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!

The Week In Review

I'm sitting in my living room listening to the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving soundtrack, while outside my window the wind howls and pouring rain continues to fall. I'll get into that in a bit.

This week I found out that my neighbor has been calling the police on me, accusing me of doing construction in the early morning hours and throwing things on the floor so he can't sleep. I found this out because on Tuesday a police officer came to my door to ask if there was any construction going on in my house, and when I said no he explained why. I had to tell him what's been going on and that in fact it's my neighbor making all the noise. Thankfully the officer told me they'd already determined that the complaints were unfounded. Still, I had to call the police twice that day. The second time he was apparently playing some kind of racing game on his Play Station. It sounded like the Indy 500 in my dining room. The officer who came the second time was a woman. She told him she could hear the noise outside it was so loud. He called her a liar and began yelling at her, and ultimately slammed the door in her face. He's never done this to the male cops, which says a lot about him. What the officer told me was that the HOA needs to get involved. The police can keep coming but it's a temporary fix. The HOA needs to come up with a long term solution. I emailed the management the very next day. Their response? The HOA contacted their attorney, who told them this is a civil matter and they couldn't get involved. So now I've contacted my attorney. I'm hoping and praying we can come up with a solution to this situation. In a strange twist, his next door neighbors on the other side are remodeling their master bathroom, which is connected to his master bathroom, and they've made lots of noise this week with their demo and tile cutting. Poetic justice? Perhaps.

I've started on Christmas shopping and wrapping presents. Most of the items I've purchased through Amazon. On Thursday I had to go to Walmart and Costco for groceries, and while I was at it I figured I'd stop by Ross to see what they had. I went to Ross whenever the stores began opening again but it was bare. I hoped it would be a little better this time round.

I bought my normal fill-in groceries at Walmart plus a few fresh herbs to have on hand for Thanksgiving. Then I headed to Costco to get some allergy medicine. They have the Zyrtec knock-off for a good price. I also wanted to see if they had any cooking utensils. Mine had seen better days. They were not only old and dull, since they were plastic they'd melted in a few spots. I didn't find any cooking utensils, but something else did catch my eye.

Y'all, I got so excited whenever I found this pillow! Last year I got a new tree skirt, throw blanket and table runner, all in the black and red buffalo check pattern. My eyes went straight to the stocking on this pillow, but the plaid and the green check are also gorgeous and perfect for my very traditional decor! The sherpa fabric is cozy and soft. The best part is the price. $9.99 y'all! Now I want to hurry up and decorate for Christmas!

As happy as I was to find this sweet pillow, I still had the dilemma of not finding cooking utensils. I really hoped Ross would be my answer. They did not disappoint.

I got a set of cooking utensils, a set of tongs, and a set of rubber spatulas, and each was $6.99 and under. I needed the rubber spatulas because the one I had for years finally broke in half. 

Since I was already there, I looked at the bathroom decor. I've been looking for some bathroom rugs that aren't too pricey. 

This pretty set of two rugs were $9.99. I would've spent more than that on one rug at Target so I was super pleased. But it was the last item I was most excited about.

I've been eyeing some shelves at Hobby Lobby for the guest bathroom, but they were so much money. Even when they're on sale, the ones I liked were $30.00 and over. I'm glad I waited, because I found this at Ross for $19.99. That's more along the lines I was hoping to spend! I haven't put it up yet but when I do I'll be sure to post about it.

Saturday was a special day. Some of the ladies in our women's bible study group met for breakfast at Panera. This group is from my old church, which is a 40-45 minute drive, but my sweet friend who organized the breakfast chose a city that's more central, so it took about 30 minutes to get there. We had the sweetest time of fellowship and catching up. You don't realize how much you need that time together till you've been isolated for months thanks to a pandemic. I'm so hoping we can do it again soon.

Of course, soon won't be this weekend. If you've watched the news, then you know Tropical Storm Eta is heading towards Florida. As of right now, it has gone over Cuba and is in the Florida Straits, where they're predicting it will head west towards the Florida Keys, but most of South and Central Florida are gonna feel the effects. The system is massive! I think of the people in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala, who took this on as a category 4 hurricane earlier this week, and my heart breaks for them. It's a real rainmaker, and we're looking at local flooding all over South Florida. We've had so much rain the past month that the ground is saturated. An additional 3-5 inches can be dangerous. Schools have been ordered closed for tomorrow and so have a lot of businesses. We are praying for safety and that this storm doesn't intensify nor slow down.

And that's what my week was like. The coming week will be a wet one: we're expecting the rain to continue into Tuesday, and after that we'll get a better idea where this storm is headed. Weather channel says it's supposed to swing back around to Florida whenever it gets into the Gulf. Pray for Florida y'all. It's been a rough year all around. God bless.

The Week In Review

This has been a rough week. I intended several times to sit down and post, but I couldn't think of anything to write about. Or rather, I could think of plenty to write about but nothing I wanted to write about.

My ex-brother-in-law passed away on Thursday. He would have turned 49 next month. It was not a surprise; he was diagnosed with brain cancer last December and had been given 3-6 months to live. They tried surgery, chemo, and radiation, but none of these stopped the growth from coming back. The last month and a half he spent in bed, unable to walk, talk, eat, or move. Everyone knew it was coming, but that doesn't make it any less heartbreaking. He died two weeks after the first anniversary of his father's death. His mother, my children's grandmother, is absolutely devastated. He leaves behind a wife, a 5 year old son, and a 22 year old son from a previous relationship, along with 5 siblings and a multitude of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. 

It was a reminder to me that our days are counted. Everyday we are closer to the day when Jesus returns, or when we meet Him in heaven. We've been studying Jesus' parables in our ladies Bible study group. We've done the parable of the two builders (Matthew 7:24-27), the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), and last night we studied the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). Each of these parables point to the fact that Jesus' return is imminent, but no one knows when He will return. Therefore it is important to be ready. Our hearts need to be fully dedicated to the Lord and His Kingdom, even in the smallest details of our lives. 

Last Sunday I began painting my daughter's bathroom vanity, and Monday I completed it, sealing it with Polycrylic. It turned out so well, and my daughter was pleased with it which is what matters most.

It's a dark greige, which works beautifully with the tile floors that resemble wood. The vanity was in good condition but the finish didn't match all their new fixtures. Paint is a great option whenever you want something new but it's out of the budget.

My son completed his astronomy class in 8 weeks and got an A in the class. I'm very proud of him, because this class was not an easy one. He worked hard and was rewarded well for his effort.

 I put gas in my car this week. Not a big deal, except that I hadn't put gas in my car since August. With this pandemic still hovering over us (though much of Florida has been reopened) I don't get out a whole lot, which saves on gas. What's even nicer is that I spent $28.10 to fill up my tank. That's because gas is $1.97/gallon. Looks like the pandemic has been good in that respect.

Another bit of good news is that my son and new daughter-in-law will be in town tomorrow night. We'll be taking them out for a celebratory dinner, though I haven't decided where yet. I'm so happy that we'll be able to spend some time with them since we couldn't be with them for the wedding. God is so generous to allow this time together.

There is more to this week's happenings, but I'm going to leave that for another post. Till then, God bless y'all and keep y'all safe.

The Week In Review

I thought I'd update y'all today on everything that got done - and everything that didn't.

I say what didn't get done because I had scheduled an electrician to come this week and change out the light fixture in my entryway, the one that is too high up for me to reach. We agreed on Thursday at 9:30 am, so I got up bright and early to be ready. Just as I was about to brush my teeth I got a text message: the electrician's daughter was sick, had been taken to the doctor, and was given a Covid test. Although the electrician had no symptoms, since they didn't have results yet he wisely decided to cancel all his appointments until they knew for sure. I haven't heard back from him, so I don't know if he'll be available this coming week. It's a reminder that, while I make plans, God decides what gets done and what doesn't.

A lot of studying was done this week. I was serving in children's ministry on Saturday so I had to study the lesson. This was week 3 of our ladies bible study so I had to prepare for that as well. We studied Matthew 25:1-13, the parable of the 10 virgins. And my son had his Astronomy final plus a research paper he had to turn in, and he asked me to help him study for that. He's done very well in the class thus far, but the final was a disappointment. The professor directed the class to a study guide which my son worked on, only to find out none of what was on the study guide was on the actual final. He ended up with a 68%, much lower than any of the quiz grades he's had. However, since all his other grades have been good, I think he will end up with either an A or at least a high B. Since this is just a gen-ed class I'm not concerned. It's still a good grade for what was a pretty difficult class, and he did it in 8 weeks so I'm proud of him.

Thursday was a day of unexpected stuff. Around 8:30 at night I got a call from my son-in-law. He was at a local gas station whenever his car battery died. Thankfully I have charger cables - though at first I couldn't remember where I'd put them (they were in my toolbox) - so E and I were able to get his battery jumped so he could get home. My daughter had been using his car to go to work because she needed new tires, and my son-in-law is currently working from home. Now this little predicament meant she couldn't take his car until he got a new battery, and she'd have to get her tires changed right away. I teasingly told them it's a good thing I live nearby. I was able to pick them up and/or drop them off at Pep Boys so they could get their vehicles taken care of.   

When my daughter's car was ready she asked if I'd go with her to TJ Maxx to look for some bathroom decor. She and my son-in-law are remodeling their master bath and she wanted to look for some new towels and organizers. I can't say no to TJ Maxx; it's my favorite home decor store because I always find great decor at even greater prices. I'd mentioned before on my blog that I was thinking of upgrading my bedding, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. I'd looked at Costco since they usually have some high quality affordable bedding, but I hadn't seen anything lately. Then I saw this at TJ Maxx:

And this is why I love this store! Y'all, this comforter is so soft and luxurious! It came with 2 standard sized pillow shams and the cost is $39.99. I could not believe it was so inexpensive! I couldn't wait to put it on my bed and see how it looked.

While I was at it I picked up some new pillows. The pillows I had were very soft, a little too soft for my liking. I picked up these extra firm pillows for $16.99 for a set of two. 

I tried several different options on my bed. This was the first idea I had.

I folded the current bedding, which is a mint green bedspread, and put it over the new comforter. I also used all the pillows I had on the bed previously and added pillows in the new pillow shams.

I then put the fall pumpkin pillow in front of it. I love that pillow so much, and it ties in all the fall colors that I've added to my bedroom, so I knew I wanted to incorporate it.

I liked the idea of keeping the bedspread folded onto the comforter, but I felt like it covered too much of it, so I folded the bedspread further. Now the comforter showed up more, and it looked like a fancy hotel. This was much better, but there was still something I wasn't feeling that I couldn't put my finger on. Yesterday I tried something else, and I think this is my favorite.

I took off the throw pillows with the teal design and left just the plain teal pillows along with the fall pillow, and I think it's just enough. I figured out that it was too many pillows and that was throwing me off. I feel like now it's just the right amount, and all the fall colors make me smile.

As my daughter looked at bathroom decor, I spotted something that was perfect for my own bathroom.

I knew I wanted to change my shower curtain. Not because I didn't like it; it's a very pretty and simple design, just what I like. But I had a bit of a mishap with the shower curtain and some Clorox cleaner.

I cannot even express how upset I was whenever I saw that I'd gotten Clorox cleaner on my new shower curtain! Thankfully it was at the bottom and it stayed covered by the bathroom vanity. Still, I knew it was there and I wanted to get a new shower curtain; I just didn't want to spend $25+. That's what this one had cost at Target (I had a gift card so it was free to me). The curtain I found at TJ Maxx had all the colors I love and it was only $14.99 - $10 cheaper than the one I already had but much nicer quality in my opinion.

The bathroom went from this:

To this:

It may not seem like a huge change, but to me it makes the bathroom seem brighter and more cheerful. I am so happy I found this shower curtain!

This week was also bittersweet for me personally. My oldest son R got married yesterday. In California. That's where his fiance has been living with her family. I wanted to be at his side on his special day. That had been the plan since they got engaged last year. Then coronavirus hit, and California has so many restrictions that it would have been a waste of time to travel all the way there and not be able to celebrate with him. So we stayed, and I cried. We love his new bride, my new daughter-in-law, and my one comfort is knowing she never wanted a big wedding to begin with, so she got her wish. But oh, how I wanted to be there! Still, I know God is in control, and He has gifted me another daughter, so I will rejoice in that. Welcome to the family AB!

That's my week's highlights. Looking forward to what God has in store for me next.

The Week In Review

 I wasn't sure if I'd post today. My body is in pain (I'll explain shortly). I decided I'd go ahead and post because a) I'm sitting down so I can type as long as I'm comfortable, and b) I want to be consistent. I slacked for too long; it's time I get on track.

My week has actually been quiet for the most part. It consisted of cleaning, cooking, and doing laundry. Pretty standard stuff. I studied for my Friday night Bible study on Wednesday and Thursday. We are working through Jesus' parables and this week we looked at the parable of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7:24-27. We looked at the entire Sermon on the Mount and broke down the conclusion. It was a powerful study.

In my entryway I have a light fixture that I've wanted to change out since we moved in. It's the original fixture from whenever this house was built, and it's not only ugly, it's nasty.

It's a builder grade light fixture from the 80's that is plastic. It's up high so cleaning it is very difficult unless you get on a high ladder. This apparently was never done, and it's grimy at this point.

I don't know if this picture does it justice. The dirt does not come off. It's been baked on with the heat from the light. 

There were two of these whenever we moved in, this one at the front entry and one at the top of the stairs. I was able to change out the latter.

I got this light fixture off of Amazon. Not only is the size perfect for the space, the rustic farmhouse style fits my decor. Changing this fixture was simple. I could reach it from the living room; I didn't even get the ladder out to take down the old fixture, but I did have to whenever I was ready to put in the new one because it's metal and it was too heavy. 

The problem I ran into whenever I was ready to switch out the second fixture was reaching it. I have an extension ladder, but even with that I just don't reach. It also makes me very nervous to try and balance on an extension ladder while holding a heavy light fixture and attaching all the wires and such. I have friends that are electricians, but they live in our old area which is kinda far from where we live now. So I contacted the children's ministry director at my new church and asked for a recommendation. I figured, if I'm going to pay someone to put up this light fixture, I'd much rather give the job to someone in the church. So, after months of having the light fixture sitting in my office, hopefully it will get installed either this Wednesday or Thursday. I'm so excited, I can't wait!

This week I went to Publix to do my groceries. I needed some thin steaks and chicken wings, and while Aldi has really good meats, they don't have much variety. Publix has excellent products but the price is higher; Walmart has better prices but the quality of their meats is lacking in my opinion. So Publix wins whenever I need meats. Since I had to go there anyway, I got everything else I needed as well.

I found steaks and chicken wings, and while I was at it I picked up Luigi's Italian Ices for my son. They're his favorites.

One thing I always like to get whenever I go to Publix is their sweet tea. It is by far the best sweet tea out there. 

I really didn't need much from the store - or so I thought. When my son saw what I'd picked up, he asked if the store was out of his water. I totally forgot his Clear American flavored waters! It's a Walmart brand so I wasn't going to find them at Publix. It's the only water he likes to drink, so Saturday morning I headed out and picked him up some water and snacks.

The other thing I did on Saturday was plumbing work. My daughter and son-in-law are remodeling their master bathroom, and they're trying to save wherever they can. They have a contractor doing all the major stuff like tiling, installing the new toilet, wall repair, and putting in a frameless shower door. They decided not to change out the vanity because it's newer and in excellent condition. All it needs is a coat of paint and new handles, so I offered to paint it. The other thing it needed was new faucets. My daughter asked if I could change them out, since I've done it before and they didn't want to have to pay the contractor to do it. I have to be honest, changing out faucets is one of my least favorite things to do. It's not difficult; as long as you follow the instructions it's pretty straight forward. The hard part is removing the old fixtures, and these were in pretty bad shape. It's also really hard to get under the bathroom sink to pull out/install the faucets. It's the reason why my body is in such pain today.

It took me forever to get this old handle out, and then I didn't think I'd be able to get the water supply line off, but eventually I managed to get it off. 

I think the faucets turned out beautifully (there's two sinks in this vanity and I changed out both) but y'all, it took me four hours to get this job done, and I feel like three hours were spent in just getting the old faucets out. I'm so glad I was able to do this for my kids, but I'm paying for it today. Even my fingernails hurt! I've been sitting on my couch with a heating pad on my back for most of the day. I'm finally feeling better, and I thank the Lord for that.

And that's been my week! Hope y'all had a productive week as well. God bless.

The Week In Review

Good morning! I hope everyone had a productive and pleasant week. I had some highlights that I want to share.

My son has a small desk fan in his bedroom which he has pointed on him during the night because he insists I don't keep the house cold enough. Clearly he doesn't pay the electric bill. Anyway, the fan was acting up (it was a cheap old thing) and Sunday night it simply stopped working. He had a terrible night sleep and had to get up early for his computer class the next day. I felt sorry for him, because it's no fun trying to learn while you're falling asleep, so on Monday I decided to run over to Target and get him another desk fan. I found one for just $15.99, but I also found something else.

I always check out the clearance sections at Target, especially the purse section because I've found some absolute treasures there. This trip didn't disappoint; I found this adorable mauve purse that was originally $36.99 marked down to $18.49. This is going in my Christmas gift stash!

I did go to the Dollar Spot, though not expecting to find anything I wanted. I was wrong.

These little pumpkins are adorable! And at $3 each I couldn't pass them up. I put them on the corner of my dry bar, and only then realized how perfect they were.

The colors match my Dollar Tree florals exactly! How cool is that?!

I hadn't been to Ross in a while, and since it was on my way home I decided to stop in. I had gone back to Ross whenever the stores reopened but twice left empty handed because the store had virtually nothing in the home decor department. Like, empty shelves everywhere. This time it wasn't as bad (though they certainly aren't well stocked yet) and I was able to find this beautiful throw blanket:

It's cream color so it can go pretty much anywhere. It is so soft and cozy, too. I wanted something different for my bed because the throws I have are the same color as the bedspread so they blend in. I wanted something that would stand out but just a little. This fit the bill.

On Tuesday I was on the phone again, this time with AT&T. I use AT&T for my home internet. Last year when we moved into our new home, they offered me 300 Mbps for $50 a month. I'd been paying about $84 a month at the old house, so a savings of $34 a month was music to my ears. Of course that promo was for 12 months, and it was coming to an end, so I decided to see what other offers AT&T had going. The service I currently had, with 300 Mbps, would be going up to $80, but an offer for 1000 Mbps was available for only $59.99. That obviously made no sense, so I started up a chat with one of their agents asking why the discrepancy. After beating around the bush he finally told me that it was because "we want everyone to have fast internet!" Give me a break. I asked a couple of times if the price was actually $59.99, if there were any hidden fees or if this was the actual price. I was assured this was the true price. I also asked if there were any other promotions, and the agent said he'd send me an email with more information. I thanked him and went on looking for other options.

A couple of days later my son asked if I'd gone ahead and upgraded, since he had checked and was able to download to over 900 Mbps. I was pretty surprised and said no, but I remembered I'd received an email that I hadn't looked over yet. When I did, I saw that not only had the agent gone ahead and switched our plan, he upped the price to $69.99. Well, Mama wasn't happy about that. So Tuesday I called and explained what was going on. I quickly realized it was an error on their part. I should not have been offered this promo because it was only for new customers, but since it was their goof-up the new agent said she'd go ahead and honor the price. Then she came back and said she couldn't offer me $59.99 but she did have an offer that was $20 off the $69.99 price and it included the 1000 Mbps plus HBO Max for free. I don't care about HBO but I was only too happy to take the higher speed internet for $.01 less than I'd been paying the past year. Lesson here: always question what doesn't appear right. It can end up saving you money.

On Wednesday we went back to our old neighborhood. My son had been lamenting for the past year that he hadn't found a barber as good as the one back home. I knew it was true; the barbers where he was going, the same place my son-in-law C goes to, were always rushed and did a mediocre job at best. Lucy takes her time and gives him the royal treatment, plus it's always exactly what he wants. I surprised him and made him an appointment with Lucy. After I dropped him off I went to visit my BFF and realtor. We had a nice visit for an hour before it was time to pick E up again. Then we drove by the old house. It doesn't look the same. The new owners painted the exterior, changed out light fixtures and a window, put in new front doors, took down all the coconut palms and the palm trees in front of the house. They even put in a new mailbox and new numbers on the house. It was bittersweet; of course I knew they wouldn't keep the house the same, but it's strange to see it look so different after 20 years. Still, I'm constantly reminded of how God has blessed us, and I'm happy for the new owners.

I didn't do much on Thursday except rest. I pulled a muscle in my back so I took it easy. I studied for our women's bible study on Friday. Since my old church is still doing everything virtually I'm able to participate in the group bible study which I am so extremely thankful for. We are studying Jesus's parables. This past Friday we studied Luke 18:1-8, the parable of the persistent widow. We learned about praying continually and not losing heart. Such a timely Word for the season we're living!

Then yesterday I served in children's ministry at our new church. I like the lady I'm co-leading with; she's a hoot! I also love teaching the children. I'm normally pretty shy, especially in large groups of people, but with the kiddos I come alive. God has shown me that teaching is what He wants me to do, and I'm blessed to be able to do it.

Well, that's been my week. I'm heading off to online church now. I encourage everyone to find a Bible teaching, Bible believing church. Start a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's never too late, and there's no time like the present. Have a blessed week.

2018 - There Were Good Times, Too

The year 2018 continued with a few notable memories. For one, I was becoming much more involved in my new church. I began serving in children's ministry within a few months of attending, but in 2018 I started helping the children's ministry director with scheduling the school-aged children. Bless her heart, she took on the position and tried to do everything herself. It was too big of a job for one person but I think she had trouble recruiting. So instead, I volunteered. It was rough at first, learning her methods and who served during what service (we have 3 English and 1 Spanish currently), but once we got into a rhythm it was easier and I was having a great time.

Then I was asked to co-lead a ladies Bible study group at the end of 2017. I found myself studying and preparing, and in doing so my relationship with God grew stronger. I loved being able to share with a wonderful group of women who are hungry for God. I also loved the woman I was co-leading with. She's almost 20 years younger than me, but what a powerful woman of prayer! I was learning more from her than I would have ever imagined! We studied the book Mark by Lisa Harper and The Armor of God by Priscilla Shirer (excellent study, I highly recommend it!). I could see why God moved me to this church. I was growing in my walk with Him, much more than I'd done in my previous church.

Another event that happened in 2018 was Tropical Storm Gordon. As anyone can imagine, right after a year of hurricanes the likes of Irma and Maria, we were not happy about getting hit with anymore storms. Thankfully it wasn't much more than rain. Living in Florida means that we have to deal with storms. Some years the storms are few and far between; other years we see a wave of tropical storms and hurricanes that either hit us or come uncomfortably close. It's part of life here and we thank God when we have years like 2018 when we escape the worst storms.

And just like that, the year was over. It was filled with birthday, weddings, parties, holidays and celebrations. It was also filled with changes, but in every change God remained faithful. On to 2019 and yet more changes!

Another Month In Review

I'm kind of embarrassed at the fact that another month has gone by and I haven't put up a blog post.  I've thought about it several times, but always had something that needed to get done first.  Isn't life funny like that?

Let me see, what has happened in June?  For starters, my son E finished ninth grade with straight A's.  There are no words to describe how happy I am with how well he did.  I quickly signed him up for tenth grade and all the classes he'd need to take in August.  About a week after he'd finished, I got a call from the Florida Virtual School office saying that they aren't doing full-time online school anymore.  I felt my heart hit the floor.  No, don't do this!  Then the woman explained that I had to sign up for part-time homeschooling, which in essence is the same as full-time virtual school, except that I set the schedule instead of the online school.  I had to re-register him, which took a while but I was able to finish it.  We won't be using the same program as we did for ninth grade, which is kind of sad since my son enjoyed it.  But I'm relieved that we will still be doing homeschool.  My son did so much better and learned so much this year; I don't want him to have to go back to a school system he hated.

A week after E finished school, I had a week off from work.  Well, almost a week off.  My boss MM had explained that, while the tutors would have the week off, we would still have to come in and set up for summer tutoring.  I didn't mind, but she did.  She wanted a week off as much as the teachers.  So, we got to work early the previous week and did all the paperwork for the new session.  The only thing that couldn't be done was reminders - calls to the parents to remind them when their kids would start the summer session.  My bosses went out of town for the week, so I was "nominated" to make the calls.  I figured it would take me a couple of hours at most.  It took almost four hours, but it was one day and I rested that week, so I can't complain.

The following week, however, was pure insanity.  I signed up to serve at our church's vacation bible school (or VBS) in the mornings.  I had to be at the church before 8:30 in the morning to help with registration and sign ins, then I was off to the snack room, where I helped prepare snacks and clean up for the four age groups.  I was on my feet from 9am till noon.  Then I ran home, changed my clothes, ate quickly, prepared my dinner, and went to work from 1:30 till 7:30.  I'd get home, prepare the crockpot for the next day, go to bed and start the whole thing all over again the next day.  Add to that the fact that my monthly friend paid a visit on Thursday morning, and you can well imagine what my week was like.  I was thankful that I don't work Fridays, but we had our women's bible group prayer night that night.  It was close to home, which is great, but I was exhausted.  I'm surprised I didn't fall asleep during prayer time!  Actually, it was beautiful, such a lovely time with these wonderful women, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.  In fact, if I had to do it again, I would do it all in a heartbeat.  Serving the kids was the highlight of my day, and I'm thankful I have the health and energy to still get it all done.

I went to NY & Co for some shopping because I had some City Cash that was about to expire.  It allowed me to get a couple of pretty necklaces that were on sale.  The original price was $25 for each; they had a buy one get one for $5 deal going on, and with my $20 in City Cash I spent $10 for the two.  I also picked up some pants for work.  I'd wanted to get some jeans but all they had was bootcut and I prefer straight leg jeans.  I also got some purses at Target.  One purse, in a pretty mint color, was $29.99; more than I usually pay for a purse but it's a lovely color and the perfect size for my wallet, umbrella, and bible.  I used it today for church and it's so springtime, I just love it.  Then my daughter and I went to Target today to return some makeup she'd bought that she didn't like, and I found a couple of purses on clearance.  One is black, the other is light green, and they were $7.48 each, reduced from $24.99.  Yeah, more my style!  I got a couple of tank tops too, at $6 each.  I like wearing a tank top with a cardigan for work because it's professional but still light.  One tank top is red and the other is purple.  I think I'll save the red one for July 4th, which is just a few days away.  Wow, the year is halfway gone!  Can you believe it?!

I also purchased some stuff from Bare Escentuals during their Friends and Family sale.  I had a $20 off coupon and they were offering 20% off and free shipping.  Works for me!  I got a cream concealer which I'd been wanting to get, a neutral eye kit with a 5 in 1 cream eye shadow primer, an eye shadow duo in brown and champagne (love!!) and a brown eye liner pencil (double love!!), and a sample Mineralixers kit.  Mineralixers is Bare Escentuals oil skincare line.  This kit brings the oil based cleanser, an eye balm and the 5 in 1 oil/moisturizer.  The 5 in 1 is my favorite; my dry skin appreciates it greatly.  It's not a greasy oil by any means.  I can use it in place of my moisturizer and it leaves my skin feeling smooth and silky.  The cleanser is good as a makeup remover - it melts the makeup off my face - but I don't feel like my skin is completely cleaned after I use it.  The eye balm is very nourishing to the delicate skin under my eyes, but so is their eye cream.  I'm not sure I like the balm more than the cream.  I'm glad I got the kit, though.  I've used it and my skin has responded well to it, which is good considering I'm struggling with adult acne.  It comes and goes; I can have days when my skin is perfectly clear, then all of a sudden I start breaking out.  It might be hormonal.  It might be my age.  Or... It might be that I've been having chocolate, which has always made me break out.  Which is terribly unfair.

I've been watching Poirot on Netflix.  A few seasons that hadn't been on Netflix before are on now, and I have been enjoying my favorite Agatha Christie sleuth.  I try to watch one episode a day.  It's about all I have time for.  It's a struggle not to fall asleep because it's late at night when I finally can sit down to watch.

Oh!  One more thing!  I've booked our hotel for our mini vacation in September!  We will be going to Night of Joy again this year, my son E, my daughter A and myself.  My oldest son R has to work, so he stays behind and takes care of Molly.  We will be staying at the Pop Century resort at Disney World, which is so cool because we've never stayed there before!  We got a great deal, $108 a night, which for Disney is a steal.  Just 2 days after I'd booked the room the prices had gone up to $114, so I'm glad I got it when I did.  We are soooo looking forward to Night of Joy - Skillet will be performing again, along with several bands we're eager to see.  I'm so excited!!

I think that's all the updates for this month.  I could say that I'm going to post more often, but...I'll say that I will try.  I really do enjoy recording our days and weeks.  I have to make an effort to keep my blog up to date.  Here's to hoping!  God bless.

Week's Review - Is It Over Yet?

My week has been like the weather - hectic and all over the place.  We've had hot days, humid days, rainy days, stormy days...it was more like summer than spring.  Then this morning, the sky was clear and blue, and there was a sweet breeze blowing.  Everyone was shocked at the change!  Life is kinda like the weather; it can change from one day to the next.

My days are busy, busy, busy.  School in the mornings, work in the afternoons, church on Wednesdays.  Meals, laundry, housecleaning, dog tending.  It's a never ending cycle, but I'm getting the hang of it.  I think.

This week E took his unit exam for algebra.  Quadratics have been a headache for him and for me as well, because I don't remember doing them.  His exam was two parts; part one was multiple choice, and part two was 5 questions broken down into 3-4 parts, which meant it was really 16 questions.  He finished part one and got a 64%.  That really upset me, because he did study for the test, but the questions were tricky.  There were times when he would say, "it's either A or C," and invariably he'd pick the wrong one.  I was stressed about the second part of the exam more than he was, because a) the second part is always harder, and b) this material will be on his semester exam and he doesn't seem comfortable with it.  He did part 2 Tuesday night, and it took him 3 hours to complete it.  I decided he needed more help than what I was giving him, so I got him a tutoring session at work.  The tutor he got is a great teacher; he's studying finance at the local university, and is a brilliant young man.  I'm so thankful that E got the session.  He feels more confident now.  And today, when the scores were posted and I saw my son got a 94% on part two of his test, it made me feel so much better!  I really shouldn't have stressed so much.  If I'd given it to God from the start I would have saved myself a lot of internal frustration.  I hope I've learned this lesson.

Molly has continued to improve.  As a matter of fact, she's been behaving like a puppy again, so we were very optimistic.  Then I got the dreaded call from the vet this morning.  Our suspicions were confirmed: it is cancer.  The tumor that was removed was a stage 2 mass cell tumor, and this type of tumor will continue to spread.  The vet told me he would refer me to an oncologist, and I thanked him but explained that we'd already discussed it and decided we would not put our beloved dog through chemotherapy.  I just feel it's cruel to make an animal suffer through that horrible treatment, and honestly, each time I've heard of pets that have been put through chemo, it's always been the same outcome.  They end up dying of cancer anyway.  I simply cannot do that to Molly.  The doctor said she might do fine for another two years, or she might last six months.  Either way, we will do whatever it takes to keep her comfortable and happy, and when the time comes, we will say goodbye and be thankful to God for the time He allowed us to have her.  She has been a joy for us; I don't regret taking her in and caring for her.  She has been the best dog I've ever met, the most loving, affectionate, sweet dog in the world.  There is a dreary cloud over us today, but the silver lining around it is the reminder of all good times we've had.  She's been a rare treasure, and we are oh so thankful for her.

Our women's bible study group this morning was a real thought provoking study.  We were challenged to study the bible, not to gain more knowledge, but to know God better.  A challenge to read scripture, not for what I can get out of it or what it can do for me, but to see God in its pages and understand my Father in a more intimate way.  I hadn't thought about it, but how many times don't I pick up the bible to look for guidance for me, to seek answers for me, to feed me spiritually.  Me, me, me.  What I should be asking God is, "What do You want me to learn about You today?"  Because in knowing Him better, I will desire more of Him.  And as I desire more of Him, I will want to be more like Him.  And when I am more like Him, I will have all the answers to those questions that I usually go to scripture for.  It was such an eye-opener.

That has been my roller coaster week.  Ups and downs, spinning this way and that.  The ups have been exhilarating, the downs have made my stomach ill.  There is so much change in our lives, but I've learned that I'm tallest when I'm on my knees.  God has gotten me through rougher times than this; He will see me through again.  Have a good night, y'all.  God bless.

Week in Review - It's Been A Difficult Week

I've wanted to post a few times this week, but time kept getting away from me.  How I would love a day when I can do absolutely nothing.  Just sit around watching TV, which I haven't done in awhile.  Some days I miss that.

Molly is scheduled for her surgery tomorrow.  She has been getting steadily worse this week, though you wouldn't know it from her demeanor.  She is still as loving and affectionate as ever, even if she doesn't have the same amount of energy or spunk.

The surgery can't come soon enough.  The tumor on her belly appears infected, and I mean badly infected.  It oozes, and has turned dark, almost green, and it smells awful.  I discussed with my daughter today that I'm concerned it might become gangrenous, which would be devastating.  Even if she comes out of the surgery well, which of course is our hope, there is no guarantee we will have her with us for very long.  We are both convinced this is a cancerous tumor, and more than likely it has spread, though we don't know to what extent.  We have to wait for the surgery, then make a decision as to her future.  It's not something any of us is looking forward to.

My son E had a very busy school week.  He had an English paper and presentation to finish and send in.  He started quadratic formulas in algebra which were complicated to learn.  There was a science quiz and a review portfolio which he just finished today.  Music history is usually just reading, but this week he had a review and critical thinking paper, class discussion, and lab to complete.  Usually he doesn't have to work on the weekends, but this time he worked both yesterday and today, with a Hope assignment still not completed - it should be done by tomorrow.  There's about 8 weeks of school left so of course it gets hectic as we approach the final stretch.

Work was also really busy this week.  Many of the students we tutor took their ACT exams this weekend, so they're done with tutoring.  New students that have been on a waiting list are now starting this week, which meant lots of paperwork had to be completed.  As busy as we were, I had to help with tutoring a few kids.  Two of our teachers were sick - one had kidney surgery and the other had a kidney infection, so both were in the hospital at the same time.  MM arranged their students as best she could, but there simply weren't enough teachers to go around, so I was assigned homework help students.  Since they were all elementary school age it wasn't a problem, but I felt like I would never get my work done.  Thankfully everything fell into place and I think we're back on track, but I have to say it was pretty stressful.

Then Friday, my "day off", started off at 6:00am.  I went to bible study where we finished studying the book Daniel by Beth Moore.  It was such a great study that I'm actually sorry it's over!  Afterwards I came home to do schoolwork with my son, make lunch, then take him to the doctor.  He has a rash on his left hand, a very itchy rash.  When it first appeared I thought it was ant bites.  As more bumps appeared in clusters, I thought it was similar to what he'd had on his eye, so I had him put on the cream they'd given him for his hand.  It did nothing.  It kind of looked like eczema, which he's had before, so I got him eczema cream.  It got worse.  The skin around his thumb was cracking, and it was very painful.  So I took him to his regular doctor, who believes this is a fungus based on the fact that it's only on his hand and the hydrocortisone made it worse.  He prescribed a cream, and antibiotics because of the cracked skin.  I'm keeping an eye on it; it seems better, but if I don't see enough improvement by Tuesday I'm gonna have to take him to see a dermatologist.

As exhausting as my week had been, I was looking forward to cleaning my home on Saturday and then relaxing.  That wasn't meant to be.  My kid's father showed up after two weeks of not seeing or calling any of his children.  He put on a show of concern for E's hand, and suggested yet again that we get rid of Molly because he blames her for E's allergies and anything else that happens to him.  He actually asked if any of us could catch what Molly has.  Since when is cancer contagious?  He finally left without E, because he didn't think E should go out with his hand looking the way it did.  Meanwhile, once again, I was left feeling angry and resentful and bitter, which I absolutely hate feeling, but he brings out the worst in me.  It is so frustrating that he acts like he's so concerned about his kids, then he disappears for a week or two.  It took several hours before I was able to calm down - that, and a trip to Target ;-).  I looked through the tops for clearance items, and found 3 tank tops and a v-neck, each under $10.  I don't usually recommend retail therapy, but I needed to get out of my house and focus on something else.

This week our Sunday school class was challenged to learn Psalm 23 by hard.  And let me tell you, it was hard!  I know bits and pieces of it, but I've never learned it straight through.  For some crazy reason, I thought I'd learn it in the King James Version.  It sounds so beautiful with all the thee's and thou's, but honestly, what was I thinking?!  I actually made it harder on myself.  I was relieved to find out everyone else had a hard time learning it as well ;-).  We are gonna continue working on it this week.  I printed it and put it up on my fridge to help me remember it.

That's my recap for the week.  It has been rough, and I don't think the coming week will be much easier, especially with Molly recovering from surgery.  If you think of her during the day, please say a prayer for our puppy.  We love her dearly, and just want to see her get better.  Thanks y'all.  Goodnight, and God bless.

My Not-So-Restful Saturday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My "Day Off"

I wanted to post about my crazy "day off" yesterday, but by the end of the day I was beyond exhausted.  I couldn't even think straight anymore.  So here I am, giving a recap of Friday on Saturday, though I can't say I'm fully recovered.

Let me just mention, for starters, that I love to decorate.  I love fixing up my house, whether for holidays and special occasions or just everyday.  I love changing things up.  I love moving furniture around and into different rooms to get a new look.  Even when I was young and living with my parents, I would change things up and move them around.  I love to paint, I love to clean and polish and dust and shop for beautiful things...you get the picture.

When my two older kids came home from living in Central Florida, they brought a bunch of furniture with them, including a sofa and love seat we'd bought them at a furniture outlet store.  At first I put them in the garage, since my son's desire was to look for a place and take the furniture with him.  Things didn't work out for him financially, and it made no sense to me to have brand new furniture in the garage while I was sitting on faded furniture that was 13 years old.  So I sold the old sofa and love seat and put the new items in the family room.  It worked quite nicely.

Last year I decided to get an electric fireplace/media center for the living room, and I got rid of the enormous wall unit that was in the family room.

The wall unit worked while we had the oversized television set, but once that broke (and there was no way to get it repaired) I was left with a gaping hole in the wall unit.  I tried fitting other things in there but it didn't work.  Out it went, and a television table the kids brought back with them took its place.

I'd originally put it in the living room, but I moved it to the family room and put the fireplace/media console in there instead.  I flanked it with bookshelves, a look I documented here.  And that worked as well.  I was super happy with the way the house looked.

Unfortunately, the furniture we'd bought for the kids was not the greatest quality.  It was 3 1/2 years old but looked like we'd been sitting on it for 20 years.  The cushions were attached to the furniture, and they were sagging horribly.  The frame under the cushions also appeared to be sagging.  The fabric itself looked the worse for wear.  It's microfiber, which usually stands up to all kinds of abuse, but this fabric was stained and the stain wasn't coming off.  I tried covering the sofa with a fluffy blanket so the sagging wouldn't show too much, but it wasn't fooling anyone.  I had moved this furniture into the living room at Christmastime because the tree wouldn't fit in there with the recliners and sofa, and after Christmas everyone wanted the ugly furniture to stay in the living room because "they made the room look bigger."  I thought it made the room look dingy.  I wanted so badly to get rid of it, but I didn't want the huge expense.  I thought about going out looking at garage sales or second hand furniture, though there's always a chance I'll end up with something as bad or worse than what I already had.  

After Christmas Costco always puts their home furnishings out.  I was walking by the seasonal aisle on my way to the meat section, when I saw a gorgeous, huge sectional.  It was a lovely beige fabric, light but durable, with the nailhead design that I love so much.  It was $999, a great price for this large piece of furniture but more than I wanted to spend.  I sat on it for a minute and loved how comfortable it felt.  Ah, if I could only find something similar but at a lower price!  A couple of  months later I saw that the price had been reduced - a common occurrence when Costco is ready to bring in the next seasonal item, in this case patio furnishings.  Now the price was $699 - a whole $300 off!  I was tempted, but at the same time, how would I get this home?  I don't have a truck or SUV anymore.  Besides, I was wanting to get some cabinets to organize the garage, and my car needs new tires.  Spending $700 on a sectional wasn't an option right now.

Because I have executive membership at Costco, I get a yearly rebate from them.  I wasn't expecting much; I buy from Costco regularly but I hadn't bought anything major, so there was no reason for me to get much money back.  I was totally surprised when the rebate check came in: $116.  The wheels in my head started turning really fast.  With this rebate check I'd be able to get the sectional for under $600.  No way was I going to find a deal like that anywhere else anytime.  I'd have to act, and fast.  Time (and inventory) was running out.

When I told my daughter what I wanted to do, she suggested renting a truck from Home Depot.  Home Depot rents vans and large pick-up trucks for $19.95 for the first 75 minutes, then $5 each additional 15 minutes after that.  The idea was, rent the truck, get the furniture from Costco (which is a few blocks away), get it to the house, and get the truck back in an hour.  That sounded doable!  Then I remembered the garage storage cabinets.  What if I could get those from Home Depot, and the furniture from Costco at the same time?!  I would save on delivery costs!  I checked out the Home Depot webpage, but there was nothing at all like what I wanted.  Everything was either plastic or resin, and I wanted something stronger.  I looked on the Lowe's website next.  Bingo!  A large steel cabinet for $249, and a smaller cabinet for $157.  Lowe's is less than a mile away from Home Depot; I could still get everything done and pay less than what it would cost to have the cabinets delivered, which was $79.  The picture looked brighter and better each moment.  I prayed and asked God to work this out for me as He saw fit, then I got to work.

Thursday morning I called Home Depot to reserve the truck.  Turns out they don't do reservations - it's on a first come, first served basis.  I told the woman at Home Depot that I'd need the truck Friday morning, around 10 am.  See, with homeschooling and work, Fridays and Saturdays are the only days I can run all my errands, and I needed to do this on Friday because that's also my son R's day off and I was going to need his help.  She told me to call a half hour before and she'd hold the truck for me, but no more than 30 minutes.  At that point I decided, on faith, to go ahead and order the garage storage cabinets from Lowe's so they would be ready for me to pick up the next day.  I was really taking a chance, and I considered skipping my bible study group to get there early, but that didn't feel right at all.  How could I put God in second place to garage storage and furniture?  No, I was going to my bible study class, and trust that God would provide.

I was up early Friday morning.  I'm so glad I have a quick and easy makeup routine for days like these, because I didn't have the time to spend in front of the mirror.  I went to bible study and boy am I glad I did - Daniel chapter 9 is totally awe inspiring!  I left just as the video ended, ran home and called Home Depot.  To my chagrin, the truck had just been rented out, and the woman didn't know when it would be back.  She kindly took my number and said she'd call as soon as it was returned.  In the meantime I was left to wonder, now what?  My daughter suggested I check with another Home Depot, but did I really want to go to the next city north or south of us to get this truck?  I thought about heading to Costco so I could be close by when the truck showed up; then a thought occurred to me: what if they didn't have the furniture anymore?!  I grabbed the phone and called.  Good thing I did, too - they were sold out.  NO!!!!!  I asked if she could check stock in other stores.  She found 5 of them at a store two cities north of us, about a 20 minute drive.  I called that Costco to verify and they confirmed that they still had it in stock.  If I was going to do this, I'd have to act fast, but not before lifting my petition up to the Lord.  I called the Home Depot in the city north of us.  Yes, they had a truck and it was available to rent.  The clock was ticking.

I grabbed my son and we headed north to Home Depot.  Renting the truck was easy-peasy.  All I needed was my driver's license, insurance card and a credit card.  I left there and headed north on the expressway.  I took a bit longer at Costco than I thought because the boxes were so large and bulky; so large that I wondered if we'd be able to get them all in the truck.  I didn't want to have to make two trips!  I was praying that it wouldn't be necessary, and praise God it wasn't.  The young man at Costco was able to get everything on and even tied the boxes onto the truck for us - now that's great service!  R and I went straight home, unloaded the boxes into the living room, and headed out to Lowe's.  My daughter A is still nursing her leg per her doctor's orders, so she wasn't able to do any physical work, so instead she was in the kitchen making stir-fry for our lunch.  No time to stop though - we ran to Lowe's to get the storage cabinets, which by the way, weigh a ton!  Oh my gosh, it took so long for them to bring the stuff out because the girl couldn't find anyone to put them on the dolly.  R and I were trying to load them into the truck and another customer kindly helped us.  It was definitely a three person job.  I stopped off at our local Costco to fill the truck with gas - that's something to keep in mind.  If you bring the truck back to Home Depot and the tank isn't filled, they charge $6.50 per gallon to fill it up.  No thanks!  I put $20 in and made sure that was enough.

Back home we ran, left the boxes in the garage, then hauled ourselves back to Home Depot to return the truck.  By now we were both tired and hungry, and R was getting a headache.  Because of unforeseen delays we had the truck for 3 hours, so I ended up paying $62 for the rental.  With gas the total came to $82, more than I'd wanted to spend, but considering that I was able to get so much done that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise, it wasn't a bad investment.  Besides, now I'm able to enjoy this:

It looks so pretty, and is extremely comfortable!  The pillows were Christmas gifts from my son R.  He got each of us a pillow that he felt best described our interests:  A got Alice In Wonderland because of her love of Disney, E got Treasure Island, filled with adventure, and I got Sherlock Holmes.  My son knows me only too well!  Classic English literature, crime and mystery, all rolled into one.  Sherlock Holmes has been my favorite since I was a teen.  It never gets old!  Anyway, there is enough seating here for our family and then some.  I'm so in love with the look!  I would like to eventually get an area rug, but with Molly I don't know if that's the best idea.  The area rug I had in the living room had to be thrown out because Molly's nails kept getting caught in the rug and it was looking pretty shredded.  I don't think I want to do that again.

By the way, the stir-fry turned out exceptionally delicious!  It was a chicken stir-fry with lots of veggies and a spicy sauce.  It disappeared off my plate very quickly!  I'm so thankful to my son R who ran all around town with me, my son E for helping me get the furniture moved and everything put together, and my baby girl for cooking and cleaning.  I'm especially thankful to God for making it all possible - I couldn't have done it without Him!

We haven't put the garage storage cabinets together yet - that's our next project.  Can't wait to get that done as well!  Stay tuned!