Tackling Tuesdays

As much as you want to plan your life, 

it has a way of surprising you with unexpected things

that will make you happier

than you originally planned.

That's what you call God's Will.

I'm still deciding if today's surprise is God's will or not.  If it's one of those unexpected blessings that you didn't even know you wanted or needed, but you have to trust God that it's perfect for this moment.

Back in 2008 the company I'd worked for for close to 12 years went bankrupt.  This was more than just a job; the people there were like my family.  Some of the folks had worked there since I'd been there, some for much longer, others had come and gone, but the finality was strange.  Not unexpected, at least not for me.  As the purchasing manager, I worked directly with accounts payable and knew the bills weren't being paid.  It was very sad to see a company that had been around since the early 60's go under the way it did, but it was happening to many businesses at the time.  As the warning signs grew clearer, I'd prepared myself for the worst and updated my resume.  I sent it out to every company, every ad that was in the newspaper, in Career Builder, Monster, anywhere and everywhere.  There was nothing.  Companies were getting hundreds of applications for each job they posted.  The competition was fierce, and even though I had experience and a great record, there simply weren't enough jobs to go around.  I was at peace, though.  I felt God acknowledge that I would be home with my family until He said otherwise, and that's what I've done.  It's been an exercise in faith, and I'm thankful to say that He has never let us go hungry, nor has He allowed us to get into debt, or lose our home, or go without electricity, or water, or anything else.  God has taken care of us and seen us through every difficulty we've faced.  I have seen His Hand in our lives and I'm extremely grateful for it.

I haven't looked for work since that time.  I've been a stay-at-home mom, caring for my kids and my home.  Even when my marriage crumbled, I felt that God wanted me here and would make sure I had everything I needed.  So when I got the call yesterday from my friend MM, and my daughter told me it looked like they were going to offer me a job, I was skeptical.  It wasn't expected.  I hadn't asked God for it.  But I was willing to go and see what it was all about.

My daughter was right.  My friends JM and MM offered me a job.  As a matter of fact, JM made it clear this wasn't an interview, it was an offer.  I would be working part-time, from 3:00 to 8:15 pm Monday - Thursday.  When I mentioned that Wednesdays is my Awana night at church, they said no problem, they'd be willing to accommodate me.  And I have to admit, it appears to be perfect.  Too good to be true.  I would be able to continue homeschooling my son, and since it's a tutoring school, my son would receive free tutoring if he needed it.  I would have Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays off, along with any school holidays.  The pay wouldn't be much, but it would be a little extra income coming in for extras and emergencies.  Plus, it's 10 minutes from the house on heavy traffic days.  I wouldn't be spending a lot of time stuck in traffic or a lot of money on gas.  

It sounds like a dream come true, doesn't it?  Only I wasn't dreaming about this.  It truly came out of the blue.  So my answer to them was, I need to pray about it.  I have to ask God if this is right.  And they not only understood but encouraged me to pray and speak to my family about it.  I told them I'd give them an answer on Friday, so for the next few days I will be praying.  A lot.  And asking anyone and everyone to pray alongside me.  I want clarity, and I want peace.  I'm trusting God to give me both.

What else happened today?  Oh yeah, Beauty Rush!!!  I was so excited, because I'd read somewhere that Bare Minerals has their Beauty Rush sales on the third Friday of the month, so I was expecting the next one to be on the 20th.  But here it was, a whole 10 days earlier!  I didn't want to spend a lot of money, though.  I have so much stuff as it is, that adding to my makeup collection seems frivolous.  But I decided to check it out anyway.  My main intention was to look for skincare; lotions, creams, cleansers, treatments, that sort of thing.  I didn't find any that caught my attention, but another thing did:  an eye shadow palette that I've wanted ever since I first saw it.  It's called the Ready Convertible Palette, and it comes with 12 eye shadow shades.  The palette is unique in that the eye shadows pop out and can be put in the center which is detachable, making it compact and portable.  The colors range from browns to greens to purples, all colors I love.  The problem was the price: $49.  It came out just before Christmas, and I'd already spent a lot of money on makeup and presents for myself and my daughter.  I couldn't justify getting this expensive eye palette as well, so I passed on it.  Last month I saw it on sale for $25, and I thought about getting it, but there were other things I needed to get first.  By the time I went back to check on it, it had sold out.  I was bummed, because I'd gotten a $10 off coupon from Bare Minerals and had hoped to use it to get this palette.  I figured I'd save the coupon for something else that I would want or need.  Well, last week the palette was back on the website on sale for $25.  I suspect they got returns in from the stores and wanted to get rid of them.  I thought about getting it with the $10 off; that would make it $15, a real deal.  That was a few days ago.  Today the palette was on Beauty Rush for $18.  $18 dollars ya'll!!!  I snatched it up in a heartbeat.  I thought about getting some eyeliner pencils as well, but honestly, I didn't need them.  I took the eye shadow palette, used my $10 off coupon, and with tax and shipping paid $12.80 for it.  From the original price to just under $13.  Now that's what I call a blessing from above!

That's my Tuesday.  It's been quite a day!  School went well, Beauty Rush went very well, but nothing tops the unexpected surprise of a job offer.  It's time for bed now; I've got some praying to do!  Good night ya'll.

Tackling Tuesdays

"Fear is the glue that keeps you stuck.  Faith is the solvent that sets you free." - Shannon L. Adler

There's nothing like that panicky fear of not knowing what to do.  That reminder that control is an illusion.  Faith is letting go of the fear and trusting in God to come through at just the right time.  My daughter had to learn that lesson once again.

Last night, after I'd entered the tax information that she'd given me, my daughter A was facing the prospect of having to pay over $200 in taxes to the IRS.  She was hoping to get money back so she could pay some bills, but instead was looking at having to dish money out.  I told her we'd work on it after a good night's sleep, when our heads were cleared, but she couldn't sleep.  She lay in bed for several hours turning the whole thing around in her head over and over.  I, on the other hand, prayed about it with my son E, then went to sleep.  I knew it was something God would reveal at the right time, so I chose not to worry about it.  This morning, as soon as she got up, A had a million questions about why and what and how.  I told her we would delete the entire return and start fresh, looking for possible errors and ways to bring her debt down.  That's what we did, and God began to show us different deductions that she could take that hadn't even occurred to us the day before.  In the end, she went from owing over $200, to now getting back over $300.  God is so good!  Why should we panic or fear?  

At 10:00 I told her we had to stop so that E could start school.  I got him settled with his English live lesson and started fixing my bed (no, I hadn't even fixed my bed yet).  Suddenly Molly started barking at the door.  She does this when she hears someone coming, usually the mail lady or the UPS man.  This time, though, it was J, my kid's father.  I think he came to see if E was actually doing schoolwork.  He doesn't approve of me homeschooling E, but there isn't anything he can say to change my mind.  E is doing better than ever in school, and he actually likes it more.  He's learning and progressing, and getting very good grades.  J watched him for a few minutes, used the bathroom, then left.  It was pretty annoying, but at the same time it was satisfying to know his purpose was defeated.  

E finished his English class, then did his music and leadership work before stopping for lunch, fish tacos.  They were so good!  After lunch he did his algebra assignment and got 100% on his quiz.  Woohoo!!  He's getting the whole statistics thing with no problem.  He still needed an hour to finish the day, and I knew we'd probably do it when we ran with our running group, but I decided we would watch a video sermon my Sunday school class had been watching called "Is America A Christian Nation?" taught by David Barton.  I highly recommend this video.  David Barton provides documented proof that the Founding Fathers were all Christian men, and that our government was founded on Christian principles.  It was a great teaching, and we both got encouraged by it.

After our run, I took a shower and continued working on income tax paperwork for my kids.  I won't be sending anything in yet, since the software I use (H&R Block) has an update coming up, but I want to get as much done as possible so that all the returns can be sent in early.  But now it's late, I'm tired, and I still have to clean up the kitchen.  So I will say goodnight to all, and pleasant dreams.  God bless.

Tackling Tuesday

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor, would you be mine...I'm sure Mr. Rogers would have loved to be my neighbor on a beautiful day like today.  The high today was 69 degrees.  The sun was shining and the sky was the perfect shade of blue.  This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Living in South Florida means we don't get to be a part of the severe winter weather hitting the rest of the country.  And that's okay with me.  But it doesn't mean we don't get our share of cold.  Homes in South Florida aren't built for cold, or even cool, temperatures.  Our homes are built of concrete block and stucco.  They're made to hold in the coolness from the air conditioner.  There's very little insulation in our walls because for most of the year, we don't need it.  That means that whenever it's cold outside, it's even colder inside.  My house felt like an icebox today.  The windows were open so the air would circulate and the breeze would keep the house feeling nice.  I stepped outside a couple of times and it was warmer outside than in my home.  My hands were cold, my feet were cold, even my nose was freezing.  It was a reminder of why I love living in Florida, and why I would never want to live up north again.  Ever.

Both my son and daughter got up early today to get ready for work, which meant both bathrooms were occupied at the same time.  I could have gotten up and started breakfast, but it was cold in the house.  At least that's the excuse I'm using for having gotten up late.  E had his English class and collaboration at 10:00, so that's when his school day started.  It was nice to have that done and out of the way.  Afterwards he had his leadership class.  They went over one of his assignments for next week, so he's a bit ahead of the game.  He was able to get all the work for school done in 3 hours.  Thankfully we went for our evening exercise, which also counts for schoolwork.  One thing I'm also working on is finding a place where he can get CPR certified, since that's a requirement for his Hope class.  I found one city north of us that has the classes at the fire department, but I'm going to keep looking for something even closer.  I'm really glad he gets to learn CPR; it's one of those things you hope you'll never need but should always be prepared for.

I received my order of eyeliner pencils from Bare Minerals today.  I really like the colors, especially the green pencil.  The colors are not very pigmented, but that's fine for me.  I don't want anything that is too harsh or too bright; it doesn't work for me at this season of my life.  What I was really excited about was the samples of Complexion Rescue that were included with my order.  They sent 4 samples in 4 different colors: vanilla, natural, tan, and chestnut.  I didn't even look at chestnut - that one was clearly too dark for me.  Vanilla is probably too light, but my daughter wanted to try it out.  She uses a lighter shade than me in the liquid foundation.  She also needs something with a yellow undertone to offset the rosacea, and it looks like vanilla has that.  I tried both the natural and tan shades; tan is a bit darker but not so dark that I can't wear it.  Natural, however, looks perfect.  I put it on and found that it's light but also hydrating.  It feels really nice on my skin, and while it doesn't provide a whole lot of coverage, it does seem to be buildable.  It gave me light coverage which is what I need on days like today when I want something that I can put on quick.  I went ahead and added a little bronzer, and it went on smoothly.  I didn't put any blush or powder on; frankly, I didn't need it.  I'm gonna try tan tomorrow before I make my final decision.  I'm sure I want to use my 20% off coupon to get this wonderful tinted moisturizer, but I want to be absolutely sure of the color before I place my order.

Our running group was dressed warmly tonight; I myself was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie over a long sleeved shirt.  My son, on the other hand, wore a light hoodie and a t-shirt and insisted it was hot out.  And I thought I was supposed to be having hot flashes!  Anyway, we were out about an hour and a half.  It was fun, even when we walked past the cow pasture and "enjoyed" the smells (yuck).  All part of life in a small town.

That's it for today.  I'm gonna clean up the kitchen, then get ready for bed.  Goodnight ya'll.

Tackling Tuesday

It's late.  Like past 11:00 pm late.  Like, I'd already gone to bed and remembered I hadn't posted, late.  It's been one of those days, to be sure.

I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail (at least I hope not) because I'm pretty tired.  I got a text from my daughter this morning (who was in her bedroom) asking me to take her to the doctor because she hadn't gotten any sleep all night due to the pressure in her head and how miserable she felt.  So I got up early, ready to take her to urgent care because I figured she was in that much pain.  When I asked if she wanted to go to urgent care, she indicated that I should try the regular doctor first and see if they had any available appointments.  They did - at 1:15 pm.  She chose to wait and go to the doctor, since urgent care has a much higher deductible.

I took advantage and made food early, bourbon chicken with rice, so that we could eat before going to the doctor.  I was sure we'd be there for hours because that's how it always is with doctors, but I was pleasantly surprised.  We were called in right away, and within about 20 minutes the doctor was there to see her.  They took blood, did a strep test, and a nasal test too.  No infections, but she has a lot of fluid in her left ear, which explains her earache and all the pressure in her head.  Her sinuses are pretty swollen and congested as well.  The doctor says she's pretty much headed towards an infection in that ear, so she went ahead and prescribed antibiotics and a host of other stuff to help her feel better.  We were home by 3:00, which in doctor's terms is record time.

I didn't really do much else today.  Since my daughter's voice is gone, I had to go with her to the doctor to explain what she had, then to the pharmacy to pick up her meds.  At 7:30 my running buddy, son and I went for our evening exercise with our running group.  We didn't actually run; we walked for 2 1/2 miles, but it's exercise all the same.  Once I got home I took a shower, then gave myself a manicure and pedicure.  And that's pretty much it, in a nutshell.  I could go into more detail, but I'm too tired.  Maybe tomorrow.  Good night ya'll.

Tackling Tuesdays

I don't understand why people complain about Mondays so much.  Seems to me, Tuesdays are way more dramatic than Mondays.  Everyone's too tired on Mondays to start any trouble.  Tuesdays the energy level is back and the weekend is far off.  That's when I usually expect the unexpected.

Today was a less hectic day than we should have had, considering it's semester finals week.  We couldn't do any of the exams until after class, and his first class was at 10:00, so E didn't even get out of bed till 9:45 (I woke him up at 9:30 but he went back to sleep).  His first class was English: a review for their final.  The teacher explained everything that they could expect to see on the test, and was very thorough.  Afterwards was his leadership class, and that was pretty exciting.  The class read the book Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom, and he was skype'd in to the class to talk to them.  That was so neat!  Like I told my son, he wouldn't have had that experience in public school.  The kids were able to ask questions, and be both inspired and encouraged by the wonderful stories he told.  My son also used this book when he did his book report for English.  I highly recommend this book, especially for teens.  Mawi Asgedom's story is incredible, and it teaches that with faith and perseverance anything is possible.

While my son listened to his classes I kept busy.  I cleaned the kitchen, swept the floors (I was amazed at how much dog hair was on the floor again), did a load of laundry, cleaned the hall bathroom and started lunch.  Today's menu was meatloaf patties with mashed potatoes.  Meatloaf patties are basically meatloaf that, rather than being baked in the oven, is made into patties and fried.  They look like Salisbury steaks but they taste like meatloaf.  My kids love meatloaf patties.  I prefer to make regular meatloaf because it's less of a mess, but to please them I made the patties.  As I was stirring the gravy, it bubbled and landed on my hand, on that flesh under the thumb.  It hurt so bad!!  I now have a blister there after hours of putting an ice pack on it because it was burning so bad.  I put aloe lotion on it too, to help it heal faster and to soothe it.  Cooking can be hazardous.

After lunch I had my son take his English final.  There were 24 questions: 21 multiple choice and 3 short essays.  There was a lot of reading comprehension questions but I think he did pretty well.  I say I think, because usually when he takes a test, the program will tell him how many of the multiple choice questions he got right, and he has to wait till the teacher checks the essay questions to get a final grade.  This time when he finished the test, he simply got a message that said, "Responses Saved."  Apparently the teacher set the exam so that she has to review it completely.  He's still waiting on his grade for his thesis.  His English teacher told the class she would work as quickly as possible but it would take some time to go through all the papers and get them graded.  So I don't know when E will get his grade, but for now, he's finished with 4 finals and has two left:  science and algebra.  The two hardest exams.  Lord help us.

When he was finally done I sat down to relax a bit, then decided I should go ahead and do my nails.  I took my old polish off, then remembered today is Tuesday.  Tuesdays are running days.  I knew the pastor that leads the group wouldn't be there; he's out of town at a conference.  I also hadn't heard from my running buddy, so I thought I'd just continue doing my nails.  I'd just finished painting them when my running buddy called.  It was 7:00, and she wanted to go out at 7:30.  I knew my nails would be dry by then, and I also knew E needed an extra half hour of school to finish off his day, so I told her we'd go.  I huffed and puffed on those nails till they were pretty much set, then changed into my running gear and we left.  We actually didn't run; we walked for 2 1/2 miles.  It was breezy out, which was good because it's also muggy.  I was glad I went.  I haven't been exercising as regularly as I should, and I really need to get back into a regular routine.  Right after finals.

I showered once we got home, then I checked to see if Shelbey had posted anything on her blog about a new Bare Minerals product I've been interested in called Complexion Rescue.  She had!  Since Shelbey works at a Bare Minerals retailer, she sometimes gets access to products before the public does.  She did a great review on this product.  It's a combination BB cream, CC cream, and tinted moisturizer.  So it gives some coverage while also being good for the skin.  I love this idea for days when I don't want to wear a lot of makeup but I also don't want to go out looking like a troll.  Complexion Rescue is supposed to be released in stores on January 22, but it looks like Ulta already has it.  I plan to wait till it's available on the Bare Minerals website.  The lotion costs $29, but I have a $10 off coupon from Bare Minerals, so I can get it for $19 if I order it from the website or purchase it from one of their boutiques/authorized dealers.  I'm willing to wait if it means getting a bargain!

My son R was feeling pretty bad again today.  Not sneezing, like before, nor even coughing so much.  His eyes, however, were red and swollen.  It looked to me like he'd popped some blood vessels from coughing so hard.  He texted me from work, saying that an eye doctor had stopped at the store, took one look at him and told him it's pink eye.  She wants to see him at her office tomorrow, but he has to be at work tomorrow at 9:45 am.  I don't know how he's gonna work that out, but if it is pink eye he needs to take care of it right away.  I really don't think he should be working, especially since he deals with the public, but the guy that is in charge of the liquor store is on sick leave, and the only other people that can work in the liquor store are my son and another lady.  I hope the store will be understanding and let him go see the doctor.

I guess that's it for today.  Hmm, now that I think about it, it wasn't such a dramatic day after all.  Well, except when I got burned.  I'll admit, I was pretty dramatic.  But it hurt, it really did!  I think I'll go get some rest now.  Good night and God bless.

Tackling Tuesday

Don't you just love appliances?  I think appliances are awesome.  I love that I can sit with my son and do school while the dishes and our laundry are being washed.  Even my meals can be cooking in my crock pot - if I remember to take the meat out the night before so it isn't frozen in the morning.  As my kids would say, epic fail.

The funny thing is, I checked the kitchen last night to make sure I'd taken care of everything.  I was satisfied that everything had been cleaned up, but I totally didn't think about the next day.  The first thing that I thought of when I woke up was, "I didn't take out any meat, did I?"  So there went that plan.

I went to the kitchen and looked at my meal plan for the next two weeks.  I decided I could make empanadillas, which are Puerto Rican style meat pies, similar to Jamaican patties but the pie crust is pastry dough.  My kids are never gonna complain when I make empanadillas.  They are E's favorite food.  He has mentioned it to me on multiple occasions.  Whenever I say we're having empanadillas, his face lights up.  I put the ground beef package in warm water while I made breakfast.  I've been having cereal and an English muffin the last couple of mornings; keeping it simple now that school is back in session.  I knew it was gonna be another busy day, so I prayed for wisdom and patience and got my morning started.

First up was music history.  There was a recorded review he had to listen to, then he took his unit exam.  He got 100%.  Woohoo!  Next was supposed to be his English live lesson, but it was cancelled.  Instead the teacher did a Q and A for kids who need help with their English thesis.  Since E's sister is an English tutor we decided it was more important for him to get caught up with his other classes.  He still hasn't finished his PE assignment, and he hadn't even started on science.  I decided he needed to do science next.  He says he hates science.  He enjoys the material, but it's a lot of reading, and kids with dyslexia read slower, so it takes him longer.  I usually read the material out loud for him because he's more of an auditory learner, so that's what we did.  It was really interesting stuff, on soil and soil formation.  He took the quiz at the end; he has an 80% so far, and there are two essay questions the teacher has to grade before he knows what his final grade is.  Two down, two to go, but it was lunch time.  Time to make the empanadillas.

I made white rice and black beans to complete the meal, then sat down to rest awhile.  I'd put some clothes in the wash, cooked, taught, and I needed a little break before continuing.  The break wasn't very long.  We got started on his Leadership final exam after lunch.  There were 3 review classes he had to listen to, and a review worksheet to work on, then he did his test.  He got 100% on the multiple choice, and now he has to wait to see how he did on the essay questions.  It was a relief to be done with that.  He worked on his PE assignment some more, but then it was time for exercising.  We hadn't run with our running group since right before Christmas.  The church had a service on December 23rd so no one was running, and December 30th I had my cousin over at the house.  The group runs on Sundays at the park across the street from our house, but I was sick the week before and this past Sunday was the funeral.  So I wondered how I was going to do any running when I'd been on hiatus for two weeks.  Well, I actually jogged quite a bit, and fast walked the rest.  It was over a mile when all was said and done, and I felt great.  Thankfully it wasn't too hot; it's a bit humid but nothing like the summer.  We're supposed to be getting a cold front sometime tomorrow, probably in the evening.  It'll be a welcome change from this weird weather we've been having.  It looks cloudy and dreary most of the day, it's hot and humid but we've only gotten rain in the early morning hours.  I appreciate the rain but I sure would like to see the sun a little more.

Back to the running.  We met up with the group and the pastor that leads the group came over and gave me a hug, expressing his condolences.  He asked how we were doing, and I told him we were fine, since we'd known for some time that Grandma wouldn't be with us much longer.  I have not truly grieved her death, because she was in so much pain during the last months of her life, that it's a relief to know her suffering is over.  But as he started talking to me about his own experience when he lost his father a few years ago, and I saw him get teary-eyed, I thought I was going to break down.  I know that Grandma is with Jesus and she is in the best hands, but I also know we loved her very much and she will be missed dreadfully.  I hadn't thought about it in that sense; all I could think was that I didn't want to see her living so miserably.  She'd always been so active, and suddenly she was in terrible pain and confined to a bed.  She is dancing with the angels now, and I'm thankful for that, but I have to accept that it's okay to grieve.

We came home and I quickly jumped into the shower.  I was sweaty and sticky, but also energized.  I hope that doesn't mean I won't be able to get to sleep!  I'd better make sure I take chicken out tonight before I go to bed.  Good night folks.

Tackling Tuesdays

I'm kinda wondering what's going on.  It's December 30.  This is supposed to be the dead of winter.  Just last month we had cool temperatures, enough to only open the windows halfway in the middle of the day so that all the cold air wouldn't come inside the house.  That was in the fall.  Why is it now that it's winter our temps are so high?!  It's 82 degrees outside!!  Something just ain't right.

After my simple breakfast of cereal and toast, I decided it was time to work on the donate pile.  I've had clothes ready for donation for months, and I have been putting off going through it and dropping it off at the Goodwill.  Seeing as today is December 30 I figured I couldn't keep putting it off any longer.  I gathered up the pile and separated it on my bed.  There was a lot of clothes.  Then I went through my boy's closets.  There was a whole lot of clothes.  Then I went through shoes.  I'm not buying anymore shoes.  This is ridiculous.  Going through my clothes reminds me that: 1 - I am a very blessed woman, and 2 - I need to stop misspending my blessing.  I mean, I do try to spend wisely, but there's times when I miss the mark.  Like, why did I buy those cream colored shoes when I have a pair already that work perfectly fine?  I got them at Payless because they were reduced to $10, that's why.  I thought I was getting a bargain so I bought them.  Truth be told, they've never been outside my house.  I would put them on, be ready to leave, and I'd go change them because they squeak.  I'm not even kidding, they sound like a pair of worn out old shoes and they are brand new.  I added clothes to the pile that no longer fit me and they are like new as well, but at least I got some use out of them.  I have to pay better attention to what is a bargain; spending $10 on a pair of shoes that I'm never gonna wear isn't saving money.  All in all I filled 3 kitchen trash bags with clothes and a large box with shoes.  My daughter also packed 2 bags full of clothes and accessories into the car.  We are all done donating for the year.

I took fish out for lunch but my youngest son invited us to have sushi.  For some reason he has been on this "I want to try sushi again" kick.  We had it once before at a buffet style place for R's birthday and he didn't care for it.  For some reason the soy sauce that was on the table was making him sick.  He was wheezing and having an allergic reaction to it.  I use soy sauce for cooking and he's never had a problem with it, but the one at this particular restaurant irritated his bronchial passages.  That was almost 3 years ago, and he didn't want sushi again for a long time, but now something peaked his interest and he's been begging to have sushi for weeks.  We went to the same buffet style restaurant because for $11.95 you can have all the sushi you can eat, and let's be honest, you won't find deals like that anywhere, plus the food is prepared right in front of you so you know it was just made and not sitting there for who knows how long.  I confess I didn't expect he would eat any of it.  I figured he'd try one or two pieces and decide he still didn't like it.  He proved me wrong.  That boy ate a bunch of different rolls, and even had sashimi!  I guess my baby boy is growing up.  These are things he never would have eaten before, but not only was he willing to try them, he was open-minded about trying new things and really enjoyed his meal.  We all did.  It was really good.

After lunch we drove to the outlet mall, where my son purchased his first longboard.  He convinced his sister to take him with the sushi meal :-).  The longboard is made of bamboo, is very sturdy and a nice design.  He was so thrilled to finally have his longboard that he has been wanting for months.  He's even happier that he still has money left over after spending $200 on it.  Yeah, I didn't realize those things were so expensive.  Glad he paid for it out of his money!

I went ahead and made the fish for dinner.  It was kind of weird; I typically don't cook late in the day.  We eat leftovers from lunch or something quick like a sandwich, but I wasn't going to let that fish go to waste.  Afterwards we took Molly out for a walk.  She's been limping lately, and we aren't sure if the problem is her hip or her leg.  American bulldogs need lots of exercise or they can have hip problems.  Taking Molly out is a mission.  She is a powerful 70 pounds of muscle, and she can yank a person's arms off.  I have my own issues with arthritis; walking her causes my joints to ache because of all her pulling and sudden stops.  No one else likes walking her for the same reason.  Today my daughter decided we'd all go out, so out we went.  Molly could not be more excited.  She loves going out and exploring, but she pulls so hard on her leash she starts wheezing, which gets her tuckered out fast.  Good thing too: it was humid out, so none of us wanted to be out there longer than we had to!  We did enjoy seeing the houses with all their Christmas lights.  Might as well take advantage of it, since the lights will be going down soon.

I'm gonna clean up the kitchen now, then take a shower and hop into bed.  I think I might read tonight, or watch something on TV.  Not quite sure yet.  I hope everyone has a pleasant evening.  Good night ya'll.

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.

Tackle It Tuesdays

Today I'm gonna tackle those bathrooms. I've kept them semi-clean for the last week. You know, a quick wipe down with glass cleaner and nothing more. My sciatica was bad enough that I didn't want to over-do, so I kind of let the bathrooms slide. Today I'm feeling much better, and it's time. So long scum, hello shine!

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom. God bless.

Tackle it Tuesdays

This is actually what I've been tackling the past 3 weeks: gardening. We had an unusually cold winter for South Florida, and our plants suffered greatly for it. I've been desperately looking forward to replanting and making our front yard look Floridian once again. It's nice to drive up to a colorful yard once more.

This may not look like much, until you consider this: The only thing that was there last year was the palm tree (which you can only see the trunk of; it's pretty tall). Everything else was planted within the last month.

This is the view as you're walking up to the front door. That's the living room window. The statues I already had, I just moved some around to give it a newer look. I love the flowers. In the raised garden I've planted a couple new plants which will have to grow before they make an impact. That's okay, I can wait.

Here's my $9.99 bird of paradise. Isn't it lovely? We've gotten rain the past 2 days, and it's very bright and sunny today, which I'm hoping will make this lovely tree feel right at home.

Here's another view. I've also got a potted bird of paradise that I'm thinking will be moved to the back yard sometime this week. I've got to get some rocks around my first bird of paradise, but with the rain and my sciatica acting up it's taken a back seat. I should be able to work on it sometime this week.

This is a better view in front of the living room window. I love my little froggie statues, so colorful and fun.

This is what you see when you walk out the front door, to the left. I know it's not very lush right now, but once these plants start growing I know I'll have a beautiful front yard once again. I'm so thankful it's spring!

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom. Have a blessed day.

Tackle It Tuesdays

On Wednesday. Yeah, a day late. But in my defense, I was so busy tackling stuff yesterday I didn't have time to go on the computer to blog about it. Here's what my day looked like yesterday:

4 loads of laundry - includes shower curtains
swept and mopped entire house
vacuumed all area rugs
vacuumed insides of sofas
waxed floors in 2 bedrooms
scrubbed master bathroom
library run

This, together with all the regular stuff (fixing beds, preparing meals, endless cleaning of kitchen). We also went to McDonalds in the afternoon because my son's school had a fund-raiser, with a bunch of the teachers and administration working at a local McD's. Part of the proceeds from the day went to the PTSA. By the end of the day, I was pretty exhausted, but satisfied with all I'd gotten done.

One other thing I've been doing alot of since yesterday: praying. There's a little girl who needs our prayers. Little Merikalyn will be going in for surgery to have a brain tumor removed. You can read about it here. Please lift up this family in prayer every chance you get.

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom. Have a blessed day.

Tackle It Tuesdays

There's good news and bad news. The good news is we were released from the courthouse at 2:30pm. The bad news is, closing arguments are tomorrow morning. That's another day of jury duty, and I'm sooo behind on my home duties. Thankfully E helped me fold and put away laundry yesterday (such a sweetheart).

Today, since I got home so much earlier than yesterday but still have to go report back for jury duty tomorrow, I chose to cook up 2 days worth of food. I had taken out close to 3 lbs. of ground beef which I browned. Then, I took about a third of it and used it to make a meat sauce. We had spaghetti and meat sauce, fresh baked bread and salad. My boys were happy for that home cooked meal! Then the balance of the meat I prepared sloppy joe style, and I'll put that away for dinner tomorrow. That way, when I get home, I just have to warm it up and make rice and a salad to go with it. I want to have the free time to get caught up with some of my chores.

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom.

Tackle It Tuesdays

I wasn't sure if I'd be home today or not, thanks to the whole jury duty thing, so I got ahead of the game yesterday by cleaning and tidying up as much as I could. Today I tackled the two bathrooms which I didn't get to yesterday, and a couple of loads of laundry. Then I tackled the questions for Friday's Bible study.

We'll be looking at what Proverbs has to say about diligence verses laziness. Much as I brag about all I get done, I know there's laziness in my life I need to take care of. Things I put off because I'd rather not do them. Usually it involves time on the telephone or running errands. I hate being on the phone. I don't mean with friends, but calling businesses where you spend the first 20 minutes with a recording telling you to press 1, then press 4, then press 9, then enter your account number, etc. By the time a human being comes on I've forgotten what I called for! I tend to put those calls off as much as possible.

Then there's errands. Ugh! I admit I don't like to drive. I do it because we have a lousy public transportation system and it's the best way to get around, but I'd rather not have to get in my car if I can avoid it. Of course, God reminds me that these errands are important to the household, and that diligence means "constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken". I've undertaken to be a homemaker, to keep my home running efficiently so that my family can enjoy being here as much as I do. Therefore, after picking my son up from school I tackled a couple of errands that needed to get done. And you know what? I feel really good about it now.

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by 5 Minutes For Mom.

Tackle It Tuesdays

Yeah, okay, so it's Wednesday. I've had a busy week!

Yesterday I tackled the family room. We have sliding glass doors in our family room, and typically I have it flanked by the two recliners. Every so often, though, I switch it and put the sofa in front of the glass doors so that the sun won't fade the chairs too fast. It also gives the room a more open feeling.



The centerpiece on the coffee table was originally in the kitchen, but it was too distracting. I think it looks better in the family room than the kitchen. I did put something else in the kitchen which I'll take a picture of later on (after I've cleaned up in there!). It took me a good part of the morning to get this done, since I turned the recliners over to vacuum underneath, plus vacuumed both recliners and sofa. That, along with dusting, cleaning glass and mopping floors, kept me busy, but I'm happy with the results.

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by Susan at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Tackle It Tuesdays

What did I tackle today? Floors. Floors leading from my bedroom to the garage, which means thru the hallway, living room and kitchen.

The TV in the master bedroom blew. It was scary. Looked like lightning went through the inside of it, only it wasn't raining or anything. It just zapped and died. Thing is, this TV is about 7 years old, so it isn't one of those new lighter-than-air flat screen TV's. It's a big ole monster that weighs about the same as a full grown elephant, give or take a pound. My husband and son tried to get it out of the wall unit but it was too heavy. Hubby had to bring in another guy to help, but even then it was too heavy to carry, so once it was out of the wall unit it was put on the floor and dragged out to the garage. Oh, if only I'd known what they were doing so I could put a blanket or something under it! The guys didn't think of that, and the tile floors had scuff marks all over because of it. So, a scrubbin' I would go. Thankfully the scuff marks came off without TOO much effort.

Never a dull moment.

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by Susan at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Tackle It Tuesdays

What have I been tackling? Today it was bathrooms. Well, typically on Tuesdays I do bathrooms. I like to maintain something of a schedule, because it helps me feel organized. After that, I tackled lunch/dinner. We usually have a big lunch and either a light dinner or leftovers from lunch. I cook plenty so that my oldest son can take food with him to work as opposed to spending money on junk food. After school my youngest and I tackled the libraries. We have 2 in the area, and had to return books to both. I've been reading Jane Austen's books and loving them. I read Sense and Sensibility first, then Pride and Prejudice. I found Persuasion and Mansfield Park at the library last month and was glad, since the first 2 are usually the only ones available. I was returning Mansfield Park today and was thrilled to find Emma, which I'd never seen at the library. Score!!! The only one I'll be missing after that is Northanger Abbey. Jane Austen's books, set in Georgian times (before the Victorian era) are so beautifully written I could read them over and over. I may just ask for them for Christmas!

Wow, I guess I tackled quite a bit today after all! How about you?

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by Susan at 5 Minutes For Mom.

Tackle It Tuesday

I tackled the family room yesterday. I really did. You'll just have to take my word for it.

My hubby is out of the country, and he took the camera with him, so I can't take any pictures. I moved furniture, dusted, vacuumed, and polished for half the day, till the whole place was shining. I have lots of fall stuff out already, but I have to get my son to bring down my box from the attic that has the rest of the fall decorations. He's not going to be too happy; he hates going up into the hot, stuffy attic, especially when the weather's been so muggy. Oh well. It's just one box. Wait till Christmas. Then it'll be all morning bringing down boxes.

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by Susan at 5 Minutes For Mom.

Tackle It Tuesdays

Actually, I wasn't able to tackle anything inside the home today. I went with my son who is looking at different schools (technical and college), so that's what we tackled today. Things don't always go as planned, but they still have to be tackled!

Yesterday I tackled the dining room, and made it more autumn-ish.



The candleholders were a gift from a dear young girl I worked with. I got them the Christmas of 2007. The pumpkin candy dish is from Kingdom Treasures, which I used to sell. I have a candle in it instead of candy, because they have less calories ;-).



This is the view from the family room. I took everything out of the china cabinet, cleaned it all and cleaned the inside of the cabinet, then put everything back. That's what took the longest. I purged a bunch of stuff that ended up in the drawers on the bottom; when I'm tidying up I tend to throw things in drawers then forget to take them out. Now the cabinet has more usable space, which is what I like.

Living room is next; I hope to get to that tomorrow or Thursday. I love fall cleaning even more than spring cleaning, because it means the holidays are coming!

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by Susan at 5 Minutes For Mom.

Tackle It Tuesday

Actually, it would be more accurate to call it Tackle It Week. Since it's the first week of school and I've got the house pretty much to myself, I can get some intense cleaning done. I started Monday in my bedroom. I moved furniture, dusting and mopping behind the bed and nightstands. Rather than dressers, we have a large wall unit with shelves and drawers that was custom made. It's beautiful and has lots of storage, but it takes a good hour to get all the wood and glass cleaned and everything put back in its place. It looks nice and shiny now, though.






Today it was bathrooms. I mixed up a special cleaner I get at Lowe's that's for travertine tiles, and with a sponge mop I cleaned ALL the tiles in both bathrooms. It took an hour and a half, but those bathrooms look like something out of a magazine.

After lunch I started on my daughter's bedroom. I'm dusting like a mad woman, every little nook and cranny. The boy's room will be next, and that one's a challenge. It's a small room for two boys, so I need to purge a lot of E's things that he's too old for so there's more room. I'm moving from east to west in the house, and as I go into the common areas I'll be redecorating for autumn. That excites me, because autumn colors are my favorites. Stay tuned!

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by Susan at 5 Minutes For Mom.

Tackle It Tuesday

Most of the tackling today happened outdoors. My daughter leaves for college on Thursday, and we went clothes shopping. Two Kohl's have opened in nearing cities, and we tried both. The closer one is smaller, but for some reason has a larger selection. She found lots of nice things, and the prices were very reasonable, actually better than I'd expected, which is great.

A couple of days ago, we went to the Kohl's that's farther from home. It's pretty big, two stories with a large home decor section. I'd been wanting a new comforter set for the master bedroom, since ours was old, faded, and the bed skirt had ripped twice. I found one set which I fell in love with, partly because the colors match the paint color and the curtains already in the bedroom, and partly because the price of $115 for an 8 piece reversable king size set was too good to be true. I fixed up the bed, which looked gorgeous, but when my hubby saw the curtains, he said they looked drab, and told me to find some nicer ones. So we went to Kohl's today looking for curtains, only they didn't have any, so we went to Target instead. I found some lovely curtains and put them up right away.



I love the way it turned out - it looks so elegant! Of course most of my day went in shopping, so at my house this week, it'll be Tackle it Wednesday! God bless!

Tackle It Tuesdays is hosted by Susan at 5 Minutes For Mom.