you call and they give you information, you aren't allowed to call again for 60 days. So I texted my boss and told her what was going on.

Within a couple of days she texted me back that her accountant had indeed filed the W-2's but he would send them in again just in case. The IRS finally generated a letter on July 22 stating that my return was being verified for accuracy. This letter should have gone out months before but because of the pandemic it never did. I was so annoyed, because they sent a generic form letter 12 days after my phone call that basically told me nothing new. Meanwhile I was checking regularly to see if my return was processed. No such luck.

September 10 was the 60 day deadline, which meant I could call the IRS once more. I tried a couple of different numbers but all I got was recording after recording and then got cut off. I decided to try the tax advocates again. I was able to get through to them after a 20 minute wait. Unfortunately they weren't able to help me as far as getting my return processed because they didn't consider me to be going through a hardship, since I'm not facing eviction nor having my utilities cut off. Once again, I was annoyed. It's like lending your best friend money and they promise to pay by a certain day, but when that day comes they ask if you really need your money back. The only good thing was that she transferred me to an IRS customer helpline. 

After a long wait I finally was connected to a very helpful woman who was on the phone with me for a whole hour trying to get the information squared away, despite their system going down several times. She was able to confirm that yes, they did receive employment verification, but with the pandemic and shutdowns they were way behind on releasing returns for payment. I couldn't understand how she, in Texas, could see the verification but the processing center, in Pennsylvania, hadn't. This rep told me there was a possibility that something else was wrong with my return, possibly with the credits. Since the system kept locking her out she wasn't able to tell me anything else, but instead gave me a number to call and see if they could help. I called but, yet again, the systems were down. I was told I could call them back or put myself on a 30 day waiting list for callback. I said thanks but I'd call them.

The next day I went out and picked up some groceries from Walmart and Publix. It wasn't a lot, just a few things I needed that I hadn't gotten the week before or that we'd run out of.

This was pretty much the bulk of what I got from Walmart. I did pick up a couple of things that weren't food:

The grays are starting to show again. Ugh. My hair grows so fast, which is a blessing and a curse at the same time. The sponges are the Real Techniques brand, because I can get two of them for $7.50 as opposed to the Beauty Blender that's $20 for just one. Most people will say the Beauty Blender is better quality. That might be so, but I love the Real Techniques sponges and they last me a good while if I keep them clean.

The Publix shopping haul was even smaller:

Basically I went to Publix for their deli ham and cheese which is my favorite, and while I was there I saw they had English muffins and Italian ices on sale, buy one get one free. And everyone knows Publix has the best sweet tea, and it was also on sale. Bonus!

Before going to the grocery stores I stopped at Home Depot. Back in June I was trying to do some rearranging in my living room and I'd decided to switch out a picture I had at the top of the stairs with something more open, like the wall art piece I'd bought for my master bedroom. I like changing things around like that. It's a metal piece and it looked so good in that spot, except that there were several nail holes in the wall that had been covered by the picture but wouldn't be by this metal piece. So I filled in the holes and got some paint from the garage that the previous owner had left. The main living area has two different shades of beige color, one slightly darker than the other. I looked at both paints and picked the one that looked lighter, since that's what I needed for this wall. This is what happened:

 I was absolutely mortified!! How had I picked up the wrong paint?! I looked at both of them again. I even tried the slightly darker one. Then I realized what had happened. The can of lighter paint was over 10 years old. This paint had obviously gone bad and had turned dark. I can't even begin to explain how frustrated I was! Thankfully I found a great piece at Hobby Lobby that covered the spot completely.

The original price for this wall sign was $60 but I got it on clearance for $17.50. I like it because it has no glass in front of it, so there's no glare from the window. 

So, back to Home Depot. I'd picked up a bunch of paint chips and matched the color as best I could, since the label on the paint can doesn't say what color they used and I can't take the spoiled paint because it's the wrong color. I settled on one paint sample that seemed to fit the bill, and I got a sample of it.

Ugh! I was close but this time it was too light. I was gonna add another coat to cover up the dark spot underneath (even though this paint is supposed to be paint + primer) but it would still be too light. Back to the old drawing board.

After I got home from grocery shopping I tried calling the number for the IRS that the rep gave me. I got a recording that said the call volume was too high and call again later. I'm not giving up. 

Oh, and did I mention the tropical depression that formed off the coast of South Florida on Friday that put all of South Florida on a tropical storm watch? Yeah, that happened. Thankfully it didn't amount to anything other than a lot of rain and wind but nothing out of the ordinary. Another bullet dodged. Sadly, it has turned into Tropical Storm Sally and is expected to become Hurricane Sally before it lands somewhere near New Orleans. Praying for these folks.

I got to serve in children's ministry this Saturday. Churches in South Florida are slowly starting to open again, though to limited capacity. I haven't served since the pandemic started back in March. It was great to get back to the kids and teach. 

And that's a glimpse into my week. Stay tuned, there's more to come. Have a blessed week.

The Week In Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Singles Awareness Day!

Nothing like a holiday to remind you of how unattached you are.  The first year of my separation was difficult, and days like these only emphasized it.  Especially since a week later, on the 21st, is my wedding anniversary.  But you know what?  I'm not letting a holiday ruin my day.  No sir, I was determined to focus on the positive, not the negative.  Easier said than done, huh?

Our language is limited when it comes to the word "love".  We expect it to explain the feeling we have towards our family, our friends, our spouse, our children, and our favorite food.  In the Greek language, there are several words that are used in reference to love.  Phileo love is affection towards friends, people that aren't related but who feel a sort of unity in brotherhood.  It's where we get Philadelphia from, the city of brotherly love.  It also denotes those things that we prefer or cherish, like foods, movies, clothes, styles of music, etc.  There is Agape love, which is unconditional.  It's the kind of love parents have for their children, the kind of love God has for us.  And then there's Eros, which is where we get the word erotic.  It's romantic love, love between a husband and wife.  It's the one we immediately associate with Valentine's Day.  But it doesn't have to be that way.  Valentine's Day can be a day about any type of love.  There's no reason to limit ourselves.  I kept that in mind for today.

First thing this morning I prepared a menu plan for the next couple of weeks.  It was important that I pick meals that are quick to make, or that can be made in the crock pot.  That way I wouldn't be stuck in the kitchen cooking, then rushing to get out the door.  I think I came up with a good variety that we all love and I can whip up in less than 45 minutes.  I then got dressed in a long sleeved shirt, jeans, sneakers, and a white denim jacket.  Not the typical South Florida type outfit, but it's been mighty cold here!  We got some rain a few days ago, and since then the temps have taken a dip: it was 46 degrees this morning, but it felt like 41 thanks to the wind chill.  For a Floridian, that's downright freezing!  The temperatures got up to the mid 60's in the afternoon, but it still felt pretty chilly, even with the sun out.  I bundled up accordingly.  I also used my Complexion Rescue as foundation, and I am loving it!  At first I wasn't sure I was impressed with it; it worked nicely under my liquid foundation but I couldn't see myself using it alone.  With some experimenting I found the secret to making it look like a flawless face - mineral veil.  Mineral veil is Bare Mineral's loose translucent powder.  I set the Complexion Rescue with mineral veil, then add a little bronzer, blush, quick eye shadow and liner, mascara and lip gloss, and in less than 10 minutes I'm heading out the door looking amazing!

I'm still trying to shop for groceries every two weeks instead of weekly, and keeping to a budget of $300 or under for the whole two weeks.  I know, not an easy feat with prices being what they are.  I'd already gone to Winn Dixie yesterday and gotten my meats, along with a bunch of produce and canned goods.  I'd spent $104.58, so I had about $200 left to spend.  I went to Walmart first.  I had to buy a few food items, including Molly's dog food which includes both wet and dry, and I needed some toiletries (toothpaste, deodorant, etc).  Despite getting a few items not typically on the grocery list, I spent $104.92, which I thought was eerily close to what I'd spent the day before.  From there I went to Costco for the bigger items: toilet paper, olive oil, dog biscuits, bacon (yes, we eat a lot of bacon.  Don't judge me).  The total spent there was $58.99.  So all in all I spent $268.49, $31.51 under budget.  Yay me!

Of course I was quickly going to spend my savings :P.  I wanted to take advantage of the pants sale at NY and Company to get some work appropriate pants.  I once owned a large amount of dress pants which I used for work; being a purchasing manager meant I had to meet with vendors on a weekly basis, and while jeans were allowed, they weren't a professional look for me, so I dressed in skirts and pants most days.  About a year after I stopped working, I got rid of all but two pairs of dress pants.  It made no sense to keep a bunch of clothes that I wasn't wearing, and I was not wearing dress pants at all.  The two pairs I kept in case it got cold out (like this winter) so I wouldn't have to go to church in a dress or jeans.  Now, however, I'll be in an office where pretty much everyone is in dress pants or Docker style pants - no jeans allowed.  Yes, I can wear a skirt, and I may occasionally, but the school gives us button down shirts with the school logo, and I don't know that those will look very nice with skirts.  I got a couple pairs, one in navy blue that almost looks like dressy jeans but they aren't denim, and the other pair in brown.  Nice neutral colors that'll go with anything.  Then I looked for a dress.  My daughter's college roommate's brother (did you get all that?) is getting married at the end of the month, and I need a dress that is dressy but not formal (that's what her mom said).  So I'm looking for something that is pretty and wearable, classic and wedding appropriate.  There's a catch, though: it can't look like the dress my daughter will be wearing, a navy blue lace dress.  Okay, not a problem.  I figured I'd find something I liked, since NY & Company is my favorite store.  And I did find a dress I liked.  It's a lace dress, very similar in style to my daughter's dress, except it's in teal, which means it isn't the same.  That's what I told her, anyway.  She ain't buying it.

We went to several other stores, and I quickly spotted a trend.  Lace dresses are all the rave.  They are everywhere, and most of them are navy blue or orange.  Orange is a lovely color, just not on me.  I can wear peach, but bright orange washes me out and makes my skin look yellow.  Jaundice is not an attractive look, let me tell you.  I left the mall with just the pants.  I'm wondering if I'll find anything I like.  I have a dress that's been in my closet for, oh, I'd say at maybe 8 years?  It's tight up on top but I can manage to get it on.  If I can't find anything else, that's what I'll have to wear.  I'll just eat very light, and breathe minimally.

As a Valentine's Day gift, my daughter bought Domino's pizza.  I know many people like Domino's pizza.  Not me.  I'm a native New Yorker.  I know what pizza is supposed to taste like, and it's not supposed to taste like Domino's pizza.  I've told my children plenty of times that Domino's sauce is the worst I've ever tasted.  They know I can't stand it, but my daughter had a coupon, and it was a sweet gesture, so I said okay, and I ate the faux pizza for my daughter's sake.  I know I make it hard for her.  She was saying how I won't eat Pizza Hut pizza because it's too greasy (it gives me a stomachache it's so bad), and I won't eat Papa John's either (seriously, the box it comes in probably tastes better).  The only pizza I can stomach is Little Caesars, because it's only $5 so I feel like I'm getting my money's worth.  There's not much I miss from my days in New York, but New York style pizza is definitely at the top of that short list.

So that's it for my day.  Maybe not the most "romantic" Valentine's Day, but still filled with love, and that's what matters, right?  Hope everyone's day was filled with love.  God bless ya'll.

And The Answer Is...

Yes.  The answer is yes.  I prayed about it, I have peace about it, and I can move forward in confidence.  A new season is starting.  A busy one, but I believe a happy, healthy, and productive one.

Back on Tuesday I posted about a job offer I received out of the blue.  My daughter's bosses, who are friends of mine, offered me an office assistant position at their tutoring school.  It was so unexpected that it caught me unprepared, and I told JM and MM that I needed time to pray and be sure that this was God's will for me.  That's what I've been doing, and what others have been doing for me as well.
I talked it over with my kids, breaking down the pros and cons of going back to work, even if it is part time.  To be completely honest, I was having trouble coming up with cons.  After all, the hours are from 3:00 - 8:15 pm, and since the school is 10 minutes from my house, I could leave at 2:45 and be there early. This would allow me to continue homeschooling my son E without any interruption.  The work week is Monday - Thursday, with all school holidays off.  I'd be working with my daughter and with people I've known for years and have always been close to.  They are devout Christians who don't just talk the talk, they walk the walk.  And let's face it, a little extra money coming in always helps :-).

The cons?  1) Having to learn time management all over again.  That shouldn't be a problem.  Truthfully speaking, I've become very comfortable (read: lazy).  I get up later and start school later because I can, not because I have to.  There's no reason why I can't get my butt in gear and get organized. 2) Leaving my son E at home while I go to work for 5 hours.  Okay, even I laughed at that one.  I used to leave my two older kids alone when they were 13 years old and I was gone from 7:45 am to 5:20 pm.  E is 15 years old, and he'd be alone for far less time: not only because I'd only be gone for 5 hours, but also his brother is here part of the time, either before he goes to work or after he comes back.  And again, he's 15!!  I can't treat him like a baby just because he's the youngest.  We all need to get over that.  This is probably the best way.

What ultimately convinced me that this was coming from God was a conversation MM had with my daughter A.  She told A that for months she's been praying about needing an assistant, and each time God brought me to her mind.  She started hearing people call out my name in stores and restaurants, and let's face it, Arlene is not a common name.  She didn't say anything for a long time because, as she said to me, "I wanted a sign.  A big bright neon sign from God telling me this was what He wanted."  When she finally told her husband what she was considering and praying about, he immediately said, "Let's call her and see if she'll take the position!"  I knew God wouldn't dangle a dream job in front of me, and put this so plainly in MM's heart, if He didn't mean it.  He isn't going to play games with us.  I felt sure that God's hands were all over this, and He gave me peace about it, so I called MM today and told her yes, I wanted to give this a go.  She was so thrilled she couldn't stop talking, which is very unlike her!  She kept telling me how she'd prayed and prayed and this was an answer to prayer.  It brought joy to my heart.

A little while later I went to Winn Dixie to pick up some groceries, since this is grocery week.  I found some great deals on meats, and was picking up some canned goods, when who do I run into but MM!  I know she lives close by, but I've never, and I mean never run into her at the grocery store, even though I've lived in the neighborhood almost 15 years and they've been here even longer.  When she saw me she couldn't stop laughing, and we hugged because we both felt it was confirmation from the Lord.  She even looked up and said, "Okay, Lord, I get it, I hear you!"  We feel so blessed, and I'm looking forward to what else God has in store for me.  

Let's see, what else has been going on?  Oh, this weekend Bare Escentuals has free shipping on all orders, and 25% off their Last Chance products (items that are on clearance).  I took a quick look and about jumped out of my chair.  A skincare set I'd been eyeing for months was on the Last Chance section: a kit containing their Purifying Facial Cleanser (which I use and is phenomenal), the Purely Nourishing Moisturizer for combination skin (also a great product that doesn't cause me to break out or itch), and what I wanted most of all, their Active Cell Renewal Night Serum.  I've used this several times when I've received samples, and I could see the difference in the texture of my skin.  This product is the best I've tried, but 1 ounce of it costs $50.  Ouch!  I had seen the skincare kit and was tempted to buy it: all three products together for $58 is an incredible deal, since the facial cleanser alone is $20 and the moisturizer is $28.  I kept putting it off in favor of other deals, but today I couldn't say no anymore.  With the 25% off I was getting the kit for $43.50!  I'm so glad I waited and didn't pay the full price for the kit.

A few days ago I went to Target with my daughter and picked up some nail polishes that were on clearance.  They're Revlon Perfumerie, and it claimed the nail polishes were scented.  I sniffed one in the store; to me it just smelled like nail polish, but the colors were so pretty, and they were $3.77 each, about half the regular price, so I got 3 of them, two for myself and a deep purple one for my daughter.  She did her nails the next day, and told me that once it started to dry it definitely had a really pretty scent.  I went ahead and gave myself a mani-pedi today using the color Moonlit Woods.  It's a purple with blue undertones, almost like a dark lavender blue.  Sure enough, as I was painting my nails I started to smell the perfume.  It's actually a lovely scent.  If you like perfume scents.  My nose doesn't.  I'm so upset, because I love the color, and I really do like the smell, but it's making my nose sore.  I hate that I have these stupid allergies to perfumes.  It's so not fair.

Wednesday night was movie night at Awana.  Pastor G brought the movie The Perfect Game, a true story set in the 1950's about racial discrimination.  Pastor said the movie was an hour and 17 minutes long, which was perfect.  We sat the kids down, gave them chips and Capri Suns, and sat down to watch the movie with them.  We were all getting into the story (once all the adults got over the fact that Cheech Marin plays a priest in the film), when parents started coming in to pick up the kids.  I was surprised; it was obvious the movie was not finishing any time soon.  Then we looked at the movie sleeve: the movie length was 117 minutes, not an hour and 17 minutes!  We all had a good laugh, even though we felt bad for the kids.  They didn't get to see the ending.  Sorry kids.  Just for reference: the Mexican kids won!

I want to say that yes, I kept away from my blog for the past few days as I meditated and prayed and waited on God's answer.  It was the right thing to do, but I do hope to continue updating my blog as this new adventure starts.  It's gonna be hectic at first, I'm sure, but I'm really looking forward to it.  And guess what?  My first day is Tuesday, because Monday is President's Day which is a school holiday!  It doesn't get much better than that!  Good night ya'll, and God bless.

Finally Friday

The end of the week is finally here, and you know what?  It's been a good week.  I'm glad I was alive to enjoy it :-).

I woke up with a puffy eye.  The stye was still there, still hurting, still causing me great annoyance.  I took a look at it when I got up, and it wasn't pretty.  There is a zit on the inner part of my lower lash line.  I gently pulled my bottom lid back to put medicine on it, and I could actually see it.  It's no wonder the dang thing hurts so much!  I put the medicine on after washing my face.  I'm not a huge fan of this ointment.  It's messy and makes my eye greasy and teary, but it also helps with the soreness, so on it goes.  I texted my best friend IV, who is a pharmacist, and asked if there was anything else I could put on it.  I was kind of hoping there was a new miracle drug that would instantly heal this thing, but she said no, it would go away on its own.  Great.  I have to admit, it isn't quite as sore as it was this morning, so maybe it's finally going away?  Let's hope so.

My son had algebra and Hope today.  That was it.  The Hope class was an hour long, but the math was a lesson with a video, and we dragged that one out.  I especially went over the difference between mean and median, and we did all the practice examples provided.  He got a 90% on today's quiz, much better than yesterday's 70%.  He got one question wrong, but when I went over it (figuring he'd done the math wrong or copied a number incorrectly), it was right.  At least, according to the way the teacher in the video had explained it, he'd done it correctly.  So I've emailed the teacher about it.  That's one thing I'm not liking about this curriculum: too many times, the computer has the wrong answer, and if we don't catch it he'll get a lower grade.  I'm waiting to hear from the teacher; after all, maybe we both misunderstood the procedure.  It doesn't seem likely, but I'll give the computer program the benefit of the doubt.

Today was grocery shopping day.  I spent 2 1/2 hours in 2 stores.  Walmart was so packed today, you'd think there was a giveaway!  I tried to get everything and get out of there quick, but it was almost impossible.  I was able to get everything on my list except for the pads for my microdermabrasion system that I got a few months ago.  I went to Costco to pick up a few items and to put gas in my car.  I had a quarter of a tank of gas in my car, but I figured I'd go ahead and fill up the tank since I was going to be at Costco anyway.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  I filled up the tank with just $27.40!  Just a few months ago, this same amount of gas would have cost over $45!  Gas has gone from almost $4 a gallon to $2.03 today, and I'm doing the happy dance!  Praise Jesus!  I finished my grocery shopping under budget too, even after buying a couple of pizzas at Little Caesar's (I was too hungry and tired to cook).  That made it an exceptional shopping trip.

My son R had his friends over while I was shopping, and they managed to get the computer working.  Just as I'd suspected, there was something that should have been connected that wasn't, and some other minor thing that I didn't understand.  I think he was tired and frustrated, and that's why he couldn't figure out what he was doing wrong.  A couple more pairs of eyes and he's a happy camper.

My daughter and I went to Target so I could pick up my microdermabrasion pads.  I wanted to look around at the makeup, but she quickly reminded me that I have plenty of makeup and didn't need anymore.  (Kill joy).  I did find a nail polish in a neutral beige color; it's almost the color of my skin, a milky matte tone that will look really pretty and go with everything.  It was under $2 so she didn't make a fuss.  I wanted to find something to help my nails not be so brittle, but I like to take my time and she wanted to get something to eat.  I suppose it's for the best.  I saved money, after all.

That's pretty much it for today.  I have to figure out what my son is going to do tomorrow, since he still needs 2 more hours of school to finish off the week.  It's a pain sometimes, getting 25 hours of school in for the week when he finishes his work in less time, but it's a requirement, and it's worth it to have him at home.  He's happier, I'm happier, and that's what matters.  Have a pleasant night ya'll.  

TGIF Ya'll!

This day started off a little earlier than the past few days.  It wasn't because of me purposing to start my day early, though.  My daughter slept over at a friend's house because she's dog sitting for them, but she forgot to turn off her iHome alarm.  All of a sudden, at 6am, I was awaken by a loud buzzing sound.  Interestingly, it never wakes up the boys :P.  I went back to bed after turning it off only because it was so dark out I thought I could get another hour of shut-eye.  No such luck.

I grabbed my phone and looked at my emails, the weather (63 degrees this morning, woot!), then I went on the Bare Minerals website to see if there was anything interesting going on.  There was: Beauty Rush!!!  If I wasn't awake before, I sure was fully awake after that.  I had my prayer time, then got up and started getting ready for my day.  I knew I had to go grocery shopping, but I also knew I wanted to be home by noon.  Beauty Rush starts at 9am Pacific time, and I know that, once it starts, it gets bombarded.  I also wanted to try some of the new makeup I'd gotten yesterday, so I was gonna have to get a move on.  I had a bowl of cereal and coffee for breakfast, then started getting ready.  I used the new Stroke of Light brightener first.  Note to self: a little goes a long way.  It really did brighten up my eyes, but I think I went a little overboard.  Three dots should be sufficient.  I was able to blend it out, though, and it took a few years off, I'm not even joking.  That stuff is great!  Then I tried the Matte foundation by Bare Minerals.  I got a nice size sample of it, in the same shade as my Original foundation, and I was curious to see if it was gonna be any different.  Honestly, I didn't notice.  I needed more of the Matte to cover the redness on my cheeks than I use of the Original, but as for the actual look, I couldn't see where it looked more matte.  It still looked great, and I've noticed as the day progressed that I had less shininess come through on my forehead, so that part was nice.  Overall I think it's a good alternative, especially on days when my face seems oilier.  I did my eye makeup, then I tried the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer.  What I like most about this bronzer is the scent - it smells like chocolate!  Oh, it is scrumptious smelling!!  As far as the look of the bronzer, I do like it.  It's similar to Bare Mineral's The Skinny Dip except that it's matte.  It's a good color for me, not too dark, and again, anything that smells that good on my face is a keeper.  Next was the mascara.  I put it on more carefully today, and it didn't transfer.  More importantly, it didn't cause my eyes to itch.  That has been my problem with mascara for years: they cause my lashes to itch, and then the lashes start to fall out.  I would rarely put mascara on for that reason.  The only mascara that didn't bother me was Bare Minerals Flawless Definition, and I love it for that reason.  I can now say that Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara also makes my lashes look long and full without causing any itchy reactions.  Still don't like the name, though.  Lastly, I put on the liquid lipstick again, a bit heavier this time.  The color, Peony, is a very bright pink when first applied, but it dries matte.  My first issue with it, was that it settled into all the lines in my lips.  It made my lips look wrinkly.  Once it dried it didn't look as bad, but it was really dry.  I didn't put on any lip gloss because I wanted to see how it felt and how long it lasted, but I've determined this lipstick cannot be worn without lip gloss.  It is too drying on the lips.  The lasting power is great, though.  Once it was on it wasn't budging.  I just didn't care for the feel of it. 

I finished putting on my makeup and getting dressed, then I checked the time.  It was already 10:00 and I hadn't left the house yet!  I put on a yellow tank top under a yellow jacket that a co-worker of mine gave me years ago but I rarely wear because it's too hot out.  Today was gonna be in the 60's so I figured I would take advantage and wear this bright pretty jacket.  I was in the bathroom finishing getting ready, with my daughter chatting away.  I got some hand cream and was rubbing it on my hands when suddenly...POP!  I popped the burn blister.  The big one.  Since it didn't hurt I'd forgotten all about it, and I rubbed a bit too hard.  The nasty part was, it was full of fluid, which went all on my jacket.  The fluid was clear, which is good because that means the burn isn't infected, but I wasn't about to wear a jacket with burn ooze on it.  I had to quickly change and get a bandage on the burn, because of course now it was starting to hurt.  I finally got out of the house at 10:15.

I had already figured out my budget in my head.  To stay at the $300 mark, after having spent $122 at Winn-Dixie and calculating that I needed to spend about $91 at Costco, I made it my goal to stay at or around $87 at Walmart.  Mostly what I needed to get were staples: potatoes, carrots, onions, breakfast foods, milk, that sort of thing.  I did my best to stick to my list, and after giving the cashier my $3 off coupon for my hair colorant (yep, time to color my hair again), the total came to $88.06.  I was so happy with myself!  I then headed to Costco, again keeping in mind that I wanted to stay at or around $91.  I was super happy to see that bacon had gone down in price; the last time I'd bought bacon the 4 lb. box cost me $20.  This time the price was $14.  I'd got almost everything, and was on my way to pick up the last item on my list, when I spotted my kid's great uncle.  He's a very nice gentleman, but he's a bit of a gossip.  After having attended grandma Maria's funeral and the family pretty much ignoring me, and their dad not calling E for over a week and a half, I didn't want to have to answer any questions.  I turned around and went straight to check out.  Because of that, I was able to keep my bill to $71, so I was able to save $20.  I figured, God wanted me to keep that extra money for Beauty Rush ;-).

I got home at 12:15, and my daughter was already loading up her cart with goodies.  All I was interested in was skincare.  There were some skincare sets I was hoping would be on Beauty Rush so I could get a good deal on them.  Sure enough, I scored a full size facial cleanser, full size moisturizer and full size eye cream, all for only $28.  Just the eye cream alone sells for $32, so that price was wonderful!  I couldn't resist a beautiful set my daughter pointed out to me called Day and Play - 6 products for $18.  I tried to add them to my cart, but I kept running into transmission problems.  Ugh!  I thought it was my computer, because my daughter was on her Mac and she had no issues.  I tried logging in on her iPad but it wasn't cooperating either, so I went on my phone.  That worked fine, and boy was I glad!  There were two other sets I'd seen that I really wanted - Touch of Sun and Bare Guide To Color Warm, both neutral kits and both under $20.  My daughter decided she only wanted the Day and Play set, so I added it onto my order, that way she wouldn't have to pay shipping.  I'm glad I was finally able to get my order in, because shortly afterwards they ran out of the skincare set.  I would have cried if I'd missed that deal!  Later on I read on Bare Escentual's Facebook page that lots of people were having problems with the website crashing, so it wasn't my computer after all.  I guess I'm not the only one who thinks Beauty Rush is amazing!

By the time I'd finished placing my order and putting away the groceries, it was past lunchtime and I hadn't made anything.  What's more, E had two finals to work on and he hadn't started either one.  I put some Tyson chicken and fries in the oven (staples in my house) and got to work organizing his science notes for studying.  He asked me how many questions were on the science final, so I went to check.  I realized then that there were two exams he had to do: his unit test AND his final exam.  I thought the poor kid was gonna pass out!  We ate lunch, then sat down to study and review everything.  That took an hour.  I decided that, rather than have him get overwhelmed, he could take the unit test today and the final tomorrow.  He still had to finish part 3 of his algebra exam which was shorter, so that way he'd do two exams today and finish the semester tomorrow, hopefully more relaxed.  He went ahead and did the science exam, and to his surprise he got an 88%.  There are still 3 essay questions the teacher has to grade, so that isn't his final grade, but it's good so far.  His algebra teacher emailed him today - the question he'd gotten marked wrong was actually right.  She corrected the score, but he still ended up with a 75% on part 2 of the test.  I'm really hoping he gets 100% on part 3.  I had my son R double check his work, and R found a mistake.  He made his brother go back and review.  It was something so simple: a greater than sign where there should have been a less than sign.  If he gets a perfect score he'll end up with an 82% on his final; not the A he wanted but a B is still a very good grade.  

I'm hearing the kids in the park - it's 9:00 at night, which means there's a soccer game going on.  I think it's time for me to shower and get ready for bed.  Good night folks.  God bless. 

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.