My Not-So-Restful Saturday

Saturdays are typically busy days.  Finding time to rest on a Saturday is like finding a needle in a haystack - you might find it, but it'll probably hurt.

My boss MM decided to have a women's bible study class at work.  Her husband has been doing a men's bible study group on Thursday night for years, and he's been encouraging her to do the same.  I wasn't sure what to expect, especially since it was supposed to start Saturday morning at 9:30 and end at 11:30.  A two hour bible study?!  Sounded a bit lengthy, but I told her I would go so long as my son's eye was better.

I got up early and E's eye looked almost completely normal, praise the Lord.  There's still some irritation around the inner part of the eye but it's minimal.  I started getting ready but told my daughter I didn't think I'd go very early.  After all, Saturdays are cleaning day, and my yard needed a ton of cleaning!  As I was finishing my breakfast, I was telling my daughter something when we heard the sound of her dad coming.  I can't begin to explain how uncomfortable it becomes in my house when he comes over.  His attitude is one of negativity and complaining; he complains about his health, he complains about his job, he complains about his car, he complains about the kids, yada yada yada.  It's like he sucks the peacefulness out of my home.  He was here for about a half hour, which meant I was late to the bible study class, and quite honestly I wasn't in the best mood.  It's very difficult not to be affected by the atmosphere of negativity.  I could see, though, why God scheduled this bible study when He did.  It wasn't anything new, nothing I hadn't learned from studying God's word on my own, but just being in a room full of ladies who were encouraging, loving, and welcoming, lifted my spirits.  I was annoyed when I got there, but my heart filled up with peace as we prayed for the needs of others and I stopped focusing on myself.  I'll tell you what, when you're praying for the healing of a 12 year old girl with leukemia, all other problems become insignificant.

I left as soon as we finished so that I could attack my backyard.  With homeschooling, work, and everything in between, I hadn't had a chance to tackle the grass.  Add to that several days of on and off rain showers, and my yard was starting to look a bit Amazonian.  I started by clearing some boxes out of the garage - my son had taken a bunch of stuff to the dump, but he worked all day today so I just threw a bunch of stuff in the trash can.  I then had to go to the backyard and pick up several palm fronds and coconuts that had fallen yesterday thanks to the rain and strong winds.  I finally got to actually mowing the lawn, which took about an hour.  I did one side of the front yard, but not the other.  My neighbor on the left was having an open house and I didn't want to get her yard full of grass clippings after she'd cleaned it up.  My neighbor has had her house up for sale for a couple months now, on her own.  The neighbor on her left wanted to buy the house, and it looked like they would get it, but the deal fell through just a few days before closing.  All parties concerned were terribly disappointed, but as I told my neighbor, God must have something better planned.  As I was trimming some plants in the front yard she gave me the news: the house was sold.  I couldn't believe it - she'd only just given the house to her realtor a week ago!  What we found out was, homes in our area sell quickly.  It's a lovely neighborhood, right across the street from a park, the schools are excellent, and there is very little inventory.  Whenever a house goes on the market, it flies.  It'll be sad to say goodbye to them; we moved in at about the same time almost 15 years ago.  But I do understand her position: her marriage crumbled, she works far from the house, and taking care of her kids has become difficult when she spends so much time in traffic (and money on gas).  This is what is best for her family right now, so I know she's making the right choice.

Once I was done with the mowing and trimming, I came inside and ate some fish and chips with sauteed veggies that my daughter prepared before going back outside to clean the patio.  It had gotten so grimy thanks to the branches that had fallen on it last night and all the dirt from the wind and rain, it looked like the house had been abandoned.  I was out there for two hours cleaning, but I can say it looks a whole lot better.

I came inside and decided to heat up some frozen pizzas, which got devoured by my son E and my daughter.  It wasn't until my son R got home from work that I realized the significance of that:  today is 3/14/15, or 3.1415.  That's right, it's Pi Day, and my kids had pizza pie.  I had forgotten about it, so it was completely by chance that it happened the way it did.

Since it's the day before Sunday (and I was a filthy mess) I showered and did my hair.  I told my friend that I liked the Smoothing Therapy shampoo and conditioner except for the fact that they aren't very moisturizing like my OGX shampoo, and she recommended I use my regular shampoo first, then wash it a second time with the Smoothing Therapy.  I must say, it does make a big difference.  My hair feels softer and smoother doing it this way.  There is one thing though: I have to cut my hair.  I haven't cut it since October, and the ends are badly in need of a cut.  I'm gonna see about getting an appointment for this week, since my son is on spring break (Hallelujah!).

It was mani/pedi day as well.  I don't know why, but I find that giving myself a manicure and pedicure is relaxing.  Plus I like the way it looks when I'm done.

That was my day.  I had hoped for a slower paced day, but who was I kidding?  My to-do list was out of control, and needed to be tamed.  There's still plenty to do, but God willing I will make a dent in it this week.  As for now, I say, goodnight.

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.

Sweet Saturday

What a gorgeous day today has been!  If the weather were like this all year long, I would be very happy :-).  I believe the high today was 73 degrees.  Humidity was low, breeze was cool but not cold, the air smelled sweet...it was the perfect day to be outdoors.  I wanted to be outdoors.  Alas, I never got further than the mailbox.

I had a load of laundry in the dryer since Thursday, and floors that had only gotten Swiffered a few times during the week.  I was so absorbed in school and meals and grocery planning/shopping, that I didn't give a whole lot of attention to the condition of the house.  It was dirty, ya'll.  There was doggy drool marks on the floors, all kinds of fingerprints on the glass tables, and dust piling up on the furniture.  I could not let this continue.  I had my breakfast, did my study in Daniel, then got to work.  I cleaned, dusted, vacuumed and mopped for 3 hours straight.  I even told my kids (the two younger ones; my oldest was at work) that they were in charge of lunch.  My daughter was not in the mood to be in the kitchen while I was whipping through the house like a white tornado, so she and my youngest son ran over to Publix and picked up some hot wings and frozen pizza.  You'd think today was Superbowl Sunday.  I didn't care: I was hungry and tired.  So long as I didn't have to prepare anything, I'd eat anything.  I had a great feeling of satisfaction, till I looked out at the patio.  It's gross.  And it's gonna have to wait.  I need the pressure cleaner for that, and my oldest son has to set it up for me - it's heavy and hard to start up.  I may get to it this week, otherwise it'll have to wait till next weekend.  Hey, at least the inside of my house looks fabulous.

After lunch I put away the laundry (finally!), then gave myself a manicure and pedicure.  I did my pedicure in a glittery bronze, then I did my manicure with the milky matte beige I bought at Target yesterday, with only the ring fingers in the glittery bronze like my toenails.  I like it, but I don't love it.  I think because the beige color is so similar to my skin tone, it looks like I've only done one nail on each hand.  It's not ugly; it's just not the best combination I've done.  I'm gonna keep it, but I think next time I'll just do the beige and leave the accent nail for when I use darker colors.

I'm pleased to say that this morning when I woke up, I could barely feel the pain in my eye.  The stye is almost completely gone, Hallelujah praise the Lord!  It itched terribly this morning, though.  That was bad, because obviously I couldn't scratch it.  Thankfully the ointment did stop the itching, and now the swelling has gone almost completely down and my eye feels normal again.  Thank You Jesus!

So even though it was a beautiful winter day in South Florida, I kept busy indoors.  Tomorrow is church.  I'm hoping it's equally as beautiful so I can enjoy being outdoors!  Hope everyone has a blessed evening.  Good night, sleep tight, pleasant dreams.

Monday, Monday

The cold weather continues here in South Florida.  It didn't get above 67 degrees today.  (I can just imagine my sister's face as she reads this; it's 25 degrees in New York where she lives, and there is a snow blizzard coming through).  We should be having this kind of weather all week.

Today was the start of the second semester of homeschooling.  My son has a new teacher for his Hope class, and a new teacher in Algebra.  His previous algebra teacher is still his "official" teacher, but she has a new teacher that she tag-teams with to do live lessons.  It was a pretty easy day today; he had his Algebra lesson along with a couple of videos, music, Hope, and science.  Music and Hope were both intros, and science was a pretest which doesn't count towards his grade.  He did some reading as well.  We were sitting in the dining room going over his Hope lesson, when E says, "Oh look, it's raining."  I looked out the window but I thought he was joking.  It was kind of cloudy but I couldn't see any rain.  Then he said, "I think you should close the windows, Mom, it's raining."  I looked again but couldn't really see anything.  Then I got up and noticed that it was indeed drizzling, and the wind was picking up, so he and I went around closing windows.  We got done just in time - it started to downpour with a vengeance!  The wind was blowing hard, too; a couple of palm fronds came crashing down from being blown off the trees.  It lasted not more than 15 minutes, then stopped as quickly as it started.  Within a half hour the sun was out, the sky was baby blue and all the clouds were gone.  It did its job, though; it was cool and windy the rest of the day.

While my son watched his videos and did his live lesson, I folded laundry, tidied up the house, then made some spicy beef and black bean chili with cornbread.  Those types of hearty comfort foods are perfect on days like today!  E finished with his schoolwork at 3:30, and I took myself out to the jungle known as our backyard.  It doesn't take a whole lot of rain to get the yard overgrown.  I had cleaned up the garden area, but I hadn't had a chance to mow the lawn or get rid of some of the branches.  I didn't even think I'd get a chance to do it today, what with that sudden rainstorm, but everything dried up pretty quick.  The weather was perfect for being outside.  I cut up a few palm fronds and put them in the trash bin, then moved the remaining ones behind the shed.  After that I got to mowing, then sweeping up some of the leaves in the front yard.  All in all it took me 2 hours to get all the yardwork done, but it looks a thousand times better.  There's still some trimming that has to get done, but I was tired, dirty, and hungry.  Besides, two hours of cardio is enough exercise for this lady for one day :-).

I got myself cleaned up, then decided to give myself a manicure.  My nails grow, but they are so thin and fragile that they break constantly.  Even with me taking vitamins everyday, they still chip and break easily.  I'm thinking I have to look for something that will strengthen them good.  I've tried Sally Hansen but those products tend to make my nails brittle, which in turn makes them break even faster.  Maybe what I need is a nail oil or something.  I'm gonna have to look into that.  Anybody got any suggestions?

The day is just about done; well, not quite, it's only 8:30.  I've cleaned up and all, so I think I'll take it easy the rest of the evening.  Goodnight ya'll.  Pleasant dreams.

Monday Musings

A new day, a new week.  A year ending and a new one beginning within days.  Change is in the air.  Some good, some not so pleasant...

I was so tired last night, I don't even remember what all I posted.  I'll probably go back and re-read it to see if there's any grammatical errors.  I'm somewhat of a grammar Nazi; I hate it when the English language gets butchered.  I want my blog to be as error free as possible.  I know that doesn't always happen - I've gone back and seen things misspelled and kicked myself for it.  But at least I try to do justice to my blog by writing properly.

One thing I didn't mention last night was my children's great-grandmother.  Great-grandma Maria is my children's great grandmother on their father's mother's side.  They have known her all their lives, and she babysat my two older kids when they were little tykes.  Despite health issues in the past, including colon cancer, she has rallied and come off her sickbed multiple times.  She is made of some sturdy material!  About a year and a half ago, her eldest daughter experienced complications during open heart surgery, and unexpectedly passed away.  She was in her mid 70's, not a young woman but to a mother she was still her child.  Grandma Maria's health began to steadily decline after that.  I think the heartache of losing her daughter was more devastating than any illness, including cancer.  Since April we have watched her deteriorate from an active, alert woman to a bed-ridden shadow of who she was.  I cannot express how sad it is to see her in this condition after knowing her for over 27 years as a strong, independent, caring human being.  She has always put the needs of others before her own, and she's been a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and even great-great-grandmother.  Grandma Maria lives with her daughter and granddaughter, the cousin who came over to visit last night.  I asked how she was doing, and we were told that the priest had been called.  Grandma Maria has been a devout Catholic all her life, but it wasn't about religion with her.  She cares about people, and about serving.  What an awesome example of Christ she has been to her entire family!  At 94 years of age she is the family matriarch, having lost her husband 25 years ago.  We know the Lord will be taking her home soon, and it will be a bittersweet time for us.  She is so frail, so sick, that it pains everyone to see her suffer, but saying goodbye is a hard pill to swallow.  My prayer is simply that the Lord would take her in her sleep so she and her loved ones caring for her don't have to suffer further.  She has always tried to honor God with her life, and I know He will honor her integrity as well.

On to my day...I spent the morning cleaning the family room and dining room.  Our dog Molly spends a lot of time in the family room on the rug, or at the back door waiting to be let out, so that area gets filled with dog hair and drool.  I tried to get my Dyson vacuum cleaner fixed but I can't figure out what is wrong with it.  I'm gonna end up having to take it to get repaired.  I used our smaller vacuum but it takes longer because it isn't as powerful.  After cleaning up I started cooking for today:  baked ziti, french bread and a salad.  I have plenty of lettuce in the yard, so once the baked ziti was out of the oven I went out and cut off some lettuce leaves.  I brought them into the kitchen and threw them in the sink to wash.  As I was pulling the leaves apart, what should hop out of the sink (almost on my hand) but a little frog.  It was obviously hiding in the lettuce leaves looking for bugs.  I let out a scream, not because I'm afraid of frogs but because it caught me by surprise!  My boys jumped up to see what had caused the ruckus.  They just laughed, then R got a glass and picked it up off the kitchen back splash and took it outside.  I'm glad, because I didn't want it to stay inside the house.  Poor little critter would have died.

After lunch I took my son E to the bank to cash out his coin bank that he got from his dad for his birthday.  According to his dad there was about $180 that he had collected.  My son had a few coins that he added to it, and I gave him a few as well.  As we put them in the machine and watched the total go up, my son was getting more and more excited, hoping it would get up to $200.  Actually, the total came up to $223.45.  He said his face hurt from smiling so much.  This will be the money he uses to get the longboard he's been wanting.

Another gift my son got for his birthday was a new Nerf gun.  This one is a Zombie type, I guess for hunting them.  My son has a collection of Nerf guns, which he forgets he has until he gets a new one.  Then he and his brother start sneaking up on each other and everyone else, shooting them with Nerf guns.  Which is proof that men are just boys in big bodies.

I got some more floor cleaning done before it was time for dinner.  After I ate I proceeded to give myself a manicure with the new nail polishes my cousin gave me for my birthday.  The package says they're nail lacquers so they should last longer than regular polish.  We'll have to wait and see.  They are a set, one mauve/taupe kind of color called May Flowers, one vibrant baby pink called Gorgeous Gerbera and one rose gold top coat with glitter.  I used the mauve/taupe color on all but my ring fingers; on those I used the baby pink and put the glittery top coat on top.  It looks really cute and girly, maybe a bit too youthful but who cares?  They say you're as young as you feel, and I feel like I'm still in my 30's.  Most days.  Some of the time.  Okay maybe closer to my 40's but still, that's younger than I am now.

Other than that it's been a slow kinda day.  I watched a few videos on youtube, and I'm gonna take a shower now.  Maybe I'll watch a movie afterwards, now that my son has let the television alone for a while.  That poor TV is getting some usage now that there's a Wii U attached to it ;-).  God bless and good night.