Simply Sunday

Today's been a lazy day.  Which is appropriate, because even God rested on the seventh day :-).

I was sound asleep, when suddenly I was awaken by the sound of the alarm chime.  My son had gone out after work, and was coming home.  But for some reason, I forgot he wasn't home.  In my sleepy stupor I thought someone was breaking into the house.  I was sure someone was coming in through the sliding glass door, so I got up to see who it was (what I intended to do to the intruder, I have no idea).  As soon as I opened the door, I saw my son R in the kitchen, and reality came back to me, so I went back to bed.  Unfortunately, I couldn't go back to sleep.  It was 3:00 in the morning, and I probably fell back asleep at around 5:00.  That was not a good feeling.

I got up at 7:00 and hit the shower.  I hadn't washed my hair yesterday, and it looked like a grease ball.  I finished showering, then finally decided what it was I was going to wear.  Awake for 2 hours in the middle of the night, and I don't even remember how long I debated in my head whether to wear my green and blue plaid skirt or my light grey skirt.  That's what happens when I wake up in a fog and think burglars are in the house.  I went with the green and blue plaid skirt, with a beige short sleeved sweater.  Once I was dressed I got my Complexion Rescue sample in tan and put it on.  I wanted to see how it looked under my Bareskin foundation.  It's definitely darker than my skin, that's for sure.  I made breakfast, then did my eye makeup before putting foundation on.  Since Complexion Rescue is a tinted moisturizer, I wanted it to set and get absorbed into my skin before putting on any other face makeup.  The eye shadow I used is from The Hot List collection from Bare Minerals; it's a champagne shimmer color and a matte grey color.  My eyes looked amazing!  The swelling from the stye was gone (Thank You Jesus!) and I was able to do a beautiful look on my eyes.  Then I put my glasses on and covered them right up :P.  It's a bummer that I can't wear contact lenses, but I suffer from dry eyes.  I got tired of always looking tired, because my eyes would turn red and burn from the dryness.  Anyway, I went ahead and put on Bareskin (the Bare Minerals liquid foundation) and my skin looked flawless.  With the foundation on top, the color of the moisturizer balanced out and my makeup was on point.  And since there's very little humidity in the air, my hair turned out gorgeous.  I may have been exhausted, but I felt incredible every time I looked in the mirror!

Our church has a private school, and today the children did a presentation.  It was wonderful hearing the children sing praises to the Lord!  One boy is in our Awana group - I didn't realize he could sing so well!  Then the new head master gave the message.  Oh, my word, what a powerful message!  He taught on Lazarus, and how we often think that God has abandoned us because we don't get the answer we ask for right away.  Lazarus's sisters, Martha and Mary, both told Jesus that their brother would not have died had He been there, but they didn't understand the reason for the delay.  There was no mistake made; Jesus meant to arrive after Lazarus's death to bring glory to God and show everyone there who He really was.  It's no different with us now.  When God doesn't answer our prayers right away, it's not because He's abandoned us.  It's because He is waiting for just the right moment, that He may be praised and glorified.  It was a reminder of God's sovereignty, and how we need to have faith.  It was really encouraging.

The weather was perfect once again.  The breeze was cool and comfortable, the sun was shining brightly, and I was glad we got to enjoy yet another stunningly beautiful day.  Once we got home I made some pasta with the meat sauce I made a few days ago.  I try to make a large pot of sauce for days like today when I don't feel like making a big meal.  My family doesn't care for sauce in a jar.  They like Mom's homemade sauce.  I have to admit, so do I.

I did manage to get a couple of loads of laundry washed, but I haven't put anything away.  I'm leaving it for tomorrow.  I've felt sluggish due to not getting a full night's sleep, but I didn't feel like napping.  I just vegged most of the day, watching YouTube videos.  The way I see it, it's gonna be a busy week, so I may as well relax today so I can be recharged for tomorrow.  So goodnight ya'll.  Have a blessed evening.

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.

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.  

Thoughtful Thursday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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