The Week In Review

It's Friday, once again.  I take it slower on Fridays, since it's my day off from work.  I've been doing my grocery shopping every other week (because I hate going to Walmart) and this week I'm off from that as well.  Perfect time for a blog post.

I was off this Monday for July 4th weekend.  Most companies give their employees the Friday off when the holiday lands on Saturday; since we don't work Fridays our bosses decided to give us Monday instead.  My daughter still had to work at the church, and my son had to work at the store.  I waited for my daughter to come home, and we went to see Disney/Pixar's new movie Inside Out.  I don't want to give anything away, but once again Pixar hit it out of the park.  This movie is wonderful!  The story is beautiful and well developed, with its funny moments thrown into the deeper message.  But to be perfectly honest, my favorite part of the movie was the short cartoon at the beginning, called Lava.  The story of two volcanoes that fall in love was the most romantic cartoon I've ever seen - even my 15 year old son got teary-eyed!  While this movie doesn't knock The Incredibles from the top spot of my list, it's definitely in the top 5.  I recommend everyone see it at least once.

Our weather has been slightly milder than last summer.  Last year was killer; it rained almost every single day - at least 5 times a week - so that the humidity levels were off the charts.  This year has been drier, with rain a couple of times a week, or just in the afternoons for about a half hour.  There have been thunderstorms but they've been quick to pass by.  It's actually been pleasant in the shade, with warm breezes blowing.  Once you step out into the sun, though, it's like being in an oven.  I've thought that I would melt on several occasions.

I finally got the chance to use my new weed eater last weekend.  It's lightweight, so it wasn't a hassle carrying it around as I trimmed all the edges around our house and fences.  It's also fairly quiet.  I'm glad I charged both batteries, since the first one went dead with a quarter of my yard left to do.  I was really satisfied with how the yard looked; my arms, however, were not as happy.  The vibration of the weed eater is something I'm not used to, so by the time I was finished I felt like my arms were going to fall off.  It was a weird sensation that lasted several hours.  Yesterday I mowed the grass in the backyard again (that's the problem with summer, the grass kicks into high gear) but the sun was blaring on me by the time I finished so I didn't do any trim work.  Instead I pulled out the blower, and found that it too does a good job at cleaning up.  My favorite part is that they are both very light to carry around, even with the battery put in.  Assembly was easy too: for the blower I just had to attach the tube portion to the motor.  There was a small hole that I figured needed to be screwed in, but I couldn't find one in the box.  I thought, "Hmm, looks like I'm missing a screw," - then I chuckled at myself.  I figured out that the holes were just for lining up the two parts and no additional hardware was needed.  For under $120 I got a good buy, which makes me happy.

I've come to the sad realization that one of my makeup products is making me break out.  I'd purchased the Mac Face and Body foundation a couple of months ago, and was really liking it - the color match is spot on, it gives good coverage without feeling heavy, and I could use it on its own or over my Complexion Rescue.  I had noticed, however, that a couple of times after I'd used it I was broken out.  I have occasional breakouts from acne, thanks to hormones and such.  Pre-menopause = Puberty, The Sequel.  But this wasn't pimples; I was breaking out in a rash.  I tried to attribute it to other things: food allergy, hormonal acne, weather changes.  But yesterday, after cutting the grass, washing and drying my hair, and making lunch, I was running late, so I decided on using the Mac product for a quick makeup look.  Sure enough, when I got home and took off my makeup, my cheeks and chin were red and blotchy.  This morning it was no better.  Even my oldest son, who typically doesn't notice things like that, asked me what was going on with my face this morning.  The only thing different was the Mac Face and Body.  My daughter won't mind getting my almost full bottle - it works wonderfully for her.  I'm going back to my trusty mineral powder foundation.  Just not today.  Today I'm gonna run over to CVS and see if I can't find something for my blemishes.

What else is on the agenda for today?  For one thing, laundry.  Lots of laundry.  I also have to put gas in my car.  It's so great to work just three minutes from my house.  I literally put gas in my car once a month.  That saves me a ton of money.  I've also got to vacuum, and I'm hoping to take a trip to Target today.  They have shorts on sale, buy one get one 50% off.  Shorts this year are much shorter than anything I care to wear - let's face it, mini shorts don't look attractive on me anymore.  They have Bermuda shorts on sale, though, and I want to stock up for our upcoming trip to Disney World - yay!   So that's it for now.  Hope everyone has a beautiful and blessed day.

Satisfaction Saturday

Don't you love those days when you get to scratch stuff off your to-do list?  When everything you had planned actually gets done?  Those are satisfying days.  Today was one of those days for me.

I got up early but decided there was no need to rush.  The room felt chilly - it was 55 degrees and the breezes were keeping the house nice and cool, even with the windows closed.  I got up and started in the kitchen by taking some pork chops out, then making breakfast.  My son left for work before I got to the kitchen, and my daughter got home from dog-sitting shortly thereafter.  Once breakfast was done I called my youngest son, E.  Today was gonna be the day he finished the semester.  We had reviewed his science notes the day before, checked and double-checked, so I knew he was ready.  He wasn't so sure; just the thought of taking a test that was 1 1/2 - 2 hours long was enough to get his head spinning.  I encouraged him and reminded him he wasn't being timed, he didn't need to rush, and we had reviewed so he should be okay.  It took an hour and a half, just as the teacher said, and so far he has an 85%.  There are 3 essay questions that the teacher has to grade, but I think he did well.  Finally, he has turned in all his semester work and we can both enjoy the rest of this three day weekend.  Hallelujah!

Once he'd finished I started vacuuming the floors.  Two girls from church were coming over to practice for tomorrow's youth group worship, and once again my floors looked like they were growing fur.  I got the floors cleaned, then changed the bedding on all the beds.  With my son R having had pink eye, it was imperative that his bedding be washed, so I went ahead and did all the bedding.  Then I made pork chops, sauteed in tomato sauce with mixed veggies, along with white rice, black beans, and fries.  After having eaten pizza or Tyson chicken for the past couple of days, I was looking forward to real food :-).  My kids even complimented the meal.  I haven't made pork chops this way in a long time, and they were happy to have it again.

After lunch it was time to color my hair.  My roots were starting to take over.  Every time I look at my roots I'm astounded at how many grays I have towards the crown of my head.   I bought the same hair colorant I'd purchased last time, Clairol Age Defy, because I did notice that it covered my grays really well, and the color lasted for over a month without looking dull.  I think it also has to do with the fact that I'm using a shampoo that has no sulfates, but I still loved the way the color turned out the last time.  I'd been using 6R which is a medium auburn, recommended by my hair stylist, but when I bought my hair color the last time they only had 5R which is dark auburn.  Now when I went to Walmart to pick up my hair color, I noticed they had the 6R, but I chose to stick with the darker shade of auburn.  I love the way it looks, the way it covers my grays, and how it works with my skin tone.  From the moment I start mixing the color till it's time to wash it out takes just over an hour.  The box says to leave the hair color on for 35 minutes: 30 for the roots and 5 for the rest of the hair.  My stylist recommended I leave it on for 45-50 minutes on my roots and another 10-15 minutes on the rest of my hair.  This is because my grays weren't being completely covered when I left the color on for less time.  So for me, it's a mission getting my hair colored, washed, and styled, but I was determined to do it today and not go to church looking like a skunk head.  It turned out beautiful, and it was another item taken care of.

I decided to play with my makeup a little, too.  I have lots of eye shadows, and I wanted to try using a couple of them to see how they worked together.  The first combo I didn't like; there was too much shimmer going on and it was overwhelming.  The second one looked much nicer.  I used lavender with shimmer on my lid up to the crease, then a matte brown shade above the crease.  I lined my lash line with a purple liner, and it looked soft and pretty.  I didn't have anywhere to go, but I still enjoyed being able to do something just for myself.

We had dinner, then I decided I wanted to watch a movie.  I'd gotten three DVD's over Christmas and my birthday, but I'd only gotten to see one because, now that both my sons have Wii U's, they are on them every chance they get.  Tonight, it was my turn.  My daughter was on her Wii in the living room, and E was on his computer playing a game with his friend.  R wasn't home yet, so the family room television was free :D.  I grabbed the movie Mom's Night Out, a hilarious comedy, and proceeded to laugh my little heart out.  That felt so good!  I'd been wanting to sit down and watch this movie for a while, and I'm glad I finally got that done.

I couldn't believe the time when I finished watching the movie: it was just 7:30!  It was so dark outside I was sure it was after 9:00.  That's the problem with wintertime: short days.  I went ahead and cleaned up the kitchen.  My son went out with his friends, so the food I'd saved for him got put away in the fridge.  I'm sure he'll appreciate the leftovers for work tomorrow.

On a very positive note: I've been drinking lots more water everyday for just over a week, and I have to say I'm noticing a difference in my skin.  It's not as dry as it was before.  It's not greasy either, but it is glowy.  I'm sure my skin regiment is helping as well, but I changed my skin care regiment back in November.  Yes, I've seen improvement, but since drinking more water it's like my skin was bumped up a notch.  I'm liking this quite a bit!  I plan to continue with this little experiment and see how my skin looks at the end of the month.

I have to go do my microdermabrasion now, so I think I'll say goodnight, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite.  God bless.

Merry CHRISTmas!!

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5

The day is finally here, and what a lovely day it is.  Weather in the low 70's, overcast and breezy but not rainy, a tad humid but not too bad.  I love living in Florida!

Despite having gone to bed at almost 2 am, I was awake at 6:30.  Granted, I napped on and off from 11:30 till 1 am, but I think my body is on a clock that can't be adjusted.  I didn't mind, though; who can be upset about waking up early Christmas morning?!  I got washed up, then woke my little monkey up.  I laughed at the fact that it was 7 am and he was still asleep.  When I asked him why he was so different from other kids that wake up early, he shot up and said, "That's right, it's Christmas!"  His siblings were already up so we got started opening presents right away.  I definitely wanted to do this before their dad showed up.  Christmas is something I don't want to share with him, at least not right now.  Their father cares too much about the financial aspect of a gift; a present that isn't expensive is not a good present.  I'm very different.  I look for things that I know people will enjoy, regardless of the price.  If I find a nice shirt for my son and it only costs $7.00, I will still get it because it's something I know my son will like or that he needs.  His dad would be appalled at wearing something worth so little.  It takes all the fun and joy out of exchanging gifts if someone is constantly asking, "How much did that cost?" or "What did you pay for that?"  Even stores matter to him.  He won't wear something from Kohl's because his clothes have to come from Macy's or JC Penney.  I don't want my gifts to be looked down on, or my kids thinking their gifts aren't good enough.  So we opened our presents and enjoyed seeing what we all got.  My oldest son R got us all these really cute pillows that look like books.  He gave E a Treasure Island pillow, his sister got Alice In Wonderland, and I got my favorite book since I was a teenager, Sherlock Holmes.  It was such a cool gift!  He also gave me a cookbook, Ree Drummond's A Year Of Holidays, with all kinds of holiday recipes.  She is a favorite of mine, so I could not be happier!  I got 2 DVD's from my daughter, Annie Claus Is Coming To Town which is a super cute (sappy) Christmas movie that I totally love, and a collection of Disney's Herbie movies.  My youngest son gave me another movie I've been wanting for a while, Mom's Night Out on blu-ray.  It is one of the funniest movies I've seen, I highly recommend it!  Of course there was all the makeup I got from Bare Escentuals that I didn't have to pay for, which made for an even brighter Christmas!  My kids also liked their gifts, which was a combination of video games, board games and clothes.  Then I went to the kitchen to start making breakfast while they called their dad to come open presents as well.  As I made buttermilk pancakes and crispy bacon, my kids opened some very nice gifts from their father:  each of the boys got a Wii U console with games, and my daughter got clothes and makeup that she really wanted.  When it came to them giving him his gifts, it was clear what his favorite was.  R bought his dad a high-end pillow, made with Egyptian cotton, hypoallergenic, original price of $80 that he scored on Cyber Monday for $25.  A got him some Nautica perfume which he liked as well.  As for the facial products, he didn't seem impressed.  I don't think he realized what these products cost, but I didn't make a big deal about it.  It's Christmas, and I wanted to enjoy the day, not be upset by people I can't change.

After that I spent a whole lot of time getting the house back in order.  I make sure we have a couple of trash bags to throw away all the discarded wrapping paper, but I always keep the boxes, bags, gift tags and tissue paper.  Reduce-reuse-recycle!  I don't recycle the wrapping paper because it's hard to reuse once it's been cut and taped and the kids rip into it, but I keep everything else.  The tissue paper is the trickiest, making sure it's folded properly and not torn.  I filled up a bag with reusable tissue, then packed everything away in the closet.  There was plenty more to pick up and put away, too.  My son E was overwhelmed with the amount of clothes he got:  there were 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of sweatpants, and 11 new shirts in different styles and colors.  You must understand, my son likes to wear the same 3 or 4 shirts ALL THE TIME.  It drives me nuts!  He has a closet full of shirts that he doesn't wear because either they don't fit him the way he likes, or don't fit him at all, or they have some kind of design he doesn't like.  His dad had bought him lots of Ecko Limited t-shirts but he doesn't like the bold designs on them.  This time all the shirts are plain round or v-neck tees, but it was so many he was sure he'd never get to wear any of them.  His older brother had a talk with him, and told him it was important that he make the effort to wear them, otherwise he would appear ungrateful.  He gave in and put on a dark grey shirt which looked really nice.  I'm hoping that once he gets used to the idea of having lots of nice clothes he won't feel like they're taking over his closet.  I did go in and pulled a bunch of shirts that he doesn't wear to take to Goodwill.  Once I'd done that the closet appeared empty, making it seem like there weren't that many new clothes after all.  I don't know if he's fully convinced; my son is a creature of habit, and new things don't fall into his habitual behavior.  As I told my daughter, he definitely isn't a girl.  Girls would love nothing more than to receive a boatload of clothes for Christmas!

I started lunch just after noon.  The turkey was done from the day before; all that was needed was some mashed potatoes and green beans.  My best friend IV stopped by as I was cooking, and brought a Christmas present for us:  tickets for Winter Jam next month, and tickets to see Chris Tomlin in February.  I know she spent way too much money on these and I told her so, but she loves going to concerts and loves for me to go too.  I've told her I can pay for my own tickets but she goes ahead and buys them before I have a chance to get them myself.  I'm gonna have to figure out a way to stop this; I don't want her to get into a financial bind because she's being too generous with her money.  I got her a simpler but much appreciated gift:  the newest Tim Hawkins DVD.  Tim Hawkins is the funniest comedian I've ever listened to, and because he's a Christian my whole family can listen and not worry about him saying anything crass, inappropriate or vulgar.  It's family friendly laughs, and I don't think anyone can resist a good laugh!  After lunch all I could hear throughout the whole house was my son E playing Wonderful 101 on his new Wii U.  His brother had set both up before going over to visit his best friend since high school.  Today is not only Christmas, it's his best friend's birthday, which makes the visit extra special.  

Another neighbor stopped by and brought us a tin of Belgian chocolate covered wafers and cookies.  Oh my word, these cookies are SOOO delicious!  I'm afraid I'm gonna put on the 5 pounds I've struggled so hard to lose!

I cleaned up the kitchen, then sat down to watch Annie Claus Comes To Town.  I love sweet, romantic movies, and if they revolve around Christmas I love them even more!  Afterwards my kids wanted to play with their board games.  Even though it was just A and E because R had gone out, we still had fun playing The Logo Board Game and Say Anything.  I always get my kids board games for Christmas because we are board game lovers.  Board games, card games, word games, you name it, we play it.  What we won't do is play for money.  We compete fairly (no cheating allowed in my house), and we challenge each other.  Most importantly, we keep it fun.  

I've showered and moisturized, and now I'm going to relax with my new cookbook, researching new recipes that I want to try.  It's been a wonderful day, a day we celebrate because Jesus came to this earth over 2,000 years ago with the purpose of restoring our relationship with God.  Yes, my kids got me some nice gifts, and they are very happy with the presents they received, but ultimately the greatest gift of all is salvation through Jesus Christ.  I can live without anything, but I cannot live without Jesus.  We worship Him and praise Him, and we celebrate this momentous occasion, His birth.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas as well.  Good night now.  

3 Days Left

Last night I went to bed at 10:30 to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas DVD which is an all-time favorite.  I dozed off through most of it.  I finally gave in, turned the television off and went to sleep at 11:30.  At 1:00 am my son E wakes me up because he has a nosebleed.  No biggie, I thought, kids have them.  I told him to pinch his nose and it would stop.  After all, he's almost 15 years old, not a baby.  Within minutes I hear him in the bathroom saying, "Mom, it won't stop!  Ugh, what is this?!"  So I got up to see what was happening.  There was blood everywhere - on his clothes, on the floor, in the sink, on a hundred tissue papers.  It was a lot of blood, and he was freaking out, which only made the bleeding worse.  When I looked up at him I could see the blood gushing from his nose and I knew I had to take action.  I got a clean tissue and had him lie down, since he said he was feeling woozy.  I then pinched his nose myself.  He wasn't really pinching the part of the nose that was bleeding; he was holding his nostrils shut, so whenever he would let go all the blood would come rushing down.  I got him to calm down and kept the pressure on his nose for a good two minutes.  When he said he couldn't taste blood in his mouth anymore, I had him get washed up.  As he went back to bed it started up again, but not as heavy.  I pinched his nose again for another 2 minutes, and that time it did stop.  All along I kept telling him not to worry, calm down, everything was okay (though I was concerned seeing him in that state), and he would tell me he was fine.  Once the bleeding had stopped he admitted that he was pretty worked up and the amount of blood had scared him.  He asked that we pray, and I prayed for him to be healed and get rest.  He lay down and, even though he was still a bit worked up and headachy, went right to sleep.  Mama, on the other hand, was awake for another hour checking on him and making sure he wasn't bleeding anymore.  He woke up fine, praise the Lord.

So after that overnight adventure, I woke up at 7:00 in the morning because, when you're a morning person like me, there is no sleeping in.  I checked my little monkey and he was sleeping soundly, no more bleeding.  I went to the kitchen to make breakfast and realized I'd forgotten to take out the ground beef for today's chili.  I reminded myself repeatedly that I had to take the ground beef out, but I still forgot.  I put it in a pan with warm water to defrost, shaking my head at myself the whole time.  I kept breakfast simple today, cereal and toast.  I had decided yesterday that today I would update my iPhone to the newest version.  I still had version 7.1 on my phone because my daughter had insisted that upgrading my 4S would not be a good choice.  When I read all that the upgrade would fix I showed it to her and she agreed that I should update.  I had tried to back up my phone first, but my computer was so bogged down with unnecessary files that it wouldn't even recognize the phone connected to it.  That's when my son R cleaned up my computer and took all the junk out, making it super fast and efficient again.  At 8:30 am I plugged the phone into the computer to back up.  It couldn't; one of the files that my son disabled was needed to recognize my phone.  Thankfully my daughter was awake; she knows more iPhone stuff than I do.  She fixed the disabled file and the back up got done.  Then we tried to update.  Well, that wasn't happening because I didn't have enough space on my phone, so I had to start deleting stuff.  Ugh!  All in all, it took 2 1/2 hours to update, but at least that's one thing I can knock off my to-do list.  

After taking care of the phone, I got to work around the house.  I had all the laundry to fold and put away.  Right after that it was time to make lunch.  Along with the black bean and beef chili we had white rice and cornbread.  We all love chili, so I make a big pot, enough for lunch and dinner.  At least that's my goal.  We ran out of rice and chili, and there's less than half of the cornbread left.  I can't complain about no leftovers ;-).  While I ate lunch I watched a really old version of The Christmas Carol.  This one is with Reginald Owens.  It's in black and white.  While it isn't faithful to the actual book it's still a classic as far as I'm concerned, and it's one of those movies that I have to watch every Christmas season.

Then after lunch I ran to Winn-Dixie to buy a couple of things I needed to finish making cupcakes.  I thought I had vanilla pudding in the house, but it turns out all I had was chocolate.  I'd also run out of frosting, and you can't decorate cupcakes right without frosting.  So I ran over to the store, and for some reason I felt the need to go check the meat department for ground beef.  Good thing I did - I scored 2 packages of about a pound and a quarter each for under $3.00 per pound.  It's the meat that has to be sold or thrown out because of the sell-by date.  There's nothing wrong with the meat, but government regulations and all, they either get it sold or get rid of it.  I was so glad that God pushed me over to see that bargain - we never have enough ground beef in my house!

I baked 2 orange streusel loaves, one for my next door neighbors who are an older couple, and the other for my daughter's coworkers at the church office.  Then I baked chocolate cupcakes because, who doesn't love chocolate cupcakes ya'll?!  I was pleasantly surprised that I got 27 cupcakes out of the one batter I made.  It meant I could get 3 plates with 8 cupcakes each, and one left over for each of my kiddos.  It also meant I was able to take cupcakes to 9 homes with just 3 boxes of cake mix.  My son R had to work so once again it was A and E going to the neighbors with the goodies.  The first neighbors we went to see have lived here just over a year, and I have to admit I'd never met them.  I saw the wife recently going to her mailbox and saw that she was expecting.  So I knew a chocolate confection would be welcome :-).  Come to find out she'd had the baby just last week, a gorgeous little boy.  They're a young couple with another little boy who is about 3 years old.  They were so grateful and so nice!  We then went to the folks next door to them, who I've seen from afar but have never spoken to.  The husband was very surprised but also very thankful.  The third house was a little more intimidating.  The folks have lived there since we've been here, but they've always kept to themselves.  They have a daughter who is handicapped and in a wheelchair.  When we got to the door the husband seemed a bit bothered, like we were coming to ask for something or complain.  I think out of everyone we visited, he was the most surprised that we were bringing a gift.  He didn't even know where we lived, and they are literally two doors down from us.  It made me sad to think that we've lived here so many years and yet we don't know our neighbors, but at the same time I'm so glad that we showed kindness to those we don't know.  It was quite an eye-opener for me about how our culture has changed.  People used to be so much friendlier towards their neighbors, but now everyone is either too busy to be bothered or too distrusting.  I hope our neighbors will be more willing to reach out to one another with this small gesture.

My daughter has encouraged her little brother to work out on her Wii Fit.  I think it's good for him.  We haven't gone out this week, partly because A and I weren't feeling well, and partly because it's been so warm out.  E went to the park with his friend yesterday but he was home all day today, so Wii Fit it is.  Whatever works to keep him moving.

It's early still but all I'm gonna do now is shower and maybe watch a movie or something.  That's it for today (at least I hope it is; don't need another episode like last night).  The day is approaching - is everyone excited? :D  Yeah, me too!  Good night.

It's Just 5 Days Till Christmas...

...and all through the house, no more creatures were stirring, 'cause they left last night at 11:00 after having a great time of food and fellowship.  I'm so grateful to God for the wonderful people He has placed in our lives.

Yesterday when I left off I was leaving to get pizzas.  I picked them up quickly - it was Little Caesar's pizza, and we'd called ahead to let them know we needed 3 pepperoni and 2 cheese pizzas.  My daughter had picked up her birthday cake, an exquisite creation by a lady at church whom we call the Real Cake Boss.  It was a square cake made to look like a Christmas present, covered in white frosting with a snowflake design, and a green velvet ribbon made of fondant.  The cake itself was red velvet with a cookie dough filling and covered in a chocolate ganache.  It was truly a piece of art.   Along with that there was the Christmas bark and reindeer chow (think Chex Mix but covered in powdered and peppermint sugar), a hot buffalo chicken dip with tortilla chips, and a hot chocolate bar.   It was 7:00, the guests were to arrive at 7:30, and we were ready for them.

My daughter was starting to get nervous when a few people called or texted saying they weren't going to be able to make it, or might not get here till late.  Thankfully people started arriving at 7:40 and we had a steady flow of folks coming in till 9:00.  Everyone went absolutely bonkers over her buffalo chicken dip!  I kind of laughed at the fact that everyone was congregated around the crock pot sneaking more and more of it!  Her friend bought a huge tray of sugar cookies shaped like snowflakes that were beautiful as well as delicious.  Everyone loved the idea of the hot chocolate bar, even though we associate hot chocolate with cold weather, and our weather the last 3 days has been anything but cold.  Our temps have gotten close to the 80 degree mark, and while the humidity has still been low, the sky has been cloudless and the sun makes the day feel nice and toasty.  Still, it was so yummy, and who can resist hot chocolate at Christmastime?  A few even went back for seconds!  My daughter had planned on having food, cake, and board games, but everyone was chatting and laughing, and before we knew it folks were leaving because it was 11:00 at night.  Many of her friends are couples with young children, and Mama and Daddy had to go home.  Everyone had a really good time, and I'm so thankful that they showered my little girl with love and affection.  God was glorified as we thanked Him for her life and her example in the lives of others.

So, on to today.  I got up feeling more tired than usual.  I figured it was because we went to bed so late, after having to clean up and put things away.  My son R left for work, A went to get her hair cut, and I had a small breakfast.  I needed to get ready for grocery shopping day, and I wasn't looking forward to it.  It's 5 days till Christmas, and I knew Walmart would most likely be a mad house.  I hate crowded stores, and I felt drained just thinking about it.  A got back before I was ready and volunteered to go with me, which was good because I didn't feel like going alone.  E stayed at home; he hates shopping anytime, even if it's for himself.  We went to Walmart and yes, it was pretty packed.  Since I had my list we went down the aisles getting everything we needed.  We were almost done - I just needed to get my shampoo and some ice cream, which I always leave for last so it doesn't melt in the shopping cart.  A told me she needed to use the rest room, so I went to get my shampoo.  I was looking for a specific one, the Argan Oil and Shea Butter shampoo by OGX which doesn't contain sulfates.  I like that fact, because sulfates tend to dull colored hair.  This one is especially good for hair that gets straightened a lot because it's hydrating.  Well, of course they only had the conditioner, which I didn't need :P.  I settled instead for the Moroccan Argan Creme shampoo which is similar, and I was about to head on over to the ice cream, when my daughter called me on my cell phone.  "Come over to aisle 20 quick, there's no one on line!"  I was ready to run everyone over just to get there!  One gentleman was ahead of me with 2 items, that was it.  At Walmart during Christmas, that's unheard of!  My daughter went to get the ice cream and we got out of there in no time.  God certainly favored me because He knew I wanted to be there as much as I could ever want a toothache!

From there we headed to Costco to pick up a few things and to get gas.  I was shocked to see gas prices have gone down to $2.39/gallon.  I can't remember when it was that low!  It was costing me an average of $55 to fill up my tank; today I paid less that $40.  Praise The Lord!!  Costco was also packed to the gills, but they always have plenty of workers helping folks so we didn't take very long.  I still had to go to Publix for the turkey, but we decided to go home and eat first.  I felt weak, and since all I'd eaten for breakfast were 2 slices of wheat toast with apple butter I thought for sure I was just hungry.  We came home and I ate a couple of slices of cheese pizza from last night, but I still felt tired.  My head was also hurting a bit.  It was hurting at Walmart but I'd imagined it was from being in the packed store, except I was sneezing more than usual.  I finally had to accept that I'm coming down with something.  My throat is kind of scratchy, my sinuses are a bit inflamed, and of course my daughter is feeling the same way.  Whether she picked it up at her tutoring job and brought it home, or someone from the party last night did, we can't say.  All I know is, I've gotta bump up my vitamin C intake because no one wants to be sick Christmas week.

While I was getting my lunch, my daughter suggested we watch a Christmas movie.  Her suggestion:  Elf.  Now I'll be the first to tell you, I don't care for Will Farrell as an actor.  I find his roles to be either corny or downright stupid.  But I have to admit, Elf really is a cute movie.  Maybe because it's a Christmas flick, and that's my favorite movie genre.  I was only too happy to accept her suggestion, and sit down for a while before continuing with my day.

There was one thing left to do before I left for Publix, and that was wash all the bedding.  My daughter helped me get all the dirty bedding off and all the new bedding on all the beds, and I threw that in the wash before leaving.  A wanted to go with me again, so we went and picked up a 13 pound turkey, some cake mixes and hummus that was on sale.  My daughter went ahead and paid for it (yay!), so my total food bill for this week's shopping trips was $311.01.  That doesn't include yesterday's pizzas, since that was a gift to my daughter.  I try to stay around $300 for my food bill every 2 weeks, but since I went under budget during my last shopping trip I feel like I did pretty good.  It also helps that my gas bill was lower than usual.  All in all a good shopping trip.

Dinner tonight:  yep, you got it, leftover pizza.  I'm really not feeling my best, and I had no desire to be in the kitchen making anything.  Thankfully my kids can eat pizza 24/7/365 and not get tired of it.  I did my mani-pedi today, which I desperately needed.  Keeping with the Christmas theme, I did my nails in a bright candy-apple red, except for my ring fingers which are gold with some shimmer.  I feel like my nails look festive!  It was also exfoliation day, and I was really excited to get my face super cleaned so I could use my new Bare Minerals products.  I did use them yesterday; I'm not gonna lie, I couldn't wait.  The eye reviver isn't an eye cream, it's an eye powder that gets patted under the eye to brighten.  It can be used at any time of the day, but since it's a small tube I decided I'd only use it with my evening routine.  The glow pads really do give my face a healthy glow.  I used one before the extra firming neck cream, which I also used on my face.  After using these products last night I wondered if my face would be greasy in the morning, since the extra firming neck cream is pretty thick.  I was very pleasantly surprised to see that my skin looked firmer and the lines on my forehead seemed to have disappeared!  That's why I was so excited to use these skin treatments again on my exfoliated skin.  Oh!  I have to mention that I got more samples of the Active Cell Renewal Night Serum.  This stuff is fabulous!  I put it on under my moisturizer at night and in the morning my face feels so soft.  I'm glad they sent the samples, because the actual serum is $50 for 1 fl. oz.  While I'm sure many could argue it's worth the price, I just can't be spending that kind of money right now.

My son got home from work at 6:30, changed out of his work clothes and headed out the door again.  My daughter is at her 2nd job's Christmas party.  My youngest son is in the shower getting ready for bed, and I think I'll be headed in that direction too.  I took my vitamin C, and I think what my body needs now is rest.  I'll be praying I don't get sick.  I had bronchitis just last September, and I don't want that to happen again.  The countdown continues!  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!

It's Time to Tackle Tuesday

I woke to some chilly and refreshing weather today.  It was 63 degrees, breezy, and rather gloomy.  I'm glad the day became sunny later on.  I don't mind the cooler weather, and I certainly love the lack of humidity, but I don't care for dreary looking days.  My kid's love it; they say it feels more like Christmas if it's cold out.  I don't know where they get this.  They've lived their entire lives in South Florida.  They've never experienced a "cold" day - the coldest we've ever gotten is 38 degrees, and that's been in the mornings.  It quickly warms up into the 60's.  I don't know what my kids would do if they found themselves up north in a snowstorm, or on those days when it seems like the sun is never gonna come out.  Give me warm weather any day.

We "geared up" for another slow school day.  E had a collaboration project to do in his leadership class.  He logged on, did the project, and had to save it so he could submit it to the teacher.  When he tried to save, the screen went black.  He waited to see if it would come up again, but as he waited the teacher came on to see if he was still there.  He couldn't answer her because his screen was frozen.  Finally the screen came back, but his portion of the work had been deleted, probably because he hadn't answered the teacher.  My poor boy, he really enjoyed that assignment too!  He quickly emailed his teacher to let her know what happened.  Thankfully the teacher said he just had to write what had happened and submit that.  Apparently the system was giving other people problems as well, so she accepted that he'd done the assignment.  After lunch he actually went ahead and did one of his Wednesday assignments and listened to his English tutorial.  Then we went for a run in the park.  It was so nice to go running in the cool weather while getting school done.

Our meal today was comfort food:  meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  Add some green beans to the mix and we have a family favorite.  Honestly, we could eat this stuff for days.  What is it about meat and potatoes that makes us smile so much?

I had planned to watch a Christmas movie but I kept doing other stuff.  I got 4 baskets of laundry folded and put away, then put another load in the washer/dryer.  How do 4 people dirty so much clothing?!  After dinner we went running again, this time with our running group.  Some folks from the church where my daughter works have a running group that runs together twice a week, Sundays and Tuesdays.  E and I have taken advantage of the group for his PE class.  A couple of times we've walked to the meeting place which is about a mile from our house, but today I drove us there.  The temperatures were dropping: it was 63 this morning, and 55 by the time we finished running.  I didn't want to have to walk if it got too cold.  It actually didn't; or rather, we didn't feel the cold because we were walking.  My son E ran, but I walked with my friend since we'd both already gone running earlier.  It's a relaxing time of fellowship, encouragement and exercise.

My daughter is feeling a bit better today from her leg pain.  She's planning her birthday party for later on this month; my baby girl is turning 25.  A quarter of a century is a pretty big birthday.  She has quite a list of people to invite and can't decide on a menu.  I say give 'em pizza.  Everybody loves pizza.  And chicken wings.  You can't go wrong feeding people pizza and chicken wings.  They'll remember her party forever.  Besides, it's her little brother's birthday too. E turns 15 on the same day A turns 25.  His vote is pizza as well.  Problem is, my daughter has looked on Pinterest at all these food options, and at this point has overwhelmed herself to the point where she can't decide what she wants.  Oh, if they would only listen to mama.  She will, though.  I'm pretty sure she will.

It's past 10:00, and I'm getting tired.  It's only Tuesday and there's plenty more planned for this week.  God, give me the energy to get everything done!  Sleep tight everyone.

Monday Musings

I love this time of year.  Get up at 7 am and the house is chilly even without the air conditioner turned on.  It was in the upper 50's this morning, and the outlook is even cooler for the rest of the week.  There's even threats of mid 40's in our future.  It feels Christmas-y, if that's possible in snowless Florida.

Since the weather was so nice I opened up the windows as soon as I got up.  The breeze coming in was sweet as I prepared breakfast and checked my son's schedule for the day.  Turns out his teachers are preparing for Christmas break in two weeks, trying to get all the loose ends tied, so his week will be an easy one.  My son is thrilled; I, on the other hand, have to get creative yet again.  I'm so glad the weather is on our side this week so we can do outdoor PE.  With all the Christmas decorations out I don't want to have to move furniture around to exercise at home.

I got an email this morning from Ulta Beauty Supply:  a really nice $40 men's product set free with a $40 purchase.  This is a good thing for my kids.  They have such trouble trying to figure out what to get for their dad for Christmas because he's so picky.  He's the type that thinks products have to be expensive to be good, so he won't wear anything "cheap".  I look for deals on everything.  Not that I don't like nice stuff (everyone does, right?), but I don't want to spend a ton of money.  I like getting a big bang for my buck.  That's why I like shopping at Ulta; they have really good deals on products and a large variety.  My children's father has spent a pretty penny on their Christmas gifts, and I knew they wanted to get him something nice, but didn't know what.  Even though their dad and I are separated, I encourage them to have a relationship with their father, and to show him gratitude.  I went ahead and looked up gifts for men on Ulta's website.  I wanted to find something that would be close to the $40 minimum.  They had a really nice Clinique for Men facial kit - for $36.  Doesn't that just annoy you?  C'mon!  You're forcing me to find something else for $4, for men, which you know you don't have!  The closest item (that I knew he would use) was a Jack Black lip balm for $7.50.  I was about to delete the order, but I figured what the heck?  There was plenty in the freebie to make up for it, and it would make my kids happy to have something nice for their dad.  Of course while I was at it I checked out what sales they had, you know, for ladies ;-).  Turns out they have the Bare Minerals Delight and Dazzle gift set, which was originally $49, reduced to $34.  Subtract from that my $8 in Ulta rewards and the kit was now $26.  The kit brings 2 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, 2 eyeliners and 2 lip glosses.  I know the lip glosses alone are $18 each, so I'm getting a great bargain again.  Now everyone's happy :-D.

Lunch today was bourbon chicken.  I found a recipe a few years ago that is super simple and tastes just like the stuff you get at the mall, only it has no bourbon, just good for you stuff.  It takes about 30 minutes to make; serve it up on white rice with a side of steamed broccoli and we're good to go.  My kids love it which is also a plus.

E finished his school work in 4 hours today.  He got 100% on his PE test, 100% on his math work, and submitted the introduction to his essay on Letter From Birmingham Jail, which they are studying in English.  We decided to go to the park and do some walking and running.  It took us just under an hour to do 2 miles.  I like the fact that his school work is helping me stay in shape (bonus!).

My daughter stayed home from her church job today.  Her leg was really hurting last night, and she decided to stay and let it rest.  The doctor gave her a cream similar to Aspercreme to put on her leg for the pain, and she's scheduled to have an ultrasound done on Thursday.  I really think she just pulled a muscle really bad, but I'm glad she's having it properly checked out.  In the meantime she's taking it easy and trying not to put any pressure on her leg.  A heating pad - as the doctor prescribed - helps with the aching as well.

Shelbey has a new tutorial video up on youtube.  So does Alex G, another make-up artist I like to watch.  I'm gonna get me something to eat, check out their videos, and find another Christmas movie.  Yep, I really love this time of year.  Good night and God bless.

TGIF

This week has zoomed by for me.  Despite the fact that Monday we had no power for 9 hours and only got 2 hours worth of school done, I've found that making up the time has been more difficult than anticipated.  My son has not only kept up with the work, he is right on schedule and has a light work day today.  On his agenda is his unit test for science which we will have to review and study for, one live lesson and reading for his leadership class.  All that in 6 hours?  He can do it all in 3!  And if the rain continues as it has this morning (and every morning all week) he may not be able to do PE in the park.  Just Dance, anyone?

I really do love the flexibility of homeschooling.  It allows us to move things around to fit our schedule and our needs.  But that 25 hour per week requirement can get tricky.  Some weeks it's not a problem; he has portfolios and projects to turn in, along with lessons and tests.  Other weeks, it's smooth sailing, and those are the times when we have to be creative.  In school, their time in class counts no matter what they're doing, and there were times my son would come home and tell me they did nothing in class but talk to their friends and play board games.  It doesn't work that way for me.  He has to do actual school work to count for his attendance.  Any hours he makes over on one week do not count for other weeks; it's 25 hours minimum each week.  I could "fudge" the numbers, but what would Jesus think of that?  And what lesson would I be teaching my son?  For me, that's not an option.  What is an option is reading.  Any reading.  Except that my youngest son, unlike his siblings, is not a fan of reading.  Thankfully he does like reading mangas, and that's what he did.

Breakfast for today:  cold cereal and toast, along with my coffee and morning vitamin cocktail.  I've been having eggs and bacon for breakfast almost everyday, and while I do enjoy that traditional kind of meal, it does get tiring.  Lunch/dinner (I typically cook in the afternoon for the whole day) is easy chicken and stuffing in my trusty crockpot.  I don't know what I'd do without my crockpots.  They're my favorite appliance in the kitchen.  No, make that the whole house.

So y'all, this morning I got an email that got me so excited - 20% off of everything on the Bare Escentuals website!  I was there in a nano-second.  Now, before it starts looking like my life revolves around makeup and that's where I spend all my time and money, let me explain why a sale like this gets my attention.  I actually don't own a whole lot of makeup.  A few years ago (I believe it was 2007 or 2008) I received a gorgeous Elizabeth Arden makeup kit for Christmas.  It had eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks, eye liners, and a beautiful set of brushes.  Of that set, the only things I no longer have are the blushes (there were 2) and one lipstick.  Everything else is what I have been using.  Yes, some of the eyeshadow palettes are down to almost nothing, but there are a few that still have product left.  The problem is, after all these years they are barely pigmented anymore, and even those that do show up when I use them don't have lasting power.  The lipsticks are nice; actually, only one of them gets used regularly.  One I don't really care for, and the other is gorgeous but it's a very dark red, so it's only appropriate for special occasions.  My brown eye liner is almost gone.  The black and silver ones I still have and they work pretty well (surprisingly).  The brushes, well, I finally started to replace them because they were looking the worse for wear.  It has been time to get new makeup and tools for a while now.

The only items I replaced regularly were my foundation, powder and blush.  Because I have sensitive skin, I have to be careful what products I use.  Brands like Maybelline and Cover Girl which have strong chemicals and fragrances make me break out.  I'd been using Almay products, specifically the Smart Shade variety.  I liked not having to go to a store and get color-matched; these products adapt to the skin's natural shade.  And they worked great - at first.  See, the foundation comes in a tube.  When I would get a new tube, the foundation looked good, the color would match, and it was pretty smooth.  Then I'd get halfway through the tube and the color wasn't looking the same.  I couldn't mix the product in the tube, and I think it would separate after awhile.  By the time I was at the end of the product I looked like a hot mess.  I didn't like the feel of the makeup either; it felt heavy on my skin.  I "felt" like I was wearing makeup, if that makes sense.  The powder blush I use is also Smart Shade technology, but I find I have to layer it on before it will even show.  And as for the powder, it's blah.  Yes, it takes away the shine, but it doesn't last very long.  I wasn't unhappy with my makeup, but I wasn't liking it much either.

It was actually my daughter's skin problems that prompted me to make some changes.  My daughter has rosacea, a skin condition that causes redness and rash.  She takes medicines for it but whenever her face flares up it's hard to conceal.  She tried several products but the redness would still show through.  She also started having lesions appear on her face.  We went to see a dermatologist who diagnosed her with a form of lupus.  Though none of the tests came back positive for systemic lupus (the disease that affects the whole body), she did have a very low positive for discoid lupus (which affects only the skin).  She went on treatment for it but it only worsened.  The dermatologist we were seeing kept insisting it was getting better, but we knew that wasn't the case, so we went to see a different dermatologist.  This one took one look at her face and did a biopsy right then and there.  Y'all, it was the longest and most difficult 11 days of our lives, waiting for the results.  Praise the Lord, the tests came back negative for cancer, lupus, viruses, and bacteria.  After 2 very small biopsies, we finally received a diagnosis:  serbo psoriasis, a form of dermatitis that can be treated with a non-steroid cream, and which could in time disappear on its own, though like rosacea can have flare-ups.  It was wonderful news, and we were thankful to God that it wasn't anything more serious.  But she was left with two small scars on her face and no real cure.

It was important to me to help find products for my daughter that would cover up the scarring and skin conditions, but that were also gentle, since both conditions get aggravated pretty easily.  At the same time I wanted something new for myself, though I didn't expect both of us to be using the same makeup.  After all, I'm 50 (and I'll be 51 in 9 days) and my daughter is 24.  Her needs are different from mine, so it stands to reason her makeup would be different from mine.  When my hairdresser said she used Bare Minerals, I took my daughter to Ulta and we both tried their foundation.  I was so thrilled to see that this product worked well for both of us - it provides great coverage for her for hours, and feels light and comfortable on my skin.  We had both found what we wanted - now we needed to build up our makeup stock.  In my opinion, Bare Minerals isn't expensive, when you think of how very little product is needed to get the coverage you want, whether it's light or full coverage or somewhere in between.  A little goes a long way.  But the initial investment can be pricey.  Unless you shop wisely.

I look for sets - value packs that bring several items, whether in trial sizes, small sizes, or gift sets with promos.  I find I can get the biggest bang for my buck that way.  So when I got the email this morning telling me they are giving 20% off of everything, I quickly went on the website to the Last Chance section.  These are items that are perfectly great but that are being discontinued for whatever reason.  I found two items that I had to snatch up immediately.  The first is called 7 Ways To Bare, and it's 7 neutral eyeshadows for everyday wear.  I have some of their shimmery and glittery eyeshadows and they're wonderful, but I wanted something with a little less "glam".  These colors are perfect, and because they're last chance, the price is $21.  Add the 20% off discount, and the price dropped to $16.80.  That's $2.40 EACH!!!  Hello! Just one eyeshadow of theirs costs $16!  Talk about a great deal!  I also went ahead and ordered Double Trouble, a mini lipstick and lipgloss duo, originally $14, dropped to $9, and with the 20% discount came to $7.20.  Oh, and did I mention, FREE SHIPPING?!  Yeah, this girl is a happy camper, for sure!  The 20% off is good till Sunday December 7, for anyone that is interested.

So my son finished his work for the day and we were able to do the 6 hours he needed to finish out the week. He took his science test but even though we reviewed and re-read the material, he got a 72% on the multiple choice.  We have to wait for the teacher to grade the 2 essay questions to get a final grade.  Some of the questions were tricky, so when he went back to see what he got wrong there was a lot of, "Ugh! I thought it might be that one or the one I picked."  I'm really hoping the teacher will give him full points on the essays, though I know she's pretty picky.  We'll have to wait and see.

I've started watching my Christmas DVD's.  We no longer have satellite television; we have Hulu Plus and Netflix.  I can watch Christmas movies there, but a couple years ago I got a Lifetime Channel collection of 12 movies for $29 at Barnes and Noble that I really enjoy watching, so I figured one per day will keep me in the Christmas spirit :-).  We did watch Christmas Vacation and Christmas With The Kranks before Thanksgiving - I love those comedies!  Yesterday I watched His and Her Christmas and today I watched Under The Mistletoe.  They're more on the sappy, chick flick side, but hey, I'm a sappy chick.  What can I say?

My oldest son is out with his friends, my daughter is at the church office's Christmas party, my youngest son is finishing up a documentary, so I think I'll go watch Shelbey on her youtube channel.  Have a great night folks!