The Week In Review

I'm reminded on week's like these why my blog is called Accepting Change. There have been so many changes in my life in the last couple of years, and I'm still learning to accept that life can change from one minute to the next. It's been a busy week full of changes, but I'm thankful that it's been good. It's been really good.

I started training for my new job this week. I'll be working in sales/customer service. The training this week has involved mostly learning about the company, what it stands for, what the processes are, etc. We had orientation on Monday in person, then we were given our computers and equipment and have been learning from home since. There's a lot of computer stuff to learn, which is what we'll be doing this coming week, and I'm excited to learn more. The team is great, the trainers are happy to answer any questions no matter how trivial...it's just a good environment. 

The big adjustment has been figuring out what's going to work for me as far as scheduling my week. I'm Type A; I like my lists and having everything very organized. Whenever I wasn't working I did everything during the week: yardwork, errands, everything was scheduled on the weekdays, and I rested on the weekends. Working 9:00 - 5:30 changes things. I thought I would have to do everything over the weekend now, but this past week I was still able to mow the lawn during the week. I just worked for about an hour or less on Wednesday and Thursday, and on Friday I finished what was left in about 15 minutes, so I didn't have to do yardwork all weekend. I'm hoping I can do that on a regular basis, but it really depends on the weather. We are smack in the middle of rainy season in Florida, meaning it often rains on a daily basis. My grass loves it, but it means I have to mow the grass every week. Yes, that's right, every week. In one week's time the grass will grow back to where it was, and if I don't take care of it I'll have a jungle on my hands. If I can do a little everyday it makes the task more manageable, but that will only happen if it isn't raining in the afternoon. I'm gonna have to play it by ear.

What I did on the weekend was laundry, vacuum, groceries, and a little food prep for the week. My job gives me two 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch break. Now, I'm not the type to eat something small at lunchtime and then have a big supper. I cook one meal at noon, and I make enough for lunch and supper. Well, I can't get a full meal done and eaten in 30 minutes - even Rachael Ray doesn't do that - so I've been meal prepping and freezing meals to make my life easier. The Instant Pot and slow cooker are getting a workout! On the weekends I try to get as much done for the week ahead so I don't have to stress. For instance, tonight I grilled some chicken tenders, then sliced them and put them in the fridge. Tomorrow I'll boil some fettuccine noodles and we'll have chicken fettuccine Alfredo. I've prepared some ground beef, meatballs, and two meatloaves that are frozen, and I've got more chicken ready for the instant pot for teriyaki chicken. What I've been doing is getting it all set up during my morning break so that at lunchtime all I have to do is warm it up. It's worked so far.

Today my son and I got our second Covid shot, and this one hurts way more than the first one did. About 10 days after I got the first shot my arm started itching. The next morning I awoke to a hot, swollen, red, blotchy arm that freaked me out. I went back to the pharmacy where they'd given me the shot, and they explained that it's a phenomenon called Covid arm. The pharmacist told me it's very common and lots of folks get it; the internet told me it's rare and uncommon. Regardless, my arm was swollen for about 3 days. It's a "mild" allergic reaction, which didn't surprise me since I have sensitive skin that breaks out easily, but it was no fun and now my arm is so sore I can barely move it. I'm hoping the pain doesn't last.

So, that was my week. Work training and yard work. I have a strong suspicion it's gonna look like this for awhile. Until it changes. Because life is like that, always changing. Have a blessed week.

The Week (And a Half) In Review

I was gonna post a week in review earlier this week but events took a turn and my mind was on anything but my blog. You'll soon understand why.

Last week I kicked my job search into overdrive, knowing that J was no longer employed at the company he'd been working at for over 25 years. I knew that, even if he had another job getting paid more, he would want to do everything possible to cut my alimony payments. I prayed and asked others to pray with me and for me. I was especially moved by the pastor of the church we're now attending, who reached out and asked for my resume in case he knew of any openings anywhere. Tuesday I had a virtual interview with a local company. It was unlike anything I'd done in the past; there were assessment tests, but also recording myself on video answering questions on different customer service scenarios. I recorded myself as best I could and sent it in. I also applied to several other companies over the next couple of days, though I didn't hear from any of them.  

My daughter started feeling sick around the weekend. She's been working at a preschool over the summer and is scheduled to start teaching elementary art and Spanish this school year. One of the children in the preschool was clearly sick. The mom said he'd tested positive for Covid but was asymptomatic. Within days half the faculty was sick as well as several children, and my daughter tested positive. A couple of days later her husband began feeling the symptoms and also tested positive. It was breaking my heart because they both felt terrible, but she was especially affected with coughing fits and was starting to have trouble breathing.

My son-in-law works for a doctor who advised them both to get the antibody infusion. Saturday they went to the local hospital for it, and by Sunday my son-in-law was a bit better, but my daughter was not. Her oxygen levels were low. Monday morning he took her to the hospital where she was quickly admitted. My poor son-in-law called me in tears. She hadn't slept because of all the coughing, and now because he tested positive he wasn't allowed inside the hospital. I was heartbroken as well; driving down was futile because they put her in isolation so no one can be with her, and I couldn't stay with him because he's Covid positive. I waited a couple of hours while they ran tests and x-rays. The dreaded news came later that morning: she had pneumonia. 

I began texting and emailing everyone I could think of that would pray for her. Churches, bible study groups, friends, family, all my prayer warriors were put on high alert. The hospital immediately started her on antibiotics and oxygen; thankfully she didn't have to be intubated. By God's grace her fever was gone by the next day, and while she is still in the hospital receiving treatment she seems to be getting better by the day. The infectious disease doctor gave her a good prognosis. She doesn't have anymore Covid symptoms; if it weren't for the pneumonia she'd be cleared to go home. I know it'll be a long road to recovery but I'm trusting God to bring complete healing.

In the meantime, E and I went and got our first vaccine on Sunday. I know it's controversial, and I believe each person needs to individually decide if the vaccine is right for them. We got it because my daughter begged us to, and I didn't want her stressing over it. I'll say this, my arm was in pain for days. Man I hate getting shots :-(.

With all that was going on I had trouble focusing on anything else, but I got a call from the company that had done the virtual interview. They wanted to interview me in person. I went in on Wednesday and again had several assessments along with the interview. I was glad that the company is only 15 minutes from my house. The interview seemed to go well, and the interviewer told me he'd give me an answer by next Friday since there were several others he needed to interview. The very next morning I received a call with a job offer.

To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I'd been applying for jobs for months whenever we were living in the townhouse and I only got one interview. I knew right away they weren't interested. It was like God didn't want me to get settled there because He had other plans for me. I've now been in Central Florida for 3 months and I've landed a full-time job that's not only close to home, it's currently remote, so I won't even have to leave my house. The company will provide whatever equipment I need to do the work from home until they're ready to come back to the office. 

Even in the difficult, trying circumstances of life, God shows me that He is good. When I'm in need, He provides. When I'm hurting, He comforts and reassures. He puts people in my life that stand in the gap for me. I say as King David said, "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4). I can be secure in His love because He is always faithful. If you're reading this, I hope you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you don't, I hope you will reach out to Him now. He is waiting, and He is good.

The Week In Review

What day is it? Thursday? It's taken a while to recover from last week, LOL! VBS was A-mazing! I didn't realize how much I'd missed working with the kids and doing Vacation Bible School till I was back in the game. 

I'd done VBS in the past, whenever my son E was young and later with my niece and nephews. I had been an assistant leader, worked registration, and did snacks for two years. I hadn't done VBS since 2014, though. My last church had VBS in the evenings, from 6:00 - 9:00 pm. I was working from 2:15 - 8:15 pm, so I wasn't able to be a part of it. So whenever this new church we've been attending asked if I would consider volunteering, I immediately said Yes! And it was meant to be: they assigned me to the snack room, so I had experience! There were three of us in the snack room teaching on missions. I met some of the loveliest and most encouraging people. We got the 1st and 2nd graders, a wonderful and well-behaved group of children that were eager to learn (and eat!). It was a joy-filled, rewarding experience that I would do again in a heartbeat.

VBS ran from 8:00 am till noon. Once I got out I took care of everything I needed to do around the house: grocery shopping, yardwork, laundry, the usual. I also applied to jobs whenever I found anything. Which is a good thing too, since I got some shocking news this weekend. My ex-husband J quit his job of 25 years. 

J has been telling me for years that they are going to fire him "any day now". Even when he told me the company had been sold a little over a year ago, I didn't believe him because I'd been hearing the same story for such a long time. So when I got the text message on Sunday saying Friday was his last day working for the company, I couldn't believe it. Then I looked at the message again. He didn't say they'd fired him; he said that Friday was his last day. That was suspicious. So I texted back asking what had happened, but I got no answer. I was left to ponder the meaning of his text.

Monday he finally called. I asked him point blank if he'd been fired or if he'd quit. He started yelling and cussing up a storm, till I calmly told him there was no need for him to fly off the handle like that. I'd only asked a simple question; there was no accusation or judgment. He finally did calm down and told me the new administration had been firing all the employees that were there from the old owners and bringing in new people. They called him in saying they would no longer need him in his position and offered to demote him, cutting his salary. So he walked out.

What does this mean for me? It means my job search had been moved into high gear. J still has to pay alimony but he's going to try and give me as little as possible. I'm thankful that my expenses aren't as high as they were whenever I was living in South Florida, but that doesn't mean I have no expenses at all. I'm applying and interviewing as much as possible, but so far there haven't been any offers. Still, I put my trust in the Lord. He who has provided in the past will continue to provide. I put in a prayer request at church and the pastor kindly emailed me requesting my resume so he can forward it to anyone that might be looking. I am beyond thankful for that gesture.  

If you have a moment, say a prayer for me. Ask that God would guide me to the right job. That I wouldn't be anxious for anything, but that in all things, through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, I make my desires known to God (Philippians 4:6). I am filled with His peace now, and I don't want anything to take my focus off of Him. 

That's it for this now. Have a blessed rest of your week.

The Week In Review

I know, I know, I'm behind on my posting. VBS is in full swing and I get home pretty tired, and then I have things to get done here so it's hard to find a moment to sit down without quickly dozing off.

We had Kuzco for the whole week. He was one spoiled puppy! I told my daughter that while he missed them, he would miss my yard a lot more. He was outside several times a day running, playing fetch, and having a good ole time. I enjoyed having him around but was also glad once he left because all those trips outside meant lots of dirt being brought inside. He got picked up late Friday afternoon and I spent Saturday vacuuming and steam cleaning everything. 

My son E has had a cold all week and dog dander didn't help. He's still not feeling his best but thankfully he's doing better.  I took him to the Minute Clinic last Friday because I was concerned he might have asthma but his oxygen levels were normal. He just needs lots of rest; not the easiest thing when he's also got schoolwork (he's doing summer classes this semester).

We got the first tropical storm scare last week. TS Elsa looked like she was gonna come barreling through Central Florida as a category 1 hurricane, but ultimately she lost steam and headed just north of us. We got plenty of rain, though, which meant I had to mow the yard again. I'd only just mowed the week before, but the mix of rain and sunshine energizes the grass. Thankfully I was able to finish it in less time with the help of a second battery for the mower.

This year's VBS theme is Destination Dig. I got an idea from one of the girls from my old church: a photo-op frame in the shape of a jeep. Whenever I saw the picture on Facebook I said, I have got to make one! So I did.

It turned out super cute! It's up as decor in the room for now but we'll use it for pictures later in the week. It was a mission trying to get this made with a puppy underfoot! He followed me around everywhere like my shadow. But I'm so pleased with how it turned out and glad I was able to contribute some decor to the room.

That was it for last week. Like I said, this week has been very busy and we're only halfway done. Next week rest? Hmm, we'll have to see. Have a blessed week y'all.

The Week In Review

Happy Monday after Independence Day! It was nice to see everyone out setting off fireworks in celebration of the 4th of July, though not quite as happy about the noise - more on that later.

I spent the week mowing the lawn. That's not an exaggeration. I was out doing some part of the yard every. single. day. Whenever we first moved into this house, the lawn was in really bad shape. There were lots of dry patches and areas where the dogs had dug up the lawn and it looked rough.

This was just off the patio. It looked like this in several areas throughout the front and back yard. I didn't know if I was gonna have to buy sod to take care of these spots, but I decided to wait till the rainy season started. Good thing I did.

This is the same spot as above. With all the rain and no dogs, it's like the grass got energized and has started growing with a vengeance. There are still dry spots but in just two months it has improved dramatically. 

All the rain has also meant the grass grows very quickly. Whenever I started cutting the grass, I didn't cut it too low because it was hot, sunny, and dry. I didn't want the roots to dry out so set the mower pretty high. Once the rains started I began cutting the grass lower and lower but it was a mission! I finally caved and bought a second battery so that I could get more done and not have to mow the lawn daily. Friday I was done, just in time for a visit from my grand-dog Kuzco. My daughter and son-in-law are on vacation so they dropped him off Friday evening for a week with grandma. He's been enjoying the backyard, running and playing and getting plenty of exercise whenever it isn't raining.

Speaking of raining, there's a tropical storm headed our way. TS Elsa has moved over slightly to the west, which means we're technically out of the cone, but storms have a way of doing their own thing and not always following the meteorologist's predictions, so we're keeping an eye on it. I'm especially bummed because of what came this past week:

I bought patio furniture! I've been saving to get a set of patio furniture but oh my word is it expensive! Not gonna lie, I didn't expect to find anything 1- in rattan, 2 - under $500, and 3 - before Labor Day weekend. 

Rattan is my favorite material for outdoor furniture; it just feels like the South. I know, that probably doesn't make sense, but whenever I picture a front porch or back patio in the South, it's always got rattan furniture and soft, puffy cushions. I looked at multiple websites, higher end, discount stores, heck even Big Lots prices were through the roof (based on my budget, anyway). So I kept saving and kept checking. I found a nice enough set of wrought iron furniture on Amazon, with seating for 6, that was $495. I'm not the biggest fan of wrought iron because our weather here is so humid, but figuring if I couldn't get rattan like I wanted, I'd settle for what I could afford. I sent a picture to my daughter who was not impressed. She said I should wait till the holiday sales, which I thought was a good idea. I wanted to show my son E the type of furniture I liked and how expensive the sets were, so I pulled up patio furniture on Amazon and this came up. 

(I took out the folding chairs out - they were my patriotic chairs for the 4th)

I had to do a double take. A rattan set - a sectional no less! - 5 pieces, for $379.99?!?! How was it I hadn't seen this before?! And why was it so affordable? I looked at the reviews and they were very good. Then I saw that there was a newer model being offered - that explained why this one was so much cheaper than anything I'd seen before. My daughter agreed that it was a way better deal and much nicer looking, so I went ahead and placed the order. It came in two separate boxes on two separate days, 4 days before it was scheduled which was fine with me! Assembly was not complicated once I figured out the instructions, and I was able to do it by myself. It's beautiful, comfortable, and I can't wait to decorate it - but now that'll have to wait, since I don't know whether this storm will stay away or shift closer to us, in which case I'll be bringing all my furniture back inside. Ah, hurricane season. Can't wait till you're over.

Regardless if we get a direct hit from TS Elsa or not, we're pretty much guaranteed a ton of rain this week. Right now, though, the sky is blue and it's hot and muggy outside. That was my week. Hope this week is uneventful, weather-wise anyway.

The Week In Review

Can I just take a minute to reflect how fast the first half of the year went by?! Maybe because I had so much going on these past 6 months. I put my townhouse on the market, sold it in two days, traveled to Central Florida, put offers on two houses, purchased a house, packed, waited, moved...so much done in so little time. I'm kinda hoping the rest of the year will be calmer. Not counting on it, though.

Last week was a very wet week in Central Florida. We had thunderstorms daily. Last Thursday the storms began at 12:30 pm and continued till after 3:30 pm. I mean non-stop heavy rain for hours. It took me three days to get the grass cut because the ground was soaking wet and the lawn mower would get clogged and shut off. (Spoiler alert: I've been cutting the grass this week since Monday and I'm still not done. It hasn't rained since Sunday but the ground is still saturated. And it looks like it's gonna rain today). I'm considering buying a second battery for the lawn mower. While I love the fact that it shuts off, forcing me to stop and not get over-exerted, I find myself cutting some area of the grass everyday. Each time the lawn mower gets clogged it shuts off; each time I have to restart it the battery loses more charge, so that I'm only able to get about 20-25 minutes of battery life. Whenever the grass was dry I was able to get 40 minutes of mowing, so I was able to finish the entire yard in two days. It's the rainy season in Florida and it'll continue this way till September. I don't want to be out in the intense heat mowing grass every single day.

I applied for a couple more jobs, but haven't heard anything from anywhere. I'm slowing down my job hunt for the time being, though. I'd wanted to meet the Pastor of the church we've been attending, but whenever we came out he was always surrounded. I hate standing behind people; it seems rude, like I'm rushing them because it's my turn. So instead I sent an email to the church's website. Within half an hour he'd called me, and we talked for about 30 minutes. I asked about what the church teaches, what kind of outreach they're doing, and told him what we're looking for in a new church home. He asked about the church we came from and even looked them up and listened to one of their sermons. I mentioned that I'd served in children's ministry in the past, and a couple of hours later the children's pastor emailed and asked if I'd consider helping out with VBS. Yes please! I got excited, because I haven't served in VBS for years. I was very much involved in VBS whenever my son E was little and even afterwards, but whenever we moved to our last church VBS was in the evenings while I was at work and I couldn't participate. This church does VBS in the mornings, meaning if I start a new job I won't be able to serve. So I'm gonna pause my job hunt till after VBS, which is the second week in July. We had our first volunteer meeting and I got to meet some lovely people. It helps me feel like I belong, which makes me so happy.

I started working on the July meal plan but I haven't finished it yet. I have to take VBS into account; they'll be serving lunch at the church so I only have to worry about supper. I'm not sure if I want to batch cook the week before and have everything ready, or just have simple meals that whole week. I need to get on that. 

That was my week. Hope everyone's was as blessed. 

The Week In Review

If there's one thing everyone has in common when it comes to moving, it's how busy life gets. Between packing and unpacking and finding places for everything and getting used to a new house and (at least in my case) learning a new town...it feels like there's no getting caught up. I'm happy to say the house is completely unpacked and it's mostly organized. It's taken awhile to get used to the house but I feel much more comfortable now than I did whenever we first moved in. I don't find myself getting nervous whenever the television is "too loud" (which it never is). I don't think as much about the stalking and harassment I escaped whenever we left the townhouse. My neighborhood is quiet, peaceful, and the neighbors are friendly. Each day it feels more and more like home.

I've thought about my blog everyday. "I'm gonna get to it today, even if it's just a quick post," I keep telling myself. But then I remember something else that needs to get done first, and something else that is priority, and the blog gets pushed aside. I could get upset and discouraged, but instead I'm just gonna go ahead and post my week in review (or two weeks in review at this point) and try to get back on track. Progress over perfection.

My daughter and son-in-law were supposed to come visit Memorial Day weekend but my son-in-law pulled a muscle in his back the night before they planned to drive up. They had to cancel because four hours in a car with back pain wasn't in their plans. Thankfully my son and daughter-in-law did come up a couple of days so we enjoyed spending some time with them. 

I also began applying for jobs that week. I still receive alimony from J, but I prefer not to. I have to deal with his complaints and whining whenever he has to send a payment, and I don't need any guilt trips. So I applied to three different companies and actually was called in for an interview the following Monday. It was a good interview in my opinion, and I hoped I would hear good news by the end of the week when I was told they'd get back to me. Friday afternoon I called, since I'd heard nothing from the company, and I was told they hadn't made a decision yet. So I'm still waiting to find out if they'll give me an offer. The waiting is, of course, the hardest part.

In the waiting I got the "itch to switch" and decided to rearrange the furniture in my bedroom. I wasn't sure how it would look but I actually really like it.

The wall where the bed was is now the office area, and the wall where the vanity was is where the bed is. The vanity fits better on the shorter wall. The best part was that I didn't have to move any of the artwork on the walls. I hate having to make more nail holes.

Another project I tackled was the garage. I got a $200 gift card from AT&T for being a repeat customer or some such thing, and I used it to buy shelves for all the totes and stuff in the garage. In my usual neglectful fashion I forgot to take a before picture, but here is the after, and I'm loving it.

 All those totes had been on the floor, some against that wall, some against the other wall, piled on top of each other and looking like a hot mess. Now they're all on shelves, neat and organized. I was able to move the lawn mower into one corner and the Christmas tree bag into the other. The garage looks clean and spacious, not like I just moved in less than two months ago (though that part is true!). By the way, I absolutely love my electric lawn mower. It works so well, and it doesn't tire me out like the big clunky gas mower used to, plus it runs 40 minutes at the most and forces me to stop so I don't wear myself out.

Let me end with this beauty: a sandhill crane that decided to stay in my yard for hours on Memorial Day. It's breathtakingly beautiful. E and I could have sat at the window all afternoon watching it. God's creation which declare His Majesty. Enjoy!

Week In Review

The saying "Never a dull moment" certainly described this past week. 

Monday was a pretty good day. My back was feeling much better, and I was able to go grocery shopping and get some errands done. My daughter, who hadn't been feeling too well, stayed home from work. The previous week she'd had a stomach bug which no one else in the family caught, so it might well have been food poisoning, but now she had a stuffy nose and sinus congestion. Not unusual for this time of year; it's pollen season in Florida and allergies are running rampant. Others at her job were also sick so she wasn't entirely sure it was just allergies so she decided to stay home. She hadn't slept very well either, thanks to all the congestion. We all figured some rest would do her good.

Tuesday morning she was still all stuffed up and still hadn't slept more than a couple of hours. She decided a trip to the minute clinic was in order; Mucinex didn't seem to be enough. Since she works at a school she also went to get tested for Covid just to be safe. The week before, with the stomach bug, she'd gotten tested twice and both times tested negative. The doctor at the minute clinic told her she had a lot of fluid in her ears and nasal passages, common with bad allergies. He prescribed Zyrtec along with the Mucinex and a round of antibiotics to kill any bacteria that could cause infection. Then she got both the rapid and PCR tests for Covid and came home. About an hour later she got the rapid test result: Positive. Can y'all say panic?! I hate to admit it, but my first thought was, "I'm closing in 10 days, we can't get Covid!" I know I should have been worried for her first, but the truth is she didn't have fever, loss of taste, breathing issues (other than her nose was stuffed up), all her symptoms indicated a simple head cold, not a pandemic virus. The only reason she got tested was because she works at a school. If she'd worked anywhere else she wouldn't have bothered because she'd tested negative twice just a few days earlier. 

Within a couple of hours she got a call from the health department to take down her information. Since she'd also gotten the PCR test which, according to the CDC, is a more accurate test, she asked if it was possible for the PCR to come back negative. "No", she was told, "you can get a false negative but not a false positive. If you got a positive result it's because there's something there and the test detected it." So the quarantining began. We all stayed far from each other, she stayed in her bedroom with a mask, and the three of us went to get tested. All our tests came back negative, praise the Lord. She called her boss, while I emailed my realtor. We prepared for whatever might come.

Wednesday I went back to our old neighborhood - not the one we just moved out of, the previous one. My son has his favorite barber there, and I wanted to go see some friends and the new sanctuary that our church recently inaugurated. I had coffee with my best friend and realtor, then went by our old house to see our neighbor and catch up. It was such a nice day, but the Covid thing was always on the back of my mind. I was praying that my daughter's next test would come back negative even though she'd been told it was unlikely. I also prayed that neither my son E nor I would catch it.

Thursday morning I awoke to glorious news: her PCR test did in fact come back negative. Praise Jesus! I was over the moon thrilled! She was more confused than anything. She called the health department and asked how it was possible that she'd gotten a positive rapid result but a negative PCR. They told her the PCR was the more accurate test, so if it came back negative then the first test was a false positive. She argued that she'd been told she couldn't get a false positive, but this person told her that information was incorrect. Then she spoke to a doctor who said she should get tested again because one of the tests was wrong and the PCR might be the false negative. Honestly, I don't think anyone really knows what's right and what's wrong. By Thursday she was feeling 95% back to normal thanks to the meds the minute clinic doctor had given her. I'm still of the opinion it wasn't Covid; it was a head cold or really bad allergies, and either way it's gone. She's back to her old self, none of us has gotten anything, and we are just thankful that God spared us. Can we still catch the virus? Of course. But I don't dwell on that. We are happy and healthy and for that I'm grateful.

The next few days were project days. I wanted to help my son-in-law out with some to-do's before I left. Thursday and Friday we worked on the laundry room refresh that I posted about last week. Then Sunday I helped him put up window blinds in the dining room. They'd had some old vertical blinds that had yellowed with age and didn't look good at all. The new bright white blinds not only look better, they make the whole room look bigger and brighter. I'm so happy I could do this for them. They've been so good to us, it was the least I could do.

This week is the big week. Lord willing, we close on our house on Friday. I have a virtual walk-thru scheduled for 9:00 am. Since I won't have a mortgage, I can sign all the documents online and send them in via email. Within an hour I can be done and on my way to our new house. My, how times have changed! It's so much easier now to do things, what with the internet and all. I'm not gonna lie, I'm excited, nervous, and sad all at the same time. Excited to be moving in to a new house; nervous because I'm a planner and I keep going over everything, trying to make sure I have all my ducks in a row; and sad because I know how much I'm gonna miss my daughter and it hurts my heart that she won't be a 3 minute drive away. This move is bittersweet for that reason, but I know God has a plan and a purpose for everything, and that He works all things together for good for those who love Him. I'm resting in that knowledge and praising him along the way. 

The Week In Review

I usually do my weekly reviews on Sundays, but I'm sorta stuck at home today. I figured out the pain in my lower back, which radiates down my leg, is actually sciatica. I've had this before, whenever I was pregnant but after that as well. It's always gone away on its own so I'm not overly concerned. I just have to take it easy so the swelling of the muscles goes down and I can go back to normal. And it's really important that I get my mobility and strength back, because my realtor emailed me some good news this week. 

The reason we haven't moved into our house is because the sellers are building a new home, and they can't move into their home until it's completed. They requested extra time, and we agreed to give them until April 23rd. The problem is that new builds aren't predictable. Weather, materials, inspections, anything can cause a delay. They were told their house would be ready by the second or third week of April, but what if there were glitches? The sellers are trying to save money so going to a hotel with three kids, two dogs and a cat would be very expensive. We agreed that if they stayed in the house longer than the 23rd they would have to pay $100 per day, but we've already been in my daughter's house for a month, plus we've been sleeping here since late January. There's also the rental charges on the Pod containers to take into consideration. I was hoping and praying that they would be out of the house on time so we wouldn't have to wait any longer.

My realtor is so amazing. She has been in contact with the seller's agent on a weekly basis and keeping me in the loop. This week she emailed me a copy of a text she received from the seller's agent, saying that the sellers are on schedule to be out of the house a couple of days prior to closing, and they'd have the house and floors professionally cleaned before then as well! Thank You Jesus!! If all goes well (and I realize something can always come up) we will be able to close and move in on the 23rd, which is now less than two weeks away! Y'all, I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again, LOL! Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful to my daughter and son-in-law for taking us in, and thankful to God that He has provided for us. But I'm ready to start the next chapter of our lives in our new house, in our new city, getting to know the new area and seeing what God has in store.

So even though my week has been spent resting and not doing much of anything, I feel it has been productive. I've made a meal plan for the first couple of weeks in the new house, along with a shopping list. The refrigerator is scheduled to be delivered the day after we move in; once it's in we can buy groceries and stock the house with food. I also have a list of things I want to buy prior to the move. The nearest Costco is almost an hour away from our new house, so I won't be going there as often as I do now. There are certain items that I always get at Costco because they've got the best prices: facial tissues, toilet paper, allergy medicine, and a few other items. I've got two moving checklists going, one of things that have to be taken care of before the move, and one for immediately after. Next week I'll be setting up utilities so that nothing gets cut off whenever we move in. After that there's updating all my accounts with the new address. I'm a list lover so being able to sit down and get that organized and done gives me peace of mind.

I've had mixed emotions this past month. It still saddens me that I moved out of my townhouse, not because I didn't like it there, but because I was driven out by a stalker. I don't wish that on anyone. At the same time, I'm excited about the move, the new house, decorating, all that fun stuff. It's change, it's learning to accept change, and looking at it with the right perspective. 

The Week In Review

 Every time I've moved I've said the same thing: this is the last time I'm gonna do this. I hate packing, I hate the mess, I hate the work, and I don't want to do it again. Famous last words.

Guess what I've been doing all this week? That's right, packing. My house is filled with boxes. It's the kind of chaos that feels overwhelming and gives me anxiety. At the same time, I'm filled with hope for what God has in store for us in Central Florida, and that's what keeps me going even though I'm exhausted.

This is what you see whenever you first come up the stairs to my house. I took down all the decor from the walls except for the large clock, so I can see the time. I emptied out the bookshelf, then put some of the boxes in the cubbies for two reasons; 1 - to get them off the floor and out of the living room, and 2 - to see how well they fit. My plan is to fill the spaces with boxes once it's in the Pod container, so we can use every bit of space that we can. There's a lot of boxes and furniture to load, and we have to use the space to our best advantage.

Since I moved those boxes the living room doesn't look near as bad. I could barely get in and out of the living room thanks to all the boxes on the floor. This gives me a better idea of how it'll fit into the Pod.

Boxes in walkways, boxes on counters...

Boxes and bags and rolled up rugs in the dining room. The dining room table is leaning up against the mirrored wall, legs removed so it takes up less space as well. The bags are filled with throw blankets and pillows. I like using throw pillows to decorate, since it's an easy way to change up a look. I didn't realize how many I'd accumulated till I started packing them up. And here I thought I didn't have more than a few. 

I actually have two Pod containers coming, a large one and a small one. The small one will be the last to be loaded and the first to be unloaded. It'll contain all of our essentials: the beds, bedroom furniture, bathroom and kitchen necessities, things we need right away. I'm keeping these items in the master bedroom so they don't get loaded onto the first Pod.

The kitchen cabinets have been emptied out, and on top of the counters I've just got the toaster oven and some cleaning supplies. The cookie sheet is old and will not be making the trip. The pantry has some food items but those will be going to my daughter's house.

I've confirmed the first Pod for tomorrow, when we will start loading boxes from the garage and inside the house. Then Tuesday we'll have church volunteers helping us load the heavy furniture. I can't begin to express what a blessing it is to have this kind of help. My son E and I could never get this done on our own. 

The tiles came off the balcony. I was sorry to see them go, especially when the workmen confirmed what I already knew: the tiles were not the cause of the leaks in the neighbor's unit. It was a structural issue. I could tell just from the look of the slab whenever they removed the tiles. No cracks, no water damage, nothing to indicate any seepage of water anywhere.

Now the workers have to come back to smooth out the concrete so it doesn't look like this. I've emailed the management letting them know they have this week to get the work done before we close on the sale of my home.

My neighbor was in an uproar whenever he saw the men working on my balcony. He made all kinds of noises all weekend long, then stayed home from work on Monday just so he could slam doors, bang on the walls, throw things, play loud music and television, and make a general nuisance of himself. I emailed the management to let them know what was going on so they could tell him the work was being done for his benefit, not mine. He calmed down a little after that, but the noise hasn't stopped entirely. It's affecting my health in a negative way. I feel my anxiety rise whenever he starts with his ruckus. Add to that my allergies and asthma, and I can't wait to get out of here.

I have to remind myself constantly that, no matter how bad my circumstances seem, I have a lot to be thankful for. I was able to sell my home in just two days. I have my daughter who has opened her home to us so we don't have to pay for a hotel or a short term rental. We have food, clothing, and help from our church family. God has provided just as He always has. He is so good! It reminds me that I have nothing to fear because my God goes before me. He has a plan and a purpose for all this, and will use it for His glory. 

The Week In Review

I know I always say this, but this week really was a whirlwind. From day one it has been non-stop, and I won't lie, anxiety starts to creep in whenever I feel overwhelmed. Thankfully, God is with me every step of the way, calming my heart as He guides me and answers my prayers.

Let's start with last Sunday, February 21. We set out for Orlando because it was close to both my son and daughter-in-law, and not too far from where we were going to look at houses. We left home at 1:00 pm and arrived at our hotel at around 4:30 pm. We were pretty tired at that point, since we'd gotten up early and driven straight up, so we just stayed in the hotel. I'd made pizza for lunch and brought whatever was left over so we had that for dinner, then went to bed early because we were going to see the first house at 9:30 am. At around 4:00 am my Ring doorbell app went off. As I suspected, my neighbor had called in a noise complaint. This is the third time he calls the police complaining about noise whenever there's no one in the house, and I've figured out why he does it. We haven't slept in our house since January 26. We come to the house during the day, then leave around 10:00 pm and sleep at my daughter's house. He can hear the garage door open and close because my garage is attached to and directly in front of his unit. Whenever he doesn't hear the garage door open and close, he assumes it's because I'm still at home, so to annoy me he calls in a false report to the police. Little does he know that I turn around and call the police, letting them know that no one is home. Rather than hurting me, he ends up hurting himself because it cements the fact that he's lying just to be spiteful. I let the police know that we wouldn't be home till Wednesday so they could keep an eye out.

We were out bright and early Monday morning since my daughter-in-law was joining us for the day. I was so happy she agreed to come; we had some fun and good bonding moments. Day one we were in Lake County, a beautiful area of Central Florida where the town of Mount Dora is located. Most of the state of Florida is flatland, but Mount Dora is famous for having lots of hills (the Mount in the name is a bit of an exaggeration, LOL). I could just drive through there everyday to see all the natural beauty. We saw five homes, but the first one was the one that stole my heart. It was perfectly situated, not too big but not small, on a nice piece of land with a firepit in the back, very well maintained and nicely decorated. After seeing all the houses I decided to act fast and put an offer on this house. Sadly, I wasn't fast enough. The owner, who was also the realtor, really wanted to accept my offer, but she'd already countered an early offer and they accepted. I was so heartbroken! But then I remembered that God is the one choosing my house, not me. If this wasn't the one for us, I'd wait until He pointed me in the right direction.

And He did just that. The next day we were in Volusia County and we saw six different houses. Some were definite no's, some were maybe's, but one stood out from the crowd. Both my son E and my daughter-in-law raved over and over about the house, and while I still liked the one we lost more, I had to admit this house was not only super cute but fit our needs entirely. It was built in 2014 so it's very new, yet the neighborhood is established. That was something I had to consider whenever we looked at new construction; brand new homes have all the bells and whistles, but you can't find out anything about the neighborhood, and after my experience here I don't want to take any chances. This house is about 1500 square feet, slightly smaller than where we live now but laid out so well that the rooms are actually bigger. There's no formal dining or living room which is fine with me; we had both in our old house and they rarely got used. With three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a two car garage with plenty of storage, and a quarter of an acre of land (to keep the neighbors close but not too close), it was all we needed and then some. The only issue I had was the smell. The owners have two very large Great Danes plus a cat, and the house smells of animals. Like, kitty litter. Whenever I mentioned it to my realtor, she said we could ask them to do a professional cleaning of the house, especially the floors since they're all tile and the grout looked pretty dirty. I decided to go ahead with an offer and see if they'd accept my terms. 

There was one bigger issue, though. The owners of this house are having a house built. They have 3 small children along with all the pets, and they are bursting at the seams. Their new house is set to be completed by the second or third week of April. This would mean us staying with my daughter for over a month. So we negotiated terms and dates. I gave them two options: we could drop the price by $1,000 and they would have to be out of the house no later than April 23, or we could close on the 23rd and then do a lease back whereas they pay me $100/day for every day they stay in the house after the 23rd, and they have to be out no later than May 1. They decided to go with both. The price was dropped, they agreed to pay if they have to stay, and Thursday afternoon the contract was signed. Y'all, we are buying a house in Central Florida that is actually cheaper than what I paid for the condo where I'm living now! This is definitely God working His miracles as only He can! I'm so thankful for His provision!

We came back home Wednesday afternoon, and we've been packing ever since. The church graciously provided over 20 boxes for us to use which was an immense blessing.

These have already been filled up and I still need more, so I ordered some off of Amazon. So far I've boxed up all my home decor so the house looks bare. Next I'll be packing up the kitchen and bathrooms. Then next week the pods arrive. I've asked for help from the church to load up the pods as well. This church has some of the most generous and giving people on the planet, and I'm so thankful for each and every one of them. 

The tile removal began on Friday. After letting the association know that my lawyer would be only to happy to sue, the board voted to pay for the removal. That was a huge relief; I didn't want the tiles taken out, so of course I didn't want to pay to have it done. I was sure any damage to the man downstairs was not because of my tiles but they were insistent. So the tiles are gone, and over half of the grout and mortar is gone too. This is what it looks like.

Absolutely nowhere is there any sign of water damage, cracks, or anywhere that water could have leaked to the unit downstairs. I'm positive that any water coming into his house is from his kitchen bay window and not my balcony or my tiles, but there's nothing I can do at this point. The tiles are gone. They'll be coming back to finish the work this week and I'll be one step closer to leaving.

Having to do all this moving work is stressful, not to mention tiring. It's also bittersweet; I really do like this house, the community, the city...it's just the one neighbor that has ruined it so bad that I can't stay here anymore. But I know that God has a plan, and this was just a stepping stone on my way to wherever it is that He's prepared for me (Jeremiah 29:11). The countdown has begun!

The Week In Review

The past week has been a such whirlwind that my head is still spinning. Let's get right into it.

January 3 began with a police visit at 2:00 am. I was sound asleep whenever the doorbell rang, and the officer asked if everything was okay because they'd received "multiple" calls about fighting. The only people in the house are me and my son E, and we don't fight with each other in our sleep. I told him that there weren't "multiple" people complaining, just one person complaining over and over. The officer said he knew the history and left it at that, but my sleep was disturbed the rest of the night. I was not happy.

Imagine then my surprise when the police came to my door yet again, this time at 12:15 in the afternoon with the strangest request. My neighbor called them and asked if they would do a mediation, because he didn't want any more problems with me. He admitted to them that he played loud music and would leave both the music and the tv on all day to annoy me. I was originally hesitant, but the officer said she and her partner would be present, and since he was "extending the olive branch" I should give him a chance. I reluctantly agreed, telling her that I didn't trust him. She told me they weren't there to hash out the past but to try and find a way to move past it and have peace.

At first everything seemed legit. He said he wanted us to get along and not have any more problems. He said he had done things wrong but he wanted to stop. I told him I wished him nothing bad, that I didn't care if he played music or watched television so long as I didn't have to hear it, and that I was willing to forgive and move forward. There was one thing I would not do, however. I would not lie and say that I was banging on his ceiling or causing any of the noise that he insisted I was doing because I wasn't doing it. I even said to him that if I'd done it on purpose to annoy him I'd have no problem admitting it to his face, but I hadn't done it. That upset him. He pulled out sheets of paper where he'd written when I'd supposedly made all the noise but the officer told him to put it away. She reminded him that the intention was not to go over what had been done but how to move forward. I said that maybe the problem was the plumbing; I'd had to run out of the shower twice because the police were at my door, so maybe the shower was making the noise. He said no, it's not the plumbing. I asked that we try an experiment: one officer in his house, one in mine, and we'd try to figure out where the noise was coming from. His answer was, "This is ridiculous, she refuses to admit anything," so that once again the officer had to tell him that wasn't what they'd agreed to. 

One of the officers asked if I would be willing to exchange phone numbers with the neighbor so that if there were noises or anything we could communicate with each other. I was not willing to, but my son E said he would. They exchanged numbers, then the officers agreed to split up and see where the noise was coming from. The results were inconclusive; while it was true that if someone walks across the laminate floors with shoes on it can be heard in his house, it doesn't explain why he hears the sound when no one is walking on the floors. Neither the shower nor the toilet could be heard in his home. I told the officers we would do our best to keep the noise down to nothing whenever he was home and we'd see where it went from there.

The next three days were wonderful. There was no noise, no police, no complaints. My son and I tiptoed around and made every effort to keep the noise levels low. I was cautiously optimistic. Little did I know how quickly the honeymoon would be over.

Thursday January 7 my son received a text message from the neighbor at 5:00am asking if I was upset because he'd turned off his fan. My son came to my room and asked me if I was okay. I was asleep and said yes. He asked if I'd heard the neighbor turn off his fan. I told him I couldn't hear his fan on or off because I was sleeping. My son texted him back and went to sleep.

Around 10:00am my son looked at his phone and realized the neighbor had sent multiple text messages stating that he'd thought we could work things out, that he couldn't do his teaching job if he didn't get any sleep, so on and so forth. My son texted him and apologized for not getting back, but explained that we were both sleeping and weren't making any noise. He sent a barrage of text messages saying that he had a new recording method that the officer had recommended and that he now had proof of all the loud noises we were making. He said he would start calling the police daily so that they could begin to issue tickets for noise violations. My son told him he was sorry that there were noises but they weren't being done by us and left it at that.

I called the officer he mentioned and found out he'd tried to get her to come and "do something" the day before. She told him that there was no criminal activity so there was nothing she could do. She suggested he record the noise but that was pretty much it. I told her I was going to buy myself a video camera to record myself at night while I slept to show that the accusations were false. While we both agreed that I shouldn't have to go to those extremes, I could see no other way. I ordered the video cam. That night my son went to visit friends and stayed over their house, and I stayed with my daughter because I didn't want to stay home by myself.

Saturday afternoon my son received more text messages, this time with threats. He sent pictures of some recording apparatus and stated that he would be downloading all the noise going on and was forwarding it to the Department of Children Services. I was absolutely livid! My son was beside himself. He told me, "This man is the lowest of the low. He's despicable." I took my son's phone and answered the man that we would be following the officer's recommendation and blocking his number, since he clearly had no intention of fixing any problems and insisted on continuing his harassment of me and my son who is 21 years old and not a child. Communication with him ended immediately.

I could hardly think straight at that point because I was so angry. I began asking my friends to pray for me. We went to church that night and I asked for prayer there as well. It helped immensely to lay this at the Lord's feet and ask for guidance.

The next day I called the police and made a formal complaint. The officer I spoke to let me know that it is in the history that this man admitted to the noise he made and that he did it to annoy me, which is to my advantage. It's intentional infliction of emotional distress. I sent a long email to another attorney friend and I'm waiting to hear from him. The first lawyer I turned to told me he was busy with a court case and would get back to me. That was over a month ago and I don't feel like waiting any longer. If this friend of ours doesn't get back to me soon I will seek another attorney. 

This has gone beyond simply being an annoying neighbor; this is defamation of character, harassment, and abuse. I've found out since then that he did something similar to the previous owner. Whenever she began complaining of his noise he said she was an alcoholic, which was a lie. I'm shocked at how a person, a school teacher no less, can be so filled with evil. 

I'm thankful that God is with me. I still pray daily for this neighbor in hopes that God will do a miracle in his life, but I'm also preparing to prove my innocence and stand against the lies and falsehoods. God has not given me a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, love, and a strong mind (2 Timothy 1:7). I will stand up for the truth, clothed in the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). If you believe in the power of prayer, please pray with me and for me. I appreciate it more than you know.      

The Week In Review

It's been a week of ups and downs. That's fine if you like roller coasters. Me, not so much.

Monday we were awaken at 5:35 am to the police at my front door. Apparently, they'd received an "anonymous" call stating that there was furniture being moved around in my house and the sounds of a domestic disturbance. Both my son E and I were asleep and there was absolutely no sound coming from my home. I had to explain that my neighbor continuously accuses me falsely of making noises when in fact he is the one making all the noise. Thankfully, one of the officers has come on several occasions whenever my neighbor has called, and said the complaints have been determined to be unfounded. Nevertheless it was unnerving, especially considering what was coming up later that day. 

My son E had his dental appointment to remove his wisdom teeth that afternoon at 2:00. I am so incredibly thankful for the group of women in my Bible study class who prayed for my son's surgery. Everything went well, and while he was in a tremendous amount of pain that first day, it has lessened to the point where he is no longer in any pain. There is still some swelling inside his mouth which prevents him from chewing anything too hard, but he is able to eat. Good thing too - the medicines he is on (antibiotics and anti-inflammatory) make him sick to his stomach if he doesn't have any food in his system.

Sadly, just before we left for the dentist, I received a frantic call from my ex-husband J. His mother is dying. Back in October, J's brother succumbed to a brain tumor that was first detected in December of last year. Surgery, chemo, radiation, all tried but none worked.  He was a month shy of his 49th birthday. It was an extremely painful time for the family, but none suffered more than his mother. She had been told just a couple of months before that her kidneys were starting to fail (she is diabetic) and she would have to start dialysis. She refused. Her children begged her to reconsider, but she said if her son died she wanted to die as well. I believe that, having lost her husband in September of last year and finding out her son was dying of cancer, while her daughter had a double mastectomy in July, was too much for her and she was suffering from severe depression. At 77, her body can only take so much. Late last week she was vomiting and couldn't hold any food down. Her oldest daughter took her to the doctor, who told them her liver was only working at about 4% and she needed to go to the emergency room. Once in the hospital she was put on dialysis, but within a couple of days she suffered two strokes and a mini heart attack. As of today she is on a respirator, her vitals are stable but she is in a coma, and doctors don't know how much brain damage she's suffered or if there is any brain activity at all. She has been completely unresponsive since the strokes. The family is devastated. It's easy to say that the cause is her kidneys or the diabetes or the strokes or heart attack, but I believe she is dying of a broken heart. It has broken my own heart; no one can understand her pain unless they've experienced it themselves. We are all praying for a miracle, or for the Lord to take her away from her suffering. 

I did some more Christmas shopping on Friday, just last minute items and stocking stuffers. I was happy to go out. My neighbor left his tv set blasting from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm in his bedroom (which is directly below my master bedroom). While it's easy enough for me to close the bedroom door and not have to listen to it, I knew it would be the prelude to more harassment. I was right.

Saturday he got up at 10:30 am and began randomly punching the walls. I ignored it. Then around noon, he began blasting the tv set in his bedroom again while punching the walls. I was able to record him on my phone, then I called the police. My son needed to take his math test and he needed a quiet room to take the test in. My bedroom usually fits the bill, but with all that racket it was impossible. The police came, heard the noise and the recording, then tried to talk to him. Again he blamed me, said I was the one making all the noise, then told them I'm attacking him because he's Jewish. I had no idea he was Jewish. The man has a life size Buddha outside his front door; why would I think he was Jewish? Even his last name isn't Jewish. Once again, the Lord opened the eyes of the police and the sergeant recognized that the man is suffering from mental illness. He told me they would be investigating him to see why there are so many reports and complaints against him.

I'm so thankful for the gift my son R gave me for my birthday.

Monday morning I installed the Ring video doorbell beside my front door. It's been working like a charm. It allows me to see what is going on without having to run downstairs which is a huge blessing. 

And that brings us to today. We got home just a little while ago from having lunch with my daughter and son-in-law. They took me out today because tomorrow is my birthday. I didn't want my daughter to rush home from work to take me out to dinner, so instead we went out today. We had a lovely and pleasant afternoon walking around the mall after lunch and enjoying the gorgeous weather that December brings to South Florida. I am thankful that the Lord has seen fit to grant me another year with my loved ones. I pray that this next year I can live even more for Him, glorifying the Savior for all that He has done.

Have a blessed week y'all!

The Week In Review

Thanksgiving week is one of the busiest weeks of the year in my house. Not only are we preparing a big feast, but Christmas decorating begins immediately after. This year was slightly different than most, and I'm sure the year 2020 will go down in history as the year when nothing was as it should be.

Ever since my kids were little, I decorated for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. To even insinuate that we could start decorating earlier was received with all manner of disapproval. Thanksgiving deserves our respect! Besides, we hosted Thanksgiving at our house, which meant putting out additional tables and chairs for the larger than usual group. Typically there were 25 of us, sometimes more. To put out  Christmas decorations in addition to everything else would create a cramped and uninviting space, which no hostess ever wants.

Fast forward to 2011. J and I had separated, and for the first time Thanksgiving was just the four of us: myself and my three kids. And it was so special. We ate, we played games, we watched movies. We told stories and laughed and had the best time, and we promised to keep Thanksgiving simple from then on. 

That's how we've done it since. In 2017 my (then) daughter's boyfriend C joined us. And this year we have the privilege of adding my new daughter-in-law AB to the family and to the Thanksgiving celebration. Yet even adding two new members to our family has kept our Thanksgiving small and intimate. This year is no exception - as a matter of fact, just about everyone kept Thanksgiving down to 10 people or less per CDC guidelines. I'm not upset about it either. For the first time in decades many families focused on thankfulness instead of shopping or football. 

There was one change to our yearly tradition, one that I felt was unavoidable. I put up the Christmas tree the Monday before Thanksgiving. The reason for this is simple: my daughter and son-in-law planned a trip to Georgia for the Thanksgiving weekend, and she asked me to sit my grand-dog Kuzco. He's an absolute cutie, and a good, quiet dog, so I said yes. The only problem is, he follows me around everywhere. I knew putting up the tree while he was underfoot would be next to impossible, and I didn't want to wait till they got back to do it. So instead, I broke with tradition and put it up early. 

Step one was to move one of the bookcases over to a different wall so the tree could go in front of the sliding glass doors in the living room.

 Right between the kitchen and master bedroom entryway is the perfect spot. 

Step two, put the tree together. We have an artificial tree thanks to our allergies. 

I've had this tree since 2004; it originally was pre-lit but the lights went out years ago. I was going to replace the tree several years ago but oh my word, trees are expensive!! I got this tree on a Black Friday sale for just $114. It's a 7.5 foot tree, very full and beautiful. My daughter and youngest son did me the enormous favor of removing the old lights so I could keep the tree, and here it is 16 years later. 

It was my intention to take pictures as I decorated the tree, but I ran into a slight snag. I would buy the regular clear lights every year from Walmart or Target, and every year I had to replace a few strands because the lights would go out. The box of lights is only about $3 but if you have to replace some of them every year they really aren't such a good deal. I bought the Costco LED lights this year because they have a 5 year warranty. I got four boxes, figuring I'd add these to my existing lights and replace as those went out. I started with the LED lights to see how they look, and oh my! This picture doesn't do them justice. They are pure white, the brightest lights I've ever had on a Christmas tree. They're gorgeous! I put up all the LED lights but as this is a 7.5 foot tree and I had only 400 lights it wasn't enough. So I got the clear lights from my stash. There were four strands, one of which only half the lights worked. I grabbed one of the strands and started putting it on the tree. To my horror, I realized these older clear lights looked yellow next to the pure white LED lights. It was absolutely awful! I had to drop everything and run to Costco where thankfully they still had boxes of lights and I picked up a couple more. It was worth it, though. My candy cane tree makes me smile all day long.

The next few days were Thanksgiving focused. I brined and roasted the turkey, made the dressing the night before, got up early Thursday morning to make the chocolate pudding pie and put the turkey in the oven, then made mashed potatoes and crescent rolls. My daughter made sweet potato casserole and a pumpkin pecan bread, and my oldest son and daughter-in-law brought cornbread and cookies. There was lots of food (and leftovers!). We had a great time together visiting. 

While they were all here, my oldest son gave me my birthday gift. My birthday isn't till next month, but since he won't be here he decided to give it to me early. Not to be undone by their older sibling, my other kids also gave me their presents. 

My youngest son E gave me a gift off of my Amazon wishlist:

I saw one of my favorite YouTubers, Mandy in the Making, using one of these rotating graters. I immediately added it to my wishlist! I'm not the biggest fan of pre-shredded cheese, but shredding by hand is no fun either. This takes the hard work out of shredding cheeses and vegetables. I'm so excited to use it!

My daughter knows my love of Disney so she indulged me with this:

Isn't it sweet?! I'll show off better when I post my Christmas home decor tour. 

My oldest son surprised me with something I've wanted for awhile. 

I was floored! My doorbell stopped working for I don't know what reason, and I wanted to get one of these video doorbells so I don't have to run downstairs whenever someone is at the door to see who it is. I haven't set it up yet because I have a four-legged shadow that goes nuts the minute I go near the front door, but I'm super excited to have this up and running!

The rest of the week was spent in decorating for Christmas and a small grocery shopping trip on Friday after my son R and his wife left for Central Florida where they live. I'll do a separate post on all the Christmas decorating because, as per usual, it's a lot! Have a blessed week y'all.

The Week In Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Week In Review

 You know the holidays are approaching when I keep thinking I want to get a post up on my blog but it doesn't happen. I like the busyness of the season but it can distract me and stress me out.

And this week has been stressful. After Tropical Storm Eta literally blew in from the Gulf, my allergies went into overdrive. It always happens after a big storm, especially one as windy as this one was. All the dust and tree debris gets blown everywhere, and even though we got massive amounts of rain, it wasn't enough to totally clean all the allergens out of the air. Hence I've been dealing with itchy eyes, stuffy nose, and worst of all, asthma. I'm feeling better today but the dry cough persists. Which is annoying whenever I go anywhere because anyone coughing gets people's attention. I want to scream out, "Y'all, it's not coronavirus okay?!"

On Tuesday I put up the shelves I'd bought the week before from Ross. The guest bathroom went from this:

To this:

And finally to this:

I haven't really decorated it because in a couple of weeks I'll begin decorating for Christmas so I wasn't too concerned about getting it perfect. 

By the way, I'm so excited to begin decorating for Christmas! Now that my oldest son is married I needed a stocking for my new daughter-in-law. I checked Amazon first but I didn't find anything I liked that didn't cost over $20 or came in a set of 4+ stockings. So instead I went to Hobby Lobby. They have such a good selection of all different styles, and right now everything is 50% off which is right up my alley. This is the stocking I settled on.

The stocking I have for my son R has a reindeer on it. I wanted something similar but this was the closest I could find. It's super cute, and was only $5. I thought about getting all matching stockings for the whole family but that would be an unnecessary expense in my opinion. I'd rather spend that money on gifts.

Since I was already at Hobby Lobby I looked around and found this very pretty poinsettia arrangement for $6.99.

It's kind of hard to see against the granite but it's white and gold, which I think will look beautiful in my bedroom.

I wanted to get a few more small picks for the Christmas tree. I like using them as fillers and to make the tree look a bit more realistic since our allergies don't allow for a real tree. These were just $.99 so I got 5 of them.

They're small pinecones and greenery that's flocked. My tree isn't flocked but I like adding some little accents like this.

Finally, I found the cutest little pillow:

I got a red and black buffalo check throw for the sofa last year, and I think this will look adorable with it. I wanted to see how it looked with my new Costco pillow as well:

I love it! Then I remembered: the big pillow in the back is reversible! So I tried that out too.

Now I'm really itching to start decorating! I'll have to see how the three pillows look against the red and black throw but this is just so stinkin' cute! 

I was looking at some tutorials for Christmas villages on YouTube. I'm wanting to up my village game this year. Miriam's Manner gave me some really good ideas for adding more snow to my village and how to put it on so it looks full and realistic, and I knew that's what I wanted to do. So I took a trip to my local Super Walmart because the artificial snow on Amazon was ridiculously expensive. I'm not paying $25 - $30 for fake snow. 

This value size bag of Buffalo Snow was $5. I've used it before and it lasts. I also got some snow flurries to sprinkle around for more effect. While I was there I did my grocery shopping and picked up a few more items for Thanksgiving dinner.

Yes, I can make pie crusts. I've done it before. It's not rocket science. But when you've got a turkey to roast, plus mashed potatoes, dressing, green beans, salad, crescent rolls...y'all, I will take shortcuts wherever I can! Boxed pie crusts it is, LOL! I'm thinking of making a pecan pie and maybe an apple pie. My boys will all want a chocolate pudding pie I'm sure. And the day after Thanksgiving I like making turkey pot pie. It's pie season y'all!

I also went ahead and bought the Stove Top stuffing mix. I'd gotten a couple of boxes of the Aldi's brand but even though it's pretty good, it doesn't compare to Stove Top. This twin pack box was $2.97, and the other boxes of stuffing will get eaten, trust me. We love us some dressing with our fried chicken.

Ladies bible study was on Friday. We studied the parable of the Great Banquet found in Matthew 22:1-14. It was an impactful study. This coming Friday is our last session, and I'm going to miss having this study time with my group.

Then Saturday our new church has a Friendsgiving day brunch for all the children's ministry volunteers. E and I had such a sweet time of fellowship! We both sat by ourselves because with our allergies we didn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable if we sat near them and started coughing or sneezing. Well, a couple of ladies came and sat with us and we had some uplifting conversations with them. It was like God was showing us that this is where He wants us right now, and I'm thankful for the confirmation.

That was my week! I hope y'all had a blessed week as well. This coming week is Thanksgiving prep. I'm so excited!