I'm usually glad when Mondays roll around, unlike most people. I appreciate everyday that I wake up and I'm alive. Unless there are semester finals. I don't appreciate Mondays quite so much when finals are involved.
I got up later than I normally would (seems like I've been saying that a lot lately) because we went to bed after midnight. A full day of activities, including concerts, can drain a body. I made my son a bigger than usual breakfast because he didn't get to eat dinner last night. We went out for lunch and he did eat, but in the excitement of the night he never mentioned being hungry (though if he was, he sat too far away from me to tell me so). When we got home it was so late there was no way he was going to eat, so I knew he'd be hungry. I got myself a bowl of cereal, then reached for my English muffins. What did I find in the package, but a couple of bugs! Eww!! I was so mad - it was an unopened package and I had to throw it all away. Ugh! I'm gonna have to figure out if those bugs came from my pantry. If so, I'm going on the warpath!
My son's schedule showed a full day of work: an English quiz, Algebra final (in 3 parts), music history final, Hope final and an Algebra live lesson. I was sure it was going to be as hectic as last week, and he was just as tired as I was, maybe even more so. We didn't even get started with school till 10:30. He went to do his Hope final, knowing full well he'd have to pause it at 11:00 for his algebra class, but I knew that wouldn't be a problem. He got halfway through the test, then went on to his algebra review. In the meantime, I folded 4 baskets of laundry, then made fried chicken tenders with stuffing and gravy, and corn. After lunch he finished the exam. He scored an 84% on his multiple choice; there are 2 short essays that still have to be graded. I feel like he was distracted, because he has a 93% in that class. I decided he should take a short break, then we'd review for his music history test. We went through all his notes and read absolutely everything. He got a 94% on that test, which I was pleased to see. Three finals down, three to go! His algebra teacher had sent an email saying the class was not to start on the algebra final till Wednesday after last review class, so the only thing left was English. It was a vocabulary lesson with a quiz at the end. He wasn't very excited about taking the quiz, especially when it was 18 questions long, but I told him it was best to just do it and finish for the day. When he clicked on it, it said the teacher had dropped the assignment. His school day was done, and he'd finished everything in 4 hours. Seriously! I told him to sit down and either read or watch a documentary; he chose option 2. Honestly, we could have finished in the early afternoon, had he not started so late and dragged his feet throughout the day. He's not getting off so easy tomorrow; there's a lot of studying to do for his science exam, and he's got 2 live lessons as well.
My son R was feeling a whole lot better today. He took Robitussin last night and was able to get a good night's sleep, which he needed in order to recover his energy. I was so glad, because if he didn't sound better today I was gonna have to send him to the doctor. Can't be taking any chances with the flu season in full swing.
Speaking of seasons, our rainy season seems to have returned. We got rain on and off today, though nowhere near what was forecast. At least there were no thunderstorms. Yesterday I did my hair, then got caught outside in all that rain and humidity. I was able to seek cover, but the humidity still did a number on me. My hair looks awful today. It's like I haven't washed or styled it in a week. So not fair.
There really isn't much else to report. I'm gonna clean up the kitchen, take out some meat, then shower and watch some television. Hopefully I'll get to bed early tonight and get caught up on my shuteye. Have a blessed evening everyone.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Sunday Recap
I didn't blog yesterday, but I have a good excuse. I was gone from the house from 9:30 am to midnight, except for a quick stop to change clothes. Yeah, it was a busy day. Let me give a *quick* recap.
I didn't do my hair Saturday night so I knew I had to get up early to fix it Sunday morning. I was up by 6:30 for what would be a non-stop day. I showered and washed my hair, then went to make my son E his breakfast. I don't eat breakfast at home on Sundays because we have our fellowship breakfast at our Sunday school class, but I do have my coffee. I was starving but was mindful not to start eating; I had a handful of Reese's cereal then went to get ready for church.
Our church is pretty relaxed when it comes to dress; no one is required to get dressed up, but I always do. I feel like, if I'm there to meet God, I should look my best. I wore the dress I'd gotten for my birthday because it's a perfect fall dress and our weather was looking like fall: rainy and dreary. I debated whether to wear powder or liquid foundation, since I knew I was going to be out most of the day and wouldn't have time to touch up. While my liquid foundation is supposed to have a longer wear, I went with powder. I love the way my powder foundation feels, so light on my skin, and I also thought this would be a good way to test how long its wearability is. My makeup turned out really nice again; I'm getting the hang of this, LOL! We left the house at 9:30 and got to our respective Sunday school classes in 10 minutes. My son goes to youth group (he's 15 years old) and I go to my class, Truth In Love. We have been studying the book of James and just finished the last 2 verses of chapter 5. From there we went to service, where Pastor Ray taught on excellence and why God is deserving of our very best. It was a great service and worship time, but we didn't stay long for fellowship. There was plenty more on our agenda.
It was my best friend IV's birthday, and I invited her out to lunch. She chose a vegetarian style buffet place that is local. I'd never eaten there before, though I'd heard of it. There were mixed reviews: some folks really like it because of its vegetarian and vegan options; others say the food is sub-par. Since it was her birthday I didn't mind going and trying it out. I stopped off at the house first so I could change out of the dress I was wearing and into some jeans. It's not that I don't like going out to eat in a dress, but we had other plans afterwards. My jeans and top were an olive/khaki green, nice and neutral (and comfortable). I drove over to IV's house and we went in one car to the restaurant. I have to say, I was sadly disappointed. The food was, in my opinion, bland. I had a salad to start, and I noticed some of the greens weren't green anymore; it was certainly not the freshest salad bar I'd been to. I then went over to where the hot foods were. The only meat option available was in the chili, and quite frankly, I feel like the chili at Wendy's is better. I tried a pasta dish that had red onion and spinach. This is something I usually enjoy, but for the first time ever I had to add salt to the food. I cook with very little salt, and I always find restaurant food to be excessively salty, but this was so bland I couldn't enjoy it. The only thing I can say I liked was the soft serve ice cream. My poor son, who is a carnivore, didn't care for anything. All he ate was macaroni and cheese because his best friend (IV's son) said it was the best mac and cheese he'd ever eaten. My son's response was, "That's because you haven't tasted my mom's." I won't deny, that made me feel really good, except for the fact that the food was so flavorless I don't know as it was much of a compliment. But my friend enjoyed it, and since it was her birthday after all, I was content in knowing she was pleased.
Once we were done, we headed to...Winter Jam!!! We were so excited! For Christmas IV got us tickets. Winter Jam is a huge concert tour, with multiple Christian music groups. The best part about Winter Jam is the price: $10 gets you any seat in the house, first come first serve. Typically you have to stand in line as early as possible to get the best choice of seats, but since IV suffers from MS she can't stand for long periods of time, so she got a group together and we got to go in before everyone else. We still had to stand in line because our group couldn't go in till everyone was there. Wouldn't you know it, my daughter was running late because the church where she works had baptisms and she had to stay longer. Then she got caught in torrential rains. She finally made it, but was soaked to the bone :(. She wasn't thrilled about being wet, but we got such great seats that she quickly forgot about it. At 5:00 the opening acts came out. There were three bands, but Veridia was my favorite. They are a rock band out of Nashville, very edgy and right up my alley. My daughter loved them too, as did my son, though I didn't find out till later because he and his friends sat as far away from the parental units as possible. Teenagers *sigh*. Blanca, originally from Group 1 Crew, also performed, and I've always loved her voice. I don't care for whispery voices; I like a strong, powerhouse voice, and Blanca certainly has that.
Then the big name acts came on, starting with For King And Country. These are Rebecca St. James's brothers, a woman whom I've always loved, and they were just as incredible! My daughter was especially thrilled, because we didn't get to see them when we went to Night of Joy in September. We picked some incredible seats; they came right up to where we were seated! My son made fun of me, though. He could see us from where he was sitting, and he saw me wave at the brothers - instead of reaching out and high-fiving them. I guess that's just not my style, but my son thought I was hilarious.
Newsong played next. They're more of a country/gospel type sound; not bad but not what I lean towards. After their set came Family Force 5. My daughter was, again, super excited because she'd only seen them a couple of times before and they put on an amazing show. They have so much energy! Their music is more of a rock/rap/hip-hop mix, and I was pretty sure my son would not like it. He's a rocker through and through, but as I told my daughter, his favorite band of all time would be performing so he'd better not say he didn't enjoy it. Building 429 blew me away - I didn't expect their set to be so great! Jeremy Camp came on next; I like Jeremy Camp, but I didn't mind leaving to go look at the merch tables with my daughter. There were a few items she wanted to purchase along with some contests to sign up for. I got my son a surprise gift: 2 of his favorite band's CD's. We got back to hear Jeremy Camp sing his last song, Overcome, then there was an intermission. My son came over, and I asked which band he'd liked so far. To my astonishment, he said Family Force 5! He loved their song Chainsaw, and all the energy they had. I then pulled out his surprise, and he smiled from ear to ear. For the first time he wasn't complaining about having to come to a concert - I guess he's finally getting to that age.
There was a preacher there, Tony Nolan, who presented the gospel and also gave his testimony, which was absolutely inspiring. God can do amazing things, of that I am certain! The next act was one of my favorites, Francesca Battistelli. Her songs are fun, and she is another powerhouse. What I didn't expect was for her to sing Holy Spirit, a favorite worship song of mine. I was getting teary eyed as I sang and listened to this appeal for God's presence among us. I'm getting choked up remembering it! It was beautiful.
The last band to perform, the headlining band, my son's very favorite band, was Skillet! I L-O-V-E love Skillet! My son was even more excited. We saw them at Night of Joy, and their show was mind-blowing, but we didn't know what to expect from a much smaller venue. They did not disappoint! Skillet's music is hardcore rock with deep messages about the condition of the world and Who we can turn to if we want to escape its fate. It was pretty late once the concert was over, but all the merch tables would be open and bands would be there to sign autographs and talk to the people there. I asked my son if he would like John Cooper to autograph his CD's. His eyes got as big as saucers and he yelled, "I can?! Yes!!" I didn't mind standing in line since it moved pretty quickly. My boy said it was the best time he's had, and he didn't mind if he was going to be hoarse the next day, it was so worth it. My daughter went to the other merch tables and got autographs and pictures with Family Force 5, For King and Country, Blanca and Veridia, plus she purchased some CD's and even a hat with the FF5 logo. I would have enjoyed seeing the other acts, but honestly, listening to my son's excitement and happiness was worth more than any band or singer.
We finally got out and got home around midnight. To my surprise, my makeup held up the entire time. We were gone 15 hours, and the only thing I ever touched up was my lipstick. There was a very little bit of oiliness on my forehead, but hardly enough to concern me, especially after 15 hours. Bare Minerals proved to me once again that they are the best choice for makeup. My daughter agrees.
That was my Sunday. It was a day to remember, for sure. I'll be posting today's recap later on tonight, but for now, God bless and have a great day.
I didn't do my hair Saturday night so I knew I had to get up early to fix it Sunday morning. I was up by 6:30 for what would be a non-stop day. I showered and washed my hair, then went to make my son E his breakfast. I don't eat breakfast at home on Sundays because we have our fellowship breakfast at our Sunday school class, but I do have my coffee. I was starving but was mindful not to start eating; I had a handful of Reese's cereal then went to get ready for church.
Our church is pretty relaxed when it comes to dress; no one is required to get dressed up, but I always do. I feel like, if I'm there to meet God, I should look my best. I wore the dress I'd gotten for my birthday because it's a perfect fall dress and our weather was looking like fall: rainy and dreary. I debated whether to wear powder or liquid foundation, since I knew I was going to be out most of the day and wouldn't have time to touch up. While my liquid foundation is supposed to have a longer wear, I went with powder. I love the way my powder foundation feels, so light on my skin, and I also thought this would be a good way to test how long its wearability is. My makeup turned out really nice again; I'm getting the hang of this, LOL! We left the house at 9:30 and got to our respective Sunday school classes in 10 minutes. My son goes to youth group (he's 15 years old) and I go to my class, Truth In Love. We have been studying the book of James and just finished the last 2 verses of chapter 5. From there we went to service, where Pastor Ray taught on excellence and why God is deserving of our very best. It was a great service and worship time, but we didn't stay long for fellowship. There was plenty more on our agenda.
It was my best friend IV's birthday, and I invited her out to lunch. She chose a vegetarian style buffet place that is local. I'd never eaten there before, though I'd heard of it. There were mixed reviews: some folks really like it because of its vegetarian and vegan options; others say the food is sub-par. Since it was her birthday I didn't mind going and trying it out. I stopped off at the house first so I could change out of the dress I was wearing and into some jeans. It's not that I don't like going out to eat in a dress, but we had other plans afterwards. My jeans and top were an olive/khaki green, nice and neutral (and comfortable). I drove over to IV's house and we went in one car to the restaurant. I have to say, I was sadly disappointed. The food was, in my opinion, bland. I had a salad to start, and I noticed some of the greens weren't green anymore; it was certainly not the freshest salad bar I'd been to. I then went over to where the hot foods were. The only meat option available was in the chili, and quite frankly, I feel like the chili at Wendy's is better. I tried a pasta dish that had red onion and spinach. This is something I usually enjoy, but for the first time ever I had to add salt to the food. I cook with very little salt, and I always find restaurant food to be excessively salty, but this was so bland I couldn't enjoy it. The only thing I can say I liked was the soft serve ice cream. My poor son, who is a carnivore, didn't care for anything. All he ate was macaroni and cheese because his best friend (IV's son) said it was the best mac and cheese he'd ever eaten. My son's response was, "That's because you haven't tasted my mom's." I won't deny, that made me feel really good, except for the fact that the food was so flavorless I don't know as it was much of a compliment. But my friend enjoyed it, and since it was her birthday after all, I was content in knowing she was pleased.
Once we were done, we headed to...Winter Jam!!! We were so excited! For Christmas IV got us tickets. Winter Jam is a huge concert tour, with multiple Christian music groups. The best part about Winter Jam is the price: $10 gets you any seat in the house, first come first serve. Typically you have to stand in line as early as possible to get the best choice of seats, but since IV suffers from MS she can't stand for long periods of time, so she got a group together and we got to go in before everyone else. We still had to stand in line because our group couldn't go in till everyone was there. Wouldn't you know it, my daughter was running late because the church where she works had baptisms and she had to stay longer. Then she got caught in torrential rains. She finally made it, but was soaked to the bone :(. She wasn't thrilled about being wet, but we got such great seats that she quickly forgot about it. At 5:00 the opening acts came out. There were three bands, but Veridia was my favorite. They are a rock band out of Nashville, very edgy and right up my alley. My daughter loved them too, as did my son, though I didn't find out till later because he and his friends sat as far away from the parental units as possible. Teenagers *sigh*. Blanca, originally from Group 1 Crew, also performed, and I've always loved her voice. I don't care for whispery voices; I like a strong, powerhouse voice, and Blanca certainly has that.
Then the big name acts came on, starting with For King And Country. These are Rebecca St. James's brothers, a woman whom I've always loved, and they were just as incredible! My daughter was especially thrilled, because we didn't get to see them when we went to Night of Joy in September. We picked some incredible seats; they came right up to where we were seated! My son made fun of me, though. He could see us from where he was sitting, and he saw me wave at the brothers - instead of reaching out and high-fiving them. I guess that's just not my style, but my son thought I was hilarious.
Newsong played next. They're more of a country/gospel type sound; not bad but not what I lean towards. After their set came Family Force 5. My daughter was, again, super excited because she'd only seen them a couple of times before and they put on an amazing show. They have so much energy! Their music is more of a rock/rap/hip-hop mix, and I was pretty sure my son would not like it. He's a rocker through and through, but as I told my daughter, his favorite band of all time would be performing so he'd better not say he didn't enjoy it. Building 429 blew me away - I didn't expect their set to be so great! Jeremy Camp came on next; I like Jeremy Camp, but I didn't mind leaving to go look at the merch tables with my daughter. There were a few items she wanted to purchase along with some contests to sign up for. I got my son a surprise gift: 2 of his favorite band's CD's. We got back to hear Jeremy Camp sing his last song, Overcome, then there was an intermission. My son came over, and I asked which band he'd liked so far. To my astonishment, he said Family Force 5! He loved their song Chainsaw, and all the energy they had. I then pulled out his surprise, and he smiled from ear to ear. For the first time he wasn't complaining about having to come to a concert - I guess he's finally getting to that age.
There was a preacher there, Tony Nolan, who presented the gospel and also gave his testimony, which was absolutely inspiring. God can do amazing things, of that I am certain! The next act was one of my favorites, Francesca Battistelli. Her songs are fun, and she is another powerhouse. What I didn't expect was for her to sing Holy Spirit, a favorite worship song of mine. I was getting teary eyed as I sang and listened to this appeal for God's presence among us. I'm getting choked up remembering it! It was beautiful.
The last band to perform, the headlining band, my son's very favorite band, was Skillet! I L-O-V-E love Skillet! My son was even more excited. We saw them at Night of Joy, and their show was mind-blowing, but we didn't know what to expect from a much smaller venue. They did not disappoint! Skillet's music is hardcore rock with deep messages about the condition of the world and Who we can turn to if we want to escape its fate. It was pretty late once the concert was over, but all the merch tables would be open and bands would be there to sign autographs and talk to the people there. I asked my son if he would like John Cooper to autograph his CD's. His eyes got as big as saucers and he yelled, "I can?! Yes!!" I didn't mind standing in line since it moved pretty quickly. My boy said it was the best time he's had, and he didn't mind if he was going to be hoarse the next day, it was so worth it. My daughter went to the other merch tables and got autographs and pictures with Family Force 5, For King and Country, Blanca and Veridia, plus she purchased some CD's and even a hat with the FF5 logo. I would have enjoyed seeing the other acts, but honestly, listening to my son's excitement and happiness was worth more than any band or singer.
We finally got out and got home around midnight. To my surprise, my makeup held up the entire time. We were gone 15 hours, and the only thing I ever touched up was my lipstick. There was a very little bit of oiliness on my forehead, but hardly enough to concern me, especially after 15 hours. Bare Minerals proved to me once again that they are the best choice for makeup. My daughter agrees.
That was my Sunday. It was a day to remember, for sure. I'll be posting today's recap later on tonight, but for now, God bless and have a great day.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Weekend, Day One
Something about today I wish would never end. The weather. Oh my word, it is such a gorgeous day! We started off with 59 degrees and have stayed in the low 70's with the most scrumptious breeze imaginable. The sun is shining, the sky is baby blue, the clouds are puffy white. I'm so gonna enjoy this, because the weather forecast calls for rain for all or most of next week. While the rain is needed and welcome, it doesn't trump a day like today. This is the day The Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
I didn't get out of bed till 8:30 this morning. Yet still, I was tired. That's because the stupid smoke alarm decided to let us know, in the middle of the night, that its battery was running low. Not during the day, nooooo. At night, when we're too tired to get up and go rummaging through the garage for batteries. Of course, after we got up it quieted down for hours. I swear, these things are programmed to only go off at night. I was so frustrated!
I had my breakfast, an English muffin with an egg and bacon, then I got to work on the floors. With all the schoolwork we'd been doing all week, I pretty much neglected the floors, and they were nasty. Our dog Molly sheds enough hair to build another dog, and even though I'd Swiffer'd them they were starting to get fluffy. Not to mention that she drools. A lot. There were drool marks in all the places where she huffed and puffed after going for her walks. Then there were the blood stains. No, not that; she's fixed. Molly has a growth under her belly that, according to the vet, is most likely a type of blood cancer. He didn't look much at it, didn't touch it or anything, then said to be sure what it is it'll cost about $500 - $700. He would remove the one growth but said she was going to get more. He also said he wanted an additional $60 to test her for anesthesia reaction. She'd just been spayed a few months before and had been just fine, so I knew this was unnecessary. I told the vet we'd have to decide if we could afford this amount of money, and left. I was so upset, and my daughter A was even more so. She was heartbroken at the thought that Molly could have cancer; I was fuming at the vet who did no type of examination, just started spewing off dollar amounts. We discussed our options: obviously, we could go to another vet and spend another $50 - $70 on another diagnosis plus treatment. Or, we could wait. Truth be told, she's been normal for the most part, just as active as ever and with a healthy appetite. If this is cancer, I would not put my dog through treatment. That may sound cruel to some people, but to me putting a dog through chemo and radiation is even more cruel. Dogs don't understand what is going on. Making them sick and suffer through greater pain than they're experiencing will only make them think they're being punished, and they have no say in the matter. It was decided then, that we would take the best care of Molly that we could, keeping her happy and comfortable if the time came when she was suffering. That time has not come. She doesn't complain or act any differently (though today she had an upset stomach; I suspect she found something outside and ate it. Not the first time). But occasionally she scratches at the growth on her belly and it bleeds, leaving blood stains on the floor. So I got the vacuum cleaner and vacuumed up a ton of hair, then mopped and dusted and cleaned till I was even more exhausted than when I'd gotten up. My only consolation was having the windows open and having the breeze blow inside the house. That part was sweet.
This morning I got an email from Ulta stating that there was an online special for today only: place an order of $50 or more and get 3 free Too Faced cosmetic items. It just happens to be that last week I got a coupon for $10 off any $50 Bare Minerals purchase, and there were a couple of things I wanted to get. I'd told my daughter I wanted to go to Ulta to redeem the coupon so I wouldn't have to order $50 worth of stuff in order to get free shipping, but then I wouldn't get the freebies. Or as my daughter says, they're feeding my addiction ;-). I decided I'd just place the order online, but when I totaled up my order it was $46. I was $4 short of the coupon AND the freebies. Thankfully my daughter wanted some Bare Minerals concealer, so she added it to my order. Not only did I get the $10 off and the free Too Faced cosmetics, I also got a free Bare Minerals Matte foundation deluxe sample, which was a bonus. Since I was ordering, I went ahead and checked the Real Techniques brushes that I'd wanted to buy last month but were out of stock. They were in stock alright, and they were BOGO: buy one, get one half off. I decided to go with the Core Collection which was what I had intended to get in the first place, then added a powder brush as well. I had $3 off in reward points, so the 5 brushes with case totaled $19.99. Real Techniques brushes are great quality - I have the eye makeup brushes as well as a blush brush, and they're really soft. The order has been placed and I hope to see it in the next week. Yay!
I'd been looking at reviews for the Bare Minerals Bareskin foundation. I have this foundation, and I like it a lot, though not as much as my Original powder foundation. I found that my t-zone gets a bit oily with the liquid foundation, a problem I don't have with the powder. One reviewer complained about the same thing, saying this makeup isn't ideal for people with oily skin. Then a Sephora employee that works at the Bare Minerals counter said the key was not to wear any primer with the Bareskin foundation. Bareskin is not a regular liquid foundation; it's a serum foundation that contains really good stuff for the skin and no binders or fillers. The purpose of a primer is to fill in fine lines and wrinkles, and hold on to the foundation without it getting into the skin and clogging pores. But since Bareskin is a serum foundation, you actually do want the serum to penetrate the skin, and wearing it with primer doesn't allow it to, so the makeup just kind of sits on the skin, making it feel greasy. I decided to put this theory to the test. I washed and moisturized my face, then put 5 drops of Bareskin foundation on my face (2-3 drops is for light coverage, 4-6 drops is for medium coverage, and 7-8 is for full coverage). I've been wearing it all day since 10:00 am, and I have to agree. Except for a small amount of oiliness on my forehead which I was able to lightly dab off, my skin has been oil free. What's more, my skin looks flawless without it looking like I have makeup on. Bareskin looks like the name: it's so natural, it's like it's your bare skin, but without blemishes or redness or imperfections. My daughter even asked me if I was wearing makeup because my skin looked really nice but she couldn't tell if it was because of makeup or not. That's what I want my makeup to do. And I don't feel it on me. Bareskin is very light and comfortable to wear.
For my daughter, switching to Bare Minerals has been a Godsend. Since using the makeup and moisturizer in conjunction with Michael Todd's skincare products, her rosacea has diminished considerably, and even her serbo psoriasis spots have softened. These dry patches on her skin can be annoying, because the makeup sticks to them and enhances them. They have become considerably less noticeable with Bare Minerals, and now that they are softening and aren't as dry as before, she can use less makeup and her skin looks impeccable. She's happier about looking at herself in the mirror every morning. That makes this mama's heart sing.
I took down the outdoor Christmas lights and decor, finally. I think our house was the last one on the block with lights still hanging from the rafters. While I was outside, I saw my neighbors from two doors down. They were looking at the house next door, the one between theirs and ours. My next-door neighbor is selling her house. We are sad to see them go; this was a new development when we moved in 14 1/2 years ago, and most of the original neighbors are still here. I do understand, though. She and her husband divorced, and she's working pretty far from the house. She's spending a lot of money on gas, and a lot of time away from home. She decided it was best for her and her kids to move closer to her work. When she mentioned that she was planning to sell, the couple next door to her decided they wanted to buy the house. When we first moved in, they were newlyweds moving into a small house. Now they have two small children and not enough room, but they love the neighborhood and want to stay here. Buying the house next door would be ideal for them: it's probably about 600 square feet larger than the house they're in now, plus it has a really big yard for the kids. And it would be the easiest move in history! We are really hoping they buy the house. We love our neighbors, and having familiar faces next door would be great.
Dinner was a debate. We were all hungry, but no one could decide what to eat. I will eat just about anything, except for Papa John's pizza or Domino's. As far as I'm concerned, both those "pizzas" should be removed from the face of the earth. Domino's has the worst tasting sauce (even after they "improved" the sauce), and Papa John's is just plain awful in my opinion. I'll eat Little Caesar's because it tastes okay, and what do you expect for $5? I think it's a decent pizza for the price. It's what we usually have when we eat out, but my daughter said she was tired of eating the same thing and wanted something different. And that's where the debate started. My daughter and youngest son went back and forth for over a half hour trying to decide what to get. Ultimately, they got two pepperoni pizzas. From Little Caesar's. Kids. *rolls eyes*
After dinner we watched a DVD I got for my son R for Christmas: Weird Al's Greatest Videos. Oh man, did that bring back memories! I've been listening to Weird Al since the early 80's when he got started doing song parodies, and I introduced my kids to him when they were little tykes. We are all great fans, so when I found this DVD I knew I had to get it for my oldest son, who appreciates it most. We had a lot of laughs and totally enjoyed oldies along with newer videos. I'm pretty sure my son is happy with that gift.
Well, that's pretty much it for today. I washed and exfoliated and now my face feels soft, silky, and clean. Tomorrow is a big day: Winter Jam is coming to South Florida, and we are going! I have to admit, I'd forgotten it was tomorrow. For some reason I thought it was next weekend. My daughter reminded me a little while ago, and I wanted to kick myself, because I was gonna help E study for his finals but I'd decided he'd already had such a full week that I would leave it for tomorrow. Now it's probably not gonna happen. But hey, Skillet will be performing! That's something to look forward to! Good night, sleep tight, God bless.
I didn't get out of bed till 8:30 this morning. Yet still, I was tired. That's because the stupid smoke alarm decided to let us know, in the middle of the night, that its battery was running low. Not during the day, nooooo. At night, when we're too tired to get up and go rummaging through the garage for batteries. Of course, after we got up it quieted down for hours. I swear, these things are programmed to only go off at night. I was so frustrated!
I had my breakfast, an English muffin with an egg and bacon, then I got to work on the floors. With all the schoolwork we'd been doing all week, I pretty much neglected the floors, and they were nasty. Our dog Molly sheds enough hair to build another dog, and even though I'd Swiffer'd them they were starting to get fluffy. Not to mention that she drools. A lot. There were drool marks in all the places where she huffed and puffed after going for her walks. Then there were the blood stains. No, not that; she's fixed. Molly has a growth under her belly that, according to the vet, is most likely a type of blood cancer. He didn't look much at it, didn't touch it or anything, then said to be sure what it is it'll cost about $500 - $700. He would remove the one growth but said she was going to get more. He also said he wanted an additional $60 to test her for anesthesia reaction. She'd just been spayed a few months before and had been just fine, so I knew this was unnecessary. I told the vet we'd have to decide if we could afford this amount of money, and left. I was so upset, and my daughter A was even more so. She was heartbroken at the thought that Molly could have cancer; I was fuming at the vet who did no type of examination, just started spewing off dollar amounts. We discussed our options: obviously, we could go to another vet and spend another $50 - $70 on another diagnosis plus treatment. Or, we could wait. Truth be told, she's been normal for the most part, just as active as ever and with a healthy appetite. If this is cancer, I would not put my dog through treatment. That may sound cruel to some people, but to me putting a dog through chemo and radiation is even more cruel. Dogs don't understand what is going on. Making them sick and suffer through greater pain than they're experiencing will only make them think they're being punished, and they have no say in the matter. It was decided then, that we would take the best care of Molly that we could, keeping her happy and comfortable if the time came when she was suffering. That time has not come. She doesn't complain or act any differently (though today she had an upset stomach; I suspect she found something outside and ate it. Not the first time). But occasionally she scratches at the growth on her belly and it bleeds, leaving blood stains on the floor. So I got the vacuum cleaner and vacuumed up a ton of hair, then mopped and dusted and cleaned till I was even more exhausted than when I'd gotten up. My only consolation was having the windows open and having the breeze blow inside the house. That part was sweet.
This morning I got an email from Ulta stating that there was an online special for today only: place an order of $50 or more and get 3 free Too Faced cosmetic items. It just happens to be that last week I got a coupon for $10 off any $50 Bare Minerals purchase, and there were a couple of things I wanted to get. I'd told my daughter I wanted to go to Ulta to redeem the coupon so I wouldn't have to order $50 worth of stuff in order to get free shipping, but then I wouldn't get the freebies. Or as my daughter says, they're feeding my addiction ;-). I decided I'd just place the order online, but when I totaled up my order it was $46. I was $4 short of the coupon AND the freebies. Thankfully my daughter wanted some Bare Minerals concealer, so she added it to my order. Not only did I get the $10 off and the free Too Faced cosmetics, I also got a free Bare Minerals Matte foundation deluxe sample, which was a bonus. Since I was ordering, I went ahead and checked the Real Techniques brushes that I'd wanted to buy last month but were out of stock. They were in stock alright, and they were BOGO: buy one, get one half off. I decided to go with the Core Collection which was what I had intended to get in the first place, then added a powder brush as well. I had $3 off in reward points, so the 5 brushes with case totaled $19.99. Real Techniques brushes are great quality - I have the eye makeup brushes as well as a blush brush, and they're really soft. The order has been placed and I hope to see it in the next week. Yay!
I'd been looking at reviews for the Bare Minerals Bareskin foundation. I have this foundation, and I like it a lot, though not as much as my Original powder foundation. I found that my t-zone gets a bit oily with the liquid foundation, a problem I don't have with the powder. One reviewer complained about the same thing, saying this makeup isn't ideal for people with oily skin. Then a Sephora employee that works at the Bare Minerals counter said the key was not to wear any primer with the Bareskin foundation. Bareskin is not a regular liquid foundation; it's a serum foundation that contains really good stuff for the skin and no binders or fillers. The purpose of a primer is to fill in fine lines and wrinkles, and hold on to the foundation without it getting into the skin and clogging pores. But since Bareskin is a serum foundation, you actually do want the serum to penetrate the skin, and wearing it with primer doesn't allow it to, so the makeup just kind of sits on the skin, making it feel greasy. I decided to put this theory to the test. I washed and moisturized my face, then put 5 drops of Bareskin foundation on my face (2-3 drops is for light coverage, 4-6 drops is for medium coverage, and 7-8 is for full coverage). I've been wearing it all day since 10:00 am, and I have to agree. Except for a small amount of oiliness on my forehead which I was able to lightly dab off, my skin has been oil free. What's more, my skin looks flawless without it looking like I have makeup on. Bareskin looks like the name: it's so natural, it's like it's your bare skin, but without blemishes or redness or imperfections. My daughter even asked me if I was wearing makeup because my skin looked really nice but she couldn't tell if it was because of makeup or not. That's what I want my makeup to do. And I don't feel it on me. Bareskin is very light and comfortable to wear.
For my daughter, switching to Bare Minerals has been a Godsend. Since using the makeup and moisturizer in conjunction with Michael Todd's skincare products, her rosacea has diminished considerably, and even her serbo psoriasis spots have softened. These dry patches on her skin can be annoying, because the makeup sticks to them and enhances them. They have become considerably less noticeable with Bare Minerals, and now that they are softening and aren't as dry as before, she can use less makeup and her skin looks impeccable. She's happier about looking at herself in the mirror every morning. That makes this mama's heart sing.
I took down the outdoor Christmas lights and decor, finally. I think our house was the last one on the block with lights still hanging from the rafters. While I was outside, I saw my neighbors from two doors down. They were looking at the house next door, the one between theirs and ours. My next-door neighbor is selling her house. We are sad to see them go; this was a new development when we moved in 14 1/2 years ago, and most of the original neighbors are still here. I do understand, though. She and her husband divorced, and she's working pretty far from the house. She's spending a lot of money on gas, and a lot of time away from home. She decided it was best for her and her kids to move closer to her work. When she mentioned that she was planning to sell, the couple next door to her decided they wanted to buy the house. When we first moved in, they were newlyweds moving into a small house. Now they have two small children and not enough room, but they love the neighborhood and want to stay here. Buying the house next door would be ideal for them: it's probably about 600 square feet larger than the house they're in now, plus it has a really big yard for the kids. And it would be the easiest move in history! We are really hoping they buy the house. We love our neighbors, and having familiar faces next door would be great.
Dinner was a debate. We were all hungry, but no one could decide what to eat. I will eat just about anything, except for Papa John's pizza or Domino's. As far as I'm concerned, both those "pizzas" should be removed from the face of the earth. Domino's has the worst tasting sauce (even after they "improved" the sauce), and Papa John's is just plain awful in my opinion. I'll eat Little Caesar's because it tastes okay, and what do you expect for $5? I think it's a decent pizza for the price. It's what we usually have when we eat out, but my daughter said she was tired of eating the same thing and wanted something different. And that's where the debate started. My daughter and youngest son went back and forth for over a half hour trying to decide what to get. Ultimately, they got two pepperoni pizzas. From Little Caesar's. Kids. *rolls eyes*
After dinner we watched a DVD I got for my son R for Christmas: Weird Al's Greatest Videos. Oh man, did that bring back memories! I've been listening to Weird Al since the early 80's when he got started doing song parodies, and I introduced my kids to him when they were little tykes. We are all great fans, so when I found this DVD I knew I had to get it for my oldest son, who appreciates it most. We had a lot of laughs and totally enjoyed oldies along with newer videos. I'm pretty sure my son is happy with that gift.
Well, that's pretty much it for today. I washed and exfoliated and now my face feels soft, silky, and clean. Tomorrow is a big day: Winter Jam is coming to South Florida, and we are going! I have to admit, I'd forgotten it was tomorrow. For some reason I thought it was next weekend. My daughter reminded me a little while ago, and I wanted to kick myself, because I was gonna help E study for his finals but I'd decided he'd already had such a full week that I would leave it for tomorrow. Now it's probably not gonna happen. But hey, Skillet will be performing! That's something to look forward to! Good night, sleep tight, God bless.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Finally, Friday!
This week seemed so long! I guess after having two weeks off with the holidays, getting back to school and our routine was harder than I'd expected. Preparing for semester finals didn't make it any easier.
I got up later than usual this morning. Getting up early everyday must have worn me out, because I didn't even open my eyes till 6:45, then stayed in bed till almost 8 am. That's very unlike me; I'm a morning person, and I like to get going bright and early. It wasn't until I heard my oldest son coughing up a lung that I even stirred. Poor kid, he's feeling bad but he has a good attitude about it. He was off from work today, and he stayed home trying to rest and recover, which is good. I finally got up and got moving, making breakfast and looking at E's schedule for today. It's been hard getting everything done because all his pretests, assignments and reviews have been overwhelming. Today is the first day that he's caught up, and it's Friday. That should give an idea of what our week has been like.
E had his Algebra review test along with his Hope collaboration, and he had his English thesis to turn in. We started on Algebra at 10:00 am, an hour later than usual. As I said, I was running late. He began working on it but stopped at 11:00 and headed over to his live lesson. The collab was super easy. Basically he just had to participate with the entire group, answering questions from the semester review. Once he was done I started on lunch: macaroni and cheese, and Tyson chicken strips. Actually, the boys had the chicken strips; my daughter and I had breaded shrimp. Now, when I say macaroni and cheese, I don't mean Kraft or Velveeta. This isn't boxed mac and cheese. This is me making a rue, adding milk and cheese to make an actual cheese sauce, then adding the elbow macaroni and baking it in the oven with bread crumbs over the top. My kids won't eat boxed mac and cheese after eating this stuff. Trust me, it's delicious.
After lunch E sat down again to work on his Algebra pretest, but he was so distracted. Many of the questions are long, detailed word problems. A lot were from lessons that he'd done well on but he didn't remember how they were done. That's the problem with Algebra: you do the work, then put it in the back of your mind because there's a new system to learn. When the tests come, it takes a moment (or two, or three) before it all comes back. With my son, the idea that he has to do 58 problems and he can't remember all the steps to solving them gets him flustered. Suddenly, the room is too hot, his head is hurting, he can't think straight, he's tired of sitting, yada yada yada. I have to sit there with him and remind him that if he were in school there would be no excuses. He finally finished the pretest, and he got a 74. We are gonna have to go over a lot of these concepts if he's gonna bring his grade up. I see many hours of studying over the weekend. What fun.
Thankfully, he did get his English thesis submitted. His sister reviewed it, made a few corrections, and it's done. Now he has 5 final exams to prepare for. I'm thinking that he should just do his Hope exam over the weekend so he can focus on the other classes, like algebra and science, which are harder. It'll take some convincing; working over the weekend is not his cup of tea. But as I've told him before, if he were back in school he'd be doing homework every weekend. As it stands now, he rarely has to work over the weekend, so he should be thankful for that. Besides, he'll have a short week once these exams are over. Best to get it all done so he can enjoy his time off.
That has been my entire day. School. I cooked, I cleaned up the kitchen, and I fixed my bed. I did no other housework, I went nowhere, I did nothing else. My day was absorbed with homeschooling. Some days I think, ugh, I'm exhausted! I'm so stressed! But then I remember when he was in school. I was equally tired, equally stressed, and I spent more time on school than we do now. There were weeks when it was never ending homework assignments, projects, shopping for projects, computer work, reading, and weekends that were always work filled. There were time restraints and deadlines; not that there aren't any now, but homeschooling is so much more flexible. He no longer comes home saying he didn't understand the lesson because the class was distracting the teacher. He doesn't complain about his teachers; instead, he loves them and is so appreciative of them. When I think about all that, I know it's worth the effort. This is what is best for my son, and for my family. Rather than see this as a burden, I see it as a blessing.
I need some rest. I'm gonna shower, and take it easy. God bless and good night to all.
I got up later than usual this morning. Getting up early everyday must have worn me out, because I didn't even open my eyes till 6:45, then stayed in bed till almost 8 am. That's very unlike me; I'm a morning person, and I like to get going bright and early. It wasn't until I heard my oldest son coughing up a lung that I even stirred. Poor kid, he's feeling bad but he has a good attitude about it. He was off from work today, and he stayed home trying to rest and recover, which is good. I finally got up and got moving, making breakfast and looking at E's schedule for today. It's been hard getting everything done because all his pretests, assignments and reviews have been overwhelming. Today is the first day that he's caught up, and it's Friday. That should give an idea of what our week has been like.
E had his Algebra review test along with his Hope collaboration, and he had his English thesis to turn in. We started on Algebra at 10:00 am, an hour later than usual. As I said, I was running late. He began working on it but stopped at 11:00 and headed over to his live lesson. The collab was super easy. Basically he just had to participate with the entire group, answering questions from the semester review. Once he was done I started on lunch: macaroni and cheese, and Tyson chicken strips. Actually, the boys had the chicken strips; my daughter and I had breaded shrimp. Now, when I say macaroni and cheese, I don't mean Kraft or Velveeta. This isn't boxed mac and cheese. This is me making a rue, adding milk and cheese to make an actual cheese sauce, then adding the elbow macaroni and baking it in the oven with bread crumbs over the top. My kids won't eat boxed mac and cheese after eating this stuff. Trust me, it's delicious.
After lunch E sat down again to work on his Algebra pretest, but he was so distracted. Many of the questions are long, detailed word problems. A lot were from lessons that he'd done well on but he didn't remember how they were done. That's the problem with Algebra: you do the work, then put it in the back of your mind because there's a new system to learn. When the tests come, it takes a moment (or two, or three) before it all comes back. With my son, the idea that he has to do 58 problems and he can't remember all the steps to solving them gets him flustered. Suddenly, the room is too hot, his head is hurting, he can't think straight, he's tired of sitting, yada yada yada. I have to sit there with him and remind him that if he were in school there would be no excuses. He finally finished the pretest, and he got a 74. We are gonna have to go over a lot of these concepts if he's gonna bring his grade up. I see many hours of studying over the weekend. What fun.
Thankfully, he did get his English thesis submitted. His sister reviewed it, made a few corrections, and it's done. Now he has 5 final exams to prepare for. I'm thinking that he should just do his Hope exam over the weekend so he can focus on the other classes, like algebra and science, which are harder. It'll take some convincing; working over the weekend is not his cup of tea. But as I've told him before, if he were back in school he'd be doing homework every weekend. As it stands now, he rarely has to work over the weekend, so he should be thankful for that. Besides, he'll have a short week once these exams are over. Best to get it all done so he can enjoy his time off.
That has been my entire day. School. I cooked, I cleaned up the kitchen, and I fixed my bed. I did no other housework, I went nowhere, I did nothing else. My day was absorbed with homeschooling. Some days I think, ugh, I'm exhausted! I'm so stressed! But then I remember when he was in school. I was equally tired, equally stressed, and I spent more time on school than we do now. There were weeks when it was never ending homework assignments, projects, shopping for projects, computer work, reading, and weekends that were always work filled. There were time restraints and deadlines; not that there aren't any now, but homeschooling is so much more flexible. He no longer comes home saying he didn't understand the lesson because the class was distracting the teacher. He doesn't complain about his teachers; instead, he loves them and is so appreciative of them. When I think about all that, I know it's worth the effort. This is what is best for my son, and for my family. Rather than see this as a burden, I see it as a blessing.
I need some rest. I'm gonna shower, and take it easy. God bless and good night to all.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Thoughtful Thursday - Is It Winter Yet?
We woke up to a chilly 55 degrees this morning. Considering that our temperatures have been in the low 80's for the past couple of weeks, this is cold. Compared to the rest of Florida, however, this is a heatwave. Temperatures in the 30's and 40's for Central and North Florida, and we're only in the 50's? That's kind of weird. Or, as my kids would say, unfair. My windows have been open all day and a cool breeze has made our home pleasant, except for the allergies. My youngest son was sneezing up a storm this morning. He's doing better now, praise the Lord, but I almost wondered if we'd be able to get any schoolwork done.
We actually accomplished a good chunk of work, meaning algebra. That's what we worked on most of the day, reviewing and completing his unit 5 exam which was in 2 parts. He actually did really well on the multiple choice: he has a 91% so far, and there's one answer the teacher has to check which could potentially give him a slightly higher grade. Part 2 was emailed to the teacher so he's gonna have to wait till she grades it, but I think he did well on that too. The only other thing he worked on was studying for his Hope DBA. Hope is his physical education class; DBA's are discussion based assessments. It's where the teacher calls him directly and asks him questions about what he's learned during the course. He called in and left his teacher a message, but she didn't call back, probably because there are so many kids calling in for their DBA's. I had him send an email with his phone number as well, in case she didn't understand his phone message since he tends to mumble (all my kids do; wonder where they got that from?). He has his online Hope lesson tomorrow, plus he has to finish his English thesis and send it in. It's actually complete, but he's waiting for his sister to review it and make any recommendations before he submits it. It's one of the perks of having a sister who's an English tutor :-).
I took out some country-style ribs last night and put them in the crock pot this morning. In case I've never mentioned it before, the crock pot is my favorite appliance of life. Whoever came up with the crock pot is an absolute genius and should be president. I mean, can it get any easier and more cost efficient? I fill up my crock pot in the morning with most or all of the ingredients for the meal we're gonna eat in no more than 15 minutes. I then set it, and walk away. I can do whatever else needs to get done, even leave the house to run errands, and be assured that our meal will be perfect every time. I've even set it at night (like a pot roast for instance) and in the morning the house smells divine. And how much electricity does a crock pot use? About the same as a standard light bulb. I guarantee the oven isn't that energy efficient. I've made chicken, turkey, beef, and pork in my crock pot, but it isn't just for meats and stews. We made apple butter in the crock pot and it turned out amazing. We also used it for hot chocolate on my daughter's birthday; it stayed warm all night and everyone enjoyed going back to it. Country style ribs are so incredibly easy it's almost embarrassing. Take 4 - 6 pounds of country style ribs (with or without bone, either works). Salt and pepper them liberally, and place them in the crock pot. Then in a bowl combine 1 bottle of chili sauce (I like Heinz but any will do; the bottle is about 12 ounces), 1 cup packed light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of Worchestershire sauce and half a cup of water. Mix well and pour over the ribs. Set it on low for 5-6 hours, then prepare yourself for tender deliciousness. I served these with roasted potatoes and carrots. They disappeared pretty quickly.
My son woke up feeling a bit better today. I think he has a sinus cold because he says his chest isn't congested, just his head and nose. Tylenol Sinus seems to be working for him, and I'm glad. He's working from 5:00 till midnight tonight and there's nothing worse than working when you're sick.
My daughter shared a story she read online. She found it on Facebook. Granted, it's from The Daily Mail, a tabloid from the UK that's notorious for printing not-so-true stories, but I think the information is pretty spot on. I'd mentioned how I was trying different moisturizers because my skin is dry and the wrinkles under and around my eyes have been more pronounced lately. Yes, I'm 51 years old and I should expect it. But hey, I can also try to prevent it, right? Well, the story is about a 42 year old woman who went to see her doctor about headaches and poor digestion. Both her neurologist and nutritionist recommended the same thing: drink more water. According to the article, she started drinking 3 liters of water per day, and in 4 weeks she not only felt physically better (no more headaches and better digestion), but her wrinkles were gone, as were the dark circles under her eyes. The pictures show a dramatic difference that could easily be photo-shopped, but the article does make sense. All too often women think about moisturizing to hydrate the skin from the outside, but what about hydrating from the inside? I have to admit, I don't drink nearly as much water as I should. It's not that I don't like water; as a matter of fact it's my drink of choice. I have one cup of coffee in the morning with my breakfast, then drink water anytime I'm thirsty. Even when we go out to eat I have water with my meal instead of soda (though I do occasionally indulge in my favorite sugary drink, sweet tea). My problem is the amount of water I drink, which usually is about 32 ounces a day. That's half of what is recommended, and frankly, the recommendation falls short. Why don't I drink more water? I forget. Plain and simple, I forget to drink water. That's a lame excuse, I know. So I've made it a point to keep a cup with me and try to drink 48 ounces in the morning and another 48 ounces at night. I started building up my water intake a couple of days ago and already I'm seeing the effects: I spend more time eliminating toxins from my body (read: I'm peeing more). I do feel like my skin feels somewhat more hydrated but it's too soon to say how much. I don't expect the results the woman in the Daily Mail article claims, but if I do get them that would be awesome!
At 5:00 I remembered that tomorrow is trash day, and there was lots of debris in the yard that needed to be picked up - specifically, palm fronds. We have lots of palm trees in our yard. Too many, in my opinion. I like palm trees, they're beautiful and all, but the branches are enormous and have to be cut down to fit them into the trash can. When I had the SUV I could pack them into the trunk and take them to the dump myself, but there's no way I'm gonna fill up my sedan with branches, twigs and dried up coconuts. So I grabbed my gloves, my machete and the trash can and went to work cutting up and throwing away about 5 branches. There's still 7 in the yard that didn't fit. As I was working my son R came out to tell me he was leaving for work, and that E was on the phone with his teacher! She'd called him just minutes after I went outside. He says he did well, was able to answer the questions she asked, and that she didn't even ask all of the questions on the questionnaire, meaning he answered satisfactorily. I was so glad that he could cross that off his list! He'll be able to relax the rest of this week, but next week...that's a different story. He's got semester finals for 5 classes next week, and no, he's not looking forward to them. We'll probably be studying over the weekend to be sure he's up to speed on everything. The good thing is, after next week he'll be off the 19th, 22nd and 23rd, so he'll have time to recuperate before the new semester starts on the 26th. Mom will get some rest too.
I'm going to assume that's all the excitement for today (at least I hope it is!). I'm gonna snack on some chocolate covered cookies, then shower and relax before bed. Good night and God bless.
We actually accomplished a good chunk of work, meaning algebra. That's what we worked on most of the day, reviewing and completing his unit 5 exam which was in 2 parts. He actually did really well on the multiple choice: he has a 91% so far, and there's one answer the teacher has to check which could potentially give him a slightly higher grade. Part 2 was emailed to the teacher so he's gonna have to wait till she grades it, but I think he did well on that too. The only other thing he worked on was studying for his Hope DBA. Hope is his physical education class; DBA's are discussion based assessments. It's where the teacher calls him directly and asks him questions about what he's learned during the course. He called in and left his teacher a message, but she didn't call back, probably because there are so many kids calling in for their DBA's. I had him send an email with his phone number as well, in case she didn't understand his phone message since he tends to mumble (all my kids do; wonder where they got that from?). He has his online Hope lesson tomorrow, plus he has to finish his English thesis and send it in. It's actually complete, but he's waiting for his sister to review it and make any recommendations before he submits it. It's one of the perks of having a sister who's an English tutor :-).
I took out some country-style ribs last night and put them in the crock pot this morning. In case I've never mentioned it before, the crock pot is my favorite appliance of life. Whoever came up with the crock pot is an absolute genius and should be president. I mean, can it get any easier and more cost efficient? I fill up my crock pot in the morning with most or all of the ingredients for the meal we're gonna eat in no more than 15 minutes. I then set it, and walk away. I can do whatever else needs to get done, even leave the house to run errands, and be assured that our meal will be perfect every time. I've even set it at night (like a pot roast for instance) and in the morning the house smells divine. And how much electricity does a crock pot use? About the same as a standard light bulb. I guarantee the oven isn't that energy efficient. I've made chicken, turkey, beef, and pork in my crock pot, but it isn't just for meats and stews. We made apple butter in the crock pot and it turned out amazing. We also used it for hot chocolate on my daughter's birthday; it stayed warm all night and everyone enjoyed going back to it. Country style ribs are so incredibly easy it's almost embarrassing. Take 4 - 6 pounds of country style ribs (with or without bone, either works). Salt and pepper them liberally, and place them in the crock pot. Then in a bowl combine 1 bottle of chili sauce (I like Heinz but any will do; the bottle is about 12 ounces), 1 cup packed light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of Worchestershire sauce and half a cup of water. Mix well and pour over the ribs. Set it on low for 5-6 hours, then prepare yourself for tender deliciousness. I served these with roasted potatoes and carrots. They disappeared pretty quickly.
My son woke up feeling a bit better today. I think he has a sinus cold because he says his chest isn't congested, just his head and nose. Tylenol Sinus seems to be working for him, and I'm glad. He's working from 5:00 till midnight tonight and there's nothing worse than working when you're sick.
My daughter shared a story she read online. She found it on Facebook. Granted, it's from The Daily Mail, a tabloid from the UK that's notorious for printing not-so-true stories, but I think the information is pretty spot on. I'd mentioned how I was trying different moisturizers because my skin is dry and the wrinkles under and around my eyes have been more pronounced lately. Yes, I'm 51 years old and I should expect it. But hey, I can also try to prevent it, right? Well, the story is about a 42 year old woman who went to see her doctor about headaches and poor digestion. Both her neurologist and nutritionist recommended the same thing: drink more water. According to the article, she started drinking 3 liters of water per day, and in 4 weeks she not only felt physically better (no more headaches and better digestion), but her wrinkles were gone, as were the dark circles under her eyes. The pictures show a dramatic difference that could easily be photo-shopped, but the article does make sense. All too often women think about moisturizing to hydrate the skin from the outside, but what about hydrating from the inside? I have to admit, I don't drink nearly as much water as I should. It's not that I don't like water; as a matter of fact it's my drink of choice. I have one cup of coffee in the morning with my breakfast, then drink water anytime I'm thirsty. Even when we go out to eat I have water with my meal instead of soda (though I do occasionally indulge in my favorite sugary drink, sweet tea). My problem is the amount of water I drink, which usually is about 32 ounces a day. That's half of what is recommended, and frankly, the recommendation falls short. Why don't I drink more water? I forget. Plain and simple, I forget to drink water. That's a lame excuse, I know. So I've made it a point to keep a cup with me and try to drink 48 ounces in the morning and another 48 ounces at night. I started building up my water intake a couple of days ago and already I'm seeing the effects: I spend more time eliminating toxins from my body (read: I'm peeing more). I do feel like my skin feels somewhat more hydrated but it's too soon to say how much. I don't expect the results the woman in the Daily Mail article claims, but if I do get them that would be awesome!
At 5:00 I remembered that tomorrow is trash day, and there was lots of debris in the yard that needed to be picked up - specifically, palm fronds. We have lots of palm trees in our yard. Too many, in my opinion. I like palm trees, they're beautiful and all, but the branches are enormous and have to be cut down to fit them into the trash can. When I had the SUV I could pack them into the trunk and take them to the dump myself, but there's no way I'm gonna fill up my sedan with branches, twigs and dried up coconuts. So I grabbed my gloves, my machete and the trash can and went to work cutting up and throwing away about 5 branches. There's still 7 in the yard that didn't fit. As I was working my son R came out to tell me he was leaving for work, and that E was on the phone with his teacher! She'd called him just minutes after I went outside. He says he did well, was able to answer the questions she asked, and that she didn't even ask all of the questions on the questionnaire, meaning he answered satisfactorily. I was so glad that he could cross that off his list! He'll be able to relax the rest of this week, but next week...that's a different story. He's got semester finals for 5 classes next week, and no, he's not looking forward to them. We'll probably be studying over the weekend to be sure he's up to speed on everything. The good thing is, after next week he'll be off the 19th, 22nd and 23rd, so he'll have time to recuperate before the new semester starts on the 26th. Mom will get some rest too.
I'm going to assume that's all the excitement for today (at least I hope it is!). I'm gonna snack on some chocolate covered cookies, then shower and relax before bed. Good night and God bless.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Wacky Wednesday
Why is today a Wacky Wednesday? Because this morning the weather took a strange turn. Yesterday it was in the 80's, hot and muggy. Not overly muggy like in the summer, but after our run I felt stickier than I had the past month or so. This morning when I got up it was 70 degrees, but the humidity was gone. In its place was a cool breeze, cool enough to turn off the a/c and open the windows. What's more, it's supposed to get down into the low 50's tonight after weeks of warm weather. You just never know what to expect!
Our weather in South Florida has remained warmer than the rest of the state. North Florida has freeze warnings in effect, and Central Florida has wind advisories. My kids lament the fact that we don't have the different seasons like in other parts of the state, but I have no problem staying in the warmth. I did the cold weather all my growing up years, and I have to say, I don't miss it. I don't mind a little bit of cold; mid to upper 50's is fine with me. The lowest I can accept is 49 degrees, and that's pushing it. Not that I enjoy the heat and humidity; heat is fine, but humid weather I can do without. I like it when it's warm and dry, and my hair looks fantastic. Like today!
I woke up at 6:30 this morning, spent some time with The Lord, then got moving in the kitchen. I remembered to take out some chicken tenders (yay!) so I got the crock pot out and started on my chicken taco chili. This chili is loaded with beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, green pepper, and garlicky goodness. It's healthy and tasty, and the best part is that I throw it all in the crock pot and walk away! It takes 10 minutes to get all the ingredients in my slow cooker, 4 hours to cook, 5 minutes to shred the chicken, and before I can say, "Man that smells good!" our meal is ready :-). I serve this with tortilla chips and nothing else. It's a complete meal all in itself.
My son E spent the morning either on the computer listening to his classes or in the bathroom. His colon was overly active today (yeah, I know, TMI. Realities of life). His music class is done, so all he had this morning was science and algebra. Only his two most important classes :P. E is really good at math, but he's not good at taking tests. He gets overwhelmed really fast. Science is a tricky subject: as in, the exams have lots of trick questions. My son doesn't think in those terms; he's very black and white. Multiple choice is fine with him, so long as there are 3 clearly wrong answers and one clearly correct one. When there's 2 wrong answers and 2 possible answers, he gets exasperated. The best thing he can do is be as prepared as possible, so that's what we're trying to do.
While he was doing science I did some cleaning and putting away laundry, then when algebra started I took a shower and washed my hair. I knew that, with his tight schedule and Awana starting back up tonight, I might not have time to get myself ready. While he ate lunch I did my makeup and dried my hair. I've been considering whether to get my hair cut again or let it grow out some more. My hair has been looking amazing. It's responding really well to the OGX products. I find that it doesn't get greasy as quickly as it used to, and when I dry it there's not a lot of frizz. It also still has a lot of body the next day after I've slept on it. Thanks to my amazing hair stylist, my hair is growing out beautifully. It almost seems like a waste of great hair to get it cut.
Another thing I've noticed, is that I'm not taking nearly as long getting my makeup done, and it's looking better every time. I think with all the products I got I was having a hard time deciding what to use, and I was going back and forth on whether to use this color or that, or this powder or the other. I'm getting a good feel about how I want to look and the steps to achieve it, so makeup application is much smoother. In all my experimenting I've found out things I never knew about myself. For instance, I would never, ever purchase products with a peach undertone. I was certain I needed pink undertones because that's what my mother uses and my skin is like hers. Well, with some of the kits I've gotten from Bare Minerals there have been peachy tones, and I went ahead and gave them a try. They work 100 times better on my skin than the pinks! I made the erroneous assumption that whatever works for my mother must work for me because, hey, she's my mother. The reality is, I have some olive in my skin which I inherited from my father. I realized this when I got color-matched for foundation, and the color that works for me is medium beige, which is a neutral. The pink foundation would have looked ridiculous on me, but the golden is too yellow. I'm in between. My daughter made the same mistake; she got medium beige because that's what I got. When she went to Macy's with her dad to get her Christmas present, she got color-matched at the Bare Minerals boutique in the store. She's a golden medium. It works wonders for her rosacea because the yellow counteracts the redness in her skin. Lesson learned: always get color-matched. Don't assume anything.
My oldest son texted me just after lunch. He is so sick. He's achy all over and has a fever. Unfortunately he took Aleve, which he can only take every 8 hours, and the fever was back after 6. I know he's a grown man (he'll be 28 years old in March), but he is still my baby, and knowing he's sick puts me in mom-mode. Except when he's at work there's nothing I can do for him. It's times like these I wish they were all little again and I could take care of them like a mommy should. He got home and told me he'd taken ibuprofen. I told him to get some rest, but he was sure he wouldn't be able to because he hadn't been able to fall asleep the night before thanks to the aches and pains in his body. E and I left for church, and when I came home he was fast asleep on the recliner. *Sigh* When are they gonna accept that mama knows best?
Awana was great tonight. I had a new girl join my group; her mom is a sweet friend of mine and I was excited to see her daughter moved up to T&T. Unfortunately, most of my girls didn't come today. There was the new girl and one other girl, and that was all for the third graders. We joined the fourth grade girls and had book time with them. After that it was our welcome back ice cream party! The kids were so happy to get ice cream; I wonder if the parents were equally enthused about their precious little ones getting loaded with sugar? Those kids will be bouncing off the walls for next few hours, LOL.
As we were leaving I noticed that it was cooler outside than when we'd left. It's already 69 degrees. It'll be interesting to see just how low our temperatures get tonight. Guess it's time to break out the warm jammies ;-). Good night, sleep tight.
Our weather in South Florida has remained warmer than the rest of the state. North Florida has freeze warnings in effect, and Central Florida has wind advisories. My kids lament the fact that we don't have the different seasons like in other parts of the state, but I have no problem staying in the warmth. I did the cold weather all my growing up years, and I have to say, I don't miss it. I don't mind a little bit of cold; mid to upper 50's is fine with me. The lowest I can accept is 49 degrees, and that's pushing it. Not that I enjoy the heat and humidity; heat is fine, but humid weather I can do without. I like it when it's warm and dry, and my hair looks fantastic. Like today!
I woke up at 6:30 this morning, spent some time with The Lord, then got moving in the kitchen. I remembered to take out some chicken tenders (yay!) so I got the crock pot out and started on my chicken taco chili. This chili is loaded with beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, green pepper, and garlicky goodness. It's healthy and tasty, and the best part is that I throw it all in the crock pot and walk away! It takes 10 minutes to get all the ingredients in my slow cooker, 4 hours to cook, 5 minutes to shred the chicken, and before I can say, "Man that smells good!" our meal is ready :-). I serve this with tortilla chips and nothing else. It's a complete meal all in itself.
My son E spent the morning either on the computer listening to his classes or in the bathroom. His colon was overly active today (yeah, I know, TMI. Realities of life). His music class is done, so all he had this morning was science and algebra. Only his two most important classes :P. E is really good at math, but he's not good at taking tests. He gets overwhelmed really fast. Science is a tricky subject: as in, the exams have lots of trick questions. My son doesn't think in those terms; he's very black and white. Multiple choice is fine with him, so long as there are 3 clearly wrong answers and one clearly correct one. When there's 2 wrong answers and 2 possible answers, he gets exasperated. The best thing he can do is be as prepared as possible, so that's what we're trying to do.
While he was doing science I did some cleaning and putting away laundry, then when algebra started I took a shower and washed my hair. I knew that, with his tight schedule and Awana starting back up tonight, I might not have time to get myself ready. While he ate lunch I did my makeup and dried my hair. I've been considering whether to get my hair cut again or let it grow out some more. My hair has been looking amazing. It's responding really well to the OGX products. I find that it doesn't get greasy as quickly as it used to, and when I dry it there's not a lot of frizz. It also still has a lot of body the next day after I've slept on it. Thanks to my amazing hair stylist, my hair is growing out beautifully. It almost seems like a waste of great hair to get it cut.
Another thing I've noticed, is that I'm not taking nearly as long getting my makeup done, and it's looking better every time. I think with all the products I got I was having a hard time deciding what to use, and I was going back and forth on whether to use this color or that, or this powder or the other. I'm getting a good feel about how I want to look and the steps to achieve it, so makeup application is much smoother. In all my experimenting I've found out things I never knew about myself. For instance, I would never, ever purchase products with a peach undertone. I was certain I needed pink undertones because that's what my mother uses and my skin is like hers. Well, with some of the kits I've gotten from Bare Minerals there have been peachy tones, and I went ahead and gave them a try. They work 100 times better on my skin than the pinks! I made the erroneous assumption that whatever works for my mother must work for me because, hey, she's my mother. The reality is, I have some olive in my skin which I inherited from my father. I realized this when I got color-matched for foundation, and the color that works for me is medium beige, which is a neutral. The pink foundation would have looked ridiculous on me, but the golden is too yellow. I'm in between. My daughter made the same mistake; she got medium beige because that's what I got. When she went to Macy's with her dad to get her Christmas present, she got color-matched at the Bare Minerals boutique in the store. She's a golden medium. It works wonders for her rosacea because the yellow counteracts the redness in her skin. Lesson learned: always get color-matched. Don't assume anything.
My oldest son texted me just after lunch. He is so sick. He's achy all over and has a fever. Unfortunately he took Aleve, which he can only take every 8 hours, and the fever was back after 6. I know he's a grown man (he'll be 28 years old in March), but he is still my baby, and knowing he's sick puts me in mom-mode. Except when he's at work there's nothing I can do for him. It's times like these I wish they were all little again and I could take care of them like a mommy should. He got home and told me he'd taken ibuprofen. I told him to get some rest, but he was sure he wouldn't be able to because he hadn't been able to fall asleep the night before thanks to the aches and pains in his body. E and I left for church, and when I came home he was fast asleep on the recliner. *Sigh* When are they gonna accept that mama knows best?
Awana was great tonight. I had a new girl join my group; her mom is a sweet friend of mine and I was excited to see her daughter moved up to T&T. Unfortunately, most of my girls didn't come today. There was the new girl and one other girl, and that was all for the third graders. We joined the fourth grade girls and had book time with them. After that it was our welcome back ice cream party! The kids were so happy to get ice cream; I wonder if the parents were equally enthused about their precious little ones getting loaded with sugar? Those kids will be bouncing off the walls for next few hours, LOL.
As we were leaving I noticed that it was cooler outside than when we'd left. It's already 69 degrees. It'll be interesting to see just how low our temperatures get tonight. Guess it's time to break out the warm jammies ;-). Good night, sleep tight.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Tackling Tuesday
Don't you just love appliances? I think appliances are awesome. I love that I can sit with my son and do school while the dishes and our laundry are being washed. Even my meals can be cooking in my crock pot - if I remember to take the meat out the night before so it isn't frozen in the morning. As my kids would say, epic fail.
The funny thing is, I checked the kitchen last night to make sure I'd taken care of everything. I was satisfied that everything had been cleaned up, but I totally didn't think about the next day. The first thing that I thought of when I woke up was, "I didn't take out any meat, did I?" So there went that plan.
I went to the kitchen and looked at my meal plan for the next two weeks. I decided I could make empanadillas, which are Puerto Rican style meat pies, similar to Jamaican patties but the pie crust is pastry dough. My kids are never gonna complain when I make empanadillas. They are E's favorite food. He has mentioned it to me on multiple occasions. Whenever I say we're having empanadillas, his face lights up. I put the ground beef package in warm water while I made breakfast. I've been having cereal and an English muffin the last couple of mornings; keeping it simple now that school is back in session. I knew it was gonna be another busy day, so I prayed for wisdom and patience and got my morning started.
First up was music history. There was a recorded review he had to listen to, then he took his unit exam. He got 100%. Woohoo! Next was supposed to be his English live lesson, but it was cancelled. Instead the teacher did a Q and A for kids who need help with their English thesis. Since E's sister is an English tutor we decided it was more important for him to get caught up with his other classes. He still hasn't finished his PE assignment, and he hadn't even started on science. I decided he needed to do science next. He says he hates science. He enjoys the material, but it's a lot of reading, and kids with dyslexia read slower, so it takes him longer. I usually read the material out loud for him because he's more of an auditory learner, so that's what we did. It was really interesting stuff, on soil and soil formation. He took the quiz at the end; he has an 80% so far, and there are two essay questions the teacher has to grade before he knows what his final grade is. Two down, two to go, but it was lunch time. Time to make the empanadillas.
I made white rice and black beans to complete the meal, then sat down to rest awhile. I'd put some clothes in the wash, cooked, taught, and I needed a little break before continuing. The break wasn't very long. We got started on his Leadership final exam after lunch. There were 3 review classes he had to listen to, and a review worksheet to work on, then he did his test. He got 100% on the multiple choice, and now he has to wait to see how he did on the essay questions. It was a relief to be done with that. He worked on his PE assignment some more, but then it was time for exercising. We hadn't run with our running group since right before Christmas. The church had a service on December 23rd so no one was running, and December 30th I had my cousin over at the house. The group runs on Sundays at the park across the street from our house, but I was sick the week before and this past Sunday was the funeral. So I wondered how I was going to do any running when I'd been on hiatus for two weeks. Well, I actually jogged quite a bit, and fast walked the rest. It was over a mile when all was said and done, and I felt great. Thankfully it wasn't too hot; it's a bit humid but nothing like the summer. We're supposed to be getting a cold front sometime tomorrow, probably in the evening. It'll be a welcome change from this weird weather we've been having. It looks cloudy and dreary most of the day, it's hot and humid but we've only gotten rain in the early morning hours. I appreciate the rain but I sure would like to see the sun a little more.
Back to the running. We met up with the group and the pastor that leads the group came over and gave me a hug, expressing his condolences. He asked how we were doing, and I told him we were fine, since we'd known for some time that Grandma wouldn't be with us much longer. I have not truly grieved her death, because she was in so much pain during the last months of her life, that it's a relief to know her suffering is over. But as he started talking to me about his own experience when he lost his father a few years ago, and I saw him get teary-eyed, I thought I was going to break down. I know that Grandma is with Jesus and she is in the best hands, but I also know we loved her very much and she will be missed dreadfully. I hadn't thought about it in that sense; all I could think was that I didn't want to see her living so miserably. She'd always been so active, and suddenly she was in terrible pain and confined to a bed. She is dancing with the angels now, and I'm thankful for that, but I have to accept that it's okay to grieve.
We came home and I quickly jumped into the shower. I was sweaty and sticky, but also energized. I hope that doesn't mean I won't be able to get to sleep! I'd better make sure I take chicken out tonight before I go to bed. Good night folks.
The funny thing is, I checked the kitchen last night to make sure I'd taken care of everything. I was satisfied that everything had been cleaned up, but I totally didn't think about the next day. The first thing that I thought of when I woke up was, "I didn't take out any meat, did I?" So there went that plan.
I went to the kitchen and looked at my meal plan for the next two weeks. I decided I could make empanadillas, which are Puerto Rican style meat pies, similar to Jamaican patties but the pie crust is pastry dough. My kids are never gonna complain when I make empanadillas. They are E's favorite food. He has mentioned it to me on multiple occasions. Whenever I say we're having empanadillas, his face lights up. I put the ground beef package in warm water while I made breakfast. I've been having cereal and an English muffin the last couple of mornings; keeping it simple now that school is back in session. I knew it was gonna be another busy day, so I prayed for wisdom and patience and got my morning started.
First up was music history. There was a recorded review he had to listen to, then he took his unit exam. He got 100%. Woohoo! Next was supposed to be his English live lesson, but it was cancelled. Instead the teacher did a Q and A for kids who need help with their English thesis. Since E's sister is an English tutor we decided it was more important for him to get caught up with his other classes. He still hasn't finished his PE assignment, and he hadn't even started on science. I decided he needed to do science next. He says he hates science. He enjoys the material, but it's a lot of reading, and kids with dyslexia read slower, so it takes him longer. I usually read the material out loud for him because he's more of an auditory learner, so that's what we did. It was really interesting stuff, on soil and soil formation. He took the quiz at the end; he has an 80% so far, and there are two essay questions the teacher has to grade before he knows what his final grade is. Two down, two to go, but it was lunch time. Time to make the empanadillas.
I made white rice and black beans to complete the meal, then sat down to rest awhile. I'd put some clothes in the wash, cooked, taught, and I needed a little break before continuing. The break wasn't very long. We got started on his Leadership final exam after lunch. There were 3 review classes he had to listen to, and a review worksheet to work on, then he did his test. He got 100% on the multiple choice, and now he has to wait to see how he did on the essay questions. It was a relief to be done with that. He worked on his PE assignment some more, but then it was time for exercising. We hadn't run with our running group since right before Christmas. The church had a service on December 23rd so no one was running, and December 30th I had my cousin over at the house. The group runs on Sundays at the park across the street from our house, but I was sick the week before and this past Sunday was the funeral. So I wondered how I was going to do any running when I'd been on hiatus for two weeks. Well, I actually jogged quite a bit, and fast walked the rest. It was over a mile when all was said and done, and I felt great. Thankfully it wasn't too hot; it's a bit humid but nothing like the summer. We're supposed to be getting a cold front sometime tomorrow, probably in the evening. It'll be a welcome change from this weird weather we've been having. It looks cloudy and dreary most of the day, it's hot and humid but we've only gotten rain in the early morning hours. I appreciate the rain but I sure would like to see the sun a little more.
Back to the running. We met up with the group and the pastor that leads the group came over and gave me a hug, expressing his condolences. He asked how we were doing, and I told him we were fine, since we'd known for some time that Grandma wouldn't be with us much longer. I have not truly grieved her death, because she was in so much pain during the last months of her life, that it's a relief to know her suffering is over. But as he started talking to me about his own experience when he lost his father a few years ago, and I saw him get teary-eyed, I thought I was going to break down. I know that Grandma is with Jesus and she is in the best hands, but I also know we loved her very much and she will be missed dreadfully. I hadn't thought about it in that sense; all I could think was that I didn't want to see her living so miserably. She'd always been so active, and suddenly she was in terrible pain and confined to a bed. She is dancing with the angels now, and I'm thankful for that, but I have to accept that it's okay to grieve.
We came home and I quickly jumped into the shower. I was sweaty and sticky, but also energized. I hope that doesn't mean I won't be able to get to sleep! I'd better make sure I take chicken out tonight before I go to bed. Good night folks.
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